mcwalker

Looks like the link (or the Staples site) has been corrected and this is indeed an i5. Getting very interested and I am going to look at the coupon posted by len_mullen.

So far with 18 "voters": Walmart is leading with almost everyone planning to visit Wmart, followed by Amazon.com, then Target, then Best Buy. Looking at last year's poll, which finished with 125 "voters" and is located here, this is a big gain for Amazon and Kmart, right on target for Best Buy and Target, and a bit of a gain for Walmart. JC Penney, which underwent a change in approach reflected in its BF ad, is currently down from 26.4% last year to 16.7% so far this year. Those of you who have not chimed in, keep those "votes" coming as you figure out your shopping plans.

What day and time do you plan to get in line or start shopping this Black Friday? (Don’t count brief visits to a pharmacy or other store before starting serious BF shopping.) Don't include any online shopping. This is for in-person shopping at B&M stores. This is another poll that I have done for a couple of years (but the format has to change each year as the opening times get earlier).

What stores do you plan to shop this Black Friday (or Thanksgiving) either in person or online? Check all that apply in the survey! This is the third year I have done this poll. There will be a couple more polls to follow soon.

Just finished adding all of the Sears non-doorbuster items to the list. Except for one treadmill, all of these items are distinct from the doorbuster items. Some look similar but all are different models with different features. (I will not be adding links or ad scans to these listings, however.) Spot any more typos or errors--keep posting in this thread.

Camcorders have been classified as Electronics for a few years. (I did the original camera and camcorder comparison charts two years ago and cameras last year). I moved these to Electronics. I would suggest that Brad change the category from "Digital Cameras: to "Cameras and Camcorders" in the future to group these together. On hhgregg I marked the five TVs on first page as Doorbusters, but also noted in text that two of those are repeated in 3-day sale. I couldn't find a third TV with double listing. I agree that the hhgregg add is a bit confusing.

Fixed the HH Gregg Coby Tablet. Been busy adding Sears 3-day sale items, all of which are different than doorbuster items (except one treadmill). I'll get to the others mentioned above tonight.

I am looking for a new i5 desktop and may or may not go for something on Black Friday. The Core i5 Lenovo from Staples is of leading interest to me, and I think it is a good deal, if in fact it is an i5 as the ad says (twice). However, the model number that they reference is for a Core i3, the model that Gottadeal linked to on the Staples site is an i3, and the "regular price" indicated in the ad matches the regular price of the i3 model. I wonder if the i5 could be a typo on the ad? I would say this is a fair deal for an i3, but quite a good deal for an i5.

Maybe a good year to focus on the online deals!

Bribri25 and racerfan, Thanks. It turns out that none of the items on the "3-Day Sale" pages of the Sears ad (pages 46 to 63) had been entered in the item listing. There are many good deals on those pages! I have now entered everything on pages 46 to 51, which includes all the electronics and some other items. I will keep entering tomorrow (unless someone beats me to it).

Yea, I guess the ad copyeditors are under time pressure, too!

Thanks bibri25 and racerfan, I have updated the Walmart and Sears tire listings. I will return to the other Sears listings later today as I think I saw other items that don't match the ad, too, but want to look more carefully before I edit.

Thanks. Added to list. Also adjacent "All Earth's Best Variety and Patry Packs"

Have you spotted an error in an item listing? Have you noticed an item in an ad that is not on the list? I volunteered to help Brad make corrections to the lists as needed. Post corrections or missing items in this thread and I (or one of the other volunteers) will make a correction on the list. In your post, please identify the Store, then the Item , then the error or missing information. Thanks. Happy shopping!

I find myself looking for less this year, not for economic reasons as much as I just don't have the specific needs I have had in prior years. That said, I think there are pretty good deals, similar to recent years. It depends in part on what you are looking for. I agree, in particular that the JC Penney ad is disappointing, and I find their whole new approach disappointing (but even there, I am interested in the High Sierra Wheeled Duffels, something I have been considering for a while).

Note that there is significant difference between the various Craftsman models, and probably the same for some other manufacturers. I have both Dewalt and Craftsman tools, and both can be very good. For cordless drills, I suggest considering one with a lithium-ion battery. I have one similar to the $39.99 model in the Sears ad, and because the battery has passed it useful life, I plan to buy either the $49.99 or $59.99 model this year, which come with Li-on batteries (instead of just buying a lithium-ion replacement battery for my drill). (I also have a corded Craftsman drill, which is my main drill, but maybe that will change.)

Others have highlighted the value of the GottaDeal "My List" feature and the ability to put your own notes under each item. I use this every year and find it one of the most valuable aspects of Gottadeal. I recommend the following: Download every ad for stores in your area to your computer. Open each ad for stores in your area in one window and the "My List" for that store in another window. Check off EVERY item that you might be interested in at each store. Later, return to the list and uncheck items you no longer want as you review your options. Then, after making lists, review store opening times and start with the store(s) that have the highest priority and most difficult items to get on your list (especially electronics). In general, I doubt that Black Friday is a good day to get lighting fixtures (especially chandeliers), but check the ads. Don't buy anything on Black Friday that is not a great deal--make those other purchases on another day or online. Good luck!

Yes, you can use Sears and K-Mart points at either store.

Um, are you sure that was the right Brad?

The adventure!

The short stroke length (the distance that the blade moves back and forth) gives me pause on this particular model. I am not convinced that Milwaukees are not good as some others say, but this is clearly the cheapest of their many models. Be sure to consider both horsepower and stroke length and keep in mind that all Milwaukees are not equal, nor are all Dewalts or Craftsmans. Unfortuntely, nothing is that simple. Most important, and especially because this is for your husband, no matter what you buy, put the receipt in an envelope and tell him that if he wants a different model he should not hesitate to return it! (I do that with many gifts.)

The Ace BF ad has a Milwaukee Sawzall reciprocating saw for $89.99 ($30 off regular price of $119.99). This is a corded model. Ace Hardware SKU 2033090, Milwaukee model number 6509-31. Note that this model has a 3/4 inch stroke length, which according to the Milwaukee web site, is the shortest stroke of all their models (all others are 1-1/8 to 1-1/4 inch).

The good news is: We are almost there!

Note that I will be preparing a comparison chart of GPS units available on BF on the GottaDeal Comparison Charts site. I suggest that you check out GPS units in stores and that your friends own, read professional reviews, check out the comparison chart as it gets filled in, but wait until all the ads are in before buying, either BF or online (unless you see an exceptional deal). I have owned two TomTom units. I upgraded to a larger TomTom XXL 550TM last year when Radio Shack offered it on BF and put it on its web site Thanksgiving Day. (I ordered online--no problem). The larger units are easier to read while driving, and I highly recommend getting a unit with "lifetime" map updates and traffic--I didn't have these on my first unit and the maps became noticeably obsolete, and the traffic feature has been even more beneficial than I thought it would be before I got it.) An objective review that I read a while back said that TomTom and one of the other makers had better maps than Garmin, but I don't know what the latest on that is. It is best to look at professional reviews because they compare the units side by side whereas most people only know about the one they own at any point in time and it's impossible to really try them out in a store-even if they do have power to the ones on the shelf.

Just looking at the last two years: Last year ShopKo had only Tracfone cards. No stores had a BF special on the phones that year. In 2010, Sears, Shopko, and Meijer had specials on Tracfone phones and cards on BF. You may also want to consider other brands of prepaid phones and compare overall cost. Pharmacies periodically have deals on the calling minutes cards for various prepaid phones.