ha ha ha, talk about starting early. google black friday ads, there is this great site that posts all the deals and updates. people are really into it. i dont think the site opens up until sometime in october though.
before black friday, walmart had weekend deals and i managed to get one of the last laptops. you still have to be at the store quite early. the deal was good but black friday was a little better.
i also did manage to get a laptop last friday at walmart on BF. it was not the cheapest one though. you have to get there really early and wait, even though walmart may open up earlier, they still dont start the registers, so you are waiting awhile. but they tell you right away how many are left and give you a ticket. if you leave line to go potty, you have a certain amount of time to get back. each item has a line in a different place in the store, so you can only get on line for one item.
my advice, unless you plan to sleep outside, dont bother with electronics places like best buy. they have such a small number. walmart had the best chance. they usually will have one for lets say $300 and one for $400, ect. the $400 is better but people all go after the cheapest. chances are better to get a more expensive one.
you may just have better luck with the deals before black friday or online. yeah, you are spending a little more, but its not that much in comparison to the time and possibility of not even getting anything on BF.
early birds though in general are fun. last year i stayed up the whole night, started at disney store at midnight. i ran over to walmart, then i went to wait in a mile long line at toys r us, then did the normal places after 5. its fun and exciting, but if you go, go with a whole plan. people who stay up just to get that one thing get so mad if they dont get it, as if they are entitled. the whole thing is comical, you have to take it all in fun. however, if i lived in a big city, i dont know if it would do it.