Happy Black Friday - Please Don’t Trample Me
One of the things I hate doing is waiting in line. To me, time is money and time spent waiting in line is time wasted that could be going to generating income or spending with family members. It truly amazes me that people would line up for hours on end to save a few bucks on some DVDs or trample over each other for a box of chocolate.
If you’re a retailer, you’re loving it. The Thanksgiving weekend can make up as much as 10 percent of all holiday sales, according to retail analyst Dana Telsey of Telsey Advisory Group, while the 10 days before Christmas can account for 40 percent of the total. Here’s a video taken outside a Best Buy just as the doors open.
And this is how the employees inside the Best Buy see things.
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- 73 comments what's your take?
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I love how people that aren’t even in line just go to the front and go in without having to wait in the blistering cold. Those are definitely the smart ones!
Reply to this commentI did that last year. No one knows the difference.
Reply to this commentWhile running in right before store opens is easy and no one can tell, there is an advantage to waiting outside although I am not saying it’s smart because those people do wait for several hours in the cold, etc.
However from of the line (especially those that travel in groups) get an advantage of getting store vouchers for certain items such as laptops (guaranteed to get one). I know that recently Circuit City for example had a 15.4″ laptop with a 1GB ram, 80GB HDD, along with Printer, Router, and Anti-Virus for $299.96 after rebates which is a steal of a deal. It would save at least $300+ off the tag. And if you have multiple people, they have the advantage.
Next, if you’re buying more than one item such as say you’re getting a HDTV (everything is in limited quantity), during Black Friday, they can be almost 50% some of the high def 1080p LCD. That’s another savings of like over $1,000 not to mention items such as digi cams, etc etc.
While waiting isn’t always smart, I wouldn’t necessarily say they’re only doing it to save $20
Reply to this commentThat really does make sense, a pitty here in Italy we don’t have at least a grey Friday.
That was tho a great “flood” of people entering in the store
, i would really want to see the face expression of someone that is not familiar with Black Friday and its his/her first day working at Best buy (as example)…hah, hilarious
Reply to this commentSome camped out the entire Thanksgiving day at my Best Buy… wow.
Reply to this commentHahaha… Yea. Good point. No waiting needed…
Reply to this commentI worked in retail for 3 years and it is a fun but SCARY time for employees in retail
Yikes!
Reply to this commentI can just imagine your face looking at all those people entering the store at once Waaaa!
Reply to this commentdamn john you beat me too it with the videos - maybe because I time stamped mine =P
Reply to this commentThe time thing is right on the head. Why would I wait in the cold for a few hours to save $20? good videos btw
Reply to this commentI had the shame of actually queuing outside a shop this morning before it opened.
Not something I normally do (or have ever done) but I needed a new pair of trousers.
It’s crazy to think that so many people will actually queue up.
Reply to this commentPeople are so worried about saving money that they will do the weirdest of things. Me? I have never gone out on Black Friday and I really doubt I ever will. It seems really…pointless. But hey! It makes us all money, right?
Reply to this commentWhat? Wait in line to get $2 off a CD or DVD and spend $4 in gas to get there and have to get up at 4:00 am, no thanks. I’ll buy online. So will millions of others! Yahoo!
Reply to this commentYeah people can be so dumb… waiting in line to save a few bucks at 4 in the morning.. i wonder if those best buy employees will get fired for calling their customers “whackos”
Reply to this commentPerhaps. I’ve worked retail before… the customers on Black friday literally do go whacko.
It’s hilarious…
Reply to this commentMeh… Best Buy had a nice laptop/printer combo for just $229, usually. And somewhere else had a nice LCD tv for $200. A lot more savings than just $20 can be found..
Reply to this commentThank God for online purchases. Amazon had some good stuff.
Thanks!
Reply to this commentCrazy. I stopped going for Black Friday deals years ago. Too much hassle for too little savings. I mean seriously. What’s your time worth? If you’re in college ok, but if you’re making good money at what you do, do you want to marginalize your time to save a few hundred bucks?
By the way John, I don’t know if it is just my computer, but your 125×125 ads aren’t displaying correctly.
Check the screenshot I took to see what I mean. There should be 8 ads from what I can tell, but there are many blank areas. Perhaps the Ad rotator is malfunctioning?
http://www.daxdesai.com/OPE/johnchow_scshot.JPG
Reply to this commentThe 125×125 ads do the same on my desktop, but not on my laptop… I figured it was something with my computer that was wrong.
Reply to this commentWhy not just order online from our own Affiliate links? Not a bad discount that we can get.
Reply to this commentMost affiliate agreements forbid buying from your own links or anyone in the same household as the registered affiliate.
Reply to this commentThere weren’t really any good deals. I mean, you can still find better deals online. Prices are going down any way.
Reply to this commentits the dumbest thing in the world to do.
Reply to this commentI second man,
Reply to this commentAmazing. Absolutely amazing.
Reply to this commentThe funny thing about Black Friday is that I don’t know anybody who waits in line for these things or ventures out to face the mobs, yet somehow there are always thousands of people who do it. Who are all these people? How come I don’t know any of them, or know anybody who knows any of them.
Reply to this commentThe only time I’ve ever waited in line to buy anything was when I woke up at 5 AM to go stand in 20 degree weather for 4 hours outside of Circuit City to get a Nintendo Wii. I’d rather pay someone to do the standing for me next time.
Reply to this commentWhy wait in line when you can win stuff online? PS3 is up for grabs.
Reply to this commentAhhhh I went today
Tons of people even though I didn’t line up the night before. For kicks, we drive by a Best Buy the night before at 9:00 and there were about 500 people lining up already. 
Reply to this commentjust got back from black friday. what a mob, but i picked up a few things. i thought you are allowed to buy from your own links? im pretty sure you can! correct me if im wrong though.
Reply to this commentI used to work with a guy who braved this mess every year to buy as many hot electronics items as he could on Black Friday to flip on eBay in the coming weeks. He usually makes between $3000-5000 every December doing this.
Reply to this commenthey what happened to cashQuest, they havent’ posted for a while. well, i guess john chow is back to #1.
Reply to this commentYou didn’t hear? The site was sold for $15,000.
Reply to this commentOnly $15.000, what a discount
Reply to this commentEveryone should record their own videos
-Mike
Reply to this commentI went out last year to save $20 on a hard drive.
Never again.
Reply to this commentmake more money so you don’t have to wait in line on a night when you’re suppose to be spending time with your family . . . . those are just my thoughts
Reply to this commenthahaha lool! this weekend is great for all americans…but i think that friday at night there will be nothing on the shops
Reply to this commentHere’s how I spend my Black Fridays:
Wake up at 11AM, order pizza and log on.
Spend 10 minutes reading John Chow’s latest posts.
Log on to eBay and NewEgg, spend five minutes purchasing goods. Christmas shopping is done.
Go out and point and laugh at all the schmucks stuck in hour long lines at Best Buy.
I love Black Fridays.
Reply to this commentyou got it all planned out dont ya. good that you’re smart.
Reply to this commentGosh I had no idea it was such a feeding frenzy on Black Fridays.
Reply to this commentIt was just crazy in saving money.
Reply to this commentOn a very sombre note, does anyone know that yesterday was Black Friday for reasons other than these, in another part of the world. The north Indian state of UP was targeted by terrorist bombs that went off simultaneously in several cities, all of which were aimed at the heart of civil society: the law courts.
Reply to this commentwow, that is dark…
Reply to this commentYeah the whole saving money thing is crazy… I mean, saving money is good but at what expense?
I’m not a rich person but I realized I was spending too much of my time into work without personal time so I started hiring a house cleaner, and I never cook at home so I don’t waste time on cooking and cleaning. I eat out 3 meals a day.
It’s a perfect way to achieve balance. That way I have time for my personal stuff and I get my work done, at a relatively small cost.
Same applies for shopping and such - to go far to save money is ludacris for me unless we’re talking about a big ticket item like a car, or some really heavy sound equipment. Shopping around for me is limited to online, and even then the distance is a factor for me to decide where to shop.
I see people going cross-border shopping to save money with the weak US dollars. If you have to drive an hour or more to go save money on buying clothes, your time is worthless.
Reply to this commentYou don’t have to be rich to appreciate the fact that time is money. Why on earth should you wait hours in the freezing cold to save a few bucks on something you don’t need. Instead you can be reading sites like John Chow or my own to figure out ways you can be making money with that time, rather than wasting money.
Reply to this commentYou have got it right brother. There are other saner ways to save money and more importantly, make it. This is sheer madness.
Reply to this commentGeez…not worth it. Better to just buy online.
Reply to this commentYes, the camera man made the most appropriate comment - This is insanity. What on earth for? Just to save a few bucks? I would not do this if my life depended on it.
Reply to this commentoh man.. weird ppl oversea
Reply to this commentHi John,
I hate waiting in lines, too. That’s why I am shopping mostly online!
Regards,
Reply to this commentWilliam
I hate to wait in line too. If I have to wait, I’d rather take taxi instead. But sometimes taxi is slow too. Under such condition, I have no idea what to do.
Reply to this commentI just watched a bit of the video, and it’s not smart at all to call those who are customers “stupid”. Then again, explains why this person is working on sales at BB when some of his counterparts are setting up the next Web2.0 spaces.
Reply to this commentPut it was the funniest part of the video.
Reply to this commentI am actually surprised if some of these people don’t get in trouble from Best Buy or fired. I’ve seen the Best Buy employee video posted a few places, and calling your customers stupid is not the way to win customer loyalty. You can be sure if someone high up the Best Buy food chain sees this video,and chances are they will, someone is going to get canned.
Reply to this commentBad employee attitudes are exactly why I don’t like shopping at big box stores like Best Buy.
Reply to this commentI have found bad employee experiences at all sorts of stores. I try not to let a few bad examples taint my view of all employees at a given store. Some chains are better than others, just depends on how they treat their employees, corporate culture, etc.
Reply to this commentIn order to survive Black Friday you need to map out the store and know exactly where the items you are interested in are situated, but you must have some helping hands and they will go straight to their designated area when the doors open. If you miss this year wait until the next one to try this strategy it works for me every time.
Reply to this commentI think the one thing that would have really annoyed me about Black Friday would have been the line cutting by others. Can’t believe how many people cut into the line in one of those video clips
Reply to this commentI was in line an hour early last year and still would have gotten everything I wanted had I came on time. Only those computers that they have a very limited supply were hard to get. I went a few hours late this year and got everything.
Reply to this commentThat’s funny… the best buy here is a ghost town. Fry’s Electronics is where it’s at. Line loops around the entire store which is like 2 best buy’s combined.
Reply to this commentI noticed the exact same thing at my Best Buy, and wrote about it on my blog. I wonder if it is a good time to short Best Buy! Odd though, they had some OK deals there. I didn’t buy anything, since I detest shopping this weekend, but I was a little stunned at the lack of a line.
Reply to this commenti waited in line for the laptop and printer for 229 combo. of course i couldn’t get it. i did get some nice sansa mp3s and a hd dvd player
Reply to this commentBlack Fridays really rox, love it!
Reply to this commentI hate lines too, although you can never escape them
Reply to this commentI wanted the $229 laptop too! I wonder what time you have to start lining up to get it!
Reply to this commentIt is hyped just out of proportion and the retailers know how to make good use of this hype for their advantage.
Reply to this commentI went out at 6am! Got some pretty good deals, but the lines were crazy! Love the blog!
Reply to this commentCyber Monday… now this is MY kind of holiday! I spent way too much money today.
Reply to this commentDid u make a lot of sales in black friday?
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