Well, as we indicated in previous blogs, we are letting out some of the great items we will have at Sam’s Club on the Friday after Thanksgiving. This is commonly referenced as Black Friday or Blitz Friday. So, I rounded up some of the elves here in the Sam’s Club Home office to see what they have been working on for all of our Members this year. As you can imagine, folks have been busy and we are really proud of what we can offer.

As this article is written by the gaming guy at Sam’s, I am going to go first. (I guess that is my prerogative dear readers).

Yes, this is the real one and the real price. We have a Wii Bundle that includes the Wii Hardware unit, a TOTAL of 3 Wii-motes, 3 Nunchuks (the console has one, so this is two additional Wii-motes and Nunchuks) Mario Super Sluggers and King of Clubs (so that is 3 games total as Wii Sports comes with the console). That is a $450 value. We will have this for $425.00. We have a good many units for the clubs, but we expect this will sell out very briskly. This may be one to cause folks to get up early. We know many folks are looking for a Wii and we have them!

We are not done there. Here is the Special DS bundle we put together with Nintendo.

This includes a Metallic Rose DS, Nintendogs Labrador, Purr Pals, A Princess Peach Bling Kit and a Princess Peach Stylus/Game Case. This is a $220 value. We will have this for $199.88. We also expect this will sell out as well.

We have also loaded the clubs with Wii Fit units, which should also sell rather rapidly. Be sure to check our flyer in club as well as the video game run for some other great items. There will be some special pricing on the remaining inventory of Grand Theft Auto IV and Midnight Club LA on that day as well.

Okay, enough about my favorite topic. Now, on to computers. As you know, I am an Apple fanatic, but this deal even has me looking twice. Our computer buyer has put together this!

The Blitz ad says $350 but Santa called and challenged him to do better. So now Sam’s is at new price of $345 and an additional $20 case value is included. This is an 8.9" WSVGA Acer CrystalBrite TFT LCD (1024 x 600) with an Intel Atom Processor, 1GB Memory, 120GB Hard Drive and a Crystal Eye Webcam. WOW. That information tells me that Sam’s really put together a great item for our Members! This unit is great for surfing the net, e-mail and is a nice netbook.

Next up is cameras. The camera buyer has some super items for folks on your list (or maybe yourself) as well. Look at this:

Yes, that is a Nikon S550 which retails for $149 at most places. Sam’s will have it for $129.87. Whoa, I sure hope you have been good this year! If that was not enough, check out:

The Samsung camcorder that usually sells for $200 will be in the clubs for $179.72. Capture those special moments and you can bring them to life on your television. Oh, the old television is not quite up to handling all of the newest technology and the digital conversion? Sam’s Club has you covered.

Our TV buyer has also been working on great values for our Members. Here is a 42” Philips 1080p LCD.

The ad says $898, but he got a call from the North Pole. With a little bit of persuasion, the long distance caller was able to get the retail down to, get this, $798 at Sam’s Club!!  You can add a Sony Blu-Ray player that normally sells for $277.87 for just $197.87.

To really enjoy all of the benefits of Sam’s Club, you should consider being a Member or giving the gift of Membership. I know I will be in the clubs on Friday. It is really awesome to be able to work with such a great team of folks here in the office. They all are working for the benefit of our Members. I am confident that my family and I will have a terrific Thanksgiving. Hope you do the same. Eat, drink and be merry on Thanksgiving for on Friday, we shop!

So, what do you think? Does Sam’s have you covered this year?

Have someone really difficult to shop for on your list this year? Do you know a special someone who has been really good and a gamer, but has everything? Sam’s Club may have you covered. In the event you missed out on the Metal Gear Solid 4 Solid Snake statue or the Brotherhood of Steel statue from Fallout 3, have no fear. We have something available and if you can put up with a little delayed gratification, one more thing. (If I could only say the “one more thing” in a pair of Levi’s and a black turtleneck, I wonder if folks would pay attention.)

Yup, there he is, Cliff Bleszinski. No, you do not actually get him, but something pretty cool from him. Mr. Bleszinski and Mr. Mark Rein have signed a copy of Gears of War 2, Limited Edition and Sam’s Club has it on our auction site.

Bleszinski has been a key visionary behind the award-winning, multimillion selling “Unreal” series and the 2006 Game of the Year, “Gears of War.”  Mark Rein is the Vice President of Epic Games. These folks created the Unreal Engine and the franchise of the same name. Rein also worked at id software as well.  So you have two industry titans signing a copy of a blockbuster limited edition of a game. You can also get the regular version of Gears of War 2, unsigned, at Sam's Club. I doubt that many folks have something like this on their list and fewer will have it in their hands. We are so very pleased to be able to offer this to you and are very pleased that our good partners at Microsoft helped us.

Oh, and one more thing (did I get your attention?)…

If you can be a little bit patient, this is now on auctions as well:

Yes, a Locust Bust from Gears of War 2. Man, this looks like it is alive! It will not ship until the 1^st quarter of 2009, but WOW. This is another really cool item that we are offering up for auction. Yes, we have been busy finding really cool items, but that may not be the only things we are offering up this season. Stay tuned.

We really love doing things like this for our Members. It really helps folks to see how valuable a Membership to Sam’s Club is and how special the relationship is between our company and our Members. Hey, that may be a great gift as well. If you know a gamer who is not a Member, why not give the gift of Membership? It can provide an entire year of great selection and prices to someone on your list. We also sell a lot more than just games, but to really enjoy all of the benefits, a Membership to Sam’s Club is key.

Hope you are taking some time out of your routine for some gaming. I am backed in with Fallout 3 (just finished last night), Saint’s Row 2 and Fable 2. Too many games and not enough time!!

So what do you think? Having trouble finding something unique for gift giving this year? Does this help?

Hunger isn’t something most people think about every day. Sure, it's mid-morning and I skipped breakfast so my tummy is growling up a storm, but that’s not what I mean. What I mean is this … I don’t think every day about how long it will be before I can afford my next meal. I don’t think every day about the millions of people living in this country who go to bed hungry every night. With Thanksgiving a week away, I'm not worried that my family won't have dinner on the table.

According to a recent USDA report, 36.2 million Americans, and that includes 12.4 million children, lived meal-to-meal in 2007, rarely knowing when the next meal will come. Unbelievable.

Today the Wal-Mart Foundation donated $2.5 million to Feeding America. This is money that will be used to provide the organization with new refrigerated trucks to transport food. And, on top of that, Walmart is donating food to Feeding America - enough by the end of 2009 to provide about 70 million meals! I know you might be thinking 'that’s how many billion cans of green beans and corn.' But think beyond the tin can – we’re talking fruit, steak, chicken wings … the good stuff!

A Walmart associate volunteers at a Feeding America food bank, stocking the fridge with lots of fruit, bagged salad and veggies!

Let's keep this goodwill going! Volunteerism and charitable donations are one of the best and most rewarding gifts you can give this Christmas, so help battle hunger and put Thanksgiving dinner on the table for families in need by volunteering or contributing to Feeding America’s “Fill a Bowl, Feed America campaign.” Trust me, you’ll feed good about it. I know I did. J

We refer to this title as WOW and WOW it is... check out these fans that lined up in our Bentonville store to get a copy of Lich King!  It is ironic that the fans are lined up next to milk, because this game will out sell 2% milk today!  This is not my type of game, so I am interested to hear what the gamers are saying.