45 replies to this topic

[TazErase]

This year I had family medical problems and wasn't able to be first like I usually am at Best Buy... I went by at 4:20pm and there were less than 50 people in line! Then I went to Walmart expecting it to be crazy there and I actually got a carriage (which I have NEVER done on Black Friday) and was able to move pretty freely through the store without getting all jammed up. Not sure if this was a deliberate attempt by retailers to kill Black Friday to spread the sales out in the future, if not based on what I've been seeing here in NY, next year they may move store opening times back to 10pm or even midnight. What was it like in other parts of the country???

[speeddiva]

NO line at all when I drove by Kohls at 6 PM (2hrs before they opened)
I was in & out of Walmart in an hour. The only thing I didn't even attempt was video games/DVDs because the way the had it set up was stupid, i spent the extra $10 and ordered them from Amazon while i was in line LOL

Definitely not as crowded as last year!

[Brad]

Just drove by some stores at 7pm local time. Target had around 100 in line, Kohl's had 20 and there were 2 people waiting outside in freezing cold temps for... OfficeMax.

[gatorburg]

Went to Walmart it was crowed took like a half an hour to check out. Was home before 7pm. here is some pics.  ImageUploadedByGottaDeal1385688889.568030.jpg   115.42KB   120 downloads  ImageUploadedByGottaDeal1385688914.300375.jpg   120.64KB   116 downloads  ImageUploadedByGottaDeal1385688930.833677.jpg   117.28KB   116 downloads  ImageUploadedByGottaDeal1385688975.766866.jpg   126.34KB   116 downloads  ImageUploadedByGottaDeal1385689016.833796.jpg   118.44KB   113 downloads  ImageUploadedByGottaDeal1385689030.166898.jpg   120.2KB   114 downloads

Edited by gatorburg, Nov 28, 2013 - 5:39 pm.

[len_mullen]

I'm not surprised.  First, the deals are not that amazing compared to last week or the week before.  Second, a lot of the deals are available online.  Third, a lot of people believe there will be better deals after BF.  

 

That said, I went to Massachusetts for dinner today.  New Hampshire stores were open today while Massachusetts stores were closed.  The traffic coming in to New Hampshire was bumper to bumper.  So, someone is shopping.

[teach2nuts]

Went to a Walmart in Virginia and it was packed. Could not hardly move thru the store.

[nini]

I stopped in at my local Walmart (in Indiana) around 3. The lines were just starting, but the crowd was small. By the time I left around 6:15, the store was packed & the parking lot overflowed.

[bellastarr]

edited because I posted in the wrong thred.. lol

Edited by bellastarr, Nov 28, 2013 - 6:42 pm.

[leefamily23]

On our 6pm news they showed TRU and there were no lines already (only an hour after opening).  They then went to a Walmart live who had just opened and the "crowd" looked to be half of what it usually is.  I don't know how well this early Thanksgiving opening time is working out.  I think they did better when they opened at 10pm.

[HanShotFirst]

Small Walmart supercenter in rural Arkansas not too bad at all.

We got there around 5pm and were able to get everything we wanted, nothing to be upset over if we missed them either.

Found a short checkout line and were only 4 people deep in that. Back home and in my PJ's by 6:25 pm.

Crowds did seem smaller this year here as a whole although some parts of the store were not easily navigable due to the lines for the doorbusters/guaranteed items.

[Kanyon71]

I honestly think it's a combo of people not will to give up all their family time, and so much being online now. We did our big purchases online early this morning and we will be heading out at our normal 3:30AM-4AM to do the rest of the shopping.

 

Hope everyone has had a Happy and safe Thanksgiving

[booga12345]

For me, I was able to get all my must haves online. This was the first year I dont need to go out at all and I'm happy with that

[LCPanther1975]

Me too!! We were home by 830!!! All must haves gotten !!! WalMart really was a treat this year, no fights and no craziness!! There were, however, a few stinky people...LOL

[fabnsab]

It was so much quieter tonight! I could actually walk through Walmart with a shopping cart and that's normally impossible!

We checked out by 7.

Then went to TRU which was already opened 2.5 hours and we got the door busters we wanted. Likewise with target.

I'm not complaining!!

[jadedmomof2]

The lines outside my stores weren't bad, but inside? Both TRU and Home Depot had check out lines throughout half the stores. Forget that, the items I wanted at both those places are thru Saturday, so I'll go out tomorrow for them. 

[tacoqueen4]

Our Walmart was worse than ever. Topped off by a fist fight involving 2 baby daddies over child support...ended with tazers. Best BF ever

[madshooter]

went to walmart to buy 10" tablet...lines were crazy and of course sold out. Get on my phone and bring up walmart.com and purchase on my phone in the store for the same price with free shipping to the store for pickup. Couldn't believe I wasted my time driving there when I could have sat home on my computer and got what I wanted without all the craziness. Target was even worse, checkout line took forever to get through.

[2bauer4]

Wal Mart was crazy, but we went to Best Buy around 8:15 and they still had a ton of stuff left and way less people than in the past.

[pogiporkchop]

Went to Michaels first and it wasn't too busy until I was checked out. Chaotic as the WM I went to was, at least I was able to get parking right away. But then everyone got into the doorbusters almost 30 minutes before the official time (I knew that was going to happen) despite there being several police officers there. Still managed to get in and out in a very short amount of time... and in that time the outside was a zoo with zero parking available. Target, once again, was very orderly and problem free.

[Gottadealme]

only place I saw long lines to get in was target.  Seemed much longer than last year.  Not sure why...  Lots of police and security keeping things orderly.

[fabnsab]

A lot of people wanted that cheap 50" at target this year. That's probably why.

[kathytheshopper]

Walmart was crazy around 6:00 when I went in and turned around and left. I went back around 8:00 and could go right up to a register to check out. Kohls was nuts as usual-checkout lines wrapped all the way around to the back and meeting up to the other line. I just checked out at Target about 20 minutes ago because it finally got down to only about a dozen people in line! I only wanted some $2.00 washcloth packs! There was quite a line outside before it opened. Not as many as usual but still alot of people since the checkout like was steady for 3 1/2 hrs! I would guess there were 200+ people waiting for Target to open. Best Buy had a line but maybe more like 100 people. The mall was really busy so that's good. I think the store that is the busiest is the McDonalds drive through! lol Long lines there!

[len_mullen]

Our Walmart was worse than ever. Topped off by a fist fight involving 2 baby daddies over child support...ended with tazers. Best BF ever

 

No pictures?

[LSUtaco]

Lines at target at 7pm was about 500 folks deep. Kohk s had about 200. Second in line at HD now with 9 other folks

[elena_398]

Just got back awhile ago from Menards. It was crazy! They had to shut down the entire southbound lane because of the traffic.  They were parking in the field next to store. Lines went all around store to taco bell down the street.   I was surprised the checkout time was pretty good. I was 2nd in line (got there at 12:45 am). So had lists for my husband and daughter. We all got our stuff (and then some ) and raced to checkout.  People practically attacked us for carts. 2 ladies started arguing over who was getting our cart. Nuts.

[tacoqueen4]

No pictures?

Not yet...the girl who was runnin her mouth to start it ended up next to me and was eye ballin people who whipped out their phones. I had too much to do to end up on the floor

[momof3luvs1]

Lines were not bad at all by the time I went out! Im headed out again in a little bit to head to a few stores I missed last night. OUtlets were almost empty compared to previous years....

[julz0420]

From what I as and what I was told, everywhere was crazy here in southern Illinois. Our Walmart was just as packed as it was last year, same with the super enters, khols, the malls, etc.

[Dylansmommy]

I was really impressed with my Walmart this year.  Usually they have very little crowd control and people start tearing into things before the start time.  But this year, they had everything organized, taped off and only allowed 15 people at a time.  Everyone followed the rules and was very respectful towards one another.  It made for an easy and enjoyable shopping experience!

[1whodatdare]

our walmart wasnt as bad as past years.  We wanted a 32 inch for 98 dollars "IN Stock Guarantee."  We saw the huge line for it, and instead of waiting for a Funai, we simply waited till about 6:50, went over and grabbed a voucher.  I came home, put in in the computer to order, and got surprised with an Emerson 32" instead.  Cool.  There must have been 50 of these still sitting in Target when I left there at 8:00 a.m.  I guess nobody wanted to pay 200 for a cheaper model when they could get it for 100 at Wally World.