This is a chronicle of my adventures on Black Friday, 2009.
I had looked over the ads while at my Grandma's house, to see if there were any great deals to be had on a new laptop (mine is not long for this world. It sounds like a helicopter, has colored lines down the screen, making it hard to see some letters, won't allow more than a couple of programs open at once, and more often than I can accept, will overheat and start closing programs randomly... not to mention it's on it's third new battery, and is down to about 10 minutes before it dies if not plugged in.) Walmart had several great deals, and Office Max had one.
The thought of getting up on Black Friday to fight crowds and stand in long lines didn't thrill me. Nor did the thought of spending several hundred dollars, even if it was for something necessary. So I left the decision up to circumstance. I would go to bed Thursday night without setting an alarm clock, and if I was awake by natural means in enough time to make it to Walmart to stand in line, then I would do that. If I had no luck at Walmart, I would proceed to Office Max. If I slept through both, so be it.
Well, as luck would have it, nature called at 3:15am. So I got up, got dressed, and headed for Walmart (ours is open 24 hours, but the sales weren't starting until 5. I figured over an hour early should be sufficient to stand in line, depending on how many computers were in stock.) When I drove by Best Buy on the way, their line was already ridiculous... stretching to nearly the other end of the shopping center, with still a few hours to wait... that was not encouraging. But I got into Walmart, headed for the area where the line was supposed to be forming for one of the three laptops I was interested in, and heard the buzz between customers and employees... ALL of the laptops... all three varieties were spoken for by people standing in line before 2 AM. I repeat, the sale doesn't start until FIVE! But there was only one lady standing by the $29 bikes, so I went to stand with her. $29 is an incredible deal, both children have outgrown the bikes they have, and although I wanted them for their BIRTHDAYS (in July), I couldn't pass up the price... so I stuck around to buy one of each (a boy's and a girl's) which they released for purchase just before 5, fought the crowds through the store (with both boxes in my cart, I couldn't SEE where I was going, and there were traffic jams in every aisle.) It took me nearly 30 minutes to get to the front of the store, and another 40 minutes to check out!
Next stop, Office Max. The deal they had going on their laptops was still VERY good, so I was suprised when I pulled up just an hour before opening that there were only 2 people in front of the store - a couple of early 20's young men who had been there since 4:15. It was now 6. I stood with them for a while, read a few pages of the book I brought with me, greeted a few more people that joined the line (comrades in the black Friday trenches), and waited. At 6:30, the store manager invited those of us that were there (probably 15 of us) into the lobby of the store, offered us Starbucks coffee while we waited, and pointed out where all of the items we wanted in the store were, so we could figure out our game plans. I loved that! She invited the next group in, while I and the rest of my front-of-the-line crew went back outside to stand in line, now with hot coffee in hand. Promptly at 7, they let us in. I grabbed a cart, walked straight to the man handing out tickets for the computers, then back to the front of the store to grab a printer. One of the perks of the little meet-and-greet with the manager... she told us about several compound deals. If you were buying a computer today, you could get a non-wireless printer for $40 off, and they had one on sale that day for $39.99... or a Wireless printer (very convenient for laptop users) for $60 off...and they had one on sale for $74.99! So not only did I get an incredible deal on a laptop (one of only 9 they had in stock), but I walked away with a brand new 3-in-1 wireless printer for $15.
Yes, my friends... it was worth the loss of sleep, though I promise myself every year I'm just going to sleep in. :)
Oh... and on the way home, I swung through the Starbucks Drive-through... to get Peppermint Mochas for myself and my hubby. Because what some people call "Black Friday"... is referred to as "Pepperming Mocha Day" around here. Because for every coffee, there is a season.
Turn, turn, turn.
Love it. I think I have thought of you every day since you posted on fb - as I sit here using my laptop that sounds unnervingly similar to your old one.
Posted by: Cutzi | 11/30/2009 at 07:15 AM