What would possess someone to wake up in the crack of dawn or to camp out outside a brick and mortar store? It's the prospect of getting a "great" deal, or getting that elusive and must-have "IT" toy. That's the allure of Black Friday, one of the biggest shopping days of the year. I saw a news story on TV during Thanksgiving dinner of some people camping out at Best Buy a DAY before Thanksgiving!
I used to be one of them. Two years ago, a couple of my friends and I did the whole camping-out-at-Best-Buy thing for Black Friday. During Thanksgiving dinner, we were casually talking about the sales and the big savings that we would get, and joked around that we should camp out at Best Buy to get in line for the doorbusters; that year, they had a few good items for sale, and I had my eyes on the $350 desktop package (desktop+lcd monitor+ printer), a $300 laptop for my sister and the $99 camera w/ a 4x6 digital photo frame, final exams be damned.
We got there around 11pm, and already the line at the Best Buy in Harrison St was around the building. We were determined to get our deals, and so there we were, flashcards in tow, studying for our CP final, freezing; we took turns in taking naps, though the naps were very short-lived. Thank God it didn't rain that year, or it would've been a disaster (apparently it was misty this past Black Friday).
Around 4am, they started passing out "tickets" for the big-ticket items and for the doorbuster deals. Alas, all of that waiting, and we didn't get the ticket for the laptop; we did get the tickets for the camera and the desktop package, and for the $99 TomTom GPS.
It seemed like forever, but mercifully, the store finally opened at 5am. Calling it mayhem is a severe understatement. Finding the things that we wanted to buy, trying to get the Best Buy associate's attention and waiting in line to pay were all an "invigorating" experience, to put it nicely.
This year, coming to my senses, I did my "Black Friday" shopping while wearing pjs at the comfort of my own bed; no need for getting tickets, bumrushing the electronics section, waiting in a colossal line to pay or lying awake in the cold pavement, trying to keep warm. From Walmart, I got a PS3 bundle (PS3 120gb Slim, 2 PS3 games (Batman and inFAMOUS), Batman Begins Blu-Ray movie, and a Blu-ray remote control) for $358, including tax and shipping; factor in the Bing Cashback, the price is whittled down to ~ $310. I also bought the Beatles Rock Band Limited Edition deluxe (regular price $249) from Dell, for $199+tax with free shipping ($218.40), and with the Bing Cashback, it became ~$178. Also from Dell, I bought the Ooma Scout (a VOIP service that allows for free calls using your internet connection) for $229+tax+free shipping, and with the Bing Cashback, it came out to about $205. From Ebay, I bought two PS3 wireless controllers for $20+$6 shipping - 10% Bing Cashback, for a total of $24!
So you ask, what's this Bing Cashback that I've been talking about? Bing is Microsoft's web search engine, or as they describe it, a "decision engine", and allows users to search for products and get pricing information from multiple vendors. Bing has partnerships from venerable brick and mortar merchants like Dell, HP, Walmart, Macy's, Sears, and Home Depot as well as online stores such as Buy.com, Overstock.com, and Tigerdirect.com, and the cashback bonus varies from 2-10%; this past Thanksgiving holiday, Bing had a promotion, entitled "Bing Gold Rush" that increased their cashback bonus; AT&T and T-Mobile's cashback bonus was at 35%, while Lenovo, Dell, and HP's cashback bonus was at 20%. That's some serious discount, folks!
I realized that while Black Friday still offers a great discount, it's just not worth all that extra time and effort braving the elements while waiting in line for hours for a store to open. Now, with the advent of Bing Cashback, buying stuff online during Black Friday through Cyber Monday just got a LOT cheaper!
