Author Topic: Black Friday  (Read 6816 times)

DocCyane

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Black Friday
« on: November 18, 2012, 08:14:54 PM »
I'm assuming Mustacheans will not be participating in Black Friday sales, but rather enjoying "Buy Nothing" Day. Like most of our days.

My sweetie and I commented that we will likely be unable to enter any store other than a grocery store for the remainder of the year. We just can't stand the crowds.

Will

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Re: Black Friday
« Reply #1 on: November 18, 2012, 08:29:58 PM »
I have no plans to buy anything, but if something I've been wanting (and have budgeted for) or need goes on sale for that day, I just might.  One thing I can say for sure is that I definitely will NOT be doing any shopping on Thanksgiving Day itself, as taking hourly employees away from their families to make them work is just too much.

Paul der Krake

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Re: Black Friday
« Reply #2 on: November 18, 2012, 10:11:54 PM »
I'm actually hoping to get good deals on clothes... less frenzy than electronics and no need to wake up at 4am. I'd wait until the new year's sales but it's getting cold and I could use some winter socks/shoes.

caligulala

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Re: Black Friday
« Reply #3 on: November 19, 2012, 06:08:18 AM »
We'll be checking to see what's going on with Land's End since my husband picked out the new coat he wants a couple months ago. Might check amazon to see if there are any crazy deals on train sets. Doubtful that we'll be lured into any physical stores. It's just too nuts!

Another Reader

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Re: Black Friday
« Reply #4 on: November 19, 2012, 12:56:13 PM »
Had to make a trip to Home Depot this morning.  Across the parking lot, there were already tents in front of Best Buy.  Came home and checked the Best Buy Black Friday ad, which apparently had been released.  Ummmm....to save $200 on a $379 television?  Maybe if they were offering houses for half off....but a television?

liquidbanana

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Re: Black Friday
« Reply #5 on: November 19, 2012, 02:46:07 PM »
I've always celebrated buy nothing day. I will do the same this year. But I possibly would participate in this horrid example of America if I needed a new computer and there was a really good deal on one I liked. It would have to be an amazing price though. I hate stores even when they are not crowded with crazy hoards of people trying to kill each other.

Melissa

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Re: Black Friday
« Reply #6 on: November 19, 2012, 03:05:07 PM »
Both of my brothers are in nursing and have to work on Thanksgiving so we are celebrating our holiday on Friday so we will be avoiding all the shopping.

I haven't gone shopping on Black Friday for at least 15 years.  People are impatient on any other day of the year, so I can't imagine how short tempers are on Friday.

jwystup

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Re: Black Friday
« Reply #7 on: November 19, 2012, 05:02:17 PM »
Agreed, I've never gone to a store for black friday. Online deals can be decent though. Newegg has had some good ones if you're in the market for electronics/computer pieces. I got a 1-TB seagate hard drive for $50, that's hard to beat. I was thinking about it for our little media server I'm building - I'm building in some DVR capabilities to appease the cable monster in my house, oh and I got the basic machine itself for free from my aunt!

They also had some decent over-the-ear headphones for $13, and boyfriend has been hoping for some nice headphones like that for christmas anyways. They aren't bose, but they'll be pretty nice. Both of these deals were on the same day and at least the hard drive sold out by 3pm that day. That's as crazy as I get for "black friday".

Oh, and I heard recently that the name "black friday" refers to this being the weekend that big stores get their numbers "in the black". This disturbed me a little and makes me want to purchase things even less!

BPA

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Re: Black Friday
« Reply #8 on: November 23, 2012, 06:53:33 AM »
I just bought my son's Christmas presents online.  I got good deals and stayed within my budget: $150.  In the interests of frugality, all but one of his presents were cleared with him first.  He'll have one small surprise present.  I did feel encouraged that I know him well enough that everything I chose for him was something he wanted.  When the kids were younger, and I overspent, I frequently bought stuff they weren't too crazy about.  That was a waste of money.

He is 14 and sometimes complains that in our "middle class" neighbourhood, other kids get video games as soon as they come out.  About Black OPs 2, I heard an indignant, "Half the kids in school already have it and I have to wait for Christmas!" 

Today he got excited: "You just got Halo 4 $20 cheaper than Friend x who bought it when it came out a couple of weeks ago!" 

:)

Before he was a teenager, I found that he embraced my frugal ways.  Now I'm glad at the times when he remembers that frugality and delayed gratification are good things.  The rest of the time I roll my eyes at how hard done by he is.

Paul der Krake

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Re: Black Friday
« Reply #9 on: November 23, 2012, 02:00:17 PM »
@BPA: Has your son ever tried older (like, pre-2000) video games? They are ridiculously addictive and 10 games can be purchased for the price of one modern game.

Hamster

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Re: Black Friday
« Reply #10 on: November 23, 2012, 07:19:44 PM »
Went to REI today because it was 50% off all REI brand outerwear, and my wife has been very interested in getting a new light insulating layer for a while.

Neither of us could justify buying anything new, even with the discount.

In the end, it just turned out to be a good exercise in self-discipline. That said, we did drive to the store and had our first lunch out with the kids in a month. Nothing like a bowl of Pho on a cold rainy day...

I will still probably pull the trigger on new a bike headlamp, but not today. My old handlebar mount light is dying a slow death, and I'm amazed at how much cheaper they've gotten for >300 lumens in the past 3-4 years. I do a lot of night riding home from work, so I consider a bright handlebar light paired with a bright helmet light worth it for safety
« Last Edit: November 24, 2012, 01:06:11 AM by Hamster »

meadow lark

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Re: Black Friday
« Reply #11 on: November 23, 2012, 07:29:07 PM »
Dropped and destroyed my laptop a month ago.  Ventured out last night to Walmart to buy an Ipad2.  $399 (regular price) that came with a $75 gift card to WM.  I think it was worth it.  We did drive 20 miles to a WM in a small town near us.  Everyone was polite, plenty of employees to help us, easy parking, about as many shoppers as the WM by us has on a Wednesday afternoon.  yeah, I'll wait in line for an hour and drive 40 miles round trip to save $75.

okits

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Re: Black Friday
« Reply #12 on: November 24, 2012, 12:14:16 AM »
Bought shoes (50% off) online. Same shoes as the pair I've worn all year: walkable, comfortable, presentable.  Pretty much wear them everywhere: office, traveling, hanging with friends. 

My partner went to an actual store to buy things family members requested for Christmas, at 50-75% off. Not a madhouse in the middle of the day, and I'm pleased we got stuff we were going to buy anyway on sale.

Agree completely on crowds being unbearable. 

dahlink

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Re: Black Friday
« Reply #13 on: November 24, 2012, 01:45:00 AM »
Black friday turns people into vultures around a pallet of goods waiting for the sale to begin.  It's really disgusting.  I like to look for deals too but will only be doing online deals.  From a consumer stand point I think its much better as well as safer.  Online you can find those crazy deals from multiple retailers and have a better chance finding one for something that you desire or need.  If your at target for $2 waffle makers, you aren't going to be able to hit other stores. 

What really makes me mad is that these brick and mortar stores encourage this behavior.  It's like they want to entice a riot and get people injured or killed.  They are creating an unsafe environment for everyone, customers and employees alike.

I must confess that I did buy somethings online today.  But they were sooo cheap and things that I was looking for anyways.  Other then that I did nothing but babysit the puppy.

BPA

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Re: Black Friday
« Reply #14 on: November 24, 2012, 06:09:24 AM »
@BPA: Has your son ever tried older (like, pre-2000) video games? They are ridiculously addictive and 10 games can be purchased for the price of one modern game.
Paul:  When he was younger,  he loved those.  Now that he's a teenager and his friends play xbox live, he wants to stay current with the games they play.  He still loves the second hand electronics store though.
« Last Edit: November 24, 2012, 06:11:52 AM by BPA »

sheepstache

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Re: Black Friday
« Reply #15 on: November 24, 2012, 10:22:28 AM »
ING has a few black friday deals so I signed up for the checking account for the $125 bonus. 

Edit to add that it's good for the whole weekend.
« Last Edit: November 24, 2012, 09:24:38 PM by sheepstache »

Sparky

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Re: Black Friday
« Reply #16 on: November 24, 2012, 08:51:00 PM »
I didn't wander into any stores on Black Friday, but I did do some shopping and managed to get myself yet another digital camera for what I felt was a good price. It is a Canon S100, and photography being my primary interest, it will get used probably to the point of wearing out.

Worsted Skeins

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Re: Black Friday
« Reply #17 on: November 25, 2012, 11:48:05 AM »
While I prefer not to spend money on Black Friday period, my husband did venture out to the hardware store for replacement gaskets for the kitchen faucet.  Spending money for a DYI repair?  I guess that is OK...

grantmeaname

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Re: Black Friday
« Reply #18 on: November 28, 2012, 03:08:07 PM »
What really makes me mad is that these brick and mortar stores encourage this behavior.  It's like they want to entice a riot and get people injured or killed.  They are creating an unsafe environment for everyone, customers and employees alike.

Right. Literally more than one person is injured every single year out of the mere millions who participate in the event. What a treacherous, deadly celebration.

kolorado

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Re: Black Friday
« Reply #19 on: November 29, 2012, 09:32:23 AM »
I've been out on BF only a handful of times in my life. My very first experience was in my early 20's with my new sis-in-law. We had fun buying cheap clothes and laughing at the overly tense shoppers. We actually saw two women screaming at each other over $10 leather gloves. :O Last year's experience was actually wonderful. I went out about 10 in the morning after my hubby had made his early morning jaunt(he absolutely loves the chaos and excitement of it all), walked into a major store from a nearly empty parking lot and immediately found what I was looking for. Several others were also waiting at the same spot for the same item and we all chatted happily for 10 minutes while the store associates brought our things out. I paid and was out of there and home in 20 minutes. I was prepared to brave a bit of chaos to save 60% on that trampoline for the kids but was very happy to have avoided it.
This year we didn't shop at all. We were looking to replace my stolen laptop but the deals did not seem good enough to go out or even go online, and especially not on Thanksgiving Day. How ridiculous that is! We did start shopping late Sunday night(beginning of Cyber Monday on the East Coast). I'm pretty sure my husband found a good deal on a laptop because a large box arrived yesterday. :)

Captain and Mrs Slow

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Re: Black Friday
« Reply #20 on: November 29, 2012, 09:43:29 AM »
My problem is that Amazon, every day is Black Friday. Check my CC statement one month and found like 10 charges for Amazon :(:(:(:(:(:(

I'm still trying to figure how best to handle Amazon, they simply have the best deals.

Edit: need to mark each amazon order under the relevant budget heading so as not to go over budget
« Last Edit: November 29, 2012, 10:09:34 AM by Captain and Mrs Slow »