mcwalker Posted October 27, 2009 Share Posted October 27, 2009 (edited) This is kind of a "New York question", but here goes: Has anyone done their Black Friday shopping by public transit? I live in New York City (Queens) and don't own a car. The past three years when I shopped on Black Friday I was traveling and had a rental car or had a rental car for the holiday and shopped on Long Island. This year, I will be home in Queens for the holiday and rental car rates are so high in the metro area now that it would negate any savings I might see, so I am contemplating Black Friday shopping by public transit (subway). The real issue isn't so much getting to the stores, as many of the best ones are easily accessible by subway not far from home. The bigger issue may be not having a trunk to stash stuff in between stores. then again, I was thinking about buying less this year anyway, and maybe some appliances that would be delivered anyway. Anyone else have experience with a BF shopping blitz by public transit? And hey, it's the GREEN thing to do. Edited October 28, 2009 by bigjimslade updating title Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cashandra Posted October 27, 2009 Share Posted October 27, 2009 Sorry, no advice I have lived in Ohio all my life in a little ol town that doesn't even have cabs! Just wanted to say I'm so jealous of you! I've wanted to visit New York my whole life! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elmck Posted October 27, 2009 Share Posted October 27, 2009 As long as your purchases are not to hard to carry or they can be delivered why not. Would it be possible to drop things off at home if needed? You might also want to consider a small rolling duffle bag to keep your purchases in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebirth Posted October 27, 2009 Share Posted October 27, 2009 Get a friend to go with you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marcster Posted October 28, 2009 Share Posted October 28, 2009 As long as your purchases are not to hard to carry or they can be delivered why not. Would it be possible to drop things off at home if needed? You might also want to consider a small rolling duffle bag to keep your purchases in.Along with Elmck's suggestions, how about temporarily storing items at friend's houses located strategically throughout your shopping area. Many people have off on Black Friday, even if they don't go off shopping. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcwalker Posted October 28, 2009 Author Share Posted October 28, 2009 Thanks for the suggestions so far. I was really wondering if anyone else had done this, in NYC or other cities (Boston, Philly, San Francisco, Chicago?) and what your experiences were. Getting to the first store, whatever that is, is no problem. I might drop some things at home after the first couple of stores, but that would loose time during the critical morning hours. I will be working on getting my wife and a friend or two to join me, but of course they will have some of their own purchases to carry. I will definitely have a cart to carry things. I already see some items on the Sears ad that might start loading me down, and we haven't even seen many other adds yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dealluvr Posted October 28, 2009 Share Posted October 28, 2009 that sounds like so much fun!!! if i was nearby i would come help you carry i just like to be in the crowds i hardly ever buy anything anyway Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freesia39 Posted October 28, 2009 Share Posted October 28, 2009 If I lived in San Francisco and wanted to do BF, I'd actually leave the city. (I live in the burbs outside of the city.) However, if I only wanted to hit ONE store or the mall, I'd take public transit and then cab it home or make my husband pick me up later. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tara3117 Posted October 28, 2009 Share Posted October 28, 2009 I've never done BF on public transportation, but I'm thinking that maybe you should use a backpack to carry your stuff around. I typically buy a lot of little things - clothes and games, etc so most of what I buy could be stuffed into a big backpack. You should also bring those bags you use at the grocery store, as they would be better than carrying around the plastic bags whose handles will break. I have one of those big L.L. Bean beach bags that I use to carry my purchases around department stores. Maybe something like that would help you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wx4svr Posted October 28, 2009 Share Posted October 28, 2009 Crazy idea.... never thought about it. What do those in NY do? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chefswife Posted November 2, 2009 Share Posted November 2, 2009 (edited) There is no way that I could due black friday on the subway!!! I have a problem fitting my goods into mine and my husbands suvs. You may be better off online. Or you might be able to find someone to split the cost of a rental with. If you figure it out it may make for a great holiday survival book. You may want to try the Palisades mall. It is not far from the city and has a lot of stores, but you would still have to get all that crap home. i have no idea what the crowds would be like though. Heading to CT and paying a smaller sales tax may offset the price of a rental car if you plan on doing major shopping. You could even just take the train to and from CT. I now have one more excuse not to live in the city!!!! Take that dh. Edited November 2, 2009 by chefswife wanted to add more Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockfordmom Posted November 3, 2009 Share Posted November 3, 2009 what about those cars that you rent for a day, they're all over chicago, they're not like regular car rental places, they're parked all over the city? I can't remember what they're called... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebirth Posted November 3, 2009 Share Posted November 3, 2009 what about those cars that you rent for a day, they're all over chicago, they're not like regular car rental places, they're parked all over the city? I can't remember what they're called...It's called ZipCar Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
braylan1 Posted November 3, 2009 Share Posted November 3, 2009 Idk, but GOOD LUCK. I always need a LARGE van for all my purchases haha. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcwalker Posted November 4, 2009 Author Share Posted November 4, 2009 I thought about ZipCar, and I am even a member, though I have not used one yet. Unfortunately, almost all the cars in my immediate area are already booked for that time period and their price is pretty high for the period that I would need. Still leaning toward shopping by subway/on foot with a nephew, a cart, and a backpack, and make a mid morning stop at home to drop things off, then go back out. There have to be others (teenagers in the five boroughs?) who take transit to at least one or two stores on BF, but doesn't look like any of the serious shoppers on GD have done this (myself included). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lauritagoddess Posted November 5, 2009 Share Posted November 5, 2009 You could always take the subway to whatever store(s) you're going to, and then call a car service to get home. I'm also in NYC and unless I'm buying a really big item in which I'll take a car, I do all my travelling by subway or bus and have lugged home tons of packages on them with no problem. But I would call a car service if I couldn't get all the packages back home with me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VonnegutFan Posted November 5, 2009 Share Posted November 5, 2009 I've used Chicago Public Transit to go Black Friday shopping before. However, I don't normally do door busters... I usually buy computer hardware and video games which aren't heavy, so a large backpack is usually more than adequate. I have purchased laptops before and had to take them home on the subway... I concealed them using old paper bags from Whole Foods/Trader Joe's so I wasn't standing on a platform with a pack that screamed "BRAND NEW LAPTOP from Best Buy!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
queenofshopping Posted November 5, 2009 Share Posted November 5, 2009 I guess you don't have any friends or relatives in North Jersey or LI you could stay/shop with? I can't imagine doing BF in the city *shudder* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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