Yes, it’s advantageous to line up for an irresistible sale early. A duo of California shoppers were a little too early to this year’s Black Friday sale at their local Best Buy, though, camping outside of the store more than a week ahead of time. Security staff booted them off the property, asking them to return on Thanksgiving. Thank Providence someone in this scenario is sane. [More]
IKEA, Where 50% Off Is Really Just An Approximation
By November 16, 2012
Consumerist reader Brad was looking at IKEA’s Black Friday mailer that went out this week and noticed that something just was just a bit off about the math on this deal on soft toys. [More]
Missed Black Friday 2011? Don’t Worry, Most Retailers Are Selling Same Stuff At Same Sale Prices
By November 14, 2012
Did you miss shopping Black Friday sales last year and have regretted it ever since? Don’t. Our friends over at NerdWallet nerded over this year’s “leaked” Black Friday ads and determined that so far, nine out of ten stores are offering the same exact items on sale at the same exact prices. [More]
Moving Black Friday Up A Week Could Save Thanksgiving
By November 13, 2012
We don’t know when the warm water finally started to boil, but it’s safe to say that Black Friday now begins shortly after dinner is served on Thanksgiving. But rather than continue to fight this trend, we think that the only way to restore Thanksgiving is to have Black Friday sales begin a weekend earlier. [More]
6 Holiday Gifts You’d Be Better Off Buying Some Other Time Of The Year
By November 12, 2012
We’ve told you before that while there are plenty of sales on Black Friday, it is rarely the best day to get the lowest price on quality goods. But a new report claims that you’d be better off buying some common gift items outside of the holiday months. [More]
Target Employees Not Exactly Thrilled With Idea Of Opening At 9 P.M. On Thanksgiving
By November 9, 2012
Last year, one Target employee managed to get 200,000 signatures on a petition asking Target to reconsider its plan to have employees start work at 11 p.m. on Thanksgiving night. Target not only went ahead with that early opening, it’s apparently moved up the opening time to 9 p.m. this year, causing a round of new petitions. [More]
Your Guide To Black Friday Start Times: Start Planning Extreme Shopping Strategies
By November 9, 2012
We already know that Walmart is pushing back its Black Friday sale start time to 8 p.m. on Thursday (yes, that’s Thanksgiving!), but what about all its competitors? When are those doors going to come banging open to allow the frenzied flow of devoted discounters to get to work? Let’s just say it might be a good idea to scheduled dinner early in the day if you want to partake in the retail madness. [More]
Walmart Pushes “Black Friday” Back Two More Hours To Thursday “Dessert Hour”
By November 8, 2012
You can only push something back so far until its name ceases to have any real meaning. Although if Walmart keeps knocking Black Friday back, it could eventually end up on an actual Friday again. This year the mega retailer is starting its Black Friday specials two hours earlier than the year before, starting at 8 p.m. Thursday during “dessert hour.” [More]
4 Black Friday Myths Debunked
By October 22, 2012
Black Friday has grown from the day to kick off the holiday shopping season to a bizzaro holiday of its own, with people celebrating by cutting Thanksgiving dinner short to camp outside of a big box store to clamor for deep discounts that are gone by sunrise. During this evolution, Black Friday has also taken on its own mythology. [More]
Dissident Walmart Workers Threaten Strikes And In-Store Protests On Black Friday
By October 11, 2012
Unhappy Walmart employees, backed by the United Food and Commercial Workers union, are continuing to agitate for reform at the mega-retailer. In a conference call with media outlets yesterday, members of the group OUR Walmart outlined their plans for Black Friday, which include another strike, protests, public awareness campaigns, and flash mobs. Presumably these actions will be for the benefit of customers waiting in line overnight for rock-bottom prices on TVs and blenders. [More]
Waiting In A Long Line For A Popular Product Might Be Annoying But It Could Boost Your Ego
By October 9, 2012
After yet another study showed that maybe those Black Friday sales that generate such humongous lines aren’t necessarily the best deals, and the simple fact that ordering a coveted item online can often allow shoppers to skip those eternal queues, why would anyone stand around waiting ever again? Well, maybe because it makes you feel kinda good, say experts. [More]
Another Study Confirms That Black Friday Isn’t Always The Best Day For Deals
By October 8, 2012
Black Friday, that day after Thanksgiving which is now associated with people queuing up in the cold and dark to take advantage of marketing buzz words like “doorbuster” and “BOGO,” is always touted as a chance for consumers to save piles of cash at the store, but another study confirms what we’ve been telling you for years: Black Friday isn’t always the best time to buy. [More]
Study: JCPenney, Avon, Gap Websites Are Worst At Responding To Customer E-Mails
By November 30, 2011
After years of being trained to dread contacting a company via phone, lest we get trapped in the automated phone tree, customers are turning to e-mail for resolving their customer service issues. And while a new study shows that a majority of the top online retailers did a passable job of replying to customer inquiries, a handful of websites apparently decided to give their e-mail customer service teams some extra time off this holiday season. [More]
Malls Cancel Plans To Track Shoppers' Movements Via Cellphone
By November 29, 2011
Remember how two malls annoyed more than a few people by announcing that they would be tracking shoppers’ movements via their cellphone signals? Yeah, well that’s no longer happening — at least for now. [More]
Alleged Walmart Pepper-Sprayer Turns Self In But Won't Talk To Cops
By November 28, 2011
By now you’ve likely heard about the Walmart shopper who police originally said used pepper spray to give herself a competitive advantage while bargain hunting on Black Friday. In the days since that incident made national news, the woman believed to be responsible for injuring at least 20 people has turned herself in to the the authorities — but she’s not really giving much of an explanation for why she thought a cloud of pepper spray would be a good idea. [More]
Retailers Rejoice Over Record Black Friday And Weekend Numbers
By November 28, 2011
Retailers must be rubbing their hands together in glee, as the numbers from Black Friday and the post-Thanksgiving weekend come rolling in. Records have been broken, many a TV has been purchased and shoppers really went at it. [More]
"Competitive Shopper" Pepper Sprays Fellow Black Friday Shoppers At California Walmart
By November 25, 2011
Here Are Some Cheap Coffee Machines You Can't Buy
By November 23, 2011
Here’s a strange phenomenon that reader Jay came across at his local Walmart: Black Friday creep. No, not the race among retailers to see who can open the earliest. Yesterday (Tuesday) Jay picked up a $4 cofeemaker from a shelf full of them, but wasn’t allowed to purchase it. He was told that the item wasn’t for sale. Not that he couldn’t get it at the posted price: he couldn’t buy it at all. [More]
