yogiyb

Starting at 10pm DEFINITELY contributed to having a different "mix" of shoppers but what's interesting is that it ALWAYS seems to be Wal Mart that has these problems. You rarely hear about these type of brawling chaos at Target or BB.

That is so right. In 04, I got to BB around 3:30 and knew the likelihood of getting the desktop was slim. I didn't get it but even then, by the time the store opened, I was still glad to be in the first group of people to get in. Of course in just a few years, the crowds have exploded. In 04, I was about 50th in line around 3am. Last year I had to camp out starting around 5pm on Thursday and was 25th in line. By 3am, I had strangers walking up offering me $$$ to buy items for them b/c the wait to get in the store was going to be about an hour based on how long the line was. In the end, you have to remember it's called Black Friday for a reason and try not to get emotional about how these stores are conducting business.

I always have in the past at BB and it was worth it. BB is not my first destination stop this year but I probably won't be able to resist doing a quick walkthrough.

Kohl's is moving up my list with the 4am opening. It's typically at the end of doorbuster stops but now I can be in and out of there in less than 30 minutes.

I'm looking for a flat screen monitor also...17" is fine for my 6 yr. son. It's encouraging to hear that there should be plenty. Right now an overnight is not in my plans.

Out of the majors, I think it will be Walmart.....Best Buy likes to see the anticipation build and won't leak too early.

I like to go it alone in the early hours in order to move in and out quickly among the crowd but if the husband takes out, we tagteam early and then regroup midday for whatever is left.

Although the website is advertising SHIP80, you can still use the SHIP 60 code. I got the swimsuits for $7.99 and the fleece throws!!!!

Used it Saturday when purchasing my new iPod along with some other stuff. The iPod is what kicked the total over $175 but the clerk let me use the coupon anyway.

The only thing that excites me about this is if it gets Best Buy and Circuit City to do extra deals like they did on BF. WalMart got the word out about the Secret Specials which prompted BB & CC to do the same and their sales turned out to better than Walmart's. Walmart just can't seem to get it together.

You're best bet is an outlet. Try www.outletbound.com for a complete list of outlet stores. With Ebay, use a power seller and be sure to check the comments left by purchasers. Also with Ebay there's the common sense factor, for a new bag with tags, the price shouldn't be heavily discounted or it's a fake. If you can get to an outlet store, (I've made the trip and my closest outlet is 4 hours) the price savings are definitely worth the drive. My DH got my the $400 briefcase for $250 a couple of years ago.

Last year, my son's aide got a better gift than the teacher (yeah, I didn't like her much). This year I'm doing a six box Harry & David tower so the teacher, aide, & speech therapist can split among themselves.

Yeah I almost missed the camcorder as that girl was going down one side of the line while everyone else was on another.

I knew the website would be a disaster once they broke off from Amazon. The website doesn't even have the inventory one would expect from TRU.

I had a similar experience the Toshiba laptop where I had a voucher but the Toshibas were sold out by the time I got to checkout (only an hour later as I had to go through TV checkout first). I got a Compaq for $249 although at first they tried to sell it to me for $599 but I wasn't having that after 12 hours outside in the cold. The whole point of the voucher system is to ensure the first people at the store get the items. I held on to that voucher until I got some relief as I knew once I gave up, BB was not going to go out of their way to help me.