Post by pitterwoo on Sept 30, 2014 12:34:44 GMT -5
I would prefer stores stay closed on Tgiving. Even if we don't spend the day with family, I know other people do and it's nice to have the national experience together of a day off.
Black Friday, I love. We don't go to the mall any other time. It's pretty much our annual shopping budget for household stuff. Maybe (hopefully), we'll have more choice in the future. But now those deals are essential to us.
I don't want any part of shopping mayhem, but yes, the deals do draw me into the store. If the best deals start being offered on Thursday, I'll go then.
you don't, but if that's when the prices are at the point where you can get something for your kids then guess what happens?
Exactly. I don't place blame on the customers because sometimes they do offer a deal on the hottest toy or trinket that little Johnny has been asking for all year. A good enough deal that would enable someone to get that for their kid(s) that otherwise wouldn't be able to. Why the retailer can't just wait until Friday morning to offer that deal, along with all of their other "deals" is beyond me.
If shoppers would refuse to go into retail stores on Thanksgiving Day, they probably would just offer the deals on Black Friday.
you don't, but if that's when the prices are at the point where you can get something for your kids then guess what happens?
I highly doubt any stores are offering ZOMG best deal evar! discounts on old-model iPods.
you don't think gamestop heavily discounts on thanksgiving night to get people in the door? right now i can get a used ipod in there for $80. i'll bet you can get one on TG for $40-50.
Exactly. I don't place blame on the customers because sometimes they do offer a deal on the hottest toy or trinket that little Johnny has been asking for all year. A good enough deal that would enable someone to get that for their kid(s) that otherwise wouldn't be able to. Why the retailer can't just wait until Friday morning to offer that deal, along with all of their other "deals" is beyond me.
If shoppers would refuse to go into retail stores on Thanksgiving Day, they probably would just offer the deals on Black Friday.
except they're not anymore. should they? of course. will they ever again? no, they won't.
i'll bet my x-mas budget went up 10% over what it was before stores were open at 5AM on BF.
Exactly. I don't place blame on the customers because sometimes they do offer a deal on the hottest toy or trinket that little Johnny has been asking for all year. A good enough deal that would enable someone to get that for their kid(s) that otherwise wouldn't be able to. Why the retailer can't just wait until Friday morning to offer that deal, along with all of their other "deals" is beyond me. I don't see how spreading out these deals over two days really helps a company's bottom line, with all of the added operating and labor costs. Most people only have a finite amount of money to spend on holiday gifts so they aren't necessarily going to spend more just because they have an added day of shopping...
But then again, a lot of people who do not work on Thanksgiving have to work the next day, sooo, I don't know.
The retailers want you in their store and are willing to take a mark-down on the HOTTEST TOY EVER because they know that once you're in their store, you're more likely to get more of your shopping done there.
Also, consumers who start shopping earlier tend to spend more by the end of the holiday season.
I believe that the store that you shop first gets the largest percentage of your holiday spending. So everyone wants you first hence the earlier and earlier deals to get you into their store.
When people decided they HAD to get That Thing because they were entitled to it even though they can't afford it and almost assuredly don't need it.
I hate the escalation of consumerism around the holidays.
Right. We're all standing in line for the fucking iPhone 8.
I'm trying hard not to take this comment personally and fucking failing. Because yeah, I totally feel entitled to get a good price on the one fucking thing my damned kid wants for Christmas in a year where I've have to tell him no so mutherfucking often that it's exhausting.
He wants an ipod touch. Not even a new one. Just anyone and if that means I need to dip into fucking walmart at 6pm on Thanksgiving, guess the fuck what?
Just like I walked my happy ass into Game Stop on Thanksgiving night (but it might have been early Black Friday) so I could buy him a $50 used wii.
Also, the year my FIL died, three weeks before Thanksgiving, when my husband ate up all of his time off and the idea of sitting at a thanksgiving table hurt my damned feelings, I was beyond grateful that Cracker Barrel was open.
I think I've also spoke of how working on Thanksgiving and other holidays has put Christmas presents in my kids' stockings as well.
So basically, I give no fucks on this topic. It's just a new non-religious method of pretending the world used to be a better fucking place before such and such people came and ruined it with their [insert judgeworthy ideals here]
My DH wanted a iPod last Christmas, I got it on Ebay for $45 in late Oct. he was thrilled and uses it daily. You don't have to go shopping on T'giving to get good deals you just have to shop carefully. t'giving should be the one day a year that all non-essentials get to spend with family and/or friends/loved ones.
The retailers want you in their store and are willing to take a mark-down on the HOTTEST TOY EVER because they know that once you're in their store, you're more likely to get more of your shopping done there.
Also, consumers who start shopping earlier tend to spend more by the end of the holiday season.
I believe that the store that you shop first gets the largest percentage of your holiday spending. So everyone wants you first hence the earlier and earlier deals to get you into their store.
ahh... I see. I live in a town where the only places to shop are walmart and a completely pitiful standalone JcPenney's. I mean, it doesn't even have a Sephora. LOL So I end up doing most of my holiday shopping online anyways.
So I ain't touching the contretemps in this thread. However @helenabonhamcarter have you checked Ebay for Ipod Touches? I bought H one for Christmas like 5 years ago so I know how expensive they are.
I'm keeping an eye out there, craigslist, and our local FB resale pages. He's gonna be 13 year this year and it broke my heart the way he asked for one. Because he phrased it in a way that let me know he understood that we couldn't afford one but that maybe I could figure something out because he'd really like to have one. He even said, no wait mom, but not like a new one or anything just like . . . well is there anything that kind of works like an ipod touch but doesn't cost the same because that's cool or like a used one?
So yeah, it touches a shitty little reactive nerve in me when I feel like people are just shrugging and saying deal with it, kwim? And that's on me. People don't always mean it that way. Some people aren't thinking that it might come across that way. But it is easy to say, hey, just wait for a better deal some other time and not feel like there is an implied 'peasant' added to the end, kwim?
How many Thanksgivings should I opt out before the culture changes and I can get a good deal on something my kids want on a day that isn't Black Friday? No, that big screen tv plastered on the front page isn't a good enough deal. But that $20 game that usually retails for $60? You're crazy if you think that people like me don't watch the prices for that kind of thing all year long and can identify that it's as good as I'm going to get for that one thing, kwim?
I'm in the don't place blame on the consumer camp.
People when come when the prices are cheap. If stores didn't open on Thanksgiving, people would just buy it on Black Friday.
It's a domino effect. One store started it, so they all started doing it. It sucks and I wish we could back in time 5-10 years and just get up early on BF and call it a day.
I highly doubt any stores are offering ZOMG best deal evar! discounts on old-model iPods.
you don't think gamestop heavily discounts on thanksgiving night to get people in the door? right now i can get a used ipod in there for $80. i'll bet you can get one on TG for $40-50.
Yes, yes they do.
Dude, I'm not lying to people. Last year, I was on the hunt for a wii for my son and a nintendo DS lite for my daughter. First generation on both. The wii had been running for $70 or $80 and the DS about the same I think. I got the wii for $50 I think and the ds for $40. I was particularly excited about the DS because people were selling them on FB yard sale sites for almost $100.
I bought both from Game Stop btw. They'll sell the old consoles like that because they hope I'll buy games too.
ETA: If anyone's wondering, my son wants an ipod touch because they don't make the games he wants to play for the wii. They are all for the wii U. And by games he wants to play, I mean basically every new game that has come out for a kid over the age of 8. You also can't make stop animation videos on the wii. Apparently there's an app for that. lol
you don't think gamestop heavily discounts on thanksgiving night to get people in the door? right now i can get a used ipod in there for $80. i'll bet you can get one on TG for $40-50.
Yes, yes they do.
Dude, I'm not lying to people. Last year, I was on the hunt for a wii for my son and a nintendo DS lite for my daughter. First generation on both. The wii had been running for $70 or $80 and the DS about the same I think. I got the wii for $50 I think and the ds for $40. I was particularly excited about the DS because people were selling them on FB yard sale sites for almost $100.
I bought both from Game Stop btw. They'll sell the old consoles like that because they hope I'll buy games too.
i've been stalking them for a used ipod. just a regular one, not a touch. i was surprised that they even had them.
Post by cattledogkisses on Sept 30, 2014 12:54:10 GMT -5
I don't have an issue (ok, as much of an issue) with shopping on BF itself. It's definitely not my thing, but if people want to go out and join the melee, I don't really care. But retailers opening on thanksgiving is just awful, not to mention it totally defeats the whole purpose of the holiday. Let's cut our day of thanks short for doorbusters!
I'm in the don't place blame on the consumer camp.
People when come when the prices are cheap. If stores didn't open on Thanksgiving, people would just buy it on Black Friday.
It's a domino effect. One store started it, so they all started doing it. It sucks a nd I wish we could back in time 5-10 years and just get up early on BF and call it a day.
How can you not place at least party of the blame on the consumer? If it didn't work (ie, no one shopped) when the first store tried it, the rest wouldn't follow suit.
So I ain't touching the contretemps in this thread. However @helenabonhamcarter have you checked Ebay for Ipod Touches? I bought H one for Christmas like 5 years ago so I know how expensive they are.
I'm keeping an eye out there, craigslist, and our local FB resale pages. He's gonna be 13 year this year and it broke my heart the way he asked for one. Because he phrased it in a way that let me know he understood that we couldn't afford one but that maybe I could figure something out because he'd really like to have one. He even said, no wait mom, but not like a new one or anything just like . . . well is there anything that kind of works like an ipod touch but doesn't cost the same because that's cool or like a used one?
So yeah, it touches a shitty little reactive nerve in me when I feel like people are just shrugging and saying deal with it, kwim? And that's on me. People don't always mean it that way. Some people aren't thinking that it might come across that way. But it is easy to say, hey, just wait for a better deal some other time and not feel like there is an implied 'peasant' added to the end, kwim?
How many Thanksgivings should I opt out before the culture changes and I can get a good deal on something my kids want on a day that isn't Black Friday? No, that big screen tv plastered on the front page isn't a good enough deal. But that $20 game that usually retails for $60? You're crazy if you think that people like me don't watch the prices for that kind of thing all year long and can identify that it's as good as I'm going to get for that one thing, kwim?
You know I adore that kid so I ain't mad at you. I plan to get a Surface on Cyber Monday so when I am looking at CNET and Slickdeals for the Cyber sales I will keep an eye out for the Touch as well.
Game Stop buys old tech because they hope that when you trade it in, you'll spend the money they give you on new tech. Also, they pay very little for that stuff and then sell it.
Game Stop makes a lot of money on resale, both of old tech and old games. There was a big to do when the Xbox One was announced because Microsoft wanted to limit resales on their games, putting some kind of lock technology on it. Game Stop AND gamers had a fucking shitfit over it. It's a huuuuuuge industry. I would imagine they use Black Friday deals on old used tech, not just to get you in the store, but the clear up space for new Christmas inventory.
Yes, I wish the stores could be closed just a couple of days, whether it be Christmas, Thanksgiving,September 20, whenever, I don't care. We don't need to go to the store everyday. Thanksgiving would be nice because it's sort of America's non-religious days where we consider caring about something bigger as a collective entitity.
That said, I get what you are saying, hbc, but I feel like it's not a regular shopping day. It's a whole event. People camp. People make maps. People trample each other. All to get stuff. I totally get wanting to get a deal so your child can have what s/he wants, but the stores don't have to do this "CONSUME!" buildup that they do.
I get people want to eat at restaurants, and people need to go to the grocery store, and they want that deal on that thing for their child, and that all makes sense and they can totally do that on Friday, at regular store opening time. It's the making it earlier and earlier and "WE'RE OPEN FIRST!!!" and encroaching on one of very few holidays that many (not all, it will never be all in our country) have off from work. The race of it all is what I object to. It's forcing stores to be open. What iammalcolmx described is pretty appalling. The commercials and the ads, and the push that feed into all the hype around buying all the things is what I don't like.
But fwiw, I'm also one of those who was not feeling awesome about the hype around every new iPhone that everyone needs to have. I have an issue about the whole subject though. But it's not against anyone buying things for their families or presents because we all do that. It's the encouragement to buy so much more than that. I don't like how stores make the act of shopping and spending money in their stores the most important part of the holiday experience.
And I will say, I don't even like being in the damned store. I will avoid the hell out of it if possible. Although, admittedly, when my FIL was alive, our thanksgiving tradition was to study the ads in the paper the morning after while eating leftover ham frittata and plot what we'd go out there for.
But dude, people are assholes and there are plenty of people out there who are going just to score a deal on the latest and greatest so their spoiled ass children can have something they've promptly forgotten about. I would really prefer not to be in the store with them a minute longer that (I deem) necessary.
My friend owns a couple stores at Lenox ( Mall here in Atlanta) this is the picture he took on Thanksgiving Evening. The mall will pull your lease if you don't open. He would have accepted the fine.
I'm in the don't place blame on the consumer camp.
People when come when the prices are cheap. If stores didn't open on Thanksgiving, people would just buy it on Black Friday.
It's a domino effect. One store started it, so they all started doing it. It sucks a nd I wish we could back in time 5-10 years and just get up early on BF and call it a day.
How can you not place at least party of the blame on the consumer? If it didn't work (ie, no one shopped) when the first store tried it, the rest wouldn't follow suit.
Expecting consumers to turn away from a good deal because of a moral high ground is expecting too much. Many people don't have that luxury or self-control.
I worked at Super Kmart like 15+ years ago on Thanksgiving when I was in HS. I was annoyed. Plenty of people were there shopping even though we didn't have any crazy black Friday deals. If you open, they will come. If you open with good deals, then they will really come.
It really is up to the retailers to take this stand. I would be happy if they did.
Post by josieposy on Sept 30, 2014 13:11:20 GMT -5
So what is preventing these stores from moving the BIG doorbusters and sales to the weekend before Thanksgiving? Get people in a fury then and give folks Thanksgiving off.
I'm not saying my idea is perfect but geezus this is Murica! Think outside the box!!
So what is preventing these stores from moving the BIG doorbusters and sales to the weekend before Thanksgiving? Get people in a fury then and give folks Thanksgiving off.
I'm not saying my idea is perfect but geezus this is Murica! Think outside the box!!
last year, Walmart did this with several hot items. I went shopping then.
So what is preventing these stores from moving the BIG doorbusters and sales to the weekend before Thanksgiving? Get people in a fury then and give folks Thanksgiving off.
I'm not saying my idea is perfect but geezus this is Murica! Think outside the box!!
A lot of stores are doing this. Also, some of them are spacing out their doorbusters to try to keep everyone from coming in at once or to get them to come back later.
So what is preventing these stores from moving the BIG doorbusters and sales to the weekend before Thanksgiving? Get people in a fury then and give folks Thanksgiving off.
I'm not saying my idea is perfect but geezus this is Murica! Think outside the box!!
Exactly there is no reason that they have to be open on T'giving to maximize business start it the weekend before and do a big BF deal day. Same effects but then the workers get to celebrate T'giving in whatever way they choose to.
A long time ago I worked retail at thanksgiving/Christmas season. Do you want to see American humanity at its worst? Work retail during our "high holy days." People were awful. It took years before I could enjoy the holidays again.
Girl. What You Said! I HATED Holiday Shopping Season when I worked retail. The general asshole-ishness was magnified by 100%. I couldn't find a place to park, and people would bitch at you while parking. MOFO. I work in a store, I don't want that parking spot you're trying to jam you car in.
I also stop all holiday shopping the week prior to Christmas. Nope. I will not be out on Dec. 20-24th looking for a gift because I'm not dealing with those god forsaken crowds.
I prefer to spend my Turkey Day lounging in my pjs on the web buying shit.
Game Stop buys old tech because they hope that when you trade it in, you'll spend the money they give you on new tech. Also, they pay very little for that stuff and then sell it.
Game Stop makes a lot of money on resale, both of old tech and old games. There was a big to do when the Xbox One was announced because Microsoft wanted to limit resales on their games, putting some kind of lock technology on it. Game Stop AND gamers had a fucking shitfit over it. It's a huuuuuuge industry. I would imagine they use Black Friday deals on old used tech, not just to get you in the store, but the clear up space for new Christmas inventory.
Dude. We don't even HAVE an Xbox and the cursing that occurred in my house. Sailors would blush.