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Overall opinion of Black Friday ads leaked so far?

Brad

By Brad
in 2010

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mgmckny

mgmckny

Posted
Posted

Maybe I am spoiled by cheap electronics here but after browsing the BF ads I see nothing that wowed me. The only thing I would like is a few DS games and not sure which ones are on sale. Unsure if the free shipping on BF extends to Japan or not.

Probably not on the free shipping, what games are you watching for. Not sure that I will be doing much on BF but sometimes as it gets closer to Christmas the ds games are better, plus if you don't mind used there is a gamestop near me that I visit fairly regularly thanks to the boys....

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andybrooke

andybrooke

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I just don't see ads with deep discounts like past years. Where are all the big discounts on laptops, tv's, mp3's, cameras? Where are the few toys in the ads discounted to 70-90% off? Where are the $5.00 jeans? I hope Walmart and Kmart put out a good ad this year. Target has the best ad published so far. Maybe the retailers will throw out some secret deals that are not printed in the ad. Everything except for Target's ad just looks like a regular sale to me.
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tmkuroda

tmkuroda

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I was hoping I would see some discounts on LED TV's :( Not many out there so I will buy an LCD ans wait for 2-3 years and pick up an LED/LCD at a later date I am thinking. I am going to sit this BF out this year. I will stay home and see what I can get online.
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jlsc

jlsc

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Our main items on our Black Friday list are a Blue ray player, a small LCD tv for the Kitchen and large Star Wars Lego sets. So far I've been disappointed not to find much other than the Blue ray. There are a number of things I like in Targets add that I typically don't think about buying on black Friday but not very excited by the 4 am opening. I really do not like the stores opening on Thursday and we have not shopped them. Eating and playing games are not something anyone in our family will give up to head out shopping.
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sweetdiggity

sweetdiggity

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I'm feeling so-so about the ads we've seen so far. I really am not looking for much besides video game deals, so that factors in as well. Toy deals don't look great, but we haven't seen Walmart or Kmart's ads yet and I bet they're good. At least Walmart better be. LOL

 

It seems like bundle deals with consoles and games are not in the ads like they used to be. A lot of ads look like regular weekly ads instead of BF.

There ARE good deals, but it just depends on what you're looking for.

 

I know I'll be out this year, and I bet Walmart will have tons of stuff I will want but not necessarily need. lol

It's looking like I'll be doing a lot of online shopping this year with Amazon, though! I'll still be in stores, too, so watch out! ;)

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dtwdmaty

dtwdmaty

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I honestly do better year-round than buying Black Friday deals.

That sums it up for me. The only thing I'm lacking are the newest Blu-Rays and video games (last 6 months or so) and I haven't seen any exciting BF deals there at all. They're not making it worth my time/effort/loss of sleep, so I will be shopping online (mostly Amazon) and picking up Blu-Rays the week they come out for the sale prices.

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WonderWmn999

WonderWmn999

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So far I'm so/so about the ads. Still waiting on some stores before I can give a definite thumbs up or down. Target has a good ad. Toys R Us has some good deals, but not looking forward to the crowd. I usually don't go there because of the chaos in that store. The customers are usually great, it's the way the store does there lines that really stinks. You can't go directly from point A to point B anywhere on that day. If I do go on Thursday that might be a help since I don't have to worry about what I'd be missing at the other stores while standing in line.
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tn20

tn20

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I'm pretty disapointed, too. I have already finished most of my shopping, but I figured I would be doing at least some returns due to the items being cheaper on BF. That is definately not the case!

 

DH and I usually travel to the nearest "big" city (over an hour away) because as it is, we are about 15 miles from a town with WM, KM, and not much else. Not this year, though. I see nothing that is worth traveling for.

 

Depending on the ads, I may go in to WM and KM after the crazy morning rush, but it will only be for (hopefully) good deals on things that we need (new pillows, socks, wrapping paper, hopefully some new sheets), not gifts.

 

I have mixed feelings on this. On the one hand, I can stay up late Thanksgiving night eating turkey sandwiches and watching Christmas specials with my kids, then get the house all decorated Friday, and the presents wrapped. On the other hand, BF is one of the few times during the year when DH and I go out together, without the kids, and I'll miss that tradition, but something tells me he'll have no interest in battling the crowds for wrapping paper and pillows.

 

I do think that the disapointment is a combination of weak ads and awareness of better deals throughout the rest of the year. When I first started shopping BF, I thought the deals were phenomenal, but now, it takes more to get me excited. I don't base deals on retail price, I base them on GottaDeal price! And when GD price has me buying Nintendo DS games for $5-$8 shipped to my door, suddenly getting up at 3am to get in line and hope I can get a couple of games for $7-$10 seems much less impressive.

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msomnipotent

msomnipotent

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Well, I had a really long post just about typed out and then my cat walked across the keyboard and cleared everything, and then the site logged me off before I finished my second draft. I will just cut to the chase.

 

Stores have really missed the mark this year. They have merely decent sale prices for things like TVs, computers, and cameras. With money being tight for most consumers, they are choosing to hold onto their old electronics because they are still in working order. There are no great sales for upgrades like LED TVs. That would have been a huge draw, in my opinion. There are no truly hot toys this year because they are using old ideas. Dancing Elmo has become Dancing Mikey, Zhu Zhus are warrior Zhu Zhus, Monster High are the new Bratz, etc. With interest rates being so low (or non-existent) right now, there is no reason why stores should not be offering awesome payment plans right now. Instead, I feel that they are just taking advantage of people that really need something like an appliance and only offering zero percent for six months, when as someone has already mentioned, it used to be up to 36 months. Stores like Meijer, Wal-mart, and Target should be offering free reusable grocery bags filled with food coupons to the first 100-500 people. That would get me out of the house. Who doesn't love coupons now? But I haven't seen this anywhere. I truly feel that stores have realized that BF is a big thing now and figure that people will come anyway. The most they will do is take advantage of people that do not know their prices, and then they will lose them as customers. Everyone is much more price aware now and will resent being taken advantage of.

 

Having said that, I think the current sales are great. I am getting better than BF pricing on everything that I buy (or else I just do not buy it) and now I am almost done Christmas shopping. Home Depot is offering good financing on large appliances, with good sale prices and rebates from manufacturers. I just saved several hundred dollars on a sorely needed upscale refrigerator and microwave with zero percent financing for 18 months. That should be a BF sale, but it is not. I am buying the overwhelming majority of my toys from Amazon because of free shipping, great prices, and most of the survey sites I use allow me to convert my points to Amazon gift cards. Other stores really need to pick up on that because more people are doing surveys for extra cash and it is very rare to be able to get a gift card from another popular store. Even if Amazon is a slightly more expensive than another store (which it rarely is), the gift card still makes it worthwhile to me.

 

And this was the condensed version! Sorry for being long winded!

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jaymacfla

jaymacfla

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I am really disappointed at the general disregard for PC gamers out there. Best buy had one PC game, and it was "World of Warcraft" For the record, it is a slap in the face to continually offer this game and they should be embarrassed by it. It requires a monthly subscription fee. This is simply not a deal.

There used to be a time when PC games ruled supreme and we had a few good titles to choose from. Sadly, I am seeing more and more shelf space being taken up by other software and console games that do not take up as much space.

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fluffkin79

fluffkin79

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I'm not going to try to evaluate the ads overall or compare them to last year. I didn't really look at the high-end electronics, appliances, tools, or other pricier offerings. I am a parent with 3 young kids and have a very small budget this year. From my point of view the ads that I have seen are doing just fine. I will be picking up some of the traditional BF offerings like slippers, small appliances, jackets, kids clothes, and cheap movies. I am counting on Target to impress me with the wide selection of movies that AREN'T shown in the ad as they have had a good selection in the past few years- much of which was a surprise at the store.

 

I wish that some of this year's hot toys were being offered. I was hoping to find Go-Go My Walkin' Pup and Zoobles playsets discounted, but no luck. Right now they are just above my price range so we will have to pass. Maybe Kmart or Walmart will come through for us. Otherwise I will just be patient and pick them up when the go on clearance. Luckily, my kids aren't too picky and will be content getting 2 "warm" toys instead of 1 "hot" one.

 

Drug stores will be getting my business on Thankgiving Day (and maybe Kmart). Nothing terribly exciting, but some good "freebies" if you can handle the coupon/free after store coupon confusion. I have some love for Michael's too, since they let you make your own deal with store coupons.

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marathonshopper

marathonshopper

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Posted
No matter how disappointing :(or terrific:) the ads turn out to be I'll be out there picking up at least the odds & ends (movies, cd's, etc.) on my shopping list!!! As for the ads, so far I'm a little disappointed..........I want an HDTV for my son's room, something in the 26" range and a name brand, but haven't spotted a price yet that compares to the price from Wal-Mart's Electronics Event last weekend, which of course I missed out on due to other obligations!!!
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otonoh

otonoh

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Posted
I am disappointed this year, There is one item I want but I am debating if it is worth saving 40 bucks to sit out in the snow for 8+ hours. I am finding better deals now on the things I actually planned to get for gifts. Between Kohls 30% off and Kohls cash, buy.com and Amazon.com I got the items I wanted for less than some of the black friday deals.
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vcv1122

vcv1122

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Well, I had a really long post just about typed out and then my cat walked across the keyboard and cleared everything, and then the site logged me off before I finished my second draft. I will just cut to the chase.

 

Stores have really missed the mark this year. They have merely decent sale prices for things like TVs, computers, and cameras. With money being tight for most consumers, they are choosing to hold onto their old electronics because they are still in working order. There are no great sales for upgrades like LED TVs. That would have been a huge draw, in my opinion. There are no truly hot toys this year because they are using old ideas. Dancing Elmo has become Dancing Mikey, Zhu Zhus are warrior Zhu Zhus, Monster High are the new Bratz, etc. With interest rates being so low (or non-existent) right now, there is no reason why stores should not be offering awesome payment plans right now. Instead, I feel that they are just taking advantage of people that really need something like an appliance and only offering zero percent for six months, when as someone has already mentioned, it used to be up to 36 months. Stores like Meijer, Wal-mart, and Target should be offering free reusable grocery bags filled with food coupons to the first 100-500 people. That would get me out of the house. Who doesn't love coupons now? But I haven't seen this anywhere. I truly feel that stores have realized that BF is a big thing now and figure that people will come anyway. The most they will do is take advantage of people that do not know their prices, and then they will lose them as customers. Everyone is much more price aware now and will resent being taken advantage of.

 

Having said that, I think the current sales are great. I am getting better than BF pricing on everything that I buy (or else I just do not buy it) and now I am almost done Christmas shopping. Home Depot is offering good financing on large appliances, with good sale prices and rebates from manufacturers. I just saved several hundred dollars on a sorely needed upscale refrigerator and microwave with zero percent financing for 18 months. That should be a BF sale, but it is not. I am buying the overwhelming majority of my toys from Amazon because of free shipping, great prices, and most of the survey sites I use allow me to convert my points to Amazon gift cards. Other stores really need to pick up on that because more people are doing surveys for extra cash and it is very rare to be able to get a gift card from another popular store. Even if Amazon is a slightly more expensive than another store (which it rarely is), the gift card still makes it worthwhile to me.

 

And this was the condensed version! Sorry for being long winded!

Isn't it odd how with a still lousy economy the BF sales don't seem as good as past years? I'm guessing retailers too are hurting enough that even they aren't willing to take a reduced profit on items. As was pointed out on this thread, instead they are opening earlier.

 

The lack of even good financing is also a sign of the times as consumer credit is still extremely tight.

 

I'm really surprised we haven't seen any touch screen tablets for BF.

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IrishWife

IrishWife

Posted
Posted

My husband has stated the theme of the year is "unimpressive". I certainly have not been wowed by an ad, (even looked at the ones I dont have access to the B&M version of) and I am saying as of now, Target drew my attention, everyone else til Menards made me wonder if my bed was going to be my place til a normal hour. Then, we saw Menards. I am THRILLED with them. I mean WOW. I am in retail heaven. We used the Gottadeal list maker and its seriously a decent sized list. I'm even considering selling my Sony Pocket edition and getting the other one in thier paper (upon a little research) and the snuggies, hubby wants one for the dungeon he works in. (works from home in the basement office)

I cant think of anything else in the ad except for Cricut. Which was great pricing as it was... $148 for an expression?! I paid 188 last year and thought that was fabulous. 148 blows it out of the water. And $20 cartridges?! oh my.... Looks like a few newer ones at that! Forget the other ad I saw who shall remain nameless til Brad posts it with the $20 cricut lite carts. I'd rather have the menards! I figure, I can Pricematch what I want from Target, at Walmart then shoot over to menards. May even skip it til after Menards. Its THAT good.

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