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First Time Black Friday Line Camper Advice Needed

stationchief

By stationchief
in 2010

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jaymacfla

jaymacfla

Posted
Posted

Here is what is on my list

 

  • Tent for 4 people
  • Cot/Sleeping bag
  • Propane Camping Heater
  • 20 bottles of Propane
  • Water
  • Snacks
  • Laptop
  • Generator
  • Port a Potty
  • Intel and Map of the store
  • Hand Warmers
  • Winter Camping clothing

20 bottles of propane? Just saw that. What was your largest consumption of propane in a single outing? I always bring the small bottles, but never use very much.

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bigjimslade

bigjimslade

Posted
Posted

It all depends on the weather. This year NOAA is saying it will be a warm winter. In the past when it is cold I use all 20 bottle for 2 or 3 heathers. I run them when the sun goes down to when the sun comes up.

 

20 bottles of propane? Just saw that. What was your largest consumption of propane in a single outing? I always bring the small bottles, but never use very much.

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Klownicle

Klownicle

Posted
Posted (edited)

Im always disapointed when im not freezeing my arse off outside the stores. I'm really hopeing for some cold weather. Its just not black friday unless its cold.

 

BRING IT ON! (btw, im in Sarasota, FL), so you can think of what our cold is...

 

Klownicle, it was Tampa, as i recall.

What was?

Edited by Klownicle
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Reinholt1

Reinholt1

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Posted

Sears is SOOOoooo easy it is almost not even fun anymore. They often match the good prices on video cameras etc. (The medium range door busters.) Not only can you go pretty much when they open, but last year, I was able to order every doorbuster I wanted from Sears ONLINE before I left for BF shopping and marked them all for in-store pick up. Went to my Sears after I was done making the rounds and a nice man in customer pick up handed them all to me when I swiped my credit card to verify it was me.

 

Now I am not into the hard core waiting. (Although the boy scout in me says 3-4 days...piece of cake.) I have yet to see anything I want on the "hard core lists". I go after the medium and smaller doorbuster deals and I have ALWAYS gotten 100% of my shopping list with that strategy. (Usually 7-10 stores, done by 10 am ish) My strategy suggestions are:

1) have a good game plan - know in what order you need to hit your stores. (They all don't open at the same time.)

2) dress warm....even 2-3 hours wait can be cold. Take the pages of the circular(s) with you. It can be handy, especially if you have to reference/argue something.

3) Have a back up plan (2nd location) if something you really wanted gets snagged before you get one. (3 years ago my Kohl's placed all their dvd players out of sight but right by one door. The people that picked that door got one. The rest of us ran through the entire store from the far door and almost all of us missed them. (I got one heh heh heh. Pays to be first in line, even if it is the wrong line.))

4) WHATEVER YOU DO.....DO NOT TAKE YOUR FATHER WITH YOU! Must have been 8 or 10 years ago now, when digital cameras were waiting in line and making a run for them was worth while. I was making a run for a digital camera at Walmart. My dad insisted on coming with me. Said he wanted it on his credit card. I told him he could pay me cash later and to stay home. No no no, he insisted on coming. He was about 70 years old then. I told him how vicious it gets as the 6 am open hits. I warned him to just get out of the way until the stampede goes by. He got up and we got in line about 4 am. We were near the front, #'s 5 & 6. He loved it, the people were chatty. he chatted with them. We warned him again of the rush at 6 and to get out of the way. He was all smiles and said not to worry. I told him I would meet him at the photo counter, just come AFTER the crowds. 5:45 am the crowds started pressing forward as the employees came to work and some were teasing us from the inside. Dad still insisting he was fine and he did not need to step out of the line. 6 am and the stampede was on! I ran to the photo counter climbing over the folks who wanted gameboys and got the first digital camera. And I waited for dad at the register. And I waited. And I waited. Finally I paid for it with my credit card and headed back to the front. The crowds were still streaming in and there was my dad in a chair being protected by 3 walmart employees. He was OK, but he was pushed down in the rush. He could not believe all his new "friends" he had been chatting with could turn so mean so quickly. By the time we got to Office Max (my second stop) he was downright PISSED. He would not even get out of the car, no matter how much I tried to reassure him that this was a safe SANE place. (Only 7 of us there when the doors unlocked.) I had to take him home after that. He still mutters about his Black Friday shopping trip. He has nothing good to say about those "nice ladies" he thought were so friendly at 5 am! :D

5) Have fun! There is a thrill of victory when you score that bargain! And better yet! I swear, its the only day you can literally "assult" someone and get away with it. (Just don't push too hard as you shove someone outta the way to grab the last doorbuster item. It might be someone else's 70 year old dad.) :yup:

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blogue

blogue

Posted
Posted

I was wondering what you guys here on the thread had to say about this, I am wondering what you think would be best for me (20) and my friend (23). We probably will be camping out outside of sears from maybe 6 pm on thursday and we are in kansas were it get pretty cold outside. Im am just wanting to know what you guys think would be the best gear. Thanks :eyepoppin:eyepoppin

I have showed up at sears in hutch at 4 am and was like the 30th person in line (And was able to get what was on my list). I would say to show up about 2 or 3 and you should be good. Get in line by the tool entrance though, so you can go straight to the electronics department. It was a bit crazy last year. I will tell you, and double check with TV's. But for the GPS we had to PAY first then go to the cabinet and pick up the item. I always have fun black friday shopping in Hutch :) :) Always have been able to get what I was after!

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taylor9124

taylor9124

Posted
Posted
This will be my first year spending what I consider a long time camping out. The most time I have spent previously was about 10 hours. This year, will be about a day. We tend to have rainy weather, but I would rather not use a tent, since there will be about 6 people with me, and can get expensive. Is there some sort of shelter/canopy type thing, but is small enough to fit on a sidewalk at Best Buy? Most I see at stores are around 10ft by 10ft, which is quite big to fit on a sidewalk. Thanks for any help!
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jaymacfla

jaymacfla

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Posted

This will be my first year spending what I consider a long time camping out. The most time I have spent previously was about 10 hours. This year, will be about a day. We tend to have rainy weather, but I would rather not use a tent, since there will be about 6 people with me, and can get expensive. Is there some sort of shelter/canopy type thing, but is small enough to fit on a sidewalk at Best Buy? Most I see at stores are around 10ft by 10ft, which is quite big to fit on a sidewalk. Thanks for any help!

It depends upon how close you are to the door! Take a retractable tape measure with you, drive over to Best buy and spec it out. I will be using both tents, and screen houses(with tarps).

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TazErase

TazErase

Posted
Posted

20 bottles of propane? Just saw that. What was your largest consumption of propane in a single outing? I always bring the small bottles, but never use very much.

Unfortuneately the BB near me is on "mall owned property" and they have strict rules. No Tents, No Generators, no Potties.

 

My normal list is :

Coffee

Camping heater (a real hit, always have tons of people asking to warm up with it, lol)

Spare propane

Coffee

Water

Juice

Snanks

Coffee

Laptop

Movies to watch on the laptop

Blankets

Chairs

List of what to get and spare paper to seperate list by area to send in the "team" in a way we all seperate and take sections. If more than 1 in our group wants an item we will have 1 person in that area pick up the items for the group. We all meet back on the line with our line holder member, split up our items we retrieved and pay for them. Total elapsed time from store opening till we are out of BB if usually under 30 minutes.

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jaymacfla

jaymacfla

Posted
Posted

Unfortuneately the BB near me is on "mall owned property" and they have strict rules. No Tents, No Generators, no Potties.

 

My normal list is :

Coffee

Camping heater (a real hit, always have tons of people asking to warm up with it, lol)

Spare propane

Coffee

Water

Juice

Snanks

Coffee

Laptop

Movies to watch on the laptop

Blankets

Chairs

List of what to get and spare paper to seperate list by area to send in the "team" in a way we all seperate and take sections. If more than 1 in our group wants an item we will have 1 person in that area pick up the items for the group. We all meet back on the line with our line holder member, split up our items we retrieved and pay for them. Total elapsed time from store opening till we are out of BB if usually under 30 minutes.

Outstanding! I saw my favorite, "coffee" was listed twice as it should be.

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