I Don't DO Black Friday Is It Really Worth All the Hassle? Craziness? Greed?

I want an xbox 360 with kinect as a family gift for the kids and dad. The cheapest bundle I have found is $299. WalMarts Black Friday ad has the exact same bundle for $199 and with it you get a $50 gift card to WalMart. That's essentially a $150 savings. That's $150 saved off of ONE GIFT! That's $150 I can spend on other gifts. I'd say that is worth getting online or going to WalMart at 10 pm the night of Thanksgiving.

You know, I get so annoyed (not at you) at all those people who are like "I REFUSE to shop of Black Friday" or that it's for greedy, aggressive people. I think the media and people like to hype it up (and yeah, that one guy was trampled at Walmart). I believed the hype for so many years and then one year I went. And guess what? It was no different that the week before Christmas except there where some great deals! Actually, I thought it was better than the week before Christmas because so many people where scared off like I had been for so many years. If you don't need anything, then are you saying that you don't buy Christmas presents for anyone?

Worth is in the eye of the beholder. If you think it's worth it, than it is. Sounds like it's just not for you, but if others like it, why do you care?

Again, I don't begrudge anyone a chance to save money. I've gone out on Black Friday for things and found the experience interesting and well worth it. Do I go out every year? No. Do I care if others do? No. More power to them, I say.

I am SO BLOODY OVER these "greed" accusations, I seriously could just spit. My ears are buzzing. Seriously, I've been ignoring and ignoring and ignoring this tripe, but enough is enough.
I do Black Friday (obviously). Evidently, there are moms who do not do Black Friday. Should I sit here at my desk and say they are LAZY? NO, that would be presumptuous, silly, and inaccurate in 90% of the cases, right? That's how I feel about someone sitting there saying Black Friday shoppers are greedy and aggressive. It's really aggravating me. So since there are so many moms who can't figure it out, whether they do it because they're lazy or not, here's the deal. I can't speak for the nation, but I can speak for myself, my mom, and several friends that do it.
We have a budget. Every year, I budget a specific amount. That amount covers, in this order: my children, my husband, my mom, some of my friends' children, some of my friends, and then "miscellanious" people (my son's "friends" in kung fu, awanas, sunday school, and soccer, his riding instructor, his babysitter, my dad who I am not close to, and his daughter who I'm not close to, neighbors and their children, and a family or two that I'll inevitably say "Hey---I bet they could use that" or "Hey---they've had a really bad year, I'm going to bless them"). There's also the charities that we give to: my husband's work does the Coats for Kids thing, and we ALWAYS buy 2 new coats as well as donating the coat my youngest has outgrown from the previous year, there's Toys for Tots which my good friend's husband is heavily involved in so we always do that with the kids, there's the Volunteers in Medicine that we matched our whole holiday budget for them last Thursday. We volunteer our time, work, and goods for the local food pantry. We pick a missionary every year and sponsor them and their kids (be it my friend who runs a family style children's home (15 kids) and their preschool in Tanzania, or the shelter that rescues girls from the sex trade and provides them safety, shelter, and food, educates them and trains them in a vocation in Thailand, or my friend that is currently working to assist the refugees that stuck in no man's land between Myanmar (Burma) and Thailand, or the orphanage I used to work at in Albania....it may be toys, but it may be books or clothes or whatever I'm told to send, plus silly comfort items for my friends like real toilet paper where the hot pink dye doesn't run when wet, or a big jar of peanut butter or whatever). There's also the child we support through Compassion International and we double one payment for a gift for him and they use the extra to give gifts to his siblings. But I have a BUDGET. And things are getting more and more expensive. And I haven't found a full time job. So if I can stand in line for a few hours and save 20, 30, 50, even 75% off of some things to knock off items on my shopping list, then you're darn right I will. Because when the money is gone, the money is gone.
I can stay in my house and watch TV (since dinner is finished and cleaned up by 6:30pm, and my boys go to bed no later than 8:30pm, and my husband goes to bed at 10pm) yeah, we can sit home and watch TV and wind down in the name of "family time". Or I can get ridiculously early while everyone is asleep (noone is eating turkey, noone is wanting to play Scrabble or talk or build a memory at 2am in my house), and I can sit outside in the cold, bundled up and waiting to S T R E T C H out the set amount of money that I am going to spend, whether it be on 5 items, or stretched out to 17 items. The "marketers" and the "big businesses" that you people like to mention: they are going to make a specific amount from me in a given year, whether I buy a couple things here and there during the year, or save up for a sale and get things when they are cheap. It's still the same amount. People have a certain amount of money. Now if the marketers want to compete with EACH OTHER to get my business, well more power to them! Compete away! Hack and slash those prices. I'm all for it. But they aren't fooling us. We know what the price of an average 2 screen DVD player for the car costs on a regular day (129.99-149.99; I've priced it several times throughout the year) and if I can find that same one at 79.99, well, I'll be more than happy to buy it and use my saved money to get something else on the list as well. And if that thing is on sale that helps me get another thing, too.
Also, we've been needing sheets FOREVER. Not something worth camping out for, but it's also not likely to be something that I need to get up in the middle of the night for----it'll be there if I just plan my route right. We've got one set of nice sheets for the guest bed, the boys each have 2 sets of sheets, but the master bed: those sheets are wonderful, BUT they are almost 17 years old. They've worn so thin, that now there's a hole (I keep it on my side, at the foot of the bed, because I'm short). I can pay $120 for those same sheets, or replace them for something cheaper at $99......or I can WAIT and sacrifice a little bit (even though there's a HOLE in my SHEETS) and on Black Friday, I can get a decent 700ct set for $49. I'll get a couple sets, thanks. My son is about big enough to move from the bottom bunk to the top bunk, and we DO have cousins coming at the beginning of the year to stay with us, so we're taking advantage of a sale to get $45 off a twin mattress and there's pillows on sale on Black Friday, also. Let's go ahead and finish up his room since we've been here for nearly 6 months, and get that bunk bed completely done. (Right now the top bunk is stuffed animals and random stuff he doesn't want his little brother playing with. We'll take advantage of these sales and make it 2 beds now, and just pay $30 at Lowes to get a shelf up on his wall for those trophies and "big boy" toys that he doesn't want his little brother breaking).
Now there's also excitement. There's also tradition. My friend Chris (shopping king, lol) and I are looking forward to meeting another friend and shopping this year. We'll have our thermoses filled with hot chocolate, we'll have cinnamon rolls, and little snuggy blankets. We'll play Uno, we'll talk with no interruptions from children, we'll be excited about our "plans" and imagining the fun and excitement when people open the gifts we're getting. About 30 minutes before time to open the doors, one of us will take the blankets, thermoses, cards, etc to the car. By then, everyone surrounding us has met us or at least seen us, so noone is freaking out about "cutting in line". Because we're social. People will meet us. It's almost like "hunting" except.....not killing, lol. We're still providing for our family. And the truth is, I'm a bit of a nerd. I DID do the math my previous years: I got to the store at 3:45am, it opened at 6am. I saved more than $200. On my little part time job, I do not make that much money in 2 hours and 15 minutes!!! I got an Xbox 360 ($75 off) with the game of the moment (Black Ops)for 50% off, and got another game that gave me an additional $10 gift card. Then I got my mom the DVD player (since she doesn't have cable and her player had died) for 40% off. The $13 board games were on a $5 special. And those things combined with the inflatable ball they climb in and roll around the yard in gave me an extra $10 gift card. So, yeah...not only did I get the sale prices, but also gift cards for the diapers I buy there. I was home by brekafast time, hung out with the family, had a nap when they did and caught up on my sleep that way. To me, it was worth it. If I made $100 an hour, it'd be questionable as to whether it was worth it. But financially, it was more than worth it. Now that I've got friends to shop with me again (last year I didn't), it'll be socially worth it as well. It's fun.
And you need to have a little common sense: we're not techies so we don't go after the stuff that would attract the crazies. We don't go to Walmart or places that don't have organization. If it's organized, it's not only safe but also enjoyable. Nice to talk with strangers and just hang out. Sometimes you get lucky and stand by someone that's just hilarious. My first time, about 7 or 8 years ago, Jen and I were behind these other ladies that I really loved. They were all dressed up and had their bells on, they were keeping everyone laughing. There were free gifts at the door for the first 50 people, and everyone just walked quickly in a line and said "Thank you! Merry Christmas!" as they got their gifts. Seemed like everyone knew where they were going as they all split off from there. I was hooked then. Last year I was at Target. I am overweight and had a hurt knee (would I get trampled since I can't run?), so I was a little concerned on how the crowd would behave at a "discount store", but although people moved quickly, noone was shoved, pushed, cussed, etc. (And I WAS getting one of the most wanted items in the store....but it was fine, because it was organized). I'd stay far away from Walmart. What they do there is on purpose, and naughty. Just asking for trouble. But that's their fault, not necessarily the shoppers. We also don't put all our eggs in one basket. We have fun. We hope to get what's on the list (we've had great success and get what we want, but then, we're up EARLY.) but if we don't get it, all is not lost. There's still other stuff on the list.
My husband is actually PROUD of me for being able to do as much as we do with a set amount of money. He says that's like me working a full time job after taxes, childcare, clothes, and time---that I'd have to work full time to bring in what I bring in without working (except pt, from home). But no, we're far from greedy and I seriously take exception to that. And we have fun. And we do enjoy the thrill of the hunt. If you can't understand that, fine. But try to stop the judging from afar.

The only time I went out on a black Friday was because I was planning on buying a DVD player and a store was having a 7-11am only sale on the exact brand I wanted and it was like 50% off what I was planning on spending on it so I bit the bullet and dragged (or is it drug?) myself out of the house to brave the crowd. Was it worth it? Absolutely. Would I do it again? Only if the circumstances warrant it. I refuse to deal with crowds of people unless I'm going to save a ton of money on something I was planning on buying anyhow.

Screw Black Friday, I'm excited about THANKSGIVING tomorrow :)

Sometimes it is, sometimes it's not. I've gone many times and I've skipped it. I don't think it's as big of a deal as some people make it. Just like another poster said, it's much like the week before Christmas.

I got one of the best laptops I've ever had for $150 a few years ago..totally worth getting up a few hours early and going (it was a $1100 laptop). Would I do that for a miniature Santa snow globe? No, I wouldn't. The past couple of years I have gotten some great deals online. And I definitely have my eye on a few big items this year.

I'm with April. :)

I avoid it like the plague. I know people who plan it out like another D-Day invasion and wake up at the crack of dawn and have tried to rope me into joining them, but no thanks. I will happily stay home in the morning, relaxing and enjoying some coffee and pumpkin pie for breakfast. Now stores are trying to push it even further, and be open at 9 pm Thanksgiving night, and expect employees to work those hours instead of spending it with their families. I will not support those businesses with my hard-earned money.

Actually, this Friday morning I'll be taking my daughter to the dentist for her 6 month check-up - it was the only appt slot they had open for the whole month.

It's not for everyone. I am fairly laid back, and I don't stand in lines. If something opens at 4am, I get there at 4 and watch the long line enter, then get out of my car. Most things that I want aren't going to be gone in 10 minutes, so there's no reason to wait in a line for an hour or 2 unless you want a big item like a TV where there's only like 15 of those.

It's worth it to me, I do save money. About 50% on gifts. So if I spend $500 on Christmas instead of $1000, then yes, it's most definitely worth it.

If you are a people watcher, it is worth it. Watch adult women get catty over $4 pajamas, or seeing someone have a meltdown or watch people take things from peoples carts while they're looking at something else. It's all funny.

I'm not going out this year, but when I go to my mom's near St. Louis for Thanksgiving we go (with her, my sister and daughters). It's pleasant. The lines can be annoying, but everyone is in good cheer. It's a fun way to kick off the shopping season. I have noticed that although the lines are long the stores are fully staffed so the lines do move quickly. We don't go for a lot of the doorbusters. It's more a time to be together and get presents we know the others will enjoy.

I just started going with my 2 cousins and mom about 4 years ago. They usually have something that they want to buy, but we just go for the experience. It's fun to go out shopping at midnight or 4am...and in Iowa, it's not that crazy out there. Busy, but not crazy! I'm starting to get a little annoyed that the stores are opening earlier and earlier...pretty soon, places will be open all day on Thanksgiving.

It's just an experience for us!

I am not a part of it........... I think it is crazy.

People are not saving money... they just "think" they are. Businesses know how to make money and make people think they are saving major bucks.

You are so right............ "Marketers dream"

It really depends on what your expectations of the day are. I go shopping with my MIL and SIL. On Thanksgiving evening, after dinner is over and cleaned up, we hang out at the table and peruse the ads. We usually buy 2 newspapers so that it's a little bit easier. We make our lists and discuss the family. We get up at 4 am. There are two stores we go to every year. Once we're done there, we go to a few other stores, or not, it just depends on what we saw in the ads and what we feel like doing. After that we go to breakfast (because it's still only about 9:00 am).

I have fun. It's time with my MIL and SIL without any kids. We go in looking for certain items, but really we just try and take the attitude, "You get what you get and you don't get upset." Most of the stores are pretty well staffed, will help you find what you are looking for and get everyone through the checkout lanes pretty quickly. They know that if they don't do that, you might not come back next year.

Sure, there are some people who take it too far and are just crazy. And it's true that you do hear some pretty wild stories on the news. But for the most part it's just a busy day. I don't know, I just try to have fun!

It really is all about your expectations. There are definitely ways to have fun with it.

Not really! I have gone the past two years, but I think it was just fun for my friend and I. We didnt have a mission. Just wanted to see what it was like and if by chance we caught a deal, then great! It was kinda fun, we went out to breakfast and got a break from the kids. We woke up at like 4am though!!
I wouldnt do it again that early? Nope!
My bestie does want me to go to Target with her tomorrow night at midnight so she can hopefully get a deal on a ipod touch. Since Im a night owl and love Target I agreed to go. I dont have an agenda and probably wont even get anything.
Its more for fun for me than anything!

These are my thoughts.

1. I personally do not shop Black Friday - but do Cyber Monday instead.
My goal is to be done shopping before Dec. 1. I'm actually mostly done already.

2. I feel bad for folks who have to work at 12:00 a.m. Friday.

3. IF I had a circle of family who were into it, and it was part of our THanksgiving tradition, I can see how it could be a fun part of the Thanksgiving weekend. Get up early, have coffee - head out with the girls, get some deals, come home in time for a big breakfast and hang out with family the rest of the day.

Because I've never shopped the deals on Black Friday, I honestly don't know if they are good or not. During the holidays most of us spend money. When we choose to spend it (and where) is up to us... if you don't want to go, stay home and enjoy your day.

J.

I don't do it either. I think it's ridiculous.

Meh....personally I'm not interested.

I think some people "do" it as a tradition or event.

I think a lot of people do it because they are truly struggling financially and think that to have a "nice" Christmas, they've gotta get STUFF--and as much STUFF as humanly possible with the budget they've got.

You're right, it's corporate greed and manipulation at it's finest.

I think some people really feel that the large stores are "rewarding" them with great deals IF they do it when/where/how the corporation dictates. They don't realize that NO O. is giving anything away. They are still making money.

I won't be jerked around like a consumer puppet with strings labeled "Doorbuster," "Early bird," "Coupon," Or "Lowest Prices of the Season"!

We save all year for Christmas. I take my money WHEN it's convenient for me to shop, WHERE it's convenient for me to shop, and HOW it's convenient for me to shop.

I'll take less items of quality over more items (quantity) all day long.

SO, for me, the "deals" and "excitement" isn't worth it.
The hype just doesn't work for me.

It is not worth it to me. I am making a lot of gifts this year.
We're kinda strapped this year, so hubby and I are doing a small gift for each other and calling it good.

A few years ago a store employee was trampled to death during a Black Friday rush. Incredibly tragic that a guy making probably minimum wage would lose his life at the hands of frenzied shoppers. I stay far away from that sort of thing. People who are so desperate for the best cheap deals that they are willing to push and shove people--not my scene. Especially the o-dark-thirty in the morning hours the stores want to open. I'll be sleeping, thanks.

And just to be clear, I'm not saying everyone at those sales is a rabid, crazy or greedy person by any means. But I'm only 4'11.5" and it's hard enough to see around/over everyone as it is. No fun.

I've never done it, other than going out at a more sane hour with my mom to check out sales.

My sister does it every year, more because she works full-time and she like to get most of her shopping done in one stretch.

I think the marketing blitz is extrememly annoying.

I cannot and will not partake in this nightmare! I don't have patience for pushy people that lack consideration and manners. It would just really bring out the worst in me aka "ghetto" in me!

I don't do Black Friday either...pretty much every single Friday after Thanksgiving we drive to the ski hill and ski all day. Yay! Happy Thanksgiving!

not a chance! our tradition is to decorate the house for christmas and get a jump on the baking. The sales aren't worth it to me...but then I hate to shop at any time; I get that some people actually enjoy it :)

The people I know who "do" black friday do it more as an event - or they go to get one specifically great deal. The problme is you have to wait on long lines, there are usually limited numbers of the huge savings items.

My girlfriend and I have an annual tradition now (this will be our 4th year) of going shopping for a full day on that weekend. Once we did black Friday - other times we did Saturday. Somehow it feels like the season when you're out and about in the shopping frenzy. ;o)

But - you would never find me waiting on line at 4 AM... (But then again I usually have Thanksgiving - so I'm passed out cold at 4 AM!!!!

I have gone Black Friday shopping every year for about ten years (I'm in my mid 20's). It began with me securing bikes and dolls for my younger cousins. During college it was just a way to hang out with my older cousins and aunts since I went to an out of state school. Now that I have my own family, I have second-guessed going the last 3 years. However, I always end up going. It is always because my husband and I decide what we want to buy for our son and almost always that item shows up in an ad. I never go for a big ticket item like electronics, but it may be an item of limited supply. I'm never the first in line (maybe like 100), but that usually means I can grab my items while people are fighting over the TV and get to the checkout and out the door. I also go for the pj's. I wasn't go since we are in much warmer weather this season. Then I looked in the ad and saw the big gift we were going for this year for $60 cheaper than normal, and $100 cheaper than online.

They really have improved things over the years. My mom has been in retail since before I was born and for as long as I can remember, she had to work Black Friday. I saw people argue and curse at my mom as she directed a palate of bikes from the stock room to the sales floor. I was a pissed teenager who got in a grown man's face for disrespecting my mom because she wouldn't stop or allow them to pull from the palate. I will never forget that, and she wont either, but she was used to it and didn't let her bother her. Things like that don't happen now that most stores are open so people stand in line with employees around the palate and they give out tickets. If you.don't have a ticket, you just move to the next thing.

I am hoping my item will be on line at the sale price tomorrow. If not, I'll be in line :)

I'm not saying that it's not worth it, I'm just not into it. It is totally worth it if you can get a TV for a few hundred dollars less than it's original value, but I still wouldn't go out to get it... I'd send my boyfriend :P

This year I have to work 9pm to 6am Thursday night, so I'll be right in the middle of all the crazyness!

The first time we did black friday my kids were only about 4 and 5 and 9. so santa was a big deal in our house. my hubby had been layed off for a while and we had a limited amount of money for christmas. so yeah it was a big deal lol.

now fast forward close to twenty years

for the past 5 years we have went over the sale papers on thursday night. we make our list. each kid goes to somewhere different we usually get up about 5am and head out. we grab whatever we are after and meet up for breakfast at about 8am. home for naps and then on to our next thanksgiving weekend event which is either do the tree or do the gingerbread houses. those two things get switched up depending on who has to work and who has the night off etc. but the year we were able to get the boys gameboys for $60 instead of the $120 they were usually going for oh yeah so worth it.

I don't usually go out on black Friday, unless I really need to. I do most of my Christmas shopping on line and have it shipped. I can't stand crowds and/or masses of rude people.

I do not do it either! ...I'm not a shopper, for one. I get VERY anxious when I'm out shopping too long. I'm not into a lot of whats the latest trends and such- mostly because my "new" stuff is what was hot and new over 5 years ago. It is always cheaper, and I'm just perfectly fine with stuff that isn't the latest. The OTHER BIG reason i didn't do it is because I'm doing home-made gifts this year, and I've got a teeny ting budget to work with.

I don't do any of it! The two things I always try to do on the Friday after Thanksgiving are spend time with family and get some exercise, to work off the Thanksgiving meal. I am sort of a fan of doing holiday shopping early in the morning, to avoid the crowds and traffic, but never, ever on "Black Friday." Good for you for avoiding it too!

I will not be hitting the stores either. I actually finished our shopping last week. It's not worth it for me to get up that early, fight my way into a store only to find the items that I would like to get sold out already. I avoid Black Friday, Day After Christmas and Tax Free weekend like the the plague.
To me the savings don't outway the inconvience and hassle. Plus I noticed that Toys R Us had items in the store that were priced higher than the same item on their website so it makes you wonder if you are really saving anything. I think they mark up the items and then "discount" them to the prices they should be inorder to just get you in the door thinking you are going to get a deal.

No! =) We never go! My sis and hubby spend the night with their toy hauler in the parking lot. But we don't do big tadoo's at Christmas. We get our kids some gifts but not very big ones. We got them all bikes at different Christmas's but that's probably the biggest thing we've done. We did go once to Walmart at 4am to get one of our kids a bike for $20 but when we got there, it was busier than Disneyland, no carts, no parking spots, lines a mile long, and the bikes were gone and the shelves were empty and the only thing left was regular priced items. No thanks.. Since we were out and about anyway, we decided to checked out Target. There was a line clear behind the store with police everywhere. We decided to go out to breakfast only to find people waiting in lines there too so we went home, back to bed...LOL This year we're trying to figure out how to get that $399 TV to replace our $1200 one we bought 7 years ago that is breaking...LOL without standing in line at Best Buy. We probably will have to pass on this great sale since there is already a line and we're just not black friday people. But since we need a new TV we're considering it but probably won't do it. Hubby was searching for an hour on how to get this great deal without leaving our home....LOL

I have never had any interest in it. Overall, the deals are not worth it to me & I can comparable prices in the weeks leading up to Christmas and online. A news piece I just saw on TV confirmed my feelings.

I don't need another TV, laptop, phone, e-reader, DVD, etc., etc. just because it's cheap. If you are Christmas shopping & all that, I think it's great that you're so dedicated to getting deals, but there's just no way I am willing to deal with all the bad people that ruin it for the good people.

Omg, I have been thinking the same thing! ! And agree with Rachel! I guess I am just not organized enough or something! I don't have a real answer, just that you're not the only one who thinks this way!
Happy Thanksgiving!

Perhaps you should experience it to really judge for yourself.