Black Friday Insanity

[Aamylf]

Okay, now I've heard it all -- I have never shopped Black Friday and probably never will, but I thought it couldn't get more insane than people getting in line at midnight for a 4 a.m. opening...I was wrong, very wrong.

There are people in Tampa who have pitched a tent in the parking lot of Best Buy...YESTERDAY in order to shop NEXT Friday. What is wrong with this picture?

"
A check of the calendar shows the day after Thanksgiving, known as Black Friday, is still a week away. But don't tell that to Lorie and Ryan Davenport of St. Petersburg.
On Wednesday, they set up a large blue tent at the Best Buy store near the Tyrone Square Mall in St. Petersburg, prepared to camp out for more than a week to snag some electronic deals (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/40270486/ns/business-consumer_news#).
"We've been doing this for six years now and we got beat out by the same guy for the last six years," said Lorie Davenport. "So this year, we said, this might be our last year, it might be our last hurrah, so we're coming extra early if we have to because we are gonna be first if it kills us."
After getting an OK from Best Buy (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/40270486/ns/business-consumer_news#) management, the Davenports are now in it for the long haul.
Although the couple say they're not sure what they'll buy when the doors open at 5 a.m. next Friday, they are hoping for a good deal on a large-screen TV or perhaps something from the Apple Mac line.
From past experience, they know some items will be in short supply, and that means they have to be on guard for people who stretch the rules....

[Cil]

Weird. Glad I avoid Black Friday.

[DiggingDogFarm]

It's difficult to understand, but this is a free country (well sort of) - to each his own!

[Travis]

Did it last year and I did get some insane deals the problem I found was every store tried out doing the others by opening earlier. And with a limited supply you could only get really good deals at 1 or 2 stores. Next up was the rude people, seriously people would just park in the middle of an aisle and walk away. And lastly many times the product on sale was not in the correct dept.

Will I do it agian. Not anytime soon.

[Laura]

Black Friday is the ONLY day of the year I enjoy, shopping!!
My daughter and I have done it for 14 years (since she was 6).

Yes, there are good deals to be had.
Yes, there are tons of loonies out there.
We go with a list, and with a plan!
It's like a treasure hunt! My daughter and I enjoy ourselves a lot!!

[SmokepoleShooter]

My wife always goes. I think she's nuts. Most of the stuff I like never goes on sale and isn't in any of the brand name dept. stores anyway. Hopefully the woods will have a few less folks in them on Friday. Too all who venture out be careful and have fun.

[TEX]

Never done it and never will. DH and I have made a vow not to drive further than the corner convenience store on any Holiday. We are internet shoppers. We both hate crowds and going to a Mall or to Wallyworld during the holiday season with all those people makes my blood pressure rise. I can shop the internet "nekkid" as the day I was born and if you are choosey you get free shipping so no mailing fees for us - they just ship to the "giftee"

Just the thought of girding my loins and heading out on Black Friday makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up.

[gump]

I especially avoid the malls and stores like the plague from T-giving to X-mas

[Aamylf]

I'm ok w people shopping onBF ---it was just this crazy story! And, to each his own

[fwtxcitywoman]

You couldn't pay me to get out on Black Friday.

I plan to go to work as usual. Real light day, hardly anyone shows up. Good time to get some quiet type work done.

I shop on the internet. I hate stores other than grocery type stores.

There isn't anything out there that I would wait in line for.

jmho

[okiedokie]

We went once and never will again (although I ask DH every year just to annoy him :lol:). WM had pre-lit Christmas trees on sale for great price and I just had to have one. We were there before the doors opened, every gray headed ole lady waiting with baited breath along with us,,he said he coulda swore some of 'em had clubs,,i didn't see any , but he swore, I sent hubby for the tree "get one with mulit-colored lights" he said I'll try, while I went for gifts for kids/grandkids. When I got to him, there he was,,,,,wide eyed, bruised, battered and with arms around the box lookin scared to death and 3 elderly ladies still trying to get that last mulit-colored lighted tree from him. They were yankin,,,pullin,, tuggin and had him surrounded with their carts,,but he held on. I swooped in like wonder woman,and saved him from the mean lil ole (ahem) ladies. It was an experience neither of us will forget, and to this day he will not go with me on one of those sales ,,, go figure:sarcastic: I remember it with laughter, he with terror!

[JoAnna]

I've never shopped on Black Friday. My parents have a few times, when they really wanted something special for the grandkids, but that was several years back.

I enjoy occasional Christmas shopping, if I'm going to get just a few items and not just to randomly shop. I can't stand going and just wandering the stores with no items in mind and waiting for inspiration to hit me in the head. I know what I'm after, and I don't worry too much if I can get it for five bucks cheaper at another store. Around here, you'd burn up the difference in gas because there aren't too many retail places nearby.

I can understand people wanting to get the early bird 4 a.m. sales, but I have no intention of ever doing it. I can't get excited about the kind of stuff typical of Black Friday sales anyway. Big screen tv's, Wee's, blackberries or e book readers.... pffffttt! I wouldn't waste my money on them.

Now if someone was putting something really useful on sale at a drastic discount, say for example an All American canner, or maybe sacks of winter wheat, I might pitch a tent myself. But, somehow, I just don't think those kinds of things would draw much attention.

[cinok]

No thank you. The wife has wanted to go for years now but work always gets in the way. I hate crazy crowds although when I was younger I did most of my shopping on Christmas Eve the pressure made descions easy. I think if I was to try it now i would spend the holiday in jail for coming unglued at some idiot.

[leera]

My husband and I make it an annual tradition to drive by Best Buy at Midnight so we can laugh at all the crazy people waiting the long lines,then we take a special treat to my friend who runs a store at the mall and keep her company for a while.

I'm not much for shopping anyway,but I like to people watch.Last year at the mall there were over 200 women in line waiting for the Coach store to open.....crazy.

[crunchycon]

I agree with the "to each, his/her own" philosophy. The BF madness has led to the stores around here opening at 4:00 a.m., rather than the traditional 5-6 a.m. One of our family "traditions" (we're early risers) is to drink our day-after-Thanksgiving morning coffee and watch the inevitable local news feature stories about the folks standing out in the cold on Black Friday.

[BigOBear]

Plan to go here (http://www.homesteadheritage.com/index.html) for Black Friday. Don't reckon it'll have the nuts there. Well... just a different kind of nut ;) the kind I can handle being around.

Yall still going Cwatson?

[Pokeberry Mary]

I'd be surprised if many bwh'ers did black friday. ;)

I rarely go to a mall, so its not for me. Most years I've made our gifts, this year I think my kids could use some cash or clothing probably--so we'll see..

I always try to go shopping if I must when its least crowded.

That said--I know my mom in law and my brother in law--who has a brain injury- LOVE to do the early morning shopping events. I figure it makes him happy to look for deals. Makes me happy to have him happy.

Since I've worked at several retail places and my son in law is at Sears now--I wish them all the success they need to keep going this year. That sears job is keeping my grand-baby & her Mom cared for while daddy finishes school.

Maybe I will do a little more shopping--but no probably not on Thanksgiving or Friday. :)

[Wyobuckaroo]

AVOID ............. AVOID......... Black Friday like a disease.

Not even going to go NEAR town that day. This is a small town, but still avoiding it like death.

Have shopped Black Friday in years past. Like was said, when the kids were younger, and it was a "thrill of the hunt" to find a bargain. On these trips we were usually searching for electronic hardware of one kind or another. Only to find out the store only had, maybe 10 of the advertised items, and 8 of them were purchased by managers the night before. Didn't seem to matter the name of the store. Insert any store name you want, they all seemed to do the same stunt. That was when we gave up on trying to bargain hunt that day.

For those who still enjoy the "thrill of the hunt" Enjoy.

Staying home and wincing over the madness while watching news.
Wyo

[S2man]

I've long refused to leave the house on black Friday. But we gave it a try a few years ago; got in line at 4a.m. Great deals, like an $80 shaver for $20. But then my (ex)wife said, "I intended to spend $50 on our son". And I said "Its an $80 Norelco"! She went ahead and spent $30 more on him. I might go out to save myself some serious $ on a big ticket item, but not just so the kids can just get more stuff.

New wife hates shopping anytime. We do watch for deals online, though. No crowds, no lines.

[Brenda]

I will be staying home on BF!!!! There is no way that I will put myself out there with all the crazies. My family thinks I am nuts because there are alot of good barngins to be had. I think this holiday is so out of whack anymore!! At my house we will be putting Christ back into Christmas.

[kevin_hilderbran]

As owners of a retail store. We even believe all the Black Friday hype is just B.S.


We offer a good value every day. We sit back and just watch the nuttiness on that day


Kevin

[SKB]

Just wait till all the old stuff gets taken to the thrift shop so there's more room in the drawers and closets for all the new stuff. I've been finding great deals at the thrift shops lately. $2 for like new Gloria Vanderbilt leather sneakers. :)

[IowaFarmBoy]

My wife asked me on Monday if I would go shopping with her on BF. Neither of us has ever gone and I had never figured to be asked to go. But any way she asked and I blatantly told her absolutely not. She tried teh pity trip with me and I still refused. I refused for 2 days and then she came and said that she would buy me whatever I wanted. My response was that she would not keep her end of the bargain if I agreed. She said that she would shake on it ( her shaking is like trying to get a farmer to break his handshake with someone else), so I knew she was serious.

Now the hard part, my wife has been digging her heals in when I talk about buying preperation items. So I knew that I had to ask for something that would help with my preparation. So I looked at my list of prep items and chose the most expensive. So last night she got me a brand new WOOD BURNING COOKSTOVE.

Now here is the secret. I love my wife so much that I would have eventually given in and went wth her in the end, but I am also happy to get something out of it. My only job is to be the driver in Des Moines. So when we get to the mall (part of out deal also) I plan on only going to 2 stores they are Victoria's Secret :D and the gun department at Sheel's.

I better get ready cause I have to leave in 10 minutes.

Happy Thansgiving

[Laura]

I am on my way out the door too!!
Happy Hunting!!

[bee_pipes]

It would seem that staying home and avoiding retail establishments is not enough. My wife tried to check Amazon to see where an order was in the shipping process and the site was really slow.

I worked retail for a number of years and the blood-letting after Thanksgiving made for some pretty busy work days. This year it seems that many places were open on Thanksgiving, getting a jump on Friday's business. My condolences to the employees that had to be at work and could not be home with family.

Regards,
Pat

[jonvee]

The only thing I was doing at mid-night or 4 am for that matter, when many of our stores opened, was inspecting the inside of my eyelids.

They seem to be just fine:)

[DiggingDogFarm]

http://www.wivb.com/dpp/news/buffalo/Crazed-shoppers-pile-up-at-Target

Crazed shoppers pile up at Target.

This is the kind of stuff that makes America look like a nation of imbeciles.

[femmesteader]

America huh....

i don't remember this happening last year, but this year, all the big box stores have Black Friday sales....and we're in canada.

I can't decide whom is more greedy, the retail stores, or the shoppers.

Granted: my father (a bargain hunter) had instilled in me the desire to chase deals. but, as a smart man, he also taught me not to give in to a "great deal" if it's really not something I "need" in the first place.
(which in my opinion is how consumer debt happens)
We do go out together at 6am on Boxing day...but we have a specific item in mind that we're getting. our bargain huntings have always been purposeful, efficient and always included an item we've waited for.

I really don't care if a tv is being sold for 67% less than it normally would...I already have a TV.

[West_TX_Desert_Rat]

I remember a few years back about a WM employee who was crushed to death by crazed shoppers. I've found there are plenty of great deals online so I'll pass on this kind of madness.

This year there was a story about some folks who camped in front of a Best Buy for a week, the store OKed it. The shoppers said they had been beat out of pole position for a few year by one guy and they weren't going to let it happen this year.

[JoAnna]

I wonder if that will set a precedent, and next year there will be a tent city set up in front of that store?

I worked loss prevention in retail for a few years, and I'll be honest, I didn't like it one bit. Rude people, nasty behavior, personal insults. In their frenzy to get whatever item, they either don't understand or refuse to understand that any given store will only have X number of said items, and when they're gone, they're gone. Folks blame the employee for it, as if the employee somehow has control over what each store is allotted from their distribution center. I'd help out on the sales floor on BF, Christmas Eve, etc., and the gall of some people is unreal. Fortunately, I was in a position to escort a few people from the store when their frenzied behavior crossed the line.

[leera]

Took my friend her coffee to see her through a couple hours of her shift,did one lap around the mall(it's a nice 1 mile walk,great exercise)and people watched,I did get a couple of things,but not anything that I really didn't need anyway.

Coach store,crazy....a couple hundred women in line for that one,Toy R Us,again 40-50 people in line,there were a few others,but we did not go into any store that had long lines.
Went back by a few stores on the way to the car,the checkout lines were INSANE....lines so long that they were wrapping around the inside of the store....long lines of cars waiting to get in and park,police walking and driving all around....crazy,crazy,crazy....

The temp had dropped while we were there,and my car doors were mildly frozen shut with the rain changing over to snow.,I'd bet some people got a similar surprise when they got back to their cars as well.

[Laura]

I purchased a 160.00 winter coat, for 40.00. Columbia.
I purchased 3 shirts, that were regularly 25.00 each, for 6.00 each. Eddie Bauer.
My girls needed long sleeve shirts for the winter. Regular price 14.00. I bought them at 6.00 each.
I purchased 'pillow stuffing" regular 6.00 a bag, for 2.40 a bag.
Dh got thick winter Columbia socks, regular 12.00 for 2 pairs, for 5.00, for 2 pairs.

These were not 'greed' purchases, but they were smokin' good deals, and worth getting up early for.

This year, Toys R Us opened at 10PM Thanksgiving night.
Walmart started their BF Sales on everything EXCEPT electronics, at midnight.
Kohls opened at 3AM, Target Kmart Macys and a few others at 4AM.
By the time we got to Kohls (first stop) at 5:45 AM, there was plenty of what I was wanting to buy left......I was second in line......and in and out in 30 min. The crowd, at that time, was no more than a Saturday afternoon. And every store we went too after that.....same story.

I asked the lady at Kohl's if it was a 'blitz' at 3 am.
She said it was like nothing she had ever seen. Line around the building....
When I got there at 5:45, they had re-stocked everything, so it was like I was one of the first one's in.

If you carefully survey the ads, plan your attack, and time it right, you can pick up on some SMOKIN' good deals, and not hang w the crazies.

Knowing what you are buying, buying things you need, and knowing what they are priced at on any other given day, you can make good purchases, with minimal insanity.

[Bones]

At the local Lowes store the better half is in charge of counting the money. Black Friday this year was better than last. sells of $170K last year was $152K. Now $115K was all in Credit Card debt. The rest was cash or check/debit.

[SKB]

[QUOTE=Bones;250332]At the local Lowes store the better half is in charge of counting the money. Black Friday this year was better than last. sells of $170K last year was $152K. Now $115K was all in Credit Card debt. The rest was cash or check/debit.[/QUOTE

Home Depot rewards cashiers for getting customers to sign up for a credit card. Clark Howard and Dave Ramsey can talk till they're blue in the face. People love their plastic and I know one person who is very proud that she has a $10,000 credit limit on one of her cards. I'd rather have $10,000 worth of supplies stockpiled.

[jonvee]

In my younger days I would take advantage of those credit card offers just to get the extra discount. Then when the card came I would cut it up and never activate it. One time I got a call that I didn't activate my card, when the lady found out I had distroyed it she was stunned - asked me if they should send another. I told her no I didn't want the card just the extra 20%.

Credit card companies don't like people with self control.

And - never say never. I did venture out on BF even though I said I wouldn't. Sis called to remind me it was the end of month 50% off sale at Salvation Army, so we bundled up and headed out. I got an arrangement for my mantel (new), an antique crock, some glasses to replace broken ones and a brand new never been worn Coldwater Creek sweater. It had a small snag on the sleeve, but I took it home and with my handy little sewing pin pulled it through to the underneath side. Can't even tell:)

A good shopping trip and I only spent $11

Since we were already out we swung by the mall to get a sweater I had been eyeing for my mom. Lucky me they had marked it down again. So the $148 sweater (which I would have never paid) was now $19.95. NOT BAD:) Sis bought us a drink and we sat and listened to the pianist for a few minutes before heading home to grilled turkey and cheese sandwiches and a warm fire.

All in all not a bad afternoon.

[Deep South]

I wonder if that will set a precedent, and next year there will be a tent city set up in front of that store?

I worked loss prevention in retail for a few years, and I'll be honest, I didn't like it one bit. Rude people, nasty behavior, personal insults. In their frenzy to get whatever item, they either don't understand or refuse to understand that any given store will only have X number of said items, and when they're gone, they're gone. Folks blame the employee for it, as if the employee somehow has control over what each store is allotted from their distribution center. I'd help out on the sales floor on BF, Christmas Eve, etc., and the gall of some people is unreal. Fortunately, I was in a position to escort a few people from the store when their frenzied behavior crossed the line.

Oh, yeah. I remember all that from my retail employment days. The customer wants to know if you are really REALLY sure you are out of said item - and wants you to check the stock room, call a manager, call the other store location to see if there is one. No! I've already checked for the last three people who wanted that out of stock item. I KNOW we don't have anymore. Geez! :wacko:

On BF this year I was not working retail and haven't in a couple of years. On BF I went horseback riding and didn't go into any stores at all.

[JoAnna]

It's a hard line to walk, when you've checked the topstock and warehouse for an item. When you received the freight in yourself and know you only got X number because you saw them yourself, and know they have been sold. On hands show zero. Nope, not here, can't make one magically appear nor defecate one out for you, and I'm not walking the warehouse in vain every ten minutes when someone wants me to 'check again'. No elves in the back room, no toy shop, no new deliveries.

Oh, but you can't actually say all those things, can you?

I really admire people who work retail all the time and can tolerate the rude and insulting customer. I never minded the actual work my job involved. To me, it was an easy job that paid halfway decent and had decent hours. But out on the sales floor, it was another world. I really commend those with more tolerance for idiocy than I ever had. But I did take delight in busting theives. Dope heads with pockets full of livestock needles (if you're shooting up with 16 guage needles, you're past the point of no return IMO) or trying to throw a welding outfit over the side yard fence. That part of the job I especially enjoyed, I admit.

[Deep South]

"...defecate one out for you..."

:lol:

O.K., that phrase wins you a retail story.

So, one day I rang up a rather picky customer's merchandise, placed it in the store plastic bag and handed it to her with thanks for her visit to the store. Customer didn't want that bag - she said it had a wrinkle in it. [Now keep in mind this is not a gift bag - it is just a bag you use to carry your merchandise out of the store.] So, I obliged her and pulled another plastic bag out of the box from which they were contained and had been delivered. She said, "This bag has a wrinkle too!" [Awww shit.:rolleyes2:] So, I looked into the box at all the plastic bags. They all had a small wrinkle because of the way they were folded into the box. I told the customer this. She wanted me to go to another register to see if I could find a bag without a wrinkle! [There were a few customers waiting to pay for their merchandise and to get my assistance.] "Ma'am, what is your deal with the bag? Are you giving the merchandise as a gift and maybe would like to purchase a GIFT BAG from the customer service department?" Customer answered, "No, I just want to walk out of here with a straight bag." [That is exactly what she said.] I told her "well, ma'am, all the bags at my register appear to have that same small wrinkle, and I must stay in my area to help those customers behind you. Thank you for your purchase, and I hope you have a good night." [You are dismissed, basically.] The woman gave up and walked out with the bag I gave her. [Darn right!]