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Ghosts of Black Fridays Past

jaymacfla

By jaymacfla
in 2017

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jaymacfla

jaymacfla

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It wasn't that long ago. Ten years ago to be exact that you could wade through a Black Friday ad laden newspaper and see the plethora of stores which offered the only way back then to entice you into their stores. The online experience was just beginning to show itself as a way to entice customers, but back then it was secret sales that pointed you to the brick and mortar store. Those were some exciting times and you started to see wacky campers stay a night or two out in the cold for a $199 computer.

 

Fast forward ten years and the playing field is considerably narrower. Some giants of the day in their specialties have shuttered their doors for good and others are a mere shadow of themselves and are on life support. In the next few days, I will be visiting some of these stores and reflecting upon their significance to the shopping experience. I will be snapping a few pictures as well, and invite all of you to do the same. But for now the roll call: 

 

Circuit City: Gone 2009

CompUSA: Gone

HHGregg: Gone

KMart: Almost gone

Sears: Almost gone

OfficeMax: Swallowed By Office Depot

TigerDirect: Almost gone Online only

Montgomery Ward: Gone 2001

Sam Goody/Musicland: Gone

K B Toys: Gone

Borders: Gone

Coconuts and Camelot Music: swallowed by FYE 

EBGames and Rhino: swallowed by Gamestop 

Sound Advice: Gone

 

 

Do you have any favorite memories of these places? Please feel free to mention any that were local favorites of yours. Do you have any new stores opening in your area that might participate in Black Friday? We are seeing a rise in the super dollar market so Ollie's is new to the area and reminds me of Big Lots.

 

 

 

 

 

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Kash

Kash

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I miss lay-a-ways.  Especially after my kids started shopping with me.  Hard to fit everything in car and really hard to hide what your getting them.  With lay-a-ways you could put their gift under stuff and sneak it in the layaway without them knowing.  Slowly stores stopped letting you do layaway on BF.  Kmart was the last one near me and now both of their stores have closed.

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Kanyon71

Kanyon71

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I miss Circuit City (which is still supposedly making a comeback) and the old Sears. I used to love walking around sears when I was younger and seeing the new really cool electronics (was introduced to large rear projection TV's by them and stood there ogling it with my friend). Then I would wander over to the appliances and look around then off to the tool/garden departments and think about all the stuff I wanted. Up until it started to become a shell of itself (thanks for that Kmart) we still shopped there often especially when I needed tools and such.

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jaymacfla

jaymacfla

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Circuit City used to have the clean room where you could close the door and listen to the pure audio without distractions. There were many things that they did so well in the early days. When they let all of the senior people go, Kids with high pressure sales tactics just didn't cut it and they closed for good shortly after.

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Kanyon71

Kanyon71

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Circuit City used to have the clean room where you could close the door and listen to the pure audio without distractions. There were many things that they did so well in the early days. When they let all of the senior people go, Kids with high pressure sales tactics just didn't cut it and they closed for good shortly after.

Yes it became a shell of what it once was, I still think had thy got the right people in to run it they could have turned things around and made a go of it.

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budgetsRsexy

budgetsRsexy

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When I first moved out on my own (2004) I asked for some simple tools on my Christmas list that year (screw drivers and a hammer). When Grandpa overheard my mom reviewing the list with grandma he insisted that he be the one to shop for the tools. "Only craftsman for my granddaughters." I think it was the first time he ever took interest in taking part in buying Christmas presents. He took such pride in it and I made sure to put a tool on my list every year from then on because it made me feel special too. I miss my grandpa and in a way I'm going to miss Sears too.
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stewarta4

stewarta4

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I don't remember much about their sales but I always used to go BF shopping with my mom and grandma at Ames department store...those are some of my first BF memories and will always be special to me.

 

I will miss Radio Shack and Kmart...all of the ones even remotely close to me have shut their doors.

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wittenlover

wittenlover

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I don't remember much about their sales but I always used to go BF shopping with my mom and grandma at Ames department store...those are some of my first BF memories and will always be special to me.

 

I will miss Radio Shack and Kmart...all of the ones even remotely close to me have shut their doors.

 

Oh wow. Your post just totally took me back. I had completely forgotten about Ames! Ah, memories... 

 

I used to love KB Toys as a kid. My dad and I used to go to the mall every Saturday morning (along with my dad's other errands he wanted to get done - I was daddy's girl, so I always wanted to go - my mom called it "gallivanting"). I'd wander the aisles of KB and dream of things that would go on my Christmas wish list to Santa. Every once in a while, dad would actually buy me something from there on our journeys. Fun times. 

 

I am already missing Kmart, but not for the usual shopping-related reasons. My church, for the last several years until the store closed, always took Black Friday as our day to ring the bell in front of our local Kmart for the Salvation Army. I happily signed up to be a bell ringer for a time shortly after I knew my morning shopping excursion would be over. Seeing the joy on tired parents faces as they walked out with carts and bags full of things that they knew would bring smiles to family and friends always was such fun. Once my "shift" was over, I'd go in, warm up, and shop for a few things before I called it a day. Our Kmart closed a couple years back, so no more bell ringing duty nearby for me. I need to look on SA's website and find out if there's another local store I can have some fun ringing a bell at. 

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jesusluvu

jesusluvu

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lets see what stores can i remember here

 

Circus World (toy store was bought out by KB Toys in the early 90's)

Montgomery Wards

PACE Warehouse

 

 

there is more but these are the ones i remember from my childhood shopping at

I never got to shop at Montgomery Ward but I do remember it as a kid. My mom loved that place. I forgot all about them.

 

JB Whites is another one.

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tyreejames

tyreejames

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Kay B Toys used to be my first stop. I remember standing in line at the mall, which was nice because you were inside and not out in the cold. Then as you walked in they would hand everyone a large clear bag and the best thing was the line went through the entire store so you were able to shop as you were in line.
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Bopeep

Bopeep

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Kay B Toys used to be my first stop. I remember standing in line at the mall, which was nice because you were inside and not out in the cold. Then as you walked in they would hand everyone a large clear bag and the best thing was the line went through the entire store so you were able to shop as you were in line.

My biggest Black Friday oops was at KB Toys.  We (my sister and I) got to the mall super early, and there was no one else there in the parking lot. So we kept thinking, well, they'll open the doors soon. As it got closer and closer to time for the sale to start, I finally used my precious cell phone minutes (this was in the days of 60 minutes a month on a really good deal) to call. Turns out, there was not a KB Toys IN that mall. By the time we got to the bigger mall in OKC, there was no way we were getting in to KB Toys.  :sidesplit

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tyreejames

tyreejames

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My biggest Black Friday oops was at KB Toys. We (my sister and I) got to the mall super early, and there was no one else there in the parking lot. So we kept thinking, well, they'll open the doors soon. As it got closer and closer to time for the sale to start, I finally used my precious cell phone minutes (this was in the days of 60 minutes a month on a really good deal) to call. Turns out, there was not a KB Toys IN that mall. By the time we got to the bigger mall in OKC, there was no way we were getting in to KB Toys. :sidesplit

That had to suck...I remember what the line looked like when I would be exit; I was usually in the first 10 or so people so I know what you mean.

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jaymacfla

jaymacfla

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As promised, here are some scary photos of what now reminds me of a ghost town. First, we have the Regency location(Jacksonville, FL.) of Circuit City, and the only creatures that now seem to inhabit the place are scores of wasps under the numerous light fixtures. Keep in mind that all of these stores are within walking distance and you can literally drive to all of them without re-entering traffic. This is not one of the newest stores, but clearly is not like the traditional store with the red "Circuit Plug" that you would walk through. That store is in another part of town and was my favorite.

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jaymacfla

jaymacfla

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If you travel to the right, make a little hook and a slight turn and you are finally at Best Buy! It looks empty, but that is a ruse. It is still in operation although it was slated for closure years ago. I never could get a decent answer from any employee and I imagine that someday they will receive their pink slips via an Amazon Prime Drone.

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jaymacfla

jaymacfla

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Take a left past Circuit City and once you pass the loading dock you can round the corner to another strip of shops that completely empty. You then find yourself making a right turn and you see the sign to yet another large box strip mall and the sign that indicates that a Tiger Direct is nearby.  Still noticeable is the Office Depot Building even with the letters removed. Then in the next photos you see a store that sticks out to create a nice windbreak for shoppers. That is Tiger Direct/CompUSA. This store was the first place I stood in line for an actual computer back when the CompUSA folks would greet you with tickets and hot chocolate. They were the true pioneers of the safe and sane approach to Black Friday.

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