Mr. Salty

I was planning on buying a Panasonic DMP-BD30 Blu-ray player later this week, when I got paid on Friday. The only questions remaining were, which stores would have it in stock and who would have the best price?

American TV & Electronics, a small Midwest chain based in Madison, Wisc., had the DMP-BD30 on sale this week for $399. A buddy of mine asked me tonight if I was going to buy it, but I told him the Web site showed that it was out of stock here in town.

I got home from work at about midnight tonight and found a brand-new DMP-BD30 sitting on my kitchen counter top. My friend lives near the store, so he swung by there this evening and discovered they had only one left in stock, so he bought it for me before it was gone. He drove all the way to the other side of town to drop it off for me tonight as a surprise. It's the nicest thing anyone has done for me in a while, and it was a complete shock.

I've gotta buy this guy dinner or something.

In the meantime, I need to finish programming my universal remote while I watch an episode of the third season of "Lost," which I picked up when Amazon had the Blu-ray on sale for $39.99.

Go Blu!

pro-bassoonist

Congrats, you do indeed have a special friend.

I would certainly make sure to let him know how much you appreciate the gesture.

Pro-B

Mr. Salty

It was everything I could do to keep from calling him when I got home. But I don't think his wife would have appreciated a phone call at midnight. I work nights and they work days, but he has an e-mail waiting for him when he gets up in a couple of hours.

cardaway

Dinner? The guy deserves more than dinner.

spainlinx0

So he bought it for you, or is it expected you'll give him the cash back for it? Either way, very nice gesture on his part.

gimmepilotwings

Yep. THAT kind of gesture.

RockyMtnBri

Very nice - you have to accommodate him properly.

namja

That was my first question, but like you said, very nice gesture either way.

I feel very fortunate to have many friends who'd do the delivery for me (where I pay them back for cost of merchandise), although I do not have many friends who'd actually buy the merchandise for me. Wait, the fact that I even have a couple friends who'd actually buy the merchandise for me ... I feel very fortunate about that as well.



mod note: Couple inappropriate posts removed.

Deftones

If you didn't have to pay him back, that'd be the best friend ever. If you had to pay him back, he's only a great friend.

tonymontana313

Haha, that is classic bro!

Mr. Salty

I do indeed have to pay him back, so he's only a great friend! Still, the fact that he went out of his way to do this while running errands with a 4-year-old in tow was pretty cool. Although the store is relatively close to where he lives, my place is about as far away as you can get without leaving the city limits.

I also agree with cardaway. In addition to dinner, some drinking will be in order.

pro-bassoonist

It does not matter. It is the gesture and the fact that he thought/thinks of you is what counts here.

You have a real friend.

Pro-B

namja

Only a great friend, huh? You guys crack me up. That's so funny.
My wish is that everyone had at least one great friend. That'd be pretty awesome.

Deftones

I hope you know that was a joke. The OP's friend sounds like a great person.

DVD Polizei

Go out and buy him an HD DVD player.

Mr. Salty

I could never be that mean!

I do need to work on getting his wife to let him buy an HDTV. It'll be roughly equivalent to talking George Bush into ending the war in Iraq.

In the meantime, he'll be inheriting a few of my DVDs as I replace them with HDM.

namja

Yeah, I was trying to hint that your post was a joke and explain that, but I don't think I did a good job. Anyway ...


Invite your friend and his wife to your house. Make subtle hints at the quality of the movie experience on your setup. SUBTLE is the keyword here. Keep inviting them over. Repeat until she suggests to your friend that they need an HDTV. Good luck.