Best Black Friday Deals? Maybe Buying Nothing

Black Friday may be the day for your best deals at Walmart, Target, Sears and other stores, but Friday is also international Buy Nothing Day. Here are some non-shopping Cedar Falls activities, along with some local small businesses to favor.

With the big box stores such as Walmart and Target moving Black Friday up by hours -- and into Thankgsiving Day -- Friday also marks the international “holiday” Buy Nothing Day. Whether to buy or not to buy is, of course, your choice. If you’re on the side of sane shopping, though, you might consider a number of store-free activities in Cedar Falls on Friday. And this Saturday is Small Business Saturday 2012, so you may want to show some local small businesses your financial love. Here are some activities in Cedar Falls for Friday: And here are just a few of the small businesses in Cedar Falls that you can help support: Click the links to find their phone numbers - some places won't be open on Friday, so it may be best to call ahead.

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Black Friday Rewind: The Sales, the Crowds, the Insanity of Shopping in the Cedar Valley

A Cedar Falls shopper's account of Black Friday madness one year ago.

Patch Poll: Should Employees Be Allowed to Opt Out of Working Thanksgiving Hours?

Black Friday is creeping into the Thanksgiving holiday, requiring more retail workers to give up time with their families.

Malls and chain stores have been opening their doors earlier each year to boost their share of the Black Friday shopping rush. Well, Thanksgiving Thursday is the new Black Friday. Last year, some Merle Hay Mall stores opened at midnight and all stores were open for business by 4 a.m. Friday. Both Valley West Mall and Jordan Creek Town Center opened their doors at 12:01 a.m. on Thanksgiving night.  The trend for stores to open earlier and earlier to take advantage of Black Friday deals -- even to the point of Target planning to open its doors at 9 p.m. on Thanksgiving. That has prompted an online petition drive to give Thanksgiving back to employees and their families. So, do you think retail employees should have the option to opt out of …

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Troy Murphy

4:48 pm on Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Should accountants be able to take the first 2 weeks in April off, Should UPS drivers only have to work 8 hours from Thanksgiving to Christmas? Of course they should, that is what they signed on for in retail and if they don't like it get a job with a company that isn't open on those days.   more ›

'Black Friday Creep' Spurs Online Petition Drives to 'Save Thanksgiving'

Thousands are signing an online petitions against Black Friday store-opening hours that have been pushed into Thanksgiving Day.

The trend for stores to open earlier and earlier to take advantage of Black Friday deals – even to the point of opening in the evening on Thanksgiving Day – has prompted an online petition drive to give Thanksgiving back to employees and their families. The original petition was reportedly created by a Target employee upset that the retail giant is opening on Thanksgiving and requiring employees to work instead of spending time with their families. Do any Cedar Falls work in retail and have to work Thanksgiving? Tell us in the comments section. Target stores, including the Cedar Falls store, will open its doors at 9 p.m. on Thanksgiving. As of Tuesday morning, there are more than 179,000 signatures on the petition. (Check out the petition …

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When is Black Friday?

Black Friday is arriving early this year.

Anyone who needs to ask "When is Black Friday?" must not know that Black Friday is the biggest holiday shopping day of the year. It often begins at midnight on Thanksgiving, (12 a.m. Friday, the day after Thanksgiving), when shoppers make a mad dash for the season's hot items. It's called Black Friday because it's the day when retailers see their revenues jump into the black and actually become profitable. Black Friday ads are usually leaked online at sites including http://bfads.net. And according to them sales begin 8 p.m. Thursday. So maybe it's good you asked, 'When is Black Friday?' Because it appears to be starting earlier this year. Sears and Walmart, located at 525 Brandilynn Blvd. in Cedar Falls, are starting their sales at 8 p.m…

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Early Black Friday Deals in Cedar Falls

In Cedar Falls and Waterloo, Best Buy and Target begin matching prices of online retailers beginning Nov. 1.

So, you just can't wait to get your Christmas 2012 gift-shopping groove on? And you see great deals online, but you just don't trust the postal service -- or your own ability to guess sizes? You don't have to wait until Black Friday to get some deals. Best Buy's announcement that it will allow in-store customers to price-match online retailers by showing the price on their smartphones has been matched by Target, according to BFAds.net, a website devoted to Black Friday and gift-shopping alerts. Among other online retailers, the stores will match prices of Amazon.com, Walmart.com, Toysrus.com and Babiesrus.com Best Buy's price-matching begins Nov. 4, while Target's begings today, Nov. 1. Best Buy in Waterloo is located at 2541 Crossroads …

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The Sales, The Crowds, The Insanity: My Cedar Falls Black Friday Shopping Experience

I discovered the good, the bad and the ugly of one of the craziest days of the year.

After weeks of having the, “Gotta get down on Black Friday,” commercial playing over and over in my head (thanks, Rebecca Black), I was finally able to jump headfirst into the madness of one of the craziest days of the year. I decided to try and hit up the most places I could within a seven hour time period. During that time, I encountered the good, the bad and certainly the ugly of Black Friday, but with a stomach full of turkey and a little bit of caffeine, I was ready to take on the night full throttle. I started my night in line at Younkers at 11:30 p.m. I wanted to pick one item I could fight the mobs for – a pair of boots for the unbeatable price of $20. The shopper paranoia started to set in as I eyed the shoes of the women around …

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Tehrene Firman

6:51 pm on Friday, November 25, 2011

So glad you all liked it! Can't wait until next year. ;-)   more ›

The Ultimate Cedar Falls Black Friday Shopping Guide

We've got the list of opening times and links to specials here on your Patch.

Are you thankful for early morning shopping bargains? We've got the list of where and what time you'll find Black Friday deals. And it's not just about 5 a.m. anymore - this year a number of chains are pushing the madness back to midnight. What do you think of the earlier Black Friday opening hours? Tell us in the comments. Without further ado, your deals: Cedar Falls stores: Walmart: Store is open Thanksgiving, with some Black Friday specials starting 10 p.m on Thanksgiving and others at 8 a.m. Friday. Preview the deals. Target: Open at midnight Thursday. Preview the deals. Kohls:  Open at midnight Thanksgiving. Preview the deals. Blaines Farm and Fleet:   Open at 6 a.m Friday. Preview the deals. Malls: College Square Mall: The mall and …

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