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Funny Business
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CNBC.com |
] I reported from two years ago, and the crowd is smaller, but still boisterous. They put up barricades this year because it got a little ugly in '07 as people arriving just before doors opened tried to morph into line with folks waiting 24 hours. The guys at the front of the line are friends from the San Fernando Valley who got here Wednesday night—no turkey dinner for them. But they're not here to spend money. They're here to make money.
Manik Puri got vouchers for the most discounted items, planning to buy them all. He then plans to resell them all, maybe out in the parking lot. "How much will you spend today?" I asked him. "About $5,000." "How much will you make?" "I hope $2,000."
Some are complaining to store managers about the "scalping" of vouchers and the resale of items. The managers, vastly outnumbered, say "What can we do?"
"So this is the social norm?" one woman customer asked. "Yes, in the valley, it is," she was told. Meantime, top this! To save money, one woman I know is using the gifts cards she received at her wedding in June to buy Christmas gifts. "It's regifting, I know," she says. "Pathetic."
Brilliant! I say...
Update on Dr. Pepper's [DPS
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] issues with Axl Rose (in case you missed my last post): the company tells me it does have insurance to cover its offer of free soda if Guns N' Roses released "Chinese Democracy" this year. Which it did. As I reported yesterday, Rose now wants compensation from Dr. P for allegedly profiting from the band.
Maybe Dr. Pepper can countersue, arguing that its offer finally spurred GNR to get the album out, making Axl a richer man.
More on shopping for the holidays
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