mcwalker

Trying to embed the the map here, but it doesn't seem possible. (If anyone knows how to do that with Google Maps, pm me.) Any of you who left a message but didn't put a pin on the map, please visit https://mapsengine.google.com/map/edit?mid=zUnZpeEjK4QE.kMntm4dhOm_k

Generally the weekend after the first week of December (never Thanksgiving weekend). I used to put the tree up a bit later so it would keep reasonably fresh through the 12th day of Christmas (Jan. 6), but my wife prefers earlier. Probably December 7/8 this year.

I had thought about the map, but hadn't figured out how to do it. I have now added a link in the first post to a map that I created on Google maps. Zoom in on the map to your planned shopping location and add a pin there. Put your forum name on the pin and anything you want to add in the comments. https://mapsengine.google.com/map/edit?mid=zUnZpeEjK4QE.kMntm4dhOm_k

Short and sweet: Front: GD GottaDeal.com Why Pay Retail? Back: GottaDeal.com Celebrating 10 years of Black Friday Deals!

Brad was right, this is the 10th anniversary. count them: (1) 2004, (2) 2005, (3) 2006, (4) 2007, (5) 2008, (6) 2009, (7) 2010, (8) 2011, (9) 2012, (10) 2013.

My 12yo daughter is using a laptop we bought last year and iPod Touch that we bought a couple of years earlier. She has outgrown most of her toys. She recently asked to have American Girl dolls moved to storage to free space in her room. (We will keep those for a future generation, but discard or donate most other toys.)

Where will you be doing your Black Friday shopping this year? What city/town and state? If you are in a metropolitan area, what shopping area do you plan to go to? How far (distance or time) is this from your home? I have created a map in Google Maps where you can pin your shopping location. Click the following link to access: https://mapsengine.google.com/map/edit?mid=zUnZpeEjK4QE.kMntm4dhOm_k Place a marker on the map by clicking on the upside down teardrop in the menu at the top center of the map. Please put your Forum Name on the title for the marker and add comments if you wish. Be sure to zoom in to place your marker accurately. Please DO NOT touch the "All Items" group in the legend as this could cause you to move or delete all the markers. Below is the most recent view of the map (updated 10/16/2013). (The image below isn't directly linked, so you won't see your mark here until I update this image, but you can see it on the Google map site.) http://i1006.photobucket.com/albums/af182/mcwalker59/Map2013-10-16.jpg ************************** I will be shopping in the "Nassau Hub" area of Nassau County, Long Island, New York. That's about 17 miles / 20 minutes from my home in Queens, New York City. ***************************

I have looked into this in past years and have not generally found furniture deals to be exceptional on Black Friday even though some of the stores will have ads. There was one deal though worth looking for: I believe it was Rooms to Go had a 50% discount on gift cards on BF. You could use these for yourself, of course, and you did not need to buy the furniture that day, which allows you to focus on other things, then come back when you are ready. Look for this deal and be sure to read the fine print before buying, and check to see it they have items you are interested in first. (There are no R2G in my area and I never used this deal.)

Black Friday on November 29 means that my birthday (November 30) falls on the Saturday of Thanksgiving/Black Friday weekend this year (and the Sunday next year) -- a coincidence that only comes around once every few years (and is sometimes further disrupted by leap years). I would say that "I can't wait," but I really do enjoy the summer, so it can "hang around" as long as it likes!

The Kmart at One Penn Plaza in Manhattan had all Christmas merchandise 75% off on Monday, December 31. (I bought a couple of rolls of wrapping paper.)

OK, its Christmas Eve and I'm leaving for Black Friday -- now! JUST KIDDING. Have a nice holiday!

And ShopYourWay rewards members get an additional 10% on each of these discounts if you take the points instead of instant discount. So 5% becomes 15%, 10% becomes 20%, 15% becomes 25% and 20% becomes 30% back. Sign up is free. This is a good program and points are easy to use on any purchase at Sears or Kmart.

This comment relates to the item listings, not the forum: Doorbusters used to be simpler--they were generally available from whenever each store opened until around 1PM. So the simple indication of them with the "sun" symbol on the listing (and printout of My List) was enough. Increasingly we have to keep track of what time different items are doorbusters. This might be a little complicated, but it would be great if instead of just a sun, doorbuster items could be marked with a simple indicator of what time their doorbuster period begins. Say something like: T8pm for Thursday at 8:00 PM or F4am for 4:00 AM Friday, or Mid for midnight Thursday/Friday. There was an effort to indicate which day in the Sears listings, but it wasn't consistently applied to all the items and would be nice to have it in its own column (and be able to indicate the hour).

I would love to see a link to "My List" at the top of every page, even when you are in the BF forum (not just the Black Friday deals pages). I often find myself going to it. And maybe the same for the comparison charts. Adding to what I said above, it would also be nice to have a "Search Add Items" box available from any page, including the forum.

I just bought my first new computer in 10 years! (Wow, I didn't realize it had been so long until I just checked.) Its an HP Envy h8 with an third gen i7 processor from the HP Home and Home Office web site. I used a coupon code I found for 25% off any custom configured desktop $999 or more. I had been planning to buy an i5 with less features, but I configured it to cost $999.32 and got a lot more for my money after $249 discount! (This is much better than the free Nook and discounts on that appear on the site.) Coupon code is DT1261. I don't know how long that code is valid. (I also bought the 17.3" Toshiba laptop online on Thanksgiving morning for my daughter.)

And this deal is still valid--through Saturday. I bought it Friday evening.

I am wearing one all day today, tonight, and tomorrow. Also brought two more for daughter/relative to wear if desired (maybe tonight/tomorrow).

According to the survey, the early rush is on, but the big surge comes just after you wash the dishes tomorrow. Any final votes?

Idnygord: I hope that surgery went OK. So will it be online, or in-line this year?

Well, now with 85 votes: Walmart still leads, but Target has caught up to tie with Amazon.com. K-Mart is making a good showing, slightly ahead of Best Buy. JC Penney is still showing a big drop compared to last year for our group. JC Penney expected to loose some customers while improving bottom line with their new approach, but I wonder whether they will be reexamining their approach after this season's results are in. (I hope so, but I do want them to make enough money to stick around--it used to be my favorite department store.) Interesting to me that K-Mart is leading sister Sears. But that's just me. Of course, this is just for our little group of BF diehards.

In Lancaster PA, where we are going tomorrow and for BF, the temp will be mid-50's in the day and down to just above freezing at night -- but most important, no precipitation. (A bit cooler than here in New York City.)

Message to Dev: How about asking the Manager of Best Buy if he will set you up to do a webcast inside the store? Good advertising...

I haven't had a problem getting the paper Thanksgiving morning either at the corner "bodega" (convenience store) near me or in a pharmacy or store when traveling. I always buy the paper to get the printed adds and put them in my car. In addition to My List printed from Gottadeal, I generally take the ad from each store into that store while shopping in case I want to see info in the ad or point out an item to an employee to ask where it is.

One more survey: What GottaDeal features or strategies do you use in planning your Black Friday purchases and strategy? Check all that apply to you. Everyone have a great Thanksgiving and a successful Black Friday!

Funny how every year the "Any Online Shopping" near the bottom gets less than Amazon.com on the survey. It should get more votes-everyone planning to shop Amazon, plus others.