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Official One-and-Only "What I Got" & "My Black Friday Experience" Thread

Brad

By Brad
in 2011

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KDFreder

KDFreder

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...So Best Buy has set up loud music playing in speakers for us out here, have the projector set up for the movie, and have passed out free popcorn, coke, and caffeine supplements to us....

 

I didn't even think they were going to do the movie at this location.

 

It's getting a little rowdy and crazy now, with people starting to show up regularly and the line winding all the way around the building out to the street.

 

It's different than any other BF at Best Buy before.... they seem to be really competing for the business this year and been trying to perfect the science of it each year -- they've definitely made it an 'event'...

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lesliepear

lesliepear

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Did pretty well today. Got my items at Rite Aide and most of them at CVS - will try a different one tomorrow for the missing one (dishwasher detergent). Went about 1:30 to Kmart and got the 3 items I wanted (coat for me, fleece throw for the couch, and sneakers for my son) as well as 1 pair cute pjs for me. Also ordered from Target.
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KDFreder

KDFreder

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..right, but we aren't about to let that happen... those of us who have been here over 24 hrs know all the faces in the line, and when someone tried to sneak up and blend in with others they were promptly escorted away and then they put up the shrink-wrap stuff along the trees in front of us.

 

Everyone around us is pretty adamant about making sure we don't see new faces suddenly show up that we didn't recognize, and asked all the people in front of us exactly how many they were....

 

Best Buy blocked off the front of the store with carts and wrap to prevent people from trying to walk up, but we still have to watch for those who try to blend in.

 

So far it's ok, but it's definitely different. The movie is occupying people but I don't want it to turn into a distracting event once the tickets get passed out.

 

They also said they are going to let 75 people go in at a time, be in there a while, and then let another 75 go in... maybe that will alleviate the hours of lines for the cash registers...we'll see.

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chartse1

chartse1

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More people show up.

 

My daughter and I went for one game. We were there early like I was last year. Last year was crowded, but everything went fine. I didn't feel pushed around. This time we were pushed hard, close to being trampled. I had to step up onto the pallet or risk falling down. The cardboard box where the games were was crushed and torn. As we were leaving the parking lot I noticed the entire lot was full and people were walking from other businesses in the area to and from the store.

 

We got the game, but it was not worth it. There will be one or two less people at Walmart next year to buy their games. And to top it off, Amazon sold the same game while we were there for a few dollars less.

 

I will get over it. I have had a great day otherwise. Shopping online has gone really well for me.

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elena_398

elena_398

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Just got back from my Walmart. Most crowded and aggressive people out there now. One fight broke out. People shoving, pushing, and screaming over the 360 and Wii games. My 17 yr old held his own and got Battlefield, Batman, and Madden. My husband was rammed by a cart several times from a lady telling him to move. (he told her off haha), I was pushed by the Wii games. Got my Just Dance 3 though. Police everywhere. I don't know what was going on this year but have never seen it like this since I started going to this walmart 6 years ago. CRAZY.

 

On my way home I passed my Target. 300+++ people in line. Wraps all down the front of the store and around the back. CRAZY

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indallas

indallas

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Just got back from Walmart (Lewisville, TX)- got nothing on my list. Couldn't get through the aisles, couldn't move anywhere. When I got to the games, people had the cardboard shelves apart and all the games were scattered on the floor. One guy had like 40 WII games, lots of the same title (guess he's reselling.) Never saw the waffle maker I wanted. Never ever seen it that crowded for Black Friday - WOW!
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onecutemoocow

onecutemoocow

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Went to Walmart just for the heck of it. I was hoping to get the XBOX bundle but I figured that only showing up 15 mins prior to 10pm I would not get it. First of all the parking lot was totally full. I had to park in Applebees parking :shock: Went up the ramp to go into the store and it was like a maze, I weaved in and out about 8 times and after reaching the top, I had to take a pic :tongue1: Walked into Walmart found where the XBOX was I was handed a ticket. I was number 89 out of 100 :cheesy: So I just made it!! After 10:00 hit the line went very fast. Walked around the store for a bit to see where the line was for dvds/video games and it wrapped the whole way around the store. :eek: Not worth it to me. Went to the check out and was back home in just over an hour. So needless to say, I am one happy camper!!
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berkmonster

berkmonster

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First year I haven't gone out on Black Friday and did lots online! I'm wearing my Black Friday T-shirt, does that count? Was able to snag the $145 Itouch Lightening Deal on Amazon, 60" Sharp LCD TV at Best Buy for $799, got an incredible scratch and dent deal on an Alienware 15.6" Laptop (#1 and pretty much only thing on son's gift list) last week, and various other odds and ends lightening deals at Amazon over the week (Legos, Spyware glasses, arctouch mouse for laptop, watch for hubbie). Waiting up for WalMart's online black friday deals, but won't stress if I don't get them.
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bfaddict1977

bfaddict1977

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I had an awesome night and SURvived shopping with my 5 kids, who did wonderfully. They were such troopers and my 8 yr old dd was an awesome helper. Scored the Xbox kinetic bundle, the Sony camera, lots of pjs and shirts for kids, and the toys I wanted, plus a $10 griddle. The lines were horrific and the waits terrible but no fights or line cutting, the camera was the worst. That took 1"5 hrs and that was after waiting for the Xbox and to check out and out from the 10 pm sale. Didn't make tru tonight. Going first thing in the am. Maybe hitting target?
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Cblaramore

Cblaramore

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I got everything I went to Walmart for and more! ha I live in a very small town and our Walmart had over 100 of the 32" Emersons, I was last person in line and they still had 50 left!

 

Got the Telescope, Fur Real Cat, Memory Foam Mattress Cover, Containers, 19 in TV, 32 in tv and deep freezer. Store was packed but everyone was nice except when the 600 ct sheets went on sale. Heard there was some name calling in that area.

 

While I waited at WM I shopped on TRU and got the Barbie Video Doll:) DD is going to be sooo excited!

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leefamily23

leefamily23

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Just got back. We headed to Walmart at just after 9pm, there wasn't a parking spot to be had anywhere. After being directed around the back of the store several times, we left and decided to go do TRU first. At about 9:45pm, the line for TRU was still outside, but it only took about 15 minutes to get inside. I went and found the end of the line while my sister shopped (I needed nothing from here). She got everything on her list but 1 item. It took just about 2 hours to the minute to get through the check out line.

 

Personally I thought TRU was really organized with their line this year. They had a lot of associates directing people and lots os signage for the line. Appearantly not everyone was intelligent enough to follow direction. When we made our way to the front there was a lot of ruckus going on because about 100 people had formed their own line and were trying to merge w/ the main line that was clearly labeled. There was A LOT of yelling and a little shoving. Several people had their merchandise removed by associates and were ejected from the store. They were mad because they had been waitining for 30-40 minutes in their self made line, but in reality those of us who COULD follow directions waited 2 hours. It was so clearly labled, there is no way to of mistaken it. I am sorry, but those people claiming ignorance were just trying to cheat the system.

 

We headed back to Walmart and found parking easy but there was a lot of yelling and arguing about line formation in the store, and it was getting nasty. We took a quick walk through what looked like a disaster zone and headed out. They still had the $188 TV's. and this was at about 1am.

 

The mall was our next stop. All the small stores were open along w/ Macy's, Best Buy and Bon Ton. I could not believe that Sears nor JC Penney's were open, nor was the food court. I checked out Pac Sun, and I got better deals last weekend. I checked out Bath and Body, same deal they've been running just a massive line. The quality of the doorbusters at Bon Ton, I thought was sub-par. My sister did good at Kids Gap and Aeropostale.

 

After the mall we ended up heading home. What really had me shaking my head was how many 12-16 yr olds were just hanging out in large groups at the mall. It really made it hard to navigate. Seriously, why weren't these kids home???? I think when the mall didn't open until morning they didn't get up to go hang out, but w/ it opening at midnight they were out in full force.

 

All in all, I saved a nice little chunk of change to make a dent in my shopping and I bought NOTHING! Second year in a row. This is my 19th year straight going out on BF. I really think it's the nighttime thing for me. I find it harder to have the energy or the will to bother w/ the crowds or the lines. I am too tired and just ready for bed after a long Thanksgiving Day. I was iffy on going out this year at all, because I found it hard to stay up all night last year. I think that this year decided it for me, I'm pretty sure my BF day's are done.

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jakesmommy403

jakesmommy403

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My mom and I got some shopping done online after dinner today, and found some awesome deals on Wii games and toys on Amazon, and she got a PS3 bundle for one of my brothers, along with some games.

 

My brother and I are back from the stores now and he just went home to get some sleep, which is where I'm heading too. We got to our WM at 9:45 and got everything we wanted. I got my $15 Crayola Glow Dome, a $15 Color Wonder noise making thingy, and a Shark Mop for my mom. We also got a few of the $1.97 DVDs. It was super crowded but our WM is awesome. Very organized and well run, friendly and helpful employees, and fast check-outs.

 

We were done and sitting in the Target parking lot at 10:30. There wasn't really anything we needed there, but thought we would stop over. The line to get in was longer than I've ever seen it! I don't know what hot deal everyone was waiting for but it was insane. Kohls is in the same plaza and we were looking at their line too. Insane. We decided to go grab a coffee and come back after the doors opened. Walked around both stores for a few minutes, didn't really see anything, and came on home. I'm not sure I like the wait in line to get to the check-out system that Target and Kohls had going on. Those poor people will be waiting there for hours! I thought only TRU did that, I don't know what I was thinking.

 

I hope everyone had a great time shopping! :)

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happy410

happy410

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I got everything I went to Walmart for and more! ha I live in a very small town and our Walmart had over 100 of the 32" Emersons, I was last person in line and they still had 50 left!

 

Got the Telescope, Fur Real Cat, Memory Foam Mattress Cover, Containers, 19 in TV, 32 in tv and deep freezer. Store was packed but everyone was nice except when the 600 ct sheets went on sale. Heard there was some name calling in that area.

 

While I waited at WM I shopped on TRU and got the Barbie Video Doll:) DD is going to be sooo excited!

 

LOL! I have heard so many fights starting over those 600 count sheets.

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tazolover

tazolover

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Got to Wal Mart at 9:15. Not a cart to be found. RIDICULOUS! Finally found someone who was grocery shopping and they were very kind to give us their cart. Headed inside, total CHAOS in the toys. Some employees who were watching over the pallets were letting people take things, other employees were threatening to have people removed if they were caught with ad items before 10 PM. Missed out on the trampoline and the tennis table (they had handed out tickets earlier in the evening, so my bad for not getting there earlier)Got the other items I wanted while DH was in electronics getting the games. THAT WAS CRAZY. Pushing, shoving, people jumping the line. . .totally disorganized. Employees finally opened the game cages and basically threw the games out to the crowds for them to fight over. DH was a trooper and got all the XBox games on the list. Checked out and had no problem with Wal Mart price matching from the Target ad even with Target not being open yet. Next stop, Target. Line was wrapped entirely around the outside of the store. Found everything we wanted including the Table Tennis in the Wal Mart ad that I failed to score and Target even price matched it for us when they technically shouldn't have since the one they were selling was a Target Exclusive. Price matched a couple other items at Target with no issue. DH and I were home by 2 AM. Overall, very disappointed at Wal Mart. I think opening up at 10 PM made it INSANE since most of the people in there were just wandering around like it was Family Shopping Time. Target by far was the better shopping experience.
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wyntyrose

wyntyrose

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I got everything I wanted not that they were big ticket or electronics. I was surprised to find that the Target near me had tons of tv's and electronics still available at 530am. Walmart was a joke thye unwrapped the pallets at 7pm by the time we got there there was little left of any doorbusters.
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Jen198

Jen198

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Sis in law and I went to the mall. I went to Pacsun and found 4 pair of clearance jeans $9.99 each, plus everything in store was buy one get one 50% off! So 4 pair of awesome jeans for $30.00! Also a Big Bang Theory fleece blanket at FYE on sale from $29.99 down to $14.99! Online at Amazon, I got Big Bang Theory Season 4 for $12.99, Got DH a couple DVD's and my Brother a Norelco Electric Shaver for $17.99. Will stay glued to the laptop for more deals! =)
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Promom

Promom

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Got at Gamestop at 10 last night and was 8th in line. Used my credit and got xbox360 free, stopped by walmart, saw the zoo so went home and went to sleep. Got out this morning at 6 at Tractor Supply for Carhartt jacket but it was too thin. So hit Dicks and got much thicker jacket for $69 and had $10 off coupon. Next Target for price adjustment, no problem. Checked out Best Buy and actually found Dirt 3 game still there. Overall very happy, got what I needed.
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nslo

nslo

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Went to Sears in Raleigh, NC this morning. Stood in line at 4AM, there were very few people there then, I wanted one of the PS3 holiday bundle packs for $199.99. The doors opened and I was one of the first to their electronics department where I asked a sales rep for one of the systems. The sales rep then told me they did not have any of the $199.99 systems, but she could sell me one of the more expensive systems PS3 systems. When I asked how they could have sold out if I was one of the first to ask for one, the sales rep just said they were gone, and nobody in the crowd had one in their hands. Needless to say there were several unhappy customers. They advertised something to sell, and then did not have any in stock. Sears SUCKS, I will spend my money elsewhere!!:mad:
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tinkrbel

tinkrbel

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Aside from a small rant at Walmart.com earlier today this year went very well.

 

I didn't get half as much as I have in previous years but we don't need much. I did JCPenney and Kohls online Wednesday night waiting for BB to come online. Then Thursday I did Best Buy and Radio Shack. This morning Friday I had a failed attempt at Walmart.com for 600tc sheets then headed off to JCPenney and Sears. Since we had left a little late (due to walmart) and arrived just after store opening we split up and hit one store each so we would at least get one ornament each. Well I hit Sears and bought a pashmina scarf and promptly took it to check out. I had to ask the girl 3 times before she understood but EVENTUALLY she gave me an ornament. I asked if I could have another for my mom and she said OK:P So I ran over to JCPenney and picked up the globe and we headed off to what we thought was the Macy's Home store in hopes of their 500tc sheets thinking maybe we could use the $10 coupon. We were in the women's section and a very helpful employee told us Men+Home was very close so we walked half the mall but I digress. We got the set but couldn't use the coupon and on our way back I stopped into the disney store. They had the 10.50 ornaments for 7.50(I think) each plus the extra 20% off of entire store came to about $6 an ornament. As luck would have it I had my disney rewards card in my purse and got all 10 ornaments free with .80 to spare towards the jack faces ornament set. I would normally not buy anything at 20% off BUT I love Jack and I know they'll disappear before they get clearanced. We headed back out of the mall and towards the older Walmart which had absolutely nothing and clueless associates. Since I had scored stuff I wanted online, while we were headed home I decided to suggest we stop by NEW Walmart see if it was doable. We got there about 15min before opening, the parking lot was surprisingly decent, with a few cop cars for presence. We parked right next to exit and joined the line of a few hundred the whole time fearing the worse. We had some trouble getting info from employees as things were not at their designated map area but EVENTUALLY one pointed us to a manager who told us where everything was. It was NOT chaotic, there was no pushing shoving or destruction of pallets but as usual there were those people who just NEED to block an entire aisle by having the family conference in a bottle neck space. Father called to say he was on way his to Home Depot so we asked him to pick up 8 poinsettia and now all we have to do is BJ's.

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elena_398

elena_398

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After my insane walmart experience last night I came home to check out online deals. Left around 3:30am for Menards that opened up at 6am. No exaggerating... I was over 100th in line. Possibly further back. It was crazy. Not sure what brought out the people in droves this Black Friday but this was more crowded than any other year that I remember. By the time 6am came around there had to be over 300 plus in line easy. They had barricades as over 100 people were trying to swarm doors. 10 security guys lining up around doors keeping people out. Got my dogs toys, gum tubes, carpet, and other odds and ends, but a lot of it gone by the time I checked out. They were actually parking in the side grass area as no spots left in that huge lot.
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92Hoosier

92Hoosier

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Got the blue Wii console from Walmart yesterday online ($99) and ordered the American Girl stuff I needed before free shipping expired. The rest of the stuff is "small" and I can get it here and there if I watch the lightening deals and online specials. Thrilled not to have to worry about getting anything this year.
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abentley

abentley

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Sadly my ds13 ended up with a black eye and cuts to his face because a jerk rushed and shoved into the video games displays. This a!!hole almost knocked over a guy that was at least 6'7" and huge, that was next to my son. It was awful! I have been shopping BF for over 20 years, and have never seen it like this. Walmart security asked my son if he was ok and needed medical attention, and called in the police to help at midnight. My ds13 is 5'10' so I felt ok letting him try for his games as all my previous years have never been like this.
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