SO, who braved the night for Black Friday?

[camberiu]

I've been wondering whether marketers are just getting better and better at causing this kind of mass hysteria.

I think the problem is much deeper than the "incredible power of marketers". I think most people live extremely boring and unfulfilling lives, so events like Black Friday and binge shopping are ways to give meaning to their meaningless existences.
Instead of trying to learn something new, travel, adventure, volunteer, join a politic or religious cause, most people simply focus their lives on "finding deals" on things that they do not really need.

 

[TromboneAl]

Yes. Also, it's becoming a tradition, like turkey and a Christmas tree. All of the offspring of the original black friday cult are now participating and passing it on.

 

[youbet]

most people simply focus their lives on "finding deals" on things that they do not really need.

Awwww....... You paint with much too broad a brush camberiu! I really don't believe that "most" people "focus" their lives on finding deals. I think most people are swept up in earning a living, having relationships with family and friends and maintaining their households, including shopping.

This Black Friday thing is of little interest to me. And I notice that most people I know don't get significantly involved. Even thousand showing up at dawn at the local mall doesn't represent a large percentage of the total population. And even if someone does choose to go because he/she noted an item attractively priced for a special holiday deal, does that mean "most" people have "focused" their lives on this? Hardly.

 

[Ibid]

Driving home from the relatives (they served seafood paella-yum), we got to our exit off the freeway a bit after 11:30pm. Actually, we got to the LINE for our exit. Police car lights up ahead at the end of the ramp so we decided to go to the next exit. Figured there was an accident causing the mess.

Now we're in a pretty rural area but an outlet mall with supposedly high end stores sprouted up last year at the other side of the highway right at our exit. Seems they had a midnight madness Thanksgiving sale going on and that's what was causing the backup. We could see that the huge parking lot was already full. People were parking in the field next to it.

I don't know what's crazier - the fact that there's a "premium" outlet mall this far out or that there was a traffic jam (with cops directing traffic!) for the midnight sale.

 

[Baxter]

I will 'fess up to being one of those crazy people standing in line.

A long time back we'd set aside some money for a home theater but never got around to buying it. I wasn't in a big hurry since the prices kept dropping, but DW was getting antsy about upgrading the TV.

A few weeks back we decided on the size and type of TV we wanted. Best Buy had a top-rated model on sale Black Friday for $800 off, first come, first serve, no rainchecks, etc.

I figured it was worth $800 to stand in line for a few hours, so I got up at 1 AM, drove 45 minutes to a nearby town with a Best Buy, waited in line until the store opened at 5 AM, bought the last TV in stock at about 5:30 AM and was back in bed by 7 AM.

There were already over a hundred people in front of me when I arrived. It was all very orderly and laid-back, with no stampedes or pushing or anything. I had a good time listening to crazy shopping stories from the folks in line with me. The person in front of me had driven four hours so his wife could be in line at the Coach store when it opened at midnight. The person behind me was in line for just a $20 game and a $20 memory stick. There was a lot of camaraderie and it was actually rather entertaining.

This was a very unusual purchase for us. This money was set aside pre-ER as a special treat. It is very unlikely we will ever want to buy something expensive enough to make it worth my while to do this again. That said, I am glad to have done it and now I have one more funny story to tell.

 

[Donzo]

I could never shop in a crowded situation like you see on black Friday - I have gone to Walmart mid week -- see that it is crowded and drive out to K mart(the Kmart in my town is always dead since Walmart opened) Hate crowded isles with "cart jams" and long checkout lines

The sales on black friday look good +6% (except for walmart -.1%) this should help the market next week.

 

[Goonie]

I think the problem is much deeper than the "incredible power of marketers". I think most people live extremely boring and unfulfilling lives, so events like Black Friday and binge shopping are ways to give meaning to their meaningless existences.
Instead of trying to learn something new, travel, adventure, volunteer, join a politic or religious cause, most people simply focus their lives on "finding deals" on things that they do not really need.

I had a friend that fit that bill to a "T". He made a reasonable wage, but wasted all of his money on JUNK!!! He had to buy the latest stereo equipment, TV, VCR, DVD, player, etc. Went to the movies 2-3 times a week....THEN bought the video or DVD when it came out. He had (has) thousands upon thousands of VHS tapes and DVDs.

He has never had or been able to afford a relatively new car....only old rattle traps that he had to keep dumping money into to keep them running. He couldn't afford to pay his utilities half the time....first it would be gas, but he said that was OK because it was summer and he didn't need it to heat his trailer. Then it would be the electricity, but that was OK because it wasn't too hot/cold out so he could just open the windows. Then it was the phone, but that was OK because then the bill collectors couldn't call him.

Then the owner of the mobile home park decided he was going to retire, and close the park. He gave everyone 2 years notice so they could find an alternative. My friend decided that the old guy was bluffing, and didn't heed the words. One year to go and the owner reiterated his plans. Well, my friend had NO money, he had finally lost his job. because of stupidity, and he had no where to go. He ended up selling his trailer for a couple hundred bucks to a scrap dealer that was cleaning up in the MHP. (had he advertised in the local paper, he could have EASILY gotten $3000 to $4000 for it)

He was finally declared mentally incapable of getting/keeping a job, and is now living in public housing and getting a monthly "mental" disability check......which he blows on DVDs, CDs, eating out at places he can't afford....and he still has his old broken down jalopy.

He was a fulfillment of camberiu's statement...."extremely boring and unfulfilling lives" and "binge shopping are ways to give meaning to their meaningless existences."

I'm quite sure he was in line somewhere on Black Friday....he wouldn't want to miss a deal!!!

 

[mickeyd]

I have no interest in this thing that you call shopping for the other 364 days on the calander nor on Black Friday however, I am very glad that the rest of my fellow citizens are out doing their best to prop up our economy. Keep up the good work guys.

 

[Nords]

The sales on black friday look good +6% (except for walmart -.1%) this should help the market next week.

Nah-- there'll be a selloff on that news and retailers won't pick up until next January.

 

[deserat]

I'll fess up - we went to stand in line at Best Buy - told ourselves we'd like to have the experience at least once.....NEVER again. Craziness - heck the outlets were open at midnight! So you could shop all night if you wanted. The line at 0330 was veryl ong - people had camped out - of course we didn't get what we wanted, but I'm proud that we didn't buy anything else....it was weird - you could feel the emotional fervor/fever of people running around wanting to buy something. I just kept telling myself I didn't need these things...and walked out with my husband.

Cut to 2 days later - we ordered what we wanted online for only $5 more than what we hoped to get for the price by waiting in line at Best Buy....and leisurely walked up to the Circuit City and picked up the product - no hassle - walked by the 1080p Sony $3500 flat screen AMAZING tv and watched for awhile oohing and aahhing. But then asked when it would be $100 Not for awhile yet.

So, I think I passed the test - I don't buy anything unless I really need it or have done the research and am willing to wait for the price I'm willing to pay.

And, I can say I've "been there, done that!"

Deserat

 

[rmark]

"I think the problem is much deeper than the "incredible power of marketers". I think most people live extremely boring and unfulfilling lives, so events like Black Friday and binge shopping are ways to give meaning to their meaningless existences."

Remember that historically most of the day was taken up with just staying fed and clothed. Its been estimated that circa 1750 twenty percent of London's population was homeless. Woodstove and hand drawn water in a bucket. Your access to information was limited to what you saw, or what a friend told you. More time is available now.