Official One-and-Only "What I Got" / "My BF Experience" Thread

[stacya]

I went to our outlets here, got into the three places I really wanted to go, and then had time to kill before Kohl's opened...I was the 4th party in line at Kohl's...they are in a mall here, and you have to line up outside of the mall...of course, there were line jumpers, and people behind us were telling them they'd have to get in the back of the line, but the "group" I ended up talking with in front of me, one was a pretty tall guy, who had it all planned out that he and a teenage boy that were there, would hold open the doors to let us 4 ladies in, then the teen would go in, then him, and then after that, it didn't matter to any of us...

 

So it's 3:50, and JCP opens early, and all of a sudden, people have walked THRU the mall and right in front of the doors of Kohl's, ON THE INSIDE, where we have been outside in line since 2:40, in southern PA! So of course, the security guard pays no attention, and they get in as soon as the doors open, and instead of him unlocking the door where we've started the line, the rent-a-cop goes and opens up the AUTOMATIC door, where all of the line jumpers are waiting...so the big guy that was in front of me, stands over the door and says, "Come on ladies, get in!!", and I pushed the lady that was in front of the line in, so I could get in, because by this point, there's no way this guy is going to hold off the crush of people that are jumping the line...what a friggin mess! People were PISSED, to say the least...and the mall will definitely be hearing from me...

 

And then it's like 5:45, and I'm waiting for a store to open at 6, so I'm sitting on the mall floor for the first time in over 3 hours now, and the SAME rent-a-cop comes by and tells me I need to stand up...WTF? Why does it matter if I'm sitting? I'm not blocking anyone's path, there's a guy and his daughter waiting to get into the store, and that's it...idiot...

 

It was my first BF here, and thankfully I got all I went out for, but it was a sucky experience, compared to where I usually end up doing my BF shopping, in upstate NY...

[umttg]

Went and dealt with the cluster at local Sears this morning to look at the Samsung washer/dryer set and to find out what "Priced lower in store" in the ad fine print meant. What a waste of time. They didn't even have display model to look at, way under staffed (3 guys in entire appliance department), and the rude answer I got to my "priced lower in store" question was "I have no idea, that's already a great deal". Stopped by Lowes on the way home and redemption was mine. They have the same set at $899 today, didn't have to stand in line, got great service, have a mail in rebate on the delivery/haul away fee, and got a 5 year "bumper to bumper" protection plan on both for $129 as a today only special. This is in Omaha, NE.

[floridasun5]

Back from Round 2 and Final round of shopping for the day :)

 

Headed to our local mall where my husband bought me a new bag for Christmas, peice of software for my Macbook, Victoria's Secret set with the free tote and a Mrs. Prindables apple

 

Finally got to another Target in that area where I got my daughters boots and just some more gift bags. This Target still had a few of the 26" LCD tv's left at about noon.

 

So, now other than buying parents and grandparents gifts which are easy to just buy online and have them shipped directly to them, I am DONE Christmas shopping!

[ngwira]

got the $398 hp bundle at walmart! lots of doorbusters in stock.

[ObiRich]

Shhhh! Don't let the secret get out, or it will be a madhouse next year....

[JollyGG]

I got kids clothes 60% off at Sears - 2 pairs of jeans for DS, 2 jumpers for DD, Christmas dress for DD, Christmas suit for DS. I got a shop vac for my brother.

 

I got a great deal on PJs for both kids at Chilren's Place (on sale for $10, 20% off before 11, plus a 15% off cupon - spent $12 for both pairs of fleece jammies).

 

I got some mini multi tools as stocking suffers at Home Depot but was very bummed to find them out of the grinder I wanted for my FIL (It wasn't even a door buster). I'll check for the grinder again tomorrow when I go buy my Christmas tree. Maybe they'll have a few people have changed their minds on.

 

Menards was out of both the childrens play mat, and the gun case I wanted. But I did get a couple of matching comforters for DS's bunk beds.

 

Walmart didn't have DD's size in the robe I wanted. But I got slippers for both kids and some movies.

 

Walgreen's was out of the pet bed I wanted so I got one at ACE instead.

 

I got the heated mattress pad I wanted for DD at Shopko.

 

I didn't head out for store openings this morning because nothing I wanted was that great and most of it wasn't even a door buster. I didn't head out until about a quarter to 7. So it's not surprising I missed a few deals.

 

Now I'm at work.

[fairydustcrissy]

Well, Target was stop number 4 for me, arriving at about 5:40am. Sure, the line was around teh shopping center, but I expected that. They did have emplyees watching the line for people trying to sneak in. They also handed out tickets this year! I didnt need any ticketed items, so they just gave me a map of where everything would be located. Even with hundreds of people filing into the store in under 5 mins, it was very orderly & calm. Thanks to the map, I knew exactly where to go to grab my items. In toys, i couldnt find the Fly pen, but they had emplyees stationed all around with flyers & locations of everything in it. Each item had a sticker that told the location for EVERY item. It was so awesome. Then to the register, which is usually a nightmare, no matter how smooth shopping it. Normally at Target on BF, I wasit around an hour. I was out of line in 5 min or less. I was just super impressed with the changes they made this year. Way to go Target!

[zim05]

What a hectic day its been!!

At 3:50am dropped sister off at Target (we went to a smaller town this year) she was the first one there. Mom and aunt went to Herbergers.

Walmart:

I got to Walmart around 4am - not a 24hr Walmart like I'm used to so I had to stand outside! There was only one line formed in front of the doors by the garden-store area not by the other door (by the grocery area). I made nice with the lady behind me and she was saying her mom works there and that we should start a line by the grocery area cuz they usually open that first. At this time the one line was about 40-50 people. So basically I was second in the new line, which was let in about a half a minute before the other line! All I got from walmart was a whole bunch of DVDs (about 35 some for me and some for gifts).

Target:

I got to Target about 5:25am, my sister was the first one and the line was about 30 deep. She made friends with those around who were amazed she was there for so long (even though it was only two hours) they let me cut up by her since they were getting different things and we knew there would be plenty of everything. My mom and aunt finally arrive from Herbergers (which was a bit hectic as well). Doors open and only a couple of us in the front ran everyone else walked in. Very different from the previous years that we've gone to a bigger city where everyone ran. Not really any line-cutters - they blocked areas off with carts and had a employee keeping guard in the last half hour. We got the following:

- 2 Westinghouse TVs

- Bunch of DVDs and TV series

- 4 iPods

- Cordless Drill

- Indoor/outdoor temp

- Air Mattress

- iPod docking station

- various others

 

After that we went into a bigger town and went to Best Buy (DVDs, CD, Yamaha Keyboard, DS game), Bath and Body Works (got there at 8:40 and plenty of VIP bags left), Barnes and Nobles (not really anything on sale but got some calenders), Scheels (clothing), Lane Bryant (clothing) and finally Famous Footwear (shoes).

 

All in all it was a really good BF and we got home around 10:30 which is the latest we've stayed out!

[iluvwalmart]

I didn't get to Walmart until 5:30 & walk in the doors & looked. OMG! The store was just packed & the lines were almost to the back of the store! In the past, my Walmart has not been this busy. Seeing today reminded of years ago going to Walmart. I have to say Walmart sure came through this year. The 42" HDTV's were flying out of the store. I went back to my store little after 10 to see what was left & alot of stuff was gone. Amazingly I was able to get everything I wanted. However I had to stand in line for like an hour. Hopefully next year they will have the bargains like this year.

[rmol66]

I wasn't going to go out til i saw the samsung camera at WM and had insomnia so why not shop.

Made coffee at 2:45, out the door at 3:00

Got to WM at 3:20 a few hundred cars in the parking lot, was able to get all of the things I wanted and glad I went cause the trampoline and tv stand aren't online.

The experience, noone knew the exact policy of what people were allowed to take so they were monitering everything and did not let anyone put stuff in their cart if they saw u. Very stupid. So I stood and waited by the pallet of tv stands, there were 5 black and even though it was a Friday/Saturday sale they wouldn't let us get it, even though 1 assoc. and one manager told us we could. So at 4:55 the 5 of us who had been waiting for the 5 there helped each other put it in our carts.

Then off to the camera- here's where it got really stupid, they had pallets of all the big stuff and anyone could take a TV ect. but not the camera, you had to wait in line and pay at the camera desk, then after waiting more than an hour in line, the main manager started giving them out, only one person that I saw scabbed the line but I managed to get 2 cameras and 2 photo frames.

Then off to see if there were any trampolines left, the gods were with me, there were 3 left, had an associate get one for me, looked around a little more, got the bissel stick vac, couple of movies, rubbermaid containers, and 2 of the 10GB Sd cards.

Overall happy I went:)

Then went to sams at about 7 to see if they had any wii fits left and of course they were gone so that is the only thing we have to get.

Oh and I got the 50" Samsung tv wednesday delivered for free at BB online.

Back home by 7:30 went to bed after writing the kids a detailed note on what they could do so I could sleep and they did great! Got up at 12:30

oh and my husband went to Sears right before work and went in and got the $99 craftsman tool storage thing, he was very happy!

[Jamy36823]

I got to mine at about 6:30 and it was so jammed...there where displays knocked over, checkout lines clear through the womans clothes. I almost couldnt get through from the CS desk! We live in a fairly small place so its NEVER this insane!

[hinman]

Mine was unbelievable. I heard employees talking that this was the worst they had seen it.

[peifgirl]

mine was busy, but i got in and out in my usual 30 mins. i am always there at like 430am though. but i did go back in at like 7am after i went to meijer and the lines were really long. i checked out at the entertainment counter with no waiting.

[tdanette]

No! I was shocked. Not that there weren't people but nowhere near as many as I expected. Most didn't even show until 20 mins before opening! It was crowded but ONLY because they put all of the BF stuff over in the food section and caused traffic jams (and I do mean ALL of the stuff- can you imagine) If they had spread it across the store per usual, there would have been no crowding at all.

[iloveblkfriday]

I got "NOTHING" its was horrible very horrible went to tanger outlet for midnight madness sale I waited in traffic for an hour finally when I got to one side the lines in each store where over an hour wait so I decided to head back home wait til 5am openings and when I got to walmrat it was so packed you couldn't get in the front door I have never seen it this bad in all my blackfriday years I mean I can take the long lines and crowds but this year it was 4x worse plus I wasn't feeling so well so that made it worse but I am going back later to see whats left!

[aimrico]

Only one stop for me. Walmart--arrived about 3:30. PMed 4 games from BestBuy, candy from Menards, Guitar Hero World Tour from Target, picked up 6 HSM & Hannah Montana dolls, 2 sets of 10 matchbox cars. No problems getting any of the items. Unfortunately chose a checkout lane with inexperienced cashier, waited 10 minutes for CSM on the candy PM, then had to have the CSM back for the Guitar Hero PM & something with the final transaction approval. Out the door about 5:30 and at work by 6

[mm54321]

3:45 a.m. In the JC Penney line

4:20 a.m. Purchased (2) Sterling silver diamond snowflake necklaces for $33.xx each (reg $129)

4:35 a.m. Purchased (4) sets of kitchen storage containers 12-30 pc sets for $18.88 each (reg $39.99)

4:50 a.m. Walked into Walmart - no line - it's a 24 hr shop

4:55 a.m. Front of store pretty empty, so I started loading up on items that were unwrapped and on the floor.

5:00 a.m. Back of Store. HORRIBLE AWFUL mismanaged, no signs for so many items. The lines for the electronics blocked the aisles for the toys so people couldn't shop. People screaming that they've been standing in line since XX time and have been moved and don't yet have their TV/Garmin/Wii/laptop. I seriously had to HUNT for items that should've been put out and marked. No one in the store, including managers, seemed to know what was going on in terms of inventory.

6:00 a.m. In line to check out. The lines to check out just were horrible - all the way to the back of the store. I somehow found a "short" line that was hidden because it backed up/ended at the edge of the clothing department. You couldn't see it from the back of the store.

7:15 a.m. Checked Out. I ended up buying the Barbie Jeep, Alvin & the Chipmunks DVD, Hot Wheels set, Barbie w/Car, Tinkerbell Hoodie, and Elefun game. My worst BF at Walmart definitely.

 

On a slightly positive note, I had previously purchased the Sony BDP-S350 Blue Ray DVD Player on Wednesday night for $298 + tax. I price adjusted & matched to the Sears ad and got it for $179. Wasn't sure that they'd do it, but I scored it for the hubby.

[truexillusions]

Overall, today was pretty much a bust for my brother and I. It's not surprising since we don't go out really early to shop. We went to Best Buy and the deals were still amazing and they had a good stock going. I got one person done for Christmas there. When we got to Wal-Mart, there was hardly anything left. No DVDs or CDs whatsoever. ShopKo was the same. So that was a big disappointment.

 

I'm going to try to get a few things on Amazon.com though so hopefully that works out.

[thmain]

Went to Walmart (24 hour), knew I was in trouble when there were very few places left in the parking lot at 4:30 am. I was surprised that I actually was able to find and purchase the Blu-Ray for $128! Crowds were plentiful and there were people physically fighting over the TV's. I was also able to get the kid's pjs and had them price match Leapster games.

 

Walked out at 7:20 (lines were terrible) and went to pick a few more items up at JC Penney and Walgreens.

 

All in all a good day, I was back home early, which I always like!

[booga12345]

I have never seen our Walmart like it was today, EVER! It was so packed, people were much ruder than in past years, they didn't have all the lanes open, and they wouldn't pricematch anything today. I usually have a good shopping experience there, but this year was much different. They did have a good ad out and I think that lured alot more shoppers.

[sracer]

Arrived at Best Buy @ 5pm on Thanksgiving. There was about 25 people already on line. The people immediately in front of me arrived @ 4pm. The first person on line arrived 8pm Wed evening.

 

The weather wasn't very accommodating but we were prepared. 4am rolls around and the store is extremely understaffed. Only 2 employees are handing out tickets. I managed to get a ticket for the $379 Toshiba laptop (the last one). I was surprised considering how many people were ahead of me on line. Then there was a pause of 20 minutes before any other tickets were handed out.

 

There apparently was some sort of "error" with the $379 tickets. and employee asked those of us who had received a ticket to hand it back. I thought it was a bit fishy, but I handed mine back. The guy in front of me did as well. Turns out that they mismanaged handing out the tickets and that some of the people in the 10-15 spots in line were overlooked and didn't get tickets for the items that they wanted.

 

Employee tells us that he's very sorry and thanked us for being cooperative. He tells us that he'll try to work out a comparable deal for something else. The tickets for other doorbusters are distributed... I managed to get one for the $349 HP notebook w/Canon scanner/printer.

 

Employee returns with a card with his name and the store manager's name on it and tells us to go talk to the manager when the store opens. Store opens I go track down the manager. He's an oily haired used car salesman type. He thanks me for my cooperation and tells me that he can give me a Dell notebook, regularly $669 for $500. I say thanks but no thanks and looking for a non-HP notebook for under $400. He said he can't do it. (I figured as much)

 

I guess that I could've put up a stink, but if everything went as it should've, I wouldn't have received a ticket in the first place. I could've also held on to the ticket, but I would not have wanted to be the cause of anyone ahead of me in line to NOT get the laptop because of an error.

 

Oh well. I DID buy the HP/Canon combo for my stepson, so it turned out well in the end. But this will probably be my last BF at BB. My camp out limit is 12 hours and I just barely managed to get a DB of choice. Next year will require a longer wait.

 

I DID manage to get Transformers on Blu-ray for $10, 4GB Sandisk Memory Stick Pro $20, complementary breakfast at Sam's Club and the Sylvania 4GB touch MP3 player for $60 at Walgreens.

[childofsolitude]

I woke up at 3 am after 3 hours of sleep and got ready. My two friends came to my house and we left at around 3:40. Our first stop was JC Penney. We got our free Mickey snowglobes. My sister bought a $5 doorbuster ring for herself and a Sephora lip gloss set for a friend for $22. One of my friends bought two pairs of socks. I started to feel dizzy when they were checking out so I went outside for some fresh air. We then stopped at a gas station for some water for myself and a snack for the others. Our next stop was Kohl's. I bought a 3 pack of wrapping paper for $4, one friend bought a few picture frames that were on sale, and another bought a few picture frames, a couple of outfits for kids on her list, and a wall quote thing for $17 for my sister.

 

Then we decided to head to the mall which is an hour away. We went to Target which was pretty darn busy. My friend bought a dvd and my sister bought one of the $69 guitars for herself as well as a $24 popcorn maker for my older sister. We had a bit of a problem because the cashier's register wasn't working properly. My sister slid her card and it said that the transaction was complete but the receipt didn't print out because the screen froze. We then moved to another register where they had to ring up her stuff again and she had to slide her card again. She was afraid that it went though twice but the guest service team leader assured us that she voided the other transaction. We'll see when the bill comes. From there we went to Best Buy so my friend could buy one of the $49 digital frames. At this point it was around 8am and the entire mall didn't open until 9 so we stopped for food at Ihop and then we went to Kmart where I bought a peanuts set for $6 for my dad and my friend bought hot wheels cars for two boys on her list.

 

At the mall, we went to Old Navy where my sister bought pajama pants for herself (I think she spent more on herself than anyone else ) for $10. We also went to a book store and a couple of other stores but we didn't buy anything. Then we went across the street to Books a Million to try to find a Twilight set but they were all gone. Then we went home. I'll probably hit a couple of stores later. I didn't buy much because all I have left to buy for is my dad who is hard to buy for and two of my friend's kids who are 1 and also small for their age so I have to find appropriate toys for them which isn't easy. Overall, I had sooooo much fun and I only witnessed a couple of people arguing and I only had to yell at one person (LOL).

 

Edit: At around 2pm, I went to Target and finished my Christmas shopping. I got two bath toys for the twin 1 year olds on my list which were $7 each and I got two gift bags to put them in at $1.29 each. Then I bought a pair of jeans for my dad which were on sale for $7.50, a 3 pack of car cleaning wipes for $8 or $9, and a car emergency kit for $20. My sister got a onesie for a friend's daughter, socks, underwear, and t-shirts for my dad, wrapping paper, and Dead Rising for the Xbox 360 for me. My mom got a fuzzy king size blanket for $25 for my older sister (she's about to buy her first house) as well as bras for my sisters and I (on clearance) and a few towel sets for my sister.

 

We then went to Ross where my sister got a few outfits and a tea set for the kids on her list, a bath set for me, and a bunch of pans, a porcelain serving dish, and a couple of other things for my mom.

Edited November 29, 2008 by childofsolitude

[booga12345]

I agree! It was very organized this year! I thought the ticket system was great and worked really well. They also had a lot of stock on the ticketed items. We got to Target about 10 minutes before they opened, the line around the building, and were still able to get any tickets we wanted. In and out very quickly. Target is usually good on bf, but this year they were extra good.

[thewilfords]

OMG- I got there at 4:30am and there must have been 1000 people in line, no exageration. I started to get in line, but called hubby to tell him to just buy the portable dvd players I wanted online as I already had them in my shopping cart, just in case. As I was walking back to my car they opened the doors and I was able to sneak in with the first group of people. I ran (more like fast waddled) my way to the back and grabbed them, and then walked through the toy section grabbing the things I wanted, and then headed for the slippers and pjs which I ended up not liking. I then went and checked out with no wait, and was in my car by 5:13 am. They were still letting people in then, the line was that bad. It was just a madhouse. I then headed to the mall and did all of my shopping there. About 12:30 I stopped by another Walmart to check on some stuff for some friends that had missed out on stuff at theirs (1 went at 7am and another about 9am-different walmarts), and I was able to get them everything they wanted (leapsters and doll playset) besides finding a DVD player (since they had not told me before). I was able to grab some DVDs then since I stayed clear of that area in my 1st trip as it looked horrendous! Even still, this one was very very busy.

[eve]

well for most of us it is over. :DHow did you do?????

 

We missed the mps player from old navy, missed the snow globes from jc penny, did not find a winter coat or boots i wanted(finding a coat and boots was the main reason we went out as the deals were not impressive to me), and even though we did each get the ornament from world market my cousin's friend dropped hers minutes after it was handed to her. We did find lots of $2 dvds at walmart and $9 Kung Fu Panda dvd :)

[kimmy8339]

Woke up at 2:30 and was in line at toys r us at 3:15. There were about 50 people in front of me and i got everything I needed there. Then we went to:

 

Sears

Famous footwear

Old Navy

Target

Wal-Mart (which was so crazy)

Walgreens

Nifty Nut House

Dillards

and Von Maur

[bigjimslade]

I sat on here until about 11pm and then a friend called me up and he wanted me to go BF shopping at WM. Our first stop was the BB I camp out at and there was half of what was there at that time last year. I talked to the people in line and they all agree that the sales suck but they said the reason they are in line is the fear of not having better sales and that if they were saving $50.00 they were happy.

 

After that I want to WM in the middle of no-where Texas. There was about 40 people there. I never did a BF @ WM and was excited to see what would happen. My friend wanted the $129 HD player and he found it on the shelf so we just held onto it until 5am. I did notice that the when the pallets were brought out no one but the store manager knew what was in them. For example my friend wanted to HD DVDs that were on sale but they were not on the floor as we and others were told so we went to the locked case where the DVDs were and one guy got so mad he rammed his shopping cart into the case, broke the glass and everyone just got the DVDs they wanted. WM is so scared of others knowing what the sales are they dont even trust the people who work in the stores. It is sad and that makes me not surprised that the worker was killed up north.

[dizzykid]

I have never seen our Walmart like it was today, EVER! It was so packed, people were much ruder than in past years, they didn't have all the lanes open, and they wouldn't pricematch anything today. I usually have a good shopping experience there, but this year was much different. They did have a good ad out and I think that lured alot more shoppers.

I am sorry that you had such a bad experience. You should have grabbed THEIR advert and showed them on the very front page it read that they WOULD price match ANYTHING in a printed ad!

I would be complaining - first to the store manager, then to the Corporate Offices about this if you do not get satisfaction. Heck, since you were there and have your receipt to show the time, perhaps you can get them to honor anything you weren't able to get from other stores if they have the item in stock! At the very least, perhaps next year it will make it better.

My brother frequents a Walmart that SOME of the employees will constantly tell him they won't price match. He calls the manager each time because he knows the store's policy is to price match.[/color]

[dizzykid]

one guy got so mad he rammed his shopping cart into the case, broke the glass and everyone just got the DVDs they wanted.

That is just plain wrong. I hope they dialed 9-1-1 and had him arrested! There is NOTHING worth getting that calls for violence like that. People like him need to realize that the employees are only doing as they were told and they usually try to do their best.

His punishment should be to have to work a Walmart BF sale for at least 2 hours before the sale (when customers are getting antsy waiting in lines) until two hours AFTER the sale - so he gets the late-comers that are desperately trying to get them to extend the prices on things!

Perhaps that would change his attitude on things![/color]

[Spotted1]

My shopping was a bust. In the past I've been able to hit walmart later in the morning and get everything on my list (granted, I never go for the big items like TVs or computers, and am usually going after toys for the kidlets). This year? I got there early, the place was a madhouse, and I could only find 1 thing on my list. Everything else I was going after was sold out by 6:00. And with the 1 thing, I still stood in line for 45 minutes. I was so disheartened that we got breakfast and came home. I didnt even bother going anywhere else.