Remember when stores used to offer incentives for being at the store early? [Archive]

bluesrule9

10-11-2006, 9:44 PM

shopping mom

10-11-2006, 9:48 PM

I haven't but it sounds good

pottsie66

10-11-2006, 10:18 PM

I remember not all that long ago that a number of stores offered some type of incentive for being at the store early. Usually a bag with samples and coupons or a stuffed toy etc.

I wonder why that stopped.....I haven't seen it for probably 3 years or so.

Also wondering if it was just a local thing...has anyone else gotten these types of incentives over the last few years?

I believe a few stores offered a few things last year, but IMHO they weren't worth racing out to those stores to stand in line. I stuck with the stores that offered the most bang for the buck!:)

gjedda03

10-11-2006, 10:37 PM

..Yeah i remember alot of stores doing this in the past...i think one year a store gave out a tin of cookies. But i havent really seen any stores do this in a few years....except JC Penney's with their snow globe. Wish they would start doing it again...made the day even more fun then it already is!

peachysquirt21

10-11-2006, 10:40 PM

I remember those years. Now it is just a few places that offer anything. I dont even bother with the ones that do cause there is nothing I want. I wish JC Penny's would stop with the dang snow globes & offer something else. Is getting old every year offering those.

RossMAN

10-11-2006, 11:10 PM

They still do but it's pretty rare.

Some offer donuts and coffee and others such as Sears offer a Free $10 GC to the first people in line.

jellybean051901

10-12-2006, 3:28 AM

They should offer a substantial gift card to the first 20 or so people in lin. Something at least $50 would be nice. Add to the incentive to be out there for hours in the freezing cold.:D Although, last year I would have been happy with free hand warmers:cheesy:

peachysquirt21

10-12-2006, 6:09 AM

rogue1230

10-12-2006, 6:56 AM

It's not really an incentive, but last year the Walmart manager came out and gave us coofee/hot coco and donuts. He said hello to us ( like the 1st dozen in line) and really approached us all and told us he really appreciated us coming out and waiting to shop at his store. He promised to keep it organized and that he had spoken with the local law enforcement ( to prevent the stampedes) to make sure that those of us who had been freezing and waiting were treated fairly. it wasnt an incentive, but ya know, it hit a cord, and I am going back there this year, gift card or not, simply because he took the time.

mom395222

10-12-2006, 7:06 AM

Well, one of the 1st BF's my sister and I went out on, we went to Ames (used to be Hills) and neither is around anymore, anyways, the 1st 100 people through the door that morning got a scratch off ticket...it was good for 10% all the way to 50% off your total.....there was only 1 50% off one per store, and my sister got it....I got a 20% off one...now that was NICE!

Illinoismom

10-12-2006, 7:17 AM

One year at Shopko we got stockings with that when you pressed a button they played music, they were Santa, a snowman and a reindeer, I hang them next to my carasel every year

peachysquirt21

10-12-2006, 7:35 AM

One year at Shopko we got stockings with that when you pressed a button they played music, they were Santa, a snowman and a reindeer, I hang them next to my carasel every year

I loved goin to Shopko every year for the free gift. :)

I remember years ago it would be like this every BF people waiting in line for the store to open, get the free gift & move on to the next store to try & get what they was giving out free. LOL I use to do this alot. :D

krstee

10-12-2006, 9:38 AM

Three years ago, before Kmart had been bought out by Sears, they had a similar gift card deal for the first 50 people in line. The amounts on the g/c were anywhere between $1 to $100. My sister and I went, and when we checked out, I joked to the others in line that "Yeah, I have the $100 g/c" - they all laughed, but when the cashier scanned it, I DID have it! No joke! I was more shocked than anyone else in line! Luckily, I was able to do some shopping later (after BF) with the rest on the card.

bayhaysay

10-12-2006, 9:50 AM

The only stores around here that offer a free early bird gift are Sears ($10 GC) and JCPenny (snowglobe) and IMO neither of those are worth missing our on better deals at other stores.

druffing

10-12-2006, 9:52 AM

Yes, I have to get those danged snowglobes every year as I am a Disney nut...and I hate having to go to JCP as there is not much I would need there at that time...

Mostly I need electronics, toys, house things...

druffing

sns128

10-12-2006, 10:35 AM

I'm pretty lucky in that I live in a really small town with an equally small JCPenney. I normally hit Wal-Mart then go over to JCPenney (they are right next to each other) and pick up the snowglobe, last year I ended up with five snowglobes, between me, DH, my niece, and my mom.

I don't think the JCPenney here has ever run out of snowglobes, there just isn't enough people who go pick them up. You can go pretty much anytime that day and get one.

peachysquirt21

10-12-2006, 11:22 AM

The only stores around here that offer a free early bird gift are Sears ($10 GC) and JCPenny (snowglobe) and IMO neither of those are worth missing our on better deals at other stores.

I hear ya on that.

BTW I soooooooo love your avatar. It's always a pleasure seeing your posts. teehee

cherry33778

10-12-2006, 11:25 AM

I remember one year Target gave away a Hot Wheels car and a scratch off for a chance to win a bigger prize, but of course this was a decade ago :)

ms_mckenna

10-12-2006, 11:42 AM

Last year they had the sears 10 and then goodies did one too. Then later at JC Penny the snowglobe. I think we ended up doing all three last year. DD was soo worried she would not get a snowglobe and lit up like a Christmas tree when she saw the huge pile of them.

Kay1996

10-12-2006, 1:50 PM

I used to be a mangager at Big Lots and we used to give away stuff on BF. Nothing good mind you but..... One year it was a stuffed Big Lots Guy and the next year was really cheap camera's. Let's put it this way, people left them in the carts cause they didn't want them. We also always had coffee and donuts for the customers.

copados1993

10-12-2006, 2:08 PM

My husband is in the military and if I remember corectly, at our PX they offer free gift cards for the first customers. This is the first year that I may go there.

hoopysgirl

10-12-2006, 2:23 PM

I go to Sears for their $10 gc - But, I live in a small town, we only have Shopko, Wal-Mart and a locally owned Sears, so only the first 25 people get the gcs. Our Shopko hasn't given away anything for a couple of years, I think the last I remember is the ornaments.

mum2luke

10-12-2006, 3:21 PM

I remember those days as well. Target gave away samples in a really cute snowman bag for the first 100 customers and for the first 10 I think they got a gift card. I've gotten the Sears gift card a couple times. They let us stand inside. The thing that irked me though was Sears was letting people in before the acutal opening for those that didn't care about the gift card. So if you had a partner they went in got the good stuff and you still got to stand in line for the gc. Grrrr I do bf shopping on my own.

guadarrama

10-12-2006, 3:30 PM

"They should offer a substantial gift card to the first 20 or so people in lin. Something at least $50 would be nice. Add to the incentive to be out there for hours in the freezing cold.Although, last year I would have been happy with free hand warmers"

I used to work for stein mart a couple of years ago and they gave out gc up to about $100 i think it was. couldn't get any cause i was employee. but might go if they do it again this year. They handed them out in envelopes, in each envelop was a gc or coupons.

Bestbuy7

10-12-2006, 7:14 PM

There is alot of stores that do this. Sears and Macys[or was it Kohls] did it last year.

bayhaysay

10-12-2006, 7:17 PM

BTW I soooooooo love your avatar. It's always a pleasure seeing your posts. teehee

Thanks, here's another post just for you. :D

MusicMama

10-12-2006, 7:20 PM

One of the first years that our Target was open - and the year the "Pokemon Yellow" was released, they had a scratch-off. My daughter and my nephew both ended up with Pokemon back-packs.:D

Wish they still did that - actually, really wish that stores appreciated you coming out and shopping there. But that attitude doesn't seem to exist anymore. Now it's more like "why are you bothering me, I'd rather stand at my register with nothing to do".:no:

jennirv4967

10-12-2006, 7:38 PM

Target was good on giving away things to the first people in. The year of the great Furby fiasco, MontgomeryWard gave away donuts and coffee...which was great.

sigrist_2000

10-12-2006, 8:10 PM

Meijer used to give out grab bags...just odds and ends..but some stuff was pretty good gift giving...we used to keep going around the corner and kept getting them...lol...

I remember the Hotwheel thing at Target....my thats been long ago..i wonder if i still have that car....or maybe i didnt go there at that time...that was in columbus we didnt shop much there then...now i shop almost everyday everywhere.

I hope stores bring this back...i know its a money issue..but just think of the odds and ends they can give out just to clear room for new stuff so they can make profit off it to cover the costs...makes sense...lol

peachysquirt21

10-12-2006, 9:21 PM

Thanks, here's another post just for you. :D

:clapping: Thanks

jellybean051901

10-13-2006, 3:50 AM

Oooo a $50 gift card would be so tempted. However I dont know if I could be out in the cold that long. :gdlol:

I figure I am out in the cold that long anyways it would just be an added bonus

jellybean051901

10-13-2006, 3:55 AM

NOt that it was a giveaway or anything but last year at our WM, the manager came out with a store layout and walked up and down the line letting people know where certain items were. That was kind of nice. Then there was a local restaurant that was passing out coffee to the peopl in line.

able

10-13-2006, 9:30 AM

some place(maybe best buy)gave some sample dvd or dvd cleaner a couple years back.

blakes_mommy

10-13-2006, 12:13 PM

Years ago when Kmart here was still open, they gave out elmo cookie tins filled with cookies and they had hot choc and donuts too... I was about 13 and it was my 1st BF and I thought man where have I been!

allen6192

10-13-2006, 3:07 PM

I remember the BB goodie bags with the stuffed animal. That was the year I took my son and 2 of his friends for the first time. I think they were 13. It made their day to get the freebie. Back then I went to the store that had the best give aways. Now it is best $$ on the items I need.

elena_398

10-13-2006, 3:08 PM

I never really went to stores w/ freebies. I bypassed Sears when they gave away the GCs. Too dangerous. LOL

phrogxix

10-15-2006, 7:13 PM

I was just commenting on this in another thread....

They stopped doing it! I remember they used to give out stuffed animals, cookie tins, all sorts of stuff. Now, nobody does it. It stinks.

Free cini-minis one year for showing up at Toys R Us early was nice.

kelash265

10-15-2006, 8:42 PM

Last year Bon-Ton gave out $10 coupons, but the catch was you couldn't use it on anything that was on sale! Of course they didn't tell you that until the doors opened and you read the fine print. What a waste of time!

peachysquirt21

10-15-2006, 9:43 PM

J_Man

10-15-2006, 10:17 PM

Yeah I remember the cini-minis at Toys R Us. Several stores around my area used to give out lots of stuff. I'd end up hitting several stores with my wife and we'd get a free breakfast by 10:00am with all the coupons, plus have extra stuff from the freebies. Now there's a few store that still give coupons, but it's usually a certain amount off of buying coffee of something like that. Last year Chick-Fil-A was going up and down the line at Best Buy selling sausage egg and chees sandwiches and coffee.

AshJs3

10-15-2006, 11:59 PM

I remember getting all kinds of random stuff when I was little. Montgomery Ward was always giving out something. I remember one year they had Rudolph books and Rudolph dolls on special or something. I still have the books somewhere and I loved that Rudolph doll.

semperwife

10-16-2006, 12:06 AM

The Best Buy out here in California does. They give out so many tickets for the advertised items. If you get there after they are out of tickets you are S-O-L for those items.

Didn't know that one year and waited and waited for 3 hours only to be laughed at when I asked for the portable DVD player that was on sale.

kboyts

10-16-2006, 8:04 AM

My local sears is the only one that has any kind of bonus here that I know of. And its just that $10 gift card to like the first 25 people or so. Definetly not worth missing a door buster item elsewhere to get.

jordansmom1003

10-16-2006, 11:58 AM

I remember not all that long ago that a number of stores offered some type of incentive for being at the store early. Usually a bag with samples and coupons or a stuffed toy etc.

I wonder why that stopped.....I haven't seen it for probably 3 years or so.

Also wondering if it was just a local thing...has anyone else gotten these types of incentives over the last few years?

JC pennys snowglobe also had a discount on it. Last year Sears gave out giftcards. I think it might depend on the area though.

rgroves

10-17-2006, 7:53 AM

CompUSA does their 6 hour sale the evening before Black Friday. If you're one of the lucky ones in the front of the line you're able to get a voucher for one of the many items on the sale ad. Those further back do not get them.

It helps with the stampede and if yu're not wanting one of the "big items" someone else further back may have a chance at it.

I really like that approach to the BF sales. Rather than have 10,000 people storm the store and cause a riot, and others stealing the itmes from you, it is really calm. I just wish they would do something about the checkout lines and make them go faster.

CrayZMama80

10-17-2006, 10:40 AM

I only remember the one year WM giving out coffee and doughnuts. But, you had to go to the deli area to get them. Target used to hand out bags with coupons and basically a bunch of junk. Never made it to Sears or JCP to get anything from them. So I'm unsure if they do anything in our area. I only go there later to check on tools for hubby. No one does anything anymore in our area..guess it's just as well too. People are nuts enough here, I don't think we need freebies to set them off more. :cheesy:

syberselections

10-17-2006, 10:58 AM

Kmart gave gift cards to the first 25 people in the door that ranged from $5 to $100. After picking out a $5 game, we found out that I had a $50 card. :eyepoppin

caramel

10-17-2006, 12:11 PM

The one time I remember going early to get a deal was for Foley's and they were giving out $20 GC. So my entire family went together to get them. It was actually kind of fun.

happyrat

10-17-2006, 11:09 PM

The Foley's around here only gave out $10 cards, with more restrictions than items you could use it on, just like their coupons. Since they are now Macy's, not sure what they will do this year.

jellybean051901

10-18-2006, 12:44 AM

Since WM is usually the place that I hit first I wish they would do something.

peachysquirt21

10-18-2006, 1:36 AM

Walmart has never given out anything that I can recall. I remember Target use to have juice, coffee & some kind of pastry on BF. Now they dont have that.

suzifli

10-18-2006, 9:52 AM

Kmart used to give something every year, I quit going there the year I saw to people come to blows over a chance to get a cookie tin.

tdanette

10-18-2006, 12:06 PM

I've never been to a BF store that passed out free goodies :no: I guess the stores in my area are too cheap to even spring for a donut or coffee.

mccabefamily29

10-23-2006, 2:01 PM

Ahhh the good old days :)

ObiWan

10-25-2006, 7:32 AM

I remember a few years ago when Kohl's gave out $15gc's for 3 weekends right before BF...and they were stackable...well you get the picture :D

PeachieKeen

10-25-2006, 8:48 AM

I don't recall the stores around here having given away anything in several years.

love2beurwifey

10-25-2006, 8:55 AM

I Hope They Have Some Stuff This Year To Give Away I Think Big Lots Was Like That

sleepyshopper

10-25-2006, 8:55 AM

Our local Walmart does a drawing every hour starting at Midnight until 5:00 to win different things......A toy, a small appliance, etc... All the way up to a $100.00 gift card...the catch....you have to be present to win and to enter you get 1 entry for every $50.00 you spend during 12:00am-4:30am that day.