As predicted, Black Friday was largely a bust for us. We did snag a couple of good deals – new sheets, that dust buster (although not as cool as the Dyson Hand Vac), a Christmas present or two. According to the receipts it’s an average savings of 56% (of course that’s an over estimate.)

No TV. I just wasn’t blown away by any of the deals, and the lack luster deals just didn’t motivate me to spend any money. There will be more sales in anticipation of the Super bowl, so maybe then we’ll take the plunge. I had very low energy today (I’ve been a little under the weather) which prevented us from going out most of the day, which lead us to an interesting discovery.

One of the things I was interested in was a camcorder. I love my camera, but wanted to also be able to take video. Both Amazon and BestBuy had the Sony HD Camcorder for the same sale online. While Amazon’s had free shipping, BestBuy had in store pickup. The only other difference between the two is the color, BestBuy’s version is dark blue were Amazon’s camcorder is black. Amazon’s deal was available as a lightening deal this evening, and sold out immediately. In fact, it looked like it was gone as soon as it became available!) BestBuy’s deal was available all day and still is according to their website.

While I can believe color would matter (I prefer black to dark blue myself) and shipping is more convenient than in store pick up, it’s hard for me to imagine the Amazon deal being that much more preferred than the BestBuy one! Or that someone who missed out on the Amazon deal wouldn’t settle for the BestBuy one. The only two explanations I can think of is that maybe it’s a matter of inventory or consumer reach. If Amazon’s stock was dwarfed by BestBuy’s, maybe everyone who wanted a camcorder got one, and BestBuy still has some extras. On the other hand, maybe some consumers don’t know about the BestBuy deal, or live too far away from a BestBuy to pick one up. Still, it seems odd to me that Amazon’s deal would be gone in seconds, when BestBuy’s deal has been available all day.

Regardless, shopping at home was easy and convenient. It was also fun with the dual laptop’s going (me on mine, D on his) trying to score those lightening deals. I am sure we will continue to do more black Friday shopping from the comfort of our couch in the years to come.

I will be interested when the final Black Friday are published, that’s for sure!

Posted in Internet & Technology, Shopping | Tags: Bargain Hunting, Black Friday