Best Buy's "doorbuster" Black Friday deals probably won't result in the literal busting of doors
We apologize for the cloying headline, but just wanted to point out to Best Buy that the whole point of insane deals and "doorbuster" savings is, well, those things. We're sure there are a couple things in this new Black Friday catalog to make a seven hour wait in below freezing temperatures -- to be followed by frantic hand-to-hand combat with other recession-hit shoppers who may or may not be Arnold Schwarzenegger -- totally worth it, but we'd really love to meet the person for which a $12 Guns N' Roses CD qualifies as such a purchase. If you're looking for a $380 laptop, a lame $300 Xbox 360 bundle or a decent deal on a crappy LCD TV, knock yourself out.























so sad
I knew this year's Black Friday was gonna suck. Circuit City usually has the best doorbusters and they are chapter 11.
Consumer Spending is expected to be the lowest its been in 25 years according to Reuters.
These deals suck, but if your shopping online this year check out
Three Top Coupon Websites
http://www.curiousread.com/2008/08/three-top-coupon-websites.html
Good luck with the shopping!
yeah...seriously, a guns n' roses cd for 12 bucks? not to knock on guns n' roses...but seriously, 12 bucks? i bet once you're able to preorder on amazon, you'll be able to order it for less...regular price, not a doorbuster mind you
They should rename Black Friday to Bleak Friday.
According to http://bfads.net/Best-Buy-Black-Friday-Ad-Posted
"There isn't anything good to say about this advertisement, it's really horrible. Right now it looks like there could be four scenarios:
1. This is the legitimate Best Buy BF ad and it is horrible
2. This is the Best Buy BF advertisement that runs in Wisconsin, where they have laws that don't allow stores to do loss-leader items (more information here)
3. This is a decoy and the "real" advertisement is still yet to be released
4. Best Buy will be relying heavily on their "Secret Sales" rather than their actual Black Friday ad"
A 50" Panny Plasma for 900 isn't a bad deal, and I'd probably pick one up tomorrow if that were the normal price (if only just for my bedroom, since it's not 1080p). All of the rest of the stuff is garbage though.
Man...if you had told me a year ago that a 50" plasma from Panasonic would be going for under a grand this Christmas, I'd have punched you. I got a 32" LCD for my bedroom a year and a half ago (or thereabouts) from LG, and it was a grand. That's 18 inches...in one year....it's almost unbelievable, and it makes me look at my piddly 32" LCD (even if it's a great set and I love it) and think how much better it would be at 18" bigger. Then again, I really only watch the daily show and the news in my bedroom, so it's not a huge deal.
Just think...by next year it might be a 60" Plasma for a grand....... *Drool*
The bigger the TV, the worse the picture quality is. I know people who think 32" is too big for their bedrooms. Most people think 50" is too big for their living room. Unless you've got a huge bedroom the 32" is probably more than enough.
yea this is a lame ad. I was however fortunate enough to stumble upon an "open bin" sale on video games. I was in purchasing the great Nikon D90 and saw all of these bins of games. each game was $10. i picked up stuff for the PS3 and XBOX 360, but they had games for each system.
The Guns N Roses Disc is actually pretty good for something 14 or so years in the making. http://rockandreview.com/blog/post.cfm/guns-n-roses-chinese-democracy But I wholeheartedly agree that this is something that should not be listed as a "Door Buster" item. I mean, what a joke.
If companies like this are still recovering from a slow year, that's one thing, but to insult our intelligence with an ad that is anything but great deals and calling it "door buster" is quite another.
I can't condone any adult standing in line at 3am for anything. I've never done it, and I never will...if it ain't still there @ 12pm...I'll just wait till next week and pay a few extra dollars.
Well about 3 years ago(yeah I said 3years) I got a MAG 32" HD LCD tv for 499$ at Staples. Today they are STILL only at $499... Maybe 1080p but still. I only had to get up at 7:30 drove to my Staples less than a mile away and picked it up. Was worth it to me... I also stood in line that year at Microcenter for an hour to get a XBOX Pro(or whatever w/20gig) for 199$ w/ two games. I saved at lease 300$ bucks that year by sacrificing a couple hours.
Early bird gets the worm. If cash is disposable to you then good for you.
"Early bird gets the worm."
I view it as "The second mouse gets the cheese."
Like 000000, I to have saved a large amount of cash thanks to BF deals:
My brother and I went to Staples last year to get some $350 Compaq laptops. We waited 2.5 hours and got the last two coupons for the desired products. We returned home and they really were only worth the $350 (however still better than the 300 MHz PII towers at home). One of the new comps was dead out of the box...
This lead to hours of arguing with both Staples and Compaq. Eventually the dead one was sent back to the manufacture and exchanged for a slightly better one. This "improved" one had as many issues as the first lemon laptop. Compaq said to keep it and sent us a comp that retailed on their site for $1200. Eventually with a bit of playing my bro got the broken laptop working (minus the track pad).
I viewed it as a $1200 bonus for a few hours of time.
It's been like this in Canada for ages. I thought it only happened here and that they wouldn't dare do that in the US. After all, they are awfully close to being a monopoly up here. I guess they aren't afraid of competition any more.
What? We don't have Black Friday sales in Canada, because our Thanksgiving is in October. Our big doorcrasher day is Boxing Day.
Andrew, good to see that I'm not the only one to notice this (see my comment above).
Peter, you're right about boxing day, but I haven't seen a real 'door crasher' on boxing day or any other day for years here.
I was referring to the practice of calling things "doorcrashers" when they're barely worth being called sales. BB and FS now do that year-round for major holidays. And they are rarely worth their name.
That's pathetic. I guess now that BB is the only pretty girl in school, she figures she doesn't have to try anymore.
You do realize that BBY didn't just make this ad up last week, right? This is something these companies plan months in advance.
No it is a good possibility that they made this last week. Time to see what the competion is doing, time to request stock from the distributors, and time to haggle the vendors down on their cost. At most companies usually will only plan their ad about a month in advance, with the exception of the stores that do a blanket discount on the store. Never plan an ad that far out in advance because you never know what will happen to supply and demand.
circuit city has been dying for sometime now. the place never has any of the items on sale and it has a feel of a tomb
Best buy purchased about 70% of what would have been circuit city's holiday stock.
And they got it for a discounted price because circuit city couldn't pay for it.
I'm going to Target, last year they had a 500GB external hard drive for $70 and a ton of $5 DVDs. Target FTW!!!
I'm going to Target, last year they had a 500GB external hard drive for $70 and a ton of $5 DVDs. Target FTW!!!
im pretty sure that circuit city might end up with the best deals regardless of the bankruptcy...
bank of america hooked them up with a loan so i would think they are making the effort to do something for the holidays
A PS3 for $399!!!! Oh wait...
Though the prices haven't changed, they are now bundled with extra stuff.
Ratchet and Clank for PS3 sounds good at the price of free.
Still probably doesn't beat what BB's competitors are doing, but it's not exactly the standard as most of you have made it out to be.
And here I was all excited that there were no deals at all, and as a BB employee, I'd have an easy day ahead of me...
I've given up on getting in line early. The last time I did it there were people who got in line at 6pm on Thursday. You can't compete with people who have no life.
Agreed. I usually find great deals all year around anyway using slickdeals, dealhacks and other sites as well. All it takes is patience and will power trying to save money until you can blow your wallet load on the items you want. I went 2 years ago during black friday and there was too many people trying to break down doors for items that were not even all that great.
Well said. I remember reading about people lining up for blocks to get cheap gas and even getting in fights over it. I couldn't help but wonder why anyone would wait in line for hours even for a FREE tank of gas, I mean even at the peak, a single tank wasn't exactly a fortune.
There's loads of deals to be had online, and you can do it in the comfort of your own home. No way I'm gonna wait in line for hours outside in the cold just to save a few bucks.
First off, you couldn't pay me to stand in line at 3 am in the freezing cold to save a few bucks on electronics. I dont understand why if anyone wanted one of theese items, why they wouldnt just purchase the night before or even a week before, go back to the store on Black Friday after the comotion has did down, and just return the item and repurchase at the discounted price. (don't tell me they wont let you because they will, I did it two years ago on a TV at PC Richard)
I'll take my chances at Sam's. This sale is liquid feces
FRYS FTW!!!!!
Fry's? Isn't that risking your life? it'll be like attack of the zombies on red-bull.
black friday indeed
When Black Friday comes
I'll stand down by the door
And catch the grey men when they
Dive from the fourteenth floor
When Black Friday comes
I'll collect everything I'm owed
And before my friends find out
I'll be on the road
When Black Friday falls you know it's got to be
Don't let it fall on me
that was gay...
So was your mom until I did her.
Exactly,
Most people that run to BB to purchase something aren't necessarily the most savviest of shoppers.
I waited out in the cold one october night back in 2000 to get the gem that was a PS2. Went to school late the next day and performed in the opening night for the school play on zero hours sleep in the past 36 hours. Armored Core 2 made it totally worth it.
Nothing in that ad would make me take a leisurely stroll over to BB on an uncrowded sunday afternoon.
That cheap plasma is only good to bust doors with. 720p at 50"? That's horrible! Not worth it at all. I'll sleep instead...
What's funny is that you can find that TV on sale sometimes for $900 elsewhere...
There are no good deals.
Why do you all want to spend money on crap so badly? you guys never heard of a bank?
You see a Bank is a place where you put disposable income when you have nothing to spend it on...
... so that nice men in expensive suits can spend it away in the "Stock Market" casino down on Wall Street and come back the next day through your back door (labeled "Taxes") to beg for more.
...says the apple whore.
fine, then buy bullion... not the ones you put in chicken soup.. gold
"You see a Bank is a place where you put disposable income when you have nothing to spend it on..."
....says the poster with the Apple avatar. :/
HEY THAT IS ALMOST 30% OFF A GNR CD.
Thats a good deal if you think about it, i mean no one has invented a system of computers connected over wires that allow you to share things like music for free. If such a thing existed that deal would be crap, but it doesnt so I am waiting at Best Buy!
Wait? Whats that you say?
except its the shitty version of GNR
While they aren't as great as the original GNR, they're still better than most of the shite out nowadays.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hw5Zut3AAq4