SO, who braved the night for Black Friday?

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camberiu

Recycles dryer sheets
Joined
Jul 12, 2005
Messages
147
Just curious to see if anyone on this forum is the type that would stay on queue all night at the door of Best Buy (or similar) to buy those "HD PlasmaTVs" on sale. ;)

Was anyone in here motivated enough to do that? :confused:
 
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No, but there is a Comp USA near my house, and we drove by it around 10pm last night. There was a line of people about 100 long waiting to get inside. I was appalled. :eek:

We actually drove into the parking lot and took a picture of it, because it was so ridiculous. One guy was loading 3 huge flat screen TVs onto a pick up truck. :crazy:
 
No way! We keep Christmas real simple now that our kids are older. The younger one wants an IPOD nano (already bought from Costco- $10 off) and the older one just wants cash... DH and I don't exchange gifts but prefer to use the money for travel or something for the house.

We really enjoy the true spirit of the holidays now that we can avoid the shopping!
 
In our area, the mall opened at 3am, yes 3am. Unbelievable.

I don't shop period, let alone on a beautiful Friday day.
 
When they first started doing the 7am opens it was fun, then it caught on and the last year I did it I said would be the last...that was a loooooong time ago. It was also a lot easier to shop when his kids were small, gift cards are what they want now so that's what they'll get. That makes Christmas Eve with the family very relaxing and enjoyable.
 
Huh-uh!! No Way!!!

I don't care for big stores or malls or any of that jazz (though I DO like Jazz! :D )!!! I buy groceries and consumables as needed....clothes very seldom....etc...etc...and do most (if not all) of that at local retailers. For electronics, books, and other stuff like that, I shop online....NO crowds, and it shows up at my door!!!

I don't have to fight for parking places, or get jostled or knocked around by rabid shoppers, or stand in ridiculously long lines to checkout!!! :rant: Plus, I don't have to go to 2,3, or 4 different places to find the best prices :crazy:......AND fight for parking places, or get jostled or knocked around by rabid shoppers, or stand in ridiculously long lines to checkout...at each place!!! :uglystupid:

We don't exchange "gifts"....I'll pay for a trip or 2 for her, she'll get me a gift certificate at my favorite butchershop.....or vice-versa.....No shopping for junk, just for "good living" stuff!!! :cool:
 
No way....I looked at some of the flyers and looked like mostly junk to me just like the rest of the year.... ;)
 
I drove to Walgreen's at 11:30 a.m. with someone else who needed to pick up a few things and I saw a jar of Planter's peanuts on sale for $1 (normally $2.50 at Walmart.) That was a good deal so I bought a jar! That's the extent of Black Friday shopping this year.
 
My brother in law said it best yesterday when he said "If you have to get up at 4am to go to Walmart for their sale you probably shouldn't be shopping period.
 
I want to meet this lady: "Every year, Sadaya hopes to avoid spending more than $100 per person, but that usually is not the case because of all the discounts. 'This year, it really depends on if there's a lot of sales,' Sadaya said. 'Sometimes I'll just give money away.'"
 
I (yawn) slept till 10, and won't go shopping today....maybe I'll take another nap....
 
Well I didn't "brave the night" but went to Best Buy at 4:30 am. The line was so incredibly long I went back home, had breakfast, read the newspaper, and went back at 6:30. There was still a line, albeit shorter. I stood in line for maybe 10 minutes only to find the McAfee software I wanted was gone ($5 vs $69 regular price). Oh well, I guess I don't need it that badly.
 
I'd rather pull my fingernails off with pliers, one by one, before I'd stand in line at 5am. I'm meanopausal, so I'd probably land up in a fist fight with some pushy a$$hat trying to horn in on my booty.
 
Some of the most determined bargain hunters anywhere populate "fatwallet.com." One scam angle that a lot of folks use there is "preshopping." About a week before Black Friday somebody has usualy leaked a copy of the ads for the major chains. Many chains offer to match the price on an item if you find it anywhere, including their store, in the next 30 days. So, these shoppers buy the things they want from the Black Friday ads at full price the week prior (when there are no lines and the things are actually in stock), then come back on Black Friday just to get the price match .

Some of the stores are catching on now, and not making the things available for purchase before the big day. I think some are also changing their price matching policies.

It's a lot of work, but the Fatwallet.com devotees are an unusual bunch. Using stacked rebates, mail-in offers, etc, it is a point of pride to see who can get a particular trinket for the lowest price.
 
I think these "semi-riots" and stampedes at store's doors on Black Friday are a very interesting sociological phenomena that it is not easy to replicate elsewhere in the world. As an immigrant, I find it very educational to observe such event as an insight into some aspects of the American Culture.

Of course, those people who spend the night at the line for the Best Buy store are not representing the whole American population, but it is a significant slice of American society.

So, living and learning.
 
camberiu said:
I think these "semi-riots" and stampedes at store's doors on Black Friday are a very interesting sociological phenomena that it is not easy to replicate elsewhere in the world. As an immigrant, I find it very educational to observe such event as an insight into some aspects of the American Culture.
Click to expand...

The most interesting comparison is to compare these bargain hunting stampedes in the USA with stampedes to get a bowl of rice or cup of powdered milk at the back of a relief truck in some unfortunate third world location. Everything is relative I guess......... :-\
 
UncleHoney said:
These people are nuts! Probably all spending money they don't have.
Click to expand...

Spending money they do not have on things that they probably do not really need. It seems that most of the shopping decision made on Black Friday are mostly based on impulse, not rational thought. They buy it because it is "on sale", not because they really need the stuf to make their lives better.
 
I've been wondering whether marketers are just getting better and better at causing this kind of mass hysteria.

They buy it because it is "on sale",
Click to expand...

I remember a TV article about someone who was $40,000 in debt because he couldn't control his spending. As they went around his house pointing out something that he never even used, and asked why he purchased it, he'd reply "Because it was such a good deal."
 
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