AaronOnline

No problem man, my email is [email protected] if ya wanna drop me a line. SPAMMERS beware, I do have the means and the knowhow to prosecute SPAM sent to me. How do you think I can afford to go shopping this BF ?

Ok, here are some basic survival tips I have picked up along the way, through the forums, and off from some YouTube videos that I have posted and/or viewed recently. Might help you all out and I welcome more suggestions if I should miss anything. 1) Come early. The longer the line the less chance you will get what you came for and, more importantly, the longer the line the more ornery the people tend to be. Tempers tend to flare when people are upset about being the 127th person in line and everyone else wants what they want. 2) Bring a coat, hat, and some gloves. Best bet (depending on locale) is to dress in layers so, if it is warmer you can remove some clothing but you can always put it back on as temperatures plummit during the evening and morning hours. A blanket or two would not hurt as well. 3) Bring a friend. Though they might not be purchasing anything, having someone to chat with and goof off with will make time move just that much quicker. Also, this person can now hold your place in line as you leave to use the restroom, get something to eat, etc. and vice versa. 4) Bring some snacks and a drink or two in order to keep yourself nourished while waiting (depending on the time of your arrival). Nothing is worse than being in a line for many hours and having a sweet tooth or craving a McDonalds double cheeseburger. (So yummy at $.99) 5) Keep your money in an inside pocket or somewhere well away from the hands of strangers. Sounds like common sense but, as the people all smash together at store open, it is amazingly easy for that "bump" or "shove" to actually be someone trying to gain access to your cash flow and, thereby, ruining you shopping day. 6) Bring a radio or, even better, an iPod or some form of personal MP3 player so as not to make others listen to your Madonna or Gwen Stefani music. This will help time go by a little bit and partially keep your mind off the time dragging slowly by as you wait in anticipation. The (what if factor) 7) If someone seems a bit less than hospitable with you, do NOT argue or get in a confrontation. When templers flare, it is always best to apologize even when you are right than to risk a physical confrontation and have to leave due to an injury or the police giving you a holiday present of shiny new handcuffs. 8) If you fall during the initial flood of people moving into the store, crawl (quickly) to your right or left to get to the sides of the area where the traffic is a bit thinner. Many people every year actually get trampled by those behind them during the initial minutes after store open. Protect your fingers and move quickly. 9) If someone disputes your right to a particular piece of merchandise, alert the first store employee possible INSTEAD of arguing your point. This will help quell a possible "incident" and the employee can normally squash the problem then and there and, if need be, have any unruly parties escorted from the store. 10) Do not be the person who fights over Tickle Me Elmo or some such piece of merchandise. If you come to your area and find there are no more, just accept your loss and focus on what you still CAN purchase. We all know supplies run short, especially on Black Friday, but there is no need to cause an altercasion over something that is no more. Breathe in and out, deep breaths, and move on. Well all have lists and there is just no reason to be upset for someone who came to a store to get the same item you did. 11) Do NOT let someone "take a look" at what you are holding. Time and time again they grab it and go walking leading to a confrontation. 12) Do NOT let those nice young men in the parking lot help you load your gifts into your car. You just might not have gifts or a car when they are done. If you decline and they ask again, turn and move back towards the store and inform the first store employee you find. Sure, it might be nothing but it could also be everything you thought it to be. This time of year brings out the worst in some people. Well, I could go on and on but the rest would basically say to drive carefully as MANY people are out driving to the same places you are, walk carefully because they are still driving around you as you make your way to the store, and be kind to those around you. I hope this helps you all out and I wish you a Happy Thanksgiving and a Merry Christmas.

Cool, thank you very much. I guess I should have found that myself but I was trapped in a fat mans brain fart and could not get out.

Yeah, you have to love Best Buy and their little "change number" shady way of business. Sure, it will stop price matching but it also deters people and keeps others from getting exactly what they are looking for since they cannot truly know if it is something they should get.

Happy Turkey Day to you too... tons of posts about it here http://forums.gottadeal.com/showthread.php?t=50978

I am hoping for a miniDV camcorder of some sort for my Christmas list but, honestly, have not seen much of anything worth owning for sale. What I need... some form of camcorder which I can plug into my pc to download the movies, a light on it so night shooting is not a problem, and somewhat cheap. Any deals out there pretty cheap for this type of item ? I saw one at Best Buy for $129 but it does not have a light and the reviews for it were somewhat less than lackluster. I would very much love to find one for $200 or less (prefer less) if at all possible. I am not looking for mindblowing digital video like I would get with a 3 CCD camcorder but something with a light that hooks to my pc so I can edit home movies, send some stupid stuff to YouTube hehehe Please help !!!!!!!!!

Hmmmm a 250 Gig eh ? I didn't notice it because I have been focusing on a couple other items but I think a 250 Gig would go great with my 100 Gig, 80 Gig, and 250 external that I currently have..

Ms McKenna (?) , go to Best Buys website ( http://www.bestbuy.com ) and click on the "7 Hour Sale" page to see the ticketed items. I believe they are all there now.

The eMachine cases are really not that bad. I, personally, am running off a eMachines T2341 right now overclocked to about 2.6 Ghz with an additional harddrive and an ATI Radeon 9800 Pro card (which creates a buttload of heat) and have only had moderate issues. Nothing serious and easily correctable by simply buying another fan for the case (yes, most emachine cases have available areas for an extra fan or two) I run my machine without the side panel anyways since I am usually changing this, adding that, pulling this... I am a geek and love seeing how far I can push my machine. As for the processor speed, there is definately a conflict as the Celeron D 352 chip is only a 3.2 Ghz chip ( intel website info here ) but is VERY easily overclocked to 4+ with the right motherboard. Of course, most will run with the stock motherboard so I wouldn't go above 3.6 Ghz or so and that is ONLY if you know what you are doing. The power supply should be just fine for running this system under 99.9% of circumstances so do not let it keep you from picking up this PC. True, it is not a "powerhouse" but, to be honest, if you wanted a "powerhouse" PC you would just build your own and not deal with store bough package deals anyways.

Figured I would drop this out there to see why everyone is going to Best Buy this year. This is for all those who plan on being there at 5am for the doorbuster specials. I am going hoping for a new TV, miniDV digital camcorder, new computer, more DDR2 RAM, and a graphics card.

The official ad on Best Buys website, located HERE states the PC is a Intel Celeron D 352 which is, in fact, a 3.2 Ghz machine. This is listed with the T3522 eMachines code so I am thinking the call center made a mistake. Easy to do since even emachines.com and e4me.com do not have this system listed (at least not that I have seen) If you plan on gaming, definately pick up an after-market graphics card because the provided "media accelerator" really will just not cut it. There are many card available, including one on sale at Best Buy, but, if you want true gaming performance, I would say look to higher end cards and not just sale items. Besides, the sale card ( ATI x1600 Pro 512 MB PCIe ) only has a minimum of 5 in store so it will be more of a fight for them than the pc since you get a ticket for the PC but not the card. Here are the specs according to Best Buy : Intel® Celeron® D processor 352 with Intel® EM64T enhancement, 512MB PC4200 DDR2 memory, DVD-ROM/CD-RW drive, 100GB hard drive and Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator 900 15" flat-panel LCD monitor with fast 16 ms response time, 400:1 contrast ratio and antiglare screen coating Compact PIXMA photo printer with ChromaLife100 technology for long-lasting, borderless 4" x 6" photos Hope this helps you all out.

Taking a 10 year old with ya for BF ? Seems a bit much to me just due to the craziness of it all and the hours. I mean, seriously, what are we teaching kids nowadays and, more importantly, what are they learning. Sure, on the outside it seems like a fun filled outing full of excitement trying to get cool stuff for home but tht is not all they will be seeing. Fights, pushing and shoving, name calling, mobbing, trampling, yelling, and all other forms of the uglier side of humanity all in order to gain a "thing" that we could live life without. Most people are NOT on their best behavior and that is fine when it is a bunch of adults involved but then you throw kids in the mix and it becomes something totally different. Personally, I think kids should be as far from the ugliness as possible (i.e. at home sleeping) while the older teens and adults go into the madhouse known as Black Friday shopping. I know some of you might think this post is melodramatic but, frankly, I could post about 35 videos from last year alone showing everything I just mentioned. It is a fact, not melodrama.

I will be going to the Alpine store as well though I am not sure what time. Going to be a madhouse I am sure

Or you could skip the Madonna concert and do something worth-while. Hahaha Ok ok, I cannot bash her music, I am an Insane Clown Posse fan so who am I to put down someone elses favorite artist. Of course, I used to know ICP so I kinda have a reason lol I will be going out and braving the crowds... don't really want to but, with some of the deals going on, I really have no choice since it is my only shot at having certain things...

Rock on man !!!!!!!

Left quite a story and mentioned the site a couple times and gave you allmany thanks. Would be so hot to get a call from them

As for selling tickets, people did it for Playstation 2 and 3 ( I got a little over $100 for one during the PS2 launch and my friend got almost $400 for one) outside Best Buy..at least over in Saginaw MI... they might still frown on it but I think people do it anyways. I do, however, think that it would be very rude to do it on BF simply because, to most, this is the only time they can really afford to give their families nice gifts.. I know that is how it is for me. I was injured at work and had a shattered ankle and dislocated knee and have only been getting the minimum of workers comp and, if someone got the ticket I was hoping for and then tried to sell it to me or near me, someones teeth would be laying around like chicklets. Crutches can be weapons !! Hahahaha Seriously though, there probably would be problems though I am not sure about the whole violence thing. Think of it this way, by NOT taking a ticket you don't need or want, you ARE helping a family get something they might never have been able to afford otherwise. You are indeed the spirit of Christmas simply by walking away from the temptation. Happy Gobble Gobble and Ho Ho Ho to you all.

I am in the same boat as you but can tell you this, I have seen many people saying they will be there between 9 and 10 PM Thanksgiving evening so it might be wise to do as much yourself. Now, I am not sure what it is like in your area since I have seen people from across the US posting and not really in any generalised area, but if a good cross section of people are all doing the same thing, it is easy to assume people in your area are thinking likewise. I plan on getting there about 9-ish here in Michigan. Will probably tent it out like the PPlaystation 3 people did simply so I can take a nap, read a book, and wait it out. Even if I am much earlier than anyone else, so what, sometimes you see something that you know would be out of reach without doing stupid things like Best Buy camping. haha I hope this helped you out just a bit. Good luck and let us know how ya did when ya get back home.

Seems like it would make more sense to mark the monitor down to $1 so noone would take the time to return it. Of course, this would just flood Ebays market for the item. Haha I just figured I would sell my emachine ( 2.0 Ghz, 512 Mb RAM, with a Radeon 9800 Pro AGP, and a 5.1 Sound Blaster) with the flat screen monitor to someone for $200 so it equals nothing for the new pc. Haha Although I might yank the RAM for the new PC and just buy a 256 Mb chips for it instead. Not sure. Although out dated, my PC still runs my video editing software, and games like Half Life 2, Doom 3, and Quake 4 so, along with a brand new 15' LCD, I am sure it is worth $200

Well, there are 3 Best Buy stores in GR so I am hoping that will cut down a little on the pileup. I am planning on 10pm TG night to be there but I might cut back to 8 or 9 depending what I see as I check it out from time to time. Even though it is just one night, I am planning on tenting outside so I can take a nap while I wait so, who knows, might even get their earlier depending what my wife says about it all ya know ? After dinner with her family, I might have her drop me off and just have her come back later that evening/ early morning to sit with me. I hate this waiting in line stuff which is why I typically sit home all day on BF but, well, I really need the pc and that price is a really good price for what I can afford on workers comp. Would prefer more of a machine for some hardcore gaming and video editing but, well, money is tight and this will do.. especially if I get the x1600 Pro they have on sale also.

bring a gang of hobos with you... have them run to the section you want and the smell will keep the others back a little so you can run in and grb what ya need.

I am sooooo gonna be in line for this PC... 3.2 Ghz, 512 Mb pc3200 DDR ram, etc etc etc... yeah, I will swing some elbows for it

Just wanting to clarify......... I went to the ad scan for BB and it was cut off at the bottom of this item and figured I would try and get all the info in one place instead of reading every related post on here hoping for all the answers I need. 1) Do they always hand out tickets for items in the morning ? 2) Are there any rebates on this item ? (i.e. will it actually cost me way more than $198 ?) 3) Have heard rumors so I figured I would ask about a printer though I doubt it. 4) Would it just be easier to break into BB late tonight and take it ? haha (just joking, I, Gottadeal, nor any affialte of either endorse illegal activities) 5) How many will each store have ? 6) Is that a guarentee that the store I go to will, in fact, have that many ? I guess that about covers anything me and others would like to know. I thank any of you who reply and I do apologize if it seems a bit repetitive but, truthfully, I cannot find all the answers to these questions together.

I moved here last March to be with the woman I loved (have since got married) and this is my first Black Friday shopping trip both in the area and, well, at all. I plan on going to Best Buy but was wondering if anyone in the are knew how early I should get to the local Best Buy ? I really would like to be early enough to be near the front since I am rocovering from a broken ankle and a knee surgery so I am on crutches and have my leg in a "boot".. definately don't want to have to run or anything more than need be. haha Any help is appreciated.

Thiamonkey, the eMachine runs good. For a "low budget" computer company, eMachines provides very good machines that are remarkable stable (for running MS). As for the on-board video, it should run it just fun though, as I plan to do, BB also has a 512 Mb ATI x1600 Pro video card for sale for only $99.99 which is more than a hundred off retail. I see people saying eMachines are not good for gaming but I am currently running an older eMachine ( AMD 2400+ @ 2.0 Ghz, with 512 Mb of RAM, and an ATI Radeon 9800 Pro video card) and am playing Half Life 2, Quake 3, Doom 4, and both the newer Need For Speed games and it does just fine. True, I cannot turn every setting to high but medium runs extremely well with little loss in graphic feel. Here is the key, any "basic" PC is nothing super when it comes to gaming, it is what you put into your machine that makes it, not the brand it began as.