Topic: So I'm waiting outside Target for Black Friday deals...

[BranDonk Kong]

...and my brother just took my car to go get some sandwhiches and take a **** at 7-11...and now my car won't start. ****. Oh, well, 2TB USB HDD for $69 FTW.

[ThePerm]

hope you dont get mugged!

[BranDonk Kong]

Thanks, lots of idiots here with us. Turns out my brother is a fucking moron and left the headlights on while he was in 7-11 for 20 minutes, got someone to jump him and we're back in business...so tired.

[Kytim89]

What kind of car do you drive?

[BlackNMild2k1]

I'm outside of Radio Shack right now trying to get that netbook deal I posted about. it's fucking freezing out here.

[BranDonk Kong]

2007 Mazda 3. Anyway, car's fine, just battery was too drained to turn over. Got 2 of the 2TB HDDs for $69 each, in return got a $10 gift card, on a separate purchase I bought the $300 40" TV and used a "get a $15 gift card when you sped $150 coupon" and also got the other $10 coupon for this purchase. Then went to HH Gregg and had the absolute worst shopping experience in my life, which eventually turned into me getting a $350 camera for $200, so it paid off in the end. If you go buy retail prices, I save about $550 today, and if you put the $35 in gift cards back into the picture (wife loves Target, so it's as good as cash to me), I saved $585.

[BlackNMild2k1]

**** RADIO SHACK.

I get there around 4am, it's just me and one other guy who has been there since 11pm. The store manager walking in and tells us that the store doesn't open till 5:30. So at 5:15 they start opening the aluminum window covers so that you can see in the store. so me and the other 2 people in the front of the line (I'm 2nd) go to put out chairs back in the cars and thats when they open the doors and usher everyone in.

That didn't seem like a huge problem because there was only 20 or so people in line.

I rush over to the laptop area to get the Acer netbook and it's not over there, so I ask the manager who attempts to hand me flyer for their friday sale and directs me to another employee who I ask for the netbook. He hold it up and says this is the only one and this lady asked first. :angry:

she showed up 20 minutes before they opened the door and she got the only item I showed up for. Why would they advertise something if they only have one in the entire store? and if you only have one, why not voucher the people in line so that the first to come are the first served? Why didn't they advertise that it was only 1 per store and I would have made it very clear what I was there for when the manager first showed up. I wasted an entire night staying up when I could have been sleeping. Black Friday has sucked for the past few years anyways....
except for that 42" Plasma that I missed on sale at midnight.

[Morari]

Consumerism is funny like that.

The deals aren't usually too much better than what you'd normally find if you shop around a bit.

The worst part is that now we have to listen to that goddamn Christmas music in every store, 24/7, for the next month!!!

[broodwars]

she showed up 20 minutes before they opened the door and she got the only item I showed up for. Why would they advertise something if they only have one in the entire store? and if you only have one, why not voucher the people in line so that the first to come are the first served? Why didn't they advertise that it was only 1 per store and I would have made it very clear what I was there for when the manager first showed up. I wasted an entire night staying up when I could have been sleeping. Black Friday has sucked for the past few years anyways....
except for that 42" Plasma that I missed on sale at midnight.

I also was out and about this morning trying to find a good PS3 bundle to replace my increasingly dying 80 GB PS3.  After seeing truly ludicrous lines at Target and Best Buy in my small suburb of a town 2-3 hours before the store even opened, I ended up practically walking into Gamestop when they opened and got an acceptable (though not ideal) bundle.

Every year, I find myself increasingly unable to understand why we have this institution of Black Friday and how it is conducted.  Why do we have this one day that apparently the entire retail industry has conspired to make the day when you can get good deals in stores?  In a nation of capitalism, you'd think that stores would constantly try to one-up each other with great deals early.  But no, we get the same crap every year.  While I see the some stores like Best Buy try to minimalize the collateral damage by issuing tickets for the various items while people are in line, my big question is why we need "lines" at all?  Why not just open the various items to sale online at some time in the morning, and allow the buyer to walk into the store (or, heaven forbid, just ship the item) and pick it up at their convenience?  Why do we have this archaic and frankly stupid tradition of pitching tents 4-5 hours before a store opens at 1-2 AM the day after Thanksgiving just to get a sale item?  C'mon, retailers!  Embrace the Present and experiment with new ways of doing this silly sales holiday.

The worst part is that now we have to listen to that goddamn Christmas music in every store, 24/7, for the next month!!!

Man, I hear that.  I was hearing Christmas music at Best Buy as far back as just after Halloween, and I'm sick of it already.

[ThePerm]

Black Friday is pretty much 1 month before Christmas. So, its the day they want you to start buying stuff. Your not a good citizen unless you consume things, that's at least what THEY would like you to believe.

[Caliban]

The worst part is that now we have to listen to that goddamn Christmas music in every store, 24/7, for the next month!!!

It's not so bad for the shoppers. In. Out. Done.
Someone that works at such a place? In. ... .... ... ... ... .. ... ... .. . OUT! Done.

I also was out and about this morning trying to find a good PS3 bundle to replace my increasingly dying 80 GB PS3.  After seeing truly ludicrous lines at Target and Best Buy in my small suburb of a town 2-3 hours before the store even opened, I ended up practically walking into Gamestop when they opened and got an acceptable (though not ideal) bundle.

What kind of bundle were they offering in the US?

[broodwars]

I also was out and about this morning trying to find a good PS3 bundle to replace my increasingly dying 80 GB PS3.  After seeing truly ludicrous lines at Target and Best Buy in my small suburb of a town 2-3 hours before the store even opened, I ended up practically walking into Gamestop when they opened and got an acceptable (though not ideal) bundle.

What kind of bundle were they offering in the US?

Target: 160 GB PS3 + Star Wars: Force Unleashed 2 + Prince of Persia: Sands of Time Blu-Ray
Best Buy: 160 GB PS3 + LittleBigPlanet + ModNation Racers + Cars Blu-Ray
Gamestop: 160 GB PS3 + God of War Collection + God of War 3.

Yeah, considering I've already purchased and traded in both of the PS3 God of War discs, I was annoyed to get them again but I did get rid of them to pick up Modern Warfare 2.

[BlackNMild2k1]

There are a few changes that need to be made to Black Friday IMO

1. No more line squatting.
If you weren't there to physically wait in the line then you will have to get in line when you get there. There are people that save a place in line for about 40 other people and that just isn't fair for the person that actually sat there for 5hrs in the freezing cold only to have the few items they waited in line for be sold out when they were originally one of the first few people there. About an hour or so before opening the doors, the employees should block line squatting and force those showing up late to move towards the end of the line.

2. Vouchers for the extremely limited items.
If you have advertised an item and you only have a very small amount, then you should step out into the line and offer vouchers out for those items starting with the first few people in line and working your way back. That way the people that have actually sat there waiting can get what they came for and the people that just showed up need not continue to wait.

3. Where are all the Roach Coach/Taco Truck and small restaurant owners?
Small business owners are missing out on some publicity and sales to these people sitting in line for hours on end. They should have their catering truck bounce from line to line offering Hot Cocoa and warm sandwiches along with flyers for their restaurant. It's freezing outside and some people have been there for hours on end and are not only hungry, but very thirsty. Retail doesn't have to be the only industry making a killing on Black Friday.

[Caliban]

Target: 160 GB PS3 + Star Wars: Force Unleashed 2 + Prince of Persia: Sands of Time Blu-Ray
Best Buy: 160 GB PS3 + LittleBigPlanet + ModNation Racers + Cars Blu-Ray
Gamestop: 160 GB PS3 + God of War Collection + God of War 3.

Yeah, considering I've already purchased and traded in both of the PS3 God of War discs, I was annoyed to get them again but I did get rid of them to pick up Modern Warfare 2.

At least there was some selection for the US. The only bundle I saw for Best Buy, Future Shop, Gamestop, and Amazon.ca was the slim 160GB with NHL 11, and Greatest Hits Infamous. I bought it from Amazon.ca, but I'm also trading in the games.

I don't even know why here in Canada there was (still is until Tuesday I think) something as a Black Friday Deals thing from both Amazon.ca, and Gamestop. FS, and BB are having their holiday deals which makes more sense because if anything Boxing Day is our Black Friday kind of thing, and that's not for another month or so.

[UncleBob]

The worst part is that now we have to listen to that goddamn Christmas music in every store, 24/7, for the next month!!!

It's not so bad for the shoppers. In. Out. Done.
Someone that works at such a place? In. ... .... ... ... ... .. ... ... .. . OUT! Done.

$^#%ing tell me about it.  I frickin' work for Walmart and the solution this year, because they took the music out of the stores, was that we had to hook a CD player into our sound system.  They sent in a CD.  So, this CD plays on repeat all day long.  And my frickin' office has its very own speaker sitting right inside it.  The funny thing is, there is *some* Christmas music I do enjoy... However, >insert crappy pop artist here<'s new "re-imagining" of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer?  Go die.

[Ian Sane]

I'm fine with Christmas music playing endlessly in the store.  It's not like I work there so it isn't like I get bombarded with it.

No, what I dislike around this time of year is that the stores are too damn hot!  They crank the heat up, probably for the benefit of the employees who are not wearing jackets.  But I am wearing a jacket, usually a big puffy winter one.  There isn't anywhere to put my coat so I end up roasting until I can't take it anymore and then have to carry the coat around like an idiot.  Every year I'm just sweating bullets when I go Christmas shopping.  It's unbearable.

Am I the only one who notices this?  If you're coming in from outside in the winter you've got a coat on and they really should take that into consideration when setting the temperature for the store.  If the employees are too cold use a sweater as part of the uniform during this time of year.

[Caliban]

$^#%ing tell me about it.  I frickin' work for Walmart and the solution this year, because they took the music out of the stores, was that we had to hook a CD player into our sound system.  They sent in a CD.  So, this CD plays on repeat all day long.  And my frickin' office has its very own speaker sitting right inside it.  The funny thing is, there is *some* Christmas music I do enjoy... However, >insert crappy pop artist here<'s new "re-imagining" of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer?  Go die.

After I finished posting I recalled that you work in such a place, and then it comes to me that I work at a grocery store *facepalm*.

what I dislike around this time of year is that the stores are too damn hot! Am I the only one who notices this?

I have noticed. It's terrible. That's why I spend the least amount of time at a mall, or shops this time of the year and the coming months. Like I said before: In. Out. Done.

[BranDonk Kong]

Some idiot lady went around trying to sell water to people in line like 10 minutes before Target opened, and I was just like "they sell water inside."

[Caliban]

Is it hot down there in Florida still to be selling water on the street?

[BranDonk Kong]

BTW, the concept behind Black Friday is actually pretty sound for retailers. It's called Black Friday because retailers are typically "in the red" most of the year, so they try to come out with these ridiculous deals that can put them "in the black" in just one day...and it works. My local Target alone probably sold 50 of those TVs in 5 minutes, that's $20,000 in sales from just one item (profit-wise it probably isn't much in comparison, but it's still pretty decent). This is the first, and probably last, time I've ever done this crap though.

Just saw that question as I was posting - it was warm, but I think she was just banking on people being thirsty from standing in line and talking for 6 hours. I didn't see her sell anything though.

[Caliban]

Ah I see. I was just thinking that if it was as cold as it was/is here, I would feel quite suspicious about such a person selling water.

[BlackNMild2k1]

Target: 160 GB PS3 + Star Wars: Force Unleashed 2 + Prince of Persia: Sands of Time Blu-Ray
Best Buy: 160 GB PS3 + LittleBigPlanet + ModNation Racers + Cars Blu-Ray
Gamestop: 160 GB PS3 + God of War Collection + God of War 3.

Yeah, considering I've already purchased and traded in both of the PS3 God of War discs, I was annoyed to get them again but I did get rid of them to pick up Modern Warfare 2.

Too bad, here is another bundle
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0047ZC19W/ref=oss_product?t=slicinc-20&tag=slicinc-20
PlayStation 3 160 GB Black Friday Bundle w/ Uncharted 2, Pixel Junk Shooter, Karate Kid Blu-Ray, and $25 Video Game Credit - $299

[DAaaMan64]

Am I the only one who notices this?  If you're coming in from outside in the winter you've got a coat on and they really should take that into consideration when setting the temperature for the store.  If the employees are too cold use a sweater as part of the uniform during this time of year.

I remember at Fred Meyer, unless you basically had a doctor's note, you couldn't wear a sweater.

[TJ Spyke]

There are a few changes that need to be made to Black Friday IMO

1. No more line squatting.
If you weren't there to physically wait in the line then you will have to get in line when you get there. There are people that save a place in line for about 40 other people and that just isn't fair for the person that actually sat there for 5hrs in the freezing cold only to have the few items they waited in line for be sold out when they were originally one of the first few people there. About an hour or so before opening the doors, the employees should block line squatting and force those showing up late to move towards the end of the line.

2. Vouchers for the extremely limited items.
If you have advertised an item and you only have a very small amount, then you should step out into the line and offer vouchers out for those items starting with the first few people in line and working your way back. That way the people that have actually sat there waiting can get what they came for and the people that just showed up need not continue to wait.

3. Where are all the Roach Coach/Taco Truck and small restaurant owners?
Small business owners are missing out on some publicity and sales to these people sitting in line for hours on end. They should have their catering truck bounce from line to line offering Hot Cocoa and warm sandwiches along with flyers for their restaurant. It's freezing outside and some people have been there for hours on end and are not only hungry, but very thirsty. Retail doesn't have to be the only industry making a killing on Black Friday.

I would add that items should be limited to 1 per person. It's ridiculous that somebody can go and buy like 4 or 5 of a item that is deeply discounted (I remember one year a woman had like 3 of the exact same TV in her cart) because then somebody who actually showed up might not get the item. I understand that some people might be buying gifts, but why should I get screwed out of getting a TV for like 40% off the normal price because someone else wants to buy several of them?

As for the last suggestion, I think retailers don't want to allow them because it takes away money that could be spent in their store. I do agree it might be a good idea if they reached some kind of deal (like the truck could agree to pay the store a fee plus a percentage of sales in return for letting them be out there to sell food to customers). It might not work at some places like Walmart though, since they are open 24-hours and some even have a McDonald's inside.

[UncleBob]

On the flip side, why should a retailer deny a paying customer a sale for the potential sale to another paying customer?

If I've got a customer here that I *know* wants to buy 40 of an item vs. 39 other people who may or may not come in sometime during the day, why should I deny the first customer and possibly lose money/get stuck with leftovers?