Do you shop on Black Friday???

[teebee]

I do not... getting up at 4:00am only to thrust myself into the midst of crazed shoppers... oh, the thought makes me shudder!!! Maybe it would be different if I had kids, or even if there were any kids in my family, and I was after a specific toy that might run out? But for the life of me, I can''t imagine any early bird sales being worth the big fat hassle. I mean, I like to shop and spend money, but I HATE crowds, so I try to do most of my shopping online or in the middle of a weekday afternoon if I absolutely must physically go to a store.

So, just out of curiousity - do you like to get out there the day after Thanksgiving? And why????

I used to have a roommate who faithfully hit the stores w/ her mom & aunt - and it was their tradition so I get that... sort of! So, if you''re a black Friday shopper, do you usually save a lot? Are you a morning person?

Oh, by the way, has anyone gotten this year''s Restoration Hardware Friends & Family discount email yet? I can''t remember when I got it last year, and since we''ve moved & I also got rid of an old email address, I''m scared I won''t get it!!! I have a bunch of stuff I''m wanting to order...

 

[Angel7]

NO WAY!

Those shoppers scare me! It''s just not worth it to me! It''s too nuts!
I''d rather go on a less "crazy" day and spend a little more on whatever I was going to purchase. I''d rather sleep in on my day off!

I saw the OLD post for the Restoration Hardware coupon on this shopping Forum, maybe last week or so. Try going back a couple of pages.

Happy Turkey Day everyone!

 

[FireGoddess]

Being originally from NJ, I love my malls and I love holiday shopping...but even still I can''t do the black Friday shopping thing. My sisters do it and they rave about how much money they save, but it''s a little too frenzied for me.

 

[Kaleigh]

No way hose, I sleep in. It''s too crazy for me.

 

[Mara]

I used go with my Mom when I was younger and she drove us to the mall... but now I don''t go at all. I hardly go to the mall regardless. If I go it''s late at night before the stores close when the madness has ceased. OR I have Greg drive me and drop me off so I don''t have to deal with parking (we live about 10 min from the mall)...but I seriously can''t handle all those deal-hungry crowds. I remember some stories from when I was young and my Mom would be fighting over some ornament or something with a woman who REALLY wanted it.

But I do shop online sales, online B&M stores are starting to get more savvy about having black friday sales online as well and I prefer to spend a few hours online surfing my fave sites to see if there are any good new specials. I manage to get a decent amount of Xmas shopping done that way too.

There was a black friday website up recently that had all the specials and circulars that were supposed to be released on friday morning''s paper...all contraband copies of the sales...it was really interesting...nothing I was interested in but there were alot of big stores. Kmart sued the website and got them to take theirs down but alot of others were still up. I will have to see if I can dig out the url, it was in an email.

 

[AndyRosse]

Mara, this is the website I have been checking out: LINK

 

[MichelleCarmen]

I love to shop, but there''s no way in h*ll that I''m even leaving the house on friday! The traffic and rudeness are just too much and I''m not willing to put up with long lines to save a bit of money. My time is more valuable.

 

[pebbles]

I never go shopping on Black Friday, mainly because 1. I always have to work, and 2. I hate shopping!

What I find hilarious is that morning when the news gives the traffic report, they also give the mall parking lot report. No joke! They will have the helicopter live shots of the parking lots and which ones are already full by 6am.

My aunt and cousins do ALL their shopping on Black Friday. They leave the house at 5am and seriously don''t come home until about midnight. They pack power bars and bottled water with them so if they do have to stop to eat, it is a brief meal.

They brag every year about the great deals they get but I think they''re a bit insane.

 

[AChiOAlumna]

When I was younger (teen years), my mother and I would get up real early and get to the malls by 8:00 am, while it was still relatively empty, and go for my birthday gift (which usually was a new wardrobe!). We would finish by about 10:00 am and get out early enough to miss the maniacs that appeared. It was always a great mother/daughter bonding time for us.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Date: 11/23/2005 4:44:46 PM
Author: pebbles
They leave the house at 5am and seriously don''t come home until about midnight. They pack power bars and bottled water with them so if they do have to stop to eat, it is a brief meal.

That sounds totally exhausting. Today on the Radio, there was a recommendation that shoppers bring a sack lunch as it can take up to an hour to get food in the food court.

There was already a mall situation here so that is one of the big reasons I''m avoiding the mall for the next month except to take my kids in for Santa Photos. On Sunday one of the stores in a mall about an hour south of where I live was held up at gunpoint and people were held hostage and I think some were injured too! That mall is one I''d never shop at anyway. I''ve always considered it a scary mall! But, it''s only a matter of time before one of the nice malls has a similar episode so I''m trying to be cautious.

 

[ame]

I sometimes do later in the day. I will be this year as it''s our yearly trip to Dallas and we go to Ulta and now Ikea every time we go. But there is nothing that can wake me up at 4am to get my ass in line at Target or wherever.

 

[MINE!!]

NO WAY!!!!

Way to crazy for me!! I do little shopping anyway and the last thing I will do is fight rude people ont he day after Thanksgiving.. Nope nope nope.

My mother used to go with her sisters every year. They loved to go.. but every year came back in a bad mood.. EVERY YEAR!! LOL!!

 

[monarch64]

Absolutely not, I don''t shop on Black Friday!!! I spent the last 7 Black Fridays working in retail stores, where it is MANDATORY for every employee to work the day after!!! I quit last year the day before Thanksgiving and went to Vegas the day after to celebrate! I cannot tell you how traumatizing it would be for me to shop the day after. It would be the death of me, I swear.
It really disgusts me how people start off the "giving" season of Christmas by standing in really long lines in the dead of night only to stampede inside the store and spend hours shoving and pushing and fighting over electronics and gift wrap! Guess who got smart and is staying open on Thanksgiving day this year? K-Mart! I think it''s pretty funny that they are that desperate to compete with THE OTHER MART that they will force their employees to give up their family time...maybe they just hire temporary employees that day

 

[FireGoddess]

Date: 11/23/2005 5:24:27 PM
Author: monarch64
It really disgusts me how people start off the ''giving'' season of Christmas by standing in really long lines in the dead of night only to stampede inside the store and spend hours shoving and pushing and fighting over electronics and gift wrap!

That is exactly why I don''t go....people fighting with each other over discounted items sucks all the joy out of the holiday season for me!!

 

[Blue824]

I don''t really feel like I''d get a better deal Friday than I''d get in two weeks. Maybe that is just me. I hate heading to the malls any weekend during the holiday season! Too nuts. So bad. At one of the malls I just use the valet because I can''t deal with spending the time looking for spots I''ll never find! Much better things to do with my time than deal with those crowds.

 

[teebee]

Date: 11/23/2005 5:38:28 PM
Author: Blue824
I don''t really feel like I''d get a better deal Friday than I''d get in two weeks. Maybe that is just me. I hate heading to the malls any weekend during the holiday season! Too nuts. So bad. At one of the malls I just use the valet because I can''t deal with spending the time looking for spots I''ll never find! Much better things to do with my time than deal with those crowds.

Blue ~ I think you''re totally right. In fact, there was a news story on just a couple of days ago saying you''re going to be more likely to find better sales in a couple of weeks than this weekend.

Ame ~ I love Ulta!! For some reason, I thought they were everywhere (I tend to think that way living in Oklahoma & just assume that if we''ve got 3 or 4 stores, then they must be everywhere - Starbucks was on every flippin'' corner of the rest of the world before they opened here!). I just spent sooooooooooo much money at Ulta this week...

I think the day after Thanksgiving sales are a lot of hype... Even that roommate I mentioned would come home & show me all of the "great deals" she got - it was all crap!!! I felt sorry for the people in her family receiving those gifts - and I was really turned off by the fact that it seemed her sole motivation was to spend as little $$ as possible. I''m all for saving money, but not just for the sake of saving money. Like, she could have cared less about what she was actually buying as long as it was a "steal", whereas, I like to put a little thought into the gifts that I give and if I can find an item on sale, great, but if not, I''m just happy to find something that the receiver will enjoy, use, and appreciate.

Monarch, I hear ya!! I worked at a mall for seven years at Express... and I avoid the mall at all costs... black Friday really wasn''t too awful - to be honest I''d have preferred working to shopping b/c being so busy made the time fly - but if I''d been working at a toy store or one of the discount retailers I''m sure that would be a completely different story. I think our customers were generally pretty civil & behaved, comparatively.

Unfortunately, it appears that I may have to hit the stores on Friday. I was trying to get out of town (Oklahoma City) to Tulsa (where my family lives, only a couple hours away) early today to do some shopping there, stay the night, then do Thanksgiving & come home tomorrow evening... But, there were a series of complications today & I wasn''t able to leave... So now I''ll have to do my shopping in Tulsa on FRIDAY. Yuck. It''s so weird that Tulsa, which is quite a bit smaller than OKC, has a lot of stores that OKC does not and while most of these stores have e-commerce sites, there are some things I''d like to look at in-person... rats... At least I will not have to go to the mall...

 

[ame]

How on earth Ulta has been passing us by is beyond me, but we have none. We have about a million BeautyFirst stores though. Ulta has slightly better pricing on my hair stuff so if I can stockpile I do. I just love that store. My husband...not so much.

I don''t usually do my Black Friday shopping till late in the day. Most of the earlier shoppers are pooped by about 1pm and are back home and out of my way.

 

[flutterby]

I do not. I work on Michigan Ave and i thought last weekend was bad with white lights, friday is going to be terrible. I dont know why people put themselves through it.

This year there are only two protests planned a fur protest at Fields and an abortion protest at american girl. who woulda thought?

Its going to be a mad house!

 

[crafftygrrl]

Yes,

I know I am nuts, but I am at the mall (Tysons II) by 7 am. I can find a parking spot, shop and be outta there by 10-11 am. It''s the parking that drive''s me nuts. I have found good deals and nice stuff. I won''t go near Tysons 1 however.

 

[strmrdr]

local store used too have a 20% off any item in the store from 7am to 9am.
Id go every year and buy myself a new gun at 20% off.
Was a tradition.

 

[decodelighted]

HA!!!

I love a good sale and have spent many a "Black Friday" at the mall. In fact, last year or the year before I was so crazed by all the ads etc I actually drove down to the mall at 6am just to check out the madness. I didn''t even park or go in. It''s like a spectator sport or something. I didn''t want to "miss" the action.

Well my sweetie is the opposite. He hates hype. He has NEVER been to the mall on Black Friday .. we had a whole discussion about it ... "Over my dead body" blah blah blah ... but HA HA HA

He''s changed his tune. Turns out we need a new fridge and we found the perfect one (weird size specs) at Sears and the salesman tipped us off that on Friday from 6am-11 it will be 20% off. On a $1700 fridge, 20% off is almost $350 bucks ... OR like getting the staineless model at the "white" price. Bet he wishes he''d never said "never"

 

[Kaleigh]

I hate black Friday, but love going the day after Christmas to scoop up all the Christopher Radko ornaments on sale. What is the day after Christmas called, or is it just known as that??

 

[Mara]

See deco but you have a REASON to get up and go out early, I mean saving $350 on something is not nothing!!

I think that I'd get up and go if it was something we really wanted or needed and could get a good $$ off...but if it's just to shop the mall sales...I just can't deal anymore, I guess I am getting old and need my sleep more than good sales..hehehee.

We're eyeing a new entertainment unit at PB and if it was 20% off and we had to get up at FOUR AM to go get the discount, WE SO WOULD!!!! That's a nice pair of diamond hoop earrings in savings there!

 

[AChiOAlumna]

Date: 11/23/2005 6:32:09 PM
Author: ame
How on earth Ulta has been passing us by is beyond me, but we have none. We have about a million BeautyFirst stores though. Ulta has slightly better pricing on my hair stuff so if I can stockpile I do. I just love that store. My husband...not so much.


I don''t usually do my Black Friday shopping till late in the day. Most of the earlier shoppers are pooped by about 1pm and are back home and out of my way.

I love Ulta as well and was esctatic when they opened one up less than a mile from my house!!!

You can go online and take advantage of their sales there at Ulta.com...just an FYI

 

[MissGotRocks]

Oh, to me Black Friday kicks off the shopping and holiday season. I don''t get up at the crack of dawn and go but my daughter (home from college) and I will be there tomorrow morning by 9. I love to see what''s on sale but I really just go for the activity of it all!! We''ve done this the last several years so she can give me some ideas about what she wants. She also helps me pick out things for my 25 year old son. The next big shopping excursion I do is an annual one with my good friend. We go early on a Friday morning and don''t come home until about midnight. That includes lunch, dinner, coffee and dessert along the way. Call me crazy but I just love getting in the mix! It always cracks me up to see all of the people lined up at the food court by 11:00 a.m. - like they haven''t eaten in weeks - didn''t we just gorge ourselves yesterday?

If you are lucky you may find a thing or two you want AND do some shopping for others

! The racks are piled high - people are everywhere - and your feet will hurt like nobody''s business when you get home to eat your turkey sandwich for dinner - oh the life!!!!

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Well, before I said there''s no way I''m going out to the mall, but now it turns a group of us are heading there & eating lunch at a resturant attached to the mall and possible shopping too. This is going to be insane. I wonder how long the wait will be. . .two hours? . . .the bar there serves VERY strong drinks, so I guess endulging in this will make a day of shopping in heels a bit more fun

 

[pebbles]

Is it just me, or are the stores opening earlier and earlier? I used to work at Kmart (don''t laugh!) when I was in high school and on breaks home from college. I remember it opening on Black Friday at 7am. Then the store started opening at 6am, now it''s 5am!!! I wouldn''t be surprised for them to start opening at midnight.

And for us it was mandatory to work not only the day after Thanksgiving, but also on Christmas Eve. The store closed at 6pm on x-mas eve but it was still a long day. My family was always mad about that.

 

[surfrgrl]

I guess I''d fight the crowd if there was something specific someone i was gifting really wanted, and I could get it at a ridiculously low price.

My husband and I find that the most pleasant time to do holiday shopping is the weekend AFTER Thanksgiving (the 1st weekend in Dec.). The stores aren''t that crowded since a lot of people go on Black Friday or Sat/Sun after Thanksgiving. And the last-minute shoppers haven''t started yet!

So, we have made it a tradition to go the first weekend in December and get as much done as possible. When we''re through, we find a Godiva or other chocolate store and celebrate with a few truffles!

 

[MissGotRocks]

OK, as promised I was at the mall today! I arrived about 9:45 - and during the trip over I kept waiting to run into traffic. No dice. Smooth sailing all the way! Parking lot a bit crowded - couldn''t park as close as normal - but no big deal. Mall was crowded but not packed - lines minimal. Got $10 off a $25 or more purchase at Hecht''s and got 15% all purchases at American Eagle (until 12 noon). My daughter and I had lunch at food court - got a table and again minimal line. It was sunny here (metro DC area) today with a high of about 36 degrees. I''m wondering if all the hype surrounding Black Friday has finally driven shoppers away - I left the mall about 4:30 and it still wasn''t too bad - certainly no worse than any other weekend between now and Christmas.

Happy hunting to all during this holiday season

!

 

[Ann]

Date: 11/23/2005 10:04:09 PM
Author: kaleigh
I hate black Friday, but love going the day after Christmas to scoop up all the Christopher Radco ornaments on sale. What is the day after Christmas called, or is it just known as that??

Kaleigh, you can get Radko on sale?? I have never seen them discounted. You lucky thing you! My favorite ornament of his this year was the one that is double sided. I think the name was Santa''s Workshop. I''m giving it to a friend.

I actually did go out today, after the Texas/Aggie game though. It really wasn''t bad, my daughter snagged a great pair of boots.