ShoppingBunny

The shine has been off the TRU apple for me since last year's Christmas shopping season. Although my TRU BF experience was actually quite good last year - my store was very organized with helpful staff directing shopper traffic and herding us fairly into proper check-out lines which moved relatively swiftly - it was a pricing error and their initial unwillingness to rectify it that ruined TRU for me. My husband purchased a Star Wars Force FX Yoda Lightsaber at TRU for our son that was advertised for $89 (reg $129). After Christmas, we were going over the receipts and discovered that the lightsaber rang up full price. (Husband has very little opportunity to Christmas shop and tends to have to 'powershop' Christmas Eve afternoon, so he did not notice the discrepancy when it happened.) So, on New Year's Day, we went to TRU for a price adjustment. Turns out, the licensing for the SW lightsabers was changing, and TRU was clearing out the old stock before bringing out the new. However, while their signage indicated the sale price and the item description (yet no item numbers), the shelves had been stocked with a mix of the old AND the new lightsabers. Of course, packaging was identical, so, when my husband fished around for a box in the best condition, he happened to pull out one of the new lightsabers that weren't suppose to be out on the shelves yet. The only way to tell there was a difference was by which price came up at the registers. Besides that, a customer would have no way of knowing about the switch in licensing nor the reason why the item was on sale. Does it matter, really? Nevertheless, the fact that new stock was present on the shelf too early really wasn't our concern. TRU advertised the item for $89, and we expected them to honor it. When the clerk at the "courtesy" desk explained the circumstances of why the item rang up at $129, we were understanding: Sure, the new stock was brought out in error. She apparently assumed the explanation would satisfy us and refused to refund the $40 difference. I explained, calmly and politely, that while we understand that mistakes happen, it was not our error, and that we still expect that the advertised price be honored. Unintentional though it may have been, it still resembled a sort of bait-and-switch. (At this point in time, the sale, of course, was over and the old stock had been removed, so we couldn't simply swap lightsabers, silly though it was since the merchandise was identical.) She decided that we were unreasonable and refused to continue to serve us, calling up her manager. After reliving the whole situation over again and a few more minutes of verbal 'arm-twisting' with the manager, she ultimately refunded us the difference, more to get rid of us than anything else, I'm sure. We never raised our voices or lost our tempers, but I think the first clerk may have expected us to - and probably spent the previous week dealing with less reasonable customer returns - and didn't know how to cope with us when we insisted that they honor the sale price regardless which specific lightsaber was purchased. We weren't leaving until they did! Despite my relative calmness, I was ticked off enough not to step foot into TRU again until 10 months later - and with great hesitation - to check on an item's price and availability. (I wasn't sad when they didn't have it.) I couldn't believe their resistance to honoring their own advertisement. While they begrudgingly gave up $40 bucks, they've really lost hundreds in any future business we would bring them. Add that to the hundreds lost from other customers they've successfully ticked off, and they'll find their bottom line greatly affected. If you're still with me, thanks for reading my tale of woe. Clearly, after nearly a year, I still needed to vent about this! LOL

Drove by my Best Buy earlier this evening... not a soul. I'm pretty sure that the mall doesn't permit a line to form before a certain time. A few years back, I drove past the same BB on Thanksgiving evening and no one was in line. However, there were various lawn chairs set up along the building, which appeared to be serving as place-keepers. I reckon shoppers can only line up within so many hours before opening.

I agree, BigJim. It seems the crowds for today's BFs are there for the sake of BF, almost out of habit. Yes, there are deals to be had, but it's not a deal if you're not in the market for the item. Also, folks are expecting the deals of the past, and the last few years, I think, have come up short. Last year, I was in the market for a large flat screen TV. There were offerings on BF, but, thanks to the GottaDeal site, I was able to find a comparable, actually better, deal at Best Buy just days prior to Friday, eliminating the need to stand in the cold outside Best Buy on Thanksgiving. In the last few years that I've shopped BF - this will be my 4th - I have enjoyed it and grown to understand the appeal: Leaving my sleeping house in the wee hours, warming my hands around a latte while making friends in line, and managing to hit three stores, complete my shopping, and getting home before 7am just as the sun rises. But I haven't saved anything if I've bought stuff just because it's offered on BF. I really appreciate GottaDeal, now and throughout the year, which allows me to compare prices, read product reviews and other shoppers' opinions, and, in the case of BF, plan the most efficient order I will visit stores. If I didn't have this site to assist me in my shopping plans, I probably wouldn't shop on BF! Many thanks to Brad, BigJim, and all the rest of the power behind this site. I appreciate the work that goes into it and certainly grateful for the money-saving deals GottaDeal has pointed me to.

Planets must be out of alignment... And I have noticed dogs have been barking more than usual...

So when the doors are about to open, what becomes of your stuff? Deal with it later? ...or forge some quick friendships around you so that you can load your camping stuff into your vehicle and return to your place in line? I would imagine that there is a camaraderie of "we're in this together" sorta thing happening. Ideally, it seems you'd need a support team to maintain your place, but I'm just curious how solo campers cope. And does the peaceful & respectful coexistence in line outside continue when the doors open? It clearly didn't at that WalMart last year, but after investing all that time to be one of the first in the store only to be outrun by Mr No. Fifty would really, ...well... suck!

I agree - I'm not impressed. I'm checking off a few items on the TRU shopping list for comparison purposes only. Speaking of which... Brad, I can't seem to find the 12' trampoline with enclosure on the shopping list. Am I missing it or is it missing from the list?

Interesting. Thanks so much, BigJim!! Perhaps my mall/BB avoids long-term crowd-control issues by only permitting a placekeeper first, hence the lawn chairs, and then having the people show up within so many hours of opening time, thus no need for tents. I'm just guessing.

A few years ago, I drove a car-less family member home after Thanksgiving dinner and on my way back, decided to buzz by my local Best Buy to see how large a crowd had gathered so far. It was about 6pm Thanksgiving evening. I was a BF newbie and very intrigued by the camping tales described on this forum that told of tents and heaters, gas grills and porta-potties! Barriers were already in place to direct Friday's traffic flow in a certain direction around the mall, on the back side of which this Best Buy is located. When I drove around the corner of the building, I was quite surprised to find --- NO ONE! Not a soul. There were, however, a line of various lawn chairs along the building, wrapping around the corner. Two city cop cruisers were the only cars in the lot, parked driver-to-driver, the occupants, no doubt, in conversation. I was puzzled after having read the posts here. I assume that the lawn chairs were holding their owner's place in line, but perhaps folks weren't permitted to assemble until a certain time...???... I then passed the nearby Circuit City but couldn't see from the road if anyone was lined up there and was on the wrong side of the median strip to turn into its parking lot. To those of you who camp, are you restricted by how early you can arrive? The presence of the city police - as opposed to mall security - made me wonder, do you need a city permit? ...are there town ordinances to keep in mind? ...or does the store set forth the rules of lining up? ...are any rules posted somewhere? ...when you show up with your porta-potty, have you received permission from the store/mall/lot owner for its presence? ...while you are sleeping in your tent, what prevents someone from simply stepping around your tent? So many questions... please enlighten me... :) Thanks!

I just came here to post this very same question! So, it's not just me... K-Mart's T-Day ad should have shown up by now, and we should be waiting for its BF ad, not the other way 'round, right? The planets must be out of alignment... I thought I heard dogs barking more than usual...

I'm eagerly awaiting Kmart's Thanksgiving ad, which, I thought, usually turned up before its BF ad, but not this year apparently... alas, I wait... Beyond this, though, I'm looking forward to seeing WalMart, Toys R Us, and Target ads.

Assuming that the "TV" they're waiting four days for at WalMart is the doorbuster Samsung 50" Plasma for $798, I managed to purchase this very same TV online yesterday from BB (for a penny less than WM's BF price, even! ;-) ), thanks to the info from gottadeal.com! Ordered online - picked up in store - a very large box now sits in my living room as we figure out which wall we should mount it on. Soon my husband will be watching the Patriots as nature intended! Anyway, between the TV and the new HP laptop I got at BB last weekend (not a BF deal snagged early like the TV, but I would have been settling for the BF WM one offered Friday. For a little more, I got what a wanted for features.), my big ticket items have been taken care of, I can sleep off the turkey Thursday night, venture out on Friday about 4:15-ish, and shop BF for the small stuff at my leisure. Last couple of years, thanks to the pre-planning this site affords us, I've been back home and in bed before the sun has come up! God bless the early campers!

It must depend upon how the store is managed. On any given day, I find that my local Target to be far more organized and helpful than my Wal-Mart. WM staff seem to vanish when I need one. We didn't have anyone come out to brief us - or offer treats and refreshments , but there wasn't an excessively large crowd to begin with due to a few factors: HUGE crowds were already at our BB and WM at 5AM, so they were probably still there when Target opened at 6; also, our local print ad stated the open time as 8AM which probably kept folks away (the store didn't have their early-open permit at the time when the ad went to print, but ultimately did get it. Those in line either didn't notice the 8am time in the ad, or, like me, took a chance and arrived before 6 anyway. I had plenty of time to swing by to verify their open time, and if they did open at 8, I could still make it to the next town's Target before 6. All worked out in the end, anyway). Target had plenty of available staff on hand (very helpful!), and we were cheerfully greeted and told upon entry that carts were set up throughout the store as well as their usual place in front. No line jumpers that I noticed, although I did wonder about a handful of coffee-sipping onlookers opposite the door who weren't getting in line yet. They just stood by the handicap parking spaces watching the store. When the line started moving they remained where they were. Curious. Lastly, checkout was smooth with every register manned. I was in and out within minutes. And speaking of every register manned, I went to Target again this morning (Saturday) at 8 and it was a ghost town! Every register was open but no customers were at the check-out. An occasional shopper here or there just moseying about the store. Sharp contrast to yesterday morning! I almost felt badly that I didn't find what I was there for and left empty-handed. Upon leaving, still no one was at the check-out. The cashiers all looked bored and lonely!

My apologies! Just went back to the start of the thread and noticed the "2 lines of rhyming" rule. I got a bit carried away. Forgive my indulgence.

Good morning! Hello! So nice to meet you! :) Yes, it's my first Black Friday, not sure what to do... The end of the line... isn't here? It's where?? Should have camped here last night?!?! It's way back over there?!?! Thought I came prepared with my well-thought-out plan: I set my alarm for 3! And pulled the seats from the van!! Oh, look! The doors are open! Thus begins a stampede. But why the rush? Not everyone could possibly want what I need... This is so amazing! Quite hard to believe! The crowds... the commotion... I was so naive. Well, I've got my list, my wallet, my holiday grin. Okay, wish me luck... I'm goin' in!!!!