Page 150 - Purchasing Power Black Kids and American Consumer Culture

Anthropologist on Shopping Sprees . 135

Table 5.6. Teyvon's Purchases

Item Price Store

1 10-pack of pencils $1.00 Sam's Dollar Store
2 10-packs of pens $1.00 ea. Sam's Dollar Store
2 packs of notebook paper $1.00 ea. Sam's Dollar Store
1 notebook binder $1.00 Sam's Dollar Store
1 pair shorts $5.99 SuperBargains
1 Hornets t-shirt $9.98 Champs Sporting Goods

These purchases of Teyvon's had been carefully planned, and earlier
in the week he had scouted potential purchases for his shopping trip,
picking out an outfit at a clothing store on lower Chapel Street. We went
shopping on a Sunday, however, and when we arrived at the store con-
taining his outfit, it was closed. Teyvon did not want to wait and come
back another day and instead quickly regrouped, looking for shorts and
a t-shirt in the mall stores that were open. In Champs, a sporting goods
store, Teyvon once again made a nearly flawless beeline for the sales-
man, detoured only by a few moments where he gingerly caressed a
gold-colored Michael Jordan basketball. "I'm looking for a t-shirt and I
have fourteen dollars and seventy cents," he announced to the salesman,
who took us over to a rack full of t-shirts. Spotting one he liked, Teyvon
felt around for the price tag: $39.95. He dropped the tag and moved on.
"There are some shirts that are on sale over here," the salesman said.
This rack was full of t-shirts decorated with team logos. Teyvon wanted
a Celtics t-shirt, but none were on sale. He settled for a black shirt with
a white, blue and purple design of the Charlotte Hornets for $9.99. As
we were waiting at the counter to pay, Teyvon spotted some baseball
caps emblazoned with the Bulls logo. The hats were $21.99. "The price
must have gone up when they won," he remarked wryly.
At this point, Teyvon had very little money left, and he still needed a
pair of shorts to complete his first-day outfit. He was looking for big,
baggy shorts that went down over his knobby knees, preferably in purple
or blue to match the shirt. We looked all over the mall, but there were no
stores there carrying kids' clothes except for a place called SuperBargains.
The shorts there did not come in the right colors, but they did come in the
right size and the right price. Teyvon decided on a $5.99 pair of black