I did end up going to the outlet mall last night. I honestly thought I would be one of very few people there and I would be in and out in a half hour.
Let me take a minute to laugh at my own naivete.
HA Fucking HA.
On the drive down highway, there were no cars at all, until I got to the outlet. Suddenly, there was a traffic jam. Then as I approached the outlet, I noticed police cars on both sides of the highway. As I exited the highway, I noticed the police were directing traffic AWAY from the outlets. It wasn’t until I got off the highway that I noticed a huge nearby field (behind a porn shop) filled with thousands of cars. Thousands of cars that were overflow because the huge outlet parking lot was FULL.
At this point, I seriously considered turning around, but then I realized there was no way I was getting out of that field for at least another hour because too many cars were chaotically trying to get in. So I decided I may as well go check it out.
To get to the outlets, I hiked through a muddy field, climbed over a barbed wire fence and hiked under a highway and two exit ramps to get to the stores. With hundreds of other people. It was like a mass exodus of retail-starved refugees. BIZARRE.
I got to Pottery Barn Outlet about 5 minutes after the doors opened. There were already about 200 people in line to CHECK OUT. I don’t know how they managed that, but they must have stampeded in and vaulted over the displays as soon as the doors opened.
For future reference, the post-Thanksgiving sale is not the place to buy big-ticket items like furniture or bedspreads. I have shopped there enough to recognize that these items had been marked way up before for their 40% markdown. Smaller items, though, were the usual price. That means that stuff was really and truly 40% off.
I waded through the crowd and found these little metal bins I have needed for two years. It is difficult to explain, but they fit into spaces in a bookshelf we have. They were cheap with the sale (and the correct colors) so I decided I might as well buy them. But they were HEAVY. It would have been unpleasant to lug them back over the barbed wire fence in just a plastic bag.
Then I spotted big rolley suitcases on sale for $30. We need a suitcase in that size anyway, so I picked one up. After that, there was no reason not to buy the variety of small doodads that I was going to buy eventually anyway. I got the stocking hangers I have wanted for two years, a big measuring cup and spatulas, a few small xmas decorations, etc. Nothing big, but I made good use of my suitcase space.
I also walked around the rest of the outlets and decided that people are CRAZY. There was a line of several hundred people waiting to get in to the Coach outlet. As one would come out, the guard would let one more in. It was a madhouse.
After standing in line for 30 minutes to pee and buying a pretty cute coat at Ann Taylor, I tried to get on the shuttle bus to the muddy field. After I almost got crushed in a near-riot, I decided it was better and faster to just hike back to my car. So the suitcase and I hiked back, climbed the fence and waded in the mud (only falling once) back to the car. At this point, I saw that several cars were totally trapped in big holes in the field and were likely going to need a towtruck.
I got home at 3:30 a.m. I doubt I will ever need to experience that kind of shopping insanity ever again.
May I just say I’d rather gouge my eyes out with a rusty knife than to experience something like that? I don’t know whether to salute you for your stick-to-it-iveness or to goggle with awe at your insanity.
But, hey, I suppose it’s one of those “you just have to do it at least once in your lifetime” things. I’m glad it ended up being worth your while!
Oh Am-I’m laughing so hard, but that must have been so frustrating! At least you have a great story to tell for a good long time. And you got some good stuff to make it sort of worthwhile.
I didn’t even know stores opened at midnight…
~lmc
The outlet mall here used to have the traffic backed up onto the freeway the day after Thanksgiving, until they built a new exit and overpass. (The mall is consistently one of the top 5 tourist attractions in the state.)
I’m with Omega Mom. I would rather put a gun in my mouth and pull the trigger than go shopping in the middle of the night on Black Friday. NO THANK YOU. Online works very well!
Ah, the Church of Consumerism.
You couldn’t have paid me enough to do what you did.
You know? As I sit here in my comfy chair in my own home in my pjs looking for Xmas gifts and such, it occurs to me that THE SAME SALES that they have in the stores are also online. I mean, maybe not exactly, but the sales online this weekend are huge. No parking, no sleep deprivation, just browse and compare and click.
just sayin’…
I feel for you. I worked in retail for way too long and feel your pain.
There was a 4 hour wait just to PARK at the outlet near me. That’s why we did our grocery shopping yesterday; we had the place to ourselves.
If you want to avoid the crowds go on Tuesday morning; it’s the slowest shopping day & time of the week. Wednesday is also pretty quiet.
So much for Buy Nothing Day. I can’t believe people buy these items even though they have been marked up just to be marked down. Are they really that easily duped?
Musta been an experience…
Oh. My. God.
The spectacle of it all.
It sounds like something from the Coliseum in ancient Rome.
Despite the fact that I virtuously celebrated Buy Nothing Day yesterday – a part of me is in utter awe of the people who would participate in this kind of thing.
We honestly don’t have that kind of thing in Canada. It was interesting to hear that they marked up prices on items first. Hah!
What an experience. I am almost jealous.
But not quite.
Wow. All I can say is, better you than I, girlfriend. I loved reading about this experience but I could/would not have done this for anything.
Holy. Crap. My hat is off to you, because I am not that brave.
Well, that’s the thing about Black Friday. A good many of those clogging the roads, parking lots and shops are responding to a calculated opportunity to get a good price on stuff for themselves. Seriously, how many families are going to wake up on Christmas morning to find a new 42″ HDTV under the tree? The serious Christmas listers who are genuinely ticking off gift items on their lists are the ones who are out at 4am corralling DVDs, toys and 2-for-1 ladies’ slippers. Online shopping is the way to go, before during and after B.F., otherwise its just naked consumerism done to the tune of “Jingle Bells”.
That’s nuts. I don’t know if I would have been as dedicated as you.
Every once in a while a whisp of a thought floats thru my mind on Thanksgiving Eve, saying “maybe I should go to tonight….” and then I laugh and move on.
There was a 15 mile backup on the highway for cars trying to get into the parking lots. So happy I didn’t try.