So the laptop saga has drawn to a close. I finally made my decision on the laptop. The decision was made around midnight last night, when I found a deal on a Sony Vaio with Intel i3 processor on BestBuy.com for $579. Definitely not cheaper – I could have bought a HP or a Dell directly from their websites and saved myself about $100 but our laptop’s power adapter is no longer working, so we really could not wait another week or two for the delivery. Plus, Sony Vaios are generally more expensive due to the Sony name, and $579 was a good deal for it. And, we were kind of tired of Dell brand and, gotta admit, a Sony Vaio laptop is cooler. I will be picking up this baby today. And for those interested, here are the specs: Intel Core i3-370M processor, 4GB DDR3 memory, 500 GB hard drive, 15.5″ screen, integrated graphics, and a DVD-R/RW.
Even though I already made the purchase, I went out looking to see if I can still get any of the doorbusters. I like a good computer, but I can’t help but want the best deal possible. So we went off to Wal-Mart at about 1:30am, and their set-up was very confusing. They would normally have lines outside, but since they opened at midnight, lines were inside. Why the lines? Because even though the store opened at midnight, the doorbuster deals were still being held until 5am. So they had different queues set up (I don’t know why I just used a British lingo) for different products. Confusing part was deciphering (I don’t know why I didn’t just say “figuring out” like normal people) which lines were for which products. Some had signs but many didn’t – I just had to ask the employees. And some employees were wearing street clothes so at times I couldn’t figure out who were employees and who weren’t. Somehow, it seemed sadder to see people in sleeping bags in the catfood aisle instead of outside the store. In the end, I could not find the line for the $398 HP laptop line. There was a $298 HP laptop line but I think there was a different line. When I asked one of the street-clothed employees, he said I should just look around and find the line. Great service. But then again, on a day like Black Friday, customer service is not what drives people to the stores.
Worst thing about the Wal-Mart trip was the lady in front of me at the checkout line, who was flabbergasted that her purchases came to over $1000. She decided to review each and every single one of her purchases, canceling some, and running her sons back to check the prices, and also seeing if some of her purchases were supposed to be held until 5am. Okay, I know you are excited about good deals but you are a moron if you’re not at least watching your budget and what you’re putting in the cart. Black Friday sale does not mean free. Unless you do not have a budget, at least try to keep a running tally so that you don’t end up shocked and annoy employees and people behind you in line.
Then, we were thinking of hitting the outlet mall 20 minutes away but decided against it, and went to a local mall. Ended up not buying that much, but I got 4 dress shirts for under $50 at Macy’s. Had to make some hard decisions on a kitchen cookware set that my wife wanted to get, but we just could not tell why one set was $100, another was $300, and yet another was $600. What is the difference here??? She did not want a cheap cookware set, and $300 seemed like a deal we can get at another time, so we skipped it.
Final stop was Staples. When we drove by at 3am, there were only 3 people in line. When we went back at 5:30, there were about 50. Again, I got there too late for their $498 HP laptop I had my eyes on, but we got a barebones $298 laptop, to be used by my 11-year-old nephew. My least favorite thing about Black Friday shopping is the checkout line system. I waited in a wrong line for 30 minutes before someone sent me off to the laptop line, and I waited almost an hour in that line also. And we were going to buy a $20 paper shredder here, but amid all the chaos, we left it at the checkout counter. Good thing we didn’t pay for it.
So in the end, we spent about $600 in 3 stores, with $200 worth of rebates to fill out. We didn’t make this trip to buy things – I just wanted to experience it with my wife since she had never gone Black Friday shopping before. It was an odd feeling, walking around while many people were in lines (not “queues”) or pushing carts filled to the top. Without a specific deal that I had to have, I felt more like a tourist in my own town. But it was fun in its own way.
Smoking update: I told my wife, do not smoke. But if you do, bring me one. Well, she brought me one last night. I lasted 89 hours. And tonight, I’m meeting my drinking buddies. If I did not have that one smoke, I would have tried to keep the quit going, but that one cigarette makes a big difference. With the cigarette-free streak over, my wife and I bought a pack last night, since not smoking tonight would be tough. Oh well, I guess I’ll start a new streak tomorrow.