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Show Summary:
(full transcript below)
With the holidays upon us the deals and bargains are taunting our wallets and curiosities.
Do you look for others or just shop for yourself?
I make a list of items I am interested in and approach Black Friday from that perspective. Otherwise I am overwhelmed and miss out because there is too much going on.
That is just me, so I am joined by Serina and Andy as we contemplate the mad rush, and I’m not talking about busyness, but the rush you get when you find your dazzling treasure. Yes, it may be a gift for someone else, but like most of us, it is something we really want. Now, I did not say need, I said want.
Check out the TGI Black FridayApp Serina spills upon us. It is accessible and works great when you’re searching for that special deal.
We hope all of you enjoy your Black Friday rush and we wish all of you a wonderful start to the holiday season.
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Full Transcript:
Tech Abilities: Black Friday, Cyber Monday and a Visit with Squirt’s Dad, Crush!
Serena Gilbert:
I am also looking for the Nest products.
Jeff Thompson:
Then we have Cyber Monday coming up, after that.
Serena Gilbert:
First, I was like “Whoa” then I was like “Whoa.”
Jeff Thompson:
Pretty cool that it’s…
Andy Munoz:
Yeah, Santa can’t afford me. I can barely afford me.
Jeff Thompson:
What’s on your list?
Andy Munoz:
What isn’t?
Jeff Thompson:
Just simplifies a lot of things, especially when you’re going to that checkout. Boom boom boom, done.
Andy Munoz:
Yeah, my Apple pay is a beautiful thing.
Serena Gilbert:
I love Venmo, ’cause you can literally send a text to somebody and pay them.
Jeff Thompson:
Yeah, there’s gonna be some football on. I’ll be watching to see how we all did; how much damage was done. When you get that thing in your hand, you’re like “Got it!”
Serena Gilbert:
I got it! But Jeff, the home pod’s gonna be $100 off at Best Buy.
Andy Munoz:
I know when they’re talking about Mt. Wannahockaloogie.
Serena Gilbert:
Did you say boutique stores?
Jeff Thompson:
Thank you Serena, you’re a real friend.
Serena Gilbert:
I’m their only true friend.
Jeff Thompson:
Welcome to Tech Abilities. I’m Jeff Thompson and with me are co-hosts Serena Gilbert, how are you doing?
Serena Gilbert:
I am doing great Jeff, how are ya?
Jeff Thompson:
I’m doing great. Glad to hear your voice again and we also have Andy Munoz. How you doing?
Andy Munoz:
Doing awesome, how about you?
Jeff Thompson:
Ah, just awesome myself and kind of excited here, as Black Friday rolls around here, I’ve been bombarded by emails and stuff in the mail. Black Friday stuff. Are you guys excited about Black Friday?
Serena Gilbert:
I love Black Friday, it’s my favorite shopping day of the year. I used to, when I was younger and before I had a kid, we used to get up really early in the morning and be the ones standing in front of the stores at like four in the morning, trying to chase down a TV or computer or something. But now, more internet based now.
Jeff Thompson:
Well now, if you bring the kid with, they would get an extra coupon.
Serena Gilbert:
Or be the ticket that you need to get in.
Jeff Thompson:
Mm-hmm (affirmative). That’s right. How about you Andy?
Andy Munoz:
I’m kind of so-so on it. Obviously, I like to see what kind of deals are out there. I’ve not been as brave as Serena. I’ve never gone and done the whole “Let’s get up at o-dark-thirty and go be in line at the stores.” I’m not a crowd person. I think it’s certainly interesting to kinda see what’s out there. I’m always looking, even if it isn’t Black Friday.
Jeff Thompson:
Yeah. I’m that way too, but this year I’m taking a different approach to it. I’m kind of thinking of the stuff that I really want to get, that I kinda need or come on, right down to it … I just want it. So, I’m looking for the Nest product line, the Nest thermostat, the Nest Protect. I already have one, but I wanna put some more downstairs. They interconnect, it’s a really neat idea. So, I’m gonna key on that. How about you guys, anything you’re focusing on?
Serena Gilbert:
I am also looking for the Nest products. We want to get … I don’t know if it’s the Nest Protect, but it’s like the alarm system that Nest makes along with the-
Jeff Thompson:
Yeah, the Nest Protect is for a smoke alarm or CO, carbon monoxide detection and for home security they have the Nest Secure.
Serena Gilbert:
Yeah, we were just watching YouTube videos like last weekend about it and we were trying to decide between the Ring Alarm System and the Nest, ’cause there’s pros and cons of all of them. Ring’s a little bit less expensive, but Nest has cooler things and is more expandable.
Serena Gilbert:
It seems like, to me, it’s gonna be a little bit more accessible with the demos, ’cause there’s a lot of audible tones when you arm and disarm. You can voice command it a lot. That’s what we’re looking forward to as well as a robotic vacuum. I am dying to have one with three dogs in the house to just help with getting some of the hair off the wood floor.
Jeff Thompson:
Oh, I tell ya ours … you open that thing up and you pull out like two gerbils at one time. It’s easy. I was against it in a sense. I didn’t voice my opinion because she wanted it and about three months later … I love this little, I even clean up every once in a while just to make it shine. I like it. Especially when you have like, we have a yellow lab. It picks up lots of hair.
Andy Munoz:
Yeah.
Serena Gilbert:
What’d you name him? The Rumba?
Jeff Thompson:
I just call it Robot but others in the household call it Clyde. How about you Andy? Sounds like you might be interested into these vacuum robots.
Andy Munoz:
You know, I think they’re pretty cool. We haven’t bought one, we’re still with our Shark. Certainly, when you have kids who don’t do their chores, like they’re supposed to, having one of those would certainly be a benefit.
Serena Gilbert:
Well one of the ones that we’re looking at getting, because Kohls has a fantastic deal on it, but I don’t know if I have to be at the store, or if I can get it online. I believe it’s the Shark, the latest model of the robot version of it. I think it was like $199. It was either $199 or $229, something really close to that, plus you get $60 in Kohls cash with it.
Jeff Thompson:
Right, I wish they sent out those mystery stickers that you pull off. That would be neat.
Serena Gilbert:
Like a mystery discount?
Jeff Thompson:
Yeah.
Andy Munoz:
But even the Kohls cash is still a benefit.
Serena Gilbert:
I just use it to buy the gifts for the people on my Christmas list. That’s a lot of money.
Jeff Thompson:
It is. That’s when I went to Kohls, that’s when we got the Rumba. They had one of those deals and everything just piles into discounts. I don’t think Kohls ever sold one item at their store, at full price.
Serena Gilbert:
If you’ve paid full price at Kohls, you are doing something massively wrong.
Jeff Thompson:
Yeah.
Andy Munoz:
Yeah. You were there on June 13th, that one day. ‘Cause we’re always getting deals, getting Kohls cash.
Jeff Thompson:
Yeah, it’s a good deal. I think Black Friday is one of those times where, you just try and find all these deals, but I don’t want to get lost in it, because I’ve gone through, just like when Amazon had their big day, you just start scrolling through all this stuff and you get nowhere real fast. That’s why I’m trying to think of stuff in advance, or certain stores or certain boutique stores that I’m interested in and I’m gonna hound those first and see what’s up.
Serena Gilbert:
Did you say, “Boutique stores?” Are you going clothing shopping?
Jeff Thompson:
No, specialty stores like Bows. A specific store not like Fleet Farm or Home Depot.
Serena Gilbert:
Gotcha.
Jeff Thompson:
Is my metro-sexual side coming out?
Serena Gilbert:
I wasn’t gonna say anything, but … talking about boutiques over there.
Jeff Thompson:
Andy’s shaking his head yes. So what’s your game plan Andy?
Andy Munoz:
You know, I have a tendency to kind of watch things all year. So, I have certain things that I’m gonna be looking for. Part of it is, there’s so much out there. Then it kinda becomes … like you said, you get lost or you just want freaking everything. I have this small list, short list of “This is really what I’m looking for.” And if something else jumps out and I think it’s worth it, then I’ll explore that or jump on it, whatever the case might be. I usually have just a short list and I usually narrow it down all year.
Andy Munoz:
I used to be a very big impulse buyer, now I’ve kinda had to tailor that back. I have eight kids and a wife, so you can’t just do that. I kinda take that list and look and see “Okay, is anything on this list potentially gonna be a sale on Black Friday?”
Jeff Thompson:
Mm-hmm (affirmative).
Andy Munoz:
That’s why we don’t let our spouses listen to this podcast.
Serena Gilbert:
But Jeff, the home pod’s gonna be $100 off at Best Buy.
Jeff Thompson:
I know. That’s the best deal so far that I’ve seen out there.
Serena Gilbert:
Target has an iPad I believe, it’s gonna be either $199 or $229. It’s a really good deal.
Jeff Thompson:
Oh for real?
Andy Munoz:
Yeah.
Jeff Thompson:
What model?
Serena Gilbert:
I don’t know ’cause I don’t need an iPad … ’cause I have a Black Friday app that we’ll share in the show notes that is totally accessible and searchable.
Jeff Thompson:
Nice.
Serena Gilbert:
Very much so usable. I saw it in there ’cause it was one of the top deals. I was like … if somebody needs an iPad, it’s a great deal.
Jeff Thompson:
So if you go to the app store, look up TGI Black Friday.
Speaker 4:
TGI Black Friday 2017 [inaudible 00:07:39].
Jeff Thompson:
You may notice that the name still has 2017 on there, but they do address this.
Speaker 4:
**Updated for 2018 despite the odd name**you can make a shopping list, get coupons, price compare, plus buy Black Friday deals from your phone. Get instant alerts for new Black Friday ads and never miss a deal. Check out frequently for new ads from your favorite stores such as Best Buy, Target, Walmart, Sears and many more. Search “Sort and Compare” 10,000+ deals in stores. Create the shopping list and mark items as you buy them. Share your list or deals with yourself or others. Compare prices online and confirm you are getting the best deal. Cyber Monday sales and coupons.
Jeff Thompson:
So let’s check it out.
Speaker 4:
Open button. Two days until Black Friday. Padding selected, popular deals button. Newest ads button. Coupons button.
Jeff Thompson:
Here’s some of the featured Black Friday ads.
Speaker 4:
iRobot vacuuming robot, Sam’s Club. iPod 6th generation Target $329.99 $249.99 Apple watch series 3 Target $279.99 $199.99 HP 15T Laptop double use/intel core I7CPU HP $1,239.99 $499.99 Samsung Chrome Book 311.6 intel seller on Walmart $199 $99 Element 55 Smart UHD TV Target $379.99 $199.99 Google Home Hub Chalk Walmart $149 $99 Toshiba 434 KUHD TV W/HBR Fire TV Best Buy $329.99 $129.99 Dell Inspirn 15.6 touchscreen laptop double use/core I5CPU Best Buy $599.99 $399.99 iPad 9.7 tablet up to $100 off Best Buy.
Jeff Thompson:
Those five tabs at the bottom.
Speaker 4:
Selected featured tab one of five. Stores tab two of five Categories tab three of five. Search tab four of five my list tab five of five.
Jeff Thompson:
Let’s see what stores are in Black Friday deals.
Speaker 4:
Stores tab two of five. Stores padding Walmart, 290 deals. Kohls 702 deals. Target 322 deals. Best Buy 547 deals. JC Penny, Macy’s, Old Navy, Dell, Costco, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Bass Pro Shops, Big Lots.
Jeff Thompson:
And when you tap on one of the ads…
Speaker 4:
Black Friday Google Home Hub Chalk $149 $99. Walmart opens 6:00 PM Thurs.
Jeff Thompson:
You have three choices.
Speaker 4:
Shop now button. Add to list button. Share deal button.
Jeff Thompson:
Great tip Serena. That’s the TGI Black Friday app.
Andy Munoz:
Sweet, that’ll be nice. An iPad was kind of on my short list.
Serena Gilbert:
Yeah, there’s gonna be some really good deals. I would check out Target and Best Buy for the iPad. The other thing that some of our listeners may or may not know is that Apple, every Black Friday does … it’s either 10 or 15% off usually, just on Black Friday. It’s never advertised in advance, it just kinda pops up.
Andy Munoz:
That’s actually funny because I never even knew that working for them.
Serena Gilbert:
That’s funny.
Andy Munoz:
I mean for real, I’d get customers calling in “Do you know if you’re gonna have a Black Friday sale?” Not to my knowledge. So, that’s good info … I didn’t even know that.
Jeff Thompson:
Sometimes they throw on where you get $100 gift certificate to be used later.
Serena Gilbert:
Mm-hmm (affirmative). Usually that’s when you buy the top dollar things, like the Mac Books. I believe when they did their back to school, which honestly in my opinion’s a better sale than the Black Friday sale. Weren’t they giving away free Beats headphones when you bought a Mac Book?
Andy Munoz:
Yeah, I believe that is correct.
Serena Gilbert:
That’s a pretty good deal, especially if you’re gonna buy one anyway.
Jeff Thompson:
Yeah. You make a good point, especially if you’re gonna buy one anyway. That’s the angle I take a look at this stuff. Then, we have Cyber Monday coming up after that where everything goes crazy on the internet. That’s where I start really snooping around, because it’s kinda “I didn’t spend much here, so it’s like I saved money to use here.”
Jeff Thompson:
I really watch it, because sometimes I think a lot of these stores want to clear out their inventory, so they’re taking last year’s model. That’s why when you ask, “Which iPad is it?” Is it their stock, like “Hey, we got to move these refrigerators, we gotta get rid of some stuff.”?
Jeff Thompson:
That’s where somebody else comes in.
Jeff Thompson:
Yeah.
Serena Gilbert:
Walmart is particularly notorious for that. ‘Cause we are also in the market for a new TV, so Walmart has all these fantastic deals on their TVs. There’s some that are only like $200, like ginormous TVs. But then you look into the specs and they’re horrible refresh rates and things like that. Not that most of our blind and visually impaired community cares about that, but if you have a sighted spouse, they’re gonna care about that. When you’re buying that big of a TV, you want it to be quality. So look at that too.
Andy Munoz:
Or even if you’re low vision like me.
Serena Gilbert:
Mm-hmm (affirmative).
Andy Munoz:
You could still appreciate some of that. I’m one especially, because I’m a techy, I look into that stuff. There’s even certain brands that I’ll shy away from just because I don’t know anything about them, and I don’t know their reputation.
Serena Gilbert:
Mm-hmm (affirmative).
Andy Munoz:
Even if they have the specs that I’m kinda looking for, I’ll shy away from it, just because it’s like eh, I don’t know their reputation.
Jeff Thompson:
You really want to check out HDMI. How many are there? It used to be “Hey, it has HDMI, that’s cool.” But now, everything hooks up HDMI. So, as soon as you start hooking up … oh let’s see…
Serena Gilbert:
A cable box.
Andy Munoz:
Well just for example, I use Dish Network, so I’ve got a wireless Joey that’s downstairs in my family room. That hooks up to an HDMI. MY son’s got his Xbox that’s connected to it, Apple TV.
Serena Gilbert:
Yup, a streaming box.
Andy Munoz:
Yeah, so we’ve got different apparatuses that are connected. So yeah, you definitely want to make sure you have those ports.
Jeff Thompson:
At least three. I think three is the standard right now.
Andy Munoz:
Yeah.
Jeff Thompson:
And then, having Smart TV where it actually connects up to the internet itself is pretty sweet too.
Andy Munoz:
It’s nice too to have even … my Vizio’s will do Chrome cast.
Jeff Thompson:
But I get it Serena, you’re saying that you used to go in, because of those special TV deals. Each store stocks up about 10 or 20 of these devices or the PlayStation, all these other things. Yeah, people are camping out the day before. It’s kind of neat, kind of exciting.
Serena Gilbert:
And it’s hard to get … you think “Oh, I’ll just price match it” or whatever. But it will be the same TV at Walmart and Best Buy, but they’ll change the model number by like one letter at the end, so they’re like “No, this one’s on sale there, but this one’s a totally different TV. Even though it’s clearly identical, you know? It’s kind of annoying.
Serena Gilbert:
But a lot of the things, you’d be surprised, you can get online. What we usually do is, Thanksgiving night, depending on the store, which for the record, I believe Target is one of the stores that’s opening at like 5:00 on Thanksgiving, which I think is absolutely horrible. That means that you can probably, especially if you have a red card or a red debit card from there, you can get their sales the day before, so on Wednesday.
Jeff Thompson:
I have one.
Serena Gilbert:
But most of the deals, you can get them online starting at midnight, the night before. And that’s midnight Eastern, usually. So log on, when it’s midnight Eastern to see what you can get. What we do is, for the big things, we try to catch it online, but then it’s a really good day to buy movies too. ‘Cause you can usually get Blu rays with the digital copies for like $% on Amazon, Walmart and Target.
Andy Munoz:
I haven’t picked up a disc in a long time.
Serena Gilbert:
But it’s cheaper than buying them on like iTunes.
Jeff Thompson:
That’s true.
Serena Gilbert:
I mean they’re on sale every once in a while, but…
Jeff Thompson:
iTunes, $19, $14.
Serena Gilbert:
Mm-hmm (affirmative).
Jeff Thompson:
Rent ‘em.
Serena Gilbert:
Yup.
Andy Munoz:
I think I sprung for like $19 a couple weeks back to buy The Lion King, ’cause my youngest has never seen it.
Jeff Thompson:
I was in the car yesterday and Lori’s son Justin was playing Lion King at about 90% the volume.
Serena Gilbert:
Nice. You gotta tell our listeners. How old is Justin?
Jeff Thompson:
He’s 19, he’s gonna be 20. Yeah so, but it was kinda cool you know, Scar comes on “I’m gonna be king.” It was fun. I remember when my kids were little, would turn that up in the morning and have The Lion King just belting out and that’s one of the best movies I think there is in that type of realm.
Andy Munoz:
Yes, I would agree with that.
Serena Gilbert:
What? Better than Finding Nemo?
Andy Munoz:
Actually yes, I like Lion King better than Finding Nemo.
Jeff Thompson:
It is good.
Serena Gilbert:
Oh, Finding Nemo is my favorite.
Andy Munoz:
Yeah. We won’t deviate too much from our topic ’cause yeah, that could be a debate.
Jeff Thompson:
For movies that have a toilet in them, yes.
Serena Gilbert:
What? Oh my goodness.
Jeff Thompson:
Isn’t that how they got back? Isn’t that how they escaped?
Serena Gilbert:
No. You haven’t seen it!
Jeff Thompson:
Yeah, I have.
Serena Gilbert:
They fall off the counter and roll across the road and then they’re in this bag and they’re like right by the ocean, but then they’re still stuck in the bag, so-
Jeff Thompson:
Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Serena Gilbert:
Nemo does go down the toilet, but all the other fish are like-
Jeff Thompson:
Hello, Hello.
Serena Gilbert:
In their gallon size bag.
Jeff Thompson:
See, I was finding Nemo. My favorite part of that movie though, is when they’re talking about Mt. Wannahockaloogie.
Serena Gilbert:
When they’re chanting it?
Jeff Thompson:
Yeah. What’s funny is, my niece back in the day, she’s the one that picked up on that, so I use that phrase a lot now.
Serena Gilbert:
Oh, my favorite is the turtle. “First I was like whoa, then I was like whoa.” Anyways, we are so digressing.
Jeff Thompson:
We didn’t even talk about Makuna Matata.
Serena Gilbert:
It’s, Hakuna Matata.
Jeff Thompson:
Oh. Me and Justin will have to go for a ride again.
Serena Gilbert:
I’m pretty sure it’s with an H. Alright, tie-breaker Andy.
Andy Munoz:
Yeah, I think it is an H.
Jeff Thompson:
It’s Hakuna Matata?
Serena Gilbert:
What a wonderful phrase.
Jeff Thompson:
I’ve been singing it wrong for a long time, wow.
Serena Gilbert:
Gosh, that movie came out in like what, 92, 93? You’ve been singing it wrong for like … 20 something years now?
Jeff Thompson:
And I’ve been calling these people friends that been surrounding me, not correcting. Thank you Serina, you’re a real friend.
Serena Gilbert:
I’m the only true friend.
Justin: excuse me, this is Justin, straight from the car, your resident Lion King expert in this situation. I would like to point out that it is indeed Hakuna Matata. Serena, you’re right. Jeff, you’re wrong.
Jeff Thompson:
There you go. But with Cyber Monday, we got Black Friday coming up, Thanksgiving. It really kicks off that holiday … you’re gonna hear Christmas music on the sidewalks downtown. It gets you going towards Christmas. Do any of you … I know we’re kind of selfish … do you treat Black Friday itself as gifts for other people or is it yourself?
Serena Gilbert:
For me, it’s more about things that we’ve just wanted throughout the year, kinda like how Andy said. Things that have been on our list that we’re just like … let’s wait till we … ’cause it’s not anything we need. We’re all spoiled and it’s only just what we want.
Andy Munoz:
Yeah, yeah. Well for my wife and I, what we do is we kinda start early. And I’m not talking like July or August, we start kind of at the beginning of November. Kind of start to get all the small gifts for all the nieces and nephews and obviously, for our own kids, they give us kinda their top choices, then we go from there as far as what our budget is. So yeah, Black Friday if I’m looking, it’s pretty much just for stuff that I want.
Jeff Thompson:
Yeah, that’s the way I look at it. If I gotta do all the internet searching and all that, or if I’m gonna go to the store. My sisters are the ones who do … like Serena you said, they got it all mapped out, they got it precisely planned. What is the best door to go in.
Serena Gilbert:
I actually kinda miss that. I would go with my mom and my sister and they both live in Texas now, but I really do miss, ’cause it’s like a rush that you get when you’re like “Oh, I got it” like right there in your hand, you know?
Jeff Thompson:
Mm-hmm (affirmative).
Serena Gilbert:
I know it’s so silly. But it’s the only time that you can be at a store at like four in the morning and get free Chick-Fil-Et while you’re standing in line.
Jeff Thompson:
My nephew, two years ago, went into Kohls with my sister and he got the $500 one, where you pull the thing off.
Serena Gilbert:
I haven’t been to Kohls in so long, like for Black Friday. Kohls gets crazy on Black Friday.
Andy Munoz:
What store doesn’t though?
Serena Gilbert:
Kohls and Best Buy are like the two worst … Best Buy is worse. Our Best Buy, I’m not sure if you guys in Minnesota have people doing this, ’cause it’s probably -3 outside, we will literally have people in tents outside of our Best Buy by like noon on Thanksgiving.
Jeff Thompson:
Well, the headquarters for Best Buy is in Minnesota.
Serena Gilbert:
So they’re really camping out.
Jeff Thompson:
Are they ice fishing? Oh, they’re waiting for the store to open up.
Serena Gilbert:
And it’s for like five TVs. They usually have five TVs at that super cheap price and you’re camped out there.
Jeff Thompson:
Yeah. And that’s the thing, as you get older a little bit, you already have a TV, you already have some stuff. That’s why I was saying the boutique stores or specialty stores ’cause I want to kind of narrow it down to see what certain companies I’m looking at. That’s what I’m doing, I’m scouring and making a list and checking it twice.
Serena Gilbert:
What is on your guys’ list for what you want Santa to bring you?
Jeff Thompson:
Oh, for Santa? Honestly, Lori and I have been talking about … at our club, they have these spin bicycles, it’s more like an apparatus for spinning or pedaling.
Serena Gilbert:
Mm-hmm (affirmative), okay.
Jeff Thompson:
Yourself.
Serena Gilbert:
If someone bought me air pods, I’d be happy. Oh, I don’t know if you guys saw on Facebook what I shared today. There are jackets and I’m sure I’m like the last person to learn about these, that are heated with a little battery pack in the pocket. They will heat you up till it’s like 100 degrees for up to eight hours.
Andy Munoz:
I’m laughing. A heated jacket, seriously?
Serena Gilbert:
It’s literally a heated jacket that’s battery powered, and you could use the battery to charge your cellphone.
Andy Munoz:
Wow, I have not heard of this, but I’m laughing-
Serena Gilbert:
I want one.
Andy Munoz:
…because I’m sitting here thinking-
Serena Gilbert:
‘Cause you’ve already heard of these, huh?
Andy Munoz:
It’s kind of ridiculous, but at the same point, with my job and having to-
Serena Gilbert:
It’s totally needed.
Andy Munoz:
Having to travel and stuff.
Serena Gilbert:
You’d love it. That’s what I was thinking of it for. For the days where I have to go up to Denver and I’m waiting for the bus.
Jeff Thompson:
You guys are not snow shoeing and cross country skiing out there to get places.
Serena Gilbert:
It’s uncomfortable outside. We’re not all used to -39 degrees Jeff.
Jeff Thompson:
That’s reality over here.
Serena Gilbert:
So yod really like the heated jacket.
Jeff Thompson:
I’m really kind of getting back to reality because for the last eight years, prior to working at EBR, I worked from home, so I didn’t have to go nowhere.
Serena Gilbert:
Mm-hmm (affirmative). They do have some stuff they make. I’m laughing because they were Jimmy Shoe or Jimmy Chu, I don’t know, however you say it. They were $1,700.
Jeff Thompson:
Oh my God.
Serena Gilbert:
And those were heated boots.
Jeff Thompson:
I’ll wear extra socks. Forget that mess.
Serena Gilbert:
The coat I think was worth it though, it was $139.
Jeff Thompson:
Yeah, that’s still not bad for a coat.
Serena Gilbert:
No. It wasn’t like a big, thick winter coat, it’s pretty thin. But the fact that it’s got the heating apparatus and stuff and it says you get free customer service. I would totally invest in that.
Jeff Thompson:
That’s pretty cool.
Andy Munoz:
Santa can’t afford me. I can barely afford me.
Jeff Thompson:
What’s on your list?
Andy Munoz:
What isn’t? Couple things that I’m kind looking at. I’m looking at a Chromebook. I want to play with that and check out the accessibility on it and have a little bit of knowledge of something new.
Serena Gilbert:
Those are pretty affordable.
Andy Munoz:
Yeah, they are.
Serena Gilbert:
I bet you could find one for like under $100 on Black Friday.
Andy Munoz:
Yeah, ’cause even right now, I looked, I found one that was just a little over 100 and it’s not even Black Friday. Imagine when that day comes, lunch hour that day, I’ll be looking.
Jeff Thompson:
November 23rd, right?
Andy Munoz:
Yes sir.
Jeff Thompson:
Like you were saying Serena, it starts at midnight Eastern time?
Serena Gilbert:
A lot of the sales, like Best Buy I know does. Walmart does. It’s usually midnight Eastern, is when you can usually get on the sales. Amazon, I’ve never gotten a Black Friday deal on Amazon. Amazon is really weird the way they release them. They release them like … so these deals come out at eight Eastern.
Jeff Thompson:
Oh, yeah, yeah.
Serena Gilbert:
These ones come out at nine. It’s just too much to keep up with, so I usually don’t even bother with Amazon. Maybe they’ll do it differently this year.
Jeff Thompson:
One thing I’ve done this year, is I switched over to Apple pay.
Serena Gilbert:
I love ApplePay.
Jeff Thompson:
I know. It just simplifies a lot of things, especially when you’re going through that checkout. Boom boom boom, done.
Serena Gilbert:
Yup. Even on your phone it works. Even if you’re checking out in Safari, it does it.
Andy Munoz:
It works on your watch.
Jeff Thompson:
I just had to set something up, I got the Amazon credit card, Prime I think it’s called.
Serena Gilbert:
Now that’ll really get ya. I love it, but then it’s disgusting how much rewards you get.
Jeff Thompson:
It is, but I just paid it. I bought something and then I paid it and I had $10.
Serena Gilbert:
You have to pay that one off, yeah.
Jeff Thompson:
Yeah. I think it’s 16% interest or something.
Serena Gilbert:
When you first open it, I believe they give you $70 just right out the gate to you.
Jeff Thompson:
Oh yeah, yeah. It’s really cool how those points add up.
Serena Gilbert:
You don’t even want to know how many … well put it this way, last year we had enough points, and we didn’t get the card until February or March. In December, we were able to buy a cordless Dyson with the points. So that tells you how much that was. It was like, I don’t know a couple $300. Then, right now we have enough, where if we were to buy the Shark, we’d only have to pay maybe like $100 for it.
Jeff Thompson:
It’s a good deal, especially what comes with Amazon though is, if you get a product and you don’t care for it, you got that 30 day window.
Serena Gilbert:
Some of it’s 90. It just depends on the product.
Jeff Thompson:
Yeah, you can return it and it’s just like that. Snap your fingers, it’s almost gone and your credited back.
Serena Gilbert:
They credit it back as soon as they scan it at the UPS store.
Jeff Thompson:
Exactly.
Serena Gilbert:
Yeah.
Jeff Thompson:
It’s not like, if I return something at Home Depot, it might be about four or five days before something happens. But I can get rid of my money a lot faster now that I have Apple pay because it’s just boom boom.
Jeff Thompson:
Or PayPal works pretty good for some situations, especially when you’re talking about smaller companies. They usually will have PayPal and that works out, it’s pretty smooth. Few more clicks.
Serena Gilbert:
That’s a really good tip, ’cause Best Buy is one even that accepts PayPal. A lot of bigger companies accept PayPal now and I prefer to do that then to type in my credit card number or try to figure out where I saved it.
Jeff Thompson:
Right.
Andy Munoz:
Oh, I’ve just got mine memorized.
Serena Gilbert:
I used to a long time ago and then I switched banks and I was like “Screw this, I don’t feel like memorizing this one.” So I never did.
Jeff Thompson:
I swear I’ve gone through three cards over the last year or two, because some of these breaches that happen here and there and you just don’t know where, but all a sudden you get a new card and it’s like “Okay, I used to memorize it.” Now with Apple pay, it’s locked in, it’s … I don’t need to.
Andy Munoz:
Yeah. My Apply pay is a beautiful thing.
Jeff Thompson:
It is and there’s other companies too. I saw Serena, you posted something about another type of paying format on Facebook.
Serena Gilbert:
I did. I use Venmo.
Jeff Thompson:
That’s it, is that good?
Serena Gilbert:
I love Venmo ’cause you could literally send a text to somebody and pay them.
Andy Munoz:
Well, and you can actually do the same thing if the person has Apple pay, as long as you have your two factor authentication enabled, you can actually use Apple pay to do the same thing.
Serena Gilbert:
I don’t have my two factor authentication turned on ’cause it kept annoying me and it still let me Apple pay someone via text, just over the weekend, yeah.
Andy Munoz:
Good to know, didn’t know that.
Serena Gilbert:
I did have to authenticate it with Face ID. I didn’t have to do the PIN number thing and all that.
Jeff Thompson:
What do you guys think about the early Black Friday deals? They say “Oh, early Black Friday” I think that’s where they’re cleaning up inventory.
Serena Gilbert:
When we’re this close to Black Friday, I don’t buy anything that’s on my list within a month of Black Friday.
Andy Munoz:
You wait it out.
Jeff Thompson:
And then how long after Cyber Monday and then those weeks like “Oh, you missed it. You’ll never get that deal again.”
Serena Gilbert:
It’s not true. They always have great deals.
Jeff Thompson:
They got inventory, they gotta move it.
Serena Gilbert:
And the markup on stuff … electronics, it’s not as much, but clothing and things like that, the markup is so high, they can do some massive discounts and still clear tons of profit.
Jeff Thompson:
I’m looking forward to it. I get excited, I don’t try and let Lori know how excited I am, but she even said we should be looking for a refrigerator and I’m wondering it’s like … gosh I never looked for a refrigerator on Black Friday, but I’m sure some of those appliance places want to attract you.
Serena Gilbert:
They deeply discount that stuff on Black Friday too. You might not think … ’cause I have some friends that bought the new washer and dryer on Black Friday and it was a really good deal. You won’t have to fight people for it ’cause … there’s gonna be people at Lowe’s and Home Depot, but they’re fighting over some of the Christmas decorations and Christmas trees. They’re not looking at refrigerators.
Jeff Thompson:
Mm-hmm (affirmative)
Andy Munoz:
That’s actually a really good idea. We were actually looking to replace ours. Thanks for the tip on that. I think I’m gonna definitely be looking for that.
Serena Gilbert:
Yeah, the only thing I don’t think they do discount is cars on Black Friday. The salesmen are all bored on Black Friday.
Jeff Thompson:
All black cars are on sale. Well, we’re gonna put some links if we find some good stuff, we’ll put them in the show notes here. My favorite spot to go is right to the website and get a lowdown. I don’t have too many apps for stores, but I do have Target, Walmart, Macy’s, Amazon as well. They’ll talk about when their sales are coming up. So pay attention to that. We’re gonna put Black Friday app that Serena found, that’s accessible, right?
Serena Gilbert:
It is. It just looks really funny on the larger phone screens, but it still works.
Jeff Thompson:
It stretches.
Serena Gilbert:
It just doesn’t fill the whole screen.
Jeff Thompson:
Oh, that’s kinda cool. It’s kinda like when you watch those old movies on a big, large-
Serena Gilbert:
It’s retro.
Jeff Thompson:
Well, everybody out there, Happy Black Friday, Cyber Monday and Christmas shopping and stuff. What are you guys doing for the holidays? Big plans?
Serena Gilbert:
Turkey. We’re smoking a turkey.
Jeff Thompson:
Really? Well you do live in Colorado.
Serena Gilbert:
Not that kind of smoking, oh my goodness.
Jeff Thompson:
You’re smoking a turkey, so you have a smoker?
Serena Gilbert:
Yeah, the smoker. We did it last year, it’s so good in the smoker.
Jeff Thompson:
How many hours does that take?
Serena Gilbert:
It doesn’t take that long. I think, maybe three or four hours. I don’t remember. It wasn’t nearly as long as you would think though, because it’s poultry, so it cooks a little bit faster.
Jeff Thompson:
Oh, cool. Andy, yourself? Staying in town?
Andy Munoz:
Yeah, we are. We always get together with my wife’s family on Thanksgiving so, we’ll be going to my sister in laws. I was considering making my own turkey this year but I just don’t have enough freezer space right now.
Jeff Thompson:
Here in Minnesota, there was a big thing for a while, where you deep fry a turkey.
Serena Gilbert:
Mm-hmm (affirmative), those are delicious too.
Jeff Thompson:
Yeah. Lori’s mom’s coming up and we’re hosting Thanksgiving here, so I’ll let the gals have the kitchen and the guys will probably find the television.
Serena Gilbert:
That’s usually how it ends up.
Andy Munoz:
There’s gonna be some football on. I’ll be watching.
Jeff Thompson:
We have Detroit playing Chicago and the Cowboys and the Redskins. Cowboys and Indians for Thanksgiving.
Serena Gilbert:
I think there’s a golf tournament on Friday too between Tiger Woods and Phil Nicholson. It’s like on paper view thing.
Andy Munoz:
One on one?
Serena Gilbert:
Yeah.
Andy Munoz:
Wow.
Jeff Thompson:
Oh wow, that’s interesting.
Andy Munoz:
I’m just excited that I don’t actually have to work on a holiday.
Serena Gilbert:
I can’t believe they had you working on Thanksgiving.
Andy Munoz:
Oh yeah. We were 24/7 365.
Serena Gilbert:
Were people calling on Thanksgiving?
Andy Munoz:
Yeah.
Serena Gilbert:
Geez.
Jeff Thompson:
Well, that’s the way it is. I would just announce that they’re 24/7 every day of the year, so even on the holidays.
Andy Munoz:
Yep. World never stops.
Serena Gilbert:
Yeah.
Jeff Thompson:
Well you guys, good luck with your shopping. We’ll get back together and see how we all did; how much damage was done. It’s nice when you get a good deal. Like Serena said, when you get that thing in your hand, you’re like “Got it!”
Serena Gilbert:
Oh, I got it!
Jeff Thompson:
It’s a good feeling.
Andy Munoz:
Aint no waiting till Christmas on that.
Jeff Thompson:
Then, the next few days when the UPS truck starts pulling up, one after the other.
Serena Gilbert:
Dang it, it’s just the dog food.
Jeff Thompson:
Well all of you, hope you get some good stuff and you all have a happy Thanksgiving. Best wishes to you and your families.
Andy Munoz:
Same to you.
Serena Gilbert:
Enjoy your shopping Jeff and Andy.
Jeff Thompson:
Well thank you all listening. This has been another Tech Abilities podcast and you can follow us on Twitter @Abilities tech. Thank you Serena, thank you Andy. Once again, want to thank you for listening. We hope you enjoyed. Until next time, bye-bye.
Jeff Thompson:
For more podcasts with a Blindness perspective, check us out on the web at www.BlindAbilities.com on Twitter @BlindAbilities. Download our app from the app store, Blind Abilities that’s two words. Or send us an email at info@blindabilities.com thanks for listening.