Black Friday 2010

[Remianen]

Here in St. Louis its not like that at all. We had 55 inch televisions at my local walmart (just outside STL) there were roughly 50 tickets for these televisions. I think thats pretty good.

 

I'm not sure how that would work if you ask your friends to hold items for you and you don't come in until the next day how would you get them for the price the day before and you would almost have to have GM's as friends otherwise I would imagine someone would get in some serious trouble for not having said items on the floor to be bought at the right time.

 

Maybe its different in NYC but in 'Bama, OKC and STL the three places I've lived there has always been plenty of deals for everyone form Walmart to Best Buy to wherever.

 

I personally never get into the whole black friday thing since it seems the really good stuff is never on sale. You're not getting the high quality t.v's and electronics for amazing prices.

 

Really though Christmas for me is boring since if I want something I just go buy it I don't wait until Christmas so I can save forty bucks.

 

I don't know how things are done in smaller areas since I've only worked retail in NYC (as have many of my friends). Even going back to the early 90s (when I worked at Electronics Boutique), it wasn't uncommon to have high demand items set aside by employees. Super Mario 3 was the huge item that Christmas and I held 16 copies for friends/relatives/employees of other stores in the mall. 16 of the 60 or so copies we saw then. My manager TOOK ONE HOME, played it for two days then brought it back and shrink wrapped it and put it back (and we sold it too).

 

I've done this every year since around 1995 with no trouble. As for how I'd get the doorbuster price a day later? If it's time limited (not all are. Many are inventory limited, with a 'first come, first served' caveat), the friend in question just rings it up as an employee purchase (or a regular one, using my name and CC) and holds it for pickup at customer service (or takes it home and I pick it up from them). Walmart is particularly anal about employees reserving stock so I just give my card number and they ring it up first thing.

 

I don't wait until Christmas to buy anything. But there are low priority items that I decide to take care of when/if I see a decent deal. Like replacing the 22 inch (ANALOG) TV in my bedroom with a 46 inch LED. I put off doing that because I don't watch TV in my bedroom (it's got a Nintendo 64 hooked up to it with WCW/NWO World Tour plugged in so you know it's not used often) so it wasn't a big deal having a tiny set in there.

 

As far as there always being deals for everyone, heh, not here. Ask the folks at Toys R Us in Times Square if they have any Monster High dolls left. That's par for the course. Stores run out of the big sale items all the time here. Every console release from PS2 onward, sold out the first day or two. Every "big" in demand toy from Cabbage Patch kids (the first release) to Tickle Me Elmo to Sing & Snore Ernie to Beanie Babies to Power Rangers to Monster High, sold out the first day or two. That's why you have desperate parents paying hundreds of dollars for these items from a group of Nigerians who set up shop outside of what used to be Bear Stearns HQ on Lexington Ave. Many doorbuster items (like the $99 laptop Walmart offered last year or two years ago), sold out within an hour. Hell, from what I was told, Target in Green Acres Mall ran out of Black Ops Friday afternoon. One lady looked like she was about to have a nervous breakdown (funny as hell, the way that went).

 

But if stores in Alabama, Oklahoma, and Missouri all have more than enough, then someone's dropping the ball on stock. Sheesh! Stands to reason you send more items to the stores where there are more people looking to buy them. Had a friend in Atlanta a few years back when the 360 came out, drive across the border into 'Bama to buy one when all the stores in the metropolitan Atlanta area were sold out. Gamestop he went to had multiples available, which puzzled me to no end. The city/area of Alabama he got it from was apparently a very....ah, modest area, financially (words he used were, "I don't think anyone there could even afford to buy one! This was 'Deliverance' brought to life!"). Odd how they allocate units like this.

 

Anyway, Black Friday sucks! Bring on Cyber Monday!

[djthefunkchris]

/nod, That's how it was in Cleveland as well (what Remi was saying).. Most stores ran out of all the great deals that very same day, if not that morning. People even get trampled.... we had several people get hurt last year when they opened the doors at Walmart, and this year they opened up at midnight, but didn't start the sale's till like 4 or 5am. I'm in Florida and they run out ussually that morning as well.

 

I've done my own share of asking friends to hold things for me, and I've had success when I really needed it. Doing the same kind of thing, giving a CC to a friend, or just ussually just give them the cash to cover the purchases. Sometimes employee's didn't always get a chance to shop first though, in fact each year it seems it get's a little more difficult to do stuff like that. Last year I bought a computer, a TV and a new monitor (not including the one with the computer) before I even showed up to the store (Best Buy). The friend told me they had a hard time doing it because the register's opened up as they opened up the door, which means he had to go get the stuff on the clock (not cool, but he didn't get in trouble).

 

So this year I didn't even bother. Just about everything I bought last year ended up being around the same price (relatively) when 2010 come around anyways, and right now some of them are even cheaper.

 

So I'm not going to worry about doing that stuff anymore, but yeah... I've had things set aside or bought many times in the past so I could just go pick them up either at my friends, or they brought them to me, or I've even picked things up at the store later in the day... However, as what's been said in this thread, it's becoming more and more strict about employee's purchasing stuff, and even Manager's are called into question (Employee's do ask "How can you do it, but I can't?"). So even knowing the GM or higher up's, it's not going to make it any easier, fact is it probably gets a little more difficult when you reach general or even district manager status.

[Hive]

Just wait until Christmas, that's when they have their big sales.

 

True, I love their christmas sales.

[Daffanka]

Am I the only one who had high hopes for the Steam sale but has so far been left hugely dissapointed...?

 

The indie clever pack was pretty cool, €5 for four good games and one bad game isn't a bad deal!

[moon_lit_tears]

True, I love their christmas sales.

 

Christmas sales suck. Watch prices. After the black Friday sales most stores Jack up the prices then lower them to "regular" price for the Christmas sale. Knowing people who work in the stores helps.

 

What Remi says happens here as well. Wal-Mart has started (here. Atleast) not allowing employees to use their discount on the major holiday sales.

 

The Wal-mart here was so dissapointing. They hid the big sales. Really? $5dvds were stocked in the womens panty department. Really?

 

 

Target pissed people off, but I thought it smart. Instead of having carts right at the front of the store, they had the two cart returns filled outside. The rest of the carts were placed around the store. That kept people from rushing around the door.

[Wrestling Century]

The indie clever pack was pretty cool, €5 for four good games and one bad game isn't a bad deal!

 

What games did it include? And which one was the bad one?

[supershot]

Stores around here give out tickets outside about 10-15 minutes before they open the door. First in line get first choice. That way you basically already have your doorbuster before they open the doors. Great idea if you ask me. The shoving and pushing was non existent.

[Daffanka]

What games did it include? And which one was the bad one?

 

Eufloria, VVVVVV, Iron Grip: Warlord and World of Goo are all at least interesting and World of Goo and IG:W are particularly really fun.

 

Doc Clock: The Toasted Sandwich of Time is just a poor platformer from what I could tell. It wasn't very fun at all.

[moon_lit_tears]

Stores around here give out tickets outside about 10-15 minutes before they open the door. First in line get first choice. That way you basically already have your doorbuster before they open the doors. Great idea if you ask me. The shoving and pushing was non existent.

 

Wal-mart did that. Only for there big deals. The sales started at midnight, but the electronics started at 5am. They had them at different locations through out the store. One Laptop was back in the sports section, a TV in the grocery section. Well They told you when you got a ticket that if you are not there when your number was called and they move on you lose out.

 

I was watching (I wasn't doing much shopping so I was manning the cart while my sis in law ran to get things) when they called the number 2 person up for there laptop, she wasn't there so after 3 minutes they moved on. She came in when they were getting like number 10ish and she was mad because she missed the laptop because she had to wait in line for the others to get theirs. Well they sold out before she could get one. I laughed so hard.

[Undertaker666]

Am I the only one who had high hopes for the Steam sale but has so far been left hugely dissapointed...?

 

I've been more than happy with it so far. As someone who hasn't bought any "new" games for a while, i've picked up one or two here and there:

 

Deus Ex bundle £2.99

Supreme Commander 2 £2.50

The Orange Box £4.25 (5 minutes ago)

Batman Arkham Asylum £5.10

 

9 games for £14.84, i'm a happy camper.

 

I've wanted to play them all for a while now (yes, i've never played Half Life 2 ), for those prices i'd have been stupid to pass them up.

[Hive]

I've wanted to play them all for a while now (yes, i've never played Half Life 2 ), for those prices i'd have been stupid to pass them up.

 

Yeah The Orange Box is a great investment, look forward to playing Portal.

[Undertaker666]

Yeah The Orange Box is a great investment, look forward to playing Portal.

 

Had Portal for a while now. A few months ago Steam had it up free on a weekend.

[fullMETAL]

I was able to get the Ace Ventura 3-pack (it had a disc with episodes of the cartoon) for $7.99 at Target, and the 25th Ann'y trilogy of Back To The Future from FYE for $20 off the $50 retail! BOOM.