mcwalker

I have looked at the BF sales on Furniture in the past, but generally found that the discounts were not better than other sales at these stores. I do recall seeing the Room 2 Go gift cards as an unusually good deal and as far as I know, only offered on BF (or BF weekend). I have never bought them though. Since we are so close to BF now, there is no harm in collecting some current adds and waiting to see how the BF ads compare. Don't assume that just because a salesperson tells you they are having a special BF sale, that this means anything--most furniture sales people work on commission.

Where are our rocky mountain and west coast shoppers? (and Alaska?) Make your mark on the map!

I have replaced the link to the map in the original post above. Hopefully it will work for you now. (It may come up a bit differently for me since I am the owner, but I hope that it will work for others now.) I will know when I see others put their markers on the map. Here is the updated link to the map: https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=zUnZpeEjK4QE.kevV7NlX0Y9c

What area will you be shopping in this Black Friday (or Thanksgiving)? I replaced the link to the map below after the 17th respondent. I have created a Google Map, at the link below, where you can place a marker to show where you will be shopping this Black Friday. - After you click on the link, the map should open in a separate window. - Zoom close in to the area where you will be shopping. If its in a large metropolitan area, try to find the shopping area where you will start shopping. - Click on the "upside down teardrop" in the menu on the map to place a marker, then click on the center of the area where you plan to shop. - Enter your GottaDeal Forum name in the top box where it says "Point ##". - If you like, enter some additional information in the box below. - Your entry should save automatically when you click elsewhere or leave the page. Here is the link to the map: https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=zUnZpeEjK4QE.kevV7NlX0Y9c Please don't delete or edit anyone else's points. Have fun. See if any other GottaDeal neighbors will be shopping near you.

Until 2011 Ace used to have a few items "Free after Rebate" but they stopped that in 2012. I miss those as I have made very good use of some of those items, but its understandable that free items can only go so far. Probably the best deal in the ad is the 50% off one item under $30 coupon. That discount matches or beats the discount on most of the advertised items. The coupon says "Limit one per household" but I might try to get a few of these and use them at more than one Ace store (and pretend not to know my wife and daughter ). There are usually a few small tools or hardware items that I can use.

1. Target 2. I'll shop a couple of pharmacies Thanksgivng morning, I will start shopping stores LATE Thanksgiving, probably after 10 PM. I will also be shopping Black Friday (after midnight, in the morning, and later in the day (but I have to drive from Fort Worth to Little Rock by nighttime) 3. Thanksgiving at 6:00 PM (at least I hope they have the minimal dignity to not go any earlier).

I am seeing this in a few posts. Since I will not be there for the early Thanksgiving openings, I might try this strategy.

Um, I know the poster means which store's sites, but I think the thread title is "dangerously" ambiguous.

Good for them. Wish others would do the same.

More info: Family and Friends Sale is in stores 6-9 PM local time on Sunday, November 9 ONLY. Sale is online through Tuesday, November 11 at 9 AM CST. (Does not say when online starts.) Use a Sears card for an additional 10% back in Shop-Your-Way points on the first $500 of each qualifying purchase! Here is a link: http://www.sears.com/en_us/dap/family-friends.html I usually have a few items to pick up at Sears on BF and may be looking to replace a vacuum that I bought from them last year (but I still like Kenmore vacuums). In the past, I have compared some items and found BF to be better than the Friends and Family sale, so I will be curious to see if they actually match on anything I am interested in this year. I hope that Sears' BF ad comes out before the F&F sale ends so I can compare, or I might buy and return if I see something I like, but the BF price turns out to be better.

I am opposed to stores being open from midnight to midnight on Thanksgiving (or any online deals that start during those hours). Except for some pharmacies in the morning, I will not be shopping during the day or early evening (probably until around 10 PM) on Thanksgiving, but I will go out around 9 or 10 PM when my family is ending their activities for the Holiday.

As the name implies, GottaDeal.com helps me find the best deals year-round. For Black Friday, GottaDeal.com gets early access to the ads to allow time to identify and research the deals and click on items to make your personal shopping list with the My Shopping List Feature right on the site. Comparison charts prepared by volunteers on the site help comparison shop key items, especially electronics. The discussions in the Forums on GottaDeal.com bring tips and tricks from experienced Black Friday shoppers for getting the best deals on Black Friday and the site provides direct links to items that are available online at Black Friday prices, before, during and after Black Friday. GottaDeal.com is my go-to site for everything I need to know to get the best Black Friday deals in stores and online!

I hadn't really thought of this, as I usually assume that parked carts still belong to someone and I wouldn't take something out of a cart if I think that it still belongs to someone who has (foolishly) stepped away to pick up something nearby. Hearing that some carts are actually abandoned, I might pay more attention to this. I am just afraid that the instant that I decide it is abandoned and take something I want out, the "owner" will show up screaming at me.

My biggest pet peve is any form of cutting in line, either to get into the store or any lines within the stores. As for people who browse and shop for items that aren't really Black Friday deals, all of us on GottaDeal know that is a bad idea on Black Friday, but actually it means that those people are not laser focused on getting the truly good deals that we are there for, so that means fewer people getting those deals and more opportunity for us to get them before they run out if supply is limited, so go ahead, browse all you like, just stay away from the good deals I am after. Another pet peve is people who take children who are too young to be out so late or in super crowded stores. I understand that some people have difficulty arranging for someone to babysit the children at home while they are out getting the deals, but try your best to arrange something, for your sake and ours!

I finish shopping entire stores (Walmart, Target, Best Buy, department stores) in about an hour (or less) on Black Friday. That kind of delay just for some games and CDs wouldn't work for me, but maybe they could do something like that but allow a faster flow of people. Target does this for their electronics department recently, and causes an excessive line, too. I think they would be better off if they could spread more of the hot electronics deals out to other areas of the store.

I think it is so that your kids can tell you that they "just gotta have" all kinds of things they never even knew existed before. (There are no stupid questions...only stupid answers!)

1. Use the My Shopping List feature on GottaDeal to make a shopping list, print it out, and take it to the stores with you. 2. Research items in advance to determine whether the price offered is the best and to determine whether the features and quality are really what you need. Don't just buy the cheapest thing. 3. Make a budget and select items in advance, then stick to your plan. Avoid excessive impulse buying. 4. For your first round of stores on (Thanksgiving &) Black Friday, don't browse--stick to your list and move on. Then possibly come back and browse later. 5. Visit key stores in advance (Monday to Wednesday) to figure out where items are in general, and especially to locate Black Friday items, if possible. 6. Tune into GottaDeal, especially in the days leading up to Thanksgiving and especially Wednesday night to check for BF items to go online. (and all year, of course!) 7. If possible, go in pairs to stores, to assist each other and so one can get in line and the other can pick up things. If you have more than 2 people, split between different stores. 8. Have fun! Don't push (too hard). Be polite, even if you don't get something you want.

You are absolutely right. The problem is that the stores are open and the areas around those pallets are accessible before the pallets are opened. I am not sure of the answer for these. One approach that coincides with some of my other comments would be it they closed ALL of their stores for at least a few hours on Thanksgiving, then open with things already available as other stores do, and bring out more of these items every hour or two and let people know that they will do that. I think that we also understand that a big part of the problem is the behavior of a segment of the population who tend to shop at Walmart (as evidenced by the well known videos making fun of some Walmart shoppers). Not sure what can be done about that, either.

I think Walmart needs to do a number of things, including tickets for the "hot" items. I particularly don't like the lines in the aisles that they have been using for some time (and which I have never participated in). I would prefer some well monitored and controlled lines outside the stores (no matter what the weather).

Maybe someone at Walmart finally figured out that it really wasn't making that much difference anyway and that they really don't need to pay the high fees for that outside legal firm to prepare and send the letters.

I would say that I rarely pay full "regular" price for anything. I also tend not to buy the latest gadgets in the first few months (or year) after release. On the other hand, I don't often buy the cheapest brand or model of an item, but will pay more (despite sales and promotions) for better quality items. The discount that I expect or will expect depends on the item and opportunities.

This is an interesting discussion and you make some good points. In general, I don't want to need to shop online during the day on Thanksgiving in order to get a good deal (or miss one if I am not online). Generally speaking, I will not be shopping during the day on Thanksgiving either in stores or online, even if that means that I miss some deals that I might want. As you point out, it depends a bit on how you shop online. If you are sitting at a computer watching for lightning deals or researching for extended periods, then I agree that is little different from shopping in stores (except maybe that you could be doing it in the company of family in your home while you eat and drink). What I will do is online shopping late Wednesday night and very early Thanksgiving morning, hopefully just checking to see if deals that I have already researched have become available at the BF price, then I can check out quickly and either get to bed or get back to enjoying Thanksgiving. While I am not generally in favor of Blue Laws, my preference would be that 1) stores can't sell most merchandise on Thanksgiving Day (midnight to midnight), except some food and pharmacy type items, and that 2) US-based retailers can not lower online prices or offer online specials during the same period. They could start a sale before midnight Wednesday night, but then the prices have to stay the same until midnight Thanksgiving. Then it's a free for all again on Black Friday. We should protect the Thanksgiving Holiday as a non-commercial holiday. The three days after Thanksgiving provide ample time to shop to your heart's content and for retailers to make all the sales they would make anyway.

I set up a My Shopping List here on GottaDeal.com. I think it is one of the simplest but best features of the site. I print out two copies (one to take in the stores and one to leave in the car). I have all the ads for stores I am going to in the car and take the ad for each store when I go in. Pretty simple but effective. The My Shopping List is under the FEATURES header on the Black Friday site, here: http://blackfriday.gottadeal.com/ShoppingList

Credit cards all the way. With a credit card you are protected against unauthorized charges. A replacement is a slight hassle, but not that big a deal. If you get the right one, they cost nothing and earn miles/points/perks, too. As a few people noted, Debit Cards are riskier because the money will already be taken out of your bank account when you find out and then it can take time to get it restored (and there could be some issues if you don't notice and don't notify the bank within a specified time period). My bank card for use at ATMs once came with a MasterCard logo (making it both a bank card and a debit card). I returned it to the bank and asked them to issue me a bank card without the debit card feature and they have been complying ever since. Not only can cash be stolen, but in the frenzy people can easily drop a few bills or a wallet.

Some of both. I will look online Wednesday night to see if I can get things on my list. I do this regularly now, but this year I will be driving long distance (New York to Texas) for Thanksgiving, so buying online saves space in the car for the long trip home. But I will also do in store shopping in part for the adventure, and for smaller items I don't see online.