Forgive me while I rant for a moment. You see, I confess, I'm a Black Friday shopper. I've gone on and off for quite a few years since the kids were little, if the hubby could be home to watch them that day.
I know, you're probably expecting me to fuss about some crazy person I saw fighting over something, but frankly, I don't see a lot of that while I'm out. Its all orderly lines and yes, lots of complaining, but as long as no one is throwing fists, I'm okay with that. I know the rowdy stuff happens, but maybe since I never go out to try to get that computer I have to have, I don't get to witness it.
Actually, I'm more than a little irritated by some people's attitude toward Black Friday. Now, as I said, I go with a list, but I never go for something I HAVE to have. So maybe I'm not the usual BF shopper. For example, this year I wanted a basketball goal for Little Man. Would have loved to have it for $69 -- the main reason I braved Walmart at the starting gate for the first time. But if I didn't get it, that's fine too. I'll pay the higher price with a wince and move on. Really glad I no longer needed the trampoline I was interested in, because those went really fast. But I finished all my Christmas shopping, and when I figured it up, I saved over $600 on that day alone.
Back to my rant -- I come home from BF shopping at 5am (Sis and I started at 10pm Thanksgiving night). I sleepily log into Facebook while I wind down and what do I see but a ton of posts on how crazy it is to shop on Black Friday, and a slew of people who would rather poke their eyes out than go out that day (wow, not many people value their eyesight, I guess). It reminded me of an article that I read recently on NaNoWriMo. There were comments aplenty about how stupid NaNo was, how people who participated only produced crappy writing, and how these "literary" authors wouldn't be caught dead participating. You know, that's all fine and dandy, but do you really find it necessary to call me "stupid" in a public arena? If the method doesn't work for you (or you have absolutely no desire to deal with hundreds of people in a store at one time and hour and a half checkout lines), not a problem. But don't denigrate me because I want to.
I also heard several "scientific" types touting how much of a myth Black Friday is. "Oh, you can get good deals like that year round." Maybe so -- but I shop for this stuff all year long, and I can't save $600 on a single shopping trip for Christmas presents any other time of the year. I get most of my Christmas finished up on that day, so I save TIME and MONEY. And I rarely see DVDs on sale for $1.97, at least, current DVDs. If you don't shop for this stuff all the time, you have no idea how often it goes on sale or whether you can get to the actual store while its on sale. Huff...
Okay, down off my soapbox for today. :) I'm sure y'all have plenty to say about Black Friday -- and I promise not to judge, now that I've gotten that off my chest.
Angel
6 comments:
I was out there on BF and I didn't see any problems either. I have to confess, I shopped a lot for myself. Couldn't resist the bargains (grin). I, for one, don't have a thing against Black Friday. I got some great sweaters!!!!
I hit the night owl sale at Kohls on that night because I needed a new bathrobe and they had a nice one on sale. I could have gotten it $5 cheaper that morning but really didn't want to get up that early and fight the crowds. And I had my family visiting too and wanted to spend as much time with them as possible. As it was, me and about ten other folks were the only ones in the store.
If I was looking for toys and electronics, I'd probably be out on Black Friday too. At least in our neck of the woods we didn't have folks getting pepper sprayed.
Yay on your deals!
If I had kids who had to have some hard to get toy or the discount was enough to make an unobtainable gift a reality, I'd consider it. I've done it once. It made me cranky the way people acted. The holiday spirit had just been completely sucked out of them. Some people like it. Instigator lives for the thrill. Personally, I'd rather shop from my laptop. I might not save as much, but for me, the time is more valuable than the money. But to each, his own.
I shopped online too. I got some great DVD and book deals from Amazon! As a matter of fact, I've been looking at them again today. :)
I was out in the middle of it with you. :-) Actually, my experience is the line for those computers and electrinics was fine. It was the melee over the $3.98 food chooper that sent someone to jail at my store. They kept us behind police tape guarded by store employees at the end of every aisle. In fact, when the fight broke out people were trying to push into our line for safety.
Insti
Hear, Hear, Smarty Pants!
So far I have done all of my Christmas shopping on line and have stayed within my budget. I just don't like to be in crowds anymore -- I guess it's my advanced age ;-)
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