Are You Ready for Black Friday?
After a full day of eating turkey, the last thing I want to do is stand outside in the cold with a long line of people who are all waiting for the chance to fight off other shoppers just to grab the last hot deal on a store shelf.
That just doesn't sound like a whole lot of fun to me.
But for others, like my dear 21-year-old nephew and his girlfriend, it's the best thing in the world. Last year, those crazy kids snagged GPS systems and some other sweet deals after braving 32 degree weather standing in line from 2 a.m. to 6 a.m.
This year, they're making plans to do it again, which got us thinking here that with a little planning on both our parts, some guidance on deals from our end, and some tips from everyone in Twitterland, we want to be your local go-to shopping assistant for Black Friday.
Why start now when Black Friday is more than a week away? Pshaw, my friends. Take Marty Katz's advice in the New York Times yesterday, shopping on Black Friday requires a strategy session. My nephew and his girlfriend did research online to compare prices, they hunted out the best stores for what they were looking for, chose a place, went early, took turns waiting in line while the other one warmed up in the car, and then when they finally got into the store, he got in line with a few items while his girlfriend grabbed the rest of their goodies.
Some people use phones to keep tabs with someone at home to price-check items. Some grab their goods and head to a not-so-popular part of a store to check-out so they can avoid the long lines. Others shop online.
What we want to know is how you plan on preparing or not preparing for Black Friday. Every day, we'll try to post deals, tips, advice on the shopping season to lead you up to the big day. By joining forces with our online compatriots, we'll have a features Holiday Shopping page where you can read all the stories that Andrea Walker, our wonderful retail reporter extraordinaire has been writing about holiday shopping.
We'll also post a list of planned opening times for local stores, and this is the cool part, tech whiz Gus is setting up a Twitter widget so that you can talk in real time about what your plans are, what deals your finding, which sites are you using most often to plan your shopping. We're hoping on the big day, you'll let us know through Twitter where you are and what you're seeing out there.
Just in case you think we're all fluff and no stuff, Andrea and Hanah Cho will also analyze how the big day went and let you know whether the crowd met or fell below expectations. They'll tell you how this will affect retailers and the economy.
So whether you plan on braving the cold, shopping from your home, or just observing all this wackiness from afar, tune in here and tell us what you're thinking. We've got a lot of fun things planned.
(Sun Photographer Jed Kirschbaum)
Comments
Don't buy into the hype. Just tell family/friends you're not exchanging gifts so there's no guilt. This holiday shouldn't be about spending your bank account on "stuff".
DD: Don, I know this is practically blasphemy for a consumer columnist to say, but I sort of agree with you. On a personal level, I don't do it. But, for readers, I know a lot of people get into it so we want to help you plan and save as much as possible.
Posted by: Don | November 20, 2008 3:30 PM
Having work in retail for over 10 years in these big box chains, I kind of look at these promos as like playing the lottery. Ask yourself, do I really want to wait in line for 4 hours to save like $25 or $50 on 1 or 2 items. Chances are you will endure very long chaotic lines to fight to get 1 of 10 units of the "promo" item. Is your time worth that? Last year I agreed to wait in line to buy a $20 item for $10. Was this really worth getting up at 5am and waiting in line for 2 hours, probably no.
DD: Yea Mike, I'm gonna have to agree with you. No way could you drag me out of bed to save $10!
Posted by: mike | November 20, 2008 4:49 PM
Why waste your time going out black friday? There's plenty of awesome unadvertised deals on the major retailer websites on Thanksgiving Day.
Steve, that's good advice --- that's what we recommended in this post about Black Friday shopping tips and strategies. But you should still do your research and compare prices elsewhere before you click "proceed to checkout!" --- lfk
Posted by: Steve | November 20, 2008 6:55 PM
Instead of waiting in-line to buy gifts to exchange why not do something special for someone else.in need.
We are donating thanksgiving dinner to a family in Edgewood that could not do so for themselves. I hope to make their holiday a little bit more special.
The holidays shouldn't be about spending money but more about family, friends, and helping others.
Tri, that's really the kind of holiday custom that should be promoted, unlike the kind advertised by Best Buy! We talked about less materialistic day-after-Thanksgiving traditions in an earlier post. --- lfk.
DD: This is my baby bro! He's a thoughtful, handsome devil.
Posted by: Tri | November 20, 2008 7:11 PM