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Original material is licensed under a Creative Commons License permitting non-commercial sharing with attribution.
11/18/09
I doubt there is a Black Friday deal that you couldn't come close to from the comfort of your trusty PC in your warm Jammies and a cup of coffee, after leisurely waking up at the crack of 10:00am.
For me, it's worth whatever money I supposedly "save" to have the shit delivered to my door and never have to stand in a line, or deal with any self-righteous clowns trying to shove me out of the way to save $50 on a crappy Blu-Ray Player. For me, there's nothing worth doing at 3:00am that involves my eyes being open.
It used to be that retailers had to work to sell you something, now we just line up in the cold to throw money at them. What in the world happened.
11/19/09
11/18/09
Call it "early-bird specials", not "doorbuster specials". Try at least, to save your employee's lives this season.
11/18/09
11/18/09
11/18/09
11/18/09
11/18/09
11/18/09
11/18/09
"Black Friday"
to,
"Happy friday with stock and deals lasting until sunday so don't come in trampling children"
11/18/09
So then why does it have to change???
But I am glad someone is thinking of the children!
11/18/09
11/18/09
11/18/09
I think I might love you.
11/18/09
Not to be confused with Black tuesday and the stock market crash.
You guys did want the definition right? (has no sense of humor)
11/18/09
11/18/09
11/18/09
11/20/09
11/18/09
Then again, you tried that by internally changing the name from Black Friday to "Blitz Day" (no joke). All it really did was put a less negative spin on the trampling. So maybe the solution is less rebranding and more not sucking. Cool? Cool.
11/18/09
But Can you really blame Wal-Mart? I would blame the actual crazy people who did the trampling.
11/18/09
And yes, I can blame Wal-Mart. People are idiots. People who shop at Wal-Mart need to be frugal. They chain up a hungry dog and dangle steak just out of reach. Do you not expect the dog to jump at the steak as soon as the leash is cut?
If you think Wal-Mart's just innocently offering limited deals and hey? How were they supposed to know folks wouldn't go nuts over an Xbox Elite for $150? Dude....no.
Yes, crazed morons who feel it's ok to beat the crap out of someone for a toy are idiots and morally reprehensible. But stores manage incredible sales all year 'round without people getting injured. Once a year, they want a beast of demand. And once a year, they get it.
11/18/09
11/18/09
However, Wal-Mart is not innocent in this. They are very aware of the difference between lowering the price of an item an generating hype for said item. Like Apple, Wal-Mart is very good at putting on a show and getting people emotional over their product. It's not a direct influence, but they know what they're doing, and it is intentional.
Thing is, if one instance of injury happened at a Black Friday event and that was enough to convince Wal-Mart (or other stores) to tone it down or improve security I'd be less bothered. However, this is a long-standing tradition. When you first put on a sale and people go so crazy over your prices they start injuring each other, you can stand back and look shocked. How were you to know people were that crazy?
Do it a second time, though (and many more times after that), you're no longer just a bystander.
No Wal-Mart isn't directly responsible for their customers actions. But they are responsible for continuing their own actions after multiple years in a row of seeing the same side effects.
11/18/09
11/18/09
11/18/09
11/18/09
After working there, though, it seemed too often the corporate mentality was not "How can we do the best for everyone?" but "How much can we get away with?" If you can consistently work someone a 2-11 shift and then get them up bright and early the next day for a 7-4 shift without complaints, then do it. In my own very biased, unfair experience, that's how they think. So I'm less than convinced they'll do anything beyond the minimum necessary to keep good PR.
But if the headlining triumph at the end of this Black Friday is "No One Died!"...I don't consider that a victory. That's what I expect when going to a store.
Like I said, I'm being unfair to Wal-Mart. I know it. As Mr. Fresh pointed out, there are other stores that do this, too. And yes, it's largely the consumers fault. But the lack of standards for decency, the "whatever we can get away with" mentality bothers me for very personal reasons. For coworkers and friends that I've seen exploited time and again. Honestly, it's hard to walk away from that.
11/18/09
11/18/09
11/18/09
I know with DVD players nowadays a cheap one will pretty much do the same as a more expensive one.
11/18/09
11/18/09
I wonder what the catch is with that deal. Hopefully it's not a player that takes 30 seconds to power up.
11/19/09
#tips
11/18/09
[www.nytimes.com]
This shit is ridiculous. I bargain hunt all year long to feed my consumerist desires in order that I should avoid this kind of nonsense. Nobody's life is worth the $50 I can save on some gadget that, in the grand scheme of things, isn't really worth anything.
11/18/09
11/18/09
My favorites are the Woot! sites, steepandcheap.com, and goingtoday.com. Anybody else want to contribute to this list?
#tips
11/18/09
You know what I'm thankful for this year? That sentence. +1 to you, sir.
11/18/09
I go for the entertainment value. There's nothing like watching people yell, scream, and trample each other while you hear "'Tis the Season" on the loudspeaker! That and the once-a-year chance for "full contact" shopping gets my blood pumping. Nothing like body checking an old lady into an end-cap to get a cheap Blu-Ray player.
11/18/09
11/18/09
11/18/09
11/18/09
The biggest thing about LCDs for me ATM is the picture quality and price ... I have a Dynex from Best Buy (350 for a 32 incher on sale when I purchased it) that's been mighty fantastic with my XBox 360.
11/18/09
#tips
11/18/09
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11/11/09