Black Friday

Postby chadmc90 » Thu Nov 13, 2014 4:47 pm

Yea, this is my first Jump in the Fire thread.....

In the US, Black Friday is a kind of "holiday" that has become a staple for businesses. It takes place the day after Thanksgiving with some stores starting early in the morning. Businesses offer discounts on popular products such as TV's and game systems to name a few. As a result, people take advantage of these deals and flock to stores. Most of the big retail stores often have lines already started a few days before the event.

But I came over an article a few days back that I found...interesting: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/201 ... nia-best-/

Apparently, now people are lining up even earlier than before!

But there has often been controversy surrounding the holiday. I remember on the news where people were literally trampled to death when the doors opened by a raging crowd. I remember my mother telling me when she went to walmart one year, people were literally fighting over towels that were on sale....yea. Even in my small town, I know the walmart parking lot would be filled to the brink, some people even having to park to the road. The biggest city in northern MS, Tupelo, often has traffic jams during the early hours of the morning, which virtually never happens on any other given day.

So, I am looking for general discussions on the subject. What are your opinions of the holiday. Should companies partake in these sales at the risk of customers? Why does this holiday garner more attention Thanksgiving? I would like to hear from everyone, but PLEASE discuss and debate in a civil matter. I have seen several threads that have had flame wars started, and I don't want that here. thanks for the input ahead of time.
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Re: Black Friday

Postby NemesisPrime » Thu Nov 13, 2014 6:09 pm

Honestly it represents the absolute WORST aspects of our consumer culture.

I've heard stories of people shooting others to get a PS4 that was marked down, trampling over people for a plasma screen TV that they honestly didn't need, punching others to a get a FREAKING BATH TOWEL that was 98 cents!

Black Friday is one of the uglyist holidays I've ever seen and it brings out the worst in people so yeah, businesses shouldn't be encouraging these destructive behaviors cause everytime I see it it makes my faith in humanity as a whole drop ever further.
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Re: Black Friday

Postby Jay Feely » Thu Nov 13, 2014 7:16 pm

I never shop on Black Friday, its so bad.
You will have to subdue me to restrain me. I been a bad boy so make sure you torture me too with anything but pain.

Re: Black Friday

Postby Kyle » Thu Nov 13, 2014 7:18 pm

NemesisPrime wrote:Honestly it represents the absolute WORST aspects of our consumer culture.



Here's a perfect summary in one sentence.

Re: Black Friday

Postby tony2 » Thu Nov 13, 2014 10:27 pm

Last night I read that Walmart was protracting BF to 5 or so segmented sale days just for the reasons we discuss. They didn't want to encourage trampling. We'll see how it works.
If you believe in yourself enough -
nobody else will figure out you're faking it.


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Re: Black Friday

Postby chadmc90 » Thu Nov 13, 2014 11:29 pm

tony2 wrote:Last night I read that Walmart was protracting BF to 5 or so segmented sale days just for the reasons we discuss. They didn't want to encourage trampling. We'll see how it works.


Is there an article about this on the internet, tony2? I'm not trying to discredit you, but I would like to get the specifics on it.

This idea does sound good in theory, but if it's the way I think it is(selling specific items on certain days) then I'm not sure it will solve much. If they had all the electronics on one day(which I believe is the most popular items during BF) then it would be almost as bad as the traditional setup. But I do respect the effort though.


Anyway, I agree with everyone so far. I personally HATE Black Friday.
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Re: Black Friday

Postby NemesisPrime » Thu Nov 13, 2014 11:46 pm

chadmc90 wrote:
tony2 wrote:Last night I read that Walmart was protracting BF to 5 or so segmented sale days just for the reasons we discuss. They didn't want to encourage trampling. We'll see how it works.


Is there an article about this on the internet, tony2? I'm not trying to discredit you, but I would like to get the specifics on it.

This idea does sound good in theory, but if it's the way I think it is(selling specific items on certain days) then I'm not sure it will solve much. If they had all the electronics on one day(which I believe is the most popular items during BF) then it would be almost as bad as the traditional setup. But I do respect the effort though.


Anyway, I agree with everyone so far. I personally HATE Black Friday.

I hope so too for all our sakes. It's so bad that if I have to go to the store I go anywhere that's NOT having a Black Friday sale or just outright not going anywhere if I don't have to.
Everyone speaks in multiple languages...But gag talk is universal and a sock in your mouth is the perfect translator!

Re: Black Friday

Postby drawscore » Fri Nov 14, 2014 12:06 am

Lately stores have been opening earlier and earlier. Now it's 6:00 PM Thanksgiving Day, and some stores don't even close on Thanksgiving. While capitalism drives our economy, there is such a thing as going too far. It's a far cry from the time when stores that normally opened at 9:00 AM, opened at 7:00 AM on Black Friday, with their "Doorbuster" deals.

And just for the benefit of those that don't know, most stores went through most of the year in a sea of red ink. It wasn't until the busiest shopping day of the year - the day after Thanksgiving - that they started to turn a profit, and ledger entries were made with black ink. Hence the name "Black Friday."

Drawscore

Re: Black Friday

Postby tony2 » Fri Nov 14, 2014 1:33 am

Don't worry, you're not discrediting me. I'm just passing on what I saw in a news broadcast in the business section of the ROKU available news feed. Also the Walmart BF circular specifically lists at least three days of separated sales for that Th, Fr, Sat... and that is also available on the Walmart web site.

I might just relax on the beach on the North Shore and watch the 15 ft waves rolling in for awhile. I'll be thinking of all my friends here.
Aloha guys --
Tony2
If you believe in yourself enough -
nobody else will figure out you're faking it.


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Re: Black Friday

Postby Jason Toddman » Fri Nov 14, 2014 4:26 am

I not only avoid Black Friday but pretty much the entire Christmas shopping season. What gifts I buy I get during the entire course of the year during my regular errands, when something catches m eye I think someone I know will like. No crowds; no fights; no waiting in long lines. I'd say no competition for parking either I drove a car.
Dare to be different... and make a difference.
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Re: Black Friday

Postby chadmc90 » Fri Nov 14, 2014 1:32 pm

I might just wanted relax on the beach on the North Shore and watch the 15 ft waves rolling in for awhile. I'll be thinking of all my friends here.
Aloha guys --
Tony2


Yea, really jealous of you.... if I had the money, I would buy myself a plane ticket and join you. Lol.

And Jason, yea I pretty much do the same thing. It's such a hassle fighting all those crowds.
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Re: Black Friday

Postby misterg792000 » Fri Nov 14, 2014 4:28 pm

Black Friday is pretty much everything Marx said about consumerism given horrible screaming life. People beating the hell out of each other for low-quality merchandise reduced an absurd amount to clear the shelves. You can usually find better sales afterwards.

drawscore wrote:And just for the benefit of those that don't know, most stores went through most of the year in a sea of red ink. It wasn't until the busiest shopping day of the year - the day after Thanksgiving - that they started to turn a profit, and ledger entries were made with black ink. Hence the name "Black Friday."


Not really.
http://www.snopes.com/holidays/thanksgi ... opping.asp

Re: Black Friday

Postby Kyle » Fri Nov 14, 2014 9:36 pm

It's a bit of an odd statement for Snopes to mention the "dearth of football games on television" about Black Friday, considering there are more games on TV on that date than there are actually on Thanksgiving.

Anyway, back to the main topic, I went shopping on Black Friday once. That was enough for me. Parking was pretty much nonexistent.

Re: Black Friday

Postby mikeybound » Fri Nov 14, 2014 10:30 pm

This really covers everything.
http://blackfridaydeathcount.com/
I'll bet a group of naive fools once thought, a very long time ago, "consumers will love the holiday discounts! Anyone willing to take these deals will surely be calm and rational. What could go wrong."
To you jackasses, I give a very slow, sarcastic, clap.
Though seriously, my brother worked Black Friday last year and is doing it this year. He's just happy he gets the "slow" shift.