Black Friday

Try looking at the neverpayretail blog (might be neverpayretailagain blog). She has strategies for black Friday for a ton of stores (planning, what the websites are like, whether you can stack coupons). There are also websites that offer previews of many store's black Friday specials.
Good luck,
D.
who will be nowhere near a mall in the freezing cold at 4 am

The only thing that wasn't mentioned was the lack of carts at the stores. I know people who will take their own buggies of sorts with them.

1) Check your sales for all your stores and make a list of what you want. Some adds are already out on line. These are the sites I check:
http://www.dealtaker.com/blackfriday.html
http://www.blackfriday.info/
http://www.theblackfriday.com/
I only get sale ad items to save room in my car on Black Friday. Plus I know I can get my other items either on line or shop later and there is a possibility that they will go on sale in Dec so for me it is worth the wait.

2) Check the times of when things are on sale. Door buster hours change for store to store. Toys R Us has sales at different times and they will restock items to make sure there is product for all sale times. Electronic items, toys, and movies/music usually go pretty quickly so head for those items first.

3) Divide and conquer! Get a buddy or several buddies to shop with you. I usually go with a group of 3 or 4. We will share our lists with each other and divide up the store and pick up items for each other. Sometimes we have one buddy stand in a central location with the cart(s) while everyone else becomes runners. It is a lot easier to get through the crowd without a shopping cart.(Almost a must for shopping at Walmart). Another trick is to have your cart person stand in the check out line while everyone else shops. This is especially helpful for Toys R Us and Target.

4) Only bring with you what you need. I have a very light weight purse that I can wear diagonally across my body with a very small sleeve of a wallet that holds only my credit/debit cards, my drivers license, and cash. I never use checks (takes up too much time). It also holds my paper list with a pen and cell phone. (You can also write your list on your cell phone). This allows me to keep both hands free at all time and I am not trying to lug a heavy purse.

5) Keep a fully charged cell phone with your buddies numbers on quick dial.

6) Make sure your car is empty when you go out to allow room for purchases. Also make sure your car will fit the items you are buying. A 42 inch TV doesn't fit too well in a Honda civic but I have seen people in parking lots trying to make it work.

7) Carpool if you can with your buddies.

8) Dress in layers of clothing. You don't want to be freezing outside in line or boiling once you get into the store. Sometimes we even keep some blankets in the car for a little extra warmth. Also wear something that will stand out so your buddies can find you. I stay away from red, black, dark blues or anything Chistmasy and wear brighter colors like pink or aqua. The guys who come with us will wear baseball hats with some sort of easily noticeable color or design. Don't forget comfortable shoes!!!! I find it hilarious to see women all dolled up at 4 am trying to shop on Black Friday in high heels. You will see them all pretty at first and by the end of the store they are a cranky mess.

9) Keep some snacks and bottled water in the car to refill your energy while you shop.

10) COFFEE, COFFEE, COFFEE, COFFEE, and COFFEE.

Look at black-friday.net
They have all the sale items if the stores "leaked" them already and you can compare toys at Target/Walmart/Toysrus
They also have store hours for Thurs-Fri and what is available online, in store, doorbuster, etc.

If you are interested in shopping online I would wait until Cyber Monday. I still trek out on BF but won't go anywhere near a toy store. I try to use that day to stock up on Christmas supplies (decor, cards, linens...) and gifts for adult family members. Cyber Monday is our day for toy purchases. A lot of stores offer free shipping on CM as an added incentive so you're really not losing anything other than the hassle.

Hope this helps. :-)

If you've never done it, you gotta go at least once. You have to get the ads beforehand and make a game plan. I totally agree with A. L. - bring your patience and sense of humor! Also, keep it in check - you don't want to overspend on things you don't need/want just because it's a good deal. Try to pretty much stick with your plan. And make sure to take the fliers or at least sections of the flyers with you.

I love the energy in the air while shopping on black friday! Especially when all of the shoppers know that we sort of have to be extra polite to each other when it's that crowded. Go in with a sense of humor at the whole situation - makes it better and a lot more fun.

You can browse, but if it's super-crowded, it'll be difficult. Also, if you have any hot-button toys you want, better grab those first. Go in armed with your sale ads, in case you have questions, it makes it easier on you and the sales clerk to get those questions answered if you have a copy of the ad with you.

I suppose it depends on what you are looking for. If it is the hottest item of the year I wouldn't count on getting one.

Be prepared for LONG lines. I believe it was last year that TRU opened at midnight. I went down to the one by us and the line was already wrapped out the door, around the parking lot, through Pizza Hut and Denny's parking lots. Due to occupancy permits they were counting people they let in and weren't letting anyone in until so many had left. When I saw the line I turned around and went home. I did come back and later and was able to get a few of the things I was looking for (not the hot items though). The lines were still very long and wrapped around the store.

I don't believe they have the same deals online or I would have opted for that. You probably want to know what you want ahead of time. Maybe preshop the days before. Most BF ads are leaked online. They might be out there now. Otherwise if you don't have the paper home delivered, buy a Thanksgiving Day paper so that you have your game plan laid out.

I have also been to our Walmart and have seen things get heated over electronics. I have heard of different Walmarts handling things differently (handing out tickets for some of the bigger items like tv's). I'm not sure if ours is doing anything like that. That is another one I went to later in the morning last year.

I guess my best advice is to leave the kids at home! Things do get nasty and the lines are too long for adults let alone the kiddos :-)

I love black friday! Although this year I am doing most of my shopping online and over that whole wknd. Have not seen anything too exciting in the ads yet. You can already see many of the ads online. The first year I shopped on black friday was about 8 or 9 years ago and the first place I went was Toys R Us. NEVER EVER AGAIN will I go there on that day. The line to get in was out the door into the parking lot and most of the "deals" are gone quickly and to be real honest TRU is overpriced anyways and you can probably get the same prices at Wal Mart. If you do go, be prepared- I heard that TRU is opening at 11 pm on Thanksgiving night. I think shopping BF is lots of fun- but nothing is worth the chaos at TRU. I like Target for BF sales, they have lots of good toy deals and they always seem to have a large stock of their sale items.
Good luck and have fun!

blackfriday.info has pretty much all the flyers already. arrive early and expect crowds, but i guess that matters where you are as well. in the chicago suburbs it was crazy the last few years- toysrus was a madhouse but as others said, be flexible and patient. know what you want and grab it first because if it's a great deal and popular item, it will be gone quickly. enjoy!

I think black friday shopping is fun! but you can't be in a hurry. if you can go with someone that can stay with the cart and let you run and get the stuff, thats the best bet. it's horrendous trying to get carts down isles :) and be prepared to wait a long time to check out. Toys r us is especially long in my area anyways. so bring a magazine or smart phone :) Pick which store has the deals you really want and go to that one. And get there when they open if you can cause they'll be gone.

Get the ad and scope out what you want ahead of time. Most of the ad sales are NOT online. they will have some stuff on sale online but the big ticket items will be in store only. If you're looking for online deals, wait until cyber Monday for those.

have fun and just be patient cause it's crazy busy but it's fun!

Do it online and avoid the craziness! They have similar deals online not everything is the same. The sale flyers will say in store only if its only available in the store. Toys R Us has started their 2 day only sales Fri/Sat we got some good deals in there last year before black friday got here.

A lot of the stores do offer their black Friday sales on-line and it will save you the hassle of battling the crowds. I would do some window shopping first as most of the Black Friday ads are out for those to see online. Check out the black Friday website below for the circulars.

http://www.blackfriday2010.com/

VillageMom
www.ittakesavillagedallas.com

Last year we were able to take advantage of the black Friday specials online. They do follow the same time intervals, but it was GREAT. No lines, no pushing, free shipping if you met the purchase minimum. We're planning on doing it again this year. Also got great deals on Amazon black Friday morning. Good luck!

Try Googling "black friday sales" and TRU... somehow my husband putzed around and found a "leaked" sale flyer. I have not patience for the Black Friday thing, but my mom loves to go out on the night of Thanksgiving (while everyone else is in a turkey-coma) and get some of the bigger items for the kiddos. I think TRU is starting their sale at 10:00 the night of Thanksgiving.

We did our TRU shopping last week when they had a mini-sale. We had a game plan... who was getting what and it really helped. We did all of our shopping in the span of a just over an hour and with a list it kept us on-track and on-budget.

Well I don't know how stores will be this year.
When I have done it this is what I did.

Make a list
Go early, when stores open
Take the ads with you.
Grab all the coolest and newest first
Browsing is best done before you do the big buy.
Put your credit card in your pocket or somewhere easier to get to then your purse in a wallet. I have a fanny pack.

Even if you aren't sure of something put it in your buggy. It is easier to decide NO while you have it than to decide YES and it be gone.
I have bought and returned before Christmas too.

Check your big ticket items at all the discount stores first then do the little things at that store. YOur big tickets things will have a diference of $10-$100's of dollars while the little things will only be cents difference or maybe a $1 here and there at the major retailers.

In the past we have taken the kids to Toys R Us and my hubby will walk around with them. I follow with a notebook and write down everything they eyeball. We then go back and check the list out to decide what is really wanted.
Now my girls are 13 and 15 so I can just go to Claire's.

Have fun. I actually like Black Friday but I dont' do the big buy that day. I buy throughout the year now, and what mine want are pretty much always in stock anyway.

Be nice (sounds perfectly obvious, but sometimes isn't on BF).

If you're just there for the experience, get out of the way of the serious shoppers, lol.

There are really some people who have their BF's planned down to the minute - which stores they're going to hit, which aisles, etc Crazy!! Watch out for them!

Have fun!

Every year I have awaken at 4am to hit up stores. Last year seemed like a bust, nothing really good. This year I am skipping, still going shopping just not at the crack of dawn. A lot of stores are having pre sales because if the economy. You can shop online for a lot of the same deals as well. Have a game plan if you are looking to get some of those hard to find toys. If you check online you can see the ads to see what stores you want to hit and what items you want there. Me and a girlfriend do the buddy system when we went, one had the basket, the other ran into crowd to get what we wanted and then we would switch, it has worked wonderfully and you can get around crowds easier if your not pushing a basket around. Hope this helps and happy shopping.

You couldn't pay me enough to go out shopping on Black Friday. The crowds are horrendous. On the first and only time I ever ventured to go shopping on Black Friday, I found that most of the people that I had encountered were rude, inconsiderate and in some case, down right mean. In my opinion, no sale is worth dealing with that. I wait until Cyber Monday and do all my shopping online.

Stores are staying open on Thanksgiving this year and they are also opening earlier on Black Friday so it's not going to be as crazy as years in the past. Stores did that last year also. I went out at 5 am (9 months pregnant) and did not have any issues at all. Toys R Us was not packed at all. And I got all of my Christmas shopping done that day. I think the longest we had to wait in line in 20 mins (that was at Old Navy). I say go do it and have fun! I think it's a blast.

Google "black friday ads" and you will come up with many sites who get copies of the ads scanned to show shoppers ahead of time. Some ads come out late so check it daily. Start comparison shopping if you know specific items you want. Yes, you can shop online but you'll have to hit first thing in the morning and not all things in the store will be online. The big online shopping day is the following Monday called "Cyber Monday", so Google for those sales as well but those aren't as advertised.

Be careful when you're out shopping. If the entrance is packed and rowdy, just avoid that store. Some shoppers can be nasty, others can be just as nice though! Have back up stores and put them in order that you want to visit. Most of all, keep an upbeat attitude, don't be upset if things are snatched up immediately and enjoy the morning! Always have a long list of back ups so you don't walk away totally disappointed. And do leave the kids at home, lol. And if Mom is able to keep up, keep her home as well! There's things in the store that'll be on sale that aren't advertised so go with a mission to search but keep an upbeat attitude and accept disappointment with a smile and move on! Wind down your shopping with a nice lunch! Oh, and dress light. It can hot in stores with lots of people and brisk walking, lol.

K. B
mom to 5 including triplets

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HarrisburgPAChat
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i don't get why ANYONE would do this!!!!!!
:X
khairete
crowd-phobic S.