TazErase

This is the same Asus in stores now for $399 except the current one in BB is android 3.0, this is 3.2. I did the comparison last night at the local BB, this is the better of the 2 in reviews and comparisons over the Toshiba, so I went and tested them personally at BB, and I like it much more than the Toshiba Thrive.

I personally see no purpose getting there late to stand in line for 2 hours for leftovers. If I'm not one of the first in the store I won't go later in the day. That's one thing BB is known for, long lines in every department... and the foolish thing is BB does half of it to themselves by making people stand on a line in each area for the tickets. This year I want a camera, a tablet, laptops, and tv.. That's 3 lines MINIMUM... tv dept, camera dept, and computer dept. I'd swear BB gets off on watching the customers get agrivated by having them stand in multiple lines, even if they are the first in line, it's impossible for me to get out in under 5 hours unless I have a team with me to hold spots on each line.

Which completely explains the "Before 4pm" option and doesn't include days or weeks, lol. For years I had my location on my profile as "Confidential". This year I decided to play around and risk it a bit by putting just my state, which has about 70 Best Buys with 50 miles of the state borders which I'll let people guess at my location, lol. I found a little known location in the middle of nowhere (except my house, lol) that people don't often go too early and the mall does not allow over-nighters with the exception of Thursday night for a BF opening. I have tried going on Wednesday night and was threatened with arrest for trespassing, I have arrived at 6am Thursday and also gotten threatened, only to return at 7am and get threatened again, returned at 8am to see they let someone else on line first, and thus I was second that year, breaking my streak. Still got everything I wanted, but no picture in the newspaper, no interview with the reporters, and a broken streak. This year I intend to bring some ammunition.... last years paper showing I was first and promise not to leave any mess so they allow me to stay earlier than they normally would have allowed. I have found in the past by showing respect and cleaning up after yourself (which we always do in my group... including cleaning some stuff near us that wasn't us) they treat you much nicer and might be more willing to work with you.

Don't be so sure... some Best Buys are on mall property and do not allow tents or camping out... I've been first or second for the past 6 years and have gotten on line as late as noon on Thanksgiving day 1 year.

All depends on your location. I'd say get in line EARLY. If you are not in the first 50 people you don't have much of a chance depending on your location. Minimum : 10 only means they have at least 10, often it's over double that amount. That is an incredible deal, and even though I had no need or intentions of getting the TV, I'd be a fool not to grab a 42" tv for $199. Between that and the tablets (and PROBABLY more online deals posted on the 23rd) I'd expect lines to form earlier than usual (also considering the midnight opening).

They don't specify HOW MANY, but I know last year when they tried it out they had 60 of the XBox games at my location. I'd guess they'll have about that this year as well.

They had this last year as well. The first 60 (at my location, varies by location due to stock of how many are available) were given a wristband. You go in, make your purchase and when you get to the register they remove the wristband and give you the camera FREE. Again, location vary, but here the line didn't start until about 10:30pm, however it was for an XBox kinect game that not everyone had any use for. I would expect the lines to form a little earlier this year. Last year worked out perfectly, the Old Navy is right next to Best Buy so I put 1 chair by the Old Navy line and was first at midnight for Old Navy and then first in line for Best Buy at 5am. While waiting on line for Best Buy I was able to use the bathroom in Old Navy, put my items I intended to purchase aside right before they closed to prepare for the midnight opening, ran in and was paying by 12:01 and got back in the BB line. Keep in mind some locations may do things a little different but that's how they did it here and it worked perfectly.

I researched it. It is a 12mp waterproof (up to 10 feet) camera. Regular retail on this camera is $79.99 from Kodak and currently on sale for $69.99, then again, if you get it FREE with a $40 purchase that's even better. Here is a link to Kodak's site with all the specs. http://store.kodak.com/store/ekconsus/en_US/pd/SPORT_Camera/productID.222433400 Based on what I can see it is a very decent camera. If this camera was on sale Black Friday for $50 I'm sure it would sell out very quickly. Considering it is free with a $40 purchase in Old Navy it is an excellent move. Last year the free game was nice but unless you had an Xbox with Kinect it wasn't much of a draw to bring customers in. This is something everyone can use and I'm sure the lines will be longer than last year because of it.

Actually... Walmart and others opening at midnight is the reason Best Buy felt forced to open midnight. They had hoped to open between 3am and 5am, but with Target and Walmart (their biggest competitors now that Circuit City is gone) are opening midnight, they had to change their plans to compete with them.

Some already do. Kmart often has a Thanksgiving Day sale for a number of years. The stores are practically deserted, lol, but they have the sale. I was on line for Best Buy and decided to check it out last year. There were about 40 people on line when it opened and then when I went back a few hours later it had less than 10 customers in the store. Many people are rebelling against the Thanksgiving Day sales, but they are more than willing to get in lines AFTER they have their turkey dinner. You're going to start seeing more and more retailers opening at 10pm next year, but shouldn't get too much sooner than that.... I hope! The die-hard Black Friday shoppers are often on line early Thursday and don't do Thanksgiving. The ones that aren't on line are not going to start Black Friday much earlier than after their dinner.

That's pretty much the plan as of now. Camp out for Best Buy... then run to Target which is directly under Best Buy in the mall... then run to Walmart, go home to sleep for a while, go to Staples, Lowes, Home Depot, and Sears.

The ads to watch for are Best Buy,Staples, Walmart. I found Staples often has less competition and well stocked on external hard drives.

I downloaded the app too, but no list... The gottadeal app has forums, current, messages, subscribed, and profile. No list, but that would be a great move to add it in.

Deja vu.... every year around this time this same thread comes out, lol. I agree though with some of the earlier comments, nothing good yet, none of the good ads are out yet, and I'm still hoping there will be good sales coming. I think some of the sales will surprise us. With the current economy, lots of people have to be pried to give up their cash. I only intend to get some of the best deals available. Of it's not an excellent price I'll just hold off. There aren't really any major items that I'm looking to get, but if the deals are good I will buy some items that I'd like to have but aren't necessary at this time.

Yes they do. A few stores have that app that let's you scan for their price, there are also apps to scan for the best price on the internet and then you can order from companies you never even heard of and save a few dollars.

I have mentioned Gottadeal.com in my yearly interviews when they interview me each year. I have become friends with the reporter over the years and have sent her updates on BF related info. I'll see if I can get a mention of the site in the local paper in the next week or so. I gave her the updates on stores opening early this year but she hasn't commented back yet. Locally every year they interview the first person on the Best BUY line. After 4 or 5 years being first or second we are now on a first name basis, lol.

Interesting. Usually we can't get the workers to even pay attention to us, now they are going to be playing a movie in the parking lot? Is that just for the 20 major markets? Lots of questions... Guess I'll have to give the manager in my local BB a few days for him to get notified and then start my recon early.

Same here. I have a strong feeling Best Buy will be joining the midnight club so I am going to have to do new recon and figure out when the mall will allow us to line up. For the past 5 or 6 years I have been first or second on line. I figure they will continue to threaten arrest for anyone that lines up before Thursday morning but more people will arrive earlier if they open at midnight instead of 5am.

That's why it's best to be in front rather than have people in front of you, lol.

Toys R Us opened at 10pm Thursday last year....

Exactly. If Best Buy opens early it is a game changer for me because a lot of my plans and prior recon work over the years is wasted. If everyone else opens early except Best Buy eventually it will cost BB customers. Fact is their main competitor at this point would probable be Walmart with Circuit City gone. Walmart joined the midnight club last year. This year Target, another Walmart competitor is opening at midnight. Toys R Us actually tried midnight and then switched to 10pm last year. At this rate Black Friday is going to start on Thanksgiving day with everyone trying to open first. Could also make it difficult to get to other stores for the deals if they are all opened before BB. I usually have a sort of schedule that after BB I run to other stores as they open. If I don't hit BB first, I won't even bother since the lines will be about 2 hours long unless you are smart and have someone jump right into the front and hold the spot by being the first into the store.

Years ago many retailers opened their doors at 7am or 8am Black Friday. Each year more and more retailers move their opening time earlier and earlier, and many are now opening at midnight. I would not be at all surprised to see that Best Buy opens earlier than the past few years (5am) and instead opens at 4am this year, or earlier. I think if they intended to open at midnight this year we would have heard something by now. This could put all prior plans and past proven techniques into total disarray. I know the mall where I go has rules that will not allow camping out too soon, but if it were to open midnight Thursday into Friday... I have no clue how soon they would allow people to line up at my location.

Started out years ago by myself, then my wife started joining me, or going to alternate stores so we could hit all the sales. About 4 years ago my daughter started going with us and this year for the first time my son will be joining the team (as a trainee, lol). Also my daughter has a friend from school that wants to join in part because she knows we are always first and get in the newspaper every year. My sister-in-law is coming this year. She's gone a few times in the past but not every year. Also a tenant that rents one of my inlaws properties is joining the team. This is one of the largest teams I've had yet, also my nephew who has gone a few times may be joining the team again this year. Normally it's about 3 or 4 of us, this year it's looking like 8 and 3 more possible.

My thoughts on this would be NO WAY, lol. The idea is to try finding a "secret" location where you don't have the maximum competition.

They break quite easily. My 13 yr old daughter hit it too hard and the lcd broke.