I typed this up last week for our fantasy football league. Enjoy!
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Xbox Adventures
D-Dogg and I went to Wal-Mart around 4:30pm on Monday night to see what their waiting line at Register 14 was like. There were 14 people in line and reportedly only 12 units AND Wal-Mart would be selling them to these folks at 12:01 am, a mere 5 1/2 hours away. Dejected, we made our way down the strip mall to EB Games where the salesman/virgin said that Circuit City (also in the same shopping center) had units and were giving away vouchers or something. We thanked him and wished him luck with his d20 set.
We walk to Circuit City and see that there are four people in line. We talk to the manager and he states that they have around 20 units and the system is working as such. People are allowed to form a line and at 8:30 am Tuesday, he will hand out vouchers, good for one system when the store opens at 10:00 am Tuesday. D-Dogg and I look at each other and decide we are going to do it, if only just to say that we did. We ran to our houses to gather supplies and so D-Dogg could bid his wife and children a fond farewell.
At 6:30 PM Monday we arrived back at the line. There were seven people ahead of us, making us #8 and #9. We had packed heavily and without haste, bringing camping chairs, a surge suppressor, Sirius satellite boombox, D-Dogg's laptop (so he could do some work), some DVDs, sleeping bags, pillows, poker chips and some water. Super Wal-Mart was within walking distance, so this would not be a "Survivor" or "Lost"-type adventure.
We quickly make friends with our linemates, since we are both pretty cool guys. Some people are there for themselves, their kids or other relatives. We learn that the overnight low will be 40 degrees and being native Arizonans that doesnt sit well with us. We tune the Sirius to NFL Radio and listen to MNF and consequently a Dumples victory.
So we hang out, eat some chicken, go inside the store to check out the Xbox 360 kiosk and crack wise with the rest of the line. After the store closes at 10 pm, people park their cars close to the sidewalk, blasting music or sleeping in their vehicles.
Two things you never think about before this point; 1) Parking lots have extremely bright lights, I guess for security, but also good at keeping A-Bomb from sleeping much and 2) this shopping center pipes in music 24 hours a day at a very high volume. I recall hearing "Mr Telephone Man" by New Edition at 10 along with a bunch of other blasts from the past.
At about 11, I am feeling pretty tired so I get into my warm sleeping bag to the sounds of people having a good time. D-Dogg busts out the poker and he and some guys play poker for a few hours. I realize that I should have brought a foam mat to put under my sleeping bag, since concrete is very unforgiving.
So while I am trying to sleep, it was told to me later, three guys in an SUV rolled by the line with some Xbox 360's, offering to sell them to our line for $800, then $700, then $600. There were no takers, so they rolled along. It turns out three teenage kids were ran off the road after leaving Wal-Mart after midnight and were robbed of three Xbox 360s, but a white SUV. No one knew this until after, so no one from our line thought to get a license plate or anything.
The night is cold and very uncomfortable. I coin the term "urban camping". I think D-Dogg goes to bed around 3 or so. The line has dwindled to about 17 or so, but I didnt take an official count.
Most people wake up around 6:30 am or so, except D-Dogg, who could sleep through just about anything. One of the kids in line has his laptop and was able to get on one of Circuit City's wireless networks. He has been scanning eBay for the past few hours and some systems are selling for $800 to $3500. Pretty crazy. The Circuit City manager comes around 7:00 or so to open the store and one of the salespeople brings a big decanter of Starbucks. The manager tells us that he has to wait for his systems to come up before he can print out the vouchers and reiterates that we can return around 10am to redeem them. There are 16 premium systems and 3 of the [crappy] core systems, so D-Dogg and I are guaranteed a good one.
The manager comes out around 8:15 and hands out the vouchers. At this point a few people just rolled up to the line and took what I believe were spots 19 and 20. Pretty crazy; bastards didnt even have to wait all night.
D-Dogg drops me off at my house and goes home to get his wife, Mrs. D-Dogg, who will graciously redeem my voucher for the $399 system. I get ready for work and get to the office around 9:30 am for a day of not working. D-Dogg heads home to open his Xbox 360.
Prologue
D-Dogg and I played his Xbox 360 last night and it is very nice. Mine is still in the box and I will wait to see how this whole media/eBay onslaught goes for the next few days. If I can get $1000 for it, I will sell it and wait for the Playstation 3 (due out in the spring) and just play my old systems for a few more months. Good times.
Prolouge 2.0
The eBay market was flooded by Friday, with over 23,000 Xbox 360s on there. I almost got my reserve price of $800, but decided just to keep the thing and I am playing it now.
A-Bomb
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Xbox Adventures
D-Dogg and I went to Wal-Mart around 4:30pm on Monday night to see what their waiting line at Register 14 was like. There were 14 people in line and reportedly only 12 units AND Wal-Mart would be selling them to these folks at 12:01 am, a mere 5 1/2 hours away. Dejected, we made our way down the strip mall to EB Games where the salesman/virgin said that Circuit City (also in the same shopping center) had units and were giving away vouchers or something. We thanked him and wished him luck with his d20 set.
We walk to Circuit City and see that there are four people in line. We talk to the manager and he states that they have around 20 units and the system is working as such. People are allowed to form a line and at 8:30 am Tuesday, he will hand out vouchers, good for one system when the store opens at 10:00 am Tuesday. D-Dogg and I look at each other and decide we are going to do it, if only just to say that we did. We ran to our houses to gather supplies and so D-Dogg could bid his wife and children a fond farewell.
At 6:30 PM Monday we arrived back at the line. There were seven people ahead of us, making us #8 and #9. We had packed heavily and without haste, bringing camping chairs, a surge suppressor, Sirius satellite boombox, D-Dogg's laptop (so he could do some work), some DVDs, sleeping bags, pillows, poker chips and some water. Super Wal-Mart was within walking distance, so this would not be a "Survivor" or "Lost"-type adventure.
We quickly make friends with our linemates, since we are both pretty cool guys. Some people are there for themselves, their kids or other relatives. We learn that the overnight low will be 40 degrees and being native Arizonans that doesnt sit well with us. We tune the Sirius to NFL Radio and listen to MNF and consequently a Dumples victory.
So we hang out, eat some chicken, go inside the store to check out the Xbox 360 kiosk and crack wise with the rest of the line. After the store closes at 10 pm, people park their cars close to the sidewalk, blasting music or sleeping in their vehicles.
Two things you never think about before this point; 1) Parking lots have extremely bright lights, I guess for security, but also good at keeping A-Bomb from sleeping much and 2) this shopping center pipes in music 24 hours a day at a very high volume. I recall hearing "Mr Telephone Man" by New Edition at 10 along with a bunch of other blasts from the past.
At about 11, I am feeling pretty tired so I get into my warm sleeping bag to the sounds of people having a good time. D-Dogg busts out the poker and he and some guys play poker for a few hours. I realize that I should have brought a foam mat to put under my sleeping bag, since concrete is very unforgiving.
So while I am trying to sleep, it was told to me later, three guys in an SUV rolled by the line with some Xbox 360's, offering to sell them to our line for $800, then $700, then $600. There were no takers, so they rolled along. It turns out three teenage kids were ran off the road after leaving Wal-Mart after midnight and were robbed of three Xbox 360s, but a white SUV. No one knew this until after, so no one from our line thought to get a license plate or anything.
The night is cold and very uncomfortable. I coin the term "urban camping". I think D-Dogg goes to bed around 3 or so. The line has dwindled to about 17 or so, but I didnt take an official count.
Most people wake up around 6:30 am or so, except D-Dogg, who could sleep through just about anything. One of the kids in line has his laptop and was able to get on one of Circuit City's wireless networks. He has been scanning eBay for the past few hours and some systems are selling for $800 to $3500. Pretty crazy. The Circuit City manager comes around 7:00 or so to open the store and one of the salespeople brings a big decanter of Starbucks. The manager tells us that he has to wait for his systems to come up before he can print out the vouchers and reiterates that we can return around 10am to redeem them. There are 16 premium systems and 3 of the [crappy] core systems, so D-Dogg and I are guaranteed a good one.
The manager comes out around 8:15 and hands out the vouchers. At this point a few people just rolled up to the line and took what I believe were spots 19 and 20. Pretty crazy; bastards didnt even have to wait all night.
D-Dogg drops me off at my house and goes home to get his wife, Mrs. D-Dogg, who will graciously redeem my voucher for the $399 system. I get ready for work and get to the office around 9:30 am for a day of not working. D-Dogg heads home to open his Xbox 360.
Prologue
D-Dogg and I played his Xbox 360 last night and it is very nice. Mine is still in the box and I will wait to see how this whole media/eBay onslaught goes for the next few days. If I can get $1000 for it, I will sell it and wait for the Playstation 3 (due out in the spring) and just play my old systems for a few more months. Good times.
Prolouge 2.0
The eBay market was flooded by Friday, with over 23,000 Xbox 360s on there. I almost got my reserve price of $800, but decided just to keep the thing and I am playing it now.
A-Bomb
I hope he's okay, but that's damn funny. That's the kind of thing that would happen to me if I ever did something like that!
