queenofshopping

Holy mother of god...last year I tried (*tried*) to go to the brand new Jersey Shore outlets. I spent, without a doubt, the longest I have ever spent in my car trying to get from a point A to a point B that was so close. Seriously, this place is no more than a half-mile from the Parkway exit, and I sat in traffic between the two for HOURS. By the time I got to a point where I could see the place, I decided it was absolutely, positively in no way worth it, and went home. Moral of the story: typical outlet? Sure. Brand new outlet? Are you out of your mind?! [i should note, however, that the NYC metro area has a total population that would make most of you cry, so YMMV ]

Wow, this is actually the first year I looked at their ad and thought 'I will definitely be going to Sears!' Mind you I never expect outrageous sales, but the prices on things I might be needing are pretty good.

dailydeals.target.com Looks almost identical to Amazon's Deal of the Day/gold box

This may finally be the year of the GPS for me (fingers crossed) - my mother is still the deciding vote on such things. Unfortunately over the last year or two it seems every time we talk about getting something we want, something we need gets in the way. I'm hoping that if I can get a good enough deal she may go for it, so long as there are no monthly charges involved. And really, I'm not being picky here - I don't need it to tell me about traffic or road closures or anything; all I want is to be able to figure out where to go when I get lost...without having to make any 'get on MapQuest for me. NOW!' calls to anyone!

I'm gonna have to go through everyone's lists for ideas! The only BF-type thing I wanted for myself was a 1TB MyBook, and I just got that for my birthday (yay). Anything else I might be interested in is either a) not the kind of stuff that I'd be likely to find deals for on BF, or too expensive (as a gift to me OR bought for myself). So basically I want a job and money this xmas!

I think it's interesting that, in the years I've been on here, this is the first time I've seen a thread like this; perhaps it normally doesn't get much of a response because, as all the ads start coming out, it gets bumped down and people miss it? Just a thought. Definitely wish I'd known about this in years past. I always go alone.

I guess you don't have any friends or relatives in North Jersey or LI you could stay/shop with? I can't imagine doing BF in the city *shudder*

I don't think I've ever slept that night...but then my normal schedule has me going to sleep in the wee hours of the morning anyway, so it's no big sacrifice for me!

Completely insane - I will never, ever do that again. The woman in front of me had 53 pairs!!! I'll gladly buy my flips for $2.50 and avoid the whole melee! I still wish they would go back to the old kind, without those bumpy things on them - I have a stockpile of about 20 pairs in all different colors but I never want to wear them because I know that once they're gone, they're gone.

thanks sara

I wore girls plus and needed long torso, and I remember getting several from Lands End

My best friend's baby shower is in a week and I still haven't bought my gift. I may wind up getting a big-ticket item and any kind of %-off coupon/code would be very much appreciated!

Went today & saw a sign that said both body lotions AND creams were $3, but didn't see any creams in the big bins. Also $3: the discontinued scents (mostly shower gel & lotion). Travel sizes 4 for $5. Twisted Peppermint & Vanilla Bean Noel 75% off (not a single Candy Apple - naturally, as that's what my friend wanted). 50% off eau de toilettes for the regular scents, a few random Aromatherapy things, & what robes they have left. 75% off the orange Breathe stuff & Halloween soaps (I guess they're trying to get rid of what they have left), small black Lambie, & some kind of xmas candleholders. Wallflower starters & refills 2/$20. Antibacterials 3/$10. Holiday antibacterial soaps 50% off. Pocketbacks 5/$5.

My grandmothers are 86 & 90. One usually gets DVDs, sweaters, candy, earrings...just your basic gifts from us. The other is one of those who 'has everything' so my mom usually gets her a gift certificate for a restaurant or hotel. I often give her books, frames, etc. The one idea I had that I thought was great (and my mom said we'll do this for her birthday) was to donate money to a charity in her name.

Gah why can't this be the DS one?!

Awesome! I guess I know where I'm headed tomorrow!

Many, many thanks to Brad & all the mods & admins that make this place possible! I can hardly believe this was my 4th BF as a member here! It's such a fabulous place, & I am always telling people about it! In years past I have stopped using the site after the holidays because, quite simply, if I see a good deal, I pounce on it, even when I can't really afford to be buying things (it's important to avoid temptation). However, this year I think I'll stay - online deals are getting better every year, and I know that as soon as I get a job I won't have as much time as I have had in the past to hunt around at B&M stores for bargains. I'm in it for the long haul this time around!

Yay for nice fellow shoppers! One tends to only hear about the badness, but things like this happened to me too! :)

I didn't realise till after I left that the mens college hoodie that should have been $8 rang up as $17.xx And in the next lane over peoples towels were coming up as $3 and a CSM kept having to come over & tell people only certain ones are on sale.

Yes, this situation is horrible. Yes, both Wal-Mart and the crowd that pushed its way in are to blame. No, that pregnant woman absolutely should not have been there. But honestly, I've done 2 or 3 BFs at Wal-Mart and I've never had a problem (aside from killing my hands trying to carry things). I'm only 30 miles from where this happened, and at my Wal-Mart, with its large, diverse, lower-than-average income population, things were fine. There was a fairly large police presence, and, while I didn't see the group at the beginning of the line, everyone else filed in in an orderly fashion, from all the way around the parking lot! So yes, it's a combination of personal responsibility (which gets thrown out the door when mob mentality rears its ugly head), and stores being equipped to handle what they know will happen. Also, please don't lump everyone who does Wal-Mart on BF in with one handful of crazy people. Just because we want the sales (&, if I do say so myself, the atmosphere), it doesn't mean we are, or act like, bad people. In fact this morning there were plenty of people saying 'excuse me' or 'thank you', people on line together bonded (as they generally do), and I witnessed a lot of nice gestures, at least enough to make up for all the bad stuff I saw.

OMG I think I almost died! WalMart was CRAZY - literally thousands of people! I was sure someone was going to be shot! I got on the line at 4:30, finally got in the door at 5:30, & left around 6:30. I got 7 of the $2 DVDs (good titles, I thought!), the recent Indiana Jones for $9, 101 Dalmatians for $10, a Cabbage Patch baby for $10, & 2 of the big collage frames that were $6 - ironically, it was those things that did me in - I had vowed not to get a cart, but I brought an XL Ziploc storage bag to carry stuff in...of course the frames, at 2.5' high & probably 1.5' wide, didn't fit in the bag, so I had to grasp them with my fingers for about a half hour while I went around the store trying to find things - my hands are still shaking, cos I used all these muscles in my hands, wrists, & arms I never knew I had! Only annoyance was that the hoodie that should have been $8 rang up as $17.xx, so that'll have to go back. Oh, and they didn't have the juniors plus jeans Before I left I got the Rubbermaid containers, FP Walker-to-Wagon, & some DVDs online. Thank god, cos there's no way I would have been able to get those giant boxes around the store! And now I'm off to Amazon - ta!

DVDs still say not till 2am PST (for the early bird ones)

I was pleasantly surprised to see that a bunch of the DVDs I was planning to get were already the price I was going to pay in whatever store, and Amazon's actual sale hasn't even started yet!

Oh my god! I thought, hey, I always stay up all night, I'll go to the outlets! (which opened at midnight) It was absolute INSANITY - I have never, ever, EVER seen so much traffic just to get into a place. I never even made it near the parking lot! After an hour I gave up, knowing it would have taken me another hour just to get in! So I left the house at quarter to 11, got there around quarter to 12, & headed home by 1. Now I'm waiting to go to Wal-Mart in a bit. I stopped by on my way back & there were about 50 people in line at quarter to 2 (I don't think I'll go till 5 - I plan to get a bunch of stuff online instead) ETA (3:20am EST): Got about half my list from walmart.com, w/ free site to store shipping

I got everything except Best Buy, but don't need it