The Science Behind Black Friday Madness

[27Thousand]

So I've been looking at all these ads and it appears there's all this cool stuff being sold Friday morning, some of it is on major clearance at many stores. Is anyone into Black Friday?

I'm thinking that I'm going to wait in line at Walmart at 10 PM tonight; they open the path to their goods 5AM Friday. There's quite a few laptops on super clearance at Walmart, and I'm looking at one in particular.

 

[TheStatutoryApe]

Make sure its a decent laptop. The last time I was looking at walmart for a laptop and found one on sale for a great price the sales guy himself warned me off of it saying that the processor was so slow it could only barely run Windows.

I went one year to look for Black Friday bargains. Just looking at the lines changed my mind. I am claustrophobic. One of the places I looked had a line going through the store so you pretty much had to stand in line waiting to get to what ever section you wanted so you could pass by looking to see if there was anything you wanted and then continue on in line until you reached the register to pay. Not really, but that's what it looked like from outside. ;-)

 

[Evo]

I don't leave the house on black friday. Stay up all night with crazy people so that you can get stampeded and fight over substandard one-off items called 'derivitives' in the industry?

 

[pzona]

There's nothing I love more than not participating in Black Friday sales. The only thing I like about it is the high demand for security at places like WalMart. I'm going in around 1 tonight, staying till 9, and making $9.50 an hour. Being a poor college student, it's a pretty good way to make some quick money.

 

[mcknia07]

I used to go out shopping, our family made it a girls day. I loved it! Still do, but work and school are more important to me... though, I asked mom if she would go with me She has to get Christmas ideas for me, I'm a hard one to buy for.

Dad is going to be one of them that go to Office Depot before they even open. They are having an awesome deal on a computer and the store only has 4 of them. He's not one to do that but, it's super cheap and a nice one at that.

 

[Monocerotis]

most of the stuff at best buy is marked up as high as 400%

you're buying it for a lot cheaper on "black friday" but you're still getting ripped off

you can get these "amazing" prices at tiger direct any day of the year

 

[Moonbear]

I usually do my best to avoid being anywhere near a mall on Black Friday. Usually I just stay home that day, but tomorrow I'll be on the road back home for a reunion (and now I'm wondering why I ever decided to do this...maybe because I don't look as fat, gray-haired and old as all the former cheerleaders do now ). One part of the trip will be a bit dicey, since I can't avoid passing a big outlet mall on the way, which is close to a regular mall. I'll keep my fingers crossed that it's not too horrendous by the time I'm passing there in the early afternoon. The rest of the travel route is planned to avoid malls.

I'm going to also try to avoid exchanging any gifts this year so nobody has to go out shopping. I'm accomplishing this by not giving my mom or sister my mailing address. I know, I'm an awful daughter. My mom has no idea where I live now. I just keep conveniently forgetting to give her my address when she asks. At some point I'll have to give it to her, but I hope I can at least get past the holidays first.

 

[TheStatutoryApe]

I get off work at 7am. Hopefully there won't be too much traffic. Where I live there's a mall or major outlet store within a stones throw no matter where you are.

 

[Chi Meson]

My plan for "Black Friday" is to wash my siding.whee

 

[Monique]

My friday will be sparkling (I'm scrubbing the house)

 

[27Thousand]

Okay, I don't know if I should really call it a fun experience, but it was extremely well worth it. I got in line at Walmart 10:30PM last night, and was 3rd in line for the laptop I wanted. It seemed like a very long 6 1/2 hours. However I got what I wanted, and that laptop line filled up fast! The laptop seems to be working smoothly so far. I bought my last one in 2005, so I guess anything in 2009 runs much better.

Then after that I went to Best Buy and bought Civilization IV for 1/4 of the price it normally is.

It was a little humorous watching the Walmart customers though. I don't know if the better metaphor is that they were wild pack animals, or wild pirahnas! Or when I would see a worker shout "HEY!" at some customers, and the customers would keep at it.

 

[leroyjenkens]

I just look forward to the videos online of people acting like animals to get a few bucks off of something they don't need.

 

[cristo]

Okay, I don't know if I should really call it a fun experience, but it was extremely well worth it. I got in line at Walmart 10:30PM last night, and was 3rd in line for the laptop I wanted. It seemed like a very long 6 1/2 hours. However I got what I wanted, and that laptop line filled up fast! The laptop seems to be working smoothly so far. I bought my last one in 2005, so I guess anything in 2009 runs much better.

You queued 6 1/2 hours just for a laptop? I hope it was more or less free!

 

[Chi Meson]

I've finished powerwashing about 1/2 of my house. That's enough for now.

Let's go shopping!

 

[hypatia]

I went early and got portable DVD players for the grandkids. RCA 7 inch screens for 40 dollars each, which was a good deal. I ended up getting some good deals on winter dog coats too.

 

[turbo]

No shopping today! My wife and I made turkey soup and I took some to a friend and to my father. We made snacks of chicken, beans, etc, rolled up in wonton wrappers and baked. Very nice with habanero salsa. Black Friday is snacks, soups, and relaxation.

 

[Ben Niehoff]

I'm staying home today. My girlfriend has to work. :\

I suppose my job today is to deal with the aftermath of last night...namely, our kitchen is a disaster area! :P

 

[physics girl phd]

No shopping for us... We went bowling! (This is the first time I've gone bowling in years, and my natural body action is now back-and-forth baby-swaying... so don't ask my scores... )

 

[Moonbear]

I ended up getting some good deals on winter dog coats too.

All the dogs I ever had grew their own winter coats. They even shed enough to share an extra coat with someone else if it was needed.

 

[turbo]

All the dogs I ever had grew their own winter coats. They even shed enough to share an extra coat with someone else if it was needed.

My dog sheds enough that every couple of days, I sweep up enough hair to completely populate my neighbor's Pomeranian. It's funny - the owner is the town's fire-chief and he trucks pulp-wood and logs for a living. Big burly guy who takes his ferret-sized dog everywhere. She's about 1-1/2#. My dog likes her, but can knock her over just by giving her a "kiss" with his tongue, so she's appropriately cautious of his attention.

 

[Evo]

Okay, I don't know if I should really call it a fun experience, but it was extremely well worth it. I got in line at Walmart 10:30PM last night, and was 3rd in line for the laptop I wanted. It seemed like a very long 6 1/2 hours. However I got what I wanted, and that laptop line filled up fast! The laptop seems to be working smoothly so far. I bought my last one in 2005, so I guess anything in 2009 runs much better.

Then after that I went to Best Buy and bought Civilization IV for 1/4 of the price it normally is.

It was a little humorous watching the Walmart customers though. I don't know if the better metaphor is that they were wild pack animals, or wild pirahnas! Or when I would see a worker shout "HEY!" at some customers, and the customers would keep at it.

How cheap was the computer? I got an e-mail from HP the other day, the Compaq Presario, regular price $349.99.

 

[Choronzon]

Two years ago on Black Friday I was driving down the road minding my own business when this old woman in a huge Cadillac sideswiped me as she was pulling out of a Wal-Mart. The officer asked her if she had seen me in the road when she pulled out, and she told him that "She had to get to Target quick."

I haven't left the house before 9:00 PM Black Friday since.

 

[hypatia]

All the dogs I ever had grew their own winter coats. They even shed enough to share an extra coat with someone else if it was needed.

Lol, that's true enough, but the corgi is only 12 inches tall at the shoulders. So it has more to do with keeping the wet mess off the dog. And of course you can't get something for one dog and not get it for the other.

 

[Chi Meson]

Awesome day! My siding is clean and I just got back from a free They Might be Giants concert at one of our local casinos, and it's still just 10 PM and I can still get me some good prices on some useless crap!

What a country!

 

[Evo]

Awesome day! My siding is clean and I just got back from a free They Might be Giants concert at one of our local casinos, and it's still just 10 PM and I can still get me some good prices on some useless crap!

What a country!

Oooh, I love They Might be Giants!

 

[noblegas]

I really don't see why black friday is relevant anymore. You can find cheap stuff online that would otherwise seem costly in conventional stores and even "cheap" departmart stores like wal-mart throughout the year and not just on black friday.

 

[JasonRox]

Best way to save is not to buy. We don't need all that junk.

People have bought me stuff for Christmas the past few years and I gave pretty much all of it away. And when they give it to me, I actually do say "When am I ever going to use this?" (LOL, I just typed in a $ $ sign. Yes, typing LaTeX all day.)

Everything in my apartment is free...

The Lamp Table
The TV
The Bed
The Carpet
The Vacuum
The Single Couch
The Microwave
The Toaster Over
The Dresser
The Closet
The Coffee Table
The Towels
The Plates and Bowls and all my kitchen stuff

(All things people offered to give me and I took.)

I vowed not to buy any junk until I own a place to live (no mortgage).

I don't think I'll live up to that but I'll try.

Note: I do spend lots on vacations. Spent close to $9000 on vacations in 2008, for one person.

 

[27Thousand]

How cheap was the computer? I got an e-mail from HP the other day, the Compaq Presario, regular price $349.99.

$198 for a laptop, don't confuse with netbooks which are only 10" screen/crammed up keyboard/no DVD drive. The one I bought at Walmart was 2GB RAM, 160GB Hard Drive, 64 bit, 15.6" screen, Windows 7 Home Premium (none of that 7 Starter or XP stuff that some of the same priced netbooks have). It also came with the DVD burner, which most netbooks at $300 don't get.

As far as why I considered it an excellent deal:

Basically I bought a laptop in 2005 for $900, 0.5 GB RAM and 60 GB Hard Drive. Then earlier this year the power jack gave out. I went to many stores and all of them gave me quotes of $200-250 to open it up and fix. I finally got it fixed because I needed something. Then two months later the same hardware power jack problem happened. Think about it this way, if you were in that situation you probably would think it wouldn't be worthwhile to pay another $200 over and over again.

So check this out, right before Black Friday I saw many ads for netbooks which were normally $300, but marked down to $200, with 1GB RAM, only 10" screens, Windows XP, and no DVD drives/burner. Many editors from review sites said that many Black Friday specials were rip offs, but that the Acer Aspire One netbook for $200 was good quality for the price. I thought to myself that could be an excellent temporary fix until finances are better later on. However, then I CAUGHT EYE of the laptop at Walmart (manufacturer's website http://www.emachines.com/products/products.html?prod=eME627-5279 ) marked down to the same price as those netbooks, so I was very excited. Yes maybe it wasn't one of those 6GB RAM 720GB Hard Drive Black Friday specials, but I was very excited. Comparing it to the $900 laptop I bought in 2005, it works extremely well (64 bit and 2GB RAM) and Windows 7 I like. Although it doesn't have the dual processor, I compared the processor to the netbooks which were rated as great budget Black Friday buys, and the processor is just as good specification wise, and the 64 bit is better than much of what I use anyway, plus add the 2GB RAM to the picture for $200.

 

[27Thousand]

Another reason I felt good about buying this computer is I went to PC Magazine where the editors said about eMachines:

"eMachines' low-cost PCs are less likely to need repairs than systems from any other vendor save Apple. Whereas only 9 percent of eMachines desktops less than a year old needed repairs, according to readers, the rates of comparably new systems from Dell and Gateway needing repairs were 11 and 15 percent, respectively. Only 1 percent of all eMachines systems needed to be replaced. This translates into a lower cost of doing business, which helps keep prices down."

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,1623601,00.asp"

 

[27Thousand]

I really don't see why black friday is relevant anymore. You can find cheap stuff online that would otherwise seem costly in conventional stores and even "cheap" departmart stores like wal-mart throughout the year and not just on black friday.

That may be true for many items, however when I went to shopping.com and looked at the stuff I wanted I couldn't find it for cheaper. Websites which sell for cheaper than what shopping.com can give you often have reviews of selling people things without telling them they removed the warranty, etc, to make it cheaper (which is not good if you want expensive electronic goods). I've also bought things online before from newegg/other places that people say they like, and then found it a problem when you open it up and your electronic device has a defect. Many online places say you still have pay the shipping/handling when returning something defective, along with many places you not knowing if you've gotten a "real" warranty with it (I've even called manufacturers before and they say many online sites they won't honor the warranty because it's in their own contract, even if the seller's website says so that doesn't mean so).