TazErase

Yup always best to know the comparison price first. I'd kick myself if I overpaid for something I could get cheaper on BF, especially when I'm always at BF early enough to get my choice of anything.

I agree with Brad. The deals will pick up after Halloween. Right now many of the stores that have their BF sales such as Target, Walmart, KMart, etc are busy selling Halloween stuff. Without the competition the others aren't going to drop prices this early. Early November they will drop but the closer it gets to BF the better the deals. In many cases BF will beat the other deals but not in all cases. Last year I bought an Acer netbook at Target about a week before BF after seeing the BF sales and it was the same price without the BF crowds. Target also had the Logitech M305 mouse for about $3 less than Best Buy's BF price about a week earlier. Check the site, wait for the ads and make your purchases only after you know the comparison item in the BF ads. At this point I will not buy anything until I see the ads of the major BF competitors to see what compatible items will be available on BF.

Disney outlet online has some decent sales, but anything Disney is already more expensive just by having the Disney name on it.

Don't have any of my own pics from last year, but I'll scan parts of the newspaper where they had 3 pictures of me and did a whole story on the first people on line for any stores in my town. On the newspaper's website there were lots of negative comments about how we were crazy and ruining the holiday spirit and stuff, but I wonder how many of them were among the many that came up asking me to help them get some of the top deals that they arrived too late for.

Half Price Book October 11th

I have noticed this as well. More and more stores are opening and have Thanksgiving DAY sales now, which they never did in the past. Where I camp out, it's at a mall. In previous years I had to go to the bathroom at the dinner across the street but last year Old Navy was open until about 9pm Thanksgiving Day and reopened at midnight BF. This completely changed the entire way the camping and all was done last year. We could go inside to warm up and use the bathrooms, and since the mall had to open midnight for ON, they let the line for BB in the mall at midnight rather than have to remain outside freezing until about 3:30 or 4am when they usually let us in.

I see you're from NYC. I know the area all too well. When I lived in the city that was defineately the case. In most cases, where I am now I can park at the closest parking space to where the line is and have never had trouble getting back out. Again it's all trial and error and changes by each location. Defineately a good thing to think about though especially for the newer ones looking to camp out.

I used to work retail at Radio Shack back in the early 90's as assistant manager. We would not know the deals other than if an item came in and was marked to be held for BF and until we received the ad about a week before the sale. I know when the flyers came in both myself and the manager looked at it trying to learn the deals because she was not informed prior either. May have changed since, but other than sites like this I don't think many of them know ahead of time. I've brought printed copies of the flyer while doing recon at BB and had numerous employees asking to see the ad on the Monday prior to BF.

When I first moved to this area I only knew of about 5 or 6 of the major stores that have BF sales and only went to them the first year here. I have since found that within 5 miles I have every major retailer that has BF sales, and then about 8 miles away is Walmart. While 8 miles is not a big deal, I make up my lists over a week in advance, and not getting the Walmart ad until within a week of BF it is actually too late to make the cut.

I got a $169 Canon on Quibids for about $20 including shipping and handling. Not saying everyone will get as lucky but if you're going to buy one any way it's another option not often mentioned in the forums.

Goes back to the old saying... the early birds get the worm... they want to eat their turkey on Thanksgiving and then get on line. You can't have it both ways. My family knows where I will be on Thanksgiving. Same place I have been for the past 7 years we've lived here. Before that it was just a different location, but I was still on a line, lol.

Not sure if it's a new policy for all Best Buy's or just my area, last year they gave out wristbands as well. When you went to make your purchase, if the wristband didn't match the number they wrote on the top of your ticket, they would not accept it. This was done to stop people from selling the tickets to those at the back of the line.

In all honesty, because of the fact that I never got to check the Walmart ad before making my plans on where to be and what order.... Walmart has never been able to make the list of stops. Maybe this year I'll get to see their ad before I make my plans and might actually get there to make some purchases. Their letter to remove their ad when all the other ads remained posted without the threat of legal action was pretty much the equivilent of them not having a Black Friday ad since many of us make plans well in advance of the ads actually being released.

Keeping my fingers crossed......

Once again this can vary based on location. Follow what you see most of the others doing. At the location I go to, usually about an hour before the doors open most people will bring the items back to their car, and then get back on line. That's also around the time you have to be most alert since it's the last chance for people to try cutting the line, and every year they will try if they think they can get away with it.

I know the feeling well. I get excited about Black Friday usually.... the Saturday after Black Friday, lol. It's about all I've been talking about lately and my family (my wife and kids are totally into it as well, my parents and sister however think I'm totally nuts) and they can't understand why anyone would stand in line that long to buy anything. Of course that's what they all say, you're crazy for getting on line so early, right up to the point that they get on line and then they are jealous that you're all the way in the front and they have no hopes of getting any of the items they are standing in line for 6 hrs for. Who gets the last laugh then? lol

lol... you're from Florida and referring to the cold weather in 2009? What happened? Did it dip into the 70's at night? Just kidding. Always fun to make a few jokes when people comment on the weather. I know when I was in the Marines, there was 1 year Florida got about an inch of snow and the entire state shut down. In NY we call that flurries.

Every store and location has their own rules, and the time you need to be there is based on the competition at the location. Where I am, 2 of the Best Buys have lines forming by Monday night. The one I go to is actually on mall owned property and due to insurance regulations they won't let anyone on line until Thursday morning. Any place other than Best Buy, lining up some time Thursday is usually fine, but for Best Buy, you always have that 1 guy you hear about that lines up 2 weeks early, lol. Your best bet is if you live close by is to get there early Thursday the latest (for Best Buy). Other stores don't have much of a line or are well stocked on their doorbuster items. Know your area, and depending on the store is the only way to really know when to be there. Also you mentioned you're in Florida where it's warmer. Chances are more people will be willing to line up earlier there than some of the northern states where it can and often has been freezing temperatures even during the day.

I totally agree, it's not the safest, but the original question was how it could be done and she asked us not to judge her, that she didn't have the choice. In any case, if you're a veteran at BF and know your stores, as much as we can try to help, the best judge for your situation is yourself. My son has been bugging me for years to let him stay with me on Black Friday and for his own safety I had to make him stay with his grandparents while my wife and I shopped. We would let the kids sit with us on the lines for about an hour or 2 sometimes so they can say they did Black Friday, lol. They have lots to learn, lol.

I'm available too if needed. I also volunteered for other help on the site with Brad. Wherever I can be the most use just let me know.

Lets hope they let you get all the Black Friday ticketed items on 1 line this year. Last year I got the laptop, the Nook, and a camera and they had them each on a different line, each line was about a 2hr. wait. If I had not anticipated the length of the 1 line and had someone hold me a spot in the front, I would never have gotten to all 3 lines in time before they ended the holding of ticketed items. Worst move ever. Eventually I was able to convince the guy in cameras to go and bring a Nook over so I didn't have to go to the 3rd line. Still, being first in the store and having to spend 2 hrs on line was the worst experience. There is no reason to have to make people go to 3 or 4 different departments for ticketed items.

Most important for anyone that will be spending the night... DRESS IN LAYERS, and don't overdress too soon. While it may be a little chilly during the day, do not go putting on all your heaviest clothes until it gets to extreme cold temperatures, usually between midnight and 3am. I will usually bring a light-weight sweatshirt as well as a heavier one. During the day I'll have my jacket and a light-weight sweatshirt. At night I'll change to a heavier one. Also I never use blankets until about 11pm or later. Also I bring a portable propane heater which I won't use until about midnight.One of the best tips.... keep moving. If you can't locate an item, forget the item and move on. Try to spend no more than about 15 - 30 minutes per store. If you are with other people in your group, work out who will get what items. No need for 2 or 3 members of your group to pick up the same item, have 1 person grab 3 of them and meet you in the front by the registers. We will often break the store into sections, 1 goes to electronics, 1 goes to clothing, etc. That will vary if there are too many items we want in 1 section, or if 2 sections are close we may add it in. RECON IS ESSENTIAL FOR THIS.If you have enough people, have 1 member of the group grab a spot in line. Carriage? What carriage? Unless you need to pick up numerous items where a carriage is required, ditch the carriage. You can run through a store much quicker than you can pushing a carriage. Speed is essential in getting the items you want, don't let anything slow you down.

Don't know about your location, but you wake at 4am to get the big ticket items at 5am, and you will be coming home with an empty carriage. I've already gotten to my local Walmart at 8pm Thursday and the line for any big ticket item was filled.

Oh, 1 more thing, hope he likes sand fleas... there are plenty of them. They will offer "bug juice" which supposedly is a bug repellant but from my own experience I usually found I had less bugs bothering me when I didn't use the "bug juice" than when I did. I'd swear they have you put on sugar water telling you it's bug repellant, lol.

SEMPER FI!!! Been a while but I was in the Marines back in the early 90s, my MOS was aircraft Maint. 60/61. Since you're in Florida he will go to MCRD Parris Island. Tell him to say hello to Big Al for me if he's still around, lol. They had to put up 2 foot fences around some of the climbing obstacles because underneath was water (ok, technically MUD, lol) and they had a problem with Big Al (a 14' gator) that liked to lay in the mud under the obstacles, lol.