How much are you willing to pay for a discount?

I did it.

At 8pm Thursday night, I and I presume a million other souls flocked to the stores for the doorbuster deals that we all have become accustomed to after Thanksgiving AKA Black Friday.  Only this time, Black Friday started on Thursday.  While I initially balked at the idea of lining up and hustling to get a deal on a day that should be reserved for family, it wasn't enough to stop me from participating.  So at 8pm on Thanksgiving day, there I was standing in the aisles at Walmart, waiting for the deals to begin.

The plan was:

8pm : Walmart
9pm: Target
12am: Kohls
4am: Target (again)

At the time it seemed like a great strategy to save hundreds of dollars.
In hindsight, it was insane.

Within 10 minutes of the first deals at Walmart, a child was trampled, another separated from his family, an employee was trampled and a fight broke out. First 10 minutes.  All I wanted was some dolls and a Nerf gun...nothing major. It was chaos at Walmart. I did manage to find the Nerf gun and one doll, I checked out at customer service to save time.  I left Walmart with 2 items and a headache.  Made my way to Target and didn't even stay because the line to enter was crazy long.  And I wondered, what price do we pay for a deal?  I mean, people standing in the cold, camping out in front of stores all to save a couple hundred bucks...is it that serious?

I didn't go to Kohls at midnight as planned or Target at 4am, I enjoyed  time at home with my family and in the comfort of my warm bed and that was priceless.

I did make my way to Kohls today, only to spend over an hour in line for a waffle maker and a scarf. Then back to Walmart, which was relatively calm but only to spend over an hour waiting for my layaway as a part of my botched Black Friday plan, which is a whole other story...  By the time I returned, the kids and my sweetie had the Christmas tree up and stockings hung...glad they had fun, maybe I will join the fun next year :-(

Now, don't get me wrong I LOVE a deal, but there does become a certain point when a deal just isn't worth the hassle.  If risking life and limb to save $150 on a TV is worth it for some, then go for it; but for me I'll pass.  The price of deal in some instances is just too high. I think going forward, I will participate in Black Friday online only or after crowds have gone. And yes, that does mean I will miss some of the better deals, but if I calculate my time, the opportunity cost I realize I will miss nothing at all.

So whats in Black Friday for consumers? Deals! And of course, the bragging rights of to be one of the few people to get X widget at Y price.

But for businesses the politics is a bite different.  Target, Walmart, Best Buy, etc... advertise low prices on certain items and they are fully aware that only a small percentage of folks will even get them. But they do this anyway in hopes that the deal is sweet enough to lure you to their store versus their competitors. Target doesn't want you at Walmart, Walmart doesn't want you at Best Buy, you get the point. Retailers fighting for your business and trying to keep you away from the competition. Notice how this year many retailers were offering staggered times for sales.  Certain deals released at certain times only, in an effort to keep you at their store.

Yup, that's the game they play.

The question is how much are YOU willing to pay for a discount.