Black Friday shopping
By
Wednesday November 21, 2007 9:28:57am



Do you plan to go shopping the day after Thanksgiving?

What are your tips for other shoppers? Have you ever gotten an exceptional deal while shopping on Black Friday?

You can even share your shopping horror stories.











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romegasir
Comments: 1608
Joined: 03/14/2007
11/24/2007 11:26:39 PM
hilarious brian......
I went to a concert one time, and it was general admission, so I got there at midnight the night before the concert (which started at 8 p.m.)......I was out of town on business and went by myself.......the SECOND person in line showed up at 10 a.m. So I was out there by myself for 10 hours..........so don't feel too stupid
 
maggie
Comments: 1381
Joined: 01/08/2006
11/24/2007 08:43:35 AM
We did get out yesterday morning, though not at 4:00. I did get some fantastic buys at Gymboree, my favorite childrens store. My daughter and one of her friends left out early and were in line at Old Navy and they handed out bracelets for the free MP3 player and they were the last two to get bracelets. She told me that a lot of people sat in their cars, because is was cold and when the doors opened, they all rushed in to get the MP3 player and found out they couldn't get one without a braclet. She said they were practically running over the people who had been standing in line.
 
Tigger55
Comments: 1
Joined: 11/24/2007
11/24/2007 06:12:40 AM
Yes, like a fool I was one of the crazy people who got up at 4 AM and became a statistic in the mad mad world of Black Friday (which by the way I have not done since my kids were little and had to go to Marietta and Atlanta to do my shopping-about 20 years ago). Well, my experience started out really BAD (even tho I thought was well planned) BUT turned out okay. I was getting an item that both Sears and WalMart had for the same price. Decided to hit Sears first thing because it might not be as packed as Walmart. Stood in line only to find out that they didn't have them because Sears is one of the smaller stores and don't carry alot of the advertised specials. Made a rush to WalMart hoping by some miracle I could get one......WRONG!....sold out in 30 mins (East Rome location), so fly to West Rome (checking K-Mart on the way) and checked out WalMart West and Sams, NO LUCK.....I was so upset I was actually mad at myself for being stupid and not going to Walmart in the first place. Then headed to Circuit City just to see what kind of deals they had (even thought was sure they didn't have their good items left) but just to see what I could find. Something told me to go back to Sears and just see if by chance they might have had the items in the back because sometimes on specials they might just have gotten a shipment in just for this sale. Now it is 2 hrs later, furious and almost in tears (because this was the one item that made me get out in the cold so early on this day). I get out of my vehicle at Sears and what do I see but a penny on heads in the parking lot and I thought maybe, just maybe this was my sign of luck. Guess what, I went into Sears and this very nice clerk went out of her way to go to the back and check for me (even though she walked away from a line of people). She didn't find one but told me that I could order it for the advertised price and it would be here in a week. I was SO EXCITED and thanked her (wish the clerk I spoke to the first time could have offered that!) You know karma really works. So I turned around and went to the store manager and told her what a wonderful employee they had and that she went the extra mile in what was one of the worst shopping days for retailers. So my day went really well after that and got a good bit of shopping completed. The end result of this experience left me with "NO I WILL NOT SHOP ON BLACK FRIDAY AGAIN!" Not worth it to my mental health. hahahahaha LOL
 
pattiemom
Comments: 1
Joined: 11/23/2007
11/23/2007 10:26:28 PM
Shopping on Black Friday was not a total waste but close to it. All the good items were totally sold out way before the sun ever came up. Usually you can find some good buys...but this year was different. Right now I would say I'm burned on the early rising for great bargains. I just didn't see it. I did enjoy the fellowship of seeing people you don't see often. Spending time with my sisters, mom and nieces was a huge bonus!

 
dasgrove
Comments: 1
Joined: 11/23/2007
11/23/2007 07:19:14 AM
My shopping experience was a a waste of time. I went to Radioshack this morning to buy a Zune mp3 player with a free cover. Waited in line for 30 minutes. Before the doors opened, we were told that they did not have the item in the store but we could order it to be delivered. This was still a good deal so everyone stayed in line. When we got to inside (I was second in line), they could not sell them to us. Suddenly the special was also out of stock at the warehouse...2 minutes after the store opened with the first purchase. Now, they would gladly sell us another color for $40 more and without the free cover. I don't mind if an item sells out. That is part of the game. But, they were out when the doors opened and made no effort to honor the sale. The employees laughed and joked about the fact that this was typical for Radioshack. Well, I won't be going back anytime soon.
 
sleepingbeauty
Comments: 15
Joined: 10/30/2007
11/21/2007 09:37:42 PM
Yes,I will be shopping on Friday.
 
maggie
Comments: 1381
Joined: 01/08/2006
11/21/2007 08:48:14 PM
Yes, I will be going shopping.

 
enough
Comments: 29
Joined: 11/21/2007
11/21/2007 01:45:33 PM
1 word:
Wow!

not Happy Holidays
Merry CHRISTmas
 
bygracethrufaith
Comments: 1017
Joined: 07/13/2007
11/21/2007 11:09:13 AM
Here's a tip...if you'd like to keep your sanity, stay home and do all your shopping online...LOL!
I do not at all enjoy the crowds on "black friday." Here's a story that was emailed to me-kinda makes you think a little...

>>A cold crowd of Christmas shoppers waited outside the locked department store doors. The "Sale to End All Sales" would start in a few minutes when those doors were opened, and the store's parking lot was already almost full.

The shoppers grew excited as they could see through the glass doors and glimpsed the store manager coming toward them, keys in hand.

The department store had run sensational ads and the shoppers were showing up in big numbers. The ads had used all the magic words of modern merchandising: free, new, high-tech, half-price, close-outs. The resultant crowd was in a good mood, not unlike that of sharks just before a feeding frenzy.

Finally, the manager opened the big double doors of the department store and quickly got out of the way as the throng of Christmas shoppers streamed in.

Children ran to the escalator in a hurry to get upstairs to the toy department where Santa Claus was holding court. For some, the escalator moved too slowly and they ran up the moving stairs to get to the top even more quickly.

Moms headed to the tool department to look at things about which they knew absolutely nothing. Dads walked around with dazed looks among dresses and nighties. Older folks with lists looked for specific items only to find them sold out. Teens swarmed over the pates and electronics.

People just kept coming.

The parking lot overflowed into the empty church lot next door, and the department store manager smiled as he heard the Christmas bells of cash registers ringing all around the store.

When he would announce special sales over the public address system in certain departments at different times, the crowd of shoppers would surge from one area to another.

Specials! Bargains! Freebies! It was a great day.

But all good things come to an end and the department store's day came to an end as well. It took an extra half hour to get all the shoppers out of the building and an extra Brinks truck to get all the money to the bank; but finally, the "Sale to End All Sales" was over.

The store manager looked at his store and remembered how well it had been stocked for the big sale. Every department had been neat and well-organized, but now it was as if a tornado had gone through.

Now and then, he would spot empty packages, the tell-tale evidence of shoplifting, but he had known there would be some of that. Last Christmas, shoppers lifted $1.8 billion in American stores and certainly this year would be no different.

All in all the sale had been an overwhelming success.

Outside of the department store, another much smaller group of people was waiting to come in. It was the clean-up crew and the night watchman. When the manager left to go home, he admitted that group into the store and locked them in for the night.

The head of the clean-up crew surveyed the wreckage and started barking orders. They would have a full night ahead of them. The night watchman, as was his custom, began his evening tour going from department to department.

Since all men tend to have little boys licked inside them, the night watchman went upstairs to make sure the toys were secure. He especially checked out the model trains, and thought about the great set he had played with as a boy.

It was then that he saw something out of the corner of his eye that struck terror to his heart.

Sticking out from under one of the displays he could see what looked like the body of a person.

Thoughts of model trains evaporated, and years of training took over as he ran to the body.

Sure enough, it appeared that a man had been pushed aside and trampled in the mad rush of shoppers. It was as if he had been smothered in the greed of the Christmas customers.

The victim was a total stranger to the night watchman, and he had no wallet or identification. He was dressed in very strange clothes and the night watchman thought that perhaps the victim was one of the 'homeless' he had heard about on the news.

As the night watchman examined the body, he figured it would be fairly easy for someone to identify the victim. After all, you could not get scars in your hands and feet like that without somebody knowing about it.<<
 
enough
Comments: 29
Joined: 11/21/2007
11/21/2007 10:17:08 AM
any good electronic deals anywhere
 
Sarah27728
Comments: 85
Joined: 10/23/2007
11/21/2007 09:53:30 AM
wont go. not getting paid til friday at four. bummer :(
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