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Who Braved Black Friday?

By
Real Estate Agent with Brand Name Real Estate


We did!!  Even though our bed was nice and toasty at 4 am this morning, we drug ourselves out of it and headed out the door to scoop up some great deals.

I personally think we did quite well.  We didn't go crazy, but there were a few really awesome deals out there that are going to make terrific Christmas gifts.

One thing that I did learn was how to NOT treat a customer.  Our first stop was a new chain electronics store, and they were not ready for today.  We walked in the store at 5:05 am, found our item instantly, but didn't get to walk out until 6 am!  We hopped into the shortest line, and while there were only eight to ten people in front of us, it still took just about an hour to simply purchase our find.

This store was not properly set up with registers to accommodate an influx of customers like they saw this morning.  You'd think that they would know what to expect.  All I can say is that our experience was so unpleasant that it doesn't matter how good the deals to came are --- I have no intentions of ever going back in there again.

Hope everyone else has scored some awesome deals and not wasted as much time in line as we did!

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Comments (52)

Charlottesville Solutions
Charlottesville Solutions - Charlottesville, VA

No shopping for us. We are all recovering from all the food! and decorating a little!

Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

your friend in Charlottesville!

Nov 28, 2008 12:39 PM
Jim & Maria Hart
Brand Name Real Estate - Charleston, SC
Charleston, SC Real Estate

Tina: You should try it at least once!  Just go to one store.  And go just after they've opened so you won't be standing in line.  It's definitely an experience!

Nov 28, 2008 01:36 PM
Jim & Maria Hart
Brand Name Real Estate - Charleston, SC
Charleston, SC Real Estate

Larry: Sorry that you had such a bad experience. We may not go back to that particular store again, but we will surely do more Black Friday's in the future!

Nov 28, 2008 01:39 PM
Jim & Maria Hart
Brand Name Real Estate - Charleston, SC
Charleston, SC Real Estate

Craig:  It was so much fun, for the most part :)

We didn't see any Ipods after 8 am or so (the morning just kinda gets blurred).  Glad that wasn't one of the items on our list.

Nov 28, 2008 01:41 PM
Jim & Maria Hart
Brand Name Real Estate - Charleston, SC
Charleston, SC Real Estate

Konnie: I'm glad to hear that you got out there and got into the sales!  Exhaustion is just par for the course.  I know I was about out right around noon.

Nov 28, 2008 01:43 PM
Jim & Maria Hart
Brand Name Real Estate - Charleston, SC
Charleston, SC Real Estate

Charles: We had a great Thanksgiving.  Hope that you did as well!

Nov 28, 2008 01:45 PM
Marchel Peterson
Results Realty - Spring, TX
Spring TX Real Estate E-Pro

Jim and Maria, you are braver than me.  I'm not a morning person and I'm not a shopper.  I usually let my fingers do the shopping. I'm glad you got some good deals though; especially since you did not get good service.  You should let the store know how dis-satisfied you were.  I personally think they need to know so they can work on improving.

Nov 28, 2008 02:59 PM
Mary Strang
Viroqua, WI

I only made it into one store and not in the mall, I avoid black Friday when possible.

Nov 28, 2008 11:41 PM
Caren Wallace
Premier Property Group LLC - Tualatin, OR
Portland Caren Real Estate

I went to the mall and it was crowded but not unbearable. I had to get a birthday present or I would not have been there.

Happy Holidays!

Nov 29, 2008 12:16 AM
Michael and Cheron Lange
Solutions Real Estate - Chandler, AZ
Associate Broker, GRI

Gutsy! :)  Been there, done that years ago....although I waited until 4pm to go to Super Target to purchase some X-mas items, hardly anyone was there.  Now that was a surprise!

C. Lange

Nov 29, 2008 12:54 AM
Jim & Maria Hart
Brand Name Real Estate - Charleston, SC
Charleston, SC Real Estate

Hey, Marchel. We aren't really morning people either, but we do like great deals. Take Care

Nov 29, 2008 03:18 AM
Jim & Maria Hart
Brand Name Real Estate - Charleston, SC
Charleston, SC Real Estate

Mary: The only lines we had to wait in were at the registers. So, not to bad.

Nov 29, 2008 03:20 AM
Jim & Maria Hart
Brand Name Real Estate - Charleston, SC
Charleston, SC Real Estate

Caren: Yeah, the crowds were not so bad this year.

Nov 29, 2008 03:21 AM
Jim & Maria Hart
Brand Name Real Estate - Charleston, SC
Charleston, SC Real Estate

Michael: I think at 4:00 pm we were all recharging our batteries.

Nov 29, 2008 03:22 AM
Donna Harris
Donna Homes, powered by JPAR - TexasRealEstateMediationServices.com - Austin, TX
Realtor,Mediator,Ombudsman,Property Tax Arbitrator

I ventured out last night.  Not many deals at all.  Most stores I walked out empty handed.  I walked into a Gap, and there was more clothes on the floor then there were on the racks and shelves, that I got disgusted and walked out. One store was going out of business and everything was 70% off so I got a couple of shirts for Mike...

Mostly, I saw stores changed their tags to all regular price ones, and then said 30-50% off, but that's their normal pricing anyway.  I can get that any day.  I was very disappointed.

Nov 29, 2008 11:28 AM
Jim & Maria Hart
Brand Name Real Estate - Charleston, SC
Charleston, SC Real Estate

Hey, Donna. Yeah, the whole price tag change makes me mad as well. Take Care, Jim

Nov 29, 2008 11:41 AM
Nicole Weidauer
Keller Williams Greater Seattle - Shoreline, WA

My Mother and I made it out on Black Friday- we didn't wake up at 3 or 4 in the morning, however. We found the local mall to be nearly empty at 7:30am which made for an easy shopping trip. When we arrived at the next mall at about noon, that's where we hit the HUGE crowds.

It was kind of a new experience for me. The last few years I have purchased presents exclusively online so I never had to deal with all the big lines and crowds of people. We even had to face long backups just getting to the mall. To normal people this would be quite a nuisance but to me, it was just another new experience. My Mom and I just sat back and relaxed to some Christmas tunes! :)

Sorry to hear about your bad shopping experience. I hope nothing else like that happens for the remaining of your shopping!

Thanks for sharing, Nicole Weidauer

The Egerer & Weidauer Team, Keller Williams Realty North Seattle

Dec 01, 2008 04:07 AM
Jim & Maria Hart
Brand Name Real Estate - Charleston, SC
Charleston, SC Real Estate

Nicole: Glad to hear that you and your mom got out there and experienced a Black Friday.  We were already home by noon and didn't have to deal with the crowds at that time.  Hope you found some really great deals!

Dec 01, 2008 04:23 AM
Kristin Hunteman
True Title Company - Clayton, MO
Escrow Closing Officer

We did.  Got all of the shopping done except the grandparents and a few things for the hubster (he was with me).

Dec 01, 2008 10:07 AM
Jim & Maria Hart
Brand Name Real Estate - Charleston, SC
Charleston, SC Real Estate

Kristin: Congratulations on your success on Black Friday!  I wish I could say we were done, but we're close!

Dec 01, 2008 10:49 AM