Black Friday

Last Friday, was the first time I went to the stores for Black Friday. Black Friday is the day where most stores sell their merchandise for ridiculously low prices, and open earlier than their regular hours. I never believed in waking up at three in the morning in order to buy a huge, unbranded, 50” L.C.D. H.D.T.V.. I always laughed at the people who stood in line the previous Wednesday so they were guaranteed to get the $300 Sony Vaio Laptop. For me, it all seemed ridiculous to spend time in a line in thirty-degree weather in order to get low quality electronics. Yet, I went anyways with my friend, disregarding all my past prejudices about Black Friday shopping.

The first place my friend wanted to go was to the Gilroy Shopping Outlet. We went in the back of a line to get into the Coach handbag store. The line was literally half-a-mile long when we got there. We stood in line for about a hour, then she decide it was not worth standing for another five hours to get ten percent off a handbag. We went to every other store she wanted to go. We stood in lines that seemed to be never ending. She tried on every type of clothes there were. In the end, she got a tank top, and two sweaters. My friend only saved a couple of dollars. I took her home because she was tired. I felt irritated that we were there for five hours and all she got were three things.

I did not feel satisfied from my Black Friday adventure, so I made a goal for myself. That day I will finally get the Nintendo Wii. I knew there was a shipment of Wiis coming in at EB games, yet I decided to see if the big named stores had it first. I went to the other stores first, because they were opened at four a.m. while EB games would not be open till seven a.m. I fought the crowds at Wall Mart, trying to get my way into their electronics department. I had no luck at Wall Mart; their Wii shipment was gone for weeks. I stood in line at Target, also fighting the crowds to get to the electronics department. Target had no Wiis either.

I decided to make the trip to Valley Fair Shopping Mall to go to EB games. I was third in line in front of the EB games store. I waited, hopping that they would have the Wii. I saw a store employee putting up some displays across the floor. Then, I saw the employee put some boxes away. I was nervous and tense; I have not been in bed for the past twenty-four hours. If EB games did not have the Wii, I would have been crushed. Suddenly, I saw the same employee and another employee coming out of the storage room. I looked at what they were carrying, and what it was were Wiis. I felt rejoiced, yet I was anxious to get one. I took my credit card out and waited till the employees unlocked the door.

When the employees opened the doors, people rushed, the employees decided to control the crowd by making two lines. I was unfortunate to be in line with the most indecisive people. The first person in line did not know whether to get the extended warranty or not. He debated to himself for about two minutes. I looked at the line next to me and saw that the people knew what they wanted so their line kept on moving. The guy in the front also asked for more controllers and a couple of games, extending his spot in the line. Finally, the guy left with his Wii. The next person was a woman who did not even know the title of the games. The employee had to play a guessing game with her for minutes. I saw the Wii shipment dwindling down to only a couple, because the people in front of me did not know what they wanted. Soon, the woman left with her Wii. I got my turn, I was groggy and felt that I was going to pass out. I told the employee, I wanted one Wii and one other controller. The employee sold the system to me and I went home and slept knowing I accomplished what I set my self out to do.