Should Black Friday Be Banned?

Rikter8

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I participated one time on black friday. Never again.

The sales aren't good enough to stand out in the cold or be trampled for saving 50 cents.
Online sales are much better.

Have you also noticed that these "In Store Super Buy" items have a unique part number? These aren't your run of the mill goods folks - these are cheap knockoffs that aren't worth a plum nickel.

What they SHOULD do is shut off all credit card purchases for anything other than gasoline or groceries.
 

nudeyorker

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Sounds like a very glamorous SoCal upbringing. Blond tan and beautiful, riding high on the food chain in LA.

I've also spent Thanksgiving delivering meals for Gods Love We Deliver! GLWD/ So Earl before you take a dump on my childhood holiday memories tell me what you have done to better mankind.(I'm hardly a Kardashian so don't put me in that category...I've actually worked for a living)
Happy Thanksgiving.
 

rob_just_rob

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Impractical to ban it.

A better, safer approach would be to have an orderly means of letting people into the stores (wristbands, turnstiles, guards, etc) and shopping. But frankly, I think the hysteria adds to the interest. Whip up excitement, a sense of urgency, a hint of danger, and people get that much more swept up in the spending frenzy... exactly what the retailers want.
 

bigbull29

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Impractical to ban it.

A better, safer approach would be to have an orderly means of letting people into the stores (wristbands, turnstiles, guards, etc) and shopping. But frankly, I think the hysteria adds to the interest. Whip up excitement, a sense of urgency, a hint of danger, and people get that much more swept up in the spending frenzy... exactly what the retailers want.

People almost like it when there is a good chance they will see people misbehaving (public fits, arrests made, etc) or have a chance to throw a fit themselves. And sadly, having a slight dangerous element added in the mix creates an ever greater draw (could there really be a stampede?...gotta to go and find out...). So, it is not just that people lose their ability to think for themselves during the holiday season (zillions of sheep under one shepherd of consumerism): humans are naturely attracted to chaos!
 

earllogjam

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I've also spent Thanksgiving delivering meals for Gods Love We Deliver! GLWD/ So Earl before you take a dump on my childhood holiday memories tell me what you have done to better mankind.(I'm hardly a Kardashian so don't put me in that category...I've actually worked for a living)
Happy Thanksgiving.

I wasn't dumping on your childhood memories. It just seems so idyllic compared to the meager white trash childhood I had living on the wrong side of the tracks, being a bullied homely odd kid and shopping at Kmart. I'm a bit jealous.

Better mankind? Nothing of note. I practice kindness and compassion daily and meditate.
 
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deleted213967

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I wonder whether they tried to snatch the $2 waffle maker out of his hands too...
 

vince

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Who pays for the extra security, policing and medical services caused by these events? I'll bet it ain't Walmart.

WalMart and other marketers make their profits selling Asian made crap to people who don't need it, who've given up their jobs so they can save big money on plastic Easter eggs and useless electronic shit.

Images of Rome burning while the masses play cross my mind.
 

FuzzyKen

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My other half works for Home Depot. About three years ago they had a clearance on an obsoleted model of Shop Vacs. These had retailed for over $100, but in the Southwest had been lost in a warehouse for some time. To clear these New Old Stock and now obsoleted models out they were placed out on pallets here in the Southwest and sold for $39.95 There was an assault and three arrests made over this sale.

We are good friends with the Store Manager and his family for the local Best Buy. The worst products at Best Buy are things like Wii, Playstation and XBox. Those during the holiday season are referred to as "Demon Product". Best Buy employees have been badly injured over these.

The thing most surprising is that this year with the idiots in various places that there were more men. The problem here in New Mexico tends not to be men at all but instead Women. The housewives trying to get the bargain for their kids are the worst of them all and go completely postal. The Best Buy Mgr friend has had women tearing apart pallets and bringing sharp knives to do so on their person injuring store employees to get it before the other wives.

What we have here is nothing more or less than simple greed and avarice. There may be ten more pallets in the back for the same product and there may be signs saying so, but the crap does not stop.

Personally this will continue and the concept of 24-hours or even more hours on "Black Friday" happened with the concept of reducing this kind of problem. It didn't work, but that was part of the attempt anyway.

The elimination of the pre-Holiday sales by statute is novel, but it will never happen. I do however see the placement of security guards admitting only a given number of people into a store at a time to prevent this kind of problem. That will be up to the retailers.
 

vince

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The retailer could make entry into the store by appointment. The customer makes a reservation online, or by telephone or in person the week before and they get a time slot of 30 minutes or an hour to do their shopping.

Or they could do it by lottery. Buy a lotto ticket and the winning prizes could be early entry or bigger discounts or free gifts.

I am sure the marketing geniuses could figure out a way around this problem if they wanted to. But as was pointed out before, the HYPE and news reports of these behaviors probably drive up sales.
 
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B_Lightkeeper

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A Walmart in Alexander City, AL had to have ambulances called out twice. One incident were two women fighting over sheets (may have been towels) and one got the other on the floor and started kicking her in the head.

I say coupons should be given out - first come first served. Or a lottery type drawing.