Quote :

"Yeah, this makes me sad a little. Because we have become so obsessed with getting a deal on things, workers get caught in the middle and get forced to miss out on time with their family so some asshole can get a cheap TV or toy."

This. I flat out refuse to patron any store opening on Thanksgiving for some pre-Black Friday bullshit. I saw that one of the crafting stores is doing this too. I think it was AC Moore. What kind of sad ass cat lady has to go shopping for scrapbooking supplies the afternoon of Thanksgiving?

11/14/2011 9:49:28 PM

you just answered your own question

someone who is lonely and has nothing but memories to keep



[Edited on November 14, 2011 at 10:24 PM. Reason : super sad to think about]

11/14/2011 10:23:55 PM

They can wait until Friday to scrapbook their crappy memories

11/14/2011 10:25:40 PM

I keep seeing this thread and thinking "why the hell are people already talking about Black Friday deals??" Then I realize that Thanksgiving is next week. I'm going to be in Atlanta for this thing, so I figure any shopping I do is going to end up being a hot mess.

11/15/2011 7:51:21 AM

I'd be scared to go to BF in ATL

also, next year they will just be open all day on Thanksgiving. Why not?

Honestly, there is no reason to get a jump on anyone in this information age. Unless you don't put something in your ad. But then people won't line up, 'cause they won't know about it and will NOT risk waiting in line for a rumor. So it defeats the purpose.

I did hear a story about a Walmart store manager who either got sick, or his kid did, or something to that extent, and didn't work last BF in 2010- he was apparently fired the next day

[Edited on November 15, 2011 at 8:08 AM. Reason : WM]

11/15/2011 8:04:52 AM

please to post good deals on mac book pro 15"

11/15/2011 9:39:36 AM

Quote :

"I did hear a story about a Walmart store manager who either got sick, or his kid did, or something to that extent, and didn't work last BF in 2010- he was apparently fired the next day "

Would not surprise me at all. I've worked for companies that did the same thing if you called out on days like 4th of July or Christmas Eve, regardless of if you had a valid reason.

11/15/2011 9:43:43 AM

Quote :

"please to post good deals on mac book pro 15""

Apple fixes their prices. If you find a "discount" Apple anything, it's usually a refurb that has been worked on by an unauthorized technician... in other words no heralded customer service.

11/15/2011 10:52:40 AM

why discount something that sells for a higher cost without any problems?

if Mac's were cheap they'd loose a lot of their appeal

Looks like Mass. is not allowing retailers to be open on Thanksgiving...........

http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2011/11/15/massachusetts_blue_laws_derailing_stores_black_friday_plan/

11/15/2011 12:43:26 PM

Quote :

"The attorney general’s office is charged with enforcing the blue laws. In 2005, Thomas F. Reilly, the attorney general at the time, issued reprimands and threatened to file criminal charges against retailers planning to open on Thanksgiving. The penalty is a fine of not more than $1,000 per violation, according to the attorney general’s office. This year, the attorney general is not taking such a tough stance."

I wonder if the sales generated on Black Friday would make it worth it to retailers to just pay the $1000 fine.

11/15/2011 12:54:30 PM

I would think so. When I worked at a toy store many many years ago, our sales during the holiday season would be between $30 and $40k. Half of that was straight profit. And this was a very small toy store. I can't even fathom what places like Best Buy, Toys R Us, and Walmart bring in on a black Friday.

11/15/2011 1:05:56 PM

They publish those numbers every year so we won't have to wait long to find out

11/15/2011 1:09:41 PM

^^^ How does Kmart get away with opening on Thanksgivivg?

11/15/2011 1:15:33 PM

I wish they'd move black friday to the first saturday in December.

11/15/2011 1:20:53 PM

^^Are you talking about in Massachusetts? They're probably just flaunting the law and banking on not getting fined.

^ That would be nice but never gonna happen

[Edited on November 15, 2011 at 1:22 PM. Reason : a]

11/15/2011 1:21:45 PM

wtf double post

[Edited on November 15, 2011 at 1:22 PM. Reason : s]

11/15/2011 1:22:20 PM

considering this laptop

is it any good?



Remember, I DJ, so i dunno how great hte beats audio makes the deal. It may be a better soundcard.

[Edited on November 15, 2011 at 4:48 PM. Reason : f]

11/15/2011 4:47:43 PM

Quote :

" Apple fixes their prices. If you find a "discount" Apple anything, it's usually a refurb that has been worked on by an unauthorized technician... in other words no heralded customer service."

Apple has had a Black Friday sale on their own site for the past 2-3 years. It's not an insane deal, usually just 10% off or so. Amazon and MacMall have both matched and beat Apple's own prices these past 2 years, too.

11/17/2011 8:56:52 AM

I'm going to try and Black Friday for the first time this year. I need to look at what the local Wal-Mart is doing for TVs...are all the Wal-Mart deals universal? Are they all doing midnight openings?

11/17/2011 9:01:02 AM

They're all universal; whether they open at midnight depends on the location and the blue laws there I'd imagine.

11/17/2011 9:08:49 AM

you will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy, you must be cautious (Walmart BF)

11/17/2011 9:20:17 AM

Well, this is a tiny town of nice country people, so I'd like to think it won't be that bad. Odds are that someone there will be carrying a gun in their pocket too...not sure if that's bad or good though

11/17/2011 9:48:17 AM

having done BF now for years, I can say in all honesty that my worst experiences have been with Target.


Wal-mart is very good at organizing the event both inside and outside the store, so there's a lot of order amongst the crowd. If you show up early enough and are in line, 99% of the time you'll get what you came for. They also don't pull the bait and switch that, say, Best Buy has been known to do, where they advertise a special and only have 2-3 on hand. If Walmart advertises it for BF, they usually have at least a pallet or 2, sometimes more.

Kohls is messy, but mainly because, being a clothing store, it's hard to maintain order when people are tearing through different sizes. Their jewelry selection is limited, so those are usually gone early.

Everytime I've done Target, other than a single file line at the door (which has sometimes wrapped around the building), it's been chaos. 4am, open the door, and let people in - first come first serve. This ends up in people tripping over each other, pulling, pushing, and overall just being dicks. Target is also the only place I've seen that didn't put a limit per customer on their stock, so I personally witnessed a few small business owners taking advantage of deals in order to stock their store for cheap. The guy that owned the comic book shop back home literally cleared the shelves of family guy and south park dvd's a few years back - later that day i swung by his shop out of curiousity, and there they all were, marked up on the wall.

Nevertheless, it's a good idea to overplan for the morning. Pick what you want the most and stick with it - if you're able to get more than that, awesome, but don't hang your hat on 20 different things, or you'll come out exhausted and disappointed. Keep it simple, move quick, and most importantly, plan for breakfast after it's all over. It's always one of the most satisfying breakfasts of they year.

Season's greetings and good luck to all of you.

11/17/2011 9:55:19 AM

don't get shot over buying a tv kthx.

11/17/2011 9:56:07 AM

Quote :

"Wal-mart is very good at organizing the event both inside and outside the store, so there's a lot of order amongst the crowd. If you show up early enough and are in line, 99% of the time you'll get what you came for. They also don't pull the bait and switch that, say, Best Buy has been known to do, where they advertise a special and only have 2-3 on hand. If Walmart advertises it for BF, they usually have at least a pallet or 2, sometimes more."

I imagine they put a lot of checks in place after they had that person trampled to death in one of their stores.

11/17/2011 10:09:05 AM

Can I just say Staples is the most overlooked place for Electronics... In the last 2-3 years after going at 10-11pm at night both BestBuy and CircuitCity have 30+ people in line. I'd go to Staples and be #2 or #3 in line.... and Staples typically has the same deals but only a couple dollars higher. Most people don't get to Staples until like 6am, it's great.

11/17/2011 10:58:28 AM

The lines have started at Best Buy in St. Petersburg, FL.
http://saintpetersburg.wtsp.com/m/news/news/91337-first-line-black-friday-deals-best-buy

11/17/2011 11:52:20 AM

People like that need to get lives.

11/17/2011 11:59:09 AM

What are they really saving? How much money is your time really worth? What a waste of time and money.

11/17/2011 1:15:30 PM

^not if you do it all online. Amazon usually matches most of the high-profile deals.

11/17/2011 2:12:34 PM

Quote :

"Nevertheless, it's a good idea to overplan for the morning. Pick what you want the most and stick with it - if you're able to get more than that, awesome, but don't hang your hat on 20 different things, or you'll come out exhausted and disappointed."

My mother-in-law is a notorious BF over-planner. She couldn't hold down a job for the longest time, but she's smart enough to prioritize deals at stores in the Concord-Kannapolis area, research locations with the smallest crowd density, and plan her routes such that it balances travel time with the deals she's after.

Seems like around Black Friday, mass groups of people because stone-throwing cavemen, and other people who you would never have guessed had it within them become disciplined super geniuses capable of appearing at 5 stores at once. I never go out to shop, but I went out once or twice just for the spectical. Craziness.

11/17/2011 2:22:25 PM

when does amazon put out their ads?

11/17/2011 2:47:30 PM

When does Amazon ever put out ads?

11/17/2011 2:57:42 PM

you know exactly what I meant.

11/17/2011 2:58:28 PM

Amazon thrives on Cyber Monday. Black Friday is mainly B&M.

11/17/2011 3:01:07 PM

What does the "ticket required for purchase" on Best Buy door buster sales mean? Do you get a ticket when you go to the store?

11/17/2011 4:11:48 PM

^They come out before the doors open and give the people in the front of the line a ticket for the items they want. Prevents people from stampeding in the front door to get to the big ticket items.

11/17/2011 8:55:12 PM

I'lll miss the stampedes. The youtubes were classic.

11/17/2011 9:27:15 PM

people who go out early for BF sales must not consider their time to be particularly valuable.

none of the deals are that great to justify getting in line at 3a.m. or whatever.

11/17/2011 9:38:01 PM

Quote :

"Amazon thrives on Cyber Monday. Black Friday is mainly B&M."

If it's anything like the past 2 years, they will be matching prices starting on Black Friday, all the way through Monday.

11/17/2011 10:42:10 PM

This will be the first Black Friday since 2002 that I have not had to be up early to work. Of course, until a few years back, it was "get up at 5 am to be to work at 6", then something happened and the clock just started moving back and back and back every year.

Anyways, my plan is to sleep in and not buy a damn thing

11/17/2011 11:01:34 PM

Quote :

"none of the deals are that great to justify getting in line at 3a.m. or whatever."

sports authority gives out gift cards to the first 100 people in line. anywhere from $10 to $500. i got the $100 a couple years ago and probably only spent an hour in line

11/18/2011 6:32:13 AM

I've only done it once. Right when I got out of law school and needed a lot of new dress clothes I went to the midnight one at the Myrtle Beach outlets. Bought a shit ton of dress shoes, suits from the Brooks Brothers outlet, belts, ties, etc.

It was definitely worth it. I probably saved 60-70% on everything.

Have no reason to do it again though.

11/18/2011 6:49:51 AM

Looks like I'll be going out on Friday after all. Petsmart is selling the only dog treats my dog will actually eat for 50% off lol.

11/22/2011 10:44:52 AM

Apple is advertising their Black Friday sale in their online store (no prices yet). Now, all I need is Amazon to match it.

[Edited on November 22, 2011 at 11:52 AM. Reason : d]

11/22/2011 11:52:14 AM

I'll probably skip Black Friday this year as we are in between homes right now (company relocation), but over the years I've always been able to get good deals on TVs, video game systems, GPS, and usually I can resell some stuff on Craigslist and make some money. It's worth it to me, but I've never spent more than 30-45 minutes in line.

My favorite BF stores are actually Home Depot and Lowes.

11/22/2011 1:31:11 PM

Whats the best deal on a sub $500 laptop?

Is there anywhere I can compare the laptops that are being offered from all stores?

I know bestbuy.com/laptopspotlight has some but I have no idea what I am looking at....anyone wanna help?

thanks

11/22/2011 2:25:45 PM

already have my plan for friday laid out

should be able to knock out most of my shopping for friends and family on friday

11/23/2011 8:38:51 AM

So I work part-time at Southpoint, and yesterday I noticed that the Gap and Justice are opening at midnight, because Macy's will be open (the mall gave stores the option to open at midnight since the lights will be on anyway). I can't imagine either of those will have lines witing for the gates to go up, just trickle traffic from Macy's

11/23/2011 9:08:56 AM

Quote :

"CONTENT CENSORED HOME DEPOT BLACK FRIDAY INFO REMOVED PER DMCA CEASE AND DESIST TAKEDOWN DEMAND Click here to view the DMCA Takedown Notice The Black Friday Ad Scans and Deal Content have been removed as a result of a complaint and takedown notice provided by Home Depot. Alternatively, you can browse the following other Black Friday 2011 Ad Scans and Deals: Lowes Black Friday Ad Scan and Deals Sears Black Friday Ad Scan and Deals Ace Hardware Black Friday Ad Scan and Deals Harbor Freight Black Friday Ad Scan and Deals"

wtf

11/23/2011 11:05:14 AM