Official Black Friday 2005 Sale Ad Thread

[RossMAN]

Posted with permission from AnandTech Moderator.

• What is Black Friday?
  Black Friday is the day after Thanksgiving when most retailers have their biggest sales of the year. The term "Black Friday" comes from the fact that historically, it was the day when retailers became profitable for the year or "in the black".
• When do the rumored ads start appearing?
  The ads start to appear in late October or early November. Some come out weeks in advance while others don't surface until a day or two before Black Friday.
• When do the ads come in the newspaper?
  Traditionally, the actual printed ads come with your newspaper on Thanksgiving Day, however in some areas they will be in the paper on Wednesday or on Black Friday itself. Check with your local newspaper if you need to know the exact date. Some retailers such as WalMart occasionally distribute their ads sooner.
• Do retailers allow price matching or returning & rebuying for BF items?
  There is no set answer for this. Each retailer makes their own decisions and policies, and those can even change from year to year. Your best bet is to contact the retailer directly to get their price matching policy. Some stores that allow it during the year won't allow it during BF. Different stores in different areas might have different policies as well.

Here are links to each store's thread here on AT:
Walmart Black Friday including $398 laptop with NO REBATES!
Radio Shack Black Friday Sale Ad

Use this thread for general BF discussion.

 

[PhattyB]

Nice. I didn't realize it was getting so close to Black Friday

 

[RossMAN]

Originally posted by: PhattyB
Nice. I didn't realize it was getting so close to Black Friday

A little under 5 weeks away, I can't wait!

My Black Friday wishlist:
HDTV DLP for $1500 or LCD around $899
GPS car navigation around $300-ish

 

[Tu13erhead]

I'm going to be away from pretty much everywhere Black Friday, looks like I've got to either find friends to do my dirty work or stick to online shopping.

 

[secretanchitman]

398 buck laptop! IM ON IT!

ooooh i heart black fridays...

they better have some nice nvidia AGP cards on sale. i remember last year they had that PNY 6800nu for 200 bucks w/ rebates. awesome deal last year.

 

[Tullphan]

That laptop does look tempting. My local store MAY have one...can't say, tho, that i've ever seen a laptop there before.
The Cingular Razr V3 package...what does it consist of? My contract w/VZW's up & i'm pondering switching plans. Anyone here work for Cingular that can tell me if they offer an employee plan or not? Radioshack (where I work p/t) is going to start carrying Cingular the first of the year, so I guess that'll mean that VZW will do a mass deletion of their employee plans w/Radioshack employees.

 

[LordSnailz]

What is the exact date for the Black Friday, the LCD and laptop looks really tempting.

Also, what is the return policy during Black Friday? Still can't decide on DLP vs LCD.

 

[RossMAN]

Originally posted by: LordSnailz
What is the exact date for the Black Friday, the LCD and laptop looks really tempting.

From the OP:

What is Black Friday?
Black Friday is the day after Thanksgiving when most retailers have their biggest sales of the year. The term "Black Friday" comes from the fact that historically, it was the day when retailers became profitable for the year or "in the black".

Thanksgiving Day is Thursday November 24, 2005 ... hence Black Friday is November 25th.

 

[itakey]

Black Friday.....always spend way more than I should

 

[Googer]

I think I might be able to get an Inside Scoop on CompUSA's Black Friday Deals. Gonna have to pay my buddy a visit and see if he has the inside scoop.

 

[DukeN]

Ahh, now if only there were some online specials for overseas shipping (esp HT) that would pwn

 

[drinkmorejava]

wow, I guess this is about when I start saving money for all the rebates I'll never get back. But yeah, I got lots of crap last year. Namely $50 for a 200gig WD drive at OM and lots of free stuff.

 

[naruto1988]

nice, hopefully some good free stuff to come my way

 

[WhipperSnapper]

Looking for a pci-e video card deal.

 

[cyberfuzz]

Originally posted by: drinkmorejava
wow, I guess this is about when I start saving money for all the rebates I'll never get back. But yeah, I got lots of crap last year. Namely $50 for a 200gig WD drive at OM and lots of free stuff.

i personally prefered the 160gb for $20AR from BB myself.

 

[DestruyaUR]

I didn't have a single damn thing last year that I needed. I KNOW I'm gonna get stung this year by SOMETHING.

 

[dabuddha]

This year I plan on buying a TV. Something huge!

 

[kamranziadar]

Last year i bought 4 Laptops, 1 plasma TV, 4 Laptop Memories 512mb, 4 laptop bags,
2 Desktop computers for $199 with 17" monitors, and bunch of free stuff.

I got all my rebates back and i am planning again this black friday for at least 2 more laptops, and some other nice electronics.

Keep up the good work

 

[tm37]

Wow the stores do not even have that AD yet!

Will there be the legal drama this year?

 

[cw42]

Originally posted by: kamranziadar
Last year i bought 4 Laptops, 1 plasma TV, 4 Laptop Memories 512mb, 4 laptop bags,
2 Desktop computers for $199 with 17" monitors, and bunch of free stuff.

I got all my rebates back and i am planning again this black friday for at least 2 more laptops, and some other nice electronics.

Keep up the good work

u must have a big family

 

[Mojoed]

I eagerly anticipate seeing the BF deals on media. I could use some DVD+R's as well as some CDR's. Hopefully this year there will be some killer deals.

 

[batmanuel]

Originally posted by: RossMAN
What is Black Friday?
Black Friday is the day after Thanksgiving when most retailers have their biggest sales of the year. The term "Black Friday" comes from the fact that historically, it was the day when retailers became profitable for the year or "in the black".

Back when I worked retail, we always thought it was called Black Friday because it was the beginning of a month of hell that didn't end until New Years. I'd always tell the new employees that it was "the day your soul will officially become cold and black," because before Black Friday you truly want to help your customers out and find the best solution for their needs to make their lives better and after Black Friday you are so jaded that you just want to sell them a bunch of expensive crap that they don't need and can't afford.

I personally just stay the heck away from any retail establishment if I can help it, since I figure that the super hot deals aren't worth the extra hassle of dealing with all the rude and annoying people that come out in force on BF. Plus I usually find a lot of deals that are almost as hot in the weeks between BF and Christmas and it is usually worth giving up a few dollars in exchange for a lot less hassle.

In fact I'm wondering if increased fuel prices and the fallout of the hurricanes will put a damper on this season's Black Friday sales figures. If the BF numbers are lower than projected, then a lot of stores might start throwing in a lot of crazy last minutes deals in order to meet their sales projections for the year. So you could actually wind up with a situation this year where the post-BF deals are hotter than the actual BF deals.

 

[amdhunter]

Holy sh!t, is it that time of year already..?

Where the hell does the time go...

 

[DrPizza]

Originally posted by: batmanuel
If the BF numbers are lower than projected, then a lot of stores might start throwing in a lot of crazy last minutes deals in order to meet their sales projections for the year. So you could actually wind up with a situation this year where the post-BF deals are hotter than the actual BF deals.

So, you save the receipts, and return a few items

 

[TTM77]

I don't rem. lots of good sale last year. But I can't wait. My junk pile is running low. Need new junks.