Black Friday report

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted By: andrewg
Standing in lines....pushing and shoving like a bunch of mind numbed cattle....that's not living to me. No dignity in being a slave to consumerism. Yes, I appreciate a good deal when it's something I want or need. But Black Friday? No way....I'll never do it.

Back in the day when on-line deals didn't exist or weren't as good, running around like a headless chicken on black Friday did have some appeal. But I have to wonder, how much savings would there need to be to justify wasting 5 hours of your life while standing in line and dealing with the rowdy crowds? If you wait around, you'll typically find deals almost as good online without wasting time and suffering bruised ribs.

 

[Quattro Pete]

http://money.cnn.com/2013/11/29/news/companies/holiday-shopping-fights/index.html?hpt=hp_t2


Looks like fun.

Quote:
In Claypool Hill, Va., the Tazewell County Sheriff's Department says it arrested two men in a parking lot of the Wal-Mart (WMT, Fortune 500) in Claypool Hill, Va.

Ronnie Sharp, 61, was allegedly threatening Christopher Jackson, 35, with a rifle and a knife when sheriff's deputies arrived on the scene, according to the police. Jackson was suffering from a severe knife cut on his arm.

At the Wal-Mart in Garfield, N.J., police were in the process of arresting Crystal Hickman for allegedly spitting at another woman and the woman's child when another shopper, Richard Ramos, reportedly started yelling and screaming vulgarities.

 

[UNC151]

No rushing, no pushing, no shoving...just web time-outs for me. Nothing too crazy either--2 copies of Internet Security software for 3 PCs each for $14.00 each. A bit more shopping later on Monday. I do not like large crowds and there is nothing out there that I cannot order from this keyboard with free shipping in most cases.

 

[andrewg]

Originally Posted By: wrcsixeight
I find this whole black friday rush to be one of the most disgusting aspects of our culture.

Buying stuff not needed with money one does not have.

You could not pay me enough for me to subject myself to such masses of miserable foolish mindless zombies.

Perfectly trained consumption monkeys.
Sickening.

Even as a believer in much of what Ayn Rand conveyed......I do tend to agree with you on this. While I would suppose it is good for the economy (the robots that is), I myself find the behavior equally as disgusting as you do. That's my problem with capitalism...while I agree with the system itself, and favor an even more open and unregulated true capitalism....it doesn't mean that I will partake to this degree. Sort of like the way we get our meat in the grocery store. Sure, I'll buy the chicken all cut up and packaged for me....but that doesn't mean I want to partake in the slaughtering.

 

[Whitewolf]

You are a braver man than I am Gunga din.

 

[The_Jeff]

It used to be worth it when a new computer was huge money.

I had a 400 mhz computer in 2003 and it rendered video very very slowly. Upgraded to a 2600 mhz for $200 and still have that computer. I knew black friday would be the time to do my year's IT shopping and was accurate.

Also got small stuff like 100 CDRs in that same trip. Stocking up and what all.

Turns out I didn't need anything today.

Everyone was so distracted by big screen tvs last night I finally was one of the chosen 500 people to get 50% off at Advance Auto parts.

They zig, I zag.

 

[jrustles]

shooting at Target

 

[Schmoe]

Call it what you want, but if you had specific products in mind that you've been WANTING to get, they go on sale, and you get those specific items at a substantial discount.....and you've been watching their respected prices for about 6 plus months, a great sale comes (black friday, labor day, presidents day...whatever) and you take advantage of that and save a LOT of money.....I don't get why someone wouldn't want to do that. Sure, there maybe some that get caught up in the madness and buy for the sake of buying, but a well informed consumer can definently save some hard earned money. Remember, everyone else there is in the same boat as you....they probably hate the crowds too but in today's economy, a penny saved is a penny earned. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

 

[Triple_Se7en]

Purchase online and never have to wait in-line for entering the store or for checkout. As a matter of fact, it's already 3:00PM and I just made my first Black Friday purchase from my computer chair. Walmartdotcom has a 26" LED TV for $129 shipped free. I get it in 4-6 days. Perfect for atop my bedroom dresser.

 

[demarpaint]

Originally Posted By: Triple_Se7en
Purchase online and never have to wait in-line for entering the store or for checkout.


Exactly. To put myself through that kind of abuse, waiting on line, pushing, shoving, and fighting, no thanks.

 

[hattaresguy]

Originally Posted By: montero1
I'd rather put a cigarette out in my eye than go and stand in line with a bunch of trash. Nice that it paid off for you and no one was trampled, beaten, or Robbed.


Or just pay more on Amazon and not have to deal with the average moron. That's worth whatever extra it costs x10.

I woke up this morning late 8:30, got a cup of coffee, made my rounds of the jobsites, made a few phone calls, went to the gym, now I'm heading out to happy hour with some friends.

I had a great lazy Friday.

 

[hattaresguy]

Originally Posted By: Schmoe
Hate to say it...but.....saving coin is still just that...saving some coin. Like renegade....got to wallyword right at 1700 (out at 2100)and it was NUTS (got that same TV too, a 32 inch for 98 bucks...SERIOUSLY? How can you complain about that?). Glad to hear the picture is pretty good, haven't hooked it up yet. Got a killer deal on a Galaxy 3 10 inch tab for the daughter, scored a wireless printer for 69 bucks. I know....spent....holy cow...over 900 dollars but SAVED money for the exact same products....I mean....the newest Star Trek DVD for 9 dollars? King comforters for about 30 bucks??? This wasn't a knee jerk, shopper impluse deal...items we'd been eyeing for a few months. So....you fight crowds for 4 hours and save hundreds??? I just don't get you nay-sayers!!!!!


Easy, I saved a lot of "coin" today by purchasing nothing. Why did I buy nothing? Because I don't need a 32in LCD TV even if it was $10.

If my current TV starts to die and I do find myself in need of a new one, I'll do research online and get a good deal either at Costco, or NewEgg maybe. But I can say one thing for sure, I'll go at a sane hour and won't stand in line for 4 hours. You can find a good deal anytime of year on a product that is actually needed if you watch it. Newegg and Amazon run specials all the time.

Life's to short to fight over trinkets.

Edit: with 5 minutes of searching I can buy a probably better 32in TV than Walfart had for $90 for only $100 more, delivered to my door...that's also not on special...Newegg is always running specials...

 

[97f150]

Originally Posted By: hattaresguy


Easy, I saved a lot of "coin" today by purchasing nothing. Why did I buy nothing? Because I don't need a 32in LCD TV even if it was $10.



Life's to short to fight over trinkets.



Ditto.

 

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted By: wrcsixeight
I find this whole black friday rush to be one of the most disgusting aspects of our culture.

Buying stuff not needed with money one does not have.

You could not pay me enough for me to subject myself to such masses of miserable foolish mindless zombies.

Perfectly trained consumption monkeys.
Sickening.


And you've just described the reason for the decline of North America

 

[andrewg]

Originally Posted By: Schmoe
Call it what you want, but if you had specific products in mind that you've been WANTING to get, they go on sale, and you get those specific items at a substantial discount.....and you've been watching their respected prices for about 6 plus months, a great sale comes (black friday, labor day, presidents day...whatever) and you take advantage of that and save a LOT of money.....I don't get why someone wouldn't want to do that. Sure, there maybe some that get caught up in the madness and buy for the sake of buying, but a well informed consumer can definently save some hard earned money. Remember, everyone else there is in the same boat as you....they probably hate the crowds too but in today's economy, a penny saved is a penny earned. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

I understand the reasoning you have behind getting a good deal and braving the idiots.
The thing is though is that you don't seem to reciprocate the understanding toward those of us that DO NOT in ANY WAY enjoy going shopping at such times. It's not hard to see why we don't, is it? For me, and my hard earned money, shopping MUST be a pleasant experience (reasonably) or why do it? Saving money you say? At what actual cost though? It's simply not worth it to many of us. When I go out and shop for things, I want a pleasant and enjoyable experience if possible. I'm worth it. This isn't the old Soviet Union where we must stand in huge lines for bread.....it's just sales on mostly marginally useful products that can be had at nearly the same prices when one is in need of such items.
But hey, not trying to slight you. Have fun. But I'll leave that mess to the females in the family or the younger fellas out there that were raised in a more consumer oriented culture than I was.

 

[Tomcat_80]

I dont ever go shopping on "black friday" and the g.f. does not either. We mostly shop on line. I am not a oil hoarder, even though a while back I got some VML 5w30 and 10W30 for $9 5.1 qt jug at AZ. I dont need much for christmas honestly. I did my christmas shopping in June so no worries here.

 

[Jarlaxle]

I bought a quart of 5w30 (for Dad's snowblower) & a pair of wiper blades (my Dakota) at Advance Auto, a newspaper and a Big Gulp at 7-11, and $25 worth of groceries at Stop & Shop today...that was the extent of my Black Friday shopping.

 

[hattaresguy]

Originally Posted By: andrewg
Originally Posted By: Schmoe
Call it what you want, but if you had specific products in mind that you've been WANTING to get, they go on sale, and you get those specific items at a substantial discount.....and you've been watching their respected prices for about 6 plus months, a great sale comes (black friday, labor day, presidents day...whatever) and you take advantage of that and save a LOT of money.....I don't get why someone wouldn't want to do that. Sure, there maybe some that get caught up in the madness and buy for the sake of buying, but a well informed consumer can definently save some hard earned money. Remember, everyone else there is in the same boat as you....they probably hate the crowds too but in today's economy, a penny saved is a penny earned. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

I understand the reasoning you have behind getting a good deal and braving the idiots.
The thing is though is that you don't seem to reciprocate the understanding toward those of us that DO NOT in ANY WAY enjoy going shopping at such times. It's not hard to see why we don't, is it? For me, and my hard earned money, shopping MUST be a pleasant experience (reasonably) or why do it? Saving money you say? At what actual cost though? It's simply not worth it to many of us. When I go out and shop for things, I want a pleasant and enjoyable experience if possible. I'm worth it. This isn't the old Soviet Union where we must stand in huge lines for bread.....it's just sales on mostly marginally useful products that can be had at nearly the same prices when one is in need of such items.
But hey, not trying to slight you. Have fun. But I'll leave that mess to the females in the family or the younger fellas out there that were raised in a more consumer oriented culture than I was.


Exactly which is why when I "shop" its at small local places where I know most of the people. Gun store, marina, clothing store, etc.

"commodities" like TV's quite frankly can be bought online cheaply.

Standing in line is something you do when your starving in North Korea with no other options.

 

[yonyon]

I lucked into 7 cloves of garlic grown in VT for free! It smells great and it looks like I'll be getting a pound more of the same stuff pretty soon for the same price. Garlic sandwiches are awesome!

 

[GMFan]

After watching a few videos on YouTube of the animals fighting, wrestling, kicking, rolling on the floor, punching, stabbing and shooting each other over non-essential consumer products imagine how these animals will react during an economic collapse and food scarcity. Consider yourself warned.