Today was my first Black Friday experience ever. My son is here visiting with us and last night we both decided to give it a try. Never done it before so it was mostly just to see what all the hubub was all about as we egged each other on to actually do this. So after going to bed after midnight last night we arose at 5 am. I can't believe I did this. I AM NOT a morning person.
We got up sleepily and left the house at 5:15. His job was to come in and shake me which he did. I quickly got up and put on my set-aside-from-the-night-before-shopping outfit. My denim jeans and jacket with my L.L. Bean shoes were pefect for the day.
Of course we got lost for the first 30 minutes tryng to find the main drag with all the stores which should have taken less than 15 minutes and instead took twice that long. I told him to take a wrong turn after telling him the right one that just didn't feel right. My feelings were wrong. We were on the right track. Can't always depend on feelings. Hmmmmm I thought I knew how to get there.
We went to Staples first. When I saw the long line I was taken aback but got in line anyhow. My son went to Circuit City across the same parking lot after he found out all the Tom Tom's sold out. No way was I even going to attempt going into tCircuit City. Not a chance.
At Staples the employees went down the line giving each of us a ticket for each wanted item. This is how we found out the GPS system was sold out before the store even opened. Some people were out of luck as the items ran out before the line did. I got both my items but it took roughly an hour of standing in line to finally get thru the door to stand in the inside line. Good prices for my items but they both involve rebates I need to send out. Hopefully I don't forget.
My son who went to CC to just buy one camera, got right in, took the camera off the shelf and got in line. The line which snaked around the whole store was horrendous and it took him ALOT longer to finally get to the register than me. I thought Staples had a better way of doing things. At 6 am (opening time) they only allowed so many people into the store with the rest of us waiting outside. As people left, more were welcomed in. It was orderly with no stress. I knew with tickets in my hand I would be getting my two items.
Our last wanted item was for a lighted Palm Tree at Bealls. I wasn't sure by the picture if it was tacky or not so I didn't rush to that store first. When we finally did get there they had plenty of them and they were actually quite nice. Many were taking them from the very large pile of them with the manager nearby. He told us as we grabbed two boxes that they were a great deal. I wonder if they might have been a loss leader. Until 1 pm they were going for $29 usually sold for $39 on sale and regularly priced at $79.
After a stop at CVS and Belk we got home by 9 am happy with our few purchases. I didn't see any pushing or shoving or nasty behavior. Maybe that's because at Staples, where I spent most of my time, I was in the company of older calmer folks so all in all it was pretty mellow. I actually got to talk to the four or five people around me.
Now I'm just starting to get very sleepy. After a busy fast-paced day I think I just pushed down my weariness and now it's catching up with me. My son and his girlfriend leave on Sunday morning so tomorrow will be another busy day.
So would I do this again? Maybe, but not likely. I think I could still get up at seven or eight and take my chances and get most of the stuff on my list. I know for certain I would never sit in line all night like some did. Nothing in this material world is worth losing that much sleep over. It's bad enough we went out when we did but it was mostly for the experience and making a memory than it was for the items.