My Wish (I know it will never happen)

[Ladybugsmom]

After seeing news reports and reading articles in the paper about the horrid behavior of shoppers on Black Friday, this is my wish...
I wish all the big retailers would get together and stop the madness. Agree not to create these problems. Don't try to one up each other by opening earlier or having a better sale price. If they didn't have the $800 computer on sale for $199 with a quantity of only 3 available in the store, maybe there wouldn't be fights to be the first in line. Maybe people wouldn't feel the need to camp out starting in the wee hours of Wednesday morning and miss Thanksgiving altogether...
I say have "normal" sales, and open at your normal hours. Thanksgiving is about togetherness and family and friends, and Christmas is about love and joy - and these retailers are ruining BOTH of these holidays...
Just my wish... I won't hold my breath, but I also won't be shopping under those conditions.

[LIM3]

Yep I totally agree
What people do to get those super deals is crazy.
It's actually dangerous

[smokingcamaro]

Well It is kinda of funny!!! Places like best buy will give their employees fist choice on the sale items and when people come in to buy those heavily marked off items they are all gone. I saw this happen with a 42 inch tv that was on sale for 199.99 at best buy but when the store opened up at midnight they were already out of them!!! Craziness

[Ladybugsmom]

Originally Posted by smokingcamaro

Well It is kinda of funny!!! Places like best buy will give their employees fist choice on the sale items and when people come in to buy those heavily marked off items they are all gone. I saw this happen with a 42 inch tv that was on sale for 199.99 at best buy but when the store opened up at midnight they were already out of them!!! Craziness

SERIOUSLY???
When I worked for Walmart, that would only happen if that employee was off work, and first in line. They have the registers programmed so the item won't even ring up until after the sale starts. And "short stocking" - the practice of pulling the item from the floor so you can buy it later, is a fireable offense...
I thought about going to Best Buy, but all the things I was interested in had fine print on the ad "Minimum 3 per store" - I knew there was no way I would fight to get one of the 3 items - not worth it... Now, if what you say is true, I won't go there ever.

[Brokinarrow]

You can find just as many deals online, I definitely see no point going out and dealing with the crazies.

[Gigachip]

Originally Posted by Brokinarrow

You can find just as many deals online, I definitely see no point going out and dealing with the crazies.

this, plus some deals are found all year round if you look carefully

[bill2129]

They just need to get rid of black friday all together. People die every because of it But they wont. Retailers just want the money

[rjdapilmoto]

Black Friday is a Mess! I remember going out the year the Wii first came out and ended up going to 7 or 8 different stores before actually finding one. I am NOT doing that again!!

[Milk 1027]

I got some awesome deals, not found anywhere else, even online. If you have an outlet mall nearby, it's worth it. Discounted outlet prices + 20-50% off on the majority of stores = huge savings.
I got christmas presents worth almost $400 for $165.
I agree, I would never go to Best Buy or Walmart. But great discounts can be had while avoiding the madness if you know where to look.

[DGthe3]

The worst part is, the Black Friday craze is spreading into Canada* because of everyone that hops the border to shop. This year it seemed like it was largely a bust with minimal increased traffic, but I'm sure they'll just market it more heavily next year to compensate.

*our Thanksgiving is in early October, and I think it coincides with Columbus Day. We have no late November holiday.

[heRS]

My shopping is 99% done before Thanksgiving. I do not join them in their madness on this black friday! I work at a PetSmart store, where we make sure we have plenty of the sale stuff. I talked to a lady I work with, she'd been up for 24 hours straight, shopping. Crazy!

[Ladybugsmom]

Article in the paper this morning... http://www.thenewstribune.com/2011/1...brainsick.html

I'm not the only one who thinks the retailers need to get together to stop it....

[PT145SS]

Originally Posted by Ladybugsmom

Article in the paper this morning... http://www.thenewstribune.com/2011/1...brainsick.html

I'm not the only one who thinks the retailers need to get together to stop it....

I preface this by saying that I refuse to go out shopping on Black Friday. The deals are just not worth losing sleep and fighting the crowds over.
That being said, I may be in the minority here, but thankfully we live in a free market society where competition fuels strong economic growth. Because of competition, the consumer has a choice as to where and when to shop. If the retailers get together and start cohorting about sales and ect. then competition goes down the drain along with consumer choice. It's not much different than price fixing.

IMHO , the problem is not with the retailers, the problem is with people. There once was a time when families taught their children to respect others. There is a real trend lately where the younger generation really believes they are "entitled " to have and get whatever they want whenever they want it...regardless of anything else.

The article that was quoted above, illustrates an issue with people, not an issue with free market. People who rob others, will rob others regardless of black Friday...a people issue. People who use pepper spray to make their way through the crowds have issues and will make bad choices regardless of Black Friday.

Think about this...There were probably hundreds of thousands of people who made it out shopping on Black Friday and who got good deals with no major incidents. I would have to assume (although disturbing) the occurrences of major issues in comparison to the number of incident free shopping is a very small percentage.

[DarkneSS]

You cant ever expect there to be logic and morality when money is involved.