Brad

Time for another fun contest We've got a $50 Amazon Gift Card to give away along with 15 Black Friday T-Shirts. To be entered to win, reply to this thread with a link to something on Amazon that you think would make a unique gift idea and post a sentence or two about what it is and what kind of person you think it would appeal to. If you need ideas, Amazon released their Holiday Gift Guides and Holiday Toy List this morning. They also started their Epic Daily Deals pre-Black Friday sale. The contest will run through Tuesday, October 13th at 11pm ET. At that point I'll randomly pick someone to win the $50 gift card and 15 more people to win Black Friday t-shirts. As always, if you've already won a t-shirt you can't win another, but you can try for the $50 gift card. IMPORTANT! You can post & enter the contest once per day for up to 10 total entries. However to make things easier when picking winners, please do not post entries in the thread more than once per day. You can add additional items to your original post for that day if you'd like to post additional gift ideas. For more info on this year's shirts and to order them if you wish, see this thread. Good luck to everyone! Disclaimer: Amazon is not a sponsor of this contest.

The 15 winners are: rianistar AuntieJul giz bossy1 Elmck Bopeep jewleyp colemandawn4905 BFAddict716 ilikefree tyreejames mgreen jstluvem smurfgirl jesusluvu Congrats and check your PMs for a message to claim your prize. Look for the next t-shirt contest soon

Once again on these gift guides you can filter the items that are currently on sale or have a coupon discount if you just want to see the deals in each guide. Main page: https://www.amazon.com/gcx/Gifts-for-Everyone/gfhz/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&language=en_US&linkCode=sl2&linkId=e68adcab62e6aa6a3dcfc0c20c128f0a&tag=81279 Holiday toy list: https://www.amazon.com/gcx/Holiday-Toy-List/gfhz/events/ref=cg_HOL21GFG_2b1_w?categoryId=holiday-toy-list&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=desktop-top-slot-2&pf_rd_r=3EY8XRDY7YJSZ5WRC4ZG&pf_rd_t=0&pf_rd_p=03c67a47-da78-4194-98cf-ea261e186f03&pf_rd_i=gf-landing Home gift guide: https://www.amazon.com/gcx/-/gfhz/events/ref=cg_HOL21GFG_1a1_w?categoryId=hgg-hol-hub&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=desktop-top-slot-2&pf_rd_r=3EY8XRDY7YJSZ5WRC4ZG&pf_rd_t=0&pf_rd_p=03c67a47-da78-4194-98cf-ea261e186f03&pf_rd_i=gf-landing Electronics gift guide: https://www.amazon.com/gcx/Holiday-Electronics-Gift-Guide/gfhz/events/ref=cg_HOL21GFG_2a1_w?canBeGiftWrapped=false&categoryId=egghol21-hub&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=desktop-top-slot-2&pf_rd_r=3EY8XRDY7YJSZ5WRC4ZG&pf_rd_t=0&pf_rd_p=03c67a47-da78-4194-98cf-ea261e186f03&pf_rd_i=gf-landing Fashion gift guide: https://www.amazon.com/b/ref=cg_HOL21GFG_1b1_w?node=20209830011&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=desktop-top-slot-2&pf_rd_r=3EY8XRDY7YJSZ5WRC4ZG&pf_rd_t=0&pf_rd_p=03c67a47-da78-4194-98cf-ea261e186f03&pf_rd_i=gf-landing Beauty gift guide: https://www.amazon.com/gcx/Holiday-Beauty-Gift-Guide/gfhz/events/ref=cg_HOL21GFG_3a1_w?categoryId=HBGG21-Hub&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=desktop-top-slot-2&pf_rd_r=3EY8XRDY7YJSZ5WRC4ZG&pf_rd_t=0&pf_rd_p=03c67a47-da78-4194-98cf-ea261e186f03&pf_rd_i=gf-landing Sports & outdoors: https://www.amazon.com/gcx/Holiday-Fitness/gfhz/events/ref=cg_HOL21GFG_3d1_w?categoryId=HOL-20-SO-Fitnatic&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=desktop-top-slot-2&pf_rd_r=3EY8XRDY7YJSZ5WRC4ZG&pf_rd_t=0&pf_rd_p=03c67a47-da78-4194-98cf-ea261e186f03&pf_rd_i=gf-landing Stocking stuffers: https://www.amazon.com/b/ref=cg_HOL21GFG_3c1_w?node=21412370011&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=desktop-top-slot-2&pf_rd_r=3EY8XRDY7YJSZ5WRC4ZG&pf_rd_t=0&pf_rd_p=03c67a47-da78-4194-98cf-ea261e186f03&pf_rd_i=gf-landing

I saved the physical ads going back at least 15 years and have picked up a couple older ones when they've popped up on ebay. It's been on the to-do list to re-scan them for years now. I even bought a fancy large format scanner to handle the larger sized ads. It's just that a job like that will take a long time with so many ads per year with so many pages each, and then making sure each page is cropped, numbered and labeled correctly.

Thanks to everyone who ordered shirts so far. Just a heads up that the first mass email to the BF mailing list will likely go out at the beginning of next week which will bring a bunch of people back to the site so if you want to guarantee a specific size before those people come back, you might want to place an order over the weekend. Same with the first shirt contest going on - that will be the only contest that takes place before we start getting people coming back and your odds of winning decrease, so enter that one if you haven’t already.

Also posted their Holiday Guide catalog on the site: https://blackfriday.gottadeal.com/Catalogs/SamsClubHoliday

Oct. 8 to Oct. 17: Fall Online Savings Oct. 27 to Nov. 24: November Instant Savings Nov. 6 to Nov. 8: November Savings Weekend; shortened from 9 days last year to 3 days Nov. 25 to Nov. 28: 4 Days of Thanks-Savings; shortened from 10 days last year to 4 days Nov. 29 to Nov. 30: Cyber Savings Event; extended from 1 day last year to 2 days Dec. 1 to Dec. 31: December Instant Savings Dec. 4 to Dec. 6: December Savings Weekend; shortened from 9 days last year to 3 days So basically they went back to their normal pre-Covid sale lengths after expanding their bigger sales last year over many more days. Weekend sales are back instead of 9-10 day sales last year and the BF sale starts on Thanksgiving Day instead of a week before BF. Last year they had a single book with all their November sales in it which came out October 20th, so it'll be interesting to see if they do that again or if they go back to separate ads which means likely a longer wait to see their BF ad.

Here's the full policy: https://help.target.com/help/targetguesthelparticledetail?articleId=ka95d000000LAJgAAO&articleTitle=What+is+Target%27s+price+match+policy%3F&clickSearchVar=Search+Results&searchQuery=price+match+policy

True. It’s great for Target sales though. They could release their BF ad in the middle of the night and you could immediately either order stuff from it online or go to the store the next day and then get an adjustment once the BF sale actually starts. And then for places like Walmart, you’d just have to count back 14 days from when the sale starts (assuming we get that much advance notice this year) and then buy from Target on that day. Of course they could be doing this because they don’t expect many hot deals this year or are going to have deals on SKUs that other retailers don’t have and thus can’t be price matched,

Press release: https://corporate.walmart.com/newsroom/2021/09/29/walmart-reveals-the-2021-holiday-seasons-most-wanted-toys-with-8th-annual-top-rated-by-kids-toy-list Shop the list on Walmart.com: https://www.walmart.com/browse/toys/all-top-rated-by-kids/4171_6352450_9997333?

Press release: https://corporate.target.com//article/2021/09/holiday-savings Target Deal Days is back Oct. 10-12 Yes, really. For those ready to start their holiday shopping early, we’re bringing back our guest-favorite Target Deal Days event. For three glorious days, discover the entire lineup of amazing deals at Target.com, on the Target app and — for the first time — at all Target stores. We’re talking thousands of deals across our entire assortment, from TVs and video games to kitchen appliances and vacuums, festive outfits for the family and delicious food and drinks for your table. Pick up everything you need to make your season extra bright. Our biggest, shiniest Price Match moment yet We’re also unveiling a new, industry-leading Holiday Price Match Guarantee, designed to help you get the best value no matter when you choose to shop. It kicks off earlier than ever on Oct. 10 and runs all the way through Dec. 24. New this year, you can request a price adjustment on all items purchased at Target (with a few exceptions) if we lower the price later in the season. Plus, as part of our ongoing policy, we’ll keep matching select competitors’ pricing within 14 days of purchase.

Tangentially related to BF as some of these may be on sale during Black Friday/Cyber Monday sales. Some articles: Echo Show 15: https://www.theverge.com/2021/9/28/22693503/amazon-echo-show-15-smart-display-wall-price-specs-features Astro Home Robot: https://www.theverge.com/2021/9/28/22697244/amazon-astro-home-robot-hands-on-features-price Glow Kid-Focused Video Calling Device: https://www.theverge.com/2021/9/28/22695707/amazon-glow-video-chat-kids-games-price-features-release-date Halo View Fitness Wearable: https://www.theverge.com/2021/9/28/22692305/amazon-halo-view-fitness-tracker-nutrition-membership-screen Smart Thermostat: https://www.theverge.com/2021/9/28/22692248/amazon-smart-thermostat-price-ambient-computer-alexa-preorder Hey Disney Voice Assistant: https://www.theverge.com/2021/9/28/22692064/amazon-hey-disney-echo-custom-voice-assistant-resort-locations

When are you planning on decorating this year? What about fall/Halloween?

Sent everyone a PM requesting your address. The first message I sent was accidentally a "group" PM which wasn't good because it would PM everyone in the club every time someone replied with their address lol. So reply to the second PM with "USE THIS ONE" in the title and assuming you post next month your prize will be shipped in the coming weeks.

Time for the first contest of the year and it's one of the classics! To be entered, reply to this thread with a Black Friday themed haiku. For those unfamiliar, a haiku is a 3-line poem with the first, second and third lines having 5, 7 and 5 syllables respectively. It does not have to rhyme, but should create some kind of imagery in the reader's head, so be creative! An example Black Friday haiku would be: people skipping lines (5 syllables) crashing carts into others (7 syllables) glad i stay at home (5 syllables) You can include more than one haiku in your post but it will not increase your odds. Also please do not post multiple times in the thread - keep all your haikus in one post. Also don't just re-use your (or someone else's) haiku from past years - come up with new ones! Contest will be open until 11pm ET on Sunday, October 3rd. I will then randomly choose 15 members who entered and you'll win a brand new 2021 Black Friday t-shirt! Limit of one t-shirt prize per member but if you win you are still welcome to enter future contests for fun. For more info on this year's shirts and to order them if you wish, see this thread. Good luck to everyone!

The shirt ordering period is now over. I'll continue to use this thread to post status updates for shipping.

Affirm is becoming very big. Amazon just did a deal with them a few weeks ago for purchases over $50,

Yeah when the big stores announced early this year that they were going to close on Thanksgiving, I naively thought we'd get an "old school" Black Friday with single big sales starting early Friday morning. But unfortunately it's looking like a repeat of last year with stores spreading out the deals (that's assuming there will be any deals with costs rising and stock dwindling). As for the contests, I'm waiting to have the shirts finalized before starting those. We'll probably do fewer contests with more winners each time because we want to make sure all the contests are done early in case there are any shipping issues as we get into November. I want to make sure the shirts arrive in time. I'll probably do a limited window where you can buy a shirt if you want as well.

Thanks for your replies. They were very helpful (and may be very helpful with a future shirt idea as well). In the meantime, see this thread about shirt colors: http://forums.gottadeal.com/topic/340962-preferred-shirt-color/

Assuming the design is simple, single color with dark ink, what color would you want the shirts to be? They'd have to be a lighter color (no black/navy/dark grey). So we could do white (anyone remember if we ever did white BF shirts?), light grey or some lighter color? Obviously we'd want these to appeal to the most people so keep that in mind.

Working on a possible BF shirt design. When you think of Black Friday, what words come to mind? (examples: deals, ads, etc.)

https://www.amazon.com/gcx/Toys-we-love/gfhz/events/?categoryId=toys-we-love

Original Tony thread: http://forums.gottadeal.com/topic/75598-stuffed-tony-the-tiger-wants-to-see-the-world-be-his-photojournalisthost/

DISCUSS BLACK FRIDAY & WIN AN XBOX SERIES X! Here's how it works: Through Monday, December 6th (at 11:59:59pm EST), you'll earn one entry into the contest every time you post in one of the Black Friday forums including this main Black Friday Discussion subforum and the Sale & Ad Discussion subforum. As usual we're not going to require your posts to be a certain length to qualify or anything like that - we just want a lot of great discussion. We know there are times when a one-word reply is fine. All posts in all threads in these forums will count, including other contest threads. Posts in the Prize Club threads will not count however. Be aware that it's pretty obvious if someone is attempting to "game the system" by posting repeatedly to get more entries. If that happens, we will give you ONE warning via PM. If we see the behavior continuing, you will be disqualified from winning a prize. This includes posting multiple times in a row in a single thread when one post would be enough, replying to many threads with nothing but "thanks!", etc... as I said, it'll be obvious if anyone does this, so don't do it. There is plenty to discuss without having to cheat to earn additional entries. So create interesting threads, reply to other members' questions, give your opinions on everything that is being discussed. This is a discussion board - let's have some interesting discussion here! On Tuesday, December 7th we will randomly select one lucky winner from all eligible entries and you will win a brand new Xbox Series X video game console (MSRP $499.99). Prize must be claimed by replying to the winner notification PM here on the forum by January 31, 2022 or prize will be forfeited. And as a benefit to those who were here early this year, all the posts in the forums up until now aside from the prize club thread(s) will also count towards this contest. If you have any questions, feel free to PM me and I'll be happy to answer them. Disclaimer: this contest is not sponsored by or affiliated in any way with Microsoft.

I've opened the various subforums here to unofficially start our coverage of the Black Friday "season" There's still some uncertainty as to how the sales will take place this year so we're going to keep things the same as last year with the "Sale & Ad Discussion" forum having threads not only for the BF ads but also for many of the additional sales and catalogs that get posted on the Black Friday site, whether they take place on Black Friday or not.