Black Friday - Why?

Who the bless goes shopping at midnight, 3am, 5am, whatever.....

In order to get $10 off something that's $30 overpriced in the first place? And is a crappy product to begin with?

Or it's a product that's so "rare" that people feel the fvcking need to have it just to have it?

No thanks. I'll sit at home with my hangover and watch some college football and eat leftovers.

Have fun out there you worthless fvckers.

its pretty disturbing to watch people at those sales...

animals!

It's a way to get the women out of the house for half of the day, then have them fast asleep by 4PM . Genius if you ask me.....as long as they don't spend your $

I don't imagine it lasting too long seeing how the internet sales are making more sense. For example, Amazon is matching many of the deals.

The day after Thanksgiving was the traditional first big shopping day of the Christmas season. Stores would have their big sale start that day. Well, with all stores opening at about the same time the shoppers were split. If a store opened before the others, people would go there first. Our current situation is the result of stores one-upsmanship. One would open at 8am instead of 9. So another would open at 7. So and and so on until the doors are opening at 4am.

What gets me is stores that are open 24 hours a day do this, so they close for a half hour or so, throw everyone out, roll out the doorbuster specials and then let everyone back in.

We are nearly guaranteed to wake up to the news that someone was trampled to death by a bunch of idiots racing to be the first to own the latest fad toy. All weekend, the media will sensationalize the shopping frenzy and debate whether stores have a moral obligation to prevent idiocy.

Sometime around noon tomorrow, I'll realize that I need to make a run to the store for something simple but necessary for my latest project (or lunch). I'll weigh the options, likely decide to brave the crowds, then wish I hadn't. I despise Black Friday.

I had to run to the store yesterday after I put my bird in the smoker because I forgot to pick up spuds. Fortunately we have a 24-hr. Meijer by us, kind of like a Super Wally-World or Super Target (they carry EVERYTHING) and they already had people lined up for today's sales...at 5:AM!!!

Yuri_Rage said:

We are nearly guaranteed to wake up to the news that someone was trampled to death by a bunch of idiots racing to be the first to own the latest fad toy. All weekend, the media will sensationalize the shopping frenzy and debate whether stores have a moral obligation to prevent idiocy.

Sometime around noon tomorrow, I'll realize that I need to make a run to the store for something simple but necessary for my latest project (or lunch). I'll weigh the options, likely decide to brave the crowds, then wish I hadn't. I despise Black Friday.

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I used to live in a town that had one of the only Wally-Worlds in Chicago's western 'burbs, and every year there was some kind of police action on Black Friday. One year there was a big fight in the parking lot, because one idiot didn't like the fact that another idiot was LOOKING AT his g/f, and later the same day, it was the polar opposite, two WOMEN fighting over one's b/f eyeing the other. The next year, someone got shot over a parking space, and then the third year someone was trampled to death when the doors opened.
Needless to say, I avoided THAT store year-round!

I AM going to have a few chuckles at my son's expense though, when he comes over tonite. He has his first real job... at Best Buy...working a 10 hr. shift today!

Yuri_Rage said:

All weekend, the media will sensationalize the shopping frenzy and debate whether stores have a moral obligation to prevent idiocy.

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Prevent it? Hell, they cause it!

Hell, I love it!! Wife and kids outta the house all day and I'm home by myself.....+she gets most of the shopping done while I sit at home and brew, order out pizza and get drunk....

I've always wondered why much of world looks at other people and, because they are different, call them "worthless fvckers". Honestly, I do wonder that.

passedpawn said:

I've always wondered why much of world looks at other people and, because they are different, call them "worthless fvckers". Honestly, I do wonder that.

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I'm not calling them worthless fvckers because they are different, I'm calling them worthless fvckers because they wait in line all night long to feed their "mass consumption of worthless ****" that we have been duped into believing makes us a better person or better society. Aka "worthless fvckers."

I wonder how many children in Africa were waiting in line for rice last night or this morning?

And to add more to my point...

I give you exhibit a:



Congrats, now some handicapped person won't be able to ride around to take advantage of these massive "sales."

exhibit b:



You look so excited that you're going to save $0.50 on Call of Duty XIII.

exhibit c:



Are you guys waiting in line for food and water? No? Oh, and ipad? Congrats, I guess...

and finally, exhibit d:



He spends all night in line so he can sleep standing up on the sock display? If that's not the definition of "worthless fvcker," I don't know what is.

Had to brave super Target to pick up a few things but at 1pm it wasn't too bad.

What cracks me up is you see the family loading a 60' LCD HDTV on top of the family car -



If the TV costs more then the car and is almost as big, perhaps your priorities are a little whacked.

Yeah, this looks worth it.

shecky said:

Yeah, this looks worth it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aeSgBL7gpAk

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Is that post-Cold War Russia where the poor folks are trying to get some bread?

Wait, what?

shecky said:

Yeah, this looks worth it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aeSgBL7gpAk

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Isn't that what the holiday season is all about?

arturo7 said:

Prevent it? Hell, they cause it!

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The stores do not cause stupidity, they capitalize on it. It's greed at it's worst - consumers and shop owners are equally guilty.

Stupid fvckers is a little harsh. Women like to shop.

I'm sure some ********* out there is thinking that homebrewers are stupid fvckers when natty light is such a fvcking fantastic buy.

As has been stated it has been stepped up, a little at a time, and actually, due to online competition, I have seen some RETARDED good deals.

Will I go out at ALL on friday?
bless NO. Would it make me stupid if I did? Seriously doubt it.

shecky said:

Yeah, this looks worth it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aeSgBL7gpAk

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I do like the girl that's going to lay there and get trampled until she can put her wig back on. LOL

ChshreCat said:

I do like the girl that's going to lay there and get trampled until she can put her wig back on. LOL

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haha.. I was wondering what she was doing.. thought that was a purse.. lol.

passedpawn said:

I've always wondered why much of world looks at other people and, because they are different, call them "worthless fvckers". Honestly, I do wonder that.

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I'm lookin at you right now...

BIL and I went out T-day night to Wally world because there were a few things that we wanted to get at a good discount. The place was pretty busy but everyone was well behaved. The ELECTRONIC discounts weren't open until 5am. It was kind of interesting watching all of the people rushing around, but I've seen worse years ago.

Went to bed at 1:30 I think and slept in a bit while the women went to the large town at like 5am or something. Met them later and BIl and I went to Bells Eccentric cafe and then on to shopping for the ladies.

I don't care about getting up at sand-in-the-eyes to save a few dollars on a more-than-likely-lesser-quality electronic product. (Lots of those door busters are not the exact model that you would normally see on the shelf, they are slightly different and the support options down the road may not be easy to get).

But some deals are substantial on products that are very hot. I didn't see anything I had to get up at 5am for this year.

I missed the Black Friday shopping this year. We were in Indiana visiting the in-laws and anything we bought would have to be crammed in the vehicle with us on the ride home to Gerogia. But personally I love it. Our outlet malls were open last year at midnight. I went to that. It was fun. It was a mall so the checkout process wasn't terrible since each store had its own registers. The longest line I stood in was Bath and Body Works at half an hour but most lines were only 3 or 4 deep. There were a few good deals and I still managed to make it to Sears at 4AM to get a washer and dryer. Our old set was on its last legs and I got this new set for hundreds cheaper than I've seen it since. It's an adventure and you only get so many of those in life.

I'm glad we has humanity have become civilized enough to trample someone in order to save $5 on a pair of shoes. I remember a couple years ago when someone was actually killed in the stampede of crazed shoppers. It's truly disgusting, and that is why I agree that black friday shoppers, specifically the ones waiting in line at store opening, are indeed made up largely of America's bottom of the barrel. The one guy that actually stopped to help the fallen up? Well at least there's one decent person left in that crowd.

Can't believe that nobody mentioned this, but as hard to believe as it is, some people actually ENJOY the shopping experience on Black Friday.

For some people it's not about greed as it's about the experience. Some people like the joy of the hunt for sales. Or it could just be a bonding experience for certain families. I know a couple mother/daughter groups that make it a tradition.

Yeah, it's pretty commercialized, and with anything that big, you are bound to attract some azzholes who mess it up for everyone (and then of course the media focuses on them making the whole thing look worse than it is). However, that doesn't make the whole thing stupid.

I personally can't stand it, and would rather veg out at home the whole day if I didn't have to work, but I don't look down at people who enjoy things that I do not care for. I try to remember that just because I don't like something, that doesn't automatically make it worthless.

Yuri_Rage said:

We are nearly guaranteed to wake up to the news that someone was trampled to death by a bunch of idiots racing to be the first to own the latest fad toy.

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Who says natural selection isn't fun and entertaining? Black Friday for me is drinking beer and watching college foosball, hard to get trampled that way.

wildwest450 said:

Who says natural selection isn't fun and entertaining? Black Friday for me is drinking beer and watching college foosball, hard to get trampled that way.

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Then someone doesn't actually go to the games. It's pretty easy to get trampled in a college football stadium.

wildwest450 said:

Who says natural selection isn't fun and entertaining? Black Friday for me is drinking beer and watching college foosball, hard to get trampled that way.

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you have to find a better place to watch the games then

pollbs said:

you have to find a better place to watch the games then

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Where's a better place than on a couch in front of a 65" tv?

local inn has big screens and they bring me a nice founders also

wildwest450 said:

Where's a better place than on a couch in front of a 65" tv?

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Student section lower level. There's just something being able to yell loud enough to actually affect the outcome of the game. Being at the game also has the advantage of not having to listen to the commentators during the game.