Is Black Friday, etc., a bad temptation now that you have gone through BK?

[bcohen]

The biggest hazard of shopping "Black Friday" sales isn't overspending, debt, or bankruptcy--it's dealing with a huge mob of aggressive people who are mostly buying the stuff to resell anways.

Around here, people start "camping out" in front of the stores a full 48 hours before the "Black Friday" opening in order to get the loss-leader TV's or laptops. These people typically bring their whole family, so the limited supply (which is usually 10 to 15 units per store) of these items is exhausted within seconds of the door opening. The TV news showed lines in front of Best Buy and Wal-Mart here, on Wednesday night!

I personally would never wait for even 1 or 2 hours (let alone days on end) to buy a TV or a laptop, but I guess some peoples' time is not too valuable. Even assuming that you only make minimum wage, the money value of the time required to wait for the "Black Friday" sales far exceeds the pittance you'll save!

BTW, our local Craigslist site is now full of people trying to sell the $180 Wal-Mart laptop for $350 and up, and people trying to sell the $200 Best Buy television for $600 and up. Good luck, is all I can say!

[joshuagraham]

Yes, I saw men out there as well (on the news blurb), but it was mostly women, so that is why I decided to use 'she'. (This is really an oversight in the English language as there should be an appropriate pronoun for a gendered noun in which the gender is unknown - some that '(s)he' awkwardly suffices for.) And perhaps this is anecdotal, but of all the married friends I have, it's only women that go shopping on Black Friday (the men watch college football, including yours truly.)

[joshuagraham]

The TV deals were killin' me! Ours died this year, so my small one is now our main one. We don't go out for movies, and work late hours, so that's our chill out cheap entertainment. So if I had cash, I would have gotten a TV, but didn't, so I'll get a deal somewhere when I do have the $$.

Yes, the Thanksgiving Day sales are pretty gross. People should have that day off. When I worked in the service industry, I worked all holidays. But I expected that and it's nice that people can go out to eat on holidays. But they they can wait til the next day to shop.

And I agree, "she" was definitely the wrong thing to say. "More men than women went shopping on Black Friday weekend, and men outspent women...the unusually high male turnout can be attributed in part to the fact more stores had midnight openings this year." -2011 http://abcnews.go.com/Business/men-w...0#.ULJonYWRJG8

Wow, must be a regional culture thing as in my area (South), men don't seem to go shopping much - and definitely rather watch college football! I stand corrected and apologize for assuming.

[joshuagraham]

The biggest hazard of shopping "Black Friday" sales isn't overspending, debt, or bankruptcy--it's dealing with a huge mob of aggressive people who are mostly buying the stuff to resell anways.

Around here, people start "camping out" in front of the stores a full 48 hours before the "Black Friday" opening in order to get the loss-leader TV's or laptops. These people typically bring their whole family, so the limited supply (which is usually 10 to 15 units per store) of these items is exhausted within seconds of the door opening. The TV news showed lines in front of Best Buy and Wal-Mart here, on Wednesday night!

I personally would never wait for even 1 or 2 hours (let alone days on end) to buy a TV or a laptop, but I guess some peoples' time is not too valuable. Even assuming that you only make minimum wage, the money value of the time required to wait for the "Black Friday" sales far exceeds the pittance you'll save!

BTW, our local Craigslist site is now full of people trying to sell the $180 Wal-Mart laptop for $350 and up, and people trying to sell the $200 Best Buy television for $600 and up. Good luck, is all I can say!

OK, so it's not really purchasing for consumption - it's actually a business in which folks buy the items on super duper sale and resell them.

[Pandora]

I despise Black Friday ....and shopping in general (and..I'm a woman!) I'd rather sit at home all toasty warm and shop online; I get better deals online than in-store, especially when you add in promo / coupon codes. Saves gas, time and aggrevation - and 99% of the time, ships to my home for free. I'm a bit lazy this year however - normally I'm done shopping before Thanksgiving. This year...eh... I'm a bit slower for some reason. I'm about 90% done at the moment and will be completely done by this weekend.

On the other side - shopping in general isnt the issue - its people not knowing when to say when. If you shop within your means and use a cash only system that you save all year long for, then Black Friday (or any other day) can save you quite a bit of money if you price check before going.

Of course, for us, I'd rather find the grocery store deals than anything else; if I find Charmin on sale and have a coupon - you'd thought I'd won the lottery LOL!

I do wish however, that the holidays MEANT something again. God forbid you say "Merry Christmas" to someone... I'm an old soul - and long for the days of "Miracle on 34th Street" (original not remake)....* Sighs *

[tobee43]

i'm with pandora, i really HATE shopping and especially black friday. i have never and will never do that. i purchase all gifts through out the year for Christmas and then now, my kids really need money as opposed to unwanted and uninteresting gifts. unless there is a request for something "special".

this year all the grand children out kindles and all the parents are getting one small gift and money. we just found out we are having another grandchild so that's our gift! although i really can't stand the little things...i never had a problem carrying or delivering, i just have issues once they come out. however, since i can just turn the grand kids right back over to their parents that's a GREAT thing. (i'm certain i'm the ONLY nana that travels with her very own time out chair).

anyway, back to shopping. just did a few things at walmart on line yesterday to finish up the list and i am done.

holidays shouldn't be about giving gifts other than the gift of sharing our time with the ones we love and that doesn't costs us a dime you are an old soul pandora! i know for me i should have been here about the turn of the century, i would have been much more comfortable LOL!

[pamkev]

The shopping I did this year was for the grandchildren birthdays and Christmas. Dec is a bad month for us as we have several birthdays and Christmas. I have really scaled back this year. It's one toy and one outfit each on Christmas. Birthdays are now going to be there favorite meal and cake and one small gift. Our adult children are getting money. Hubby and I stopped giving each other long time ago.

I knew Black Friday was going to be a test for me as that was my Christmas shopping day. I was so happy with myself only took a certain amount of cash and knew what I wanted. I stayed away from all the craziness and was home in under 2 hours. I will have no bills in the future on the cc. Now if I could only find someone to wrap them I be happy as a seal with a ball to play with.

During the rest of the year I'm not a shopper and like Pandora give me a good grocery store sale and I'm happy. Last week I found rump roasts on sale for 1.99 pound. I thought I died and went to heaven.

Looking forward to a really peaceful and family time together this Christmas season as in the end that is what really counts.

Pam

[Tater]

I used to work in retail, and for years I detested Black Friday. This was back in the late 90's/ early 2000's. I remember people fighting over stupid stuff back then. It really turned me off. I feel bad for the employees that actually have to work on Thanksgiving. It's just getting a bit ridiculous in my opinion. This year I wanted to buy a new Christmas tree. My husband and I went out around 11 am to one store. We thought the crowds would be mostly gone by then. It was a zoo. We walked out and left. We couldn't even make our way to the Christmas trees. We did stop at another store and got a few good deals on some small items that my husband needed. (socks, gloves). All paid with cash which was a great feeling. We were pretty much done anyway.

I too like the better grocery store deals right now. Kroger sent me some great coupons recently. I was like a kid in the candy store with a package of free carrots!! LOL! I think we got the greatest gift this year, our fresh start. It's the first Holiday season in years that we don't have to worry about how we are going to buy some gifts. Actually, this year I don't have to choose between getting heat or paying credit card bills. We have a lot to celebrate and be grateful for!

[helpmeout]

Yes, I saw men out there as well (on the news blurb), but it was mostly women,

Every single video I have seen both men and women behaving badly. And the numbers looked pretty equal.

Of course, with all of those crowds, it's impossible to even hazard a guess at which gender behaved worse. Like you are doing.

[Sammie]

I know that I am late posting on this thread but I have to agree with the majority here. I have always hated shopping--except I am the "food shopper". I always have the cooler in the car. My husband loves to eat & I love to cook. BFriday I shopped at the bank where I got the g'k's their money to put in their envelopes & a small amount for I Tunes. This year we really did scale back, we have a new HVHC unit to pay for, & heat takes priority, & after Christmas I will start putting something away ea. month for next years Christmas & my new puppy. I never did buy into the shopping hype, we really don't need anything--want, well that is a different topic altogether. Have a great day. sammie

[ksgirl38]

I think you have to ask what is it that these shoppers are buying. There seems to be a big misconception about Black Friday. I know there are a lot of people that go out and buy things for themselves, but I strictly look at it as the first day of Christmas shopping and you do get better deals than at any other time of the year. I think it's those people that go out and buy for themselves that you have to question. You won't ever catch me waiting in line at Best Buy or Wal-mart for a subpar TV or laptop, but there are a few stores that offer additional discounts if you get to the store early and there are some items that you can only find on sale at these kinds of prices the day after Thanksgiving. I was able to save more than 50% on clothes for my nieces and I got some additional discounts at other stores for shopping early too so for me it was worth it to get up a little early run out and grab what I needed and come back home and finish my shopping online.

Growing up we always had this rule in the house that after Thanksgiving you didn't buy anything for yourself. If you needed or wanted something you added it to your Christmas list. For the most part I've stuck to that even as an adult. I did buy myself a new battery for my laptop on Saturday, but mine is about to give out anyway and I was planning that purchase anyway. Other than that everything I've bought has been a gift and I've saved a lot more by shopping on Black Friday than if I'd shopped any other time. Although I do have to agree that I don't agree with the stores opening up on Thanksgiving day. I used to work in retail and luckily I never had to do that, but I do sympathize with those that have to work that day. It's quickly becoming Black Thursday.

To be perfectly honest I actually found the crowds smaller this year and people much more friendly than in Black Fridays past. Unfortunately that's probably due to more of the stores opening Thursday night.

[tobee43]

The shopping I did this year was for the grandchildren birthdays and Christmas. Dec is a bad month for us as we have several birthdays and Christmas. I have really scaled back this year. It's one toy and one outfit each on Christmas. Birthdays are now going to be there favorite meal and cake and one small gift. Our adult children are getting money. Hubby and I stopped giving each other long time ago.

I knew Black Friday was going to be a test for me as that was my Christmas shopping day. I was so happy with myself only took a certain amount of cash and knew what I wanted. I stayed away from all the craziness and was home in under 2 hours. I will have no bills in the future on the cc. Now if I could only find someone to wrap them I be happy as a seal with a ball to play with.

During the rest of the year I'm not a shopper and like Pandora give me a good grocery store sale and I'm happy. Last week I found rump roasts on sale for 1.99 pound. I thought I died and went to heaven.

Looking forward to a really peaceful and family time together this Christmas season as in the end that is what really counts.

Pam

for us too pam! actually we have one grand child that was born on thanksgiving (i know that changes yearly) her dad on Christmas, then 10 days later another birthday, and then both my little grand sons are jan 7 and then 11...come ON!! what ever happened to summer babies! we are so broke this time of year. we also have taxes and homeowners and car insurance all due by jan 1....really stinks!

when we use to all live up north i would give my kids and their familys gas cards, grocery store cards, pay a car payment or two...for a few years when we could, we paid their heating oil bills for the year. that was our type of gift giving we did, nothing with much luxury. but i guess it is a luxury to be warm, nowadays.

[pamkev]

Oh Tobee I feel your pain. We have one the 3rd granddaughter, 10th son, 12th niece who is only getting a card this year, and also our pup Dudley who will be 2 14th MIL, 19th other granddaughter and then Jan 8 another son followed by other son in Feb. Thank God daughter is in Aug.

Pam

[Sammie]

Pam?Tobee when we lived up North & I worked full time, we used to give the same type of gifts to the kids. We took our 2 dd's, husband & one of dd's friends on a $6,000 vacation for a week. At that time the birthdays were Feb. 1st, 6th, 7th, 10th, 12th, 13th, 20th. Now that has been cut down to 4, since others are no longer with us. That being said, we now have 8 grandchildren. One b'd the day before Christmas Eve, 2 Communions coming up in Spring & a Graduation. I have to start saving from January on to be able to give them gifts, but they are no where near where they used to be, & after BK, they won't be again.

[pamkev]

Oh Sammie your Feb is as bad as our Dec. Your right about gifts never gonna be the same again since I didn't win the lottery.

We are fine with not giving those type of gifts anymore. We have such a peaceful feeling now with savings as much cash as we can for things we need and a few wants along the way

Pam