BrotherFlounder

It's all about the ads, baby.

Wow, I've been pretty fortunate on BF so far (*pounds on wood*) but I do have a minor thing from last year. PetSmart was supposed to open at 7am instead of 9am, so my brother and I decided to stop there, run in, get dog food which we needed, and move along to the next stop. Well, we waited half an hour for someone to show up, who told us (in a very rude tone) that the store wouldn't' open until 9am...DESPITE the sign on the door that said 7am. "Oh, that's a mistake!" We were rather angry, to say the least.

Circuit City, Home Depot, and Target.

I know that there are several of us, not nearly as many as the Best Buy or Target campers, but we're here! I figured it might be nice to have a thread to coordinate battle strategies---er, I mean, make plans of action. So! Where are you, when do you get there, and what are you going for? And do you have any good stories of past Black Fridays? This'll be my third year in a row that I've shopped on Black Friday, and it's also the third year that I've started out at Circuit City. (Specifically the one at Regency in Jacksonville, FL.) I'm usually there about 3:00am, and since I'm often not going for the big ticket items, I haven't had a problem getting what I want. I think that for many of the good things, however, you'd have to get there around midnight. It's never nearly as crazy as the Best Buy next door which has a line wrapped around the store twice at 3:00am. The best part of this particular line is that both Panera Bread and Chick-Fil-A come by selling hot coffee and breakfast. Panera even offered the use of their restrooms, as I recall. Geniuses! I'm usually going for smaller technology stuff - flash drives and memory cards - as well as video games (they usually have a good selection; got Super Mario Galaxy for $30 last year). I'm also interested in their XM Radio selection this year, as mine is starting to give out.

OH TEH NOES! Seriously, I don't think I've even seen a Big Lots in about 3 years.

Circuit City. After that, it'll depend on the ads, but last year my brother and our friend went to Sears and Gamestop while I went to Home Depot and Target.

Usually it's me, my brother, and a friend (who was the first of us to shop on BF). But this year it looks like it'll just be me and my brother.

Last year was about half and half, but I imagine this year will be more weighted towards others.

I'm usually in line at Circuit City between 2:30 and 3:00 AM (a friend trades off the 2:30 with me; the late arrival brings coffee). The past few years, I had to be back at my place around 8:00 am so I could get a nap and then drive back to Columbia for the USC/Clemson game (as I was in the band), but this year, I'll be watching it on the Big Screen TV, so I can stay out as long as I want on Friday.

You were expecting otherwise? Ah, well, just get some bins and in a few years let 'em keep the ones they have memories of and give the rest to the Salvation Army or Goodwill.

Jacksonville, FL. And for once, I don't have to rush back to Columbia that afternoon!

The Ryobi power tools 4-pack I got from Home Depot last year for 59.99(I think) is fantastic, as is the 9.99 drilling & driving set. Also, the coffeemaker I've had for about two years was sold last BF for 4.99, and it's still percolating away!

I'll have to do my reconnaissance on Tuesday night, as my Dad's birthday is Wednesday. I'll probably just do Home Depot and Circuit City.

They're open normal hours - it says so in the ad. Call your Home Depot to find out the hours. The Home Depots near me have a number of the items sitting out near the front of the store already, for slightly higher prices (like the Rival crock pot) or for normal prices. I believe that a couple of things, like the Workforce screwdriver set, are already at BF prices.

Look closer. That's last year's ad. All those items are cheaper or gone.

I knew the Ryobi One+ would be on sale, with the new version just coming out! This ad has several things I've been looking at. I'm a bit surprised that they're not having any doorbusters. Well, I know I'll be stopping here anyways. Thanks, Brad!

That's a really good price on the Garmin Street Pilot c330. Aside from that, however, it's pretty meh.

I don't have a Meijer near me, but it's nice to see another store that "gets it".

Pep Boys has a free $10 giftcard for the first 50 people. Sam's Club has free breakfast until 9:30 am (or so).

What a remarkable lack of hardware deals for a hardware store! Thanks anyways, Brad.

Sweet deals here!

Hi! New to the site; did my first Black Friday last year and it was a blast.

I like the self-checkouts because my local WMs have about 24 checkout lanes each, and only seem to have four or five open at any one time, including the tobacco sales lane. The cashiers are usually decent, but the lines are just ridiculous.

How do I love NewEgg? Let me count the ways....

Thanks, Brad! One of my friends and I have already agreed that we'll be visiting our KB Toys on Wednesday to check out their video game stock.