Hey everyone, since not everyone on this forum is an experienced BF'er, lets compile a list of tips. If y'all have anything to add, just post, and ill add it to the list.

1. Eat Breakfast (don't forget the caffein)
2. Dress Warmly!
3. Fill up on gas before thanksgiving.
4. Bring a thermos of hot coffee (or chocolate)
5. Figure out what you are going to buy, where ,and when.
6. Wear comfortable shoes!
7. if you're short and weight 100lbs (twiggy-like), wear protective gear (I know I learned better last BF, thanks to the large woman who ran me over with her shopping cart and twisted my ankle)
8. Talk to fellow BFers
9. Here's a big one in my opinion...if you're intending to get a big ticket item from the front page of a Black Friday ad, you better be prepared to go down and wait starting probably in the early afternoon on Thanksgiving; if you're not willing to go that early for those big ticket items, don't bother. People are gunning for these big ticket items; in each year I've gone, I've seen people line up before me even at like 8 o'clock at night, they stay there till the tickets for items are given out around 4 am, then they leave because they didn't get the big ticket item (I'm referring mostly to cheap computers, I usually do mine at Best Buy first)
10. Go to the stores you are planning to shop at like a week before to see where the items of the store might be out. Also defintely as others suggested for big ticket items you better plan on camping out. Always take a friend to either help hold your place in line or help you grab those super bargain items. I also learned that your best deals may be at newly opened stores that haven't gone through a black friday yet. This happened to me and my friend at the Midlothian Wal-Mart near Dallas TX which we were at for the first black friday a year ago. Short story goes since know of the employees really knew how hectic the sale would be the electronics manager ended selling every laptop in the store for 350 dollars each! My friend and I walked out of that place with lappys that were easily worth 750 or so for 350! So it pays to try a new store that has yet to experience the black friday sale!
11. Wear a FW shirt! BE THE REVOLUTION!

cool topic! I'm not the most experienced BFer, but I'd like to throw my hat in on this one:
3.fill up your gas tank BEFORE Thanksgiving so you get a better price on gas
4.If you'll be standing in a line outside, bring a thermos of coffee (or hot cocoa, yum!)
5.Make a list of what you'll be buying where, figure out which store you'll be starting the morning with, and plan your shopping route to find shortest distance or shortest travel time, depending on which will be more important (do you have to get to the next store by 7am? If not, save gas by picking the shortest distance)
6. wear comfortable shoes! (maybe even running shoes, lol)
7. if you're short and weight 100lbs (twiggy-like), wear protective gear (I know I learned better last BF, thanks to the large woman who ran me over with her shopping cart and twisted my ankle)
Also, I like to start the season out by listening to the season's music; a radio station in my city starts playing holiday music at 12am on BF, and it helps me get into the mood for the holiday shopping.

Go to the stores you are planning to shop at like a week before to see where the items of the store might be out. Also defintely as others suggested for big ticket items you better plan on camping out. Always take a friend to either help hold your place in line or help you grab those super bargain items. I also learned that your best deals may be at newly opened stores that haven't gone through a black friday yet. This happened to me and my friend at the Midlothian Wal-Mart near Dallas TX which we were at for the first black friday a year ago. Short story goes since know of the employees really knew how hectic the sale would be the electronics manager ended selling every laptop in the store for 350 dollars each! My friend and I walked out of that place with lappys that were easily worth 750 or so for 350! So it pays to try a new store that has yet to experience the black friday sale!

Do your homework. Search for same BF items at other stores that offer price matchng. Couple years ago, after lining up at 4am to try to snag an HDTV from BB only to find that they had sold out, I went over to Sears to pick out a few tools and by pure luck saw the same HDTV model there. With price matching +10%, I came out with a better deal...and of course, no line!

Tixin said:Do your homework. Search for same BF items at other stores that offer price matchng. Couple years ago, after lining up at 4am to try to snag an HDTV from BB only to find that they had sold out, I went over to Sears to pick out a few tools and by pure luck saw the same HDTV model there. With price matching +10%, I came out with a better deal...and of course, no line!
Many stores do not price match on BF!

Also many stores check to see if what you're matching is in stock at the other store.

Best Buy & Circuit City doesn't even price match their own items if you bought them 30 days before; still within the return window though, so I guess you could return and re-buy.

I called CC's corporate number and they said it was "policy" not to PM on BF. What a crock! Maybe that's why CC is tanking.

Steel toed workboots are a must. I usually show up 2 minutes before door opens and cut in line.

Only had to kick someone once. Works like a charm. There is so much chaos when door opens

they cant do anything about it. Thats my BF tip.

Hire a homeless person to stand in line overnight for you.

Buffin da boots.............

Don't forget to check the websites for the same deals you see in the BF ads.

Last year Best Buy had the exact same deals online (starting on wednesday or thursday), most of them with either cheap shipping or free shipping. I waited too long to pull the trigger once I saw the price online and ended up waiting it out in the cold instead.

Funny stuff. Don't forget to check the online sites!

BlackFridayCentral.com
BFAds.net
Black-Friday.net
BlackFridayAds.com