Black Friday -Disappointment?

I LOVE going out for Black Friday. However, I do not go out the night of Thanksgiving...that is when the diehards seem to go. I get up super early on Friday morning...by that time the folks that have been shopping all night are tired and going home. It is way less chaos that way and way less crowds. I went to about 10 stores yesterday and there was only 1 that I thought was way too crowded.

I don't get much "me" time so I look at this as a fun activity for me to do. I do buy Christmas gifts, but I also buy stuff that we need for the house. For instance I bought a new office chair yesterday because the arm on the one we have broke a while back. I bought a $50 Chistmas centerpiece at Michaels for about $14 given the sale. I bought bras for me since I have some that are literally falling apart. I went to Once Upon a Child and bought some jeans/pants for my son since everything in the store was 40% off from 8-10 a.m.

I was home by 10 a.m. It was fun for me. If it wasn't fun, then I would stop doing it.

I don't usually buy big ticket items on Black Friday...we don't need any TVs :) I also refuse to camp out at Best Buy for a week before a sale...that doesn't make sense to me.

I went shopping-- for groceries. It wasn't too bad.:) Perhaps because many people had gone out beforehand? Who knows. We slept in, took the day slow and easy...

I generally don't do any mall or holiday shopping on this day. I *hate* crowds.

I think the deals are not as good anymore. I went out today, but not until later. I left the house at 10am. I spent 25 dollars and no that wasn't b/c the deal was so good hehe. I really didn't see anything I wanted at a wow me price. Two years ago I got some really good deals on a lot of different things. I'm not seeing sales like that anymore. My daughter and grandfather went out last night for TVs. They left at 7pm and she came home at 12:30am! She did get her TV and for a decent price.

We did go, and it was fine. Totally civil, nobody being silly. The lines were long, but people were really nice. I had heard horror stories, and I wonder if most are even true!! There were items that we already knew we would buy. They happened to be on a steep discount. I would never go, if I weren't specifically going to purchase something.

I was in retail for over 30 years..

I enjoyed Black Fridays with the enthusiastic shoppers. The excitement in the store as we did the count downs for the doors to open. We would take food and keep it in the stock rooms because we would probably have to skip lunch..

But as we mature and really begin to look around at our homes and families.. "Things" are just not that exciting anymore, no matter how cheap they are. We really begin to realize, our time and less stuff is just more important. Things do not hold an importance anymore. The sales do not seem that great. The products not necessary..

I think you may be growing out of the shopping fever.. It is like a maturity.. It will also save you a bundle!.

I've always had to work the day after Thanksgiving. I would rather not waste a day off just to do Black Friday shopping. My days off run March to March so I do have to be careful how I spend them. all the deals I find, I really don't need that item or its not much of a deal. We have 2 big box 27" tvs and a small flat screen that was won at a fundraiser so I don't need those. I don't need any DVD players. These days, I've been really deciding if I need something before I buy it or if its something that I will get tired of pretty quick, I won't waste my money. I can barely stand the grocery so large crowds would definitely irritate me.

I went the last few yrs. with a list but never bought everything on it due to quality of the product,so I would walk the store to see what new items have been brought out.Spent too many hrs. and wasted my time doing it this way so even though I think beforeI buy I make sure & remake sure this is what I want a gifts before purchases.I wanted to go to Kmart last night for a few things but didn't I have coupons for mainly everything I want to purchase right now for others so the savings will be better than the ads for black friday where i'm going and what I plan to purchase

I have never really gotten into black Friday shopping. I might go and pick up towels or something like that but I never buy Christmas gifts on that day. I enjoy thinking about that person and finding something that I know they would enjoy or making something for them. I believe that the intention of the gift is more important than the gift. In this day and age people, even people who have little, have more than they need. I don't want to clutter someones home just to say I got them a gift. Black Friday is about materialism and I don't have a desire to be materialistic. It doesn't make me feel happy. I enjoy finding second hand items to put in my home. I have found I appreciate something old over something new. So much of what is on the market now is trendy and trashy. No one put their best into the creation of it and it all seems disposable. What a waste. I find I get more pleasure from a book than most anything else. I have no desire for a huge TV. I don't even have a desire to watch the little one I have. I don't want a smart phone. I would prefer a personal conversation. I desire substance and black Friday has none. We spent our day hanging out with our kids, going to Mass, and relaxing in front of a fireplace. My Friday was anything but black.

I took my kids last night (8:00 pm). They are not little (14 & 11) and husband was going to bed already for an early shift today. I rarely go (I think I've gone twice in my entire life before this one), and only had one thing I was sort of hoping to get. Not because it was such a hot deal, but b/c I know the stores don't stock many of the exact model of what I wanted, and they listed it as a sale item with a minimum number on hand.
I wanted to kids to get the experience (standing in long lines, lol), and they were excited to be able to say they went, I think. I went back out this morning (not until almost 9:00 a.m.) to pick up a few things for the kids (since they were with me last night, I couldn't buy the one or two things I saw).... they weren't the kinds of things people were standing in lines for. One item was a book. But it is a hard back and was $10 instead of the normal $15 and it is on her wish list.

I also picked up a pair of Sperry that my son wanted (outgrew the last pair) and they were only $50 until noon... normally almost $100. Beyond that, I just "shopped". I did find some nice sales in Aeropostale, and grabbed a shirt for each of the kids, but they weren't anything crazy.... they were like $15 a piece. But then, I rarely shop in Aeropostale, and the "spirit of the season" let me walk in for a look-see.
Got some placemats at BB&B--with a 20% off entire purchase coupon. Usually, I have a stack of them, but you have to use one per ITEM with a limit of 5, and I wanted 6 placements, so I stopped in there just before they stopped handing out the "entire purchase" discount coupon.
It was ok. It usually isn't my thing.
But it was fun having the kids along last night. :)

I love the day after every holiday. All stuff goes on sale.. Then I check back 3 days after to get the 75%off. We do not do holidays... But save lots of money because of them.... Like my husband will not let me buy meat on sale unless it is turkey the day after thanksgiving.. I got turkey $30 today for $15.. I got more then 1.Black Friday. was not that great this year not that much stuff I wanted on sale. Mecca got 5 bratz dolls for $5 each and a 2 ft tall bratz doll for $35 it was her happy day! I was so happy I normally pay between $20 and $40 a doll.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zejXloYJKmY

The only time I've ever gone on Black Friday was to a children's clothing store to buy clothes for my son. I had a coupon, they were having great sales and then I signed up for their credit card and got an additional 20% off, but it was all coincidental. It could have been any day for me. Even without Black Friday, I've gotten to the point that I really don't enjoy shopping like I used to. I love online shopping though - I can search for what exactly I want, sometimes new things come to my attention, and I can read about other people's experiences with the item. I like that I can browse several varieties of an item without driving, parking, buying lunch, walking around all day and then being too tired to do anything else. I can also add an item to my wish list in case I want to think about it or wait until the price comes down. I can create wish lists for each of my family members and send links to them when people ask what one of us wants. Most recently, I even bought my powdered foundation and hairspray online. How awesome is that? If I could grocery shop online, I would, but I do like picking out my fruits and veggies in person. Well, I do buy my coffee online :-).

Well, I'm not the shopper, my husband is, but he didn't go to anything. Amazon now price matches Black Friday ads, if not beats the price sometimes and they have more selection and more items in stock very often.
But, even with that said, there just wasn't much that Wowed us. Electronics were off or not good brands or a few years old models that obviously are taking up room in the warehouse so they're clearing them out. The markdown on things weren't even that good on the things that did catch our eye.
Overall we were both very disapointed. We didn't go into a store yesterday or today. We won't be going in one tomorrow either. Might on Sunday, but only because we need a couple specific items for the house/groceries.
We are waiting to see what Cyber Monday offers. I know that there is one item I am looking forward to for myself that my husband said I could have.
But, all in all, this year has to be the biggest let down.

In my personal opinion....there is nothing I have ever wanted or needed that badly to brave the Black Thursday/Friday hysteria. I would rather work and let my colleagues that want to ruch the stores at all hours of the night and day for something that may or may not already be snatched up. I can get just as good of a deal most of the time if I just buy online anyways.

For some reason we had Black Friday here this year. I think it was to keep people from heading over the border to shop. Ayway, I sent my husband out at 7:00am to get an XBox for the boys for Christmas. He got there when the store opened, got the XBox and came straight home.

I don't go. For me, Friday is time with my boys (8 and 14). We decorate early, before Thanksgiving, so Friday is a very Christmasy day. My husband has to work on Friday, so it's just the three of us. We stay in pajamas all day and spend the day decorating gingerbread cookies, watching Christmas movies, and listening to Christmas music. It's a wonderful, relaxing day with my boys. We've done it for years, and we all enjoy it.

Maybe when they've moved out I'll venture out and shop. I understand the points that some have made for picking up things for the home of for themselves, having some "me" time, but I do most of my Christmas shopping early. I honestly don't think I will ever want to do any Black Friday shopping. The traffic alone will likely keep me home. I do know that many of my friends really enjoy it, though.

I'm a cyber Monday girl.

I didn't go this year (first time in years) because I'm in the middle of packing/moving (movers will empty the house this Tuesday) and the last thing I need is more stuff to pack. But I was a little disappointed that I missed out on the fun. But truthfully, I saw a couple interesting gun sales at an armory but didn't splurge, I did phone my husband and have him purchase a washer and dryer for a pretty good discount since he's already at the house we're moving to....and we're leaving our current washer/dryer here, but otherwise....no, I didn't see anything interesting. Or anything we needed. This year, we don't really want anything specific (we're going to see Santa tomorrow for pictures and a neighbor said "OH? What are you going to ask Santa for?" The kids just looked at her blankly. My 2 year old finally said "Um, Batman?" Usually we at least need pots/pans, sheets, all kinds of stuff as well as finding some neat "just for fun" items, but this year, we didn't need anything and I didn't see anything exciting (products OR prices) in the ads.

Shopping online is just not the same. No thrill of the hunt. No people watching or fun of "the experience". So yeah, today was a bit of a disappointment.

I went last night and this morning. I was quite pleased with the few purchases I made. I braved Walmart and got a Wii uDraw tablet for $10 (normally $30). The store was crowded, but everyone was in good spirits. The checkout didn't take long at all. Afterwards, I went to the grocery store to pick up some $0.99 boxes of Cocoa Pebbles. After my coupons, they were only $0.50 each. I got some good Black Friday deals online too.

Today, I went to Nordstrom Rack and got a nice pair of Ugg boots. And now I'm pretty much done shopping for the winter. I have very few wants and no real needs that aren't being met. So I guess any disappointment I have in looking for good deals is more of a reflection on the fact that my cup runneth over :-)

I do NOT go for Black Friday shopping. I have enough chaos at home, I do not seek it out. I bought a couple fo things online and kind of got better deals because I used Ebates first. And free shipping. Granted there are a few great deals, they will appear again. I have been comparing BF deals with later sales and usually, they show up again. Also, one thing that was "confessed" last year is that the TVs that go for the cheapest for bF are close out items that the mfg will no longer produce once the year is over.

lol i hate being in crowded places,so black friday is a great time for me not to go near any stores. except to buy groceries maybe, I think those stores would be empty.. I think anymore, many stores mark up and then mark down to make it look like you're saving a lot. I do like to shop online, maybe try that? I also like to shop for xmas decorations the days after xmas because everything then is half off, I put the decorations away in January, and then when I take out the stuff I bought after xmas last year, I don't remember what I bought so it's brand new! :)