GENERAL DISCUSSIONS ( NON STORE SPECIFIC ) ~ Black Friday 2008 - Page 5

munchiegurl · 09-07-2008, 12:09:30 AM

well for black friday i usually prep by buying the newspare that whole week and scopping out the deals. then i make my gameplan and depending wether my dad works or not on the day after turkey day. if he does work my mom usually go to michaels my favorite store!!!!! ross, old navy. and my moms favorite annas linens. then on saturday usually go to san diego to an outlet mall that has great prices on brand name clothing and shop for my entire family!. if my dad does not work on the day after turkey day then we go to the outlets on friday. also i prepare by collecting coins the whole year and setting aside some money and the week of thanksgiving i go to the coinstar machine and cash in! usually end up with $200!!! but this year i went to vegas so i used what i had saved up half of the year so this year im guessing myabe $100. but thats stretching.

deecar02 · 09-09-2008, 01:44:01 PM

I cant wait I love black friday!!!!

okaliedokalie · 09-11-2008, 02:07:05 AM

I've shopped Black Friday for 11 years now. For the first 10, while my kids were little, I went with my mom for the deals. Now I go with my DH for the fun. (Oh, okay, and the deals). People are crazy on BF & you just can't miss that.

Here are a few tips...

Don't go crazy buying stuff you won't use/don't need/can't give away. Stay on budget. It will make your day more fun.

Charge your cell phone & make your list (on separate note cards for each store) the night before! Don't forget to put your ads in the car.

Wake Up : 4am (no later than 5)

Dress : Layers. NO BIG COATS!

Shoes: Comfy tennis shoes! With a new pair of socks.

Purse: No purses! One credit card and your drivers license in the FRONT pocket of your pants One $100 bill (in the OTHER front pocket) just in case CC machines are down. (but that isn't such a worry anymore)

Food : hearty breakfast - think PROTEIN and a sweet coffee, bring a cooler with a few drinks & snacks

Music on the way to the store : Loud, fast paced & HAPPY. Singing along is required.

Attitude : Friendly & cheerful. No crankiness. If you get cranky, take a break & have a snack! Try to go out of your way to be nice to at least ONE person in every store.

Company : take a friend - for safety & help!

At the store : Lock your car.

When I shopped with my mom, we'd go to the store with what we most wanted first. Presents for the kids usually took priority, so the Toy Stores or Target came first. Shop in an area where you can hit lots of stores (like a strip mall) without too much driving... even if it means you're going 30 minutes out of your way. It's worth it. Wal-Mart was always last for us - I don't know why. It was just the way we did things "back then."

Get in line early, especially if you are going for a popular item. An hour before the store opened was always good enough to get whatever we wanted.

SKIP the cart! You can always go back & get one.

Go in, get what you want, and GET OUT! This is not the time to browse the store looking for what you might have missed.

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These days, I shop with my husband & it's slower paced. We just hit Nebraska Furniture Mart, mainly because it is a huge crowd - thousands of people (yes, really) & CRAZY wild fun! Then we head to JCPenny's & Target. After that, we hit the Legends Mall (in Kansas City) - have a nice lunch - maybe hit a Best Buy/Circuit City later in the afternoon.

Hope this helps someone! (FYI - there are lots of different methods/beliefs to the "best" way to shop BF, do what is right for you!)

flutterby_404 · 09-11-2008, 03:21:51 AM

I love love love black friday & have been doing it mostly alone for at least the last 4 years. When I can get someone to go with me, I usually have them stand in the check out line as soon as we get there & I'll bring stuff to them. I hate wasting time in the crazy long lines, especially since I'm usually just grabbing a few things! That way I get in, get out & can move on to my next store!

oceanbreeze · 09-11-2008, 06:20:17 AM

I was never a BF shopper.

Two years ago, my mom turned me to it... and i got some great deals at WM, WAGs & BBW. I won't dare try to hit BestBuy b/c around here there are brawls for things...no thanks.

But I was always scared of the crowds, now I am part of them. If you start chatting w/ ppl in lines waiting for stores to open, its fun to hear what they are there for and for the most part ppl are good natured. Ya get in, get what you want, get out & hit the next store.

BBW was great- open super early & the one we hit was like totally EMPTY- so we got all the great deals we could snag :) woot!

Can't wait this year, especially being on HCW now- o boy, it could be the best one ever!

Colby's_mom · 09-11-2008, 07:28:05 AM

I love BF also. I am not a morning person either. I live in Southern Indiana and for the last two years an entire shopping center has opened all their doors at midnight! Which is awesome because I am use to staying up late so it works perfect, plus I can leave the house right after my DS goes to bed. I take my mother with me. Last year we ended up not getting home unitl 11 am, we decided to go the all the other stores too!

P.S. This is my first year using HCW for BF.

hopeky94 · 09-12-2008, 04:28:34 PM

Another tip I got from someone online-- if you know you're going to need a cart to hold several smaller items (like at Walmart or Target) and are worried about someone trying to take stuff out of your cart (yes, it does happen, even in "nice" neighborhoods), here are a couple options:

1) While in-store, pick up the largest Rubbermaid box that will sit flat in your cart. Put all of your finds inside and put the top on it if you need to be out of reach of it for some reason. Then when you check out, just leave it with the cashier (unless you're needing to buy a box like it anyway; it's a great way to carry everything to the car and leave the cart for another shopper!).

2) Make sure your outtermost coat/jacket is fairly large. Take it off in-store and lay it in the bottom of your cart (or drape it across the side), then put your items under it. Or if there's a good deal on PJ's or other clothing, do the same type thing by putting them on top of "hot" items.

Last year, I did a combo of the two-- Rubbermaid box but left the top off and covered stuff with cheap PJs that most folks weren't buying-- and it worked great!

Another suggestion: if you'll have someone else shopping with you and think you might buy a gift for that person, having a box in the car comes in VERY handy to stash away things you don't want "wandering eyes" to see! Of course, you can always bring a box from home to do that, but I didn't think of it beforehand last year, so I bought the one I used at the store... it was a great hiding spot for items I picked up for my mom while she was shopping with me!

YouPdWhat · 09-12-2008, 05:01:36 PM

More Tips located here

What Is Black Friday? ~ Explanation & Tips

Rapunzel45 · 09-17-2008, 08:47:32 PM

I can never get anyone to go with me anywhere on BF. I usually have to shop local and alone. ::sigh:: We don't have any of the good stores..Just Walmart, CVS, Walgreens and Kmart...That is it... If I want to hit the better stores I have to travel 35 minutes north.. DH refuses to go. Everyone else works or just :gasp: hates shopping and even hates to go more on BF. So I usually get up real early stand out in the cold alone and then just get disheartend by the whole thing when I can't get anything I went for...then I just go home and think I shouldn't of gone anyway.

but, I am a glutten, and everyear I rinse and repeat!

EEK: btw. Nothing wrong with CVS, Walmart, Kmart and Walgreens. but I do like to shop Kohls, BB, Target etc. etc. etc..the stores we don't have..