I was honestly looking at the Toys R Us Black Friday ads for my children, but I couldn't help but notice the large "8 GB iPod, $199.99 plus a $50 gift card!" splash in the top corner of the ad. Sounds like a good deal to me!
I texted my girlfriend, Amanda, on Thanksgiving day to see if she was in. She totally was - Amanda is awesome - she's always willing to make fool of herself or try something new with me. That's why she is fast becoming my BFF, even though I've only known her since June! We agreed to leave our houses at 11 pm, and I planned to pick up Starbucks on the way.
For some Godforsaken reason, Starbucks was closed. How does that happen? All the crazy people are going to Toys R Us at midnight, but Starbucks isn't open? They totally lost my business! I drove on, un-caffeined and pretty ticked, to Toys R Us, where I noticed the parking lot was completely full. I happened to park by Amanda, and quickly climbed into her vehicle. We gossiped for a bit about our family celebrations, but quickly decided we'd best get out of the car and go get in line.
Yes, I said line. The line wrapped around the front of the store, down the side, around the back, and probably up the other side. Luckily we were in the first quarter of the back of the store. It was totally crazy! Some of the people were standing in line with their children. How weird is that? Here it is, in the 40's, and you have your 2 and 3 year old (at least bundled up in a coat), but out at midnight outside of a toystore. Who does that?
Amanda and I both agreed that was strange, but some of the other people there were even stranger. One lady got in line pushing a shopping cart (more on that in a minute), and others had brought chairs they were camped out in. I have no idea how long the first person in line had been there - I wish I had thought to ask, but really I don't want to know.
I suppose over the past few years, what with the Walmart tramplings and other ridiculous Black Friday events, stores have gotten smart. The big ticket, limited number items are now given out before the store ever opens. A store employee walks down the line with a stack of tickets in his hand. He calls out what it is, and if you want it, you raise your hand. Hopefully there are still tickets left by the time the employee gets to you. But, it makes sense to me!
We had been in line for about 15 minutes when the first tag made it back our way. Understand that there were at least 200 people in line ahead of us, so the fact that a tag made it was luck in and of itself. Sure enough, it was the 8 GB iPod that I had planned on purchasing for Mike. I got the 2nd to last tag, so I know God was smiling down on me. The store employee made some half-cracked comment about how he wasn't going to be able to get one now, so I felt bad for about two seconds, but you know what, it's really not my problem!
Once midnight rolled around, they did not let us immediately into the store. I believe they let about 15 people in at a time, let them get where they were going for a few minutes, and then let more in. We made it into the store around 12:30 am or so. Once we walked in, we immediately asked a store employee where the Home Depot tool benches were. They are normally $50, and they had them on sale for $19.99. Both Amanda and I wanted to get one for our 3 year olds, and we had jokingly said that if there was only one left, it would be every woman for herself. Luckily, the employee pointed us in the right direction, and when we got over to it there were about 8 left. We each grabbed one, and then we looked down and they were all gone. Talk about luck!
Our only problem now was that we didn't have a basket. I think that crazy lady who got in line pushing one had the right idea, because baskets were apparently a hot commodity. Amanda set off to find a car for her daughter, Bailey, and I set off to find us a cart. I am embarrassed to admit that I stole one. Someone had left their cart outside of the electronics area with one toy and a roll of wrapping paper inside of it. There was no one near it, and the old lady next to it had no idea who the owner was. I quickly unloaded the toy and the paper, loaded my tool bench into it, and joined the traffic flow with my stolen basket. I felt bad for whomever I stole it from, but seriously who leaves their cart alone on Black Friday?
I'm so glad I stole that cart, because Amanda and I loaded it up! There were toys coming off the top of the basket about 2 feet up in the air. The only mistake that we made is we got everything we wanted first, and then got into the line to check out. BIG mistake - checking out took us about 2 hours. If we could go back, we would have grabbed our big ticket items first, and then one of us would have gotten in line while the other one went looking for extras.
So, my first Black Friday experience was positive! I got my big suprise for Mike, got a great deal on a tool bench for Sammy, and learned a few tips for next year. I have listed them for all you Black Friday virgins . . .
1. Get in the store line with a cart. If you can't find one when you get in line, steal one as soon as you can.
2. Work in teams. Separate, then divide and conquer.
3. After grabbing your limited amount items, get one member of your team to stand in the pay line. Then take turns until you've gotten everything you've needed.
4. Bring your own coffee from home.
5. If there is something you want that appears to be sold out, it's probably not. Go look in the check out line - some people get tired of waiting, and they will drop toy roadkill along the way for you!
6. Stay positive, and laugh at all the crazies. One lady stood in line for hours at Toys R Us, only to run over and get in line at Walmart after that. Apparently her daughter wanted a Zhu Zhu pet, which is really just a stuffed hamster that you can't find anywhere. I told her to go buy a real hamster, but she wasn't interested. Her loss!
7. Go eat pancakes when you're done. I wish Amanda and I would have done that, but there's always next year!
What's your craziest Black Friday experience?
