Black Friday, Outside-In

(originally printed November 29, 2009)
Earlier this month, I saw an article on CNN.com about leaked Black Friday deals, and I noticed that Target was rumored to have a Westinghouse 32" LCD HDTV for $246. It sounded like a good price, especially since the last time I went shopping for televisions they were all hovering at $400, and the more I thought about it, the more sense it made to try to take advantage of the deal.

Back in 2006, I bought a new computer from Best Buy and the next week or so, my 27" television stopped working. At that point, I had just spent a lot of money on a computer, so I was not about to turn around and buy a TV for an equal amount. The idea of Rent-A-Center occurred to me, but I nixed that with the idea that I would just buy a cheap television somewhere, and then "pay" myself the installments for a year, until I could buy a top-of-the-line television.

I went back to Best Buy because I had purchased my computer at an insane price through their Open Box deals, and I found a 19" television. Open box price: $59, no remote control. Lucky for me, it was the same brand as my prior television so the remote control that I had been using for the past six years worked on it.

Again, that was in 2006. Since that time, I never had the motivation to buy a new television and the opportunity never presented itself to me. Until now, Black Friday sounded like a reasonable day to purchase a new TV.

Unfortunately, after that article enticed me into the deal, I read a few other articles about Black Friday on CNN.com, including one or two about what a hoax they are because the big ticket times are in such limited quantity and, sometimes, lower quality. Needless to say, this was a bit disconcerting but I decided that I could go to Target at the Scottsdale Pavilions and find out all the details I'd need to have an edge. That sounded like the best laid plan. Although, we know how those often turn out.

On Tuesday evening (because traffic on the 101 was really bad), I stopped off at Target and asked a few preliminary questions. Since the actual deals had not been announced yet, they were not allowed to answer specific questions (which I already knew), but I made my premise clear: I had never taken part in Black Friday, so I wanted to know some of the tricks that are typically learned through experience. I did not want to conclude with "now I know for next time" and wait a full year to buy a television.

(Albeit, that theory is somewhat flawed since I think after-Christmas specials are going to drag down the prices of all 32 televisions to within a $50-range, which is reasonable enough for me, so at worst, I could just buy a new television in January 2010 as Plan B.)

From speaking to the customer service desk at Target, they told me that people would be lining up as early as midnight on Thanksgiving and that they did have several units in stock of the television in question with daily shipments (which may or may not include more units) but still, the big ticket items (of which this television was this year's biggest) sell out quickly. In other words, waking up at 5AM would be unacceptable.

After they told me everything I needed to know, I figured that my savings would be about $50, so getting there at midnight to save $50 made no sense. Getting there two hours early was reasonable, since $25/hour is a good rate, but still, I did not think it was necessary. Since it was the Pavilions, where people that don't like shopping with people like to shop, I figured between 4:15 and 4:30 was the ideal time. Plus, I had to work Black Friday, so it was not like I would catch up on my rest after an excursion.

I entered Thanksgiving Day with the thoughts that I would set my alarm for 4AM and get to Target just before 4:30AM. I ended Thanksgiving deciding that I would set my alarm for 4:15AM and rush to Target just after 4:30AM. Playing Smackdown versus RAW 2010 all day, then going out with Amy for dessert until 10PM had kinda skewed my original plans.

When I woke up this morning, I was half prepared to abandon the idea altogether. I woke up before my alarm, but I could not keep my eyes open. I grabbed my cellphone to look at the time, and it was only 3AM. Fair enough, I could sleep another full hour and then decide whether or not it was worth going. At that point, I seriously doubted it would be.

That one hour made a big difference. I woke up with nothing more than a half-morbid curiosity to find out what Black Friday was like at a major retailer like Target or Wal-Mart. The dream I had about cutting in line to get my hands on a television, only to have it stolen away by a more aggressive customer was nothing more than an afterthought.

Unfortunately, it did not make a big enough difference to correlate to my rushing to Target and I was very lethargic (which in retrospect is what should have been expected for 4:15AM). On the drive up, I had serious doubts about the usefulness of the excursion, and I even pulled into the Wal-Mart parking lot, thinking that while more consumers would go to Wal-Mart, people specifically wanting this TV would be going to target because it was $2 cheaper than the one Wal-Mart was offering. I suppose the logic was there, except I did not trust Wal-Mart to have as much inventory as Target and I had done my research for Target, so I wanted to see it through. I checked out the parking lot at Wal-Mart, but it was packed, so I figured Target would be much better.

Except it wasn't. It was as crowded if not worse, and there was a crowd of about 150 people. So, my expectations were split in half. I figured if every fourth person wanted the television, then they would make it through a stock of 50 before I had a chance. If I were smart enough to quit, I might have. But I am a born Taurus, so I was too stubborn to leave. Plus, the guy beside me in line (who was badmouthing the Black Friday concept, but he was a veteran Black Friday shopper) said that he had never been at this spot in line and NOT gotten what he set out to get.

Once the doors opened, people orderly walked inside. Inside the store, there was another orderly line for televisions. They had both 32" and 40" sets. The 32" sets were going quicker. Amazingly, I made it to the front of the line quickly, but as soon as we did, there was a hold-up for a recount of inventory. What they had on the floor was all they had in stock, and there were two boxes on the floor with two people waiting. The first TV went to the first person waiting. The second person waiting was only waiting for the first person, so lo and behold, I got the last box available.

The guy behind me in line who had the dubious distinction of being the first person in line to not get the television could not have been cooler about it. If he had been the slightest bit fussy, I would have opted for the larger television. But he even said, "if I cared enough about the price, I would pick up the 40" set, but I really don't. I just wanted to see what Black Friday was like, and I am relieved to learn it is nothing like the horror stories you see on the news."

He and I were of the exact same mindset. I guess in a way it was poetic justice that the two of us were the last person in line to get the product and the first person in line to not get the product.