Author Topic: Black friday shoppers?  (Read 984 times)

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Offline boatsdickson

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Black friday shoppers?
« on: November 23, 2007, 08:38:12 AM »
I planned on adding a few computers to the house this year with all the savings going on today. Got up at 2am to be in line at BestBuy by 3am. At 3am, employees were to give 'doorbuster' tickets for certain specials to whoever was in line. That wouldve got me a nice little desktop for bout 200 bux. Something small but still more power than what Im currently using.  As usual, the line ran the length of the store front, down the side, around a semi trailer, and back to the front. Man, probably 200 hundred people at 3am in 17 degree weather. The tents were set up and plastic was covering people as they slept on the ground. And get this, I watched 3 guys piss in the corner probably 20 feet from the store entrance.

This landscape of people reminded me off two things; a time in my life when I called a frigerator box home, and the time when my brother and I waited on tickets for Paige & Plant. The latter of the two was the best.

I didnt make it in the store the first time. Too many people, too much social anxiety, not enough coffee. Went back about 6am when I could actually get inside to look around and it was still more than I could take. Turns out after talking to a manager that the $200 computer I went to buy and wouldve stood in line at least 3 hours for didnt even come in on the shipment. I would have been pissed, pissed, pissed. BUT, because of that they were offering the higher line cpu s for a little discount. Sounds like a little bait & switch to me. The best I could do for the money was a $750 unit. Nope sorry. The laptop I was also looking for was out of stock, BUT I could go up another model and another $500. Nope sorry. Also, IF they had what I had come to get in the first place, the word was the line to check out was at least 2 more hours. Wow.

I ended up buying a different compaq desktop at the OfficeCrappo for a reasonable price, and also another couple hundred gig of hd space to compensate for our ever growing boob thread, and the laptop will just have to be ordered online. O well.

The questions of all this ramble is this..... Is it really worth it?When I was younger this hubbub was fun but now I have trouble making myself drive to the store. But the mother in law and my lady will make today an 18 hour day and still have a smile on the face when they come home. Without alcohol helping either! Not to say they wont be hammered by midnite but thats a different story I guess. Maybe the holiday shopping means more to the other gender but I see it as a pain. Hows others opinions about these festive times?

"No. We're all our own prisons, we are each all our own wardens and we do our own time. I can't judge anyone else. What other people do is not really my affair unless they approach me with it. Prison's in your mind. Can't you see I'm free"?  Testimonial of Charles Manson

Offline Rushoid

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Re: Black friday shoppers?
« Reply #1 on: November 23, 2007, 08:49:39 AM »
I always try to get my shopping done before Thanksgiving, but it never works out that way.  :-\ I have never shopped on Black Friday and I never will. It just isn't worth the hassle to me. I also shop online whenever I can. If I do have to go out to the stores, I try to stay at the 24-hr stores (Wal-Mart, Meijer, etc.) and go in the wee hours when there's fewer people. I can't stand crowds in general, but during the holidays, people just get downright mean. Kinda warped, huh?  ::)
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Offline Glenn Stauffer

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Re: Black friday shoppers?
« Reply #2 on: November 23, 2007, 06:43:36 PM »
These days, I never go into a store unless it is a hardware store or a sporting goods store or I'm on vacation and my wife drags me into a gift shop or an art shop.  Where I live, we still have plenty of locally owned, small hardware and sporting goods stores and I shop those places except for the things they've given up on and left to Walmart, Home Depot, and the like.  I haven't been to a shopping mall (the big enclosed kind) in about 2-3 years and I don't remember ever going shopping during Thanksgiving weekend.  Christmas shopping happens the last two weeks before the holiday and is mostly done online.

Offline MRieck

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Re: Black friday shoppers?
« Reply #3 on: November 23, 2007, 07:27:43 PM »
These days, I never go into a store unless it is a hardware store or a sporting goods store or I'm on vacation and my wife drags me into a gift shop or an art shop.  Where I live, we still have plenty of locally owned, small hardware and sporting goods stores and I shop those places except for the things they've given up on and left to Walmart, Home Depot, and the like.  I haven't been to a shopping mall (the big enclosed kind) in about 2-3 years and I don't remember ever going shopping during Thanksgiving weekend.  Christmas shopping happens the last two weeks before the holiday and is mostly done online.
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Offline boatsdickson

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Re: Black friday shoppers?
« Reply #4 on: November 23, 2007, 09:11:04 PM »
Quote
Christmas shopping happens the last two weeks before the holiday and is mostly done online.

Im probably behind the times in regards to xmas shopping on line but I can tell this will be the preferred choice in time. I could spend a whole day store to store-ing picking out my baby's laptop or I could do it in one hour while slammin coffee and being enlightened by an old recording of Sam Kinison.

Gift cards are becoming more popular on my shopping. Used to think it was pretty impersonal but as the busy life scatters most of the family, its a growing trend.

Im off to MrCoffee and the Sony site....  8)
"No. We're all our own prisons, we are each all our own wardens and we do our own time. I can't judge anyone else. What other people do is not really my affair unless they approach me with it. Prison's in your mind. Can't you see I'm free"?  Testimonial of Charles Manson

Offline dustyc

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Re: Black friday shoppers?
« Reply #5 on: November 23, 2007, 09:36:50 PM »
Just give cash.  One size fits all.
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johnrtse

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Re: Black friday shoppers?
« Reply #6 on: November 23, 2007, 09:44:15 PM »
As a person on the other end,  I just came off of a 15 hour shift a couple hours ago .  Since I am salaried,  It doesn't matter if I work 8 hours or 24 in a day. I run a Sears Auto Center in Minnesota.

I was kinda suprised this year;  Our best 1 day total $$$ EVER- Even with gas at $3 a gallon.  Snow flurries last night sure didn't hurt business today.

John

Offline malcolmgb

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Re: Black friday shoppers?
« Reply #7 on: November 24, 2007, 09:14:52 AM »
As a person on the other end,  I just came off of a 15 hour shift a couple hours ago .  Since I am salaried,  It doesn't matter if I work 8 hours or 24 in a day. I run a Sears Auto Center in Minnesota.

I was kinda suprised this year;  Our best 1 day total $$$ EVER- Even with gas at $3 a gallon.  Snow flurries last night sure didn't hurt business today.

John

I wondered when Sears would get a mention, one of the places I like to visit when I'm over in the US, I could spend a small fortune there if I had it.
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