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I love Black Friday, even though 1) I don’t live in the US anymore and haven’t been around for one since 2005 2) I never actually went out for any Black Fridays.
I guess I just love shopping online, and the sense of Black Friday, the deals, the insanity, without the craziness (and potential physical harm) of the offline rush.
Shopping this year is a crazy time out. A bad economy means ridiculous deals, but I, making my Vietnamese wages, don’t have so much to spend. If I were in the US however, I’d be loading up on games, clothes, and a HDTV.
Nonetheless, I am still spending a decent amount considering my income- I’ve been saving all year long to bring stuff back on my yearly trip to the US. 
Definitely, on gifts, I don’t have so much planned. Having no friends and a small family means I can be more selfish, but I’ve basically finished all shopping well before the actual holiday.
I’ve listed most of my purchasing below, eliminating the gifts for others in case someone is reading this.
Some of the deals below were seriously very cheap. Consider that most of this stuff was bought not only before Black Friday but before November. All items are new or in like-new condition (eBay!)
That was enabled by Microsoft’s Live Cashback Promotion going on, up to 30% off eBay But it Now purchases (BIN). See http://www.fatwallet.com/forums/hot-deals/838081/ if you’d like to find out more. It’s easy to do once you try it once. It’s a bit of a mail in rebate style of discount, so that may dissuade some, but I’m used to that, being an early user of FatWallet and eBates.
Surely, I’ll be buying a few more items once I get back to the US, but only for the most absolute ridiculous deals that I can bring back to me to Vietnam, so that eliminates big items like Tv’s or laptops or consoles.
Even with all the insane promotions going on, and still to be unveiled, the only thing I feel like I missed out on by purchasing early was the actual XBox 360 system. I think I bought mine in late September when Amazon did a get free Lego Batman when you buy the arcade system. That was essentially $40 I got back once I sold it on eBay, but there have been some much more amazing deals on the 360 recently. There have been good deals on HD DVDs lately, as well, but otherwise, buying early got me some ease of mind and solid pricing.
Purchase List w/ Prices (including shipping and tax):
Other |
|
| Mcfarlane Halo Master Chief Figure, Series 2 (new) | $ 11.90 |
| LG Viewty KU990 (Mobile Phone, new) | $ 180.00 |
Books |
|
| The Joker | $ 11.99 |
| Pistol Pete & Batman, Man Who Laughs | $ 15.97 |
DVD |
|
| Dark Knight | $ - |
| Battlestar Galactica Razor | $ 6.99 |
| Gunnin’ for that # 1 Spot | $ 14.50 |
| Indiana Pacers Greatest Games | $ 13.49 |
| Year of the Yao | $ 5.79 |
XBox 360 |
|
| XBox 360 Arcade System (new) | $ 199.99 |
| GTA IV | $ 16.07 |
| Halo 3 | $ 22.49 |
| Gears of War | $ 12.13 |
| Mass Effect | $ 14.00 |
| Bioshock | $ 17.11 |
| Viva Pinata Trouble in Paradise | $ 13.99 |
| NBA Homecourt | $ 5.99 |
| The Darkness | $ 8.91 |
| HDMI Cable | $ 7.67 |
| Hard Drive | $ 38.99 |
| Universal Remote | $ –0.00 |
| Play & Charge Kit | $ 14.96 |
| FIFA Faceplate | $ 8.16 |
| Halo 3 Essentials | $ 7.48 |
360 HD DVD |
|
| 360 HD DVD Drive | $ 34.39 |
| Harry Potter Limited Gift Set | $ 46.20 |
| Sopranos S6 P2 | $ 22.00 |
| Complete Matrix Trilogy | $ 31.00 |
| Batman Begins | $ 6.00 |
| Bourne Ultimatum | $ 7.00 |
| The Prestige | $ 15.70 |
| Planet Earth | $ 20.00 |
| 12 Monkeys | $ 7.00 |
| Casino | $ 6.00 |
| Corpse Bride | $ 6.00 |
| Eternal Sunshine | $ 7.00 |
| Out of Sight | $ 7.00 |
| Unforgiven | $ 10.06 |
And here I thought people didn’t buy DVDs anymore…. how sorely mistaken.
Hah, well admittedly, I buy the ones I can’t pirate or are too special to me to pirate.