Everything Warren Buffett: DEALBREAKER: Up Close And Personal With BRK: Snagging Deals At The Opening Reception

Monday, May 4, 2009

DEALBREAKER: Up Close And Personal With BRK: Snagging Deals At The Opening Reception

Posted by Dealbreaker, May 03, 2009, 12:00pm

Berkshire Hathaway shareholder Curtis Joe Walker was back at the jamboree again this year, bringing Warren Buffett straight to you. Here are his stories.

On the Friday night before Berkshire's Annual Meeting, Warren Buffett hosts a party at Borhsheim's Jewelers. The free drinks food entice throngs of people to crowd into the shopping mall and overflow tent in the parking lot. Typically (at least in my unscientific gathering of data), less than half of the crowd actually owns any BRK stock, and many are locals out for a little fun. The end result is long lines for everything, and good opportunities to meet people. In the spirit of frugality, I've come up with a good plan of attack when it comes to filling my belly with the free stuff.

First, skip the tent, it's got more food, but less booze. Go straight for the mall, where 50 or so bartenders are in a frenzy to serve everyone. When you get to the bar, order two drinks. They have Coke, of course, if you're not a drinker.

Two drinks in hand, head to the food line of your choice. Spend the next 15 minutes shuffling towards the food and downing the drinks. If you're lucky, your empty stomach will facilitate a nice buzz and take the edge off your fear of crowds.

Once you get to the food, grab two plates and hold them like playing cards. If you're coordinated enough, go for three. I've seen a Jedi Buffet Master sucessfully attempt 4 plates, but with any luck, you'll be too buzzed to manage that. Typically, the menu is salad, melon, cheese, BBQ meatballs, chicken wings and roast beef. Grab as much as you can, they never run out, but you don't wanna bother with the line again.

With the free stuff out of the way, head into the jewelry shop to ogle the baubles most people in attendance can't afford. There's a Berkshire Shareholder discount (30% on designer items, and even more on store owned goods), which could work out to a few shares of stock in savings.

Take this amazing 18k gold, diamond, mother of pearl and champagne quartz Bat Moth Pendant with a retail price of $19,000. The discount knocks it down to $13,300, which leaves enough left over to buy almost two shares of Class B.

If that's not quite your style , how about this $5,380,000 red diamond ring? You could get 19 shares of Class A with the money you'd save. Bargain!

Oh, and if you haven't gotten your fill of waiting in line, head out to PortaPotty city, next to the tent. Again, a good place to chat people up, like Michelle Caruso Cabrera.