Black Friday

Options
2»

Replies

  • wibutterflymagic
    wibutterflymagic Posts: 788 Member
    Options
    All this black friday and now Thanksgiving stuff is sad and shows you how out of whack this country is with regards to what the meaning of Christmas should be. The massive rush on consumerism is disgusting. Stuff, stuff and more stuff. I'll only be happy with more stuff.......must spend, spend, spend to show people how much I love them.....@#$#%!! It all just disgusts me!
  • trinatrina1984
    trinatrina1984 Posts: 1,018 Member
    Options
    200.gif
  • T1DCarnivoreRunner
    T1DCarnivoreRunner Posts: 11,502 Member
    Options
    The positive for you is that you will get some exercise if you are on the sales floor, and you will be safe from trampling if you are at the counter/register.

    I've done Black Friday shopping in the past, and most appreciate those stores that are very well organized and have a "flow" set up for foot traffic. I've gone to a few stores in various cities in the Midwest (mostly Omaha and Des Moines) and have never seen the crazy mobs and trampling like what they always tend to show on the news. Maybe it is because it is the Midwest, or maybe the news just shows the worst. Either way, the worst situation I've been in was waiting in a really long line for hours and then not getting what I had hoped to buy. In those cases, it is most ideal if stores give out tickets before opening the doors... they start at the front of the line and go back, handing out tickets to purchase big sellers. They only have as many tickets as they have items, so there is no need to trample each other going inside.

    I have also personally gotten some great deals by shopping on Black Friday, on everything from a TV, a kayak, and smaller items like a blender.

    This year, I'm hiking/camping/hunting/fishing with my brother over Thanksgiving and won't be leaving the wilderness until Sat. I'll be in the cold, but not in a line... which isn't a terrible alternative.
  • MaxPower0102
    MaxPower0102 Posts: 2,654 Member
    Options
    I do ALL my Christmas shopping on Amazon. Make that PRIME membership work for me!!!!!
  • msjohnson426
    msjohnson426 Posts: 40 Member
    edited November 2014
    Options
    AgentOrangeJuice wrote: »
    I do not black friday shop. and this terrible trend of retail stores being open on thanksgiving, is just ridiculous. but uneducated people who think they're getting a steal on something will just keep enabling retailers with this atrocious behavior. Good Luck, and don't get trampled.[/]

    I agree
    The LOW prices can be caught year round if you PAY ATTENTION to the sales. I once got a 46 inch TV from walmart in Feb for under $200 and I did not have to wait online or batter witht he crazies
  • Emipaws
    Emipaws Posts: 10 Member
    Options
    I do Black Friday shopping online and Cyber Monday some places only have a 5-7 dollar difference.
  • MSeel1984
    MSeel1984 Posts: 2,297 Member
    Options
    We make shopping a FUN experience...by either shopping online or going to somewhere small a week or 2 after Thanksgiving is over...avoid the madness of Black Friday.
    Our family tradition was always to decorate our Christmas tree the day after Thanksgiving and enjoy the time together...when I was in college I was working holiday hours to make extra money so I got wrangled into doing Black Friday hours...it sucked. It sucked a lot. People pushing each other...one little girl ran smack into a folding table (one I made SURE to cover in brightly colored sweaters so EVERYONE could see it was pulled out)...her dad was off in lala land and her mother was too busy fighting with me about why she couldn't use all of her coupons in one transaction...that neither of them watched the kid and she ran into the table and gashed her head open.
    It was horrible. I hate Black Friday. I think people who choose to shop on Thanksgiving day and Black Friday are ridiculous...what a horrible way to spend the holidays. I'd rather wait, go to local shops instead of big stores that are doing this crap...grab a coffee and enjoy my holiday shopping experience.
    *steps off soap box*
  • blukitten
    blukitten Posts: 922 Member
    Options
    Shopped on Black Friday only once when it was still on Friday in the early am. Will never ever do it again- talk about anxiety.

    Refuse to participate on Thanksgiving- will not participate in something that forces retail employees to have to work and not get to spend the holiday with their families.

    sometimes we will go out later on Friday and see what is left over -- still get some great deals on some stuff without the crowds or lines

    This year I think I will do the online thing
  • LifeInTheBikeLane
    LifeInTheBikeLane Posts: 345 Member
    edited November 2014
    Options
    This will be my first year ever not working on Black Friday OR Thanksgiving. I consider myself lucky but will really miss working those 8pm-8am shifts (I'm not joking).

    I worked Black Friday at Starbucks for 3 years as a shift manager. Oh the fun of it! The crowd would start really early on Thanksgiving so there was no preparing. I'd come in around 7pm with a Redline energy drink and have my Love on backup (We live less then a mile from both my old Starbucks job and my current job) with more energy drinks to bring by when needed. Last year was the craziest year of all. The line was around building and I was on double bar duty with my best friend and partner in crime. There were so many people piled into our cafe that we couldn't see the floor. The girl on Drive Thru yells, "Oh my god, they're fighting in the drive-thru!" Sure enough, a woman cut off another driver and they decided to hash it out with more then words. These women had gotten out of their cars and were fighting in our drive-thru. Did I mention my store was in the parking lot of a Walmart? A few hours later about five cop cars began taking up more space in our parking lot then we could handle. A man had left his keys in his car by accident when he went to wait in line at Walmart. Someone took his car as their present.

    Then there were the girls the year before who came through the Drive-Thru around 4am and began showing me the bite marks on their arms and legs from the fight they had gotten into at Victoria Secret.

    We always had fun. We'd have turkey and all the fixings and everything would slow down for a few hours around 3am-5pm. My family was nice enough to schedule our dinner around my work schedule, too. :) This year will be nice, though. We are going to Ren Fest for black Friday instead of working or shopping.
  • EmilyJackCO
    EmilyJackCO Posts: 621 Member
    Options
    Nope. I got talked into it once, and I'll never do it again. All of my family has worked retail and my best friend does too. I'm a party pooper, because I don't do any spending at all Thanksgiving weekend. Except maybe groceries if I am out of something.
  • Tiernan1212
    Tiernan1212 Posts: 797 Member
    Options
    I do not participate in either Thanksgiving or Black Friday shopping in person. I choose to do 99% of my Christmas shopping online.

    I also do not agree that stores should be open on Thanksgiving. However, having worked in a hospital for almost 14 years I became pretty resigned to the fact that I would have to work on Thanksgiving or Christmas (or both) so I don't really feel much for the employees having to work (although I think the reason they have to work is beyond stupid). I do think it's ridiculous that people would give up their time with their families, where they are supposed to be thankful for the people and things in their lives, to chase a few dollars off.
  • AusAshMommy
    AusAshMommy Posts: 845 Member
    Options
    I have participated in Black Friday all of ONCE in my life and that was only because my college roommate insisted I go with her - didn't buy a Thing that day, but more people-watched than anything...

    Generally if we're home I spend the day baking with my Mom, but we live three states away so that's not an option - so now I spend the day chilling at home and do my annual watching of 'White Christmas' instead.

    My hubby works retail and THANK GODDESS he's not working Thanksgiving, his retail chain has opted not to open on Thanksgiving, but he's worked many a black Friday (In a PET STORE PEOPLE, Seriously?!?!) Anyhew, I've only ventured out to either drop him off or pick him up from work...that is IT! The crowds in the parking lot are enough insanity for me Thank-You!
  • JenAndSome
    JenAndSome Posts: 1,908 Member
    Options
    LifeInTheBikeLane wrote: »
    This will be my first year ever not working on Black Friday OR Thanksgiving. I consider myself lucky but will really miss working those 8pm-8am shifts (I'm not joking).

    I worked Black Friday at Starbucks for 3 years as a shift manager. Oh the fun of it! The crowd would start really early on Thanksgiving so there was no preparing. I'd come in around 7pm with a Redline energy drink and have my Love on backup (We live less then a mile from both my old Starbucks job and my current job) with more energy drinks to bring by when needed. Last year was the craziest year of all. The line was around building and I was on double bar duty with my best friend and partner in crime. There were so many people piled into our cafe that we couldn't see the floor. The girl on Drive Thru yells, "Oh my god, they're fighting in the drive-thru!" Sure enough, a woman cut off another driver and they decided to hash it out with more then words. These women had gotten out of their cars and were fighting in our drive-thru. Did I mention my store was in the parking lot of a Walmart? A few hours later about five cop cars began taking up more space in our parking lot then we could handle. A man had left his keys in his car by accident when he went to wait in line at Walmart. Someone took his car as their present.

    Then there were the girls the year before who came through the Drive-Thru around 4am and began showing me the bite marks on their arms and legs from the fight they had gotten into at Victoria Secret.

    We always had fun. We'd have turkey and all the fixings and everything would slow down for a few hours around 3am-5pm. My family was nice enough to schedule our dinner around my work schedule, too. :) This year will be nice, though. We are going to Ren Fest for black Friday instead of working or shopping.

    Fisticuffs in the drive-thru...priceless. I doubt that will happen in my department because we are usually pretty slow even when the rest of the store is slammed. One can hope, though.

Categories