I'd like to start off by saying that sometimes the things I do can be considered very unethical and I don't want to be considered as a role model for anybody at Chez Tremblay. I will probably be going to Hell.
I don't believe anything I've done or am doing is illegal... but it is probably very immoral. With that said, it just shows how much of a Brokeback Mountain fan I am and I have some very awesome news to share with my fellow Brokies.
I've already had the DVD for a week and a half, thanks so much to Clarissa and Jenny -- I'm still so very grateful. However, you must have heard that Best Buy was handing out free Story to Screenplay books with the purchase of the DVD. I've been wanting to have that book for quite some time, and since Best Buy's DVD sale price was $16.99 and the book has a market value of $16.00... it was like I was paying for the book and just getting the second DVD for free.
Although, since I don't have much money currently and there are other movies that I want to buy, I wanted to own something different besides a second copy of Brokeback Mountain. I had my heart set on Capote. So after I got my book and my DVD, I took the DVD over to Wal-mart -- because, in case you didn't know, Wal-Mart will take back anything that they have in their catalog... whether it came from them or not. (I have many anecdotes about my abusing this, but I won't go into that here.)
Since it was slightly after 10am, I needed to come up with a good lie for a reason to be taking it back so soon. I mean, seriously, it had been on sale for twelve hours. I had a good one though... ahem... my sister picked it up earlier for me, but she had accidentally bought the widescreen edition and I wanted the fullscreen edition (note that I despise fullscreen, which is why I bought widescreen at Best Buy). I said I forgot to ask her for the receipt and figured they would just put the money on a gift card and let me go pick up what I wanted and go through the register like they usually do. Sadly she "did me a favor" and was going to help me avoid the lines at the register and just do the exchange right there at customer service. I couldn't just change my story, "uh, yeah, I want Capote instead." So I picked up the fullscreen copy and exchanged it. It doesn't end here, though.
Since the thing that I have now actually came from Wal-Mart... it'll be much easier to lie about how my mom bought it there for me, but I didn't want it, I wanted something else instead. Blah blah blah. However, I realized that if I wait a week... I will have contributed to the first week receipts in stomping Crash Director's Cut.
Actually, I had thought about this prior... and I if I did my logic correctly, the Best Buy would have gotten the sale in their receipts and my taking it back to Wal-Mart would not have caused any sort of disruption to the system. Wal-Mart simply would have gotten an extra copy added to their inventory and they could sell it again. Is that right? Oh, well, it doesn't matter...
Because I figured I will wait until after the first week so that it definitely contributes to the first week receipts... and then I will take it back to Wal-Mart once again with a new lie about why I don't want it. It's still unopened and they can sell it, what do they care? And because I'll be waiting after the first week, the sale price will then have ended -- and they'll be giving me back $19.99 instead of $16.97 (because they will then be able to resell it for $19.99).
So once I take it back... if this all goes according to plan -- and it should -- I should come out with a $16 Story to Screenplay Brokeback Mountain book for free... have contributed to the first week receipts to help Brokeback Mountain beat Crash Director's Cut... and I will have scammed the evil Wal-Mart for $3.02 (the profit on top of the money I fronted) which I will then put forth towards a Capote DVD.
UPDATE: I also got reward zone points for making a purchase at Best Buy which will then turn into cash once I get enough of them.
Am I going to Hell or what? -- Again, I don't believe any of this is illegal... but damn, it must be unethical, right? At least the Story to Screenplay book has gone to someone who will appreciate and cherish it for the rest of his days. I kept it from going to some shmuck that'll sell it for a quarter in a garage sale in ten years.
I do intend on picking up another Brokeback Mountain DVD somewhere down the road... it's just so many good movies have come out recently and... yeah... it'll have to wait just a little bit.
Please don't use me as a role model... I've simply just found a way for the system to work for me.
Just thought I would share my little anecdote.