*** Official WHAT DID YOU GET? / YOUR EXPERIENCES Discussion Thread ***

[jennie_bebe]

Got 2 frames online from BB, and 2 from Radio Shack (Waited for 3 hours). Long story short....I will NEVER:no: go to CC again. What a terrible company. More details are on the CC thread under the Aquos discussion.

[elventear]

Sounds like overall people were able to grab some nice things, but not really impressed or overly happy with the whole experience this year. My aunt and I did the midnight opening of the outlet mall near us, which was awful for the lines. It took us almost 3 1/2 hours to purchase from a whole 3 stores. One store was having so many problems they had to stop accepting credit cards and CASH!! (They were only taking checks and gift cards that they could verify). We hit JCPenney, and just missed a terrible accident with an escalator (3 ambulances and 2 fire trucks later) we did Toys R Us and got our big item, a Wii!! Yea!! Can't wait for Cyber Monday!!

[Miss Star]

Our BF treasures, we didn't get started til around 9:30 am lol but we did very good & got everything we wanted.

 

Walgreen's - Dove Cookies, Tide, Paper Towels, Candy Bars, and a new ornament for the tree.

 

K Mart - New Dinette Set & 2 Rings that were on sale.

 

Rite Aid - 4 Pot O' Gold(my grandma always gives them out each year)

 

Target - Polar Express DVD, The Goonies DVD, Monster House DVD, Towels, Hello Kitty accessories in the Dollar Bins.

 

Marshalls - Curious perfume and a new purse.

[vonda598]

We went to walmart at 4am and I price matched a bunch of movies from BB, CC, & target which ticked off my cashier which I understand cuz I worked for walmart for 6 yrs before I figured out the suck and quit. Well I spent of $300 on movies, clothes for my 9 yr old and basic things I didn't need . I did have to back a couple ppl off me tho. I don't know whats with ppl these days they assume whatever they want is theres just because they want it I guess.

We then went to Old Navy and I got some more clothes for my son & a couple presents for his cousins.

Off to CC and bought the James Bond boxsets vol. 1-4 and a few other movies

TRU which was so crowed we had to go to another town and get the things we needed but it was so nice over there we figured might have to go back next yr. I didn't buy anything there my friend I was with got the ps2 & the guitar for guitar hero.

Then to good ole Jcpenney where I bought another almost $200 worth of clothes for my son...which is alright with me since he did so great in school I'm going to spoil him even more with all the presents. :)

 

I did some online shopping at amazon.com, bestbuy.com, fye.com, kmart.com, oldnavy.com and buy.com for other presents during the week and bf since I wasn't gonna be able to hit all stores so I'm almost done shopping. good thing too since I'm darn near broke!! lol

[leefamily23]

We were @ JC Penney's at 3:30 am (not for the deals- but because they were first to open here and we didn't need electronics). Only got the free snow globe here- but it was fun watching people fight on the floor over some GPS unit and the pillow's.

 

Made it to Walmart by 4:20 am. We took my 24 yr old cousin w/ us for his 1st ever black friday- he was a line cutter heckler. He did make the line waiting in 20 degree temps go fast.

 

Anyhow at Walmart-

8 DVD's-- 6 were there $2.96 one's- 2 I price matched from Best Buy for $4.99 (?)

Got the PS2 Madden 2008 for $14.9? (I price matched Circuit City even though this was one of Walmarts sale items for $19.98)

PS2 Nascar 2008 $19.98

Bratz Head $10.00

Lexmark Printer $25.00

Toaster $3.??

 

My sister got a bunch of board games and some transformer thing for her kid's.

My cousin got DVD's and the portable DVD player

 

Old Navy- we got here by 6am-- we didn't stick around- my sister and cousin just wanted to be sure the MP3's were gone.

 

We then went to the Mall-- I did well @ Pac Sun w/ their 20% sale. Also shopped Sear's and Game Stop there. My sister did pretty much only the Disney Store as the line was nearly 90 minutes long there.

 

Target- didn't get here until close to 11am- I got all I wanted except the FP Sing Star Station. I did get a raincheck for that- but pricematched it at Walmart later that night.

Also bought the Fur Real Baby (???) and the Panasonic $69.00 digital recorder, and the $38.00 air hockey table. Also got the $38 wireless Guitar Hero for PS2 guitar.

 

Fashion Bug-- it was my birthday and I treated myself to some new items. The whole store was an extra 20% off.

 

I was home at about 1pm- slept until 4pm.

 

Then my husband went out w/ me from 6pm-1am (after all the store closed at 11pm we started hitting up 24 hr Walmarts).

 

The 2 things that suprised me-- our Walmart was dead this year. They still had the line- but it's the first year I could comfortably move through electronics w/ no problems. It definetly was a lot quieter there this year. Though the sale item's were blah- so I think that accounted for it. Hope they learn.

 

The other thing I couldn't believe. Pac Sun- who never has a sale anyhow-- had 1 cashier on duty in the morning (8-9am ish). There was an associate on the floor too- and it was his first shift. That was it. So, while this store wouldn't get a huge rush- I waited in line here the longest (nearly 45 minutes). I'd like to know what that store manager was thinking.

[eggy5404]

BB in Baldwin NY - Total of 7 friends got in line at about 5:30pm. First time out for BF.

 

Was about the 20th person in line however there were several tents setup so we weren't sure how many people actually on line.

 

First person on line had been there since 12pm and was holding the spot for his neice who didn't show up until 1am with a bunch of friends...

 

By 3am we were now 60th person in line b/c of those friends and family that show up warm and cozy at 2am...

 

Once they started handing out the tickets all hell broke loose.. People started running from the back of the line and cars to get up-front to get the tickets. Spending 10 hrs plus in line really helps you remember who has been in line all night with you.

 

Had to show the bad side of me that has been bottled up for years and cursed a couple of line cutters out... boy did I have them scared.. Mgr then decided to use me to help him determine who had been in line with me all night and I sure as heck was more than happy to point every single line cutter out.. Made a lot of enemies that night

 

Group ended up getting the $199 desktop, 2 $299 Toshiba laptops and 2 of the $399 Sony laptops. I was number 5 in the computer line which was very organized. I knew exactly where to run to..

 

Will do it again next year.. need to buy a tent and heating device as it was extremely cold and I actually ran home and put on my fur coat but my feet were still freezing cold..

[mychza]

We left the house at 1145, one group headed for CC and the other headed for the outlet mall which opened at midnight. We would have been at the mall when it opened, but the line was backed up so much it took us 30 mins to go half a mile. Luckily we found a parking section which was just being unchained when we got there so we rushed in. I got some nice luggage, some shirts from the reebok store and a couple coach purses. The line for the Coach store was 100+ ppl long. They were only letting about 40-50 ppl in the store at a time. We left the mall about 2:30 and drove to CC.

 

At CC we found our spouses who were about 50 ppl back but almost around the store since everyone was so spread out with chairs and stuff. At 3:30 ppl started putting away stuff and the whole line started moving forward. We were waiting for the ppl in front of us to collect their stuff, but they were old and moving slow, so we went around them.. Then everyone ran. The line pretty much stayed in place though since everyone ran/walked at the same time. Then at 4 they started passing out tickets. We could have gotten the laptop, but passed and the camcorder but passed on that too. This girl in front of us got both and then walked out the line and sold them to this guy who was standing there...right in front of the CC employees and the ppl right behind us who wanted it and couldn't get one now. The lady behind us was mad. she started yelling for the CC guy to do something, but he just shrugged his shoulders and said they had no policy against it.

 

Around 445 the mob of line jumpers start crowding around the entrance which makes everyone in the front of the line mad and they start yelling. Myself and the three teens we have with us go around closer to the front so we can see if there are any fights. There weren't, but some ppl threatened to call the cops. We went back to our spots and kept talking to the college guys behind us.

 

A couple mins til 5, the CC employees said they wouldn't open the doors for anyone unless the jumpers went to the back of the line. Some went, but some wouldn't budge. The CC guys tried to let some ppl from the line in, but the line jumpers kept trying to push through the door and the CC guys kept shutting it. Finally we got in. The CC guys said only 430 ppl could be in at a time. It was great. Last year they just let everyone in and there was fighting for dvds and long long long long lines at the checkouts. This year we went through the bins at our leisure and got what we wanted and got in line. I was three back when I got in line. There was a small problem when some clerk had put out a box of $8.99 dvd which had a lot of disney and family dvds in it and they wouldn't honor those prices. We argued a little and they went to investigate and took the box away. I just told the clerk I didn't want it anymore if it didn't ring up with the right price. We finidhed there around 6. The line was still long outside but now there were cops and it was more peaceful. They had to open the door to let ppl out one at a time, and there was an empoyee on either side of the door to keep ppl from going in the out door.

 

From there we went to Target and got some more dvds and a couple cds. I didn't see any good toy deals, but it was ok. We left there and headed to Radio Shack where I got my $10 bluetooth. Then we all headed out for breakfast. We got home at 900 because some ppl need to take naps.

 

After 12 we went back out and I hit up Dillards (the dress sales I saw in the ad were nowhere to be found), bath and body works, victoria's secret, yankee candle and Ross. It was a good day in all, but not the huge deals from years past. I was excited about my luggage though. In all the BF ads I didn't see really good toy deals though, so I'm hoping some will come up soon. I do it every year though, its fun and we have a good time hanging out with everyone outside the stores.

[jayxuan]

I would like to suggest that Boscov's be included in the list of stores for next year. A co-worker was able to get a Panasonic 42" 720p Plasma HDTV for $800 and a Panasonic 50" Plasma HDTV (can't remember if 720p or 1080p) for $900. That is a great deal I would have liked to know about!

 

My experience was a good one. I was able to purchase items online on Thursday (at BB) and Friday (Staples.com) morning (6am EST). It was great. My wife was able to take advantage of deals in-store at Target, Toys R Us and K B Toys. I made some purchases at CC (in-store on Saturday).

[poofu02]

I left my house at 3:20 AM and drove 90 miles to the nearest town. The traffic in town was nuts! My hubby and brother went to Sears first and got:

wine rack $40

farberware pots and pans w/free $25 frying pans: $49.99

Sony Home Theater System $150

 

At Scheels I bought (was in and out in 7 min.):

Fox Hoodie: $20

Dart Supplies: $15

Dart Case: $35

 

Stood in line at Target, waiting for it to open for 45 min. It opened at 6AM and I bought:

Family Guy season 3 set $15

Game of Life $20

The Holiday DVD $4

I was in and out of Target in 10 min.

 

After that I walked the mall and went to Spencers and bought a gag gift and then to Old Navy. I bought a poof vest for $20. At Penny's I bought a nice fleece shirt for $12. We then mosied over to KMart. Here is what I bought at KMart:

Dress shirt $6

Dress shirt $13

Cocoa set $8

Wrapping paper B1G1F $7

Wicker Hamper $15

 

Menards:

Solar Lights $25

 

Walmart:

Giant Pink Carebears $10 each

CD Player for car $98.99

 

We then ate at Arby's and went home. The ride home was interesting. My husband was driving ahead of me and we live in North Dakota, so there are a lot of wide open highways. All of a sudden going down the highway, 3 dogs run out in front of my DH. He hit the brakes, but there was some ice and his back end went sideways, he let off the brakes, otherwise he would have went in the ditch and possibly had a rollover. He sadly killed a dog...but it did die instantly... I was in tears... It did a lot of damage to my monte carlo too. We now have to pay a $500 deductable so that really offsets all of the money we had saved earlier that day. I still had fun shopping, but the ride home was not so fun.

[Secret Squirrel]

Well, lesson learned here: Although my local KM is never very busy, I opted to stay in bed a little longer on Thursday am, and got there about 6:15 to try for a Wii for a friend. I was 1/2 hr too late, and about 8 people too far back. Should have gotten up. Oh well.

I got a voucher for the Easy Share camera, but decided after I got in the store that I really didn't need it after all, so turned the voucher in at the counter so they could give it to some other soul.

 

Side note: "stupid" clerk in electronics couldn't seem to quell a man's frustration at there being 1 Wii left on the shelf...kept telling him they are "all sold out" and he kept saying "there's one right there on the shelf!" I couldn't get around the corner with my cart to let him know that they were all "claimed" by vouchers, and that one likely just hadn't been picked up yet (had til 8am to pick them up). That's the info that he NEEDED to hear, but I don't know if anyone ever explained that they were ticketed items. I felt bad for him because he wasn't getting the answer he needed, and wanted to slap the clerk who obviously was too ignorant to give him information other than "we're all sold out" which is NOT what he needed to hear.

I should have tracked him down. I usually don't feel bad for people who are being nasty in stores, but he was just frustrated, and she was just being non-user-friendly.

[Carazariah]

We bought the Home Depot 2 in 1 Tool and Work Saw set at Toys R Us with Tools

:) very pleasant experience and the Toys R Us in Longview even verified we had the right item. There were 3 different types of the "Home Depot" branded items and we had the next to last one in stock. $40 marked down from $90 regularly. . . very pleased with that. . . my 18month old will be happy later. . .

 

:)

C

[xfountaingrl]

Went to home depot with my bf... he said that in the add there was this really good 8 drawer tool chest thingy he has been wanting for our basement. We get there really early, had a good time in line (3rd in line) joking with the others around us. Get in there only to find out the thing he wanted was a POS... but he bought it anyway... bought 3 actually. 2 for work, 1 for him. As of right now, we are returning the one he bought for our house.

[smallwood]

Wasn't very impressed with the deals this year, but needed a few electronics things.

 

Sooooo....

 

Slept in, got up, ate some donuts and had a couple cups of coffee while perusing online. Missed a few deals due to site problems. Waited until about 3pm, went to Fry's, and grabbed a few goodies that I wanted. Got several of the 2gig MP3 players at $19 (great gifts for older kids who you don't want to buy an expensive ipod for), 320gig SATA hard drive for $49, 18x DVD/CD writer for $29, and a few others goodies (all no rebates). These were items that had been "out of stock" since about the first hour in the morning. My trick? Ignore asking sales associates for anything, they're too busy and will just tell you they don't have any left. Look at the boxes above the display/sales racks, and simply look for the item numbers you're looking for on the outside of the box. If you can't reach the items, boost up your child - OR, enlist the help of another BFer that's wanting the same item. I like to bring a kid or two, as they can be of great help when it's checkout time. Meaning that if you grab a few "limit one per customer" items, and the checkout clerk starts to hassle you, bring your kid up to purchase/pay for any extra items. Don't forget to hang around the returns area, as there are always those that thought they wanted something, but then decide they don't, and return it. Or simply bought it because everyone else was buying it.

 

I didn't have to stand outside the store for six hours, or in the checkout line for two hours, and I didn't have to deal with a store packed wall-to-wall with people. Took the kids to the local game center for an hour afterwards for their help and patience. Win-win for everyone, although I REALLY wanted the quad-core processor and motherboard combo for $197.

 

Yes, I've camped out overnight in the past, but the last couple years just haven't had anything worth doing that for.

[RBWilliams]

Just had to say that I did 90% of my shopping on-line as a result of gottadeal.com. I camped out last year at BB, but did not feel up to it this year. A friend at work told me that they shopped on-line last year and got what they wanted. I happened across gottadeal.com in my quest for shopping from home.

 

Here's my loot:

 

BB- TTLE 119.00

 

CC- Garmin nuvi 350 - 299.99, 2 Sansa Mp3 250 - 39.99, 3 colby mp3, . I had no problems ordering, but selected store pickup. Kinda questioned the wisdom once I got there it was a nightmare picking up, but glad I did. Apparently they did not have a lot of people in front of me order, but they charged them and could not refund their money in the store. They had to go online to cancel the order. I was getting nervous about whether they had my items, but they did.

 

Amazon.com - pokemon diamond and pearl, super mario party, claus porto soup ( Oprah's favorite list),

 

Buy.com - fuzion scooter 59.25

 

aeroposale - hoody 19.95

 

hobbytron - 3 rc mini cars, 2 mini choppers

 

coldcreek - gator purse? ( probably delirous by then) 9.99

 

buy.com - kingston 4 gb digital card - free

 

Gottadeal's forums helped me the most in deciding what to get and where. You guys are awesome. I done overall with christmas, except a bike for my son. Looking for a 24" to 26" mongoose for him. If anyone has any suggestions on who has the best prices, it would be greatly appreciated.

[nnmfam]

I went out and was out for teh Kodak Camerea at KMart we were 4th in line to get it . The manger comes out and tells us they sold them yesterday talk about yelling so I left with a much better camerea for the same 69.00. The we went to target it was a mob scene I have gone on BF for years never saw it so busy. I bought the Batz dolls for 20 , doodle prop for8.00 , barbie phone for 17.88 , teh wee robots for 44, the petshop diary for 9 and the purse for 7 . off to sears we went it was great I bought 4 pair of the 10.00 jeans and they took my 10 off coupon oops that was a mistake someone told me after it was supposed to be off of 50 and they also gave me a another 10 off coupon. I went to electronics bought a new phone and case for my sons mp3 player. home by 12.

I want to add Target rocks they went to the back got me things that were not on the shlves and handed it to me. THey also gave me my money back for GUitar Hero I had paid 109 3 weeks earlier.

[jade6700]

I did most of my shopping online before going out on Friday morning.

 

From Kohls.com:

Two hooded towels for my boys

Snowflake microplush throw for me

 

From Staples.com:

7" Philips Portable DVD player for my stepson

 

I got in line at Old Navy around 4:30AM. There were about 40 people in front of me. They only had 35 of the free MP3 players to go around so I didn't get that but I did have fun just browsing around the store.

 

I went to Bath and Body Works and cleaned up on Wallflowers and Antibacterial soap, plus free gift.

 

Next off to World Market for my free chocolate bar and my oh so delightfully tacky glittery Christmas tree candles that I must buy every year.

 

Then off to stand in line for a radio contest held at a local shopping center. They were giving out gift cards from $10 to $1000. I got $25, not to bad.

 

Then I finished off with a trip to the outlets up the road and got more stuff at the Bath and Body Works outlet and got yet another one of those free gift with purchase perfumes they were handing out.

 

Later Friday night we went to Best Buy and hubby wanted to get the Yamaha keyboard. Well they only had one of the $69 one and he was going to get it. Then the sales person put a sign on the next model up which is normally $150. They marked it down to $99! So hubby grabbed that right up and used his gift card and reward zone coupon and now he has yet another piece of music equipment to make him happy.

[stockmanjr]

I grabed a bunch of box set dvd's and a cheap ps 2 game at BB.

Grab a pair of dockers at Macy's

Wireless keyboard/kodak c613 digicam/epson cx 8400 aio at staples

[loved1]

Target - South Park Season 10, Family Guy Season 4 - 14.98

BB - South Park Seasons 4, 6, and 7 - $14.98

Sears - Kenmore Bagless Quick Clean Upright Vacuum - 49.99, plus used a $10 off $50 coupon - bought a filler to bring my total down $10 additional dollars.

Ritz - 2 10.4 Smartparts Digital Photo Frames - $90 each

Staples - $8 AR - 250 CD Holder

Eastbay - $20 Reebok Premier Running shoes

 

I'm still searching for good video editing software- Studio Plus is FAR, but Studio Ultimate has better reviews

[Guest CamsMommy]

I was pretty disappointed with the BF deals this year. It seemed like last year it was much more worth all the waiting & craziness!!

I was going to get some stuff at Kohls but I'm glad I didnt people waited over an hour & a half there! Toys R Us was even worse the line wrapped all the way around the store up to the front doors just to check out & they didnt even have any of the items I wanted! :mad:

Target-

A couple of the $3.99 preschool games

some dvds

the ipod alarm clock/docking station for $30

Walmart-

dvds

$10 care bear

Circut City- Mario for the wii $35 got the last one!

Kohls-went back later in the day

TMX Cookie monster $17.50

$3 candle

I know there was more but I cant remember!

Thanks for all the tips on the great deals everyone :)

[Greasemonkey]

I agree with a lot other people. The deals this year did not seem as good as last, but I still made out like a bandit. My biggies were a garmin nuvi 200 from best buy for $169. We made a haul from Belk department store. Lots of clothes, some housewares, and even some toys. My final total was $148 (had an additional 20% coupon) the receipt printout said we saved over $280.

[smileyjj]

BF deals I got were 2-gps online from cc.picked up on bf for $124 also from cc was the 22' acer monitor for $169w/ rebate. (My husband loves it. A B'day present) Also online was the Zune for 89.00 delivered today & the the travel kit for 8.36 online through amazon. Ordered through them for the guarentee if problem with dealer(J&M). Had no problems with either....Also lots of games at KB-High School Musical 2 dvd game for 12.99 for example. Thanks for your help King Brad.....

[biomajor]

Today I picked up another (makes 3) of the portable DVD players from Walmart and the $34 HP all in one printer :) They also still had lots of the Bratz heads for $10, about 15 of the vacuum's and the Cricut machines. They had some of the pyrex still ringing up for $15 too.

 

I actually just went in for some poster board because Dollar Tree was out of stock (this is the project time at school this year)

[flyjar]

Well my BF shopping ended on Saturday, Dec 1st. I took back my X360 to Best Buy because it wasn't the new Falcon chipset. I then preceeded across the street to Gamestop, the guy said they only get the new ones in, and he got some in earlier this week. Cool.

 

Brought it took it out to the car, checked the power supply and manufactor's date, nope, still an old one. Back in to return it, the guy was really nice he check the other remaining systems he had, but they were all old.

After stopping over my parents house to help move a tree, went to the Gamestop in the Mall. Had them check the manufactor's date before buying this time, 10/17/07, woo hoo.

 

My BF shopping is now done.

[jlugo16]

I was cruising at midnight around town with my friend and we were just checking out the millions of people camped out at best buy and circuit city(etc.), so we wanted to do he same but be number 1... so we kept driving around then OMG!!! to our amazement there was no one as Toys R Us.... that was a shocker... BUT there were three suspicious cars waiting in the parking lot at TRU, so I drove past them to see if there was anyone in them, and yes! there were whole familes in them- one even had a dvd player going. So I made it look like we just left driving off, but i pull to the side of TRU where they couldnt see me, my lights were off and all, and so my friend and I got out, set up the 2 man tent, she got a shopping buggy and put the 3 blankets in it and I went to go pee cause omgz I had to- So I peed on TRU lol, anyways... we crept up to the corner of TRU, peeked around and no movement yet, no one at the front door yet, so at the count of 3 I ran with the tent set up and all hoisted above me(it was hard running with it cause of the air resistance) and y friend was behind me with the cart running. I make it to the front the door, I slam the tent down and BAM!! with no hesitation 2 cars' doors open up, their trunks pop open and parents yelling and grabing their chairs- they make there way to make the line behind me- in 20 seconds time 2 families lined up behind me(don't ask why, I had no idea) My friend finally caught up and she threw the blankets into the tent where we went to sleep. We woke up to an employee of TRU asking us what we were here for, I asked for a flyer and saw that a zune 30gb was 80$.. I was like hmmm wow? i guess ill get that hah, so he gave me a ticket for that and so after that the store was about to open so we rushed to get ready to go out and pack up our tent, so i step out of my tent and wow... in less then 5 hours the line had reached about 90 people.... my friend and I were first in line and we were not even there for anyhting, funny how that all happened, we made the first few people wait in the cold longer just because we made the line first- it was amazing....

[Kayakmom]

I was cruising at midnight around town with my friend and we were just checking out the millions of people camped out at best buy and circuit city(etc.), so we wanted to do he same but be number 1... so we kept driving around then OMG!!! to our amazement there was no one as Toys R Us.... that was a shocker... BUT there were three suspicious cars waiting in the parking lot at TRU, so I drove past them to see if there was anyone in them, and yes! there were whole familes in them- one even had a dvd player going. So I made it look like we just left driving off, but i pull to the side of TRU where they couldnt see me, my lights were off and all, and so my friend and I got out, set up the 2 man tent, she got a shopping buggy and put the 3 blankets in it and I went to go pee cause omgz I had to- So I peed on TRU lol, anyways... we crept up to the corner of TRU, peeked around and no movement yet, no one at the front door yet, so at the count of 3 I ran with the tent set up and all hoisted above me(it was hard running with it cause of the air resistance) and y friend was behind me with the cart running. I make it to the front the door, I slam the tent down and BAM!! with no hesitation 2 cars' doors open up, their trunks pop open and parents yelling and grabing their chairs- they make there way to make the line behind me- in 20 seconds time 2 families lined up behind me(don't ask why, I had no idea) My friend finally caught up and she threw the blankets into the tent where we went to sleep. We woke up to an employee of TRU asking us what we were here for, I asked for a flyer and saw that a zune 30gb was 80$.. I was like hmmm wow? i guess ill get that hah, so he gave me a ticket for that and so after that the store was about to open so we rushed to get ready to go out and pack up our tent, so i step out of my tent and wow... in less then 5 hours the line had reached about 90 people.... my friend and I were first in line and we were not even there for anyhting, funny how that all happened, we made the first few people wait in the cold longer just because we made the line first- it was amazing....

 

That's great! Sounds like fun! I love covert operations.

[Marcster]

I was cruising at midnight around town with my friend.... < snip >

<snip>

I can just envision two people running carrying a completely assembled tent... That must've been priceless. And then the other families scrambling... Too bad you didn't have a third friend getting this all on film!

[lofton09]

Since I posted my first message tonight I might as well share my Black Friday story. I've been stopping by this web site for about 2 years but am not much of a shopper, really. I pass along interesting deals to my wife and she takes care of the dirty work.

 

So I went out for my first Black Friday shopping experience ever, and was reading reports on this forum about long lines forming the night before. I didn't think it would be the case in my small town. I showed up at 5:00 AM at Best Buy hoping for the Panasonic 42" Plasma for $899. As you all know the store was packed, and a long line of people were still waiting to get in. When I finally got in I was laughed at when I asked if the Panasonic was still available. Learning experience, I guess.

 

I did Thanksgiving dinner in Oregon at the in-laws the day before and noticed a good deal on the exact same plasma, for $969 at a small chain called Bi-Mart. I knew there was a Bi-Mart 40 minutes from my house so I headed there at 6:00 AM hoping they'd still have one. I get there, they have it and I ask the cashier for assistance. We walked to the back of the store where they are keeping them and it was marked as a Magnovox 37" and a price of $799. I told her it was an error, and this was the $969 Panasonic that I wanted. Turns out they have a store policy to provide any mis-marked prices so I ended up getting the TV for $799, which is $100 cheaper than the Black Friday price at Best Buy. Even better, I was in Oregon which does not have a sales tax, where at Best Buy I would have had an additional $80 or so in tax (WA). The original deal at Bi-Mart was actually better than Best Buy, but nobody knew about it because they are a small chain that doesn't advertise much!

 

Overall I learned that Black Friday can be extremely frustrating (those are some long checkout lines!) and you have to go into it hoping to land a few deals rather than expecting them. I'm already looking forward to next year. By the way, the TV is awesome.

[mcwalker]

Since I posted my first message tonight...Learning experience, I guess... so I ended up getting the TV for $799, which is $100 cheaper than the Black Friday price at Best Buy.

Welcome to the site...and to THE BF GAME.