Black Friday Stories

[techieMoe]

In the US, the day after Thanksgiving (which is the last Thursday of November) has come to be known as Black Friday. It's a very big shopping day and many stores have insane sales to try and entice you into them. Some folks camp out in front of a store to get this or that special item, and it's general craziness all around.

In the past I've sometimes partaken in this tradition if there was a particular item I really wanted, but this year there wasn't anything worth waiting in line over. I did however drop by a couple of stores later in the day when the majority of the crazy people had shoved off and I did get a few nice deals:

• Batman Begins (DVD) - $3.98 at Target
• Transformers (BluRay) - $9.99 at Best Buy
• Terminator 2 (BluRay) $9.99 at Wal-Mart

As far as Black Friday sales go, I got off cheap only spending $25. The only real snafu I ran into was at our local Best Buy. There was a register set up temporarily at the rear of the store right next to a huge display of movies. I assumed that the register was just there to ease some of the pressure off the front of the store, so I waited in line for about 20 minutes.

When I made it to the front the guy told me this register was only for people who wanted to buy some eMachines computer and that I'd have to wait in line at the front. Needless to say, I was not amused. The line I was in was not marked as being "only for" anything at all. I (and the folks behind me) gave him a piece of our minds.

On my way to the front I called down every employee and manager I could find and expressed my displeasure in no uncertain terms. I have no idea if anything was done, but blessing out half a dozen people did help to defuse my anger somewhat.

The good news was, when I did make it to the front of the store, the line moved quickly. In the grand scheme of things it was a small annoyance compared to Black Fridays past. Did any of you brave the stores over the weekend? Get anything neat? Do tell.

[Thrillhouse]

I ordered a 42" 1080p LCD television online (with free shipping) as an upgrade to my current 42" which is not an LCD or flat panel. Thank God I didn't have to wait in line at any of the stores.

There was the story of the Walmart employee who was trampled to death when the doors keeping the crowds out shattered from the mass of people trying to get in the store before it opened. That is tragic and makes me angry. You have to wonder what drives people to such madness.

Of course, since Black Friday was last week, that makes today Cyber Monday.

[techieMoe]

You have to wonder what drives people to such madness.

Cue Leonidas: "Madness? This is BLACK FRIDAY!!!"

And yes, today is Cyber Monday. I expect there to be significantly less casualties.

[elija]

You have to wonder what drives people to such madness.

Greed. It's the same over here with the January sales.

[techieMoe]

Here's a question my wife posed to me this weekend. What's the UK and/or European equivalent to Wal-Mart? Is it Tesco?

[elija]

I guess the closet would be Asda. They are "part of the Walmart family" which I think means owned by Walmart.

[Freston]

Here's a question my wife posed to me this weekend. What's the UK and/or European equivalent to Wal-Mart? Is it Tesco?

There's no such thing. Not in the Netherlands anyway. No Tesco either.

[techieMoe]

There's no such thing. Not in the Netherlands anyway. No Tesco either.

Interesting. Surely you have large retail stores that sell everything from clothes to food to electronics? Or not?

[questio verum]

"Black Friday"... A well-crafted, vampy little number. Sung by a man who looks like a scruffy middle-aged vampire, and played by a revolving cast of A-listers from NY & LA. Yeah. I know. I'm off track. Give it a decade or two.

As for the traditional american "biggest retail shopping day of the year", I had to work the entire holiday weekend , so I missed it. I heard there were some awesome deals to be had though. They were hawking $299 big screen tv's on the radio, locally. I like to go out on this day just for the crowd-watching. Most of my serious shopping gets done online though.

qv

[Artesia]

On Friday morning, I woke up at 6:30 at a rest stop about 10 miles outside of Flagstaff, AZ. I had pulled in the night before about 8 pm. It was 31 degrees, so I reorganized my truck as best as I could while still in my sleeping bag. The only sound to be heard was the steady rumbling of diesel engines of the truckers parked on the other end of the rest stop. Just before I left, I scooped some snow into my cooler.

Once I got going, I went east to Williams, then north along 64, then 180 into Flagstaff. There was a light dusting of snow on the ground, so I stopped often to take photos. Then I headed up the 89 towards Page, stopping at the volcanic fields for a little while.

I explored Lake Powell because my friends want to take their boat out there next year. Mission accomplished, I headed west along the Alternate-89. The cliffs and mountain ranges along this stretch of road were amazing. Crossing Navajo Bridge was a real treat.

In Fredonia, I picked up the 389, which took me into Utah, where I met up with Interstate 15. Sometime that night, I pulled into Las Vegas and had a quiet evening. I heard that some stores had some sales going on, but I had maps to review, so I didn't worry about those too much.