Tarmax4

SO EXCITED!! I know when this letter comes it's OFFICIALLY Holiday TIME!!!!

I started Black Friday 2001. I remember so fondly.... I was a new college graduate, got my first job. I figured the black friday prices will stretch my new graduate paycheck money for x-mas gifts. My boyfriend & I saw some good deals in the Thanksgiving circulars and decided to go shopping. We got to Best Buy AT opening time 8am. The clerk said everything was Sold OUT!! My mouth dropped to the floor. I said, “BUT YOU JUST OPENED!!” He said , “people were lined up outside the store since 3am.” I thought, People lined up at 3AM??? I was shocked and devastated!! I couldn’t buy my family gifts at the good prices. So, I vowed I will NEVER be "shut out" of a product I wanted again. The following year I got up to go to Walmart at 1 am. My boyfriend thought I was CRAZY!! "He said, seriously, 1am??" "No one gonna be there, we are going to be all alone, its dark outside, it's cold, blah, blah, blah..." I listened to his complaints and said I was going with or without him. He decided to go, just to make sure I was safe. When we got there we were 10th on line. He was SHOCKED people were there already. We had stumbled upon a secret society. By 3/4am the line was AROUND the corner. The store opened at 9am. This was before they started the 5am openings. We had SO MUCH fun. Talking to fellow shoppers, making coffee runs, comparing shopping tips with other people. There were cops there to keep the peace. They were kind of joining in our festivities as well. I got my TV & camera that day. When I walked out of the store with my bags, I saw a young girl come in ask for the camera and the clerk said to her everything was Sold OUT! I just smirked to myself knowing...that was me last year. Now he's my husband, we have made it an annual tradition. We eat Turkey dinner and head out for the stores right afterwards. Every year we added something to our arsenal....chairs, camping heaters, generator, blankets, portable TVs'...etc. My daughter is well aware this is Mommy's tradition. I never take her with me, she's too young (9). She's knows Thanksgiving night she stays at grandma's house. I have seen a lot of BF changes through the years; 5am openings, ticket systems, so-called Black Friday sales in early Nov, the explosion of cyber monday, now Walmart lets you wait INSIDE the store. I miss the good ole days of just camping outside the store. That showed the True Grit of a person. How motivated they were to get the $100 flat screen TV. It was a “the strongest will survive” situation. I cant wait to when my daughter is old enough to join in. Then we can make it a family tradition.

I finished with my 9 year old daughter already. Got everything from Amazon & Walmart. She wanted a IPad. Too expensive for a 9year old so I got her a Samsung Galaxy Tab. Perfect for her. I hid all the other toys in storage. Got my Mom a casino (slot machine replica-one arm bandit) bank. Everyone else I will get for on black friday at the clothing outlet store. I'm already started to stack up on coupons and saving reward points with various stores so I can cash in on BF!!!

The I-pod prices!!!! Also, they're not offering Gift cards with them this year.

and the plot thickness.......

I live in New York City. So, ALL Walmarts in the metropolitan areas (NY, NJ, CT) are MAD HOUSES!!!! Literally thousands of people trying to get the same thing you came for. The only strategy for that is to GO EARLY!!! Since the doorbusters I want are all at 10pm I'm going to have to cut my family time down and leave the house at 6 or 7PM!!! HORRIBLE!!! I feel like this is a moral issue. Stay with family thanksgiving night or go camp out for the 10pm doorbuster????????

Patiently waiting for Target Ad which I believe can be ANY HOUR NOW!!! They are now under pressure to release there full ad since Wal-Mart did it already. Target is not one to be trumped!

I'm surprised that they released the full ad. Not a lot of Gift Card giveaways. I think I'll buy the Ipod touch at Best Buy this year. They are at least giving a $10 GF with purchase. Does anyone have the specs on that $19 HP DeskJet 1050 Printer? I've been looking everywhere on the INTERNET (even HP's website) for the specifications and nothing is coming up!!!

I love the anticipation, the planning, being first or second on line!!! Getting the good deals!!! Who can forget the $11 microwave walmart had one year !!!! Camping out is FANTASTIC...being prepared (Heater, blankets, coffee/hot chocolate runs, laptop/TVs' to check to see what other BF madness is going on in the world on GottaDeal.com). You looking at your watch and it's 2 in the morning and the store is SO packed it looks as if it's 2 in the afternoon!!! Me walking out the store at 5:15am with my doorbuster and a bunch of cars following to get my parking spot!!! That's when I say, "THE EARLY BIRD ALWAYS GET THE WORM"!!!! Get home, post my BF experience on Gottadeal and go to sleep for the REST of the day!!!

Let the bargains roll Like cool water down a brook Let sales refresh you.

Savings here and there! Sales explode across the land! Black Friday is here!

The lines will be long The shoppers will be many But you will prevail!

Harbor Freight-10/14

I'm CHECKING gottadeal EVERYHOUR!!!! I think this is becoming a obsession for me. ACE HARDWARE, HALF PRICE BOOKS.......WHERE ARE YOU TO SUSTAIN MY NEEEEDS? My co-workers are going to committ me to the nearest institution if I dont stop talking about BF! But of course they always come crawling to me the week before thanksgiving asking me for BF tips!!! Of course, I tell them to go to gottadeal.com!

This is when the buddy sytem comes into play. We break everything down 1.5 hours before the store opens. By this times everyone is getting excited, getting a second wind and start lining up tightly in order to head for the door. My husband keeps our place in line while I put everything back in the car. As a tip to everyone park near the EXIT of the parking lot. It's a hassale when you have to drag your spoils of BF war back to the other end of the parking lot. but you wont have to worry about being in a parking lot traffic jam trying to get out. As your coming out the store 6am, hundreds of people are STILL trying to get in! and they are ALL looking for parking. SO best to have a quick escape route! It works everytime!!

Another pet peeve I had with shop while you wait is they allowed people to put big ticket items in there shopping carts and just wait inside the store until u can purchase it at 5pm. Wtf? I got there at 10pm. No one knew where anything was!!! It was a nightmare. DH & I camped out in the women's shoe department thinking the palette next to us was the digital picture frames. When 5am hit employees uncovered the palette and that was not it. By the time we figured it was on the other side of the store they were gone. How unfair was that. This was the secaucus, new jersey walmart. What happened to the ticket system?????? If anyone hears oh walmart doing this again this year PLEASE let me know. That way I wo t go and plan to go to other stores accordingly. Love my gotta deal family for listening to me vent.

Shop while you wait was HORRIBLE!!!!!!!! It was the worst & most dangerous BF situation I ever been in. And I've been doing this for 10+ years. I PRAY walmart does not do it this year!!!! If they do I will go to target!!!! They covered the midnight & 5am sales with black tarp, employees weren't allowed to tell u where the big tkt items were. People walking around trying to figure out where to go for the item they came for. IT WAS CHAOS!!! And DANGEROUS. I wrote a nasty letter to corporate last year for them to go back to the traditional standing outside with sticker system. Whats not broke don't need fixing!!!!! I'm very passionate about this!!! I hope someone from walmart corporation is reading our forums!!!! As shoppers our voices should be heard

I love coming to gotta deal forums. No one else (family & co-workers) understand my excitement for BF. I would like to know how my GD family is doing their early prep! I'm making sure my camping heater works. I'm buying a portable TV. Today I went on Best Buy media trade-in website. I traded in all of the old DVD & video games my family had lying around/collecting dust for a total of $100 (best buy gift card)!!!!! Anyone else doing anything special? Sent from my iPad using GottaDeal

I AM SOOOOO HAPPY. I did this with kmart for the past two years. It's an easy way to get all the hot holiday items you want before they are sold out AND don't have to worry about hiding toys in the house. If anyone has noticed but kmart is WAY overpriced sometimes. But I needed the layaway plan so I didn't have a choice. Maybe toysrus will follow suit and do layaway for their entire inventory oppose to just outdoor playsets. Sent from my iPad using GottaDeal

If your doing a brick & mortar store; i would suggest sports authority or dicks.

Moosejaw.com is pretty good. They normally have sale prices on last season coats. They are all authentic. Altec.com is good also. Hopes this helps

I'll really be in the spirit once I read walmart's annual legal threat letter to Brad. I just love those Wally world lawyers. They know how to make you feel all warm & cuddly inside.

Is anyone else annoyed by these pre-black Friday sales? I'm like come on give me a break!!! I got 2 emails this week siting BF prices in august. It takes the whole fun out of it!!! I expect this around Halloween. But retailers are getting THIRSTY!!!

I see the usual suspects back this year on gotta deal. Love to see the crew back. I just got back from aruba (thank God I dodged Irene). I have to admit I was laying on the beach thinking about black Friday. I dared not to mention my thoughts to DH. He would've had a heart attack. I'm back in NYC rip & raring to go for black Friday. brad I'm winning a shirt this year. If I don't I'm having one made...hehehehe

My 7 year old knows the routine now. We go to grandma's for thanksgiving, mommy leaves early evening to go shopping & she stays over at grandmas to play with her cousins & spend the night. I dont pick her up until Friday evening/Satuday morning. By that time I've caught up on my sleep (after camping out) & hid all the good gifts!!! I guess I will start taking her when she's around 13/14 years old. Old enough to know her way around a store if she got seperated from me, use a cell phone & elbow someone in the rib if they try to crash into her!!! BF is not for the faint of heart. Anyone who comes with me on BF HAS to know how to "HOLD THERE OWN"!!! If not, I refuse to put her in harms way. However, I understand some people may not have family to watch their kids on BF. In that case buy your stuff on-line!!!