MarkRaby

My question is: Does RossMAN partake in BF? --Mark--

Yes...but it's just the central Ohio area that this affects (not the rest of the state), and if this was somehow an act of revenge to Ohio, I wouldn't think they'd offer $15 gift cards for every $100 you spend. I think it's just a very bizarre local promotion idea. --Mark--

Best Buy's BF sales are now active online: Link to their interactive ad: http://bestbuy.dailyshopper.com --Mark--

I just went to bestbuy.com and they have their "weekly ad" link updated. An interesting thing I found is that they're offering a $15 gift card instantly for every $100 you spend (central Ohio locations only). However, that takes up the space for the doorbuster deals. And no where in the ad does it mention the 6-hour specials. I've entered so many random zip codes to compare and it seems I'm in the 30-mile radius of the entire country who doesn't have the doorbusters listed. This is terrible. I was planning on spending hundreds of dollars on the doorbuster specials . Now I don't know if I'll even go to Best Buy... Here's a look at the front page of my Best Buy ad: http://bestbuy.dailyshopper.com/lib/bestbuy//245208_b.JPG --Mark--

You are most certainly not the only one. Actually, you summed up my feelings exactly. As for whether you (and I) are crazy, well, if that's insane, then put me in an asylum --Mark--

Well, it's officially Thanksgiving here on the East coast. This is the home stretch, everyone! I know a lot of people here (myself included) have waited over 11 months (since BF 2003), have speculated about this year's deals for over 32 days, have spent hours thinking about and planning which stores to hit and in what order, and have made dozens of posts on internet message boards such as this one, and it all comes together tomorrow! So good luck to everyone! May you all get everything you set out for. Keep warm, stay safe, and of course, enjoy the month-long holiday season! And not to be forgotten, make sure to eat a lot of turkey, clear space in your refrigerator for tons of leftovers, and spend some quality time with your family (either at the dinner table or on the phone if you're away from them). --Mark--

I've got to agree with Ross on this one. Of course, you might see something on sale on the Sunday before Christmas that wasn't even on sale during Black Friday/Saturday. But aside from that, and especially when you count in mail-in rebates (BF is pretty much national MIR day), Black Friday generally sports the best retail deals of the holiday season. Of course, like RossMAN said, it's a trade-off because BF consists of longer lines, and usually more madness than the aformentioned Sunday. --Mark--

I haven't seen one in the past two years I've done BF shopping. --Mark--

Meijer as well. --Mark--

Columbus, Ohio area -- in the Columbus Dispatch: Big Lots That's it! In the past years, virtually every single ad hasn't come out until Thanksgiving. I think Big Lots only came out today because there are Thanksgiving Day specials. --Mark--

As you know, every store is competing to get you to come though their doors first, and a handful of them try to do this by offering a free trinket, gift card, etc. Here's the known list of freebies, as well as the limits and other applicable stipulations. Unless otherwise noted, you do not need to make a purchase to receive the item. Make sure to check your local ads to ensure your store is participating and is following the same terms: Store Name -- Item Description -- Who Gets It -- Other Details Thanksgiving Day Big Lots -- Westclox wall clock -- First 100 (1 per household) Black Friday Big Lots -- Mini AM/FM Neck Radio -- First 100 (1 per household) BX/PX -- $20 gift card -- First 100 (1 per family) JC Penny -- Disney Snowglobe -- ??? Media Play -- Sports Illustrated Watch -- First 40 -- With $20+ purchase Mervyn's -- Santa limted edition ornament -- First 700 Sears -- $10 gift card -- First 200 (1 per household) -- Must be used the same day Saturday 11/27 Best Buy -- Exclusive holiday CD -- Reward Zone members -- No purchase necessary, but you do need to check out with it This is probably a waste of a thread, but hopefully someone will find it useful. Please add any that I forgot or that pop up when the official ads are released :). --Mark--

Haha, it's not just you. And of course, it'll seem like forever before the day arrives, but once it's over, we'll all say it went by too quickly . --Mark--

Ah, thanks very much for that :). --Mark--

I beleve Kohls was the most recently leaked/released BF ad, but there are still some stores whose BF deals we know next to nothing about -- Media Play and Big Lots jump to mind. --Mark--

Good point -- the doorbusters lure the customers into the store, and while they're there, they spend money on all the other sale items. I wish I had a team like you. It will just be my brother and me (he might bring his girlfriend along, but that wouldn't make any difference as she'll want to be by his side for the entire day). And while we can split out in two different directions, that's not enough to cover all the stores for the free trinkets, FARs, and other specials that we'd like. But oh well. You work with what you've got, right? --Mark--

Well, you may have to head out early (depending on where you live), but Best Buy's Toshiba for $500 (regular price supposedly $900), with no mail-in rebate needed, looks like a great deal to me -- Meijer's $500 HP laptop, while pretty much identical to Best Buy's, requires you to pay $850 up front and then wait for a $350 MIR. --Mark--

Thanks very much for the kind words, Ross :). I will do my best to continue to be a positive addition to this great community. --Mark--

Oh yes, I could reminisce for hours about the different generations of video games. Actually, my Atari 2600 just broke a couple weeks ago when my cousin tried to jam an Atari 7800 cartridge in it . I'm looking into the new Atari Anthology game for PS2/Xbox. Ah, but I digress. --Mark--

Thanks, RossMAN! I have a 20% off coupon to Kohl's and have been wondering what they'd have for BF. --Mark--

The term "doorbuster" refers to sales that are only good for the first part of the day, and are generally really good deals (and on Black Friday you pretty much need to bust down the door to be able to get them). --Mark--

I'm jealous seeing all these parents so knowledgeable of video games. My parents were very clueless about them (which has its ups and downs, but I really would have liked them to be able to play with me or at least know what my games were about). But perhaps I grew up right before the huge boom of video games. In any event, you're all good parents in my mind . --Mark--

I got this idea from another thread (thanks to elena_398 for bringing up the issue). For anyone who doesn't remember from their local newscast, you can go to www.weather.com and enter your zip code to see your forecast. It'll be interesting to see who's going to be braving the cold, snow, rain, thunderstorm, etc. I'm in central Ohio and right now, they're predicting near-freezing temperatures with light rain -- not too bad, and it certainly doesn't look like it'll turn into the monsoon-like conditions I faced last year. --Mark--

Central Ohio's where I am and we will have things slightly warmer (35) but it's also going to be wet here. This better not be one of the days I forget to take my umbrella with me --Mark--

I didn't get the Wal-Mart or Best Buy ad today, but someone at another site has posted pics of the BB ad -- I don't know whether or not I should link the site, but I'll just say that almost every "rumored" deal is in there. --Mark--

Great question! I'd love to see everyone's response to this. With $434 in Best Buy Bucks to spend, I'm definitely going to Best Buy first. My sister wants a digital camera and DVD/VCR combo for Christmas, and with good doorbusters for both of these at Best Buy, it's a no-brainer for me. Office Max, JC Penny, Sears, Radio Shack, Target, Media Play, and Staples are all also on the tentative itinerary for me (not sure of the order yet -- and JC Penny is probably just for the free snowglobe). --Mark--