Thanks again! I scored some excellent deals - I started at Staples at exactly 7am, hit CC right after and walked out with my shopping done at OD by 8 am (and even got to surf - my first time back in 8 months since my accident).
Repeated from an earlier post:
The Staples in Palm Desert (CA) was horribly disorganized. I went in at 7 am to get the Epson printer (which turned out FREE after MIR because I had a $10 off $40 B&M coupon for giving a store review last month) and the 25 sheets Xerox photo paper for $2.97.
People were P.O.'d - they only had ONE Palm Vx and ran out of everything else in minutes.
In contrast, Curcuit City was the MODEL of the way a sale should be run. Got the Panasonic DVC camcorder ($399 financed interest free for 12 months), free camera bag, free laptop bag, free 20 AA Maxell alkaline batteries, and free mini-USB hub (all after MIRs, of course). I arrived about 7:30 AM and there was PLENTY of stock and PLENTY of salesmen and PLENTY of happy customers.
OD was a disaster - almost no one showed up (I got the 30 GB Maxtor HD for $69 and the 4x external USB/IDE Philips CD-RW for $119 - after MIRs of course). Actually, the OD online staff was out for the 4 day weekend and there were no rebates to be had from the registers. I have to return on Monday (and it is likely I will get to use ANOTHER $30 online coupon) to get the rebates and price adjustments.
At OD, customers swapped horror stories about Staples and WORST BUY. Beast Buy hasn't got a clue about customer service and Staples is following their cue . . .