Best and Worst Black Friday Memories

[tracy0504]

Best is probably years ago when i went with my mom and grandma to kbtoys opening for batman figures for my cousins. We were terrified by some loon in the parking lot upset we'd taken they're space since you know they were CLEARLY indicating from another LANE:) aside from the brief terror of fearing this person would get out of their car and Beat us we had fun in the crazyness of kb and then peacefully got my pc at radio shack.

 

Worst year, possibly last year. Lately I've been starting at Walmart on thanksgiving and they are beyond disorganized. I plan at least a month out for our family and mgmt seems to fly by the seat of their pants. They hand out NEW maps because the ones online had changes made then don't notify employees and wind up following portions of each. You either had to run into what you wanted or wait til you spotted something in someone else's possession and ask where it came from. At least the year before i was able to get disney movies on sale ahead of time because they had apparently opened a stack and mixed on electronics rack...

Walmart is always disorganized & their lines move soooo slow... It's like they try something different every year to make it better but it's never better...

[kayray]

My niece, now almost 15, is my BF soulmate   She even has her own GD wardrobe!  Two years ago we were trying to get a tree at Home Depot.  To get in the door quickly, we decided to forego a cart.  We got a tree and were in the process of dragging it to a side aisle so she could wait with it while I got a dolly.  After watching two women tussle over what they thought was the last tree, she literally threw her body over the box LOL  No one was going to get that tree away from her!

[Kanyon71]

My niece, now almost 15, is my BF soulmate   She even has her own GD wardrobe!  Two years ago we were trying to get a tree at Home Depot.  To get in the door quickly, we decided to forego a cart.  We got a tree and were in the process of dragging it to a side aisle so she could wait with it while I got a dolly.  After watching two women tussle over what they thought was the last tree, she literally threw her body over the box LOL  No one was going to get that tree away from her!

Sometimes you gotta be willing to throw down in order to protect yours lol

[mamat2011]

My best memory was when I took my husband to target to get 2-stereos for our two youngest.  It was his first time and he's a big guy.  They opened the door and everyone rushed and pushed.  I ran and got trapped in front of my desired product (yippee) and handed the rest back to others.  When I met up with my husband he was empty handed and shocked at the craziness.  He said"they were fighting, I'm not hitting a woman"  I just laughed and showed him that I did.  lol

[Rnoski]

Some of my favorite Black Fridays were going to stores with my sisters and friends that are now gone..... Remember these stores ? Circuit city, kbtoys, compusa, OfficeMax ..... We had so much fun at kbtoys.... Their sales brought out all the crazies.....My sisters use to laugh I would literally have a stack of $10 off coupons at OfficeMax .... Store was always cool bout splitting up purchases so u could use them all.... Some of most fun ever had through years was hunting game consoles ..... My all time favorite find was Nintendo 64 ... They were almost impossible to get.... Me and my sis just walked into TRU and there it was... I played Mario for 3 months straight lol

[Kanyon71]

I remember one year I had multiple coupons for Bed Bath & Beyond, the lady who waited on me looked around and whispered I'm not going to split up the order I'll just use them all, system let her do it and I was out quick. Was a good day lol

[fabnsab]

I agree w everyone- best was the crisp air at 4am and going out then hitting breakfast after!

 

My worst was one year, walking into walmart(24 hr) 4 hours before the BF sale and everyone's carts were filled to the brims and the place was wiped out!

[Dylansmommy]

I've had so many bad memories shopping at Walmart.  They never have organized lines, people start tearing into boxes way before the designated time - management does nothing to stop them, they never know what the policy is or where items are located.  A couple years ago, I was unintentionally involved in a pillow fight.  People were tearing through the boxes and people were trying to take pillows off of other people and then people started smacking other people with pillows.  I got smacked right in the face...lens popped out of my glasses.  Those Walmart shoppers are rough!!

[tear1469]

I think some of my best memories are having breakfast with my daughter after shopping. We spend half the night grabbing deals online, then run through half a dozen stores but we take our time and visit once we get to breakfast.

 

But my favorite was 3 years ago at Gordmans. The line was so long and moving so slow, I was ready to say forget it and leave. We ended up being in line for almost and hour and a half. My daughter knowing me pretty well figured out I was getting annoyed and says I'll be right back. The next thing I know my 18 year old is wearing a weird animal hat and carrying an umbrella singing Mary Poppins songs. I'm assuming she was wanting the gifts in the cart that she knew were for her because she continued to sing and do stand up comedy the entire time we were in line. She randomly ran up and down the aisle and did infomercials on items she had no interest in. It was kind of crazy but hilarious. At one point I left her with the cart and ran for a restroom break, when I got back the lady behind me hugged me and said I just love your daughter, I'd have left an hour ago if it wasn't for her. She had half the line cracking up and everyone around us was in pretty good spirits when we left.

 

The worst memory would have to be the first time I took my daughter BF shopping. She was 12, we went to NFM to get my husband a TV for Christmas. We didn't even get all the way inside the door. We got to the doorway and I grabbed her by the back of the coat to stop her from going in and we left. People climbed a stack of TV's and were trying to throw them to whomever was with them. I was afraid she'd get bashed in the head with one.

[cd_stl]

Probably my favorite memory was the year we staked out a Lowe's for an item for my daughter. Ours is next door to a Kohl's. Kohls opened at 5 and Lowe's at 6 so we parked at like 2am and she went to sleep so I watched the crowd. Kohl's was crazy but our side of the parking lot was as quiet as a cemetery. It got later and later-crickets still on our side. Finally woke her up at 5 curious why no one was pulling in at Lowe's-not even employees. Dug through the ads-store didn't open till 9!  Cracked us up and we walked to Kohl's and went shopping.

 

One year Kohl's was really crazy with huge lines. We had several door buster item but the lines were impossible. Rather than give up we gathered our stuff and "hid" it in an aisle. Went to the other stores and came back right before the time cut off. Our stuff was safe so we got it and walked up and checked out!  These were the days before the early online sales. Kinda miss it.

 

Worst was the first really big online shopping year when Kohl's started their sale at midnight on Tues. We had multiple laptops and the system kept crashing. at 4 am our order finally went through.....So frustrating

[myboysnme]

My worst memory is staying up until I guess it was 2 or 3 am for a laptop to go on sale on best buy only to finally see the price change and flicker to say IN STORE ONLY.  I thought I was having a nightmare.

 

I quickly shifted gears and got on the Office Max web site and snagged one there - deal not as good but at least I could actually purchase it.

[Spotted1]

We seriously had the best time last year.  We had dinner, and then left the girls with my ILs so we could go to Walmart and try to snag the older girls a 32inch TV for their room. I was absolutely terrified we weren't going to get one since we left late, but my husband was actually 3rd in line.  I even managed to finish shopping and get us checked out before the TV could be picked up. We loaded up, he drove me home so I could get the girls (a 45 minute drive!) then turned and went back after the TV.. Seriously the smoothest sale -ever-.

[okannie]

Best memory...hard to choose, so many great times after my kids got old enough to go with me but one memory stands out...it was when the shopping was in the early mornings, it was real cold out, my DIL and I went to Toys R Us while my DS stood in line at Target. When we went to go in at Toys R Us line jumpers tried to rush the entrance and one tried to pull my DIL out of place but all the shopper banded together with the employees and the line jumpers were sent to the end of the line. Then we joined my DS at Target and were at the head of the line when it opened. Later we saw a news clip with us entering Target and DS yelling " Woo-hoo!! Go, Go Go!"  We laughed so hard because we didn't realize he had hollered that out.

 

Worst memory...the afternoon starts at Walmart...all the crazies crowd the store and people grab stuff only to ditch it later around the store.

[barbd02]

I have a lot of great BF memories.

One of our family favorites was a few years ago when I first started taking my twins (18 then). We were waiting at store (back when they opened at different times in the middle of the night) and everyone had silently agree to stay in their cars where it was nice and warm. It was probably 2 hours till opening time and well below freezing. I'm in the driver seat, trying to catch a cat nap, my daughter is in shotgun. An obvious newbie pulls up next to us. And breaks code and gets out of the car. My daughter sits up right and as she is fumbling for words says, "Stupid lady almost made me cuss in front of my mama!"

 

Worst BF: we got stuck in an endless line at a TRU (literally in line over an hour) when they were having lots of technical difficulties with their registers. Missed so many openings and so many other great deals, but we each had some MUST have items that we knew would be gone if we left.

That one or when a fight broke out the first year I took my daughters. There was a fight and it turned pretty big before it got settled. My daughter was on one side of the fight and very close to it. My friend had to literally hold onto me to keep me from climbing through it to get to her. She was 18, but it was still too much for my mama bear side.

[Illinoismom]

My worst was when a Security Guard at target put his hands on my 12 year old daughter think she was a line cutter and pulled her out of the line by her hoodie chocking her , My oldest daughter blocked the entry into the store until he released my other daughter. 

 

 

Best is when all 4 of my kids and I can do shopping together 

[Lusha121]

My worst was when a Security Guard at target put his hands on my 12 year old daughter think she was a line cutter and pulled her out of the line by her hoodie chocking her , My oldest daughter blocked the entry into the store until he released my other daughter. 

 

 

Best is when all 4 of my kids and I can do shopping together 

Congratulations for not going to jail!  

[LynnTH]

I also think the best times were going early on Friday morning.  I would meet my mom at Target and from there we would go to the mall and not get home until after lunch.  We had so much fun.  Mom passed away 4 years ago and I really miss doing that with her.  My friend and neighbor is a big Black Friday shopper also - so we go together now and have included our daughters who are 14 now.   (Although we have to separate from them at times as a lot of the items I buy are for her).  It is so much more fun going with others.   I don't mind the crowds.  I just love being out there!!

[Lusha121]

I forgot one!!! OMG! Last year took my oldest daughter with my mom and I on Thanksgiving.... smooth morning. until we get to Mc Donalds. let me preempt this by saying my mother also has no volume control (and in retrospect i almost hope that she was still drunk.... except that she was the one driving) ! order food, everything went well... until we were almost done. My mom who just can't make things easy has to go ask for wet naps because napkins aren't enough. Daughter and I were exasperated and were just like "for real grandma just go to the bathroom and wash your hands"?!  she shouts across the dining area "What?! I need them I'm a homophobe"! EVERYONE HEARS HER! WE WERE MORTIFIED! My sister is gay, so WE both knew that wasn't what she meant, but nobody else did!  If you had caught our faces at that moment... My 15 year old daughter jumps up and literally yells at her "Don't you mean you're a GERMAPHOBE" mom, very quietly this time, says, "oh yeah, that's what I meant". Daughter and I beat feet out of there and go hide in the car before we can get publicly humiliated again by the words of the grandma...  I need to write a book. I think it would be therapeutic. 

[mamat2011]

My worst black Friday experience was several years ago.  It was at Meijer.  I was so sick, but the other customers were great.  I would run to the bathroom...get sick and they would keep my spot!  Needless to say I quickly got my items and went home.

[lucyismycat]

My best experiences have been the past two years.  My mom recently moved nearby, so for the first time in my life I have a BF buddy. She and I head out as soon as the Thanksgiving dishes are cleaned up.  The first year Macy's was open on Thanksgiving, they had a dj playing techno music and it was so loud I thought she wouldn't be able to tolerate it, but she LOVED it. We ended up at Penneys around 2am, where she saw a scarf hanging around a wooden moose's neck, just standing in the store.  She really liked it, so we grabbed it...imagine our surprise when we got to the register and they wouldn't sell it to us because it was part of the decor!  What department store has Christmas scarves sitting out that aren't for sale?  We've laughed about that all year! I love spending this time with her and making these memories. 

 

My worst experience was probably around 2001-2003 when Circuit City was still in business.  I got there several hours before opening and stood in line. I was 5th in line behind 4 people who didn't speak English (or at least didn't claim to), and I was waiting for a laptop. When the person came out to hand out tickets, several more people got out of cars in the parking lot and said they were with the 4 people in front of me, and I ended up getting nothing. I was a lot quieter then than I am now.  LOL

[bigjimslade]

For me the best is when I found this site and made a lot of friends here.

[maguszxz]

Actually my worst was not only my first but it was also my best. My first time was in college, my lady friend coworker talked about Black Friday like it was her Super Bowl, it got me very excited about the deals and good stuff I would get. I needed a digital camera badly and there was one on sale. She was going to put me up an hour before the sale. The time comes, and she is nowhere to be found. I called her, she didn't answer. I was crushed, she ditched me. My mom who was the awesome woman she is, got out of her bed, put on some clothes and took me to Walmart to shop and then the rest is history. She is a trooper and we haven't missed a year since. I have yet to find another partner who can help me than her.

[momof3luvs1]

My best memory was when KB toys was still around. My brother was manager there for year's. I would always work Black Friday. Everyone on line was always in a good mood. We uuse to hand out candy canes and talk to people while they waited. It really felt like the start of the holidays. Black Friday is so NOT like that anymore with sales starting on Thanksgiving.

 

Worst memory was when I was pregnant. I was not feeling 100% but thought it was because I was tired. After 2 hours of shopping I felt faint and just drove home. Ends up I had a horrible high fever and obviously missed the rest of the day/weekend shopping. 

[jerica388]

My best BF memory was the year that I got every single thing on my list, including a tv for my aunt and lots of Angel Tree gifts. That same year there was a lady that I work with who was at Target hoping to get a camera. She waited in line for a very long time, because she really wanted to get the camera for a gift for her daughter. They were handing them out one at a time and making people pay for them in electronics, and they ran out right before they got to her. She left. About 20 minutes later I was finishing up paying for my tv and they came out and said they found another box of cameras. I was able to buy one and take it to her that afternoon. She was thrilled.

 

 

My worst BF experience was several years ago. Menards had these off-brand snuggies as a doorbuster. My aunt and my grandma really wanted them, so I went for them. I made my way up to the display (it was just a big skid-sized cardboard box in the middle of one of the back isles). Right when I got to the front, the crowd surged forward, and I was pushed head first into the box! On my way down I did grab an armful of snuggies. I figured I wasn't going to go through all that for nothing. A guy who worked there came up behind me and asked me if I was ok. I told him yes. He saw I had my arms full and asked if I would like him to pull me out, and I agreed. He grabbed me by the waist and tugged, and I came up with six blankets! I was soo bruised for days after that. Right after I left there, I went to Wal-Mart. I was at the very back of the store getting a fire pit bowl - or whatever they're called. I watched two people get into an actual fist fight over a card table and chair set. The one guy fell backwards into an old woman, and she fell down and they had to call they ambulance for her. Pretty sure she ended up with a broken hip.

[bribri25]

I would have to agree with @jerica388 and the year that I got everything on my list and saved a bundle!  This was back when there were no Thursday openings and some things were starting to transition to online, but still majority in store.  I went to at least 9 stores in 4-5 hours and crossed everything off the list.

 

Last year was particularly memorable as I was able to snag something for a follow GottaDealer from Menards and ship to Florida (since they don't have any Menards). And also we did the adopt-a-family for the first time and was able to get a mother and her 3 children over $500 of retail items for under $210; all things from their wish list.

 

I don't have any overly BEST or WORST stories, but generally a lot of good memories of people helping others out and generally being nice.

 

My worst memories consist mostly of times where you'd be one of the first 50 people in line about an hour before it opens, and by the time it opens, you're about 150th; times where you're wrapped around the store in line and noone stops the people that pull up AT opening time and just walk from their car to try to get in the door without going to the back of the line, and of course the online retailer website debacle of sites going down or not going live until 4 hours after they are supposed to so that none of us get any sleep (and I usually end up with a cold as a result). Nothing major

[estreeval]

Best Memory- This should be a worst memory but it was so funny that I always talk about it lol. My first bf I was like 5th in line. A few of us noticed that there was a lady in a wheel chair a few people behind us. We all decided we would let her go first since we didn't want her trampled on. The lady next to me was so nice and kept telling her she needed to come to the front that everyone was ok with it. So eventually she did. When they opened the door the lady in the wheel chair jumped up and started running. The lady who kept insisting she move to the front said "omg it's a christmas miracle" and ran after her and tackled her! Everyone was dying laughing!

Worst Memory- Last year I had everything I "needed" and was just looking at what was left over. There was a stack of about 6 scooters left and if I get them I have to get one for all of my kids in that age group. There was a lady standing in front of them but she had her back to them so I didn't think she wanted them. So I walked over and kind of stood there and she moved up so I could look. I then asked if they were hers and she said no. I decided to get 4 of them and as I started to walk away she started screaming at me that she needed four of them and that if she had known I was going to take that many she wouldn't have let me in. She was making a huge spectacle of herself. I was so embarressed!

[Kanyon71]

Best Memory- This should be a worst memory but it was so funny that I always talk about it lol. My first bf I was like 5th in line. A few of us noticed that there was a lady in a wheel chair a few people behind us. We all decided we would let her go first since we didn't want her trampled on. The lady next to me was so nice and kept telling her she needed to come to the front that everyone was ok with it. So eventually she did. When they opened the door the lady in the wheel chair jumped up and started running. The lady who kept insisting she move to the front said "omg it's a christmas miracle" and ran after her and tackled her! Everyone was dying laughing!

 

Worst Memory- Last year I had everything I "needed" and was just looking at what was left over. There was a stack of about 6 scooters left and if I get them I have to get one for all of my kids in that age group. There was a lady standing in front of them but she had her back to them so I didn't think she wanted them. So I walked over and kind of stood there and she moved up so I could look. I then asked if they were hers and she said no. I decided to get 4 of them and as I started to walk away she started screaming at me that she needed four of them and that if she had known I was going to take that many she wouldn't have let me in. She was making a huge spectacle of herself. I was so embarressed!

I would have just kept walking and said I asked you and you said no. So is life.

[MariahA]

Probably the worst BF memory for me was last year. My sister's oldest daughter asked to come with us (she was 8) and since our WM is usually pretty calm we let her come. In the initial chaos at 6pm when all the toy pallets got opened she got separated from her mom. She was a pallet away but couldn't get over to her mom. My sister almost had to fight her way back to her, and then my niece got sick all over the floor of WM. My mom camped out on an aisle in home-goods with her and the 6 dollar storybooks while my sister checked out. She was not a happy little girl; she's not going again for a few years. The earlier opening times are making it crazier.

 

Best was the years when we got up at 2am to be at the store at 4. The same niece came with us because my sister had to work. She slept in the cart on the pile of coats and one of us waited in lines with her or parked ourselves in an empty aisle and everyone came to the cart when they couldn't carry anymore. It was fun getting out with all the girls in our family. I miss that, it's just 2 or 3 of us now.

[momlori]

One of the most memorable was waiting in line at Target for them to open and having people come across the parking lot from KB Toys that was supposed to open an hour earlier but someone had put crazy glue in the lock to the store.  The store had to call a locksmith to drill the lock and the shoppers were sooo upset that they could not get in.  I mean it was not like the workers did it on purpose but it was entertaining to see the reactions of the people coming over from the other line.  Just glad it was not me in the other line.

[Scanner420]

Best was when me and my wife first moved to Jersey and went BF shopping. worst was a year later, we went to TRU, someone stole a sold out item from my wife's cart and I was waiting in line for the R-Zone, got shifted around about 4 times by a clueless manager to find that they directed me to the wrong line. That was my last BF expedition, until last year when I stoppped on my way home from work and grabbed a few games and a birthday present for my DW.