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My opinion on Black Friday is good--the more people noisily crowding stores in metro Denver means less of the same on hiking trails in nearby open space parks.
 
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I hate it. Simply because in the UK we don't have Thanksgiving (obviously), but we do have Black Friday/Cyber Monday.
How does that work?
You hate that there is not a UK Thanksgiving? or you hate Black Friday because the UK does not have Thanksgiving?

According to this alternative explanation, Black Friday is the day when retailers finally begin to turn a profit for the year. In accounting terms, operating at a loss (losing money) is called being “in the red" because accountants traditionally used red ink to show negative amounts (losses).

This accounting perspective is where the term comes from.

I assume places outside of the US have their own Black Friday, but I would guess the day it falls on may vary from place to place.

I am curious, in the UK does Black Friday shopping deals take place on the day after the American Thanksgiving Holiday?
 
I despise it and refuse to go anywhere near a store or shopping center. Just a day earlier, everyone is all hugs and kisses, laughing and feasting on a Turkey dinner. Next thing thing you know, people are pushing and shoving others out of the way or start fighting to get that “must have” item. I understand that there are real deals and people use this day to stretch their buying power. But, some ruin the experience and turn it into a free for all. Hooray for me and the hell with everyone else mentality. Not a year goes by that there isn’t some altercation being reported on the news. Not for me!
 
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You hate that there is not a UK Thanksgiving? or you hate Black Friday because the UK does not have Thanksgiving?



This accounting perspective is where the term comes from.

I assume places outside of the US have their own Black Friday, but I would guess the day it falls on may vary from place to place.

I am curious, in the UK does Black Friday shopping deals take place on the day after the American Thanksgiving Holiday?
I hate that an American tradition is slowly being adopted over here for no reason other than greedy retailers trying to offload their old crap.
The majority of bargains are not what they seem.
 
When you say Black Friday this is what comes to my mind:
maxresdefault.jpg
 
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As far as an opportunity to get a deal, I like it. Last year I stood in line at Target after Thansgiving dinner to buy an iPad on sale. It was a great deal!

That said, no more of this getting up at 3am to stand outside the door of a Best Buy. Glad retailers are getting away from that aspect of it.
Ya, now they are just opening on Thanksgiving instead.

When I worked retail I hated Black Friday. I wanted to be sleeping at 6 am not waiting on the *******s who got up early to go shopping.

J.C. Penny will be opening at 2 pm on Thanksgiving. Talk about greedy bastards.
 
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Hate it. Commercializes the holidays to the utmost extreme.

I can live with the commercialization if that's someone's thing...I just can't stand the way people treat other human beings. People can be cruel year-round, but it seems especially common between late November and and early January.

The treatment of those working in retail seems especially nasty this time of year, as if a retail job wasn't difficult enough to begin with :(
[doublepost=1511266148][/doublepost]
J.C. Penny will be opening at 2 pm on Thanksgiving. Talk about greedy bastards.

I really hope they are paying their employees like 3-4+ times their normal rate.
 
Ya, now they are just opening on Thanksgiving instead.

When I worked retail I hated Black Friday. I wanted to be sleeping at 6 am not waiting on the *******s who got up early to go shopping.

J.C. Penny will be opening at 2 pm on Thanksgiving. Talk about greedy bastards.
Come on, ka-ching makes the business world go around. ;) :oops:
[doublepost=1511274458][/doublepost]
I can live with the commercialization if that's someone's thing...I just can't stand the way people treat other human beings. People can be cruel year-round, but it seems especially common between late November and and early January.

The treatment of those working in retail seems especially nasty this time of year, as if a retail job wasn't difficult enough to begin with :(
[doublepost=1511266148][/doublepost]

I really hope they are paying their employees like 3-4+ times their normal rate.
No way, it will be be thankful you have a job... :oops:

Regarding people stepping on each other, I’m sure there are a multitude of such stories, but I have a paraplegic brother in law, who was Christmas shopping, picked up the last of a certain toy for his daughter, and while he was not looking, another guy picked it up out of his shopping cart with the intent of walking off with it, until he was confronted. People are often dissapointments. As pointed out in an article I recently read, we are the only species on the planet who kills millions of each other while trashing the place.
[doublepost=1511274670][/doublepost]
When you say Black Friday this is what comes to my mind:
maxresdefault.jpg
Ah, Jerry Springer, the paragon of trash TV, highlighting trashy people. Was he doing us a favor pointing this out? :oops:
 
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In my personal opinion, people partaking in the Black Friday mayhem are f***ing idiots. I get a good laugh at the videos that come out afterwards. Starting fights, pulling hair, breaking bones, bursting through the doors in the store like a maniac to save a tiny bit.

Especially in the last few years with the popularity of Amazon, which is delivered to you, is a far better option. Some people....

Maybe the madness is inherently an American thing. In the UK Black Friday is calm and cordial.

 
Black Friday is fine, as long as it stays on Friday. Stores need to stop this “opening on Thursday!” BS.
Thursday should be for family only. Not for $$$$$$$$$$$$$$.
 
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Hate it.
However I will admit being lucky twice.
Last time my refrigerator broke it was on thanksgiving day, so the next day I bought a $700 refrigerator for $150 or so.
The following year, similar thing with similar timing, except that it was my dryer which actually was in flames. So I got a great deal.
Other than that, I despise it.
Note to self: Never accept a Thanksgiving invite from yaxomoxay. If I survive the day I will still have to help hauling and installing a large appliance.



Mike
 
Ya, now they are just opening on Thanksgiving instead.

When I worked retail I hated Black Friday. I wanted to be sleeping at 6 am not waiting on the *******s who got up early to go shopping.

J.C. Penny will be opening at 2 pm on Thanksgiving. Talk about greedy bastards.

Black Friday is fine, as long as it stays on Friday. Stores need to stop this “opening on Thursday!” BS.
Thursday should be for family only. Not for $$$$$$$$$$$$$$.

I agree. I participated in the mayhem one year (in 2000, when our local Best Buy opened) after that I don't. I remember a time when Thanksgiving was for spending time with your family, not for going out to stores to shop (or WORKING IN THOSE STORES). I dislike how stores are opening on Thanksgiving, even the GROCERY STORES are closing to allow employees to spend much of the day with their families.
 
In my personal opinion, people partaking in the Black Friday mayhem are f***ing idiots. I get a good laugh at the videos that come out afterwards. Starting fights, pulling hair, breaking bones, bursting through the doors in the store like a maniac to save a tiny bit.

Especially in the last few years with the popularity of Amazon, which is delivered to you, is a far better option. Some people....

Maybe the madness is inherently an American thing. In the UK Black Friday is calm and cordial.

That made me smile!
 
Love online sales and find the video footage of “crazy” people camping out for mildly good deals on things they do not need at Walmart or bestbuy somewhat entertaining.
 
Its silly, and while a few years ago really good deals could be had. Retailers have long since jumped the shark and offer "Black Friday" deals throughout the entire year.

Yeah, people will still wake up at 5:00am and go their favorite department store but they're not getting great deals. Worse yet are those stores that open on Thanksgiving, impacting a holiday for their employees. Its hard to consider being thankful when you need to get to work so someone can save 10% on underwear.
 
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I've never went out on Black Friday to buy anything, although I did purchase my mechanical keyboard and mouse for ~60% off online 5 years ago. I kind of like it, it's fun to check if there are any good deals around online or to see if something on my wishlist is on sale. That said, I think it was better ~10 years ago when retail was still doing really well and the deals were actually really amazing. Now they are just OK for the most part.
 
During the '92 L.A. Riots, there was looting. For Black Friday, people are fighting for something when we still have to pay for it. All that aggravation just to save some money?

Even if I could tolerate Black Friday this year, I can't find anything I truly need or want. Maybe a Seagate 4 TB at Fry's for $78 but that's it. And even that I could wait another year and get a lower price. I still have 150 GB left plus other storage spaces I haven't used yet.

The Xbone S for under $190 with $45 cash back from Kohl's and a $14 64 GB microSD from Walmart are all semi-interesting but not must-haves. Just more stuff to clutter my room that I will barely use. The Moto Z2 Play deal from Verizon doesn't interest me either. Probably the best deal for a phone but I'm not returning to Verizon anytime soon.

https://slickdeals.net/f/10849175-m...9-x-24-months-req-24-months-bill-credits-7-mo
 
Dislike.

I remember once I was forced to shop on Black Friday because my mouse had died that morning and I needed a new one. I waited until the late evening when the pandemonium was over and then drove to the local Best Buy.

It was like a tornado had blown through the store. Trash was everywhere and product was on the floor instead of the shelves. Many shelves were empty, reminding me of those pictures of Russian grocery stores in the Soviet-era. The floors were dirty and were marked haphazardly with painter's tape in an effort to enforce directional lanes of travel.

The employees were haggard and had empty stares in their eyes. On a positive note, I could tell that they had bonded closely with each other due to the shared trauma.

I couldn't find the mouse so I asked the employee if they were somewhere else, like an end cap or something. He looked it up and said there were 6 still showing in stock, but it was likely that they were all stolen. He said lots of shoplifting occurs on Black Friday because there are too many people in the crowd to manage.

The line I highlighted had me cracking up! All I could picture were scenes from various movies with people who were in utter shock of what they just witnessed or went through.

I don't hate it, but I don't partake in it either. If we do go shopping it is later in the day and it is mainly just to see what is out there and what the damage looks like!
 
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