Black Friday Brings Out the Worst in People
Nov 25th, 2006 by Jeremy
Every year we eventually arrive at perhaps the most marketed day of the by every retail store that has a stake in holiday shopping. Amazing how it isn’t Christmas that qualifies for this, but the first major shopping day of the year leading up to it. They do it because it works. It’s all about money, and we all know it. I like getting a great deal as much as the next person, perhaps more than the average guy in fact. Every year I am reminded though that I my desire for snatching a deal is nothing compared to the fervor you can witness 5 am at Best Buy, Wal-mart, or any major retailer.
I have often wondered if most people really watch the pricing on the things they want toget both before and after Black Friday. How much are they saving? Sure, the door buster offers are some amazing deal, but is it really worth getting up at 3 in the morning and waiting in line for the hope of getting one of the 6 laptops available at that store. What’s worse, you jump out of bed - skip the shower - drive like a banshee to the store only to find that 60 people stayed the entire night to be first in line. You have gotten up early for nothing because all you are getting for your hours of lost sleep and standing in the cold is a 100pk of blank DVDs for $10 off regular price. Woohoo, boy did you get a deal for your time spent!.
Have you ever witnessed the mayhem brought about by these sales? Where do these people come from? I’d like to believe it is just a bunch of wild people that normally stay locked up that are released only this one day of the year. Unfortunately this isn’t the case. What we are witnessing is people that in every day life would never do such things. Wave the carrot of a “deal” in front of them, and out comes Mr. Hyde. I have actually witnessed people working in team, “accidentally” blocking the door for others behind them while the first in their group gets a head start on grabbing up all the big deal items. Elbowing your way past others is for beginners. Don’t get me started on the placeholding/cutting in line tactics. I can’t stand being at a decent place in line only to find the guy in front of me was “holding a spot” for his 25 friends. Imagine these people the night before laying out the game plan for how they would attack. “Don’t show any signs until you see the whites of the eyes for the guy opening the door…then make your move!”
I really have never understood getting up at such incredible hours for the savings. I have wanted to, but never have really done it. I have showed up at the opening time knowing I wouldn’t get the “real” deal, but have only ended up with a couple of “secondary” offerings. Half the reason I showed was to see the show I had heard about. Almost like witnessing the early days of evolution turned backwards. I long ago gave it up. I’m not that diligent for a deal, nor that lucky. Even if I did pull the insane acts to get in the front of the line, I don’t have it in me to use the elbows, push smaller people to the floor to be trampled and essentially sacrifice all semblance of humanity simply to score the prize.
I want the cheap laptop, really, even though I don’t need it. I love my toys, just like every grown man. You know the saying, the differences between men and boys is the price of their toys. I exemplify that remark, thank you very much. I would like to think I have just wizened up in my years. Rather than value my time so low that it is worth spending hours or even all night in the cold? Nope, not any more. I figure for the time spent waiting the cold I could pick up some project or job and make the money I would have saved in much less time, and in much better conditions.
I am always full of theories, and this situation is no different. I think deals like this have turned into mini lotteries. We all want to win something, and deep down we know there is really no chance we will win an actual lottery. Getting the door buster prize is something we might actually get, if we are willing to fight for it. Well, you win. I’ll sleep in, enjoy my comfy bed and the warmth, then order online what I am getting my loved ones for Christmas. My time and comfort is worth it.
Deslock's P.S.:
I am so amazed that our corporate masters had dishonestly convinced peple that they're "saving" money. This, besides "Santa Claus" has to be one of the greatest lies ever told, to be believed by so many people.
Saving means NOT using. Period.
If you are spending, Erm...., You're not saving.
Even if you bought a brand new car for only one thin dollar, you have gotten a greatly discounted price, but, you didn't save a thing. It still cost you a dollar, that you didn't save.
As a Christian, I HATE Christmas. I HATE Christmas carols. They are sooo old and outdated. C'mon. Really. Can't someone make some new ones at least? When then Hell was the last time you went on a sliegh ride? Or roasted Chestnuts over an open fire?. Who the Hell eats chestnuts anyways..? Bleech. My wife works at Hell-Mart, and told me that at 12am Nov. 1st. they started playing Christmas music. I swear by the time Christmas day is really here, I'm ready to strangle someone with a string of garland, and force them to eat broken glass ornaments. There's nothing like hearing the same, lame, outdated 10 songs being played a million times over, over a hundred different ways.
I hate Christmas because instead of being a celebration of the birth of our Lord and Savior, it's become a spoon fed overcommercialized nightmare that instead of bringing people together in love, it brings out the absolute worst in people. Punching people to get a "Tickle me Elmo"? Biting and kicking people to get the next "big thing" that our corporate master have convinced us that if we don't have it, the entire rest of our lives will be shallow and incomplete?
<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/X3eUiMHtPgQ&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/X3eUiMHtPgQ&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>
No thanks. I'll spend the extra money and not deal with that. I did it once, and swore never, ever again.
So this Friday, while these roaches and sheep stand out in the freezing cold, just to battle it out for the next best thing, I'll be in my nice warm bed. Because the very few gifts I have to get, I already have. No fighting crowds and stupid rude people.
Well, stupid, that's because people smarter than you didn't wait until Christmas Eve night to go out shopping. Idiot!.
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ehSkxg7wvyk"]YouTube - BLACK FRIDAY FIGHT.[/ame]
Miss that kind of fun? Just to save a few bucks?
No thanks. Black Friday sucks.
I truly, truly hate this time of year.
Nov 25th, 2006 by Jeremy
Every year we eventually arrive at perhaps the most marketed day of the by every retail store that has a stake in holiday shopping. Amazing how it isn’t Christmas that qualifies for this, but the first major shopping day of the year leading up to it. They do it because it works. It’s all about money, and we all know it. I like getting a great deal as much as the next person, perhaps more than the average guy in fact. Every year I am reminded though that I my desire for snatching a deal is nothing compared to the fervor you can witness 5 am at Best Buy, Wal-mart, or any major retailer.
I have often wondered if most people really watch the pricing on the things they want toget both before and after Black Friday. How much are they saving? Sure, the door buster offers are some amazing deal, but is it really worth getting up at 3 in the morning and waiting in line for the hope of getting one of the 6 laptops available at that store. What’s worse, you jump out of bed - skip the shower - drive like a banshee to the store only to find that 60 people stayed the entire night to be first in line. You have gotten up early for nothing because all you are getting for your hours of lost sleep and standing in the cold is a 100pk of blank DVDs for $10 off regular price. Woohoo, boy did you get a deal for your time spent!.
Have you ever witnessed the mayhem brought about by these sales? Where do these people come from? I’d like to believe it is just a bunch of wild people that normally stay locked up that are released only this one day of the year. Unfortunately this isn’t the case. What we are witnessing is people that in every day life would never do such things. Wave the carrot of a “deal” in front of them, and out comes Mr. Hyde. I have actually witnessed people working in team, “accidentally” blocking the door for others behind them while the first in their group gets a head start on grabbing up all the big deal items. Elbowing your way past others is for beginners. Don’t get me started on the placeholding/cutting in line tactics. I can’t stand being at a decent place in line only to find the guy in front of me was “holding a spot” for his 25 friends. Imagine these people the night before laying out the game plan for how they would attack. “Don’t show any signs until you see the whites of the eyes for the guy opening the door…then make your move!”
I really have never understood getting up at such incredible hours for the savings. I have wanted to, but never have really done it. I have showed up at the opening time knowing I wouldn’t get the “real” deal, but have only ended up with a couple of “secondary” offerings. Half the reason I showed was to see the show I had heard about. Almost like witnessing the early days of evolution turned backwards. I long ago gave it up. I’m not that diligent for a deal, nor that lucky. Even if I did pull the insane acts to get in the front of the line, I don’t have it in me to use the elbows, push smaller people to the floor to be trampled and essentially sacrifice all semblance of humanity simply to score the prize.
I want the cheap laptop, really, even though I don’t need it. I love my toys, just like every grown man. You know the saying, the differences between men and boys is the price of their toys. I exemplify that remark, thank you very much. I would like to think I have just wizened up in my years. Rather than value my time so low that it is worth spending hours or even all night in the cold? Nope, not any more. I figure for the time spent waiting the cold I could pick up some project or job and make the money I would have saved in much less time, and in much better conditions.
I am always full of theories, and this situation is no different. I think deals like this have turned into mini lotteries. We all want to win something, and deep down we know there is really no chance we will win an actual lottery. Getting the door buster prize is something we might actually get, if we are willing to fight for it. Well, you win. I’ll sleep in, enjoy my comfy bed and the warmth, then order online what I am getting my loved ones for Christmas. My time and comfort is worth it.
Deslock's P.S.:
I am so amazed that our corporate masters had dishonestly convinced peple that they're "saving" money. This, besides "Santa Claus" has to be one of the greatest lies ever told, to be believed by so many people.
Saving means NOT using. Period.
If you are spending, Erm...., You're not saving.
Even if you bought a brand new car for only one thin dollar, you have gotten a greatly discounted price, but, you didn't save a thing. It still cost you a dollar, that you didn't save.
As a Christian, I HATE Christmas. I HATE Christmas carols. They are sooo old and outdated. C'mon. Really. Can't someone make some new ones at least? When then Hell was the last time you went on a sliegh ride? Or roasted Chestnuts over an open fire?. Who the Hell eats chestnuts anyways..? Bleech. My wife works at Hell-Mart, and told me that at 12am Nov. 1st. they started playing Christmas music. I swear by the time Christmas day is really here, I'm ready to strangle someone with a string of garland, and force them to eat broken glass ornaments. There's nothing like hearing the same, lame, outdated 10 songs being played a million times over, over a hundred different ways.
I hate Christmas because instead of being a celebration of the birth of our Lord and Savior, it's become a spoon fed overcommercialized nightmare that instead of bringing people together in love, it brings out the absolute worst in people. Punching people to get a "Tickle me Elmo"? Biting and kicking people to get the next "big thing" that our corporate master have convinced us that if we don't have it, the entire rest of our lives will be shallow and incomplete?
<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/X3eUiMHtPgQ&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/X3eUiMHtPgQ&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>
No thanks. I'll spend the extra money and not deal with that. I did it once, and swore never, ever again.
So this Friday, while these roaches and sheep stand out in the freezing cold, just to battle it out for the next best thing, I'll be in my nice warm bed. Because the very few gifts I have to get, I already have. No fighting crowds and stupid rude people.
"What do you mean you're out of stock?!!?, It's in your ad!!!
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ehSkxg7wvyk"]YouTube - BLACK FRIDAY FIGHT.[/ame]
Miss that kind of fun? Just to save a few bucks?
No thanks. Black Friday sucks.
I truly, truly hate this time of year.
Comment