Bogleheads

natureexplorer · Joined: 03 Sep 2009 Posts: 1043

What was the best Black Friday deal you actually bought today?

Okay, I am curious, what Black Friday deals people bought today. I am interested in real life stories of actual purchases - not missed opportunities or deals that are out there. If available, please also mention what the items normally runs for and at what store you bought it - in other words a little background.

I didn't buy anything except my usual investment contributions and lunch, so no story from me.

stratton · Joined: 04 Mar 2007 Posts: 7905 Location: Puget Sound

Today.

I went to Frys to pick up a major brand 16 GB usb memory stick for less than the el cheapo ones.

Since this was a lower priced "hot" item I figured it would actually be in stock when I got their around 9.15 am. I was right.

Paul

polaar · Joined: 05 Jan 2008 Posts: 88

Wife went on a spree for household stuff at Bed Bath & Beyond. Coupon in yesterday's paper gave 20% off total purchase before 10:00 AM, not just one item.

jharri71 · Joined: 13 Nov 2008 Posts: 33

I bought the following today:

maglite flashlight $14.97 from Amazon.com
15 movie DVD's from walmart $2 / each
2 pair of jeans from walmart (one pair for my girlfriend) $9 / each
2 bath towels from walmart $2 / each
1 USB 8GB flash drive $14
1 pair of Arizona carpenter jeans $14 from JcPenny

INGDIRECT - signed up for the Electric Orange checking deal.

cleaned out closets today and gave some old clothes to salvation army

pre-black friday
new droid phone $100 2 yr contract
Asus 22" monitor $129 after rebate from newegg.com

Opponent Process · Joined: 18 Sep 2007 Posts: 2898 Location: San Diego, CA

went to Sport Chalet to buy two $130 tennis rackets for $60 ea. (and they also threw in a $25 gift card) and we've been outside playing tennis all day. an investment to reduce future health care costs.
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gatorman · Joined: 31 Oct 2007 Posts: 1202 Location: The Swamp

I looked, bought nothing. I'm on a "consumption strike."

gatorman

dmcmahon · Joined: 21 Mar 2008 Posts: 891

Being a geek, I loaded up on electronics for myself and others, all on-line:

1. $199 Samsung Blu-Ray player with wifi for Netflix streaming
2. $99 Solid-State 30G laptop disk drive
3. $39 16G USB flash stick
4. $179 Samsung computer monitory 24" 1920x1080 5ms

The blu-ray player's an Xmas gift. The monitor may be a gift, or I may keep it, depends on if I find another gift for the person. The other items are for me. Items 2 & 3 are net of mail-in rebates that I'll have to collect in a few weeks, out-of-pocket prices were a bit higher, plus sales tax.

mikep · Joined: 22 Apr 2009 Posts: 1549

silver diamond amethyst necklace from Kohl's - reg price $71 my price $12.75 online was probably the best deal. EDIT: This included an extra 15% off code TURKEY15 at checkout which expires tomorrow Nov 28. This deal expired at 1pm today.

I also got an HP pavilion desktop 6280t for $499 online which was about $300 off (core 2 quad CPU + 6 GB DDR memory + 640 GB SATA 3Gb/s HDD + Windows 7). Old computer is 6 years old so this will be a good family gift.

Bernd · Joined: 26 Feb 2007 Posts: 345

I was contrarian today, bought nothing, did not even look. I bought a large coffee though and some cake and enjoyed them looking over a river. I had read the Boglehead thread about Dubai and thought about the slave laborers being worked to death by the rulers there. I thanked, it is great to live here!

stevewolfe · Joined: 10 Oct 2008 Posts: 344

Did a good bit of shopping for my wife, myself and some secret santa kids, etc:

So $492.84 worth of stuff for $178.41. Total savings of $314.42. Not too bad. Did most of the shopping from my pc and didn't even get up till 7:30 AM today. Smile

No fighting the early crowds for me...

VictoriaF · Joined: 27 Feb 2007 Posts: 3159 Location: Arlington, VA

Was there any gold on sale? Smile

Victoria
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Boglenaut · Joined: 23 Mar 2009 Posts: 1081

I got a Samsung LN46B500 46" LCD from Amazon for $799. Free shipping. I ordered Wedsnday morning and it should be here Monday.

It's was a special Black Friday model with reduced specs. But it still had better specs than the lesser brand models. Considering this is not the primary household TV, I figured it was good enough.

I also got a LG Blu-Ray player for $99 at Amazon. I am regretting that one considering I only plan to use it to upconvert DVDs (and some future-proofing)... I probably should have just bought composite cables for my non-HDMI DVD player.... oh well, I am telling myself it'll look better at least in theory even though my eyes wouldn't be able to tell.

Finally, I took a relaxed 8:30 AM stroll through Wal-mart for lots of kids birthday and Christmas gifts.. plenty of good choices left but no stress or crowds hardly at all. Also a handful of $2 DVDs and milk for $1.50 a gallon, kids boots for $7.

Cherokee8215 · Joined: 16 Dec 2008 Posts: 850

Nothing. I don't have the patience to deal with the crowds, and I'm sure as heck not camping out in front of a store at 3am to save $30.

mfen · Joined: 21 Jun 2009 Posts: 588

Boglenaut · Joined: 23 Mar 2009 Posts: 1081

Sunny Sarkar · Joined: 02 Mar 2007 Posts: 1361 Location: Dallas-Ft.Worth

I bought lots of smiles on my little one's face
(She got a scooter she really wanted)
Like they say: priceless!

Fletch · Joined: 04 Jun 2009 Posts: 236 Location: USA

Nothing. I hate crowds and don't need anything at this time. I stayed home and read the Boglehead forum and a book, helped my wife cook, clean, do laundry and start decorating for Christmas, and then piddled on the computer. I think I'll go have a single malt now ... typical day Laughing

Best wishes to those who braved the crowds or surfed the web for bargains.

Fletch
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gailcox · Posted: Fri Nov 27, 2009 10:31 pm Post subject: .

After midnight shopping at the mall last year, I decided to sleep in this year and do most of the shopping on line.

However.....I got stir crazy and went to the Gap to check out the sales. I bought a sweater for my youngest (she was with me and picked it out) that was on sale for 33.00, from 59.00. I got 40% off that, so that brought it down to something like $20. At the register, the sales lady told me it was a "buy one get one free" day. So, I turned around and got another sweater off the same rack for a different daughter (she was with me and picked it out too). So, I got 2 sweaters that were originally $118, for $20. I was gleeful!

That's all I bought today.

Mel Lindauer · Posted: Fri Nov 27, 2009 10:44 pm Post subject: Re: .

musbane · Joined: 26 Oct 2008 Posts: 143

bearwolf · Joined: 18 May 2008 Posts: 1037 Location: Oklahoma

joe8d · Joined: 20 Feb 2007 Posts: 1297 Location: Buffalo,NY

The only thing I bought today was a 3-pack of boxer shorts at JC Pennys at 50% off Smile

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Joe

nisiprius · Posted: Sat Nov 28, 2009 10:09 am Post subject:

Opened an ING Electric Orange account. A $121 discount on an out-of-pocket cost of $0. Would that be a savings of NaN% or INF%? (Not trying to promote it, but as I write this on Saturday the deal is still available at http://www.ingdirect.com/blackfriday/ ). It remains to be seen whether it's as easy to get the $121 as it seems and how it will ultimately pan out. My wife said "We don't need one more card in our lives" and she has a point. I decided not to do it because my wallet already has too many cards in it. It's not worth it. $121? Yes, it's worth it. No, it isn't. $121? Yes, it is.

The first time I try to pull out my subway pass and the ING card has jammed them all in and eight other cards come out along with it and they scatter left and right among the turnstiles, I'll be sorry.
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wander · Joined: 04 Oct 2008 Posts: 306

Garmin 255WT GPS: $130
Leather office chair: $40
8 GB USB drive: $13
1TB WD external hard drive: $60

Boglenaut · Joined: 23 Mar 2009 Posts: 1081

chaz · Joined: 27 Feb 2007 Posts: 6639

At Office Depot, bought a Brother fax machine $60, that will cost $10 after $50 rebate.
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sperry8 · Joined: 29 Mar 2008 Posts: 188 Location: Los Angeles, CA

The new 64BG iPod Touch for $358 ($41 off the regular price from the Black Friday sale at Apple), included free shipping and engraving.

Now if only I had some free vids and music!
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Chuck T · Posted: Sat Nov 28, 2009 1:36 pm Post subject:

Went to Best Buy on Wednesday and purchased Insignia BluRay player with WIFI and Netflix capability for $129 + tax. Seemed like a great deal.
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cjackson0 · Joined: 21 Aug 2008 Posts: 367 Location: St. Louis, MO

Bulldawg · Joined: 05 Jan 2009 Posts: 125 Location: Hotlanta

ipod touch 8g : 179.00 delivered from Amazon.com
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mickeyd · Joined: 23 Feb 2007 Posts: 1877 Location: Texas

Of all the financial "deals" that I have had the pleasure to pass on "Black Friday" is at the top of my list. I do, however, enjoy seeing all of the news reports of folks standing in line overnight and rushing into the stores (like a triathlon start) to get that special deal on a toy or electronic device.
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In Dire Need of: Faster horses, younger women, older whiskey, more money. (Not necessarily in that order)

Curlyq · Joined: 08 Jul 2008 Posts: 183 Location: Sierra Nevadas

I have never shopped on Black Friday. My Thanksgiving weekend is spent skiing in the morning, horse riding in the afternoon, and cooking and relaxing with friends and family in the evening. I did buy two cups of coffee at the resort yesterday because it was so cold and windy. A buddy bought the coffee today.

This year, I have added job hunting to each day as I'm unemployed, so I applied for several jobs as well.

ddb · Joined: 26 Feb 2007 Posts: 4386 Location: Manhattan

ING Direct: signed up for two checking accounts (one for me, one for wife), deposited $20 into each one, and will be receiving a total of $242 in bonus interest on day 50 in exchange for processing three debit-card transactions on each account. That's a tough one to beat!

- DDB
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BigFoot48 · Joined: 20 Feb 2007 Posts: 494 Location: Arizona

The flyer I got from Ace Hardware had a 50%-off coupon, for up to a $30 item (or $15 if over that), so I bought a GE Refrigerator Water Filter for $38, getting it for $23. I normally buy these at Wal-Mart (twice a year) for $34.

That was the extent of our Black Friday shopping, except it happened today.
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Patrick
Two-time Top-10 Diehard S&P500 Picker; Multi-Time Loser

gkaplan · Posted: Sat Nov 28, 2009 9:24 pm Post subject:

I guess I was the only one who went to work.
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Gordon

Curlyq · Joined: 08 Jul 2008 Posts: 183 Location: Sierra Nevadas

MWCA · Joined: 30 Nov 2007 Posts: 1621 Location: Golden State

dkdoy · Joined: 13 Jun 2009 Posts: 322 Location: Oregon

Another one for the ING Electric checking account. Have some other ING accounts, with the 121.00 I could not pass on the e-checking.

ElJay · Joined: 12 Jun 2007 Posts: 459

VFWIX 3% off Dubai sale

TJAJ9 · Joined: 12 Sep 2009 Posts: 1061 Location: Philadelphia, PA

I'm getting myself a late Black Friday gift. I'm going out of town for a couple of nights with my girl for some dining, entertainment and whatever else we want to do. Like a true boglehead, I'm only paying for one night at the hotel while the second night is free. Shopping? Not for me. I'd rather spend my money on food, booze and everything else. Wink

Gotadimple · Joined: 07 Oct 2007 Posts: 17

Bought a Lenovo S10-2 Netbook. Usually $440, discounted to $299 (32%), discounted an additional 15% (Employee sale good through Monday) to $255, plus a 6% cashback through Fat Wallet, and a 1% cash back on my visa card. And free shipping, but have to pay the Washington state 9% sales tax.

It comes with a 3 cell battery so, splurged on a 6 cell (10% off).

End result with cashback will be $299, a 50% discount off original prices.

OAG · Posted: Sun Nov 29, 2009 6:18 pm Post subject:

Bought a 26 Inch Computer monitor (with built in HD TV receiver) at New Egg (Did it on Thursday but it did not ship until today; so maybe it qualifies, if not it is an early Cyber Monday Purchase). Got a $20 discount along with another $20 for using their CC to purchase and went through Fat Wallet. Thing was selling for over $500 4 months ago and I paid under $300. I know expensive but gives me a Monitor and another HD TV (like we need another one, of those). Model was T260HD by Samsung.
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touchdowntodd · Joined: 31 Oct 2009 Posts: 65

dress shirts and pants from Macys and Boston Store.. all about 80% off
polo sweaters 75% off - $100 sweater for $25
nautica and polo dress socks $7 for 3 packs

thats about it.. nothin exciting, the wife took me "shopping" for my xmas present early.. i needed about 5 more shirts, a couple pair of pants, and the rest was her idea..

i hate dressing business casual, especially for the low $$$ i make, but its what i have to do!

best thing that happened to me that day was talking rolexs with a guy in line taht was wearing a nice SS daytona... i had on my pride and joy GMTIIc, and my wife had on her no date OP... perhaps the most rediculous purchase of my life, but my guilty pleasure none the less. for a couple making about $75k a year combined, it was just plain dumb... but all cash, no debts!

soaring · Posted: Wed Dec 02, 2009 6:21 pm Post subject:

nothing
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jh · Joined: 14 May 2007 Posts: 1311

VictoriaF · Joined: 27 Feb 2007 Posts: 3159 Location: Arlington, VA

caklim00 · Joined: 26 May 2008 Posts: 1172

32 inch LCD HDTV Walmart $248: I got lucky (or unlucky if the thing breaks) wallked down an aisle at Walmart at noon and an employee put tv 16 of 33 down and I immediately grabbed it. Apparently, the person that got the ticket couldn't afford it or something and it got put back. Put it on my AMEX to get the extra warranty.

HP Printer/Scanner Walmart $25: Needed some ink cartridges and it was cheaper to buy this than the individual cartriges (came with a black and color). Go figure...

touchdowntodd · Joined: 31 Oct 2009 Posts: 65

ram · Joined: 01 Jan 2008 Posts: 102 Location: Midwest

Samsung 55 inch LCD TV with internet capability- for $1818 (MSRP 2999, usually 2000-2100)- at Abes of maine.com
Onkyo speakers 7.1 system - 440 at amazon. (usually 500-600). Both free shipping.
Also worked.
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Ram