So while I like to shop, there are some things I will just not do. Regardless of how great the deals are, I refuse to go out on Black Friday. I realize that by not doing so I may end up paying a little more for a potential gift for someone, but there is a risk/reward factor involved here. And I am not putting myself at risk to shop with a pack of hooligans simply to save a couple of shekels on a present. We have all heard the horror stories, people being trampled on just to get to that item that is on sale. This year was no different, people were camped out in front of stores days before Black Friday, almost like they were waiting for concert tickets for an act that rarely tours, rather than for an Xbox that they can get someplace else in a couple of days for a few dollars more.
Just this weekend we had stories of a woman who, instead of whipping out a can of whoop ass, instead decided to fire off a can of pepper spray in a crowd, just to guarantee that she got one of the elusive sale items. Or the guys that waited outside a WalMart at 2am on Friday morning, just so they could rob people who were coming back to their cars, shooting one such customer before being apprehended. When people ask me if I will be shopping on that day I just look at them and ask, are you fucking crazy? I would rather being a guard at a high security prison, it would be safer.
So if you were looking for me to get you that special gift on Friday, that laptop that was on sale, or that TV you always wanted, I hate to break it to you, but you are going to be disappointed.
I guess our equivalent is December 26 & the Boxing Day Sale..... you have to be plain mad to go near the stores!
ReplyDeleteI have determined people have evolved very little over the centuries. Some still act like animals. I did shop in the evening of Black Friday but I wasn't there for the running of the shoppers and the supposed good deals. I have drawn the line of the big ticket items and the insanity. This year I have declared it a socks and underwear holiday. Things people can actually use and will like. I get the TV and blue ray, but if they don't connect them, it was a waste of your time and money. Maybe they would rather have a basket you put together of cheeses and deli meats...you know something they will enjoy and appreciate.
ReplyDeleteThe Blu Ray player was a bit of a splurge I admit, but the TV they actually needed, they have a set with lines across the top portion of the screen. I was hoping that it would get plugged in right away, but no dice. I will buy some practical gifts, or at least gift cards so people can go pick out what they want, but I refuse to go out and buy stuff on Black Friday just because of how idiotic people act while shopping that day.
ReplyDeleteI get a hunk of meat and the sides for a dinner for my daughters grandparents. She also bakes them cookies every year and we throw in some cheeses and crackers. We at least know it doesn't just sit there all year. They will eat the food. I have seen gifts sit in a pile in their living room for over 2 years. I don't feel like wasting my money on something they aren't planning on doing anything other then unwrapping. For other people I do things like go to the candy store and buy the diabetics sugar free candy.
ReplyDeleteI know people who LOVE it. Some girl I went to school with and follow on twitter left her house at 10pm on Thanksgiving and shopped at assorted open venues until 2 the next day. Nuts. I just have never seen the deals so spectacular I need to be in a horde of people fighting for shit. My time is more valuable than that.
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