Black Friday

[street]

I never dreamed I be part of a Black Friday shopping day. I'm talking when the door swings open for the herd to storm the store. Lol

Last evening my wife asked if I would go with her, she wants to buy a chair for her living room. She said, we could go just before the doors open and I need to go sit on the chair while she finds someone to buy it. Lol

So, won't be long now and we will head to the small rural hardware store to buy a chair. I hope she can get it she has eyed it for a while now, but it is priced down today, so she is on a mission. Being a small-town store not even sure if there will be any people waiting to get in the door anyway.

 

[athena53]

Black Friday has been hyped for so long already- every business with which I've transacted over the past X years has been sending me e-mails for weeks. No plans to go near the stores and I don't need anything that's offered on-line. I may need to replace my microwave soon but the only Black Friday special at Costco for one that's the right size is $2,029 with a $300 gift card as a rebate of sorts. Umm, no, I don't need one that fancy.

 

[Ronstar]

DW asked if we were going shopping on Black Friday. I said no way. I did see that the local grocery store had a line of about 10 people this morning at opening. I need to go to a menards for woodworking supplies, but today is not the day. I don’t want to deal with the crowds.

 

[GalaxyBoy]

I never lined up at the doors but many years ago I went to one of the office supply stores to buy a Palm Pilot on a deep discount. I fought the crowds only to find that they had about five in stock when they opened and those sold right away.

No way would I go near a brick and mortar store today. Besides, Black Friday has been going on for weeks and when I glance at the "deals" either I find I really don't need anything that's on sale, or the sale is for something like 20 bucks off - nothing to get so worked up about. I might check out one or two sales online, but only for something I need anyway.

No kids or grandkids, and DW and I stopped exchanging gifts years ago (much happier for it) so xmas shopping isn't a thing for us.

 

[Midpack]

We’ve never gone brick-n-mortar shopping on Black Friday. Fortunately there are “deals” online all the time nowadays, so there’s no real need to go out and deal with crowds/congestion. If there’s something you need to see before buying, you can do it before Black Friday and then buy online - though I refrain from showrooming for the most part.

 

[street]

I'm not a shopper to begin with but if we can save a little on that item that is a good thing too.

One thing living in a very rural area if people don't support the brick and mortar that still stands downtown there will be none eventually.

So, most mind set in these small towns is to try to support as much as we can. If they were to close they would be missed for all the small and accentual we need.

 

[Fermion]

Didn't Black Friday already start...seems like it has been going on since October...

 

[The Cosmic Avenger]

I've usually managed to avoid doing any shopping whatsoever until cyber Monday, but earlier this week I got an email from the nearby brewery that they're having a 50% off sale on all canned beer today, so I'll be heading over there to stock up later! They have an excellent bourbon barrel aged stout that I always like to have handy.

 

[disneysteve]

I may need to replace my microwave soon but the only Black Friday special at Costco for one that's the right size is $2,029

I think our microwave was $59 at Walmart. What the heck do you get with a $2,000 microwave?

 

[disneysteve]

We have occasionally shopped on Black Friday in the past. We'll go out around 2 or 3 in the afternoon. All of the craziness and crowds are gone by then and it's just a normal day with some decent sales.


Now, though, I really don't think Black Friday is the big deal it used to be. Online shopping has taken over a big chunk of the retail market. Also due to so many issues with crowds and people getting hurt and stores getting damaged, many companies have switched to running their "Black Friday" deals all month so the actual day isn't anything special.

 

[Fermion]

I think our microwave was $59 at Walmart. What the heck do you get with a $2,000 microwave?

Seriously. That thing would have to give me a foot massage or something for that price.

 

[COcheesehead]

We bought another security camera from Wyze, $30. Also got a years worth of Hulu for $1.99 a month. That likely will be the extent of our Black Friday purchases.

 

[Jerry1]

Daughter and SIL are out shopping. They said it wasn’t crowded at all. Given that the stores have been running BF deals for at least a week, I guess it makes sense. DD went out for the annual poinsettias from Home Depot. They used to be .99 but this year they’re $1.98. Not sure if they’re any larger than in the past. I used to do that trip but I’ve passed the torch to SIL. No getting up and going out early and in the cold anymore for me.

 

[athena53]

I think our microwave was $59 at Walmart. What the heck do you get with a $2,000 microwave?

Yeah, I was curious, too. It steams, cooks by convection (but my wall oven does that), has a setting that stops the turntable if you're using a large dish that will get "stuck" (who cares?), supposedly fingerprint-proof finish, etc. Lots of stuff I don't need. OTOH, I'm not going for a $59 model, either. Eventually I'll head to Best Buy or Nebraska Furniture Mart (well, I own BRK stock ), talk to a human, but something in stock and make sure installation is included in whatever I pay.

 

[Freedom56]

No need to line up at the store any longer. Just order online and pick it up at the store or have it shipped to you.

 

[pacergal]

I went shopping once year long ago, back when shoppers crowded to get gift wrap and bows for 50% off . Never again.
Dollar store now suffices for that.
DH has gone twice for specific items, both iPads at Target, one time standing in line at midnight and he got the last one!

I wonder how successful it will be this year? I have seen ads for discounts and "BF deals" for a few weeks.

 

[O2Bfree]

I'm going to the mall today, but only because my gym is there. Then I'm coming straight home for a turkey sammich.

In a week or so we'll make our annual journey to the big mall on the east side to window shop, people watch, and enjoy the holiday decor. We usually bring some home-baked treats and a thermos of coffee, which takes less time to put together than standing in line at a coffee shop and lets us sit in any one of our favorite spots. It'll be interesting to see how many Black Friday deals are still going.

 

[ShokWaveRider]

Unfortunately, nothing I am ever in the market for goes on sale in the holiday seasons. Latest high-tech drone or ultralight laptop. Seems they only ever put older stuff on sale to get rid of it.

 

[jollystomper]

Now, though, I really don't think Black Friday is the big deal it used to be. Online shopping has taken over a big chunk of the retail market. Also due to so many issues with crowds and people getting hurt and stores getting damaged, many companies have switched to running their "Black Friday" deals all month so the actual day isn't anything special.

I agree. Up until about 10-15 years ago at least one of us would go out early for Black Friday deals. I thought it was fun. A few years when we celebrated Thanksgiving with a houseful or relatives (either our house or others), we would plan a shopping "strategy" to go out in groups to various stores to get things folks wanted.

Back then the lines in the early morning were orderly - a fair amount of camaraderie among folks waiting in line. No mad rushes for the door, even once inside very little running about. However, that devolved into madness, despite the stores trying various processes and techniques to make things more manageable.

 

[jollystomper]

It can be interesting to see if heavily discounted items on Black Friday show up on eBay. I noticed this one of the last years I went out on a Black Friday morning. I purchased a laptop from Best Buy that had been discounted from $600 to $150. I managed to get one (they had a "line ticket" policy and I was the early enough to get a laptop ticket), and my way to the car a couple of folks offered me $200 for it. I checked eBay later that day and a number of that laptop model were being offered for $400-$500. Some folks were trying to make a fast buck .

 

[Irishgirlyc58]

I used to get up early on Black Friday and go shopping with a good friend at 6 am. This was before online shopping or the stores opening at 4 am.
We would get coffee at a local coffee shop and head to the big city about 50 miles south of us.
We always had a game plan for which stores to go to and what items we wanted.
Load up the trunk and back of the car, go home unload and go back out again.
We had an absolute blast.
I always referred to it as the female version of hunting.
Then things started to get crazy on Black Friday- opening at 4 am, crowds rushing in, etc. and the kids were older and most of what they wanted wasn’t on sale. So we stopped going out.
I’m enjoying not going out today but I really had fun with it when I was younger.

 

[street]

Well, we went a few minutes before open time and the door was already open. There was two people the whole time we were there. One was a lady my wife knew, and she was there to get a chair also.

No problem getting the only chair like that today and most likely it would have been there in a week from now. Lol

No worriers getting run over either on Black Friday here in rural small-town America.

 

[Sunset]

After some disappointments of out of stock stuff during my rush to got to actual stores, I now for years have done Black Friday online only.

I bought some 1 TB Crucial SSDs @ $68 ea.
My Tax software,
Will probably get the hulu deal, so I can add disney+ cheaply to watch something.
Also getting couple more security cameras for $30 each.

 

[disneysteve]

It can be interesting to see if heavily discounted items on Black Friday show up on eBay. I noticed this one of the last years I went out on a Black Friday morning. I purchased a laptop from Best Buy that had been discounted from $600 to $150. I managed to get one (they had a "line ticket" policy and I was the early enough to get a laptop ticket), and my way to the car a couple of folks offered me $200 for it. I checked eBay later that day and a number of that laptop model were being offered for $400-$500. Some folks were trying to make a fast buck .

That's called retail arbitrage. Many online resellers do it regularly. I used to do it more myself but I stick to estate sale/yard sale/thrift shop purchases now for the most part. I do still peek at the clearance sections on the rare occasion that I'm in a store though.


The guy who gets me all of my boxes and shipping materials actually heads up a company that does it professionally. He has a team of buyers who scour the internet daily for deep discounts. They buy in bulk from sites like Amazon and Best Buy and others, then resell the items at regular retail price. From what he's told me, the company does quite well.

 

[jollystomper]

That's called retail arbitrage. Many online resellers do it regularly. I used to do it more myself but I stick to estate sale/yard sale/thrift shop purchases now for the most part. I do still peek at the clearance sections on the rare occasion that I'm in a store though.


The guy who gets me all of my boxes and shipping materials actually heads up a company that does it professionally. He has a team of buyers who scour the internet daily for deep discounts. They buy in bulk from sites like Amazon and Best Buy and others, then resell the items at regular retail price. From what he's told me, the company does quite well.

Oh, I understand that. One of my friends has such a business. He has connections with more than a few stores and auction houses in our state and adjoining ones to get heavily discounted/discontinued items and resell them. I was more posting in the context of "not everyone rushing out for those retail Black Friday deals are buying Holiday presents" . in fact, I would suspect that more retail arbitrage is happening on Black Friday sales than were in the past.