As a bargainer myself, I know that Black Friday isn`t the best day to buy necessities and gifts. Stores may say that it will be "The Biggest Sale of the Year" but it isn`t. What I have noticed is that you can actually get better deals when it`s not Black Friday. Not only can you beat the crowds but save more money and time. I have also noticed that they advertise things which are bad quality. If stores really gave those deals, they could end up bankrupt and demolished. For example, Best Buy has a deal on a 200 dollar TV. People will instantly get excited and want the TV but do they ever question themselves if it is really worth it? The brand, the quality, reviews, other features? Some do but most don`t until they find out themselves. Stores also maximize sizes of numbers (prices, percentages, etc) on flyers and minimize the words which make the most difference such as "up to". Although stores do this all the time, it is less noticeable when it is Black Friday because you think that there are suppose to be great deals. Also, the Black Friday deals are usually the same deals you will find on their online websites, plus free shipping. With the same sales and no shipping cost, this allows you to get the same things you want without wasting gas, getting trampled, and standing in line. Adding on to online deals, usually the same deals continue to go on for the whole weekend and Cyber Monday, the Black Friday for online.
People should realize the negative affects Black Friday has. The crowds of people going to malls and stores reveals our greediness and selfishness as individuals. You may experience it once or twice but after that, you should notice the patterns of what is going on. Society shouldn`t praise this day so greatly because it is worthless. Spending more time with family and getting more sleep, is the greatest bargain you could get.
As you said, it is quite ironic that one day people are celebrating what they are thankful for one day and then binging on "great deals" the next day or even that night. Black Friday is becoming a plague in America, breaking through the boundaries of dates and infringing on the family holiday of Thanksgiving. How long will it be before the entirety of our Thanksgiving break is deemed the "Black Week?" (Well, the Ferguson riots have really made this a "black week." Anyone? Just me?)
ReplyDeleteAs for the "deals" of Black Friday, I have heard of many companies raising their prices in order to drastically "lower" them for the sale. Shameful, and many consumers are gullible enough to believe that they are saving hundreds, while in reality, they are spending hundreds on things they probably don't need.
I agree with your post. I used to be okay with Black Friday, because it always started the day after Thanksgiving. However, during these past couple of years, stores have been advertising the "Black Friday on Thanksgiving" thing and taking precious bonding time away from families. My family is an example. Every year, we spend Thanksgiving at my grandma's house, with all my cousins and aunts/uncles and we stay there at least until eleven o'clock at night. This year, however, all of my aunts (and my mom) gathered around the table at five o'clock and went through flyers and ads, looking for good deals. After we finished eating, it was only six-thirty, and everyone was already leaving because they "had to go get the deals". This actually made me extremely sad, because I never really see my extended family often and Thanksgiving used to be the one day I could spend time with them.
ReplyDeleteIt's sad to see how Black Friday is slowly and surely becoming a part of Thanksgiving day, when it really shouldn't. It's called Black Friday for a reason (emphasis on "Friday").