Wow – what an exciting couple of days of shopping!  As was the case last year, I did the majority of my Christmas shopping online.  One thing I did do differently, however, was to actually go to the brick & mortar stores prior to purchasing online to check out some of the merchandise first (specifically – Target & Walmart).  Here are my experiences with some of the online retailers I purchased from or considered purchasing from this year.  Please note all times are in CST:

1.  Toys ‘R Us – They started their online BF sale in the early morning hours of Thanksgiving.  I got onto their website about 5:30am Thursday and I was able to purchase the $59.99 Star Wars Federation MTT (7662) Lego set and the $19.99 Eyeclops Handheld Bionic Eye for Camden without any issues.  I tried to make another purchase Friday morning but their site was having issues.  They had a $25 off a $50 purchase coupon if you used Paypal.  I could get the coupon to appear in my shopping cart but every time I tried to pay using Paypal, it would state that Paypal wasn’t available at that time.  I’m not too impressed with Toys ‘R Us and their shipping charges are ridiculous.  I had a free shipping code but I couldn’t get it to work Thursday; it worked Friday but then Paypal wasn’t working.  Whatever!   UPDATE:  Okay – I think Toys ‘R Us has somewhat redeemed themselves, IMO.  I placed another order today (Saturday) and was able to use a $15 off $75 purchase coupon PLUS the free shipping code that I had.  That gave me a total savings of $25 off the order.  Also, they sent me a notice today that my first order has already shipped.

2.  Target – They also started their BF sale on Thanksgiving although many of their items were not available online – bummer.  I was able to purchase 2 of the Kodak digital frames and got free shipping too!  I went to the store Friday afternoon to price adjust the $59.99 Star Wars Imperial Star Destroyer (6211) Lego set - it was a madhouse there.  Thank goodness I was able to get everything!  UPDATE:  The picture frames shipped fast!  I received an email Friday that they’re on their way.

3.  Best Buy, Sears, Kmart – They all started their BF sales late Wednesday night or early Thanksgiving morning.  I didn’t make any purchases from them as there wasn’t anything we wanted.  They had some great deals, though!

4.  Circuit City – They had their BF prices available on Thanksgiving as well.  I only wanted a few small things.  They also had free shipping with a $24 purchase.  I made my purchases early in the morning on Thursday and was done in a few minutes without any issues with their site.  UPDATE:  CC has also shipped my items as of Friday!

5.  Kohl’s – First thing I have to say = I L-O-V-E Kohl’s!!!! At 11:59pm Thursday night, I sat in bed with my laptop, my shopping cart already full of the BF items I wanted to purchase.  At midnight, I refreshed their site, the front page updated, and it was shoppin’ time!  I made all of my purchases by 12:15 am Friday morning.  Their sight was incredibly slow but I was able to get everything I wanted PLUS free shipping PLUS I used a 15% off coupon.  Their items were selling out F-A-S-T.  The 14-piece Farberware Cook Set was sold out when I went back to check it at 12:20am.  The Big Ones Throw Blankets were also selling out very quickly.  Did I mention that I really, really, really, love Kohl’s!?!?!  UPDATE:  Kohl’s has already begun shipping my items as of late Friday.

6.  Amazon – They started their BF prices at 2:00am Friday.  I had a hard time determining what their BF sales were as their BF page wasn’t the easiest to comprehend/navigate.  I ended up buying Camden the Legos Batman Game for the Xbox 360 for $29.99.  At 4:00am they had several $1.99 DVD’s on sale (many of the same titles as Walmart), but none to my liking.  They did have their Lighting Deals going on once per hour throughout the day Friday.  I purchased the Jasman HALO 3 Covenant Plasma Pistol Laser Pursuit Gaming 2 Players set for $19.99 around 7:30pm for Camden.  John said he’d love it!  UPDATE:  As has always been the case with Amazon, they are shipping our items out super fast (less than 12 hours after purchase, in some cases).  

7.  Walmart – At 2:30am Friday I went to check their website to see if their BF prices were updated.  Yay – success!!!  Their prices were updated and I was so excited!  I put everything in my cart and when I went to check out, they took away the free “Site to Store” shipping option for many of the items. This option was available for many of the same items the day before.  The total shipping cost was overpriced so I didn’t even buy anything from Walmart this year.