On Black Friday, there are two types of shoppers: those are looking to buy something very specific and those that are there just to enjoy the savings! This year I was part of the latter. In my second go-round at Black Friday, I made trips to Target and Best Buy in search of Blu-Ray's and DVD's on the cheap... and was successful! It did not come without some frustration though.
Since Target opened at effing 4 AM, I decided to arrive fairly late, not showing up until 4:30 in the hopes of avoiding massive crowdage. Lesson one of the trip: If you don't need to get there early, don't. The instant I arrived in my car, I was greeted with parking lot chaos. After a few minutes of futile spot searching, I parked on the street without effort. Lesson two: if you don't have to, avoid parking where everyone else does. Getting inside with only a short wait (less than four minutes), I quickly made my way to the electronics, which was unquestionably the most crowded section of the store. Being small and without cart, I snagged the few movies I was looking for and made a quick dash for the registers. I was in and out of Target in less than 20 minutes. Good trip so far...
Onto Best Buy. Last year I had gone to Best Buy in a different section of the city, but was unable (thanks to public transportation) to get there early enough to get a voucher to buy a laptop. Not needing anything that was in heavy demand, I was able to make a small list of the movies and TV seasons I wanted to pick up and make my way through through the small crowd and grab everything I had come there for. Lesson three: Don't pay more than ten bucks for any single movie. If it's a TV show on DVD or Blu-Ray, fifteen should be the limit. Keeping it cheap enables you to pick up a size-able impulse purchase as well. Lesson three: Scan the store's ad well before you get there and make a list and formulate a budget. If you get through it quickly, you can spend a few minutes shopping unencumbered by necessity. All Black Friday's ads are online a few days before and finding them is no problem at all. Do your homework and budget ahead of time.
After picking up everything on my list, I spotted an iPod/iPhone alarm clock with a price tag I could not pass up. Now I was done shopping. Lesson five: You must get something for yourself if you're going to be up that early shopping. Otherwise you'll be staring longingly at all the items you "shouldn't" buy. Buying yourself something you want will also keep you from getting too grumpy.
It took about a half-hour to clear through Best Buy with what I wanted, so now it was time to check-out. Unlike Target which has a plethora of check-out lanes, Best Buy only had about six, which kept the lines lengthy. I waited in line for no less than forty minutes. Lesson six: Have something to do while you're in line. Whether you brought a friend or are simply texting somebody or if you have your iPod or phone at the ready, you're going to need something to occupy your time.
I left my apartment a bit after four and got back around 6:30, which was a win in my book. Lesson seven: The earlier you start, the earlier you finish. Now, I had to go to work on Black Friday, but next year YOU might be able to go home and get some much-deserved sleep after dropping some dough.
Finally? Lesson eight: Try to have fun. Nothing is more ridiculous than being up at 5 AM with a bunch of inconsiderate a-holes. Don't add to the number and you'll have a better time, I promise.
Keep these lessons in mind and you might master Black Friday in 2011!
