vkimo wrote :

Black Friday is usually a scam, especially at Wal-Mart. They'll offer a Samsung 42" LCD for like $200 but if you do your research, that model is found nowhere online because Samsung made a special batch of cheap TVs especially for the event.
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I figured much of what was out there on Black Friday was likely that type product. There are some good deals, but they are few and far between.

I've been Black Friday shopping twice in my life.The first time was at Sears, circa 1988. On Thanksgiving night, they showed E.T. on TV. During the commercials they said "go to Sears tomorrow and buy E.T. on home video for only $7.99!" My mom was real excited. We got up early and went to Sears. There was hardly anybody there and we picked up our VHS tape from a big pile that was not surrounded by a flailing mob, or anybody at all.

The second time was about 8 years ago. I had nothing to do, nowhere to go, and no one to be with on Thanksgiving. I decided to go to Target on Black Friday for the heck of it and see if I could score a good deal on anything. There was nothing very exciting, and a distinct lack of throngs of people. I bought The Muppet Show first season DVD set for something like $15 and went home.

I see no point either, but last year we found ourselves needing groceries so I made a late day Walmart run. In all honesty I had completely forgotten it was Black Friday. So did everyone else apparently as the store was dead and I was able to pick up our groceries and a bunch of series dvd sets for less than thirty dollars. Not a bad haul. 

I wonder if the difference is regional. Do some parts of the country have mobs more than others? Where do people see people getting stepped on and all that?

My Sears story was in northern New Jersey. My Target story was in Chicago.

I've wondered the same thing. When I lived in Boston a few years ago there were always Black Friday horror stories, but upstate NY seems dead. it could also be that more and more people are holding off until Cyber Monday.

I think the stores clear out pretty quickly later in the day, as most of the sales are those "door busters" that require people to get their at like midnight or 5 am.  

I've also found myself out later in the day on Black Friday and  found the same thing: stores are dead.  

Here in the Bay Area we get the crowds.

My brother in law and nephew went out and we actually saw them on TV as the news reported the chaos. I went once that I can recall. It was around 2004ish at a Circuit City, bought a few DVDs and that was it.

I had to work one year on Black Friday, but we were doing a bath remodel. I got there and it was 7:30 and the homeowner was like we don't want you here today, go home! It was early and I remember Toys R Us was having the GBA Micro on sale for like $30 dollars, I drove by it and decided it wasn't worth it. Kind of regret not getting one though.

I just don't see the appeal anymore. My smartphone covers pretty much everything I'd want in terms of electronics. I see some cool deals on Amazon but then I'm just buying stuff because its priced good and not because I need it.

Yeah, I think it's correct that up in to the afternoon, things start clearing up. People go out really early in the morning if they're die hard Black Friday folk.

You'd have to be nuts to go out early in the morning. Are the deals that important?

thecrow174 wrote :

You'd have to be nuts to go out early in the morning. Are the deals that important?
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To some, yes. But I think it's less about the deals, and more about feeling like your a part of something big and crazy. Some people get a rush out of just being out there amongst the chaos.