What can I expect on Black Friday?

[gacomeau1]

I'm a regular cross-border shopper, but I've never experienced Black Friday. My wife and I plan on going this year.

Are the black Friday deals only on sale for that one day, or will the sales extend into Saturday? Also, for those who have past experience, are the crazy prices very limited in terms of stock? That is, if I go Friday after work, will I still be able to find some sale items? I'm not looking for anything in particular, so it's not like I want to get there super early for one specific item.

[kcorscadden]

Unless you are shopping online, I wouldn't even bother.

To answer your questions:

It is only on Friday that the bulk of the stuff is on sale. There may be stuff on sale Sat and Sun, but probably not much. Usually, the bug ticket items go right when the store opens and you will probably have to wait outside with 100's of others before the store opens. If you do get inside be prepared to push/shove/punch/etc as it will be a mad house. Depending on the item it can be limited stock. Think about the initial PS3 or Wii release up here and all the people who stood outside waiting for FS and BB to open. It is similar to that but for multiple items. If you don't plan on going until after work, don't bother going at all because all the good stuff will have been long gone.

[CSK'sMom]

Quite a few stores Black Friday sales run through Saturday and even Sunday in some cases. Door crasher deals will be just that, limited numbers on a first come first serve. The thing is though because Black Friday is the start of the US Christmas shopping season the stores can be wiped out of stock in a matter of hours if it's a good deal. For example, last year Kmart had buy 1 get 1 free Joe Boxer men's sleep pants and women's pajama sets. The sleep pants were $8/pr and were sold out by 10am. ;)

As kcorscadden said, the stores are absolutely packed and people are pushing and shoving. Carts are used as weapons, that is if you can even get one. The lines are long to cash out and change rooms are non-existent due to the lines. If you're just going to browse, honestly, don't bother. It's the day when all the die hard shoppers are out, we know exactly what we want and we get it. We get all of our Christmas shopping pretty much done in one day. :D

[TechRock]

prepare to be punch in the face...by crazy ppl

[Psylocke]

prepare to be punch in the face...by crazy ppl

LOL... I'm bringing a face mask.

[Happy13178]

LOL... I'm bringing a face mask.

A gun might be more practical.

[Ebola]

Bring your taser.

[sonnislav]

http://www.theblackfriday.com/index.shtml

a collection of deals for this upcoming thanksgiving sale (US)...

[Psylocke]

A gun might be more practical.

I wouldn't doubt that some of these bargain hunters will come prepared... I know for a fact there's gonna be at least a dozen random acts of violence stemming from the upcoming Black Friday... shoppers are gonna go nuts!


Bring your taser.

This seems like a good option... esp. if someone tries to beat me to a good deal. :cheesygri

[Jin-n-Juice]

Check out the links in this article:
http://www.citynews.ca/news/news_16846.aspx

[joeyjoejoe]

Check out the links in this article:
http://www.citynews.ca/news/news_16846.aspx

The video is hilarious... there's a guy that falls flat on his face 11 seconds in.

[GangStarr]

Since this thread seems very 1 sided, I thought I would throw in my 2 cents.

I've never done Black Friday near the US/Canada Border, usually about 7 hours away.

For the past 4 years I've spent xgiving in the US visiting friends, and don't go to stores early morning on black Friday. I don't try for any door crashers, the sales are at outlet malls are pretty decent if your just looking for decent dress clothes. Most store I've found had some sort of "black friday" weekend sales, further discounting the product that's already a good deal for us Canadians.

I can usually grab dress pants that are usually marked down to $30-$60 for $20-$40, and similar savings on dress shirts. Shopping year round in the US is generally cheaper than Canada. Black friday will add anywhere from 5-20% additional savings. It also helps if you have amerifriends who have department credit cards. Card holders are usually sent decent coupons they can stack with their savings for paying with the store card. I've had great success buying discounted brand name suits / leather jackets from Macy's.

Shopping as of 11am on Black Friday, I've never seen any pushing / shoving or violence. The malls are busier then usual, and parking can be tough, that's about it.

Again this is an opinion from someone who isn't after the door crashers and is in the US anyways.

[psyko514]

I had my first BF experience in Plattsburgh last year. We showed up at Walmart around 3 AM with no interest in the big door crashers (which went on sale at 5 AM). We saw line ups for specific items all around the store but it was hard to grasp just how many people were there as everyone was so spread out.

At ~4:55 AM, we headed to the cash with a cart full of movies, food products and clothing. There was no line. We heard the crowd erupt at 5 AM as they cut the wrap on the pallets and distributed the door crashers. At 5:02 AM, a crowd of hundreds came storming to the cashes. So glad we got out of there at that time!

[CSK'sMom]

:!: The Walmart ad is officially out folks. It's on the Walmart website, just punch in a zipcode. For those going to Niagara Falls/Buffalo use 14305. ;)

Interesting approach this year, stuff going at staggered times starting at 10pm, Midnight and 8am. Definitely some sweet deals in all depts.

[Pavel]

Since this thread seems very 1 sided, I thought I would throw in my 2 cents.

I've never done Black Friday near the US/Canada Border, usually about 7 hours away.

For the past 4 years I've spent xgiving in the US visiting friends, and don't go to stores early morning on black Friday. I don't try for any door crashers, the sales are at outlet malls are pretty decent if your just looking for decent dress clothes. Most store I've found had some sort of "black friday" weekend sales, further discounting the product that's already a good deal for us Canadians.

I can usually grab dress pants that are usually marked down to $30-$60 for $20-$40, and similar savings on dress shirts. Shopping year round in the US is generally cheaper than Canada. Black friday will add anywhere from 5-20% additional savings. It also helps if you have amerifriends who have department credit cards. Card holders are usually sent decent coupons they can stack with their savings for paying with the store card. I've had great success buying discounted brand name suits / leather jackets from Macy's.

Shopping as of 11am on Black Friday, I've never seen any pushing / shoving or violence. The malls are busier then usual, and parking can be tough, that's about it.

Again this is an opinion from someone who isn't after the door crashers and is in the US anyways.
agreed, but people are funny sometimes and not in a good way. line-up in the madness for BF sales and even BD sales causes me to SMH. For example, people will actually pay money to a stranger to get a reservation for an iphone when they can do so themselves, or even pay a couple of hundred more for an iphone than retail so they can get it two weeks earlier than they would have ordered online. the BF or BD madness is the same. However, imho, those that do go and line-up do more so for the "social" and "emotional" experience. Any savings they incur is just a bonus.

[hotoffthepress]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aeSgBL7gpAk

[Neovingian]

To answer the OP's ?, you can expect some hot deals, you won't find during boxing day / week in Canada. IMO the best deals are usually on kids clothes, mens/women clothes, footwear, and select toys/ electronics/ games, even some liquor stores have deals.

Also I might ad, if your in the GTA and are planning on driving down to Buffalo the night of, PLEASE LEAVE EARLY....and be prepared for traffic, it will be crazy at the Buffalo/niagara falls border, you may be better off driving to Michigan or heading further into the US. I know people who waited nearly 5 hrs to cross in previous yrs.

It also helps to have a plan and map of stores you want to attack, its easy to get overwhelmed and also have back up plans in case the item you want is sold out.

For coupon clippers now is the time to hunt for online coupons, since may US retailers also honor then during black friday for even better deals.

Best of Luck

[PCDawg]

To answer the OP's ?, you can expect some hot deals, you won't find during boxing day / week in Canada. IMO the best deals are usually on kids clothes, mens/women clothes, footwear, and select toys/ electronics/ games, even some liquor stores have deals.

Also I might ad, if your in the GTA and are planning on driving down to Buffalo the night of, PLEASE LEAVE EARLY....and be prepared for traffic, it will be crazy at the Buffalo/niagara falls border, you may be better off driving to Michigan or heading further into the US. I know people who waited nearly 5 hrs to cross in previous yrs.

It also helps to have a plan and map of stores you want to attack, its easy to get overwhelmed and also have back up plans in case the item you want is sold out.

For coupon clippers now is the time to hunt for online coupons, since may US retailers also honor then during black friday for even better deals.

Best of Luck
WHat time is considered early? Would heading down at noon from Toronto be good enough to avoid traffic chaos on the QEW and border?

[CSK'sMom]

WHat time is considered early? Would heading down at noon from Toronto be good enough to avoid traffic chaos on the QEW and border?

Actually, noon or earlier may not be a bad idea. In the past (with the 4am openings), the bridges would start getting busy the Thurs afternoon and by dinner time and later the wait could be hrs. Lots of folks tried to get across and hit the Outlet mall first for it's midnight opening, then hit the other openings. With the midnight openings this year noon may not be so crazy to think about crossing the bridges.

[laundrygoddess63]

The Birch Run Outlet mall in Michigan has stores starting to open at 9pm on the Thursday. Now this is mainly clothing stores, no big box or Targets and such. We went 2 years ago and had a great time, just bring your good old Canadian patience with you as there will be lines everywhere.

[dvdswapper]

violence, rudeness, brawls, the police, stampedes, theft, offensive language and maybe nudity:cheesygri
Try YOUTUBE for lots of videos of idiots during BF.

Worst video of the year is the death of a WALMART employee during one sale
2nd most disgusting video is a crowd of people going crazy over a crock pot.

[Neovingian]

in my 10+ yrs pf BF shopping in various states, I never witnessed any brutal assaults or deaths or nudity for that matter, things are not as wild as these videos appear. What this nudity you speak of? You mean people would be flashing to get ahead in line or disrobing in aisles due to shortages or change rooms? I've actually witnessed crazier things during boxing day shopping.

[CSK'sMom]

in my 10+ yrs pf BF shopping in various states, I never witnessed any brutal assaults or deaths or nudity for that matter, things are not as wild as these videos appear. What this nudity you speak of? You mean people would be flashing to get ahead in line or disrobing in aisles due to shortages or change rooms? I've actually witnessed crazier things during boxing day shopping.

LOL! We've seen nudity as both women and men try on stuff because of the shortage or closure of change rooms. Unfortunately none of them hot either! :razz: We've seen the assaults too, mostly of line butters but even over door crashers a few times. I actually think the viewing of some of the YouTube BF videos should be required viewing for anyone even contemplating going. Folks just don't seem to get that most, if not all of us are hard core shoppers. It's not a day to take kids out shopping or to leisurely wander stores. ;) Hopefully the trampling deaths are a thing of the past now as it seems that retailers are taking safety seriously now and not allowing the stampedes to happen.

[Ethan15]

It also depends on how much you want to buy anyway, if you're just planning to spend $1g to buy clothes here and there and therefore think you can save $200-$300 compared to regular sale (don't always count your saving to regular price, but other sale event non-BF).. then meh, it's just not worth the trouble.

I always see it that way, what's the sale price here in Canada, what's the sale price in US (non-BF) and BF sale price...

[Bookpreviews]

Unless you are shopping online, I wouldn't even bother.

To answer your questions:

It is only on Friday that the bulk of the stuff is on sale. There may be stuff on sale Sat and Sun, but probably not much. Usually, the bug ticket items go right when the store opens and you will probably have to wait outside with 100's of others before the store opens. If you do get inside be prepared to push/shove/punch/etc as it will be a mad house. Depending on the item it can be limited stock. Think about the initial PS3 or Wii release up here and all the people who stood outside waiting for FS and BB to open. It is similar to that but for multiple items. If you don't plan on going until after work, don't bother going at all because all the good stuff will have been long gone.

6pm.com Zappos outlet had a really good online sale they had tons of shoes for $11.
I saw a bunch I liked,but not that would be useful for me.
6pm usually has very good sales anyways, but these were even better!

I would rather shop online that travel everywhere for stuff.
I go tot he US often enough, but the people I go with hate shopping.
Usually I just get a bunch of free shipping deals for stuff I need and can not find here.

amazon.com has a lot of random food deals that are good- but lousy prices for chewing gum- Walmart here is cheaper, sadly (imporant to know if you have a chewing gum addiction)

[Bookpreviews]

LOL! We've seen nudity as both women and men try on stuff because of the shortage or closure of change rooms. Unfortunately none of them hot either! :razz: We've seen the assaults too, mostly of line butters but even over door crashers a few times. I actually think the viewing of some of the YouTube BF videos should be required viewing for anyone even contemplating going. Folks just don't seem to get that most, if not all of us are hard core shoppers. It's not a day to take kids out shopping or to leisurely wander stores. ;) Hopefully the trampling deaths are a thing of the past now as it seems that retailers are taking safety seriously now and not allowing the stampedes to happen.

Guess you did not make the American Apparel warehouse sales??

No change rooms at all and you are supposed to try on clothing in the aisles!
not even allowed to bring clothing to the bathroom.

A lot of girls were coming back the next day wearing leotards and tights just to try stuff on.

[sovexxed]

This will be my 5th year going and I survived....
I was afraid to go to Walmart because of all the negative reports. I went for the first time two years ago and it was rather peaceful. Go early, bring patience (as one other person suggested) and snacks to keep you awake. Last year I bought quite a few DVDs and TV series.

The non doorbusters (but still really good deals) can be picked up and placed in carts while you wait for the doorbusters. Usually the TVs and laptops have the longest lines....and of course the checkout.

Good luck!!

[MtX]

6pm.com Zappos outlet had a really good online sale they had tons of shoes for $11.
I saw a bunch I liked,but not that would be useful for me.
6pm usually has very good sales anyways, but these were even better!

I would rather shop online that travel everywhere for stuff.
I go tot he US often enough, but the people I go with hate shopping.
Usually I just get a bunch of free shipping deals for stuff I need and can not find here.

amazon.com has a lot of random food deals that are good- but lousy prices for chewing gum- Walmart here is cheaper, sadly (imporant to know if you have a chewing gum addiction)

What other good online sites are there? I'm planning to do most of my shopping online and mailing it to my hotel...

[Neovingian]

What other good online sites are there? I'm planning to do most of my shopping online and mailing it to my hotel...

I did that too, felt like a VIP getting all my online packages sent to the hotel and I left a small tip for the hotel staff fo rdelivering the items to my door and ensuring nothing happened to them.

A few Black Friday / Boxing Day tips I thought I should share for those shopping in large stores or outlets:
- dress warm or in layers if neccesarly depending on what cities/state your in.
- shop in groups if possible and avoid shopping alone. There's saftey in numbers.
- if shopping alone, avoid using a shopping cart and carry items in your hand or a basket. (can save you 30 mins or more and can mean the diff btw you getting the items you want)
- if shopping with more than 1 person, have 1-2 people scour the store for items and have 1 person wait in line with the cart.
- Understand that US sizes may be 1-2 sizes larger or smaller than Canadian sizes. know your current clothing size for jeans, shirts, dresses as you may not be able to try on the clothes before you buy and selection my be limited.
- be considerate of others, and respect store limits. You never know if another person may have an item you want and vice versa.
- To avoid stripping down in store aisles, if shopping at a store that has a time limited sale, if you can afford to, and stores don't have restrictions, buy the items you want in both sizes and return the size you don't want the day after the time limited sale is over.
- if you see something you like, buy it and then you can return it later, it may not be there when you get back.

[ihatepants]

As somebody who has been to several Black Fridays in the US, i can say it's almost not worth it. The lines are just insane, and pretty much all the good stuff are taken in the first couple of hours, so if you were hoping to score something on the weekend i wouldn't depend on it.

[Peroxide]

Someone with 7000+ posts bummed a 4 year old thread! :razz:

Anyways, as others have said, if you're going to actually go out, have what you want and where you're going planned ahead of time or else you most likely won't get it. Be early, be ready and be FIERCE!

Otherwise you'd be better to simply order online or wait until Saturday or Sunday, you may pay $50 more on that TV, but you saved a lot of hassle.

Personally I'm looking for computer parts so I'll be watching Newegg and NCIX.

[nounou23]

We usually go shopping in the states once or twice a year... and 2 years ago we decided to leave the evening before black friday to get there at 12AM (in Bangor). We wanted to see if it was really like the news on TV.

Well that was a waste of time.. Traffic that night was like rush hour during daytime. The lines outside where insane... We finally got in Old Navy after a 30 min wait and all the stuff was gone. The lines inside where something I never saw before.

Went to Homedepot to get a Shopvac that was 25$... I was all excited to be there on time... got in... got out with nothing.. but you had people with 7-8 of them stacked up in the rolling carts checking out the store. talk about 1 per person limits that was advertised...

Went to sears. While I was there I was able to get a rolling toolbox... Went to the cash with my number so I asked to get it. I was told after I bought it I had to drive like 15 min to their warehouse at like 9AM in the morning and then wait it line to get it. What a joke. I just left it there. There was Tools on sale "doorbusters" and when looking at the price I was able to get a better deal here at canadian tire (We had the Canadian Flyers with us to kill some time while waiting in the car)...

Anyway.. we just hang around and went shopping the next day instead... To be honest we found a lot of good deals that was advertised for the night only during opening hours. The deals were still on the next day. And the lineups were better.

So IMO it's a waste of time and you really have crazy people out there.

So we now know unless you really really really want something bad and is crazy enough to stand in line for XX hours well this is for you...

[Bookpreviews]

What other good online sites are there? I'm planning to do most of my shopping online and mailing it to my hotel...

I like Puritans pride- they have good prices for stuff like generic "benadryl" (for allergies), shoppers is almost $20 for a bottle of 100 and they charge around $4..useful if you have a lot of allergies.
they also sell supplements and stuff.

Vitacost, another natural supplement site, but also food deals. almost all brand name stuff.

Amazon.com has a lot of good random deals. just got some Hush Puppie shoes I wanted at the mall for $33, they are $100 everywhere else.

drugstore.com is also really good.