My Black Friday/Thursday Experience

[mav]

We had a bunch of people over at my house yesterday, and it turned out to be a good Thanksgiving.  A few people decided to start shopping early because a lot of shops were open and running specials.  I absolutely hate frenzied crowds, and never go out on Black Friday (now Thursday).  However, I decided that I would go and experience what all the excitement is about.  That was a mistake.

 

Our first stop was at a local Walmart.  I could not believe the number of people in that store, and I got to watch what I had only previously seen on the news.  There were people who were camped out in chairs waiting for an I-Pad, and the biggest crowd were screaming and clamoring over LED TVs and Sony sound bars.  A fight almost broke out between a man and woman over a Samsung TV.  Thankfully, there were plenty of officers on hand who managed to quell the ensuing chaos.

 

We then went over to Hamilton Place.  It was around 30 degrees outside, and the mall was packed.  I did manage to get a few items for my girlfriend at Bath & Bodyworks.  I made another mistake while I was in that store.  I told the two women who were with me that I am setting a limit of $150.  Well...they managed to get enough stuff to hit that limit.  Actually, they exceeded it by $1.31.  Lesson learned. :)

 

We continued to walk around the mall until 1:30 AM before we decided to call it an evening and head back to my house.  I was cold, tired, and my hands hurt from carrying around 30 pounds of perfumed soaps and such for several hours.  When I got home, I ate a few leftovers and then passed out.

 

While I really didn't enjoy enjoy the experience, I was glad that I went through with it.  There were many things I picked up during this entire ordeal that were very informative.  The most important thing I learned was the behavior of people in large groups.  When I thought about it, I was quite troubled.  There were so many people screaming, pushing, and fighting over crap they don't even need.  It was like the animal instinct had taken over.  Manners, courtesy, and compassion were nowhere to be found.  If we ever get into a true SHTF situation, we will have total anarchy.  It will literally be every person for themselves, and people will be killing each other just to get what they need if you consider how people react over trying to save $20-50 on some Chinese-made piece of crap.

 

Anyway, this was my first Black Friday experience, and thankfully, it will be my last.  I would rather pay slightly more online and have it shipped to me than deal with all those materialistic and self-absorbed savages I encountered last night.

Edited November 29, 2013 by mav

[NRA]

This is why I do not and will never participate in the lets save 20.00 over junk and deal with the idiots who feel the need to fight over material items.

[Spiffy]

We had a bunch of people over at my house yesterday, and it turned out to be a good Thanksgiving.  A few people decided to start shopping early because a lot of shops were open and running specials.  I absolutely hate frenzied crowds, and never go out on Black Friday (now Thursday).  However, I decided that I would go and experience what all the excitement is about.  That was a mistake.

 

Our first stop was at a local Walmart.  I could not believe the number of people in that store, and I got to watch what I had only previously seen on the news.  There were people who were camped out in chairs waiting for an I-Pad, and the biggest crowd were screaming and clamoring over LED TVs and Sony sound bars.  A fight almost broke out between a man and woman over a Samsung TV.  Thankfully, there were plenty of officers on hand who managed to quell the ensuing chaos.

 

We then went over to Hamilton Place.  It was around 30 degrees outside, and the mall was packed.  I did manage to get a few items for my girlfriend at Bath & Bodyworks.  I made another mistake while I was in that store.  I told the two women who were with me that I am setting a limit of $150.  Well...they managed to get enough stuff to hit that limit.  Actually, they exceeded it by $1.31.  Lesson learned. :)

 

We continued to walk around the mall until 1:30 AM before we decided to call it an evening and head back to my house.  I was cold, tired, and my hands hurt from carrying around 30 pounds of perfumed soaps and such for several hours.  When I got home, I ate a few leftovers and then passed out.

 

While I really didn't enjoy enjoy the experience, I was glad that I went through with it.  There were many things I picked up during this entire ordeal that were very informative.  The most important thing I learned was the behavior of people in large groups.  When I thought about it, I was quite troubled.  There were so many people screaming, pushing, and fighting over crap they don't even need.  It was like the animal instinct had taken over.  Manners, courtesy, and compassion were nowhere to be found.  If we ever get into a true SHTF situation, we will have total anarchy.  It will literally be every person for themselves, and people will be killing each other just to get what they need if you consider how people react over trying to save $20-50 on some Chinese-made piece of crap.

 

Anyway, this was my first Black Friday experience, and thankfully, it will be my last.  I would rather pay slightly more online and have it shipped to me than deal with all those materialistic and self-absorbed savages I encountered last night.

 

 

In the quest for a good deal on a TV or the last pack of beans or 9mm, any sign of weakness will be pounced on!

[Luke E.]

 I would rather have my head nailed to a stump (you decide which one) than be among the fools. My wifes family lives in Franklin and that is where we spend Thanksgiving each year. On our way back to Murfreesboro I was replying to some emails on my phone and didn't catch my wife until she had gotten off at the exit with WalMart, the mall, Target etc.... Luckily the roads weren't to bad because all of the idiots were already standing in astoundingly long lines to get in. At this time two things happened,1st my wife blurts out "you couldnt pay me to go stand in line with all those @ss clowns" 2nd I remembered how thankful I am to have her and thought that was suiting, it being Thanksgiving and all.

[TripleDigitRide]

My first was also my last. Never again. There are so many great deals to be had online, and they will only get better with each passing year. More and more people are buying online these days, and retailers are quickly realizing they are competing with the likes of Amazon. 

As a Best Buy Elite Plus member, there were some pretty amazing deals to be had, never needing to leave the comfort of my desk chair. Some of those deals were inline with a few of the so-called "Doorbusters" seen at the physical retail locations. 

[TNMTBik3r]

I do pretty much all my shopping online, or I wait until late Friday afternoon to go out. I bought a PSA blem Magpul lower this morning (PSA had some great deals), and today around 4:00 will probably run out to town to look at a couple of stores. There was nothing I had to battle a crowd for so I just wait until the crowds are gone and then go in and still claim a couple of deals.

[Garufa]

The ONLY way you'd get me to WalMart at the height of the frenzy is with a lawn chair, a cooler full of beer and some good friends all raised up on a platform to behold the spectacle.

 

This apparently happened at the Turkey Creek WalMart in West Knoxville over a box of motor-mouthed Rachel Ray cookware last night and is tame from other reports coming in.....

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ucrM3TLLJRs

 

These women are vicious.

Edited November 29, 2013 by Garufa

[bersaguy]

I have avoided Black Friday for over 25 years now and have not missed one second of it. I don't get near any thing even remotely resembling a store that might have a Black Friday sale. I stay way clear of all Malls period. I will actually get some of my best buys after Christmas on items that stores got stuck with from over ordering on items they thought would sell out. Kids today have a lot to do with driving parents into the Black Friday Sales and stores know that so they will always advertise things they know kids will be screaming for that they want for Christmas. I know about 10 years ago my son called me and was desperate for a new XBOX machine that was coming out and could not find one anywhere. He was very lucky that year because at the time I was dating a lady that worked at Hollywood Video and they were going to get a delivery of about 20 of them in on December 23rd that year and she was able to get him one. I am like most everyone here and wiling to pay a few bucks more for an item and either buy it before they put them on Black Friday list or wait till after holidays to get them.................jmho

[TripleDigitRide]

For the record, my girlfriend had to stop at Wal-Mart around 10:00 this morning. She said the place was dead. She walked right in, got what she wanted, and checked out in less than 10 minutes.

[bersaguy]

The ONLY way you'd get me to WalMart at the height of the frenzy is with a lawn chair, a cooler full of beer and some good friends all raised up on a platform to behold the spectacle.

You better hope it is a very sturdy platform cause I have actually see where complete shelves have been turned over with people pushing and shoving to try and get to a special item.................jmho

[RED333]

Wife, son and his girl friend went out last night bout 730pm, came back in ledd than 1/2 hour.

They said crowds were crazy, My son and I went to Home Depot today bout 800am,

small crowd was small, got what we needed and left.

They are out now in the mess, not me.

[Monkeyman2500]

Yep wouldn't do it for nothing. Unfortunately I have to drive my Mom back to cookeville and that's going to be terrible.

[whitewolf001]

Is it bad that I'd be the one egging it on?  :stir:

[MacGyver]

I've always made the choice not to participate in the madness on Black Friday. Opening stores on Thanksgiving night really makes me pretty mad.

I've got three reasons for not participating:

1. It's a holiday about giving thanks, not about pacifying our appetite for endless consumption with a bunch of junk we don't really need.

2. I don't want to be part of the reason that somebody has to skip Thanksgiving with their family.

3. I don't want my last thought in this world to be, "I can't believe I'm being trampled to death in the Walmart."

[TripleDigitRide]

The ONLY way you'd get me to WalMart at the height of the frenzy is with a lawn chair, a cooler full of beer and some good friends all raised up on a platform to behold the spectacle.

 

This apparently happened at the Turkey Creek WalMart in West Knoxville over a box of motor-mouthed Rachel Ray cookware last night and is tame from other reports coming in.....

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ucrM3TLLJRs

 

These women are vicious.

Those women probably have no clue that they likely aren't getting such a great deal on that cookware. 

 

Some years ago, we purchased a rather nice large set of Paula Deen cookware from a store that I can't remember. It was heavy stainless with a thick copper bottom. I don't recall the exact price, but I know it was several-hundred dollars. Shortly after that, a friend and his wife were over, and they loved the set. A few days later he called to brag about how he just purchased his wife the same exact set from Wal-Mart for less than half the price. Needless to say, I was a little perturbed that I didn't shop around before dropping that kind of coinage. 

About 2 or 3 weeks later, we were invited to dinner. He just couldn't wait to rub in the fact that he got a much better deal that I did. From across the kitchen, they appear to in fact be the very same set. But as soon as I picked up one of the pans, it became quite obvious they were not. While the looked the same from a distance, once you picked up a piece for a closer inspection, the quality was not the same. The stainless steel was much thinner than mine. The copper bottom was roughly 2/3 thinner than mine. Even the handle was of cheaper quality, and not attached nearly as well as mine. 

I mentioned this to a friend who's a long-time employee of Wal-Mart, and he informed me that many items found at Wal-Mart are made more cheaply made that the same item you may find at other retailers. This is obviously to allow Wal-Mart to keep their prices lower. This does not happen with every item sold at Wal-Mart, but it does happen with some. 

Edited November 29, 2013 by TripleDigitRide

[Volzfan]

I try my best to only hit the grocery store between now and Christmas! Crowds are great when it's a football game or a NASCAR race but not for shopping!

[BrasilNuts]

If Walmart advertised pre '86 registered M16 lowers for $199.99, Black Friday only, we'd all be there.

[Guest TankerHC]

Stopped in at Walmart last night, no one in line, either in Dayton or Soddy, Best Buy in Hixson, hardly anyone there, 5 minutes after midnight, 4 people in line. Went up to Michaels at Hamilton Place, 6 cars in the parking lot, 12:30 at the Hamilton Place Best Buy, and parking lot full of cars, but only in front of Best Buy, normally the parking lots in front of Best Buy are completely full all the way up to Hobby Lobby, not last night there were more people in the shoe store next door than there was in Best Buy. Walked on in, just to look around. Didnt see much of anything I would call a deal. Noticed that 40 minutes after opening, there were still rows of TV's, people were just walking right past the stacks of XBox 360's for $189 and the blocked aisles for the ipads, Kindles and other computers, tablets, etc might as well not have even been blocked, because there was no line, in the blocked aisle going down the wall with hardware and software, there was me and one other couple and that was it, plenty of people walking around, but thats what they appeared to be doing, walking around.

 

Worst crowds (Lowest) I have ever seen in any of these stores on Black Friday, but will not hurt Walmart, they changed the rules. Forbes predicted Best Buy would be bankrupt and out of business by the end of 14, I predict Forbes is correct. Looks like Walmart did them in. Example: Walmart puts out $499 50 inch TV's last Friday, then Monday Best Buy puts out $499 50 inches, then Walmart puts out $448 50 inches, Best Buy is still at $499 then Walmart puts out a 55 for $449. 

 

Good free market competition, bad for Best Buy. I saw a lot of items marked as sales in Best Buys that were not sales at all. Normal or higher prices than other places regularly. Well Tiger owns TigerDirect, CompUSA and Circuit City brands and trademarks, guess they will be grabbing up Best Buy in a year or two. 

 

Best Buy has been teetering on failure for a couple of years now. 

Edited November 29, 2013 by TankerHC

[Garufa]

If Walmart advertised pre '86 registered M16 lowers for $199.99, Black Friday only, we'd all be there.

 

Not me.  I'd rather be in that crowd of hysterical women trying to buy pots and pans.

[R_Bert]

Not me.  I'd rather be in that crowd of hysterical women trying to buy pots and pans.

Only if the pots & pans were still in the boxes........(or maybe not?????)

[TripleDigitRide]

Stopped in at Walmart last night, no one in line, either in Dayton or Soddy, Best Buy in Hixson, hardly anyone there, 5 minutes after midnight, 4 people in line. Went up to Michaels at Hamilton Place, 6 cars in the parking lot, 12:30 at the Hamilton Place Best Buy, and parking lot full of cars, but only in front of Best Buy, normally the parking lots in front of Best Buy are completely full all the way up to Hobby Lobby, not last night there were more people in the shoe store next door than there was in Best Buy. Walked on in, just to look around. Didnt see much of anything I would call a deal. Noticed that 40 minutes after opening, there were still rows of TV's, people were just walking right past the stacks of XBox 360's for $189 and the blocked aisles for the ipads, Kindles and other computers, tablets, etc might as well not have even been blocked, because there was no line, in the blocked aisle going down the wall with hardware and software, there was me and one other couple and that was it, plenty of people walking around, but thats what they appeared to be doing, walking around.

 

Worst crowds (Lowest) I have ever seen in any of these stores on Black Friday, but will not hurt Walmart, they changed the rules. Forbes predicted Best Buy would be bankrupt and out of business by the end of 14, I predict Forbes is correct. Looks like Walmart did them in. Example: Walmart puts out $499 50 inch TV's last Friday, then Monday Best Buy puts out $499 50 inches, then Walmart puts out $448 50 inches, Best Buy is still at $499 then Walmart puts out a 55 for $449. 

 

Good free market competition, bad for Best Buy. I saw a lot of items marked as sales in Best Buys that were not sales at all. Normal or higher prices than other places regularly. Well Tiger owns TigerDirect, CompUSA and Circuit City brands and trademarks, guess they will be grabbing up Best Buy in a year or two. 

 

Best Buy has been teetering on failure for a couple of years now. 

I hope Forbes is wrong about Best Buy, but I wouldn't at all be surprised. First of all, their brick and mortar stores are far too big. If they would give up on the exercise equipment and appliances, only focusing on items you'd expect to see in an electronics store, they could cut their square footage nearly in half. 

 

Then there's probably the biggest problem; online retailers. I think they are a bigger problem than even Wal-Mart. While Wal-Mart is difficult to beat where price is concerned, you could fit their electronics section inside of Best Buys bathroom. Best Buy is quickly becoming little more than a showroom for every other online retailers. Even being a Best Buy Elite Plus member, I am guilty of using Best Buy to put my hands on an item, only to buy it cheaper somewhere else. I am probably more loyal to Best Buy than any other store, period. But sometimes the online savings are just to great to pass up. If/When the Best Buy stores are no longer, I'll be the first one to kick myself in the ass. I love that place. With any luck, maybe they can become the Amazon of the electronics industry. Time will tell.

[peejman]

I went out one time when I first started working. I needed shoes for my new job and got 3 pair of Rockports for under $100. That's the only time I've ever been out.

My conclusion is that shipping charges that seem high any other time, are worth it between Thanksgiving and Christmas.

[dawgdoc]

One year my nephew wanted to go to the Toys R Us Thanksgiving sale in Morrow, Georgia.  For some I reason, I volunteered to take him.  We left late, so we only got there 30 minutes before it opened.  We didn't see that the line stretched entirely around the store before we parked.  As we searched for the end of the line, we turned the corner into the side alley of the building, and we came upon a mass of people.  They were all swaying slightly because they were cold and trying to see the front of the line, and the bright lights only partially illuminated them.

 

The first impression that I got was a horde of zombies, just like when someone rounds a corner in Walking Dead and stumbles upon a herd.  

[Guest TankerHC]

I hope Forbes is wrong about Best Buy, but I wouldn't at all be surprised. First of all, their brick and mortar stores are far too big. If they would give up on the exercise equipment and appliances, only focusing on items you'd expect to see in an electronics store, they could cut their square footage nearly in half. 

 

Then there's probably the biggest problem; online retailers. I think they are a bigger problem than even Wal-Mart. While Wal-Mart is difficult to beat where price is concerned, you could fit their electronics section inside of Best Buys bathroom. Best Buy is quickly becoming little more than a showroom for every other online retailers. Even being a Best Buy Elite Plus member, I am guilty of using Best Buy to put my hands on an item, only to buy it cheaper somewhere else. I am probably more loyal to Best Buy than any other store, period. But sometimes the online savings are just to great to pass up. If/When the Best Buy stores are no longer, I'll be the first one to kick myself in the ass. I love that place. With any luck, maybe they can become the Amazon of the electronics industry. Time will tell.

 

Same here. (My wife asked me if I wanted to move a bed in there) Prices are pretty good but poor management decisions have led to their downfall. They nearly collapsed 8 or 9 months ago. There was a 30 day window when Best Buy had already announced a bankruptcy and closure. That changed to them closing 50 stores (They did close 50) when (I think) it was second quarter 2012 projected earnings fell 40 or 50%. The fact of the matter is that Best Buy is about the last place big box to buy basic computer parts nearby, although I can have anything delivered from Newegg or Tiger in 48 hours. One of Best Buys Founders, Schulze was thrown out last year, held a 20% stake then took a major hit when the stock price collapsed and went to near junk status. Last I heard Schzulze was trying to buy Best Buy back, and they are closing most of the big stores depending on results this Christmas season. But they will stay in business as small mall stores. But there is already Radio Shack. If they go, someone will take up the slack. Tiger is opening more and more outlets, like Buds has been doing. (And Cabelas started out), and PC Warehouse is supposed to begin moving this way in the near future (If they havent already). If that happens (Tiger and PC), best Buy is done anyway.

 

Hate to see it, but its free market competition. Hire better managers. 

[Guest Lester Weevils]

Maybe I'm weird, but none of the stores have anything I really want in-the-store.

 

One nice thang at home depot for about 6 months now, is that if you want metal toolchests and you can suffice on "real good home-shop-quality" rather than "pro quality", they've drastically cut the price on em, and still good prices on black friday ads. But I don't need any toolchests at the moment. Wish the price had been this low when I was buying some.

 

None of the stores, best buy included, have even remotely high-performance PC's in stock, regardless of price. Spensive or cheap, they are all "ho-hum" gadgets. Been kinda sorta thinking about getting a new PC sometime or t'other, and nobody local stocks anything significantly faster than my 4 year old 3.33 GHz i7 975. Well, I was also thinking about maybe buying one or more SSD drives, but Best Buy or nobody else has SSD drives in the store. Best Buy had some old-dusty-stock of 60 GB SSD drives, priced too high, but that's all.

 

I been kinda wanting to get a wood jointer. But Harbor Freight quit selling their cheap jointer about a year ago, and neither sears, best buy, or lowes has had ANY jointers in stock, not even cheapie models I probably wouldn't want.

Edited November 30, 2013 by Lester Weevils