bigjimslade

I am not shocked. I think with the state of the economy it would be good to create early hype.

They have used the system company wide for the past 4 years.

Hi everyone! I did this last year so I will do it again this year. Below is everything you ever wanted to know about how tickets work at Best Buy (BB) and a picture of a sample ticket so you will know what they look like. FAQ: What is a ticket at Best Buy? A ticket is a paper that BB employees will pass about 2 hours before the store opens. The ticket holds the product for the ticket holder for the item on the ticket until 11am local time on Black Friday. BB does this to cut down on fights and riots in the store. What are the tickets for? No one really knows what BB will put on the ticket system for BF. In the past they have been for items that are in high demand but have limited stock for. In the past few years items included desktops, laptops, cameras (Digital and SLR Film), MP3 players, GPS, TVs (HD, Plasma, LCD, Tube), Printers, and sometimes household items like washer machines. Is the ticket system company wide or just a local program? The ticket system is a company wide system. The tickets come from BB HQ and are sent under strict security to the stores about 1 week before BF. When do they pass out the tickets? The tickets are passed out the morning of Black Friday about 2 hours before the store opens local time. What happens when they pass out the tickets? About 2 hours before they open the doors for black friday Best Buy employees will come out of the store and start at the front of the line. One BB worker will have a ticket for an item. He/she will start at the front of the line and go down the line saying "Who wants the $149.99 desktop?". He/she will give each person a ticket until the BB employee runs out. Once the tickets are gone for that item then that is it for that item. BB employee will do this until all of the ticketed items are gone or until they have reached the end of the line. Once I have a ticket what happens next? You wait......You wait until the store opens. The BB worker who gave you the ticket will explain to you where to go in the store to pick up your item. Most BB will close there customer service desk to make room for all check out lanes to be open so pay attention on where you are told to go to pick up your item. Is there a limit on how many tickets I can get? Most ticketed items are one per a person per an item. For example if you want 1 desktop and 1 digital camera then you will get two tickets. If you want 2 of the SAME item you wont be able to get it since there will be a limit of one per a person. Some stores will even go the extra mile of checking ID's so be ready to show your ID if asked. Can I get out of line after I get my ticket? My advice to you would be no. At the BB last year the manager told us and the 6 police officers in FULL tactical gear that if anyone leaves they lose there place in line and ticket. What time should I get in line for a ticket? It is hard to say since I don't know what you are wanting to get and where you live. Last year (BF 2007) people started to form lines at BB around 10pm Wednesday and by 12 noon Thanksgiving Day there were already 300 people in line. Most of the people in front of the lines wanted the laptops, desktops and TVs and they were college and high school students. It all depends on the weather as well. My advice....get there early.....Turkey is over rated! Is there anything else I need to know? Keep your eyes on this thread. I have sources at BB that will give me updated info if needed. Also remember that BB HQ gives local managers the power to customize the ticket system to fit there own store and community. This FAQ is only created as a guide only. If you have any more questions please post! This FAQ will be updated throughout the BF season. Below is a sample ticket from BB. http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m207/davedfw/gottadeal/bbticketbf2005.jpg

Press Release from NORAD and the DoD

CompUSA sold; stores to close http://www.wfaa.com/sharedcontent/dws/wfaa/latestnews/stories/wfaa071208_wz_compusa.7b17c7e3.html

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071206/ap_on_hi_te/dell_best_buy;_ylt=AnCwEAdWwHvY3YPtbIVOB5EjtBAF

After CES all of the stores will go to the product makers and make deals so they can have product on hand for BF and the shopping season. The BF ads are created Jan, Feb and March and most people dont know that.

Each BB has the Holiday hours posted on the front doors on a big poster.

Welcome to the community! If you order on Monday before 12 noon you can have it shipped overnight but you will be paying around $20.00 extra to do it. You can also order it online and do in a instore pick up where you will have to go to the customer service desk to pick it up. Good luck!

LG makes them. I have a BB brand HDTV LCD and it works great. I am using it with FiOS. I would get a protection plan with it as I do with all of my high dollar or BF stuff.

I think next year if you want a TV you will have to camp out. There will be a rush for TVs and the issue of supply and demand will rule.

I STARTED the line at 6pm Wednesday at Best Buy! By 1130pm Wednesday it was 40 strong.

Next year join our group. You are more then welcome too.

.....Just think one week ago we were all excited and prepping for BF. And now it is gone until next year.

Yes it was!

North American Aerospace Defense Command’s Santa Web site going live November 19, 2007 PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. – In honor of the 52nd season of NORAD tracking Santa Claus on his annual journey around the world, the bi-national command tasked with providing aerospace security for North America announces that the NORAD Tracks Santa Web site www.noradsanta.org is live effective today, according to NORAD officials. “The NTS program began in 1955 when an errant phone call was made to NORAD’s predecessor, the Continental Air Defense Command (CONAD) Operations Center in Colorado Springs, Colo,” said Michael Perini, NORAD Director of Public Affairs. “The call was from a local child who dialed a misprinted telephone number in a local newspaper advertisement,” Perini said. Although the wrong number, the commander who answered the phone that night gave the youngster the information he requested .…thus the tradition of NORAD tracking Santa began. The program has grown immensely since it was first presented on the Internet in 1998. “In 2006, the Web site received a whopping 941 million hits from 210 countries and territories,” Perini said. In addition, the NTS Operations Center, occupied by 756 volunteers on Christmas Eve, answered nearly 65,000 phone calls and 96,000 emails from children around the world. The Web site features the history of the program, information on how NORAD tracks Santa and interactive games. On December 24, beginning at 2:00 a.m. Mountain Standard Time (4 a.m. Eastern Standard Time, 9 a.m. Greenwich Mean Time), the Web site will feature a minute-by-minute update on Santa’s travels around the world. All of this information is available in English, French, German, Italian, Japanese and Spanish. The NORAD Tracks Santa Web site and program would not be possible without the support and generosity of the following corporate partners: * Google * Booz Allen Hamilton * Analytical Graphics, Inc * Verizon * Official Santa Mail * Globelink Language and Cultural Services, Inc. * Avaya * Qwest * Plantronics * First Choice Awards and Gifts * Meshbox * e-frontier * The North Pole For more information, please contact NORAD Public Affairs at (719) 554-3525/4072/6889. -30-

I cant say how much becuase the manager did this on his own but I will say it was worth it.

Most of the people in line at my BB were Indian. I am half Indian and I was number 1.

CNBC has a good Black Friday news section you should check out. http://www.cnbc.com/id/21839325/site/14081545/

Yes I did and I even got an extra discount for being the first in line so I got to get extra stuff.

The story about the tents............I got my tent 3 weeks ago from Wal Mart becuase I knew I was going to be out there for almost 2 days. The first person who was not with my group showed up about an hour after I did. She came with her sleeping bag but no tent. I told her to go to Wal Mart which was a mile away and get the $25 tent. When she did I helped her set it up. As more people were coming I told them to buy tents. When they got tents I helped each one of them set it up. Even though I was the first in line and could not care but I wanted to be friendly and help people in line. Here is my motto......We are friends until 3am Friday. After that it is every man for himself.

More pictures will be posted soon! I will let you know.

The link below is my BF pictures from Best Buy. I am in the yellow ski coat. http://community.webshots.com/user/devdfw Post your pictures and videos!

500.00. I got a discount since I was first inline so I spent 500.00 on everything I got.

Thank you Brad for everything you have done. You and your team are the best and have worked hard. May this coming year bring you much success and many more visitors.