Do You Shop Black Friday?

No-I just try to help the local, small businesses and do the rest online-anyway, have a Happy Thanksgiving and a Merry Christmas!

No, not usually. I don't want to deal with the crowds or waiting in lines. A small discount is not worth my sanity.

There is nothing in the world I want badly enough and no discount deep enough to get me to go out into Black Friday crowds. I do enjoy hearing about my friend's experiences after the fact but if I do any shopping that day, it will be online.

No -- Never.
I worked in retail for years. Except for a very few very limited items no sales are taht great or diferent from any other sale. If you are a careful shopper and watch the sales and clearances you can get much better deals on other days. It's all hype.
My daughter works for an IHOP in the mall area by us and has to be at work at midnight on Black Friday. The shoppers are usually waiting in line at IHOP to have breakfast before the mall opens. This means we don't get to see my daughter on Thanksgiving at all. She works Thanksgiving and then needs to go home and get to bed and try to sleep so she can be up at 11 PM to back to work. He littly boy will not remember his Mom enjoying Thanksgiving with him.
When I worked in retail I had to go to bed at around 9 PM so I could get up at 3 AM to get to work on time. Again we didn't get to really celebrate Thanksgiving. No real family time.
To me Thanksgiving is a holiday that transends all cultures and religions. It is a day to be thankful for what we have and to enjoy our families and that day is beind stolen from our culture.
As a consumer I refuse to let this happen. I refuse to shop on National holidays -- they are family days. I believe stores should be closed not only on Thanksgiving and Black Friday but also December 26th, Memorial Day, July 4th and Labor Day. Those days are family days and our families need them.

No-- no Black Thursday or Friday shopping for us. I don't really like the mall or stores even when they aren't crowded and avoid them like the plague during 'the season'. We made liqueurs for our adult friends and I'll be making cookies for the friends with families. The rest of my shopping will likely be done online or in small, independent stores/craft fairs.

No. I don't like shopping much, and I really dislike it when I'm battling hordes of people.

I think it's funny when people get high and mighty about Black Friday.
"well, I think it's HORRIBLE that these people are being forced to work!" - Um, do you buy gas? Go to the movies? get some burgers? Run to the grocery store? Yes? Well...those people are working on Black Friday too.
"*I* want to spend time with my family" (often said with their nose in the air) - Um, yeah...I love spending time with my family too! AND THEN I black Friday shop! Since I have a gameplan I am usually back home by about 10am which gives me PLENTY of time to spend with my kids. In fact, my husband and I have kind of a tradition where we look for very specific things in all of the ads, find the place with the best price and then I get up early and go get them. I never buy things that I didn't plan on buying. I have a budget. This year we need a new toaster (since June!), some towels, and sheets for our bed. We have needed them for quite a few months. I wait until black Friday to get them since I know I will get a screaming deal.
"I don't want to wait in all of the lines" - That one I understand. But I am lucky. I have found a mall nearby that has a SEARS that so far, in the past 3 years, has not been crazy busy. I have found exactly what I want, I don't wait in line, and I get great customer service! there is also a Toys R Us accross the way that I have risked going in and THAT was great too!
I don't go at Midnight, I just can't get myself to stay awake that late. I usually go about 5am.
How abou this?? I don't judge any of you for staying at home and not saving a buck and you don't judge ME for going out and saving?
L.

No way in hell I would stand in line like rabid sheep to fight for an extra $25 off of something I could have gotten on sale two weeks earlier on line. It is about the dumbest thing I can think of and part of what's wrong with our society. But that's just my opinion....

I have never been out shopping on BF - have always spent it with family. I will shop online.

Heck to the NO!!

I have absolutely NO desire to go shopping on a holiday. I find no thrill in saving some money while sacrificing time with family and friends. I personally look forward to kicking back, stuffing my face with holiday yumminess and relaxing with family and friends.

I do participate in cyber Monday. We also shop throughout the year and do a couple big outings as a date night during December.

The thought of losing out on precious shut eye, pushing through a chaotic crowd and camping out in front of stores makes me throw up in my mouth. Ugh!!

You didn't get any door busters did you? Yeah, for those you get up, freeze to death, and you are done with all your shopping by six in the morning. My older daughter and I used to do it every year.

We stopped four years ago when you could get the door busters online. The year after that we just didn't care anymore because there aren't any really good deals.

Now I just sit at my desk and shop on Amazon.

I did it once and I will NEVER do it again.
I LOATHE shopping to begin with, and shopping in crowds of crazy stupid people jsut isn't worth the discounts.

i would rather roll in my own puke.
khairete
S.

God, no!
I live to avoid hassle, crowds, hype and pressure!

We have done black Friday for years. When the kids were small it was because we needed the deals. As they got older it became a tradition. On thanksgiving day we would spread the newspapers out on the table and see what was on sale where. Everyone has lists of what they needed. At about 4 or 5 am depending on store we would split up do the shopping then meet up about 9am for breakfast. Then go off and do our wrapping. There was nothing we need last year and the kids have been complaining all year that we wiped out lol. They like the hustle and bustle and while there are some crazies out there for the most part it's just regular people trying to give their families as much as they can.

No, never, ever, ever.... too crazy for me. But to each her own!!!!

Nope, I do not do it. Can't pay me enough to do it.

Nothing is worth standing in line that long, fighting crowds and getting agitated.

My time is worth more savings than I could possibly get.

I know some people live for it and enjoy the adrenaline rush. Not me. I steer clear of malls and shopping centers now through Christmas.

I can always tell the people who have never worked in retail...they have no clue. But its a job and you must do what corporate says to keep your job.
No! I do not shop on Black Friday! I am typically working and dealing with all the crazies. Some people are fun and festive, but most are just crabby and cranky due to lack of sleep and the wearing off of the peppermint mocha.
Some people may need food or gas on Thanksgiving and those places may need to be open. But, no one NEEDS a crock pot for $12.99 at 8 pm on Thanksgiving day. Think about it!

hell no. i hate shopping in large crowds and i am working. Although, i would go if was a girlfriends day out.

10 years ago I worked at Target for BF. That was one of the first years of people being trampled as the doors opened. That particular year, we had fistfights in the parking lot. Yes, more than one. *I* had to be there at 5AM to spend an hour trying to get people to buy the store's credit card. Then I was on a register the rest of the day.

Once the doors opened it was CRAZY. People RAN to electronics to get the hot ticket item. I was busy ALL day and barely had time to breathe.

Since I've been part of the craziness that is Black Friday, I choose to have NO part of it. My husband agrees too. We MIGHT hit a couple of stores late at night if we have to.

My father worked as a regional credit manager for Macy's for over 20 years. As such, he NEVER got the day after Thanksgiving off or the day after xmas or any other holiday I always felt bad for him never getting a long weekend. So, in support of our father, no one in my immediate family EVER shops on a holiday or BF. My dad has passed now, but I still can't bring myself to shop on those days.

No, I don't. I never have. I don't like stores on normal days, I certainly don't want to be there on a crazy day like that. To me, no sale is worth that. I don't have a huge list of people that I buy gifts for. I normally do most of my shopping online.

Not really. I did go out once late in the day vs early in the AM. I am not in need of anything I need to camp out for or be up at 5AM for. I prefer to shop online sometime that weekend. Deals to be had, from the comfort of my couch.

On Thanksgiving, I will be home. I have relatives to cook for and I want to actually take a day off an enjoy their company.

Sometimes I do. Why not? It's actually not too crowded where I go. It's a good way to work off all that Thanksgiving over-eating :-)

Oh hell no. I worked Black Friday every single effing year for about 12 years. I was at the store before the sun came up and was there until the sun went down. It was always horrendously busy no matter where I worked, which was fine... except we didn't get breaks. And people were always so disgustingly rude and obnoxious and demanding of additional deals and discounts that it's really just one huge horror story.

People were monstrous to each other ie other customers and we would have brief periods with few people in the store or no one where we could clean up and the stores would be just demolished. It didn't matter if it was the family owned drug store I worked in and handled the gift section and wrapping for several years. It didn't matter if it was the clothing store I worked in for a few years. It didn't matter if it was the music box store I was in for a few years.

I'm talking ruined and broken things all over the store. Not just "out of place" but destroyed. Even with clothing, there would be piles of it in the changing rooms and it wasn't surprising to see that someone had used a pile of clothes or corner of a changing room as a toilet on Black Friday.

I will not subject myself to that disgusting circus, and I will not contribute to putting employees through the insane hell of having to service a blur of faces that are completely unappreciative and unfriendly.

EDIT: When you shop Black Friday, no matter how calmly YOU think you are, you are part of the problem in the chaos and the greed. You are part of why people can't treat eat other with kindness and dignity. The people that are working don't have a choice in whether or not they're there if they want to keep their jobs. They don't get get overtime for being there the day after Thanksgiving. Do you know why there are seasonal workers? So that the regular workers don't make overtime and even if they work endless shifts when they work, they don't get paid overtime. It's why there's "extra staff." It's to cover those extra hours and yet not have to pay the overtime for those extra long store hours. Only for assistant managers that are paid by the hour... but they have slave labor for the store manager who is salaried and ends up getting paid pennies an hour because even if during the year they're making up to $15/hour during the holiday season they have to work 80+ hours a week and often cover other stores on top of their own.

It isn't just "rumors" about how terrible Black Friday is. It's not just a "trick" to have fun." It's a ridiculously greedy day that shouldn't take place. It's everything that's wrong with retail.

I go with my MIL and SIL. It's become a tradition. We go to Walmart and Menards every year. Then we hit a couple of other stores and go out to breakfast. It's fun!

The trick is to just have fun with it. You hear on the news about the mobs and the crazy people and the lines, but the truth is those are incredibly rare. Yes there are crowds and lines, but the crazy people are few and far between. Most of the people I encounter are friendly and laughing about the crazy stories on the news.

I'm surprised at the number of people that say they have never shopped and they never will. Well, if you never try something and only believe the rumors, how do you know?

Nope, I finish my shopping by turkey day.

I do January and July clearance for what I can, at least half the gifts.

OH heck no! I did that one year and I vowed myself i would NEVER EVER do that again!! People are rude, crazy and psycho! And I am not a big fan of waiting in lines for 5+ hours just to get a flat screen that maybe is $40-50 cheaper than the original price. Shopping during Christmas season is a mad house anyway, BF is 1000 times worse!

Absolutely NOT. I cannot understand why people do it either. YOu can usually get better deals online or later closer to Christmas. Plus, one store admitted a few years ago, the electronics that they offer super values on are actually going to be discontinued. So if anything is wrong with it, you will not get a replacement.

No, not really. On years that my mom and I are together on Thanksgiving we will go out on Friday morning for a bit just to check out the sales at some of our favorite clothing stores.

To me it seems like it's not a great a deal as it used to be.

That being said, my sister usually gets all her Christmas shopping done on Black Friday.

I don't shop BFs as I work. I couldn't imagine going shopping after I get off of work either(Friday morning)but I don't look negatively upon those who do, provided they're civil of course. I'm wondering what chaos is going to ensue for myself this year.....people are crazy and will do anything for a possible deal. I've been witness to a few things I hope I don't see again.

I don't. I can't stand the experience, especially as it's become more competitive. Pushing and shoving, getting in line and standing there for the "come-on" bargain the stores pushed, in the hopes that you would take your savings and go spend it on more stuff - I hate the manipulation of the businesses and the herd mentality of the customers.

But I hate the idea of it even more - I hate the fact that we spend a day being thankful for what we have, but end it early so we can go to bed and get up and go buy more because we don't have enough.

I understand people who work 9-5 trying to take advantage of a day off, but with all the frenzy, it seems better to take the day with the kids you don't see as much and then just shop on a weekend or an evening when it's not so frenetic.

I think we do more for the economy when we shop in small businesses whose owners live in the community and who take their profits and put them back into the same community. I like to support the "little guys" whose prices might be just a little higher but who have unique gifts, who always donate to the kids' school activities and fundraising auctions, who run food and clothing drives for the local folks on hard times, etc. I like to choose gifts carefully and hope that the recipients won't want to return them, rather than insist on shopping in a big chain store so the recipients' can go to the branch near them and return/exchange the gift. (I have a relative that shops this way - just buy ANYTHING and enclose the gift receipt! She and her husband just buy 5 or 6 of everything, stack them on the dining room table, wrap, and send to everyone on their list. We all get duplicates - so silly.)

I also shop on line when the company is a small one or family-owned, because my money isn't going into huge corporate profits of some company that doesn't even pay its workers a living wage or benefits. I do shop at SOME large stores for certain items (like a refrigerator maybe) but only when they are paying high wages to their workers on the floors, hiring full time and paying health insurance.

I have worked retail on and off over the years....so you can probably guess what my answer is.....

NO. I live in a place where in my mind majority of people are awesome. Black Friday ruins that picture.

Plus I save good amounts of money all year...Christmas is a time where I just don't care. And I appreciate things from Etsy...can't find that in awesome deals at Walmart

I have for along time now. Especially when I was really shopping for toys when my kids were really little and we were broke. This year - I don't know that I am. I am really unhappy with all the stores opening on Thanksgiving Day. Nothing is that important to miss time with family. So I may get out a little bit sometime Friday and see what I can find since my hubby & boys will be hunting but other than that - I don't think I will this year.

I do not shop on Black Friday, never have.

In stores? Rarely. Online, yes.
My husband would occasionally go to stores for black Friday specials but it was rarely if ever for any of the big ticket items. It would be for the "loss leaders", $5 DVDs and the like. I think we bought one of our TVs as a Black Friday special from Circuit City back when they still existed but that's it. I actually hate shopping and never go with him the few times he's done it.
We don't have a large list of people to buy gifts for, that helps some maybe.
Amazon has started price matching sale prices on their website so we do that a lot now for some of our shopping.

No, I usually go for a hike or a ski with my family or with my dog. :) I might go online to buy an xmas gift or two if it's on sale that day. We just enjoy having a lazy day at home for the most part. Where I live I'd have to make a very long drive to get to real stores anyway. So, except for stocking stuffers, I do all my xmas shopping online anyway.

I tried it. Hated it. Didn't even find what I was looking for and ended up ordering it online for even cheaper with free shipping. LOL.

I will be doing most of my shopping online and will definitely not be shopping on black friday. I may however make my way to the movies since so many others will be shopping that may mean the theaters will be empty. I love going to the movies early to get the before noon discount - same theater, discounted price for the same movie without the crowds.

i went twice, years and years ago. i thought it was crazy. i find better deals before thanksgiving and after thanksgiving. there is nothing we want or need that can't be bought any other day. i wish there was no such thing as black friday. just have great deals once in a while.

Before kids, I used to go w/a friend.
It was fun and we only went to the mall.
But now it's crazy and I don't seem to need anything that badly anymore.
Now, I hit smaller stores, unique little shops etc.
I try to get my shopping done after Halloween and before Dec 1st.

Online maybe and I'm more likely to do Cyber Monday than Black Friday.
But get up at midnight to wait for a store to open at 2am, get a parking space amid the parking lot road rage going on, thunder into a store with the rest of the herd then go crazy fighting for the last item on a shelf?
No way!

Once or twice. It really isn't my thing. My kids are older and I took them with me last year at midnight Thanksgiving Day. Husband was gone to work (overnight shift) and it was a "novelty" for me to go with the kids.

Probably won't happen this year. I don't like the crowds. The waiting. The chaos. The ache-y back. And usually, there is very little in the way of deals that are enticing to me.

I will likely go out on Black Friday this year (in the late morning or early afternoon) simply b/c I am traveling at Thanksgiving and where we will be has many more shopping options than the rural area we live. It might be a good opportunity to score husband a new pair of polarized sunglasses or something like that.
It's how I found a $450 watch for him several years ago for only $210.

Do I wish the stores would stop opening on Thanksgiving night? Yes. It's ridiculous. And I'm a night owl, not a morning person.

Used to drive me nuts that I would go out of town to visit my family for Thanksgiving, only to have half of them do nothing but scour the sales ads for hours before leaving at 7:00 pm so they could get up at 3:00 to go shop. :/ So much for visiting and spending family time hanging out.

Updated

Once or twice. It really isn't my thing. My kids are older and I took them with me last year at midnight Thanksgiving Day. Husband was gone to work (overnight shift) and it was a "novelty" for me to go with the kids.

Probably won't happen this year. I don't like the crowds. The waiting. The chaos. The ache-y back. And usually, there is very little in the way of deals that are enticing to me.

I will likely go out on Black Friday this year (in the late morning or early afternoon) simply b/c I am traveling at Thanksgiving and where we will be has many more shopping options than the rural area we live. It might be a good opportunity to score husband a new pair of polarized sunglasses or something like that.
It's how I found a $450 watch for him several years ago for only $210.

Do I wish the stores would stop opening on Thanksgiving night? Yes. It's ridiculous. And I'm a night owl, not a morning person.

Used to drive me nuts that I would go out of town to visit my family for Thanksgiving, only to have half of them do nothing but scour the sales ads for hours before leaving at 7:00 pm so they could get up at 3:00 to go shop. :/ So much for visiting and spending family time hanging out.

No, I just use that time to sleep, to play board games with family and eat delicious snacks prepared by all of us.....I really admire people who are willing to spend hours and hours shopping around, waiting in line and so. That's not for me. I don't enjoy it, I get Christmas presents after the holidays for the next Christmas, and I buy cheaper and exactly what I want and need. Another good time to buy is September.
Happy Thanksgiving!

A. :)

I go and love it. I do NOT go to get more stuff out of "consumerism and selfishness", as a matter of fact, the only thing I may get for myself is a bigger rice cooker because my boys are starting to eat A LOT and I don't like having to cook brown rice twice for enough to serve everyone their beans and rice or gumbo (that's 90 minutes on rice people! I am not selfish, lol). I NEVER EVER saw the fighting and ugliness that they so love to show on TV. EVER. Maybe it's the stores I shop? (I don't shop Walmart because it's unorganized OR at least not very clearly spelled out or mapped out for customers ahead of time, and I don't shop Best Buy for expensive high tech stuff that people will be rushing in to get a deal for, when I don't even know what's what----the black rectangle thing, or the other black rectangle thing...it's not my scene). I've shopped mall department stores, Target, and much later after making my rounds I'll swing into Walmart when the "mad rush" is gone. I go because it's fun. It's a night out with no children or husband around me, where I can go with a friend and have "girl time" and playing Santa for those I love. The deals are fine, some deals are actually great (I admit, I've scored a few great "trophies" in the last couple years that even impressed my husband), but mostly they're just fine. It's not so much "I must get this one item or the world ends", but just "while everyone in my house is sleeping and NOT going to miss me at all, I'm going to get my list of what's where and my "strategy" (which is, by the way, part of the fun for me), and I'm going to sneak out and do a full day's shopping, buy stuff for friends, children, husband, the kids in my son's den, the angel tree selection, the coats for kids, household items that we need replaced---they don't get a lot of attention, but sheets, cookware, stuff like that go on very good prices and yes I've been known to refuse to replace sheets that were just too worn for their own good because it's only a couple more months to Black Friday---and then I get to be home in time for breakfast, the Christmas shopping done for the year and us free to enjoy tree lightings, musicals and plays, church functions, scout functions, Santa visits, ICE, etc to my heart's content, free of holiday "stress", for the rest of the year. You have to go with the right mindset though. Are you going to choose to be frustrated with traffic, parking, and all the strangers "in your way"? Or are you going to choose to talk and laugh while walking to the store, concentrate on the opening of Christmas season and being out with others from your community and make it a festive atmosphere?
It's been fun for us, we go with a thermos of hot chocolate, we talk. I've made friends with people that I've sat in lines with for a long time, one time they came over for dinner. One time we exchanged cell numbers and I texted her to let her know I found what she was hoping for, still in stock, and put it in my cart while shopping until she could get to me. I've had coffees from starbucks and danish rolls given to me, sometimes people will announce they're going on a coffee run and take orders from those by them. Nobody has a problem with them returning and taking their place back in line, especially when they're passing out goodies. I've joined in while we sang carols or told funny family stories, compared how we spend holidays in our homes, played Bingo or card games with strangers on the sidewalk. Silly, but true. And sometimes, it's just nice to get a little sense of community and have fun just enjoying the time. I've noticed with texting being so popular in the last few years that the lines are often more quiet and people are busy looking at their phones a lot more, but you can still find fun people to pass the time with. I won't shop on Thanksgiving, because that's my day with my family. But yeah, as usual, the children go to bed between 8:30 and 9 and my husband will go to bed between 10 and 11, and I will be sneaking out the door in the wee hours of the morning, between 1 and 3. I will be home between 7 and 8, and expecting blackberry pancakes and bacon upon my return. That's our tradition. And we're fine with it.

As for when I was younger and had no children: I always volunteered for working Black Friday (and holidays when I was not married) because it kept me busy and I wanted the holiday pay. I worked hotels and retail jobs in those years. Usually multiple jobs. (I worked 2 stores at the mall AND HIckory Farms at the same time one year, another year I worked at Container Store and a hotel, and was the only front desk clerk that was single with no children so I volunteered and took other peoples' shifts if they didn't want them, plus the holiday pay, PLUS sometimes the guests would come back from wherever they were visiting and eating, to surprise me with treats, or a whole dinner plate, that they'd made for me---score!) As a college student, I was perfectly fine with that. The holiday pay helped out, and it also kept me from feeling bummed that I was out of town away from my family (didn't have the money to go visit most times). But I won't shop on Thanksgiving day because.....I not only don't wanna be away from my family now that I have one, but I also think staff should be able to have that one day off, and the evening to gear up for the busy season. But I'm not going to judge anyone else who does go.