Black Friday

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Beerrific

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Anyone braving the malls at 4am Friday to find the deal of the century?

I will not be. I hate shopping in big crowds and I have to plan my day around not being near someone that might talk me into going remotely close to a mall. I might do some online shopping if I find something I can't live without. I really think this day has gotten out of hand...places opening at 3-4am...people getting trampled for a cheap free give-a-ways. There are much better things to do like drinking and watching football.
 
I will be too busy camping (I know I know it is a shame). Just thinking about the mall makes my skin crawl.
 
No freaking way. I don't like going to the mall anytime. I happily avoid all stores the day after Thanksgiving.
 
I would rather spend a few more dollars then fight the crowds. A small price to pay for your sanity.
 
I worked in retail back while I was in school and one year they were giving away Mickey Mouse ornaments and nearly had a scene like that...it was scary. The next year they were doing it again but the store manager gave the ornaments away to the employees that were working that morning at 5am.

Unless you are on commission or something, that is one of the worst days to work too. I always got stuck working a double shift, 5am-10, 7pm-11 or something ridiculous like that. We were not allowed to ask for that day off either.
 
We don't got no stinking malls!

I don't even go to the grocery store on Black Friday.
 
I pretty much hate going out in town from Thanksgiving until after Christmas. Although the holidays are supposed to be a joyful season, full of giving, the rush to get somewhere and get a better deal before someone else seems to bring out the worst in people. People rush through parking lots, honing their bowling skill on pedestrians while trying to find a non-existent parking spot, the stores are crowded, it's just not worth it unless you can shop early in the day when most people are at work.

I remember a few years ago, when a guy almost ran over the boys and myself as we were in a cross-walk at Walmart, and then had the nerve to tell me we shouldn't have been crossing the street.
 
Never heard of Black Friday. Must be a uniquely American thing. Is it just stores staying open late and giving good deals or is there more to it? We have something called midnight madness, but it's more of a local thing than a national phenomenon.
 
Fingers said:
Never heard of Black Friday. Must be a uniquely American thing. Is it just stores staying open late and giving good deals or is there more to it? We have something called midnight madness, but it's more of a local thing than a national phenomenon.

Pretty much, but the stores open early... real early. Also, regularly rational human beings surrender logic and courtesy for rage anger and violence. It brings out the essence of the holidays.
 
I told my wife a few years ago that I would never go shopping again on the friday after Thanksgiving. Just the other day the subject came up and I said that I'd rather do a marathon, three all-grain brews in a day than step foot in a store. Her response was "Only if I can spend whatever I want" Good thing we're catching a plane to Seattle on friday.
 
Fingers said:
Never heard of Black Friday. Must be a uniquely American thing. Is it just stores staying open late and giving good deals or is there more to it? We have something called midnight madness, but it's more of a local thing than a national phenomenon.

It's called such as it's the day (or at least the start of the process) of stores going into the "black" for the year (finally making money). Over the last 10 years or so it's just gotten worse and worse. It's ridiculous and what I blame for my Bah Humbug attitude during the holidays. I worked 6 years in retail. That could be part of it too. :D
 
Ryan_PA said:
Pretty much, but the stores open early... real early. Also, regularly rational human beings surrender logic and courtesy for rage anger and violence. It brings out the essence of the holidays.

Here the stores don't open early they just stay open really late that one night and at certain hours they offer their deals. I can recall buying an air filter for my car once at midnight. It usually sold for almost $50 and they sold it to me for under $10. I could never be bothered to go to any of the really big stores for their sales though.
 
i wish they'd tear the frikkin mall down by my town, and replant the trees that used to be there.

luckily i never do the giftmas thing, and folks don't really expect me to these days. i already got the kid a few toys months ago for giftmas, and the wife and i don't exchange gifts, so i'm clear.
 
I've sworn for years that I would buy nothing on Black Friday. The blatant celebration of our societal drive to consume sickens me.

But... the LHBS doesn't open until Friday, and I really want to brew!
 
Evan! said:
Check it out.

I'm really tempted. Normally I keep as far away from that mess as I possibly can, but $170 for a Garmin Nuvi or $1299 for a 46" 1080P LCD is just...sick.

damn! you stole my thunder!!

PEOPLE. Many major retailers (Sears, Walmart, OfficeDepot, etc) will have BlackFriday special ONLINE.. So no need to get out of the house to take advantage of the deals. They don't want crowds in the store, they want the money in the crowd.

I did half my xmas shopping in oct (two little girls and a wife), the other half was done two weeks ago and is on layaway (i don't have a place to keep all their **** without them seeing it). I'll probably grab a few more goodies at the start of December. I don't mind the mall, the ladies are fly.
 
I never go out to the stores on Black friday...well except for last when a couple friends dragged me along. The check out line at best buy was worse than a line for a ride at Disney. It snaked in and out of the isles around half of the store :mad: People who reached the front of the line said they had been waiting for over an hour. Why deal with all that? Im just planning on brewing friday :mug:
 
I've been out on Black Friday before and have snagged some really sweet deals. I usually walk in about 10 minutes after they open and if there's still an item I want I grabit otherwise I refuse to stand in line for hours just to possibly get an item thats only fairly discounted. The only exception is that last year I did stand in 2 lines hoping to get my hands on a wii. If you're crazy enough to stand in the freezing cold for over an hour just to get in the door, then stand in line to check out for another hour just to save a few bucks, I say more power to ya! This year I'm staying home and working on my brew rig.
 
I'm brewing Friday too. This isn't being prejudice but living 45 minutes from the border Black Friday not only includes pyscho Americans but also 50,000+ that come up from Mexico that No hablo inglés for the event.
 
We were driving out to a family member's house today and drove by a Best Buy. I joked to SWMBO "Hey, look at the guys camped out at Best Buy," before we could see the front. There were actually two guys in lawn chairs waiting in line. This was at 11:30am this morning. We passes by again tonight around 8pm and the line had grown substantially, there were a few tents in line, and a camper in the parking lot. If your gonna do it, why not make it a party?
 
I hate shopping even on a regular day, no way tomorrow.
All the office girls were buzzing about the sales so I looked up 4 random items on the front of walmarts sale section in the paper and compared to the normal everyday price on thier website.
Rolling tool chest. sale price $51.00 Regular price $52.39
7.2 Megapixel Sony digital camera sale $77.88 Regular price $77.88 :confused:
Brother sewing machine Sale $54.00 Regular price $55.00
And one panasonic 42" plasma tv but they do not normal stocked item so nothing to compare it to.

The bottom line was they didnt care they were off to shop at 5:00 Am tomorrow.
 
Two malls here opened at 12:01am.

We drove by a BestBuy last night at 10:30pm. It looked like tent-city. And WalMart's parking lot looked 1/2 full. And it was freaking 20F last night.

Idiots.

As for me, my daughter just happened to come down with a cold yesterday. Poor me, I have to stay home with her all day long. I also, coincidentally, have Monday off as part of my regular work schedule.

Can you say, "5-day weekend?"
 
Well I'm usually the last mf'er you'd see in line outside a circuit city at 4am, but there I was. We got there at 4 and the line was already around the front and side of the building, almost to the rear loading dock. Whaaaaat?:eek:

But we put on our coats and got in line, hoping that most of the fools in front of us were there for the el-cheapo $299 laptops. Me, I was in the market for a new TV. LCD. HD. And CC had a 42" Sharp Aquos for $799, normally $1,799. The store opened at 5 and we had to get in another line inside for the TV's. Never having gotten within 50 miles of a store on Black Friday before, I was really impressed at how organized CC was. They had special sheets for us that they handed us when we got into the TV line, and they marked the one we wanted so there was no confusion when we got to the register.

All in all, it was 2 hours spent in line for $1000 in savings. Worth it. We got one of the last ones. But now I know why they call it "Black Friday". A true "black" mark on our culture. Feels good to have gotten such a great deal, but I also feel sort of, um, dirty for having participated. Oh well. HDMI, here I come...
 
Trencher said:
I've sworn for years that I would buy nothing on Black Friday. The blatant celebration of our societal drive to consume sickens me.

But... the LHBS doesn't open until Friday, and I really want to brew!

I feel pretty much the same way. The whole thing seems so asanine. I had to go to the hardware store to buy a few strands of lights because we decorate the house for Christmas today, but I refuse to do any real shopping.

Come to think of it, I really don't do ANY Christmas shopping except getting something for SWMBO and that's been done for a couple of weeks
 
Evan! said:
Well I'm usually the last mf'er you'd see in line outside a circuit city at 4am, but there I was. We got there at 4 and the line was already around the front and side of the building, almost to the rear loading dock. Whaaaaat?:eek:

But we put on our coats and got in line, hoping that most of the fools in front of us were there for the el-cheapo $299 laptops. Me, I was in the market for a new TV. LCD. HD. And CC had a 42" Sharp Aquos for $799, normally $1,799. The store opened at 5 and we had to get in another line inside for the TV's. Never having gotten within 50 miles of a store on Black Friday before, I was really impressed at how organized CC was. They had special sheets for us that they handed us when we got into the TV line, and they marked the one we wanted so there was no confusion when we got to the register.

All in all, it was 2 hours spent in line for $1000 in savings. Worth it. We got one of the last ones. But now I know why they call it "Black Friday". A true "black" mark on our culture. Feels good to have gotten such a great deal, but I also feel sort of, um, dirty for having participated. Oh well. HDMI, here I come...

I bet you feel dirty, in a good way. Heh.. **** I would have caved in on my morals for that deal too..
 
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