Svuroo

I used to work right behind that mall and had to squeeze in last year's shopping in the area before going there. Some of the parking lots are not meant to hold that many cars but the lines aren't too nuts. Vernon Hills is comical as the people swiftly move en masse from the electronics stores to the mall to wait in another line.

Just avoid the BB in Vernon Hills! But enjoy the lower sales tax!

The Trib always does that.

That's a fantastic idea!

Still debating between being warm and waiting longer at Walmart and freezing but sleeping a bit and waiting at Target but by me I would think midnight would be late. Walmart's a big draw and Chicagoans are willing to freeze in a BB line from noon on Thanksgiving on. Give them the option of waiting in a nice heated store? The store will be at capacity by dinnertime. Question about shopping for other merchandise before getting in line... Obviously the stuff to pricematch can go in the cart early but will they be waiting to bring out some of the sale items until later? Obviously checking out before 5 would result in losing the sale price but could people theoretically have their carts filled with everything they want by midnight?

That's a fantastic story but are you sure he worked there? I've never met anyone working for Walmart who was nice, helpful, or willing to give away something for free.

Definitely take your daughter! The horrible BB I was at a couple of years ago changed their policies morning of to 1 ticket per person for all doorbusters (and they didn't even know what they had). So I got screwed because we had a party of 2 and were limited to 2 after waiting for 18 hours. The people in front of us had their kids with them and argued to get an extra ticket per kid too. The manager was really snippy about that - he actually demanded to see how the kids were going to pay for those items. But that was the perfect insurance policy and they were the only ones in line to get everything they wanted which they totally deserved for waiting forever.

The price adjustment you'd have to check on a store-by-store and likely manager-by-manager basis. The gift card almost definitely will not happen. If you get a very generous CS clerk and actually bring the item in, there's a chance (slim) that they'd let you return it and rebuy it but I would not count on that.

3 years ago I got a laptop there and didn't line up until 5:30. People behind me also got what they wanted. Last year I got there less than 5 minutes to opening and got the cheapest camera offered at any store that year. This year I'm going for a laptop again (the price isn't quite as great as at Walmart or Best Buy but I'm not camping) and plan to stop there after I finish at Target (hopefully 5:30ish). If you're really set on getting something, though, I'd advise getting there as early as you feel you need to just to be sure you don't miss out. It would be horrible to get up in the middle of the night, drive over there, freeze for hours, and miss out. I've gone to Staples 2 of the last 3 years on BF and my experiences there are always the best. The lines are reasonable. They're well-organized (usually they hand you tickets in the line outside, everything good is in the aisles on the way to the register clearly marked, and while waiting to checkout the manager trades tickets for items and helps grab any items forgotten or unfound) and the staff is unbelievably helpful.

Just my personal experience, but a Gateway laptop is not worth $1. They're garbage and their customer service policies are designed to laugh at the consumer who mistakenly gave them money.

I'm from around there and also wondering. I don't want anything badly enough to get there at 4 am. I'm aiming for big ticket items from 4-6. I'm assuming I'll be ok rolling into Kohl's at 7ish. I just want a rug and to take advantage of the gift cert deal. If I need to I suppose I can get someone to watch my place in another line for a bit, but I feel stupid running for domestics at 4 am.

That sounds about right. I'm not camping out overnight for that one but it wouldn't be Black Friday without some shivering!

I've been waiting for Black Friday to replace my laptop but I'm kind of meh about all of the options. I'll get one but all the stores are pretty comparable.

There are a lot of Targets in my area and I know which one will be the least busy. I wandered in 2 years ago at 7 and got things in the ad (not doorbusters) and checked out without waiting in line. How early would you think I'd need to get in line for the Sony Blu-Ray player?

I got screwed by a Best Buy by me that did the 1 ticket total per person. It was incredibly frustrating to wait in the cold for almost 18 hours and get 1 thing. I am still considering Walmart because at least I'd get to wait someplace warm with lighting so I could read but I'd be more inclined to go if they opened at 4 so I could stagger it with a trip to a store that opens at 6.

I don't think I'm doing the overnight thing this year (gasp); I just don't want to spend the money on big ticket items. Of course, I will be shopping.... and then getting to work by 8 am. I should probably mention that i work directly behind a shopping mall. So I'm not worried about entertaining myself for hours, but I am interested in being dressed for work. Sigh, no layers of pajama and sweat pants. I'll likely just carry ads, breath mints, coffee, and a credit card.

Awesome deal! got 3, then tried for another 3 and ran into the same actual 3 for 2 deal problem everyone else was. $10 = great deal $20 = not so much

Uh-oh, people who weren't previously getting gifts are now getting gifts. Bad for my budget, but who doesn't appreciate an R.O.U.S. reference or a major award?

Yeah, the amazing thing was that was only part of the negative experience. The manager limited the tickets to one per person... not per item, total. Everybody in line around me was handed the wrong ticket. They asked for the Toshiba $229 laptop and were given a random Toshiba coupon to one that was like $900. When they complained later, the manager told them the same thing. "Consider yourself lucky that you got something. There were people in line that didn't get anything." I still can't adequately respond to that without expletives. Also, they set up the store in like 5 minutes that morning. There were yellow arrows that led nowhere. I asked 8 different staff members for the same item, got all different responses, and eventually quit looking. You also just couldn't get answers from them. One of them told me that the GPS line was all the way on the right. So I get in line. My line buddy took over while I went to track down the manager. On the other side of the store, I see another line and ask the guy standing there if it's the line for the GPSs. He plays 20 questions with me, and I have to repeat my question several times for me to actually get a yes. It was the worst run Black Friday ever. This experience seriously almost ruined the whole day for me. But then I went to Michael's which was all calm and wonderful, was out in a few minutes without pushing or hair pulling. Needless to say, I will never do BF at that BB again. Last year I had a great experience at another one. I'd say I'd go there in the future, but I am serious about never shopping in a BB until that guy gets fired.

Great in theory, but as shipping's almost $10, it basically means free shipping. I was looking forward to free wine...

hahahaha in my line... only the single white or Asian males towards the middle of the line. The store manager told everyone at the front of the line who were waiting since 2 the previous day in 25 degree Chicago weather that they weren't having tickets for them. We then found out that people in the back of the line got them all. I complained to the manager who told me I should consider myself lucky to get anything..... Needless to say, I have already emailed corporate and am looking into writing corporate and the regional manager with the promise that I'm not spending money there until that dickwad gets fired. Oh did I mention that the front of the line was mostly female and Latino or Arab-American. I call shenanigans.

You had a stupid cashier. I used to work at a Target, and I trained everyone at Customer Service. Most of the people they gave me should not have been there. There's a lot of information they need to know and they have no recall for it. The cashier did mess up. There's no reason to return the whole order. Option 1 is returns. Option 2 is adjustments... Some of them just don't know how to do the adjustments. Plus, there's really no reason to redo the whole order. I hope whoever it was got canned or banished to a cash register.

Veerrrrryyyy helpful. Needless to say, I was looking for the exact same thing. I noticed the rebate's on for awhile longer. Anyone know if they're having cyber monday deals to take a few more bucks off?

Not a lot of the soaps let but still a crazy good deal. I just got 4 showers gels and 14 antibacterials for $50 with free shipping. i'll take it! No more soap products in my house for awhile...

of stuff I'm buying (definitely not all for me and some of it is gifts) $200 desktop $230 laptop Picture Frame $100 Monitor Kodak with picture frame $100 as many blank DVDs as I can get I stil have an ancient tv but that looks like enough dinero for one day