Brad Posted October 1, 2005 Posted October 1, 2005 While we wait for the first ads... Does anyone have any good Black Friday "war stories" from previous years?
RossMAN Posted October 1, 2005 Posted October 1, 2005 My past Black Friday experiences have been pretty ho-hum and uneventful. IIRC Best Buy opens at 6AM, if you don't get in line before 2:30 AM you won't get any of the limited quantities items. Other places like Staples I was able to stroll in around 7AM, buy the FAR (free after rebate) software and other items. Traffic was terrible though. I suppose it's all part of the tradition :) We look forward to hearing your war stories. Remember the more you post, the more GottaPoints you'll earn :)
brynnfromtheblock Posted October 1, 2005 Posted October 1, 2005 BF is pretty much the same every year, up at 4am, getting in line, even if there's nothing we need just to be there. One of the most memorable is we got to BestBuy one year and were 8th in line. Instead of going around the building, the line went around the parking lot. When they opened the door at 7am the people at the end of the line were near the front door since the line circled around and they bum rushed the door when it opened, luckily we were one of the first ones in 'cause it was a madhouse and people were getting crushed!! I've never seen people that crazed for a couple of cheap computers and some FAR items!!
Ankit Posted October 1, 2005 Posted October 1, 2005 We go every year, although last few years there have been more and more people doing it with not as great deals. A few years ago CompUSA was giving $100 computers or something, a complete steal! I think this year I might go in around 2AM or something depending on what they have
amez74 Posted October 2, 2005 Posted October 2, 2005 No real war stories--last year my sister in law ran over me with her cart, but she might have done that even if it wasn't black friday lol.
Mike Posted October 2, 2005 Posted October 2, 2005 Usually I have to work. When I do go out on BF, I go with a group of about 5-10 depending. Some people will just go somewhere and hold stuff until other people can arrive to buy. If there is something that everyone in the group wants...things get complicated. I avoid BestBuy and Frys unless there is a must have. Usually at Bestbuy, you can buy your stuff the week before and go in for a PM. I think they put a stop to being able to do that recently though? Working in retail, BF is always fun the morning of. I always love to walk past the line in my plain cloths and then just walk in. Ive heard a few choice words for doing that. I've seen grown people fist fight over items. I've seen someone rip something out of a kids hand and try to buy it. I've seen people run into the store and trip hard. People have yet to grasp the concept of BF...expect long wait times...that simple. People start to yell, and get angry. Working fo r 12 hours is always fun.
genoandkiddo Posted October 2, 2005 Posted October 2, 2005 Nothing except the one I told last year. I didn't have any last year. It went pretty smooth I thought.
SynthDude2001 Posted October 2, 2005 Posted October 2, 2005 I've only had one experience before, 2003 (which I also told about last year here), nothing too exciting. Got to Best Buy around 11pm, two friends were already waiting for me there, we were the very first in line. It was cold that night (for Texas standards ), but being there with friends was fun...the lines got insanely long around 4-5am, and once the employees got there (and security guards or maybe a police officer, I forget), they had to keep an eye on the line to make sure no one got in front of us, lol... Local TV station brought a truck and (briefly) interviewed one of my friends around 5:30am; doors opened at 6 and there was a mad rush for everything inside...luckily (depending on how you look at it), we were/are all poor college students and didn't have much money (it was more for the experience, I guess), so we only bought relatively few things..we were out in about 10-15 minutes and then crashed at a friend's house for the morning. :) Last year I was having major car problems (as in, the thing wouldn't even start ), so I didn't get to go (although I did get a friend to pick up two DVD's for me at Best Buy). This year...car is in working order, I'll be armed with a PDA and cell phone (to use as a modem, eventually), and this website...I'm ready
RossMAN Posted October 2, 2005 Posted October 2, 2005 This year...car is in working order, I'll be armed with a PDA and cell phone (to use as a modem, eventually), and this website...I'm ready I think the most useful tool will be our Black Friday shopping list which I would recommend saving to your PDA and/or printing it.
SynthDude2001 Posted October 2, 2005 Posted October 2, 2005 I think the most useful tool will be our Black Friday shopping list which I would recommend saving to your PDA and/or printing it.Definitely! That'll be especially helpful if I'm ambitious this year and want to do more than one store (and have the money to do so, lol ). Knowledge is power, as they say.
MarkRaby Posted October 3, 2005 Posted October 3, 2005 I recall a specifically heated debacle last year at Sears. Were offering $5 gift cards to the first 200 or so people in the door. Signs were at every entrance stating "you must go to the such-and-such entrance to get the gift card." We were about #100-103 in the line outside that door, but lo and behold, once they open the doors, people from all entrances storm to the area of the store where they're handing out the gift cards. I had my hands on the last gift card (there were employees in the middle of the store handing them out) but a very forceful middle-aged woman got a tighter grip on it and I, as well as my brother and his girlfriend, left the store empty-handed. In retrospect, it was absolutely way too chaotic for $5... -Mark-
smfritz03 Posted October 3, 2005 Posted October 3, 2005 Last year was dh's first time ever going w/ me. And my sister kept all the kids but my 6 mth old, so she came along. Well, we went into Walmart--everyone was waiting for the $10 HUGE carebears and the $8 My Scene Barbies w/ the Scooters and a few other things---well--the time rolled around and I calmly in the mad rush of things--grabbed the 2 bears I needed and the 2 barbies and calmly was walking back to dh while everyone was yanking the boxes down and tossing things everywhere. Well, I saw this guy come rushing and rammed my cart w/ my dd in it into the clothing rack causing it to tip over. Luckily my dh grabbed it in time to keep her from getting hurt. He was HOT--hes a police officer, so it took everything I had to keep him from having a confrontation in front of the jerk, who didnt even have the nerve to say sorry.
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