beware of a lot of these bf sales.

[tikithyme2]

i'm sure you all have figured this out by now. and i loveeeeeeeee bf ..i go every year. But!! last year we went to best buy. They had computers on sale. We stood in the freezing cold for about three hours. Every now and again a sales associate would come out but not really say anything. At 5 or 6 *i forget what time they opened last year. The doors opened ...at that time they came out and said ..If you're here for the computers they're already gone ....they had three computers at that price and came out right before the doors opened and gave them to the first three people in line. We were pissed to say the least. They knew half of the people there were there for the computers and never bothered to tell anyone there were only 3. We left there and ran over to circuit city. They happened to be opened on thanksgiving and gave vouchers out on that day for the computers on black friday. some black friday sale huh ?

point being is if you're going after the big items. be careful. They don't care and will have you wait in line for hours just to get you into there store and most only have a very very small amount on hand.

[heavenlyvalo]

Kmart is bad about not having the advertised items. I never go to best buy. Any idea how good Target is?

[Princess7915]

Best Buy is bad all year for not having advertised items. They are pretty notorious for "bait and switch" sales. I have also found in the past that they are also bad about advertising a price for something -especially computers- and the price is only good if you add on extras such as software or warranty purchases but you only find this out at the register. Normally I avoid Best Buy like the plague.

[cassgurlie04]

Kmart is bad about not having the advertised items. I never go to best buy. Any idea how good Target is?

never had and issue with kmart, or target, best buy sux for that and had a few issues with circuit city

[antkim]

last year was our first year camping out at best buy. I have to say that we did NOT have any problems with them. We were 3rd in line and got everything we came for. The employees came out around 4am and started at the front of the line giving out the tickets. They even had more of the items than advertised. The only thing I like about the ticket ticket system is that if you are there camping for items you should be able to get them and the ticket system worked great in our area. Not the free for all that walmart will have or some other store like frys where I actually feared for my life one year to get a didgital camera. Crazy!

[setlok73]

last year was our first year camping out at best buy. I have to say that we did NOT have any problems with them. We were 3rd in line and got everything we came for. The employees came out around 4am and started at the front of the line giving out the tickets. They even had more of the items than advertised. The only thing I like about the ticket ticket system is that if you are there camping for items you should be able to get them and the ticket system worked great in our area. Not the free for all that walmart will have or some other store like frys where I actually feared for my life one year to get a didgital camera. Crazy!

I have to agree. Common sense (as well as the ads) say that they are limited and those who camp out on Thanksgiving...giving up their whole day to ensure they are first deserve it. We camp out every year at BB and although there have been issues, we always get what we are there for. We get there no later than noon on Thanksgiving and by midnight there are hundreds of people in line. That cracks me up that someone who shows up at 3 or 4 in the morning and is number 300 in line would honestly believe they could get a doorbuster.

[brynnfromtheblock]

I haven't had a problem either.. Best Buy ads usually say in the small print underneath the big doorbusters exactly how many they have at each store. So if I go to a store and there are people lined up I ask 'em "what are you here for", and find out if I'm going to get one or not. If I am, I stay, if not I leave simple as that. I know people have said that they have had issues with employees buying all of the items and the people in line not getting anything at a few stores, but rest assured if that happened to me I'd be raising holy hell until management agreed to give me a raincheck for the price I was expecting.

[H_Hancock]

I've never had the Best Buy we frequent on Black Friday have less than the advertised minimum on any of their doorbusters....and many times more than the minimum. But they've ALWAYS had the minimum they've advertised for sale.

[biohazard1]

If you look at the BB ad scan they state in it they will be giving out tickets this year. At least they are telling you know. I think this will make people camp out longer.

[H_Hancock]

If you look at the BB ad scan they state in it they will be giving out tickets this year. At least they are telling you know. I think this will make people camp out longer.

This will be at least the third year BB has employed the ticket system.....maybe longer. My memory gets hazy about previous ones as time passes.....and I age. LOL!

[mistral]

Kmart is bad about not having the advertised items. I never go to best buy. Any idea how good Target is?

Target seems to be a great place to go to. But be warned Target is becoming the must go to store right now.

[50sjayne]

I have to agree. Common sense (as well as the ads) say that they are limited and those who camp out on Thanksgiving...giving up their whole day to ensure they are first deserve it. We camp out every year at BB and although there have been issues, we always get what we are there for. We get there no later than noon on Thanksgiving and by midnight there are hundreds of people in line. That cracks me up that someone who shows up at 3 or 4 in the morning and is number 300 in line would honestly believe they could get a doorbuster.

 

Ditto. Best Buy was very professional-- I got everything I came for which was quite a lot and got there around 7PM--not giving up my dinner but Planes Trains and Automobiles with the family lol. We should actually be very thankful for the process as is still---think about concert tickets...you used to camp out and get good tickets-- then they started that stupid lottery system, then of course it was all about who's computer was fast enough.

[Livin4Real]

I haven't been in a best buy since I worked there part-time to deck out the house years ago. They have some of the worst business ethics I've ever seen. I gave it up after being reprimanded for helping a handicapped man out to his car that had just bought a new desktop setup from me after the teenagers that were supposed to help him just kept ignoring him.

[pbbjmom]

I've had problems with Kmart. We went 1 year for video games. When we got back to electronics, they said they didn't receive the shipment. That's happened the last couple of years with different items.

 

Target on the other hand, I got a better crockpot last year. They ran out of the advertised ones, so they started marking down other crockpots. They did that with a few different items.

[Rob9874]

point being is if you're going after the big items. be careful. They don't care and will have you wait in line for hours just to get you into there store and most only have a very very small amount on hand.

I always saw it from the other perspective. I would be 50th or 100th in line, and hear people around me saying how they're here for the $200 laptop, or similar doorbusters. I would laugh at them, as I knew the 5 to 10 people who camped out the night before, and were the first in line, were the only ones getting the SUPER good deals. These people thought they could show up at 4am, not have to freeze their butts off all night, and still be eligible for the $200 laptop. Bait and switch does not apply to Black Friday. They don't give rainchecks to any and everyone who came for that deal.

 

I guess this isn't advertised anywhere, but a lesson learned from doing Black Friday every year.

[doodlesmom]

I love Target, I usually get what I came for and I don't have to stand in line all night. I have seen some of the items for Toys R US, I have never went there on BF. How early should I get there and is it a total nightmare to go to the toy store?

[billcsho]

Obvious if the OP was standing outside for only 3hr before the store open. It is too late for the door buster items at BB. Last year, there were at least 50 people at my local BB before midnight.

[heavenlyvalo]

Hmmm is it "against the rules" to have someone stand in line for you while you go to other stores. There is something at target I HAVE to get. But I need to go to a 4am and 5 am sale for my Angel Tree kids. I'm thinking of having a person stand in line for me at Target. I hate to say it but if it comes down to my family getting what they want for christmas and getting good deal for my angel tree kids I'm going to make my family happy.

[J_Man]

The past year is the first year that people said forget Thanksgiving and camped out. The got there the night before Thanksgiving in tents. By noon Thanksgiving day there was over 50 people in line. By the time 5 am hit, I'd say there was probably over 3,000 people in line. The news media caused a frenzy last year with all their coverage. It was horrible. Even if anybody wanted anything, no person in their right mind would sit for 2 days to say $20 or so dollars.

 

What was pushed last year by local media is how people are buying items and selling on Ebay for a large amount of cash. I hope people that tried it will now see that they didn't make a ton of money and will stay away this year. All of the people that got there that early each bought the front page items and any good deal in the ad.

 

I think no store should have less than 20 of an advertised deal. If it's a high demand item, they shouldn't be allowed to advertise and only have 3 items. It sucks and if that was the only item you were there for, you wasted time that could have been used at the next store. That bait and switch crap doesn't work with most because most people leave if they don't get what they were there for. They don't buy something else like the store hopes for.

[happysunshine28]

Hmmm is it "against the rules" to have someone stand in line for you while you go to other stores. There is something at target I HAVE to get. But I need to go to a 4am and 5 am sale for my Angel Tree kids. I'm thinking of having a person stand in line for me at Target. I hate to say it but if it comes down to my family getting what they want for christmas and getting good deal for my angel tree kids I'm going to make my family happy.

 

It would be ok if they stand in line and when you get there they leave, holding you a spot might be frowned upon by the people behind them. A way to look at it would be if you were #20 in line and there were only 20 items and someone was holding a spot for someone else that wasnt there at all until right before the store opened and it made it to were you were not going to get the item you stood so long in line to get, how would you feel.

[Rob9874]

The past year is the first year that people said forget Thanksgiving and camped out. The got there the night before Thanksgiving in tents. By noon Thanksgiving day there was over 50 people in line.

That's just crazy!! I can see if it was a chance to win a new car or something. But to save $300 on an item? Even $500. If someone asked if I would rather get $500 for wasting Thanksgiving and sitting outside from noon till 5am the next morning, or not get $500, but get to enjoy Thanksgiving, watch football and Christmas movies till late, and get a good night's rest, I would do the latter.

[bringadozen]

BB has always had at least as many items as they claim on their ad. 2 years ago, we were 30th in line and got the last of the tickets for the 20 desktops at $199 (some people in front of us didn't buy them). They had gotten more than 20 of them, but added some extra stuff and were selling the other 1's for $299. You'd had thought the lady behind us was going to have a stroke over it! But they did sell 20 for the advertised price. It was their right to do what they did. I think most people who have bad tastes over BB on BF are the 1's who just don't get there early enough. It is a zoo, and they could do a better job policing the crowd, but I'd honestly fear for my life if I worked there on BF. Some customers are just animals

[jtolli]

They knew half of the people there were there for the computers and never bothered to tell anyone there were only 3. point being is if you're going after the big items. be careful. They don't care and will have you wait in line for hours just to get you into there store and most only have a very very small amount on hand.

That's the whole purpose of the door busters. Have you ever heard of "loss leaders"? That's when you sell some items so cheap it causes you to lose money on them, but you use them as a lure to get people into the store to sell other things that you make a profit on. That's not "bait and switch". Bait and switch is when you advertise one thing, then when people get there you say you don't have that, but have something similar but more expensive.

 

If they came out at midnight and said, "we only have 3 of these", then most people would leave, and they would never get them into the door. That wouldn't be smart business, and whether you like it or not captialism is about making money. To make money you have to be smart.

 

As for the person who said most people leave when they find out the items they came for are gone, I would venture to say statistics would show otherwise. If not then stores would not employ these loss leader sales. I do agree if people find out early that the items they want won't be there, then they will leave. That only makes sense, if you find out at midnight that you can't get the item you want, of course you're not going to stand there for 5 more hours. But if you find out at 4 AM that you're not going to get the item you want, then most people will stay to go into the store because they have already invested several hours (all night?) in line, so they would feel like they just wasted a night if they don't at least go inside the store. Once inside many will feel the need to buy something just because they invested all that time in line. Why spend several hours in line, go into the store, and walk away with nothing? See how it works? And yes, it does work.

[bossgt01]

Does anyone know if C-city is going to have any financing on black friday? Like no intrests for 24mths ?

[princez916]

My BB last year came through the line with tickets and when the tickets were gone, they did announce that ______ item is sold out and yes, those there for that particular item left. This was at about 4 a.m. Each store is different, be careful about generalizing.

[katiesmommy01]

I boycotted BB ever since last BF...I camped out starting around 11pm on Thanksgiving and was in the first 50-60 people there, wanted the 32' tv for me and the laptop for my mom. They didnt ticket the tv, but did ticket the laptop. When they went down the line with the tickets i asked for the laptop and they said they were out (fine, i was sad and disapointed, but what can you do?)...and then I figured out very quickly that the guy had passed out laptop tickets to people BEHIND ME in line! I was really upset over this (and the people behind me werent about to give up their tickets despite telling me that it was unfair i hadn't gotten one)...I complained immediately to the manager and other workers and their response was "tough...deal with it"...try sleeping out in the rain and cold, when sick and having this happen to you! Then talk to me about unfair.

[8truths]

I like how our local WalMart handles the BF limited items issue. First, it is a 24 Hr Wally, so they have the advantage that they can let people come into the store.

 

What they do is they have everyone who is there for a limited item (comps, TVs, etc) go to the optical center, where there are chairs. If there are five laptops, then they have five chairs bunched together for that. 20 32" LCDs... 20 chairs bunched for that, and so on. Then at five o'clock the associates roll out the stuff and hand it directly to the person in the chair (there is a stock room behind the optics, so they can pretty much block everyone out from trying to grab stuff off palettes).

 

It works very tightly. Everyone just brings cards and reading material and just BS from 4 until 5 and we all ask the guys who are there for the biggest TV how long they've been there. Usually since 7pm the previous night.

 

It's nice, it is organized and you know right away whether or not you're getting your item of choice. If there is an open chair, you're in business.

[yogiyb]

That's the whole purpose of the door busters. Have you ever heard of "loss leaders"? That's when you sell some items so cheap it causes you to lose money on them, but you use them as a lure to get people into the store to sell other things that you make a profit on. That's not "bait and switch". Bait and switch is when you advertise one thing, then when people get there you say you don't have that, but have something similar but more expensive.

 

If they came out at midnight and said, "we only have 3 of these", then most people would leave, and they would never get them into the door. That wouldn't be smart business, and whether you like it or not captialism is about making money. To make money you have to be smart.

 

As for the person who said most people leave when they find out the items they came for are gone, I would venture to say statistics would show otherwise. If not then stores would not employ these loss leader sales. I do agree if people find out early that the items they want won't be there, then they will leave. That only makes sense, if you find out at midnight that you can't get the item you want, of course you're not going to stand there for 5 more hours. But if you find out at 4 AM that you're not going to get the item you want, then most people will stay to go into the store because they have already invested several hours (all night?) in line, so they would feel like they just wasted a night if they don't at least go inside the store. Once inside many will feel the need to buy something just because they invested all that time in line. Why spend several hours in line, go into the store, and walk away with nothing? See how it works? And yes, it does work.

That is so right. In 04, I got to BB around 3:30 and knew the likelihood of getting the desktop was slim. I didn't get it but even then, by the time the store opened, I was still glad to be in the first group of people to get in. Of course in just a few years, the crowds have exploded. In 04, I was about 50th in line around 3am. Last year I had to camp out starting around 5pm on Thursday and was 25th in line. By 3am, I had strangers walking up offering me $$$ to buy items for them b/c the wait to get in the store was going to be about an hour based on how long the line was.

 

In the end, you have to remember it's called Black Friday for a reason and try not to get emotional about how these stores are conducting business.

[reido50]

Kmart is bad about not having the advertised items. I never go to best buy. Any idea how good Target is?

Sears managers told me if they run out of stock on BF items, they would give rain checks. They would also price match other stores early bird specials. He swore up and down several times and this was the store manager I spoke with, soooooo? Does anybody else know if Sears will in fact give rain checks or price match?

[pcsoon]

I haven't ever had any problems with places not having the door busters. You have to be one of the few first in line to ensure you get what you want though. I haven't shopped BB the last two years because BF mania has created so much competition. It’s easier to buy earlier in the year or just pay a few dollars instead waiting 24hrs+ to ensure I get the special item. I buy items online if available and pick easier places that require less effort now. This year it may be different since the ads aren't very good.

Good luck!