A somewhat bleak Black Friday....

So today was black friday, start of the holiday Christmas season, best deal day of the year, ect. Naturally, MadAnthony spent most of last night in front of Circuit City. Unfortunatly, it was in vain.

All I wanted was the $299 Compaq laptop. I rolled to Circuit City at 11pm Thursday night - I was originally going to go at 10, but it was raining, and I got to BS'ing with the parents. When I got there, there were only maybe 20 people in front of the store, most of whom had got there in the last hour or so. But there was also a list, and on that list I was 43. It was kind of a gray area of fairness, since lots of the people signed in and then drove off for hours while their friends held their space in line. As someone there alone, I wasn't a huge fan of this.

So around 3:30am, employees start coming in and one says they will hand out vouchers for the popular items between 4 and 4:30. They don't until about 4:50. I'm about 5 people behind the last laptop voucher - if I'd been there at 10 instead of 11 I would have gotten one. I also debated getting the 32" Syntax Olivia HDTV LCD they had for $475. My original plan was to get it if they didn't have the laptop, but they handed out the vouchers for the TV first and while I could have gotten one, I decided to pass. I'm not sure if that was a good move - it was a steal, and I don't yet have a flat panel or HDTV and would love to move into the present. But I'm also a little money-tight, so it probably makes sense to wait. On the other hand, I probably could have gotten my job to finance the TV at 0%, since it is a computer monitor (hey, it's got DVI) and we have a computer loan program for employees. However, getting it from NJ to MD in the back of my truck would have been an interesting challenge.

So I finally get in the store, grab a bunch of free after rebate stuff and a couple other items and just miss a few other items I wanted. They have a pile of Polaroid digital cameras free with purchase of $250 or more. I grab one from the table in the front, and the women tells me they aren't for sale. I ask her if they are the free ones, and she says yes but you have to check out and then bring your reciept. So I get in line - naturally the slowest line in the store - and of course they make an announcement over the PA that they are out of cameras while I'm still about 10 people back in line. Plus, I was stuck with the world's most annoying women in line behind me, who spent the whole time complaining about everyone - the women checking us out, people she was convinced were cutting in line, the college kid who was trying to sell his laptop voucher for $80.

I got out at 7am after two hellish hours in the store.

My haul:
- 1 IOGear 250 gig usb hard drive $39.99AR
- 1 1 GIG sandisk sd card $2.99 AR
- 1 1 GIG sandisk flash drive $1.99 AR
- 2 different FAR samsonite camera bags
- 1 FAR pack of fifty blank DVD's


I got out of Circuit City at 7. I drove by FYE, but they didn't open until 8. Went back to the 'rents house, took a pee, and brought up Staples. Placed an order online for the things I would have wanted in store but couldn't make it to the store. Don't know if I'll actually get them, but I ordered

- 1 FAR surge protecotr
- 1 $2.99 AR pack of blank DVD's
- 1 $19.99 AR 200 gig Maxtor hard drive

Hopped back in the truck and headed to FYE. Short line, only wanted a couple things, so I was in and out quickly. Got:
-a Beatles greatest hits album my dad had asked for (the only actual gift purchase of the day)
- 2 pairs of SkullCandy in-ear headphones for $6.99 each (I tend to break or lose headphones on a monthy basis, and these are perfect for the gym
- 1 FAR package of Maxell AA batteries.

After FYE, I hit Ace hardware and bought:
- $1.99 AR Stanley level
- $1.99 AR Stanley screwdriver set
- $1.99 AR Stanley exacto knife
- FAR rotary tool (ie fake dremel)
- 2 sets of FAR driveway christmas lights (one snowflake, one candy cane)


Went back home around 8:30 and passed out. Got up at 12:30, in time to log into KBToys.com and snag a Tickle Me Elmo for around $50 shipped thanks to this FW thread. I did much better than my failed attempt yesterday to get one of the $100 Amazon xbox 360's. So hopefully Elmo will help Mad Anthony's BF be red.

I actually did also make one other purchase by proxy. While I was standing in line at Circuit City, to kill time, I called my friend BSOM in Maryland. He mentioned that he was debating about going to Target, since he had wanted an under-cabinet DVD player for his kitchen. He called me back a few minutes later and said his girlfriend had decided they were going so he was going to bed - so I asked him to pick me up one of the $28 Jenson iPod clock radios if they had one - I've wanted an iHome for a while but didn't want to spend the money, so I figured that would be a good replacement. He called me just as I was hitting the circuit city checkout and said that while Target was busy, they had a ton of stuff and he was able to get both items.

I'll try to post some pics of the haul in the next couple days.