I was thinking of ignoring the Black Friday sales this year as it's annoying to have to get up really early, stand in line freezing for hours, fight my way into the store along with a few hundred other people, get 1/10th of what I wanted, then spend another hour in the check-out line. But then I spent Wednesday night stuck at my office because a large snowstorm had blocked all the roads and they weren't be plowed out until the following afternoon. So to pass the time I started checking out the leaked BF advertisements to see what was available and I decided to try my luck at the Staples store in Alpena. Although they are known as an office supply store they have a lot of computer tech on sale, especially on Black Friday. I was interested mostly in Linux-compatible cameras and printers which meant skipping the Canon and newer Epson models. They carry Lexmark but none were on sale, not that it mattered as I wouldn't take one even if they were free. The best deals are offered during the "Early Bird" sale which was held 6:00 to 10:00 although other good deals were available throughout the weekend.
The next day, after Thanksgiving dinner, I head for bed early. I wake up at 4:00 and it's probably around 15°F (-9°C) outside. I put on long underwear, snow pants, a sweater, two coats, heavy boots, and a stocking cap then get in the car. I live out in the country and normally the roads are vacant this early but this time there were several cars in front of me, all heading into the town. I get to the store at 5:15 and there are many cars in the parking lot and about 50 people in line already. I suspect that many of them are holding places for others sitting in vehicles keeping warm so I expected the number to double when the store opened at 6:00. The manager came out some time later and handed out sales flyers and a store map. I found out they were not using item reservation tickets like some stores do so that meant that it was going to be a free-for-all assault. At 5:55 the crowd increase wasn't that much and some store staff blocked some line-cutters and sent them down to the end. I'm not sure where the end was at actually - the line was way around the corner. I'm guessing 200 or so people based on crowd later in the store. I check my list and map and wait impatiently - I can feel the excitement in the air. But when the doors finally opened it was more of an orderly surge instead of a stampede.
I took a chance and grabbed a cart. Grabbing a cart is not a small decision when it comes to BF shopping. It costs time because it is difficult to maneuver in a crowded store which potentially means losing out on popular items with limited inventory. But printers are too big to carry and I wasn't sure what else I would grab. I headed over to the likely area on the simple map and found it was a little inaccurate. The items were not on the shelf but on tables in the aisle towards the rear of the section which now jammed full of shoppers. I was worried that the minute or two of disorientation would cost me the HP camera I was after but I managed to get one. Conveniently they had bundled it with a 1GD SD card and 4x6in HP photo paper. This was about 6:03 and items were going fast so I then started grabbing anything even remotely desirable. My normal BF tactics are based on credit card power. I buy everything I can get because comparing items takes too much time. I then take them home for evaluation, offer rejects to friends and family, and return the leftovers. This has worked well in the past and it worked very well this time. I think my success was helped by three factors - the cold limited the competition, there was a large amount of inventory on hand, and I wasn't after the high-demand items. About a third of the shoppers were lined up for some laptops and GPS units on sale towards the rear of the store. I didn't need a laptop and decided to pass on the TomTom ONE 3rd Edition GPS and concentrated on the printers and other targets of opportunity. After I obtained everything else I could think of I did wander back to the now vacant rear section to see what was left. The TomTom was sold out so I grabbed one of the last Navigon 2100T. I could barely keep stuff from falling off the cart when I got in the check-out line at 6:15. I finally got out of the store around 7:00, loaded my car and headed to my office for assemsent of the haul.
First, I double-checked everything on the receipts, rebate forms, and my shopping list. A last-minute item I grabbed for the camera was a 2GB CF card that someone had discarded on a shelf next to where I was waiting in line. But the camera need SD so I returned it for a 2GB SD card for the same price. I decided a 2x1GB PC2-5300 CL5 SODIMM kit for a laptop wasn't much of a bargain at $47.98 and I could get it later (and with lower latency) when I actually had a laptop that could use it. The Navigon didn't make the cut either. Reviews gave it only passing marks against the TomTom and other models and it didn't have a USB connection. At $99.99 it was cheaper than the TomTom ($124.99) but I didn't have a strong need for it anyways. It didn't help that it used Windows CE 5 while the TomTom used Linux and had a SDK available. I did go back later and pick up a SanDisk “Ultra” SD card to see if the camera would save faster than with the economy card but it didn't seem to improve much. The camera doesn't have an optical viewfinder but I got used to it quickly. Interestingly, the camera case has a magnet to hold the flap closed instead of Velcro.
Here's the score after the initial returns:
| Brand | Model | Description | Base $ | Tax $ | Rebate $ | Sub-total | Normal $ | Linux? |
| Brother | MFC-440CN | Inkjet Printer AiO with Ethernet | $79.98 | $4.80 | $20.00 | $64.78 | $135-145 | Mostly |
| Brother | PT-1010 | Portable labeler | $19.99 | $1.20 | $10.00 | $11.19 | $43-45 | N/A |
| Executive | EPS-1200X | 12-Sheet crosscut shredder | $49.99 | $3.00 | $30.00 | $22.99 | $80 | N/A |
| HP | C5180 | Inkjet Printer AiO with Ethernet | $149.98 | $9.00 | $50.00 | $108.98 | $135-145 | Perfectly |
| HP | M737 | 8MP digital camera | $129.98 | $7.80 | $30.00 | $107.78 | $147-162 | Yes, PTP |
| HP | Q7906A | 100sht 4x6in glossy photo paper | $12.99 | $0.78 | $13.77 | $11-17 | N/A | |
| Logitech | QuickCam Orbit MP | 1.3MP Webcam with pan/tilt | $104.99 | $6.30 | $85.00 | $26.29 | $78-100 | Yes |
| PNY | P-SD1G-RF3 | 1GB SD Flash | $14.98 | $0.90 | $15.88 | $14-17 | Yes | |
| Samsung | CLP-300 | Color laser printer | $249.98 | $15.00 | $150.00 | $114.98 | $214-246 | Mostly |
| Samsung | ML-2510 | B&W laser printer (w/$20 gift card) | $119.99 | $7.20 | $70.00 | $57.19 | $101-114 | Perfectly |
| SanDisk | SDCZ6-4096-A10RB | Cruzer Micro 4GB USB Flash drive | $27.98 | $1.68 | $10.00 | $19.66 | $55-70 | Yes |
| SanDisk | SDSDB-2048-A11 | 2GB SD Card | $14.98 | $0.90 | $15.88 | $20-35 | Yes | |
| SanDisk | SDSDH-2048-901 | 2GB SD Card | $17.98 | $1.08 | $19.06 | $47-53 | Yes | |
| SanDisk | SDSDQ-2048-A11MK | 2GB microSD kit w/adapters | $17.98 | $1.08 | $19.06 | $35-60 | Yes | |
| Staples | 554638 | 500 sheets 8.5x11in 24lb paper | $4.98 | $0.30 | $5.28 | $7.49 | N/A | |
| Staples | 648177 | 60sht 4x6in glossy photo paper | $6.98 | $0.42 | $6.98 | $0.42 | $6.98 | N/A |
| Staples | 674535 | 600 sheets 8.5x11in 20lb paper | $4.99 | $0.30 | $5.29 | $5.99 | N/A | |
| Western Digital | WD4000JSRTL | 400GB SATA 300, 7200RPM | $89.98 | $5.40 | $30.00 | $65.38 | $130 | Yes |
| Total: | $1,118.70 | $67.12 | $491.98 | $693.84 |
It will be a while before I get through testing all this. Then of course there are all the rebates to submit. Thankfully Staples has on-line submission for most of their rebates.
