zim05

Wow that is very interesting! I think I still might try it. Our Target is in a smaller town and they only see me in there once (or twice:yup:) a week.

I don't know...I am a bit torn on how, I think, people with respond to the different starting times - especially Walmart and especially non-Forum shoppers. We here have the advantage of discussing plans and ideas with other BF shoppers whereas others don't have that kind of feedback. I wonder how many people will get the Walmart ad on Thanksgiving (or Wednesday) and be confused by the start times (or even miss the different start times in general) and will go out at the times they did last year. Instead of going out before midnight, people will just show up around 2am or so and just get the midnight sale items then. Of course it all depends on the areas but I'm not all that worried about getting to Walmart around 12:30 or 1am (after I drop my sister off at Target with the lawn chairs) and getting the different movies and Blu-Rays that I have my eye on. Perhaps my approach this year is a bit more relaxed since we don't seem to need many of the big doorbusters. The Sony Blu-Ray from Target would be nice and I guess if we roll into Best Buy around their opening times I would like to get the Flip Ultra, but if I don't...well I just don't. Since my older sister and I don't have kids yet and my parents have pretty much finished our younger siblings' bigger gifts, there is not that extra pressure.

There should really be no problem - security wise - since many people use those types of bags on non-BF days. Also last year, Target gave away reusable bags (they were a bit flimsy and had a pointed bottem instead of flat) to people in waiting in line. I think I will be using a reusable bag for Walmart and possibly Target since I am going after smaller things like DVDs and Blu-Rays. At Target I think I'm also going for the movies, sonic toothbrush, 600 thread sheets and the Sony Blu-Ray and hopefully between my bag and hands (and sister) we wouldn't need a cart.

At my walmart there wasn't plastic wrap around the movies so you can see the titles but couldn't grab them until they went on sale. I know its not much help! Also, I would go around before the sale and figure out which titles I wanted the most or which stand had the best selection then I would make a mental plan on how I could get them and get to the register the fastest.

I do not need any of the 5am doorbuster (at least not at Wal-Mart) but want some of the movies and Blu-Rays. So I'm dropping my sister off at Target around 12:30-1am then I'll run across town to Wal-Mart and pick up a few of the midnight items and get back over to Target. Since it's a smaller town and some people will probably be confused about the two sale times, I expect to get everything I want and still be first over at Target...if everything goes according to plan that is. After Target we'll head over to a larger town (that also has a bigger Target and a Wal-Mart) and hit up Best Buy, Herberger's, Bath & Body Works, Schells, Michaels, Hallmark and Pier 1. But I have not seen some of these ads yet and will determine next week depending on their sales and how tired I am with little to no sleep...

Okay so I thought of another bad BF experience, it is not so much horrendous but just downright annoying. Last year my sister and I were hoping to be first again at Target, so we got there around 1:30 or 2am (what can I say…it’s a small town…and it’s cold here ). When we pulled into the parking lot we realized that four other people beat us, we were a bit disappointed but thought at least we have people to talk to and make the time go quicker. So we set up our lawn chairs and began the wait until it opened at 5am. Not only did the group before us (two couples who were college students from the local college) NOT talk to us but they were beyond annoying. The guys talked constantly, very loudly mind you, about the video consoles they were going to get. The two girls, on the other hand, keep whining about how cold they were. If that was not enough they kept making out, I don’t mind a little PDA but I don’t want to see the heavy petting and kissing - go back to your dorms. This went on for three hours and left my sister and me cursing these college students… Having only been a year or two older (first year graduate student straight out of college while my sister is a year and a half older than I am), the maturity level was nowhere near the same. I understand the excitement about BF and waiting outside but be respectful of the people by you. At least attempt to chat with others and think twice before hooting and hollering obnoxiously. Throughout the wait the people behind us even found them annoying, I saw many eyes rolling over the group’s actions. Luckily, we chatted with the people behind us who had arrived about a half an hour after us. This experience has prompted my sister and I to leave even earlier this year in order to be first.

Now that I've seen this (very clear) scan ad, I don't really need any of the 5am doorbusters but am happy that the movies and Blu-Rays can be purchased at midnight! I think I will be dropping my sister off at Target with the lawn chairs around 12:30 or 1am and running across town to Walmart and get some movies and maybe the animal tent for my sister and brother-in-law's nephew. Then pick up some hot chocolate and meet my sister back at Target to wait for them to open. While I understand why some people don't like the two doorbuster times, it's really great for those of us who just go for movies and littler things and want doorbusters at other stores. I'm just hoping the Walmart in our smaller town (with the much less crowded Target on BF) is going to be open all night since it's not a 24hr store. I'll have to call them up next week to double check!

Target does this too and the map is usually up online the week of BF so my guess is Walmart's map wouldn't be up until next week.

There are some smaller (some regionial) ads I would like to see such as Bath and Body Works, Herbergers, Barnes & Nobles (if they have any specials), Pier 1, Schells, Sephora and Shopko. I think out of all of these Herbergers is the only one we would try to get to right when they open. So far I think half of us will be at Target waiting and the other half at Herbergers.

I think you would get the $30 gift card with it online if the item is available online for BF. But I am pretty certain that the $10 for $100 is only in stores.

It really does depend on your size of town and your size of Target. About two years ago we began going to Target first and decided to try the smaller, nonSuper Target in a smaller town (around 15,000 people) than the Super Target in a larger town (around 36,500 people) twenty minutes away. At the larger Target, lines would start around midnight or so whereas the smaller Target we arrived a little after 2am and were first in line. But also that was when Target opened at 6am (two years ago). Last year Target opened at 5am and we got there, roughly, the same time and were the second group (there was a group of 4 before us). This year's opening time is yet again an hour earlier at 4am so we will try to get there around 1:30am and expect to be one of the firsts. I do not know of any Targets that let you into the store before they open. The Target in the larger town was attached to a mall and you could go into the mall and wait at the inside entrance. Also prior to opening, employees do come out to greet everyone and give out a map and answer questions. So I would ask them to verify where the PSP bundle is and how many they have in stock. Make sure to make nice with the employees who filter in while you wait because, at least at our Target, they really do make an effort to help out shoppers and try to make it a good BF expierence.

Last year I got the Westinghouse 32" and they had them on a pallet with a few Target employees around them and they also had a few carts with TVs in them and you just grabbed a cart with a TV and went on shopping. It was very nice and if you wanted two TVs an employee would load another TV in your cart for you.

The missing page with Blu-ray & DVDs list the following as $7.99 for Blu-ray and 3.99 for DVD: Blu-Ray - Brooklyn's Finest, Watchmen, I am Legend, The Departed, Hancock, Superbad, The Crazies, The Wrestler, Reservior Dogs, Law Abiding Citizen, Gran Torino, Whiteout, Big Daddy and V for Vendetta DVDs - My Sister's Keeper, The International, Drag Me to Hell, American Gangster, The Bling Side, Xman the Last Stand, Super Troopers, Lord of the Rings (unsure of which on), Observe and Report, The Hangover, 300, A Perfect Getaway and Year One.

You are right! It is missing a page of DVDs/Blu-Rays!

I'm kinda kicking myself over that! I did know about the sale but was too busy and figured stores would do that for BF!

Since I do not need/want a computer or tv this ad is disappointing. There are virtually no TV seasons and a very small DVD selection. I was hoping for cheap headphones like last year but that seems to be a no go. The Nikon touchscreen camera looks interesting but I'll have to do more research on it. I will probably swing in there for the iTunes $50 for $40 deal and a few DVDs and CDs. Hopefully they will release a few more deals the week of because, to me, this ad is nothing to write home about

Thanks Brad!! Going to look through it now!

There is another thread called "Bon Ton" since Herbergers is a regional name and is called many things in many areas (such as Bon Ton, Boston Store, etc... I do know that Herbergers does have Black Friday sales since they have done so in the past. Past BF sales have been really good and have had deals on small kitchen appliances and household goods. We always run into Herbergers very early on BF and they usually have a coupon that comes with the BF ad for $10 (or so) off your purchase before a certain time.

Our Best Buy is in a mid-size town and we never really have a problem getting into the store and grabbing small doorbuster things (such as DVDs, CDs, flash drives, etc...). We have never done Best Buy first nor do we expect or want the big doorbusters. The only issue we've faced in the past is a long line to check out and usually that rarely exceeds forty-five minutes. In the past my sister or I stand in line while the other one gets what they want and then we switch. We may swing by Bath & Body Works or Walmart before BB but it depends on the ads and which one has the better DVD selection and the time we get from Target to the next town that has the other stores in it.

Thanks for the info! I was worried that they would open an hour earlier like Target. This will give us enough time to get from Target to Best Buy around the time it opens!

After looking though it a bit I realized that it's a decent ad but I wish they had more recent and popular DVDs and TV seasons (some of the older ones were there last year!) Hopefully they will do what they did last year and do a few more additional pages when it gets closer.

What do people think about the Sony Blu-Ray Player for $99?

Wow very excited to see the ad!! So far the listings look decent!

Southern Minnesota. We usually go between two towns that are 20 minutes from each other. We stop first at the smaller one for Target and Herbergers because there are a lot less people and the line starts a bit later then at the larger town. Then we run over to the bigger town for everything else (Best Buy, Bath & Body Works, Walmart, Barnes & Nobles, etc.)

Submit button is on there now! Thanks