@Walmart Grinds My Gears

Daniel, my oldest son, wants a Sony PlayStation 4. He's actually wanted one for some time, ever since the pre-release hype for the PS4 vs. the Xbox One. And he's probably going to get it, for three reasons:

1. It's a dual-occasion present -- birthday and Christmas -- and he's OK with that because it's pretty expensive. He's always been laid back about getting the few things he really wants on a non-instant timeline. Unlike some others in the family (cough, cough).
2. Second helping of the "laid back, no hurry" thing. His current game console is an old Xbox 360, the cheap model with the tiny hard drive (he uses USB drives to store extra stuff). His current computer is a hand-me-down from his younger brother. He spent his allowance and some of last year's Christmas money to upgrade his TV himself (from a giant herniating tube TV we got at a thrift store to a 32" LED flat screen that he found for $70 at a yard sale). So I think he's due for something nice, new and shiny.
3. It's a triple-use present. He'll be hooking it up to our living room TV, which means that the rest of the family will be able to use it for Netflix streaming and as a Blu-Ray player (we stream via an old Wii now, but the PS4 supposedly has a nicer interface; we've been thinking about buying a Blu-Ray for several years, but never have). So I figure $100 or so of the cost really isn't "present for Daniel" but "stuff for the whole family."

BUT! I'm not just going out and plunking down $400 for a PS4. I'm watching and waiting (see above -- he's cool with waiting) for price breaks, sales, etc. to get the cost down. If it's not until Black Friday or even weeks following Christmas, that's OK. We're all cheapskates here.

So, every day for the last week or so, I've had email from Wal-Mart. ONLINE SPECIALS! SPECTACULAR DEALS! Some of them, if I recall correctly mention FOR A LIMITED TIME ONLY!

So every day I click the "shop all specials" link in the email. And every day I use the handy-dandy brand selector to look for "specials" on Sony products. And every day I eventually find myself looking at a picture of a PlayStation 4.

Priced at $399.

The regular price of a Sony PlayStation 4 (without add-on controllers, game bundles, etc.) is ...

$399.

Wal-Mart keeps trying to trick me into wasting my time. And I keep falling for it. Fool me twice, shame on me and all that. But ...

Eventually there's going to be a good deal.

Chances are that good deal  (plus or minus five bucks) will be available at other stores.

And if it is, guess who's not getting my order if they keep messing with me?

Just sayin' ...