I like to go out if there are deals I can’t pass up, but I live in a large metro area where it also gets very cold in the winter, plus I’m the kind of person who’d rather stay up late and sleep in than get up early. But I’ve done it most years…last year really put me off it though. There were just too many people lined up at too many stores, too early, and there was too little organization within the stores to make it be successful.
If there are deals I can’t pass up on things that I have been intending to buy and have just been waiting for, and it seems I’ll have a realistic shot of actually getting what I’m after. If there’s a few too good to be true deals where there are only 3 per store, I’m not going to be waiting 4 hours or more in sub freezing temperatures to have a shot at being one of the people who if I’m lucky will manage to not only get hold of an item, but manage to keep it from being taken from me while getting to the cashier.
I know for sure I’m not going to Toys R Us or Circuit City, last year they had their heads so far up their asses they could taste their breakfast twice.
But having said that, usually there are some deals which draw me out where there are large enough quantities where I can show up maybe half an hour before the store opens, get in the mile long line and still be assured I’ll get what I’m looking for.
And this year brings two potential advantages. One is the economy is rough and retailers already placed their holiday orders before the bottom fell out, so they are going to have some damn good sales. And second, I’m not likely to be in any danger of losing my job, plus my wife just got a good job that pays fairly well, so we’ll have money to spend.
I’ll have to wait until I see the ads and do my own internal cost/benefit analysis.