Mr Al Young Dot Com

The day after Thanksgiving, also known as “Black Friday” is the busiest shopping day of the year. However, I have never participated in it. I could never figure out why anyone would want to leave their warm homes in the middle of the night to stand in line, in the freezing cold just to save a few bucks on a DVD player. I enjoy getting a good deal as much as anyone, but only if its convenient to me. And standing in line in the middle of the night is not convenient to me. To me, “Black Friday” is an event created by retailers and marketers for crazed women much like Valentine’s day. Also, in past years, I had to work the day after Thanksgiving, so I never paid much attention to the sales.

This year was different. My schedule is much more flexible now, so I could shop on Friday. Also, I was looking for something, a portable GPS. I had been researching various GPS for a few weeks now, but my friend Stan at Who Fong Paid, tipped me off to a bargain Navigon 2100 GPS at Staples on Black Friday. The Navigon was not one that I was looking at, but if Stan says its a good deal, that’s good enough for me. So, I decided to try for the Navigon 2100, and see what this Black Friday business was all about.

I arrived at Staples at 5:15 in the morning. The temperature gauge in my car read 37 degrees. It felt colder. There was already a line of about 100 people. Apparently the Navigon 2100 was the deal everyone at Staples was after, and I soon found out I was out of luck. Fortunately, I received a coupon for the other GPS that was on sale, a Tom Tom. I got the next to last sale GPS in the store. So, I got a decent GPS at a good price, and I only had to wait 45 minutes, which was probably the maximum I was willing to do. Once inside, I picked up a few other sale items, and got in line.

It took awhile to check out with the large crowd. So, I headed to Sears at the mall to see if I could get a combo VCR/DVD player for $40 to replace a broken VCR. As luck would have it, I got the last one. By now it was after 8, and the mall was getting crowded. I had been shopping for over 3 hours which is 2 hours more than my usual limit. I was exhausted and cold. I’m not used to getting up so early, and shopping for so long. It was time to go home.

When I got home, I discovered that my GPS was charged about half of what I was expecting. I’m not sure what happened. Maybe there was another discount I was not aware of. Anyways….score!!!. So, I got some very good deals out of Black Friday, and did not have to stand in line too long. Would I do it again next year? No.

First, I discovered that I could have gotten the Navigon online at Staples. Many people did. I would rather be at the computer in the middle of the night, than in a long line outside in the freezing cold. Secondly, I asked a Staples employee how early I would have had to be in line to get the Navigon I was after. Since there were only about 20 of them, I would have had to be in line around midnight to maybe get one. Forget that. Even if it was free, it still would not be worth it.

It was interesting to see after all these years what Black Friday is like up close, but even though I enjoy getting a bargain, I don’t enjoy it that much. Next year, I will be online looking for deals, and sleeping in on Black Friday.