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My wife and I have made a tradition of braving the cold and the crazies. We don't always even care about the deals, though we tend to end up getting stuff every year, by and large - we got our 42" LCD on a BF deal, as well as our Eggbox and Rock Band 2, and we usually do most of our Christmas shopping on Black Friday weekend too.

So, anyone else do this as a matter of habit, or have any stories to share from doing it or working in a shop doing it in the past?

My favorite one is around the TV, which is a decent Sharp Aquos. We scanned the ads, and found it on sale for about 45% off at Circuit City (the last year CC was still around, 2008). Since there was a CC about a quarter mile from our apartment, we decided to make it our first stop, so we could sleep in just a bit (meaning, get up at 3:30 instead of 3). When we got to their location, the line was wrapped around two whole sides of the building, so we were really disappointed and gave up. We drove to Sears instead, using their early-opening as a way to get inside the mall and stay warm. While we were there, we happened to overhear that Sears was matching CC's prices on all electronics, plus ten percent off, and they had the TV we wanted in stock. Ten minutes in line there got us our TV for an even better price, and we didn't have to spend a single second out in the cold - clearly the best shopping victory of all time.

We're going home to see our families for the first time in six years this Thanksgiving, so we're giving up the megamalls we got used to living in NY and Boston. That cuts our fun a bit. However, we're definitely planning on hitting some stores for a bunch of home stuff like curtains, bedding, and towels, and I've got my eye on a bunch of Blu-rays and DVDs, and a new wireless N/wired gigabit router (and some gigabit switches if Newegg includes them in their sales).

So, surely someone else gets excited for capitalist excess, right? Share your tales of interest!

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"To create something great, you need the means to make a lot of really bad crap." - Kevin Kelly

Why aren't you shopping AmaCoN?

I'm considering giving it a shot this year. I don't know the area well enough to know exactly where I should go, but I'm thinking either Fry's or Costco could be worth it. It would definitely be nice to be done with Christmas shopping early, and I'm already on my way with that.

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Hey, put the cellphone down for a while
In the night there is something wild
Can you hear it breathing?
And hey, put the laptop down for a while
In the night there is something wild
I feel it, it's leaving me

I'm going...to work. Groan....

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"If art doesn't risk upsetting expectations and challenging its audience, it can only stagnate."

Quote (trismegistus @ 24th November 2010 09:22)

I'm going...to work. Groan....

Oof. In retail?

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Hey, put the cellphone down for a while
In the night there is something wild
Can you hear it breathing?
And hey, put the laptop down for a while
In the night there is something wild
I feel it, it's leaving me

Quote (Neal @ 24th November 2010 12:44)

Oof. In retail?

I know I'm crazy, but I used to volunteer to do open shifts on Black Friday when I worked retail in college. I always got a kick out of watching the people go nuts, it was a lot of fun. Also did wonders for your sales numbers as a salesperson even if you didn't take commission.

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"To create something great, you need the means to make a lot of really bad crap." - Kevin Kelly

Why aren't you shopping AmaCoN?

Funny story: I'm actually opening at my workplace on Black Friday. We're not a retailer, so I won't be dealing with any of that nonsense, but it does mean that I'll be up at around 5:30 or 6 anyways. I'm thinking of going to Best Buy or Wal-Mart just to pick up MGS4, God of War Collection, or Fallout 3 for $10.

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this is a blog mostly about comics and videogames
END SPOILER

Quote (Neal @ 24th November 2010 12:44)

Oof. In retail?

Yup, I work at a bookstore, going in at 5 am. Could be worse, my brother works at Best Buy...don't even want to think what an electronics place is like around then.

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"If art doesn't risk upsetting expectations and challenging its audience, it can only stagnate."

Quote (Rangers51 @ 24th November 2010 17:40)

So, surely someone else gets excited for capitalist excess, right? Share your tales of interest!

I had to look up what Black Friday was. I thought it sounded a lot worse than it actually is. You don't mind talking about Christmas shopping in general? I'm going out early too, this Saturday in fact.

Anyway, capitalist excess, haha. My girlfriend and I have agreed to buy presents and cards from charity shops. I know it sounds dull but it's a bit more Christmassy. Last Christmas I maxed out a credit card and afterwards just felt like a moron. I'm trying not to sound pompous here, I would give expensive presents it's just I'm sick of shelling out money to big faceless companies who seem to thrive off people's insecurities about gift-giving, or that's certainly what happened to me at least. This year they literally tried to sell father's day. My dad called me on the week and said he didn't want anything, I'm glad he saw it the same way.

Something I've noticed is that Eid (Muslim holiday date twice a year) is now being commercialised as much as Christmas. I have friends who say back home in Pakistan they don't give presents or even cards but here they're inclined to do so. It's interesting because it's like seeing what Christmas used to be and how it's changed so much in just a few decades. More than that, the same families celebrate Christmas with presents and cards now too.

Sorry to go off on one. I still love Christmas and as a child it is great to get that Xbox or bike or whatever.

Quote (Rangers51 @ 24th November 2010 17:40)

I know I'm crazy, but I used to volunteer to do open shifts on Black Friday when I worked retail in college. I always got a kick out of watching the people go nuts, it was a lot of fun. Also did wonders for your sales numbers as a salesperson even if you didn't take commission.

I did the same three years ago (I think it was), but on Christmas Eve. I worked in a phone shop with commission and made a small fortune without really trying. And that was in the notorious credit crunch low sales Christmas of years past. I'd probably do it again. You're right it is a surprising amount of fun!

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Scepticism, that dry rot of the intellect, had not left one entire idea in his mind.

Me on the Starcraft.

You couldn't drag me out of the house screaming on Black Friday, even if you told me that, say, FF VII was remade and being released for that one day only. Or is PS3s were 10$. I still would not leave the house.

I definitely don't handle crazy big crowds, though I think my husband mentioned wanting to check out Playstation 3 prices. I'll stay in bed! Traffic gets frustrating enough!

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You're telling me that there's no hope.

I'm telling you you're wrong.

I refuse to wake up that early unless I have to. Plus, I tend to do 90% of my shopping online, so there's little to no reason for me to go out shopping period.

I feel kinda stupid now, but... what IS Black Friday?

Quote (Gigantuar @ 27th November 2010 07:20)

I feel kinda stupid now, but... what IS Black Friday?

Bump for response that would be comically out of date if not for the fact that today is Black Friday this year:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Friday_%28shopping%29

This year, the sales weren't nearly as fun as last year, I thought. That didn't stop us from leaving the baby at home with grandma and grandpa and hitting the shops that opened at midnight. We didn't get anything too exciting this year, as we'd already finished most of our Christmas shopping already. We picked up some cheap clothes, a new teakettle, a set of storage shelves for my basement, and I got a new chair for my office. Tomorrow, we're going to get a new mattress that is $900 off the list price if we can get to the store by 11am.

It's not as fun as TVs and video games, but it makes our house a lot nicer!

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"To create something great, you need the means to make a lot of really bad crap." - Kevin Kelly

Why aren't you shopping AmaCoN?

Quote (laszlow @ 24th November 2010 14:36)

Funny story: I'm actually opening at my workplace on Black Friday. We're not a retailer, so I won't be dealing with any of that nonsense, but it does mean that I'll be up at around 5:30 or 6 anyways. I'm thinking of going to Best Buy or Wal-Mart just to pick up MGS4, God of War Collection, or Fallout 3 for $10.

One year ago, I ended up doing exactly this. I woke up at 4, a few hours before work, hustled over to Wal-Mart and turned right around when I saw the horror of a parking lot. Went a few blocks away to Target, and picked up some gift DVDs, a PS3 game for a friend (he's on this forum, FYI), and one of those aforementioned PS3 games for myself.

This year I didn't go out and get anything. Those $199 42" HDTVs at Best Buy were eye-openers, but I didn't have a good reason to brave it this time.

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this is a blog mostly about comics and videogames
END SPOILER

I went for the first time to Kohl's' midnight opening for Black Friday. It was actually a lot of fun and got about $445 worth of stuff for just slightly less than $200. I had a surprising amount of fun and everyone was civil despite there being a crazy amount of people there. It didn't really seem like there were that many people until I went upstairs...seems there was some sort of comforter sale that drove people up there. I still managed to get a crazily-discounted item for my partner's birthday/Christmas, and that makes it totally worth it for me. I think I'll go again next year, it was fun.

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Hey, put the cellphone down for a while
In the night there is something wild
Can you hear it breathing?
And hey, put the laptop down for a while
In the night there is something wild
I feel it, it's leaving me

I went shopping yesterday to one store: sports authority, to buy a pair of running shoes I have been eying for awhile. I didn't get a great deal on it, but it was a decent price for a Nike pair. And that's all I wanted to get. As long as you avoid popular stores like Walmart, Target, and electronic stores, I feel like black friday doesn't get too crazy.

I don't really understand the need to physically fight somebody for an item in a store, and I never will.

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I say what I wanna say, I play how I wanna play.

I never liked shopping. A few of my friends took off thanksgiving night trying to find the biggest tv that would fit in their apartment (they're kinda odd) turns out they got a nice deal an a 60" plasma. But from what they told me, it wasn't a very good time. I donno, stuff like this just isn't for me.

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"You know that feeling you get when you're on a merry go 'round, and you want to jump off to make the spinning stop, but you know it'll suck when you land? I feel like that all the time"- Keno

"I stab my girl until I fall down"
-Yukari
Do you like Horny Bunnies?

I went to Walmart and got a new cruiser bike for my wife. At first, it was kind of a shock being in such a crowded, bustling area, kind of like jumping into cold water, but after a few minutes, I got used to it. I guess it was easier for me since I only had to worry about one item, and I got to the cash register before the lines got too bad.

I usually try to avoid Black Friday as much as possible, but every year there's usually something I need that can be found really cheap somewhere, so I often end up hitting a store or two. But I wait until later in the day, like in the afternoon or evening. No way am I heading out at some ridiculous hour of the morning (or Thanksgiving night nowadays, apparently) to save a few bucks. If what I want is gone by then, so be it, but I'm never looking to grab any of the popular "doorbuster" items anyway. Like this year, I needed a new camera, so I looked through all the fliers on Thursday and found a good deal, then hit a Target on the way back to LA from Phoenix sometime after lunch. I did actually have to stop at a second Target, since the first had sold out, but the second still had a whole shelf of them. So I picked up a pretty nice Nikon at half price.

A local record store did have a 20% off sale yesterday, so I stopped late last night and grabbed a few things. That was pretty cool.

I've worked a black friday and I've shopped a black friday and now I just do my black friday on amazon.com. Great deals without the hassle. =D

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Chewbekah ^_^

Currently Playing: Final Fantasy XIV: ARR, Attack of the Firday Monsters, Animal Crossing: A New Leaf, Lego City Undercover, Kingdom Hearts 1.5 Remix

Recently Finished: Fire Emblem: Awakening

Favorite Game: Suikoden III

I feel like if you're not going for that One Big Ticket Item, you'll have a good time. If you're going to try to get the 90" TV for $30, it's going to be a problem. When I went to Kohl's, I had a few items on my mind and then just shopped around and had a good time.

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Hey, put the cellphone down for a while
In the night there is something wild
Can you hear it breathing?
And hey, put the laptop down for a while
In the night there is something wild
I feel it, it's leaving me

@Neal: Yeah, that's probably the approach that retailers actually want shoppers to have, rather than the "That One Big Ticket Item" approach that, unfortunately, the Black Friday deal has become synonymous with.

My parents don't like Black Friday shopping much. Well, we do sometimes pick up great (albeit relatively reasonable) deals on big-ticket items, but most of the time when such deals are available at discount retailers like Wal-Mart or KMart, they're out by the time we get there...and that's when it's not even Black Friday, and if we really want the item we drive to another store two towns away or something. But camping out is far too hardcore for any of us, and I know my mom finds it silly and I think it makes me question consumerism in general.

That said, the deals I did pick up over Thanksgiving/Black Friday weekend were over the internet; I bought a few games from the Humble Bundle and on Steam.

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Check the "What games are you playing at the moment?" thread for updates on what I've been playing.

You can find me on the Fediverse! I use Mastodon, where I am @[email protected] ( https://sakurajima.moe/@glennmagusharvey )