Posted on 08/16/2005 7:33:16 AM PDT by Moose4
There was pandemonium in Henrico County Tuesday morning at Richmond International Raceway as thousands crammed in trying to get an iBook. Henrico schools are selling them for $50 to Henrico residents only. But the sale quickly escalated when the gates opened at 7 a.m. and people raced in. Several people were reportedly injured and emergency crews had to be called to the scene. Although officials said camping was not allowed, some Henrico residents got to the gates just after midnight Monday. Officials estimated thousands of people were fighting the crowds at RIR, but Henrico plans to sell only one thousand iBooks. Officials closed the gates around 9 a.m. So far no serious injuries have been reported.
The lovely and talented Foxfire4 got out of bed at 0600 and hit the road by 0640 to head over to the Raceway/Fairgrounds complex, which is about 20 minutes from us on a normal day. She was back home by 0730. There was a three-mile backup to get into the place. Laburnum Avenue was a parking lot, the traffic reporters were reporting multiple accidents. Traffic was so bad it was backing up onto the Interstates and clogging traffic heading for downtown.
I think they misunderestimated (tm President GWB) the demand for their little giveaway. I have to wonder, considering they're only going to get $50,000 for the deal (1000 laptops x $50 each), after deducting rental of a facility at the raceway, police overtime, emergency crews, and everything else, how much extra are those bargain laptops going to cost me?
}:-)4
It's ping-a-licious.
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West end Richmond ping.
Hope this doesn't cause a Bond Issue vote in your county Moose!
So they had to move the sale from the school system surplus warehouse over to a building at the Richmond International Raceway/State Fairgrounds complex. But wait, it gets better. Then people started screaming that, dangit, Henrico County taxpayers paid for those computers, Henrico County taxpayers should get first crack at them! So the Board of Supervisors had to quickly change the rules on surplus equipment sales to require proof of residency (driver's license, utility bill), or proof of taxpayer status in the county (real estate or personal property tax receipt) in order to buy one.
It never occurred to them that, hey, maybe if the computers are still worth $500 or $600, we should sell them for more than $50! Durrrrrr.
It would've been nice to have one, but no way would it be worth going through that mess to get it.
}:-)4
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Stampede at Computer Sale Injures Several People in Va. Updated: Tuesday, Aug. 16, 2005 - 9:58 AM
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - Several people were injured at Richmond International Raceway Tuesday morning as thousands of people rushed to buy used laptops from the Henrico County school system.
The county was offering 1,000 used "I-Books" for $50 each to Henrico residents. Sales were limited to one computer per person.
People began lining up outside the racetrack complex overnight and rushed into the track area when the gates opened at 7 a.m. for the sale, which was scheduled to begin at 9 a.m.
Several people suffered minor injuries in the stampede.
Blandine Alexander, 33, brought her 14-year-old twin sons to stand in line at 4:30 a.m. She told The Associated Press that she saw a mother pushing her daughter in a stroller trampled.
Alexander says a car pushing its way through the crowd at the gate nearly ran several people over.
(sounds like an iRiot...)
Dang. That looks like a herd of Bridezillas at one of those Bridal Dress sales they show on TV a few times a year.
Coulda sold them on eBay via a broker and done much better. What a farce.
The good news is these will be turning up on eBay in the next few days.
Yep. At a huge profit.
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My team leader at work was there, he said, at 5:00 this morning, and swears there were at least 3,000 people already waiting there outside the raceway. (He turned around and left immediately.) The Times-Dispatch is estimating the crowd at 12,000. People were trampled when the gates opened, strollers were destroyed, old men with walkers pushed to the ground and run over by dozens of people. It was an utter charlie-foxtrot.
So, the county had a surplus sale and a soccer riot broke out. This isn't a good example of the people around here.
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Imagine if they were giving away tickets to Oprah give away show ...
I stay away from "bargathons" like this. No deal is worth getting caught in a riot with bargamaniacs! I don't know anything about iBooks, but wouldn't the the technology be out of date and need an upgrade?
Looks like the general public finally determined the price point to move Apple's penetration above 5% (snorts....)
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