I'm glad you got that one special,thing. And it's all over, no more going out today,right?

Sometimes, you just got to. :)

Personally I decided not to say NEVER again. Last time it bit me hard.

Moni

I just read in the paper, that a union is, what they call striking) striking my local super Walmart today. Of course, this is the same union that, a few years ago, was calling in bomb threats every Friday afternoon for weeks, until they were taken to court.

I had no intention of going over to Walmart's today, but I may just go in to support the company and it's workers not to give into these thieves.

Oh, I wish I didn't have to go out again, but DD just arrived and wants to go hit the stores down here (Our 'country' house is in an urban enterprise zone and tax is half what it is in the rest of the state). And it's a more rural area, hopefully the crowds will be less than in the suburbs and we have most of the same stores (Kohl's, Target, Boscov's, Burlington, BB&B, etc

Monica, I saw that on the news--really don't know what to think about that.

If it's not available online, then it won't be purchased by me today. I will shop at two little gift shops on Saturday for the American Express small business initiative, but any other bricks and mortar shopping will take place after the Black Friday madness dies down.

You are not alone....ALMOST broke that rule too. About 8 pm last night DD saw that Target was opening at 9pm and had some cute toys for DGD .... so we zipped over there... mind you it was 8:30 when we got there. What an AMAZING sight. Not only was the Target parking lot full, but Red Lobster and a stand alone very big Kohls and over flowing into the mall. People were lined up, at least, around 2+ sides of the building. We looked. We saw. I wondered "how much money would one have to be saving to justify (to oneself) standing in that long line" and thinking that the fire dept would not let all of them in until some of them exited.... I think most buildings have a 'capicity' limit.... and that line was extreeme.

We had a nice outing. Neither one of us are out when the town is lighted up, so we noticed some new lighted areas as we flew over downtown on the freeway and we were home before 9. I wonder how those folks made out. Oh, ToysRUs had mobs of people too.... the rest of town was very quiet.

Monica and everyone if you really want to support the workers on the Walmart thing~~please go and talk to a few of the workers and ask them what the strike is about and what do they really want? Then decide what you want to do. You can never trust the media to put out the whole truth. I never have in my life crossed a picket line, I always talk to the workers first, we have grocery strikes here every few years and I ask them what would you like me to do and why? They always asked me to walk away~~~I was a manager of a elementary cafeteria for years and paid for a little girls lunch for several months while the single mom was on strike and walking the picket line. I believe in the power of the people and am a born and raised union person!

Not wanting to start anything here this is just MHO~~just hoping people will make informed decisions if this turns into a big thing.

PEACE

There is not enough money on the entire planet to make me go shopping on BF. I might not go out again until everyone goes back to work Monday. I couldn't possibly save enough money to risk my sanity.

Yogalady. I believe that Walmart is non union. They were not the ones on strike. It was union members, not working at Walmart that were marching in front of Walmart. If I have my stories right.

Yes, WM is nonunion it is my understanding that some employees want it to be union~~~yes the strikers out front are union organizers~~that is why I would ask emplyees if this is what they wanted? Still I would not cross a picket line it is just not my way.

It is my understanding that the workers want a union? Or maybe for WM to be more fair to the workers~~I am on vaca right now when I get home I am going to my local WM and ask around about this. I am very curious to see if the workers want this or if it is just a union wanting to get in?

We went out about ten this morning to Wal Mart.. We got everything we wanted, was able to walk to the register not once but twice and check out with NO waiting. Lowes was a little crowded but we still got everything we wanted and once again no waiting.. Now that's
the way to shop on Black Friday!

WE had gone out yesterday afternoon to go to Lowes but turns out it was closed so we went to walmart next door to pick up a few groceries while we were out. There was hardly anyone in walmarts but the staff was really busy making these huge bundled piles of stuff in the ailses and putting arrows on the floor. All the bundles had signs on them as to what time they could be opened some said 8 some said 10pm. I asked 3 people about the arrows on the floors and none knew except that it had to do with black friday. There was one lady in the middle of the frozen food section in a chair at one of the arrows with her empty cart. Apparently she thought the whole thing started at that spot. How she came up with that I have no clue since even the people there didn't know. When we went out to the car they were busy cording off the parking lot. So we got to see all the stuff that was going to be on sale and honestly even if I could have bought it right then there was maybe only one thing I would have bought.

I have been finding better prices online already than any of the black Friday deals. I found the Asus transformer tablet with the dock on a super sale and snatched it up for my Christmas present. I am happy he is happy no one had to go out shopping LOL.
Plus I really am not well enough to be out there mixing with anyone.

DD and I did not want to go out and stand in line and fight the crowds and we couldn't think of anything we wanted that bad to go out for. BUT my husband saw a DEWALT 12 in. Double-Bevel Sliding Miter Saw on sale that he wanted. He's never been to a Black Friday sale in all his 75 years. LOL He's an early riser anyway, leaving the house by 3a.m. to go to work every day.

He arrived at 4:45 and there was already a line snaking around the building to the back for the 5 a.m. opening. He just waited nearby and when the 300 people in line went in he just walked in with no trouble.

He looked in the tool dept and it wasn't there. Another guy was looking for it, too, so they agreed to go in opposite directions and the first to find it would get two and then meet up. DH asked a worker there and he pulled out a map that showed where all the special sales were. it was between the lumber. As DH turned to go there he saw the guy walking toward him with two in his basket. He was haopy that he got it and put in in the back of he trunk and came home.

Then he went to Lowes, which is further away and opened at 6 a.m. He said he wanted to get the deer lawn ornaments and an angel for me. HE is the one that has been talking about getting them. LOL

He also got
Werner Aluminum Work Platform
Standing area of platform: 39-1/2" x 12
Height: 20-9/16"

He said it would be easier for him to put Christmas lights on the house ~ which he said he wasn't going to do anymore.

So he had a good Black Friday! And I like the angel and te two deer.

I gat my Christmas present last week ~ the new Samsung Galexy 36 III Now I just have to learn how to use it. I LOVE that I can make the phone list big and I can hear much better than my OLD one. I took some pictures of the angel and the deer but I have to learn how to post them.

lindyluwho - couldn't agree more!!! Never!

My ideal way to shop is "click, click" and a couple days later it's at my doorstep! :)

Dorothy you DH's adventure made me LOL~~~~

Raven why do they make it so complicated that their own workers can not figure it out??

I wonder since the workers have to be there early if they are allowed to buy any of this stuff at the sale prices ahead of time??

I had several items picked out of the Walmart flyer that started at 8 pm last night. DH said I'll go and grab the stuff so you don't have to. Very nice of him I might add, told him it wasn't necessary.

I wanted the Paula Deen 23-pc cookware set for $99. the 3-in-1 stick vac for $8.94 and the 700 thread count sheets for $19.99 for any size and a Brothers sewing machine for $49. All but the sewing machine gone within a couple MINUTES after 8 pm. Dammit! The sewing machine was just a hair brained idea I had. I'm going to have to learn how to sew, haha.

He called me from the parking lot and said I have never, EVER seen anything like this in my whole entire life. There is not one parking space. People are fighting over carts. This is insane. Yep.

I did get quite a few things online at Kohls last night. I got free shipping, used a code and got 15% off my total order, and went through ebates and got 10% cash back. Loved that.

I think the trick in getting several BF items from one store is take as many people with you as items you want and everyone just hustles to their assigned item;)

My DH keeps yakking at me WHY can't they have enough items, they know what is going to go fast and they make $$ off it all so why not just have more items. I told him I do not know it all seems so crazy to me. I know gals that just love to do it for the sport/fun of it~~any of you like that?

Well, of course, the 'why' is that they aren't going to sell huge quantities of things at a loss--those things are advertised just to get hordes through the doors. Because the stores KNOW that even if you don't get the $40 I-pad they adverties (reading '2 per store' in the fine print), you'll surely buy a bunch of other things while you're there. It's a really slimey way of doing business, if ask me.

In my case, I'd been to the store on Wed, to scope out the item I wanted and the store had many of them stacked up--plenty for the anticipated needs on BF. I respect that. But I still went at 6, just to be certain that contractors didn't snap up those incredibly priced scaffolds before I could get at least one.

We needed a new dishwasher badly. Sears already had many of their Black Friday prices starting last Sunday, so we bought the dishwasher on Tues. I scoped out the other stores during the week also. We don't need any electronics or toys. I usually check the stores ahead of time to see if there are a few winter clothes or shoes that will be good deals for Black Friday. I didn't really find anything this year. I did snag a $60 pair of silver earrings for $12 on Wed. I didn't do any actual shopping yesterday. I did go to Hobby Lobby & pick up a Lightkeeper Pro to fix the Christmas tree lights.