Campers Already Out in Beaumont Awaiting Black Friday Deals

[zappaman]

Vickey Torres of Cabazon and Juanita Salas of Beaumont arrived at Best Buy in Beaumont on Wednesday— 22 days before deals begin for the infamous shopping day on Thanksgiving night.

“We could have started later, but then we wouldn’t be sure to get first in line,” Torres told Patch on Friday, as she and Salas sat under the hot sun in front of the electronics store. “They only get a few items at the cheaper prices and it’s first come, first served.”

Torres and Salas said they’ve each camped out in front of Best Bay for “the last few years.” Each women says they take turns heading home to shower and eat during their stay.

The women said they are hoping to score a good deal on a TV this year.

http://patch.com/california/banning-beaumont/campers-already-out-beaumont-awaiting-black-friday-deals-0?utm_source=social&utm_medium=&utm_campaign=

unfuckingbelievable

[My Pet Goat]

1. I don't think it is about wanting a new TV or even generally getting a good deal...

my guess is the notoriety of it (e.g., being written about in a newspaper article). The want of celebrity more than consumerism.

[kiva]

14. I think this is exactly their motive.

Probably hoping for daily updates about their ordeal..."Day 12, running low on soda...made a covert run to the local convenience store under the cover of darkness, risking losing our place in line to other Best Buy squatters"

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

2. And this isn't The Onion.

[tridim]

3. This behavior should be considered a mental disorder. nt

[alcibiades_mystery]

8. You summed it up in as concise and clear a way as possible

These people are mentally ill.

[Liberal_in_LA]

4. have they calculated what their time is worth to spend 24 x 22 hours away from their lives?

[BuddhaGirl]

9. LOL

It's obvious that they *don't* have lives!

[zappaman]

15. No kidding.

Congrats on waiting 3 weeks to save $20 on a tv!

[Politicalboi]

5. Damn

I guess I'll have to start camping earlier now. Labor Day maybe.

[Initech]

6. As a PC builder enthusiast, one thing that I have learned about Black Friday...

Is that if you're hoping to score high end components, or anything of decent value like an Xbox One or PS4, or any decent TV, on Black Friday, you won't. Because the high in demand items are the things that never get discounted. What moves on Black Friday is the high inventory, low end stuff that stores can't move the rest of the year. Want a quality power supply for your PC? You won't get it discounted. You want a cheap, generic power supply for $20? That's what you'll get, because that's what they have more inventory of. That's one thing they don't tell you in the mountain of advertisements you get in the Sunday paper.

[woodsprite]

7. I would say anyone who has the time to do this doesn't have much of a life.

I know they could POSSIBLY get great deals. But most stores only have 1 to 3 of the things that are being touted at low low prices just to get you in the door. For me, it's just not worth it -- I hate the lines, the crowds and the gimme-gimme attitude of the shoppers who will mow you down to beat you to something.

IMO, the best time to go out if you must go out on Black Friday is to go in the afternoon. Deals are still really good (not the absolute best, but you don't have to worry about all the pushing/shoving to be the first person to the camera counter!) Shoppers are sparse because most have been out since early in the a.m. and are ready to head home and crash by mid to late afternoon. PLUS, you get a whole new shift of fresh salespeople who are not going to bite your head off for asking a simple question.

For the past several years, Thanksgiving evening before bed, my husband, daughter and myself review the ads in the newspaper ignoring the 6am door busters, and make a list. Then my daughter and I do a late Black Friday lunch and plan our shopping (using the cousins wiki wish lists), while my husband and son stay home and play video games. We don't actually hit the stores until around 3pm. We can have most of our Xmas shopping done by 10pm - at least the stuff we have to purchase in a real brick-and-mortar store. Then we come home and get online to buy anything that's left to purchase on the Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales sites.

[Fawke Em]

10. Until this behavior is deemed unacceptible by the public and media,

it will continue.

Someone upthread said they're doing it for the notoriety and I agree because, right now, this is considered novel or fashionable.

When the media starts including quotes from the psychiatric community and from this woman's peers about how insane this is or how they wouldn't want to associate with someone this nuts, then you'll see people stop this foolishness.

[The2ndWheel]

11. Circulate the money

They're on the right track.

[cloudbase]

12. There's not as muct to do in Beaumont as there used to be. n/t

[RBInMaine]

13. Fools will do this but not have time to vote. Unreal.