Black Friday, postgame notes

Hillary bailed out on me, and I ended up waiting outside MicroCenter by myself. The good news is that I stood next to a bunch of ex-Circuit City employees, so we had plenty to talk about. It actually didn't matter, because one of the guys I was talking to in line grabbed an extra 32" LCD voucher for me. Once I had my vouchers, I went home, and was asleep by the time the doors opened. Hillary and I went back around 12:30, and picked up our new TVs. After Rebate, they came to $769, but I qualified for $100 cash back by doing a credit app as well.

Bottom line, I got 32" and 37" LCD HDTVs for $669 for both. I also picked up a decent computer case for $5, some AA and AAA battery 4 packs for 99 cents, a brand name external 250 GB Hard Drive for $80, and a free power supply. I think I did alright.

I was extremely impressed by MicroCenter's ability to pull off the best BF deal of the year. They had the four best deals anywhere all in one place. They even had a $199 laptop, after a mere $50 rebate. There was a no-name 32" LCD at Home Depot for over $100 more, and that was the best price elsewhere. Best buy had about 5-10 similar TVs for an extra $130, or $230 if you count the credit app.

On Black Friday, most places have a few token items, which all go to either the people who've been camping out since Halloween, or the jackasses who rush the front of the line when the employees come out with the vouchers. Microcenter had HUNDREDS of these TVs, which is unbelievable compared to everyone else historically. They were supposed to get an extra 150 of the 37" TVs, but didn't due to a shipping delay. They even had 50 laptops. That is unprecedented in retail electronics. The line was also very well managed, and the checkout process was quicker and smoother than it normally is at CompUSA.

I had traditionally ignored MicroCenter, because there wasn't one where I grew up, and also because I get a pretty decent discount at CompUSA. I'll have to pay more attention from now on. I was very impressed.