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I am not planning on animating my display this year, but plan to do so next year. As a result, I will need more lights, mostly Minis. When would be the best time to get them, with still a decent selection, at the best price? Before or after the Holidays?
After Christmas The DAY after. this is my first year animating.. Get to the stores at like 6 am just like the day after thanksgiving. That is the best time i have found to get them.
I think we have infiltrated every retailer possible. There are people at walmart, target, hobby lobby, lowes as well as many others. Seems like we get the heads up. Some of those places might leak the days to us JUST to get rid of their stock. lol What other online community can gobble up a million lights in less than 24 hours. Hopefully there will be some good stuff left this year.
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Some stores (like Menards) now start discounting before Christmas. If you want to get lights for sure, buy them then, probably at 25% off. The longer you wait, the more you risk bad selection but the cheaper you'll pay.
It's unlikely prices will go up significantly next year (and in the case of LED's will hopefully go down) so don't pay full price.
Erik Sommer wrote: Wow! Those responses were quick. After Christmas, what selection is left? I am mainly interested in strings of mostly white minis.
Around here, multi's and clear are the ones that last to the bitter end (75% off or more) since the stores usually stock the most of them. I got a whole flat of clear 50's at 90% off last year. And I don't really even USE clear 50's, but I figured for that price they'd be handy to have around. I used some on my wireframes this year so it was a good bet.
I am going to go to Lowe's or Target the day after Christmas to get some LED lights hopefully on sale. What the best thing to do is scope out who has the most lights left you are interested in the day or 2 days before Christmas to see what they have left. That's what I am going to do. I already got all my mini's that were on sale a couple weeks ago "100 string light sets for $0.88 a box".
Ok I am sure we have all done this but I will admit it here. I go Christmas week and see what I want and if they only have a few I put them behind all the others. I always buy 25,000 or so clear but now I have purple white wire, green white wire and of course clear white wire. All of those I have hidden. When I go to our local WalMart on the 27th there is a girl in the back with two shopping carts waiting on me and when I get there she asks what I want and I tell her and we get it quick. Plus my hidden stash.
Robin wrote: Ok I am sure we have all done this but I will admit it here. I go Christmas week and see what I want and if they only have a few I put them behind all the others. I always buy 25,000 or so clear but now I have purple white wire, green white wire and of course clear white wire. All of those I have hidden. When I go to our local WalMart on the 27th there is a girl in the back with two shopping carts waiting on me and when I get there she asks what I want and I tell her and we get it quick. Plus my hidden stash.
I always wondered if that's illegal, or just an ethics issue . You're not directly stealing, of course, but maybe costing the store some profit.
Not intending to blame you or anything like that -- just wondered if the store could press charges for something like that.
It has been my experience that what is left is really a crap-shoot. Some years, you will find everything you are looking for.. from various colored minis to wireframes, etc.
Then, there are the 'lean' years where the only things left are wreathes without lights, and those awful holographic foil star type lights that are really made only for indoor use...
One thing that seems to be SOMEWHAT consistent is that the larger items (arches, wireframes, etc) tend to be slim every year, and non existent some years...
The best bet is to visit all of your local stores (Wal mart, Target, Lowes, Home Depot, etc) and see what they have a day or two before Christmas. Make a list of the stuff you want to get, and go to the store that has the most of what you want just before Christmas because, chances are, they will still have them the day after.. but definately get there early. VERY early. If you've never gone shopping the day after Christmas, you're in for one heck of an experience. It's almost always a fun time, and you will be surprised by the amount of people that show up.
I go with several other people, and we make it a yearly event, followed by breakfast somewhere.
And one tip... at least, I haven't seen it mentioned yet.. If there is a recently built drug store in your area, or in an area where new homes are being built, be sure to stop by there. I have done that two years in a row now, and have scored big. Those stores are usually built before the population can FULLY support them, but with the anticipated population to grow.. so, without a ton of people to compete with, you can find some pretty good stuff left over. (Just for Jerry Plak, since he lives in the same town, I'm talking mostly about the Long's Drugs on Twin Oaks by the college.. though, last year it was a weaker selection than the first year I went..)
And as a second tip.. take a friend. You will want someone to stand with your cart while you go headfirst into the aisles, poking your head up for air and to dump stuff into the cart. If you don't have a cart watcher, you will find that many people will walk by it and just pick stuff they want right out of it...
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The drug store suggestion is a good one. I bought 4600 icicle lights from Walgreen's right after Christmas two years ago. The manager was kind of annoyed that I wanted him to bring a ladder out to get the boxes on the top cap until I told him "I'll take 2 cases
There's a new CVS (new last year) in our area which fits that description. But CVS is really expensive on most stuff to begin with. I think their lights are $5 or something like that, for example...
Well Lowe's just opened up about 3 weeks ago here in New Lenox, Illinois. Hopefully they will still have a huge selection of lights left after the holidays!
walmart and lowes offers all their christmas stock at 50% off December 26th. if you can get to the stores Dec. 23rd and see what they're offering. Then you will know exactly what you need to aim for, when you get to the store. I get to the walmart in my area at least 1.5 hrs. before the store opens. It may seem silly but sometimes you get the only one item left on the shelf. In my case it was a noma electronic light controller
Tim,
I just move things around a bit. Trying to keep the store shelves straight and all you know.
Ethics? Well if they have not sold by Dec. 24th then I think they will be there on the 26th so not that big a deal. I just make sure I am the first one there as most people have returns anyway.
Actually, this one store's employees know. Oh and I have an ace in the hole this year. Son works at Wall Greens a day or two a week during school and during the holidays. Parents get an additional 15% off even sale items!!! Wow it's great to live in America
Last edited on Thursday December 1st, 2005 11:08 pm by
Somewhat related, in the after-Christmas sales, I found Walgreens to be an excellent source of low priced outdoor extension cords. I'll need to see if you all have some tricks, but darn, those things are usually expensive.
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The last 3 years I have gone to Lowe's Dec 26. In 2004 I spent about $200 on lights. In 2005 I spent probable over $1200 on lights and stuff. I left at 6:00 and went to one Lowe's without my wife and loaded the car completely up. When I got home Kathy asked why I went without her. So we spent the rest of the day grabbing more. I got 80+ sets of LEDs and 40+ ropelights and assorted other stuff. Hopefully the FAA won't get after me for setting up a landing strip for Christmas 2006. Had to keep hitting Target to catch the 90% off sale. Got 5? ct boxes of lighted stake candy canes for 1.50. Found 18" cracked ice looking snowmen at Walgreen for $5.00. Been hitting yard sales for any outdoor decors I can find.
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Joel Jenkins
Buying what you want is timing and persistence. I have purchased lights at full price, but only when it was exactly what I wanted and the chance of it being available at sale time was nil. An example is the gold lights at Target. When you see a few thousand, you just buy them. What you also do is pile what is on the shelf into your cart and go to a person with a telzon. He then checks shelf availability to see if there is any more in the store or on order. This electronic ordering and checking capability is available in Target, Wal-Mart, Home Deport and Menards. At Wal-Mart when the associate scans an item you can see the rate of sale and the amount on hand. This will give you an idea how many will be left for the sales.
I am at the point that I will only buy regular minis at the 90% off sale. In the Twin Cities, just on my way home from work and within a 5 mile radius of my home, I have 28 outlets that have minis. I have found amazing deals at every outlet. I have bought every conceivable product at 90% off. I know the clerks at 6 stores on a first name basis. I have other friends who shop some of the other stores frequently. Merchandise sells differently in each store and it is ordered differently. It takes a year or two to get into the pattern. Talking to the department manager and knowing when the sale will happen is very important.
The heads up forum has been invaluable because it increases your awareness of when a sale is really coming down. It is that critical buying time when you get there before anyone else.
I think that the best mini-getter is a minivan. I have put 100K of minis in the old minivan on more than one occasion. When you see a great bargain, just buy it all. If you come back an hour later, it could all be gone. Get the associates to help you. They will box it up and help you push the multitude of carts or flats out to your vehicle and help you load it.
. You're not directly stealing, of course, but maybe costing the store some profit. 
