The crazyness that is black friday post your horror stories! [Archive] - Toyota Yaris Forums

YarisSedan

11-27-2009, 04:19 PM

Okay so my family tradition is to wake up early on black Friday and stand in line to get some good deals. I slept in a hour longer than I should have and we decided to just get breakfast at Denny's since we were late anyways. Had a buy one breakfast meal get one free coupon burning a hole in my pocket i wanted to use. Then headed to wall-mart. We just figured hopefully most of the people would have cleared out that got there at 4 in the morning and it would be less chaotic by the time we got there. My brother wanted to get rockband for 50 dollars normally 150. Trying to get into the door took about 10 minutes. Once in we noticed the lines went from front of the store to the back. After about 15 minutes trying to work our way to the electronic section to find out they were all sold out. We decided just to get out of this nightmare hell hole. But we couldn't go the back we came cause there was literally no way out. People had their carts nearly touching each other. And no one would let you through.

So we decided to fight our way to the garden section and go out that way. Low and behold for some stupid reason they closed it and locked those doors. TRAPPED. We had to go back the way we came! That took maybe another 20 more minutes fighting through. Also loosing my brother a few times cause he couldn't fight through the crowd as well as i could. Finally we made it out. I promised myself NEVER AGAIN. From now on ill just shop online.

If any of you have some interesting stories today feel free to post them here for our enjoyment :thumbup:

One interesting note we went to Fry's electronics to see what they had cause we couldn't find any newspaper ads. When we go there they had really no deals. And their ad wall had no ads on it! I dont know what happened to them this year. The place was empty. All the other years it would be completely packed what a bummer.

tomato

11-27-2009, 04:30 PM

One word : Amazon.com :biggrin:

YarisSedan

11-27-2009, 04:40 PM

One word : Amazon.com :biggrin:

Oh yeah I did purchase a lot of things through there. Also newegg too.

tomato

11-27-2009, 04:50 PM

I stay away from super-crowded stores on super-sale days ever since some crazy b*tch tried to attack me once at IKEA because I picked up a catalog she wanted. It was a free catalog, mind you, really worth fighting for :rolleyes:

I've also seen people fight for parking places (also at IKEA) and someone faint in an elevator because it was too crowded.

People become absolute @ssholes around supersale days. :iono:

YarisSedan

11-27-2009, 04:52 PM

I stay away from super-crowded stores on super-sale days ever since some fat woman tried to attack me once at IKEA because I picked up a catalog she wanted. It was a free catalog, mind you, really worth fighting for :rolleyes:

I've also seen people fight for parking places (also at IKEA) and someone faint in an elevator because it was too crowded.

People become absolute @ssholes around supersale days. :iono:

Yeah. Usually past years were not as bad as this year. I guess thats a good thing though it could be a sign economy is recovering. I was expecting not as many people would be out spending tons of money.

WeeYari

11-27-2009, 05:11 PM

Was it last year, or 2 years ago, that someone died in a NYC Walmart stampede? We don't really have anything that comes close to madness of Black Friday.

tomato

11-27-2009, 05:16 PM

Anyway, I'm counting my $$$ this year (or should I say -$$ ? :wink:)
Sales and deals only save you money if you need what you're buying in the first place.
And gifts are really tricky because we sometimes spend a fortune on stuff people don't even want in the first place .

Bob Dog

11-27-2009, 05:30 PM

2+2

11-27-2009, 05:51 PM

I have been trying to get that $18 microwave at Walmart for 3yrs.now. It is my sincere belief that the only place that sly little thing exists is in the twisted visions of some marketing executive in Arkansas

:smile: Keep trying brother, you're a lock for next year. Really you are.

I did the black friday thing just once 3 or 4 years ago. Gps units were still kind of pricey and Staples advertised something called a Mio for a little over $100 if my memory is working. I learned just how cold 28 degrees can be when the wind is blowing and you're standing in one place for 2 hours. Of course there were a couple of hundred people in front of me and there were no Mios left when I got inside. Rain check? I thought the guy I asked was going to pee his pants.

Never again. Now it's my slippers, my zip up sweater thingy that keeps me toasty and slickdeals.net.

Yaris Hilton

11-27-2009, 05:57 PM

Was it last year, or 2 years ago, that someone died in a NYC Walmart stampede? We don't really have anything that comes close to madness of Black Friday.

That was out on Long Island, in Valley Stream. They still don't have a Wal-Mart in the city.

http://www.newsday.com/long-island/nassau/wal-mart-worker-dies-in-black-friday-stampede-1.884298

marcus

11-27-2009, 06:05 PM

i got it worst.. i work for amex and dang its busy today...

BailOut

11-27-2009, 06:14 PM

For several years now our family has replaced "Black Friday" with "Buy Nothing Day", and this year was no different. We slept in a half hour, had a nice, lazy breakfast of homemade banana and walnut pancakes, then read and watched a documentary. My wife then took a nap while I caught up with some family.

Our gift shopping is already done as well. For my Little Brother we are re-gifting a Best Buy gift card we received last year but did not need, for my daughters it is personalized American Express gift cards (free processing and shipping), for my sister it is the same lunch box she had for her first day of school all those years ago (bought on a lowball eBay bid many months ago), and for my wife's parents it is some beautiful photographs I took this year, placed in frames we got at a 50% off sale last month.

We only need to buy gifts for each other now, and we stay small, and usually practical. For example, I just want two investment books that can be bought used through Amazon.com, and my wife just wants a new vacuum cleaner that she's had her eye on for a while (our years old one no longer stands up by itself so it is difficult to handle on the stairs, and its failing reusable filters are no longer produced, but the appliance recycler I'll give it to can take care of all of that and will pass it on to a low income family).

As for the Black Friday rush, the Cyber Monday rush, big spending, going into debt, etc.... we simply don't need nor want it.

advocate

11-27-2009, 06:21 PM

My Black Friday story isn't really that crazy. I found out that Sears was going to have some tools, a radar detector, a 3-ton jack, and a camera all on sale that I would like to get.

So I dropped by the store at 9PM to check the line, then again at midnight. When no one was in line at midnight I figured that I was safe to come back a bit closer to opening which was at 4AM. I left the house at 2:30 and ended up getting there around 3:00AM. This makes it an hour before opening and I was about the 15th in line.

I was disappointed at first because naturally I'm standing in line thinking that everyone in line before me wants exactly what I want. Luckily that was not the case. By the time the store opened at 4AM there were about 100+ people in line and I had a prime spot.

I briskly walked into the store and quickly found the deals I had come for. The workers there were pleasantly helpful at 4AM while being bombarded by crazy people. However I ended up buying each item 1 at a time because the shopping cars were no where to be found! I know, great way to shop right? Carrying 40LBs of tools with you through a 3-story Sears is a nightmare so I just lugged one item at a time back to my Yaris.

I saved over $200 and in the end got some stuff at blow-out prices and got a bit of Holiday shopping out of the way all in one go.

Definitely a success for me.

JumpmanYaris

11-27-2009, 07:05 PM

Some old lady got punched in the face and got her shit stolen damn thiefs
Security ask the old lady "Who robbed you ma'am?" and I looked at the security guard and said u serious lol I kinda turned into a smartass with the guy by telling the lady, Yes ma'am you know the guy and his name is Tom and hes ur neighbor right? lol the lady smiled and said come on now dont need to turn into a smartalec haha. I mean really if I knew who did it then I probably wouldnt have called security , just hate when they ask u WHO ROBBED YOU dumb ppl

Bob Dog

11-27-2009, 07:10 PM

The pick pockets were working the walmart where I went this morning ..I got a bump and grab run on me twice..that is why I keep my clip and wallet in my front pocket instead of my back

Slick

11-27-2009, 10:09 PM

I clean the walmart parkin lot here in town. Me and my bud got there at 3:30 to start, normally we start at 5. The parking lot was full. Store packed. 4 cop cars outside and 8 vehicles with all 4 tires slashed. Lol. I guess we missed the party haha

Kaotic Lazagna

11-27-2009, 10:22 PM

All I wanted this year was a flashdrive. I wanted the 4GB from Wal-Mart (SanDisk Cruzer). I figured it wasn't a sought after item, so I slept in until 9am. hahahaha. I took my time eating breakfast and getting ready, made it to Wal-Mart by 9:50am. It was still crowded, and as I was walking to the electrical department, I passed by an older woman with a man (couldn't tell if it was her husband, son, or brother). As I was passing by her, I overheard her say, "I'm tired of waiting for people. I'm just going to start running people over [with her shopping cart]!" Wow, seriously? Yeah, good thing she did not "run me over" or else I would have made her day a living hell. People these days, can't be civil? Anyway, got to the flashdrives, but they were locked in. I asked several Wal-Mart employees for assistance, and they all told me that they did not have the key. I didn't want to wait around, wasting my time, and in the middle of a frustrated crowd. So I drove over to Best Buy, and didn't care that I was spending 4 bucks more than I would have at Wal-Mart. I got my 8GB Cruzer for 20 bucks. Got in, got the flashdrive, looked at the car speakers, and waited in line for check out all for the same time I spent at Wal-Mart....yeah, Wally-World isn't the greatest place to shop.

yaris-me

11-27-2009, 11:54 PM

I went to Brea Mall at 3pm and circled the parking lot. It was bumper to bumper with no parking. Car were parked illegally all over the place. It was hopeless. I was in a traffic jam trying to leave. The traffic around the mall was bad also. No shopping done. :frown:

TEHxFALLEN V1.2

11-28-2009, 12:30 AM

No horror stories here..

Went shopping near rich people places so cops abound.

YAR1S

11-28-2009, 01:57 AM

I've never seen a 1,000 car parking lot full with no more parking spaces.... and mind you this was a small (department store) shopping center, I didnt go anywhere near the largest shopping mall in my city, yikes.....

all I got this weekend was a HID kit from MI, and im not sure if the 10% thing worked..... :/

Wattz

11-28-2009, 02:22 AM

Sent the wife out with her mother around 3:00pm. She spent $80 on a bunch of decorations for the house. It was a 50% off sale.

That's my horror story.

There are no deals on black friday. It's all a gimmick to get mindless consumers in the door with cash in hand. Marketing genius. Sheeple!

Shroomster

11-28-2009, 02:27 AM

isn't a 60hz refresh rate old news for tv's? if it is thats what almost every single tv on sale was in the stores today....

Wattz

11-28-2009, 02:41 AM

60hz is absolute baseline. A mid-range TV should be 100 or 120. Some come in 240 and today I heard someone claim that Sony makes a 600hz TV.

hachi-roku_fan

11-28-2009, 11:32 AM

Me and my gf decided we would go to Best Buy and target in West Hollywood. I'm part of the reward zone at Best Buy so they told me I could tell them what I wanted to buy, and they would put it aside for me, and let me purchase it at a special cashier at a appointment time, this included doorbuster deals. So were there early so I went to target, got a PS3 controller for 40, and a Nikon S203 for 88 because my sister in law has been bugging my brother for one, lines weren't too so long so we finished and went to Best Buy. I set aside a PS3 120gb bundle with 2 games for 300, Madden '10 for 35, and a few DVDs, went inside did some extra shopping, purchsed everything by 8, we were driving back "home" by 810, that is until my gf says she wants to go to the mall. Best Buy definately made my day waaaaay easier and target was good too.

That's were my horror begins, jk haha the mall wasn't bad at all, we went to the Beverly Center, free parking no crazy traffic. It was extremely mellow.

DandiDani

11-28-2009, 01:56 PM

i didnt buy a single thing. i had to be at work at 1am that day and when 11am came I got the hell out of there.:burnrubber: I did have several customers yelling at me though becuz the sale starts at 5am and they wanted me to start handing the nitendo ds to them at like 4:30. some lady started screaming that her purse was stolen and a cop came and took a report. turns out that her purse wasnt stolen at all. she had left it in a shopping cart at the front of the store and if you can believe it or not...nothing was missing.some other woman came up to our store manager screaming at him because she couldnt find anything. she was holding up her ad and yelling i cant find anything in your damn ad!!!! so he ask her to see the ad and she hands it to him. then he tells her you cant find anything because this is a target ad.:laugh:

2006fronty

11-28-2009, 02:53 PM

i didnt buy a single thing. i had to be at work at 1am that day(walmart) and when 11am came I got the hell out of there.:burnrubber: I did have several customers yelling at me though becuz the sale starts at 5am and they wanted me to start handing the nitendo ds to them at like 4:30. some lady started screaming that her purse was stolen and a cop came and took a report. turns out that her purse wasnt stolen at all. she had left it in a shopping cart at the front of the store and if you can believe it or not...nothing was missing.some other woman came up to our store manager screaming at him because she couldnt find anything. she was holding up her ad and yelling i cant find anything in your damn ad!!!! so he ask her to see the ad and she hands it to him. then he tells her you cant find anything because this is a target ad.:laugh:
HAHA, my wife works at Walmart too. She was in charge of passing out the cheap Blu-Ray players. While she was at work, I was busy buying a bunch of $2 dvd's lol.

advocate

11-28-2009, 03:26 PM

then he tells her you cant find anything because this is a target ad.:laugh:

haha awesome. gotta love smart people

DandiDani

11-29-2009, 05:02 PM

:biggrin:

Loren

11-29-2009, 05:56 PM

supmet

11-29-2009, 06:00 PM

Black Friday:

Slept in until 10am. Had a fantastic grouper sandwich at a little place overlooking Tampa Bay. Came home and ate leftover pie. Played Uno all afternoon. Ate leftover turkey for dinner.

Stress-free. Screw commercialism.

pfff leftovers all day, yesterday too. I'm gonna have to go by a UNO deck now... bastard

And yes, commercialism makes me laugh right now. Most people should just buy "mortgage gift cards" for their friends and family, because a flat screen will just look funny in their soon-to-be cardboard box. Although I could be wrong, box life is all about space saving.

Loren

11-29-2009, 07:52 PM

a flat screen will just look funny in their soon-to-be cardboard box. Although I could be wrong, box life is all about space saving.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0sq8VDXlWQk

Shroomster

11-30-2009, 12:18 AM

so you play UNO....have you tried/heard of Skip-bo?

Loren

11-30-2009, 01:52 AM

Heard of it, never played it. Me and UNO go back to about 1979. Used to play on Boy Scout camping trips with groups of 4-6 guys, and we all cheated our asses off. It was great fun! If you're not passing a card under the table from time to time, it's just not the same game!

remusrm

11-30-2009, 02:02 AM

I WAS DIAGNOSED WITH SWINE FLU.. yey

tomato

11-30-2009, 03:47 AM

I WAS DIAGNOSED WITH SWINE FLU.. yey

Sorry to hear that. You're a little off topic, there, but we'll forgive ya, seeing that you're probably battling fever, etc... ;0)

Best wishes for your prompt recovery, and hang in there.

fujiwaru

11-30-2009, 05:55 AM

she was holding up her ad and yelling i cant find anything in your damn ad!!!! so he ask her to see the ad and she hands it to him. then he tells her you cant find anything because this is a target ad.:laugh:

this made my day! :laugh: thanks

slothman86

11-30-2009, 02:37 PM

DevilGirl

11-30-2009, 03:44 PM

Black Friday:

Slept until around 9:30-10am. Got up, ate, played with puppy a bit, started cleaning (I'm only half moved-in with my boyfriend cause we need to clean/clear out the master bedroom, redo the flooring, paint, so there is space for both of us, long story), realized we were missing pieces for the closet system he installed in the one closet in the master br a few months back, decided to hit up Lowes around like 4pm.

Traffic was fine. Lowes (in a shopping "plaza" with only some discount food place that's about the size of a CVS building) was not really that busy. We found what we needed, bought a few things we didn't need but wanted anyway, and were out of there with relative ease.

Normally I don't go anywhere on Black Friday if I can help it. I hate those people that go to the stores for the "sales", when for the most part, there really arn't any deals that you can't get at any other given time during the year. (OK, maybe there were 1 or 2 that I would have considered decent, but I'm not crazy enough to go stand out in the freezing cold weather if I don't have to, or at least am not getting paid for it. I used to work construction, and I've had my fair share of days (or nights in some cases) of sitting out on a site, wide open field (sometimes on the side of a mountain) in frigid weather (maybe a high of like 15, if I was lucky)... probably why I'm so susceptable to frostbite now).