Best Buy did a great job - ebay squatters suck!

[PKGentry]

I figured 3:30 would be early enough for the 5 am opening. My father convinced me to leave about 2 am which put us in line at about 2:35. At that time, there were about 55-60 people in front of us. By the time 5 am rolled around, that number had swollen to closer to 125. Mostly people who had others saving their spots as they sat in their warm cars. My optimism dropped as sharply as the temperature. I was pretty amazed. BB didn't even allow people to begin lining up until 2 am. Who were these crazy folks? :-)

 

Many of them had done this before, as evidenced by the lawn chairs, blankets, propane heaters, and grills (!). It was like a big tailgating party. Around 4 am, the line behind us had grown to about 800 people. This is in rural Washington. I can't imagine what the stores in LA or Seattle must have been like. I was very impressed with the way Best Buy handled it. They began serving free coffee and donuts, making their way through the line. A port o potty was set up, and the sheriff's car made regular drives through the lot just to smile and let his presence be known. The vouchers began about 4 a.m. What they did was begin at the front of the line, with a clipboard and pair of BB employees making their way from person to person asking, "Are you here for X?" Many of them never made it to us before the items were spoken for, but we did manage to get the better camcorder and the 19" flat screen (it's gorgeous!), along with some non-voucher items. The first 20 people in line were obviously together and were eBay squatters who took one of everything small enough to be shippped. That was disappointing since most items were of a limited quantity. The BB manager recognized this, but there wasn't a lot he could do. They did have 40 laptops instead of the minimum of 10, and he went ahead and sold the 13 others he had that were slightly better quality for the ad price. The 20 $149 computers went to the first 20 people -- they're probably already up on eBay by now :-(. The big screen TVs went down the line to about the 250th person; the iPods went all the way through; the cheap camcorders went to about 150; the next step up ones to 200. So it wasn't completely bad news for people who got there at 4 am.

 

At precisely 5, the doors opened. Three large men made certain that those who were arriving at 5 had to wait until those who had been standing in the rain for hours got inside. Because there were so many people, they had to count the number going in and out so that they didn't exceed the fire regulations. A few people showing up at 5 got nasty with the manager outside. Many of us in line made it a point to thank him for holding the line.

 

Inside, there were tons of smiling employees directing people. I was impressed at how well everything was set up, and how most everything had been anticipated. It was very easy to find the items we were looking for, and there seemed to be plenty of advertised items (other than the big ticket voucher items, of course). Checkout took less than 15 minutes. I'm sure part of that was because we were relatively near the front of the pack, but all registers were open and the local high school cheerleaders (in much too short skirts) were volunteer baggers.

 

Even though we didn't get the laptop or the desktop, I'd give BB a 9.5/10 for how well it was run. The only suggestion I would have is to limit voucher items to one VOUCHER per person rather than one of each item. That would've given regular folk a chance to get in on the best deals, not just the squatters.

[alimfp]

Wow, that is great!!

 

But really, some people could have been there for the items for themselves. I don't think limiting someone to one of the vouchers total is very fair at all. I can understand one laptop voucher per person/household, but not one total voucher for anything per person/household.

 

Remember this for next year, as others have said a LOT in the past few weeks and quite a few others learned this year - if you want a big item like the laptop, you gotta be at most stores by 10pm it seems. Ack!

[mugs]

That's great!

 

I hope Best Buy/Circuit City/Walmart/whoever's corporate offices take note of where things went well this year and where the disasters were and figure out how to handle the bad situations for next year.

 

I remember being in a Circuit City a while back and thinking about how many people they must have in there on Black Friday, so I took note of the building capacity... it was like 700 people! I think they set those limits just a tad high.

[mugs]

Wow, that is great!!

 

But really, some people could have been there for the items for themselves. I don't think limiting someone to one of the vouchers total is very fair at all. I can understand one laptop voucher per person/household, but not one total voucher for anything per person/household.

 

Remember this for next year, as others have said a LOT in the past few weeks and quite a few others learned this year - if you want a big item like the laptop, you gotta be at most stores by 10pm it seems. Ack!

Yeah, some people actually want to buy more than one of the loss leaders for themselves... And 10 p.m. might too late in some areas. :)

[alimfp]

Yeah, some people actually want to buy more than one of the loss leaders for themselves... And 10 p.m. might too late in some areas. :)

10pm was too late for some, yet not for others. I know, I've been reading and thankful I wasn't trying for those big items, lol. But I think the one voucher per person rule would really stink no matter what..

 

IF I would have gotten the laptop I did want, I would have used it for me.. I don't see how people can say they know all of those first 20 people in line were eBayers.. big deal if they were.. you (general you) should have been there earlier. Next year.

[PKGentry]

Actually, two of the the guys in the first group of people SAID they were going to make a killing on eBay, and a third was a Navy guy who said he was picking up some extra money by sitting there and saving someone's spot because they guy was going to make a lot of money on auction. The group was obviously together, so you're right, I *did* assume all 20 of them were eBayers. I think it's a valid assumption.

 

To show up earlier wouldn't have made a difference. You couldn't line up until 2 am, and it would only have taken one of the group to save spots for the others.

[DragonSlayer1500]

Actually, two of the the guys in the first group of people SAID they were going to make a killing on eBay, and a third was a Navy guy who said he was picking up some extra money by sitting there and saving someone's spot because they guy was going to make a lot of money on auction. The group was obviously together, so you're right, I *did* assume all 20 of them were eBayers. I think it's a valid assumption.

 

To show up earlier wouldn't have made a difference. You couldn't line up until 2 am, and it would only have taken one of the group to save spots for the others.

Capitalism my friend. If someone wanted to purchase one of everything simply to take it into the parking lot and smash it in a display of protest...oh well. If he was first, he can do whatever he wants with it. The idea is buy for little sell for more. These "Ebay squatters" were in line fair and square.

[VonnegutFan]

Capitalism my friend. If someone wanted to purchase one of everything simply to take it into the parking lot and smash it in a display of protest...oh well. If he was first, he can do whatever he wants with it. The idea is buy for little sell for more. These "Ebay squatters" were in line fair and square.

I totally agree.

[tsmurphygirl]

Having 2 kids, 2 1/2 and 3 months....I drove through our BB lot at 5am figuring they would've opened the doors and maybe I could squeeze in and pick up the DVDs I wanted...HA ha ha ha ha ha! What a zoo! So, I rushed to Toys R Us figuring I'd come back and see what had been picked through. Toys R Us was great and opened their doors early...in and out in 10 minutes! Then, it was back to BB who looked like things were settled down....until I found the check out line!! Whoa mama! I waited in this thing for 1 1/2 hours, the checkout line was so slow. They had us starting at the back of the building and winding around isles and their large appliance barracades. Thank God my 3 month old slept most of the time and my 2 1/2 year old found pleasure in playing with their large appliances and kitchen setups along the way (that and poptarts and jello snacks.) Trust me, I would not have taken them if I didn't have to. Unfortuanately, that wasn't possible. All in all, I got pretty much what I wanted there and aside from the wait in the checkout line everyone was pleasant and friendly. No Grinches this year!!!! I can just see all this stuff up on ebay within the next couple days too......just happy I was able to get what I wanted and don't have to pad the pocket of someone else this year!

[mom-n-michaela]

It is fair of course, if they got there first - but that doesn't take away the frustration and dissapointment it can be when you actually WANT something and you know someone is only there to get it before you and make a quick buck. She didn't say it wasn't fair, she just said it sucked, and it does. I was in line forever for concert tickets earlier this year, and was fairly lucky to get a lottery ticket that placed me in the top 10 people in line - but 3 of the people before me held up the line buying the limit for EACH of 3 performers, one cc transaction for each one, therefore each holding up the line for 10 minutes or so (it was a state fair, all the acts went on sale at the same time). And of course they were selling them on Ebay, it was a no-brainer. I got tickets, but the seats sucked and my daughter was SO dissapointed.

[kramer13]

Just curious. Are you from Yakima or Kennewick Wa.?

[saturnboy01]

As much as I dislike the "ebay hogs" it is first come, first serve. The "early bird catches the worm" or the cash in this case!

 

Glad I got mine at the $149 price from BB and not $299+ on Ebay!

[grapico]

yeah it sucks, but have seen worse, for example, I go to public auctions sometimes for seized vehicles, government stuff, etc.... there are plenty of deals to be had, but sometimes you will get an a$$hole dealer there with unlimited cash supply and buy almost every vehicle there, most however stick to dealer only auctions, outbidding anybody up to what he can sell the car for on a lot to the point of people leaving and just not bidding, then they start getting deals for hardly nothing, b/c everybody knows they are just going to get outbid, this happened particularly bad the last time i was at one, i've probably been to 40, but last time one dealer bought about 35 cars in a row. i'm sure plenty of people actually needed a car, and sit there and watch as a few poor familys trying to get a car for their kid or something walk out with nothing.

[Emsburro]

we do live in a capitalist society, can blame them for making a quick buck, i would do the same, just look at ebay for XBox 360 going for almost double their price, i would do it too

[BubbleTea]

PKGentry, did you go to the Kennewick Best Buy by any chance? I went to BB at 5am and got in in about 3 minutes. Getting checked out took another 2 hours, though. However, I got everything, spent about $550.

[PKGentry]

No Bubble, I'm on the other side of the state. We were at the Silverdale one.

[dissident]

that would make me angry if a large group of people came in ahead of me later that night because of one person saving their spot... I wouldn't allow it.. after hearing these stories I'll stick to wal mart supercenters that remained open all night I think. Seems like the more hardcore a person is, the more likely they are to pull this crap of allowing 5 "friends" into the line later that night just because....

[josetann]

I don't think it's a problem if someone holds a place in line for someone, as long as they both get to suffer for a while. Now, if there's one person in line the whole time, then a dozen people get in front five minutes before opening, that'd be wrong. Now if someone gets in line at 1AM and the other person shows up at 2AM with a heater and blanket and they both camp out, no biggie (I use that example, because that's what I subjected my poor brother to last night/morning).

[Ziptar]

Remember this for next year, as others have said a LOT in the past few weeks and quite a few others learned this year - if you want a big item like the laptop, you gotta be at most stores by 10pm it seems. Ack!

 

Probably not early enough.. I got to CC at 10PM and was 19th in line the next people in line got there at 11PM. We got the last of the Toshiba $199 vouchers, I was handed 19 of 19.

 

I think next year you'll see people skipping Thanks giving dinner and lining up at 9AM Thanks Giving Day.

[mommy2g]

Our Best Buy was well organized too. We got there at 12:30, there were about 30 people in line already. The best Buy employees came out at about 3 and we got Christmas music!!!! Donuts, coffee and hot chocolate. They also had the geek squad car drive around and some people got geek squad shirt. oh and they had port-a-potty which is great when your 7yo wakes up at 4 and needs to go. We got out of the line after getting the tickets (we got the emachine but not the toshiba laptop, instead we got a gateway) so I do not know how organized they were inside the store. Dh went back around 8 to actually buy the stuff and it took him a little bit more than an hour.