@ jambarama:

Sorry, it was actually only #13667. The comment preview function lies for some reason. :P

Hey that was comment #15000!

I’ve look at the ads on blackfriday.info each year, and I thought several deals looked good this year, but I didn’t participate.

Last time I tried to get something (3 years ago now), I queued up at 4:30am, when the store opened at 6:30. It was freezing. As soon as the doors opened, we started to trickle in orderly. But then someone from the back screamed “screw the line.” Chaos broke out in the shopco parking lot. A mob of women in parkas surged forward and pressed against the single open door. Everyone was shouting, and the employees inside looked terrified. And as soon as these middle aged bargain-hunters entered the doors, they sprinted to different areas of the store.

Turns out shopco only had 2 of the items I had wanted anyhow, and some couple claimed them both. Oh, and some nutbag 50-year-old lady ran over my wife’s foot with a dolly and broke her toe. The woman didn’t even look back. That’s when I decided I’d never do black friday in person again. It is internet or nothing for me.

I do most of my Christmas (or birthdays) shopping on Internet. This way I can usually find unusual things I can’t find in the shops around. As I shop quite a bit online, it’s easy to include the gift with other things I buy so that it remains safely hidden in the package. Plus the prices on some Chinese sites (namely some with a worldwide free shipping policy) for geek stuff are probably the lowest you’ll ever get, if you can stand the long and sometimes random delivery times… It’s a bit risky to order now if you want it for the 24th.