DeanH

So true. When Circuit City and CompUSA were still in business, the electronic deals seemed much better. But that's what competition does sometimes.

Mid-1980's, around '86. 1st wife's family introduced me to the "wonders" of BF.

Fewer and fewer reasons to go out for BT/BF this year, but only the lure of men's flannel shirts priced 3-for-1 (Belk's) and other clothing specific things (Macy's and JCP) are going to get us out of the house on those days.

Never understood the fanboi-ism surrounding Dyson vacuums. Sure, they're decent vacuums, but not to the extent of the brand love that permeates any vacuum cleaner thread on the 'net. I bought an Animal in May. Returned it a week later. Wasn't really good at picking up pet hair off carpet. And emptying the cup wasn't exactly a clean job, esp. with the static build up making a lot of the dirt/dust cling to the inside of the cup. Just a nasty job. And noisy. And replacing the HEPA filter was going to be not exactly cheap. Did a great job on bare floors, tho, but that's almost a given since the Dyson was designed in England, and wall-to-wall carpet isn't nearly in as widespread use like it is here in the U.S. Then we bought a "good" vacuum and the difference was night and day. Bought a Miele Twist and we'll never look back with any envy or remorse. Completely outperformed the Dyson on carpet and about its equal on bare floors. Much quieter. And the bag has an internal flap that snaps shut when you remove it from the machine, making it almost impossible to release any dust/dirt that's in the bag. Much better craftsmanship and construction vs. the Dyson....almost to the point that it made the Dyson feel and look like a toy. But I guess if you're moving up from a cheap-o Dirt Devil or Eureka, a Dyson must seem like a revelation in cleaning. But you're doing yourself a disservice by not investigating a Miele before spending your hard earned dollars.

That's what the stores did on the Cape when I was there. 1AM. Employees are prohibited from even entering the store until 1 minute past midnight. There are exceptions...restaurants, gas stations, etc., but almost all stores are closed the entire day of Thanksgiving and on Christmas. Mass. state blue law. I've been told there are some townships/counties that have made exceptions to the law, but very few and far between.

Then you're missing out on some excellent deals. If you're buying from Amazon, even if it's a 3rd party seller but fulfilled by Amazon, if the item doesn't meet your expectations, Amazon simply takes it back and refunds immediately. Heck, I've had a few "used" items I've bought from Amazon that looked like brand new--most recently a set of Westin running boards for our Silverado. They were "used" but darned if I could find any signs of them being out of their plastic wrappings.....and the price was half of "new". And the very few times I've had a "used" item not meet my expectations, Amazon's even done a refund before I sent the item back. They'll even exchange the item for one in your cart and have the new item to you shipped overnight. Of course, this presumes you're using Prime. I've had no qualms about buying used from Amazon at any time. Big savings, ultra easy returns if dissatisfied with what you get, and sometimes you get new for used prices. Can't beat that, if you don't mind the potential for "wasting" 2 or 3 days' time.

This is from WM's website: (I boled and underlined the relevant part) This is found here: http://www.walmart.com/cp/Christmas-Ad-Match/1159720?povid=P1171-C1110.2784+1715.2777-L0

Got introduced to hardcore BF'ing back in 1986. Been doing it ever since, but it's changed a lot over the decades. About to lose interest in it now, tho, because you typically get better deals closer to Christmas or, if you are very patient, immediately post-Christmas. And I'm just getting old and am tiring of the zoo it inevitably becomes just before the doors open. Have a better time sitting at home these days BF'ing Amazon.

Good move, Brad, although the rare blank man/shadow avatar does have a certain appeal.

Toyed with BF during the early 1980's, but got introduced to hardcrore BF'ing in 1986 by my ex-wife's family. Completely hardcore BF'ers, they were. Got me really hooked and haven't missed a year yet....although some of my shopping preferences have altered over the years.

Like another poster, looking for a laptop, minimum midrange. Love to see a good ultrabook laptop drop significantly in price for BF, but probably won't happen.

Harbor Freight--10/8

Looks like Hyannis, MA at first for BB, then up to Cambridge, MA for Microcenter's sale.

Dunno about not having to show up very early. Even in the last few years, which were admittedly very lean years for doorbusters, our local BB's still had lines wrapped around the store hours before the tickets were passed out....like 400+. The line still started forming two days before the sale started, so you can almost imagine what this year's doorbusters will bring out.....this has been the best BB BF ad in three years, at least.

Unsure. Used to shop Augusta, GA mostly, but we just moved to Cape Cod a month ago to care for the wife's father, so I guess maybe somewhere around Boston?

It's mostly because older houses, apts., etc., use a three prong outlet while newer homes have a four prong outlet. The wiring of the cord in the dryer is very simple.....match colors of the cord's wiring to the dryer's wiring, loosen screw for appropriate wire and attach cord's appropriate ring terminal. Simple, really.

Well, we did venture out at around 7AM Friday morning, but only because my coffee pot died earlier that morning. Completely avoided WalMart, which was NOT as packed as I'd thought it would have been (parking lot only 2/3 full.) Went to Belk's because they were advertising 40% off coffee pots and I knew what the pre-BF prices were. Surprisingly, but not really I suppose, this Belk's had marked up every price so when the 40% was applied, the final price was just a few dollars below their "normal" price. Disgusted, I walked by the shoe dept. there and spied some Clarks shoes I'd been interested in. Sign states 50% off......were $100, now $50. Too bad the staff left the "real" price stickers in and on the soles of the display shoes.....$69.99. The shoes never sold for $100, so as far as I can tell, Belk's was playing fast and loose with their pricing. Bad form! Went over to KMart. Got a cheapie coffee maker to tide me over until I can get a nice one from Amazon. So.....went home, and then had to go back out at around 4PM....cat food. Forgot it earlier....duh! This time went into WalMart. No crowds. And amazingly, outside the el cheapo laptop, not one other electronics "doorbuster" had sold out. 32" Samsung/Vizio LCD TVs......had dozens and dozens still sitting on pallets in aisles. The Maggotbox BluRay player that was so cheap? Had a pallet of at least 60 or more stacked in the middle of the floor and no one wanted one. The cheapie 19" LCD TV? They were scattered all over the electronics area and again, could get all I wanted of them.....but why? So, looks like WalMart again overestimated their sales potentials........and within a few days, the TVs, BR players, etc., will all be reduced until they clear this massive overstock......just like last year and the year before and the year before.......

What I've always liked about the two MicroCenters I shop is that both pricematch Newegg's online prices, Fry's prices, almost anyone really. MC employees will even look up the price you've seen if you can remotely remember where you saw it, print it out, take it to the register for you and get it adjusted without incident or drama......and always with a smile. But MC has always had better processor prices than Newegg, better than Fry's.......and pricematched case prices, video card prices, and any price on what they carry with Newegg's prices. I've just always been disappointed with the lack of depth in MC's selection of memory. OUtside that, MC's selection of product is excellent and have never had to justify a return or pay a restocking fee, and that included an Antec Signature 850 I got as a Christmas present two years ago from my brother. He purchased it at the MC in No. VA.......sent it to me but forgot to put the receipt in the box. Figured I was screwed when the ps died two hours into use. Went to the ATL MC I frequent, dead ps in hand but no receipt.......and got no headaches exchanging it at all, just "Go get a new one and we'll exchange it right now." Fantastic store!

If you've been watching reliability ratings from consumer laptops, which are typically lower/worse than corporate laptops, since Acer's buyout of Gateway/emachines/Packard Bell Holdings in 2007, Acer's reliability has risen towards the upper end while Gateway/emachines has dropped each year towards the bottom of the group of seven or so consumer oriented laptop sellers......Apple typically is first, followed by a grouping of Acer and Sony, then a grouping of Lenovo, Dell, and Toshiba, then Gateway, HP, and Compaq rounding out the bottom of the barrel, which shouldn't be too surprising since Acer moved Gateway into a "value line" below their own Acer brand after their acquisition of Gateway. Of course, a lot depends on if the unit is left in one spot, plugged in and not moved a lot or is carried around a lot in things like kids' backpacks, etc. The latter use gave laptops much worse durability/reliability as can be expected.

Black Friday deals: St. Pete family is first in nation to start camping at Best Buy http://www.wtsp.com/news/topstories/story.aspx?storyid=157294&catid=250 Insanity!!!

Fry's is probably the rarest of ads to come out prior to the Thanksgiving Day papers because Fry's prints their ads as a part of the paper instead of as a separate insert, like other stores, so you almost never see the Fry's BF ad early. Microcenter is what I'd dearly love to see, though....pipe dream I guess.