mcwalker

I used to get $10 off $10, but now only get $10 off $25.

I was in JCP early morning and it was packed with shoppers. They had some very nice broad discounts too. Somewhat disappinted, but I think the midnight openings are here to stay. Just hope they don't move earlier in the day.

I am feeling a bit of Black Friday withdrawl, too. I always look forward to "doing BF even better" next year (which applied somewhat this year). Anyway, we have the rest of the holiday season to look forward to!

I agree with Brad's suggestions, particularly on trying to minimize the need for horizontal scrolling (though increasing the font size would make that more difficult). On vertical scrolling, is it possible to make the column headers stay in place (visible) while the table rows scroll below (like freezing title rows in Excel)? A specific recommendation regarding the cameras list, which I developed: after putting in the "Storage" column to show what memory cards they take, I have decided that this info is not necessary or worth the effort to fill in. I suggest removing it next year. On the GPS table, it would be good to have a separate column indicating whether the unit comes with "Lifetime Map Updates". A comment on both the main Gottadeal item lists and the tables: I put "online only" items into the cameras list even though they were not in the main GottaDeal lists. I would like to see these items in the main GottaDeal lists (with a symbol indicating online only) so that they appear along with other items in the shopping list and comparison tables while I am doing research on items to purchase. On sorting, it would be nice to be able to "Sort by <column name>, then by <column name>, (and maybe a third column). Finally, as an editor of one of the (longer) tables, it would be very good to be able to sort the table *during the edit process* by any column. This would facilitiate copying information from one row to another for identical items or to check for consistency and errors, which are very cumbersome without the ability to sort the table during editing.

Thanks to Brad, BigJim/Dev, Stationchief, and all the other volunteers who help put together the best Black Friday site!

Did you win a GottaDeal T-Shirt this year? Do you have one from a prior year? Did you wear it on Black Friday or before and take pictures? If so, post your pictures here. This is also a challenge to my fellow Gottadealers: If you haven't already, wear your shirt and take pictures. These aren't just for sleeping in or using while you clean the house, folks! (though they can be useful for those activities, too). So here is my challenge: wear your shirt in a public place, take a picture, and post it in this thread. I suggest taking the picture either within a store or shopping area, or outside in an area representative of where you live (but those are just suggestions). Note: To post a picture on Gottadeal, you must first save it to a web host such as Photobucket.com, then paste the file link into your message with the "Image" button. I will start with the picture below. Just before Thanksgiving, I was on a business/sightseeing trip in Colombia. I took a shirt along from a prior year and snapped the attached picture while riding a gondola system above Medellin. (Maybe not a current Gottadeal market, but I took a risk for Gottadeal, as Medellin can still be a little risky for Gringos calling attention to themselves in Gottadeal shirts.) I'll post a picture with my new 2011 shirt soon. Let's see those photos! http://i1006.photobucket.com/albums/af182/mcwalker59/DSCN0921b.jpg

I shopped at a CVS pharmacy on Thanksgiving day, but answered no to the Thanksgiving Day shopping question as I boycotted any other shopping on Thanksgiving Day (except online).

The trend to online shopping is not surprising of course--but interresting that more people said they would do it next year than did this year. However, the Gottadeal.com crowd is biased in this regard, since we have taken the effort to sign up for and engage in an online forum. There are a lot of other BF shoppers who spend little or no time online. (They are all those poeple who seem to be "browsing" on BF.) Of course, we have the Gottadeal.com advantage!

I pledge to visit GottaDeal.com throughout the year! You don't even need to enter me in the drawing--I have three Gottadeal shirts, so if you draw my name, pass it on to someone else...

My two biggest purchases were online Thursday: a new Tom Tom GPS from Radio Shack and a Columbia winter parka for my wife and or 11 year old daughter (almost same size now) from Cabellas (which we don't have in our area). Also went to CVS pharmacy on Thanksgiving. As usual, I did my shopping in the Nassau Hub area of Long Island instead of stores near me in Queens. Got in line at Target just a few minutes after opening time. I was out for a bunch of smaller items, including many doorbusters, but no real "blockbuster" items. I shopped pretty straight until 2:30 PM at the following stores: Target, Best Buy, Walmart (& Subway in Wmart for early morning sandwich), Michaels, Home Depot, Lowes, Walgreens, Staples, JC Penney, Sears, (Chipotle for lunch), a distant Sears Outlet just to see what they had (a bust), a K-Mart next door, then home. Later went to a Rite Aid and a Pep Boys Auto. In addition to the two online purchases, some of the things I got: CVS: various free after coupon items. Target: some CDs/DVDs/BluRays, iTunes gift card, portable vacuum, some hand towels and washcloths. Best Buy: A Sandisk 16 GB SDHC card (not advertised), 1 DVD, Just Dance 3 game for XBox/Kinect, and my favorite find-an unadvertized Braun Series 3 shaver that I had been scouring the adds for which I saw was on sale for a good price while I was waiting in the serpentine line. Walmart: 1 DVD, 1 soccerball, and a Subway sandwich (pretty much a bust as last year). Michaels: 2 art sets and 2 kids activity sets, wrapping paper. Home Depot: mini clamps set, a tire inflator (may return), a 2 poinsettias Lowes: LED flashlights, a tripod LED light, a mirror for my co-op apartment building where I am president of the Board. Walgreens: miscellaneous free after coupon items, a home blood pressure monitor. Staples: Photo paper, Batteries free after rebate (get these every week at Staples!!), two Logitech web cams for me and daughter. McAffee anti-virus free after rebate. JC Penney: wallet, 2 sheet sets and a mattress pad for new bed my daughter is receiving this week, two rugs for our bathroom, a tie. Sears: A Craftsman 12v pump for tires and other items (will probably return similar item bought at Lowes). Also bought ten 200-bulb LED light strings on reels for my co-op apartment builiding. Sears Outlet: nothing K-Mart: a Totes tabletop soccer game (for doorbuster price after doorbuster hours ended). Rite Aid: micellaneous, two Home Improvement gift cards with $10 back each. Pep Boys Auto: A rechargeable lamp (free after rebate). For first time, did not go to Kohls this year, in part because my wife did not go out in morning with me.

Walmart and Target in a dead heat at 57 each (out of 92 "votes") as of 11:00 PM EST 11/16. Strong showing for Amazon.com. (But should't the online shopping response exceed the Amazon response--unless you plan to show up at one of their warehouses and submit your order on paper!) (Submitted from my temporary perch in Bogota, Colombia. Just can't stay away from BF and Gottadeal.com.)

This isn't about GottaDeal, but earlier Thanksgiving / BF hours in general: 11/14 Bloomberg News: "Target Employees Protesting Thanksgiving Hours" http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-11-14/target-employees-protesting-thanksgiving-hours.html

And thanks Brad for turning off the "public" aspect of the poll. I didn't realize what that was going to look like until I saw it.

And there it is..... 91 choices.

I usually post this survey each year, so here goes: Now that most of the big store ads are out, What stores do you plan to shop at at any time this Thanksgiving, Black Friday, or BF Weekend? Check all that apply in the survey. Remember that you can only respond to a survey once, so wait until you have a good idea of your shopping plans before filling in the survey.

FORUM ...Thread ...Thread ...Thread FORUM ...Thread ...Thread OK. got it. Ditto on the sleep deprivation!

I have a TomTom XL, which I am generally pleased with, but it does not have map updates or traffic, so I am planning to buy a larger 5-inch one with those features (and maybe Bluetooth). I have read a technical review from a few years ago that suggests that Garmin and Magellan had the better mapping and better routing algorithms, but the diffference was rather slight and I am not sure it is true anymore. For anyone who has owned both, exactly what did you like or dislike. As another person commented, I am seeing better prices on the TomToms for the general features I am looking for.

A few more thoughts: 1. I wonder if it would be possible to have two chat text screens running, one only for questions to Big Jim so he could see them, and another for other chat mainly between the viewers. 2. Might be nice if you could sometimes switch to split screen with live video of yourself in the corner and share part of your desktop on the main screen, to pull up ads or any other images you want to share. This is common in business web casting. 3. Put a light on your face--it gets a bit dim when your monitor goes to a darker screen and puts out less light to illuminate you. Great job and I look forward to some chats from the line!

And all the other forums for specific types of items (desktops, netbooks/tablets, cameras, GPS, etc.)

BigJim, I find them useful, and I would say for the regulars on the site, we feel a bit of a community on the site and in the webcasts. You note that the chat goes really (too) fast. Now this may be hard to do on the internet, which is known for useless banter (and worse ), and I have been a little guilty on the chat, but I suggest that at the begining of the program, you ask that people limit their chat to thoughtful comments and questions directly related to BF and directed to you and all the listeners. And for all those reading this (note to self), let's limit our chat during the program to thoughtful comments and questions about BF.

Thanks for this. I am looking forward to checking out the online opportunities. Note on the Cameras Comparison Chart, I included cameras that the ads said were "Online Only" (in addition to those that are both in-store and on-line), even though they are not included in the Gottadeal BF item listings. There is a note indicating which ones are Online Only.

sweatshirts, reusable shopping bags, some kind of small toy for kids

I was just wondering the same thing. Any answers?

Note that it says refreshments (drinks) all day long, but I didn't see anything about food. Parking might work with their ususal valet set-up, or in theory they could cordon off some close-in sections of their parling lots. Aside from the fact that none of these malls are near me, this wouldn't help me much, because although I probably will visit a mall during the day, most of my day will be at various free-standing stores (most Targets, Walmarts, Best Buys, etc.)

I was comparing some items in the JC Penney sale flyer for the Home sale starting today and running through the 12th with their BF ad. Prices on many items are comparable. Some will be a little lower on BF, some were actaully a little lower in the current sale, especially if you apply one of the "mystery savings" coupons you get in the store or during checkout and use a JC Penney card (a good reason to have some of those store cards sometimes). (JCP is not offering savings coupons valid on BF.)