The Joy of Capitalism

[Huntn]

Remember when Black Friday was a big deal? Do you remember standing outside the store at 4am to get the Big Deal, and then CyberMonday, oooo. Now it’s just one of the multitude of sales. I bought a bathroom cabinet at Lowes and got a whole 10% off!!! 😐

 

[maflynn]

Do you remember standing outside the store at 4am

My local news reported a 3 hour traffic jam for the wrentham outlets, a premium outlet plaza. that's not including the time searching for a parking spot, nor does it mention how crushingly crowded the place was.

I'm actually quite pleased that most retailers pulled back from some of the crazy sales, and crazy hours. Opening up at midnight for instance was horribly unfair the workers, or opening at 4:00am friday.

What I largely found is that deals have been going on for most of November so there was little to no need to rush out on BF. Additionally, I did all of my shopping online. I'm all done, I completed the last of it this morning.

 

[MBAir2010]

capitalism goes as far as the idiot behind the counter

we lost that edge.....we can fulfill this capitalism anymore
shops are stagnate in troubleshooting as EVERYTHING must be made already
Buddha forbids that
some poor cycling slob needs a 700c-11speed-rimbrake-135mm-25m tires aluminum material wheel
Mr Trek Shop guru stared at my phone as an older wheel was for 8-10 speed was offered
so i was asking if that can come in 11 speed?
as he insisted that "they don't make such thing, disc brake only!"
I gave him some scenarios as yes with a carbon fiber rim, $500 or more but my friends have aluminum one....
"nope..... they don't make that"
"who trek bonaranger...." I retorted
no no one!

so left the shop thinking..... just in 2016 my 1960 shop owner would have built, lace one up for me!

so much for this capitalism with lamebrains at the wheel!

 

[chmania]

capitalism goes as far as the idiot behind the counter

You mean the idiot in front of the counter...?
Sorry!

 

[Apple fanboy]

Remember when Black Friday was a big deal? Do you remember standing outside the store at 4am to get the Big Deal, and then CyberMonday, oooo. Now it’s just one of the multitude of sales. I bought a bathroom cabinet at Lowes and got a whole 10% off!!! 😐

I remember when BF wasn’t even heard of over here. As we have no holidays in November in the rest of the world, it makes no sense.
So over here we get Black Friday prices for half of November and December.

Pointless.

 

[MBAir2010]

You mean the idiot in front of the counter...?
Sorry!

depending on who has the glass half full!

hey I know cycling and what part goes where and why as i'm over qualified to work for trek.
they (and other shops) would rather a sale walk through the door than trouble shoot a problem.

i'm just baffled now "can't be done" is said in stores, and even here on the forums today

 

[chmania]

depending on who has the glass half full!

hey I know cycling and what part goes where and why as i'm over qualified to work for trek.
they (and other shops) would rather a sale walk through the door than trouble shoot a problem.

i'm just baffled now "can't be done" is said in stores, and even here on the forums today

What I meant is, in capitalism, the idiot is always in front of the counter.

 

[Huntn]

I remember when BF wasn’t even heard of over here. As we have no holidays in November in the rest of the world, it makes no sense.
So over here we get Black Friday prices for half of November and December.

Pointless.

Just another of the many gimmicks to promote consumerism. 😊

 

[MBAir2010]

What I meant is, in capitalism, the idiot is always in front of the counter.

as they are born every minute?
PT Barnum

 

[diggy33]

The only reason I ever liked Black Friday was in my youth when I worked at Rack Room Shoes; would make a killing in commission. but then, after Christmas, folks would be returning items and you'd find yourself a few hundred $ in the hole for your sales goal. It had its ups and downs, but mostly ups. After working in retail, I never had a desire to be out on BF actually shopping.

 

[Apple fanboy]

The only reason I ever liked Black Friday was in my youth when I worked at Rack Room Shoes; would make a killing in commission. but then, after Christmas, folks would be returning items and you'd find yourself a few hundred $ in the whole for your sales goal. It had its ups and downs, but mostly ups. After working in retail, I never had a desire to be out on BF actually shopping.

Going actual physical shopping any time of the year is bad enough. We both avoid it like the plague. So glad we can get most things delivered these days.

 

[diggy33]

Going actual physical shopping any time of the year is bad enough. We both avoid it like the plague. So glad we can get most things delivered these days.

Yep, I'm a huge fan of getting groceries delivered (with the exception of fresh fruits and vegetables, I'd rather pick out my own)

 

[Apple fanboy]

Yep, I'm a huge fan of getting groceries delivered (with the exception of fresh fruits and vegetables, I'd rather pick out my own)

We do exactly the same.

 

[eyoungren]

My memories of Black Friday shopping are mostly of my mother and sister going out on that day. I stayed home and did whatever I was doing. I still don't go out. It's rare to be in a spot where I have money to take advantage of any sales. And generally I'm buying online anyway.

I can recall when Cyber Monday got started and how people laughed at it. But here we are.

In the present, I would not go to a Black Friday sale now, unless it was something I truly had to get. BF is usually on the news about how violence erupted and people got beat up, stabbed or shot. Even if that's not the case, there's still lots of pushing, shoving and yelling as people show the true form of capitalism - ME FIRST!

 

[maflynn]

Yep, I'm a huge fan of getting groceries delivered (with the exception of fresh fruits and vegetables, I'd rather pick out my own)

I haven't embraced that yet, I think the control freak inside of me, isn't willing to let go. I need to be the one picking the specific box. Avoid crushed boxes, dented cans. Ensure I get the freshest dairy, i.e., looking at the expiration dates.

A for instance, my local market (just a small local grocer) frequently sells milk one or two days the best before date Given the cost of food in 2025, I want to be the one ensure I get milk that has the maximum number of days before expiration.

 

[Certificate of Excellence]

My opinion in the 90s & early 2k was that BF was unfair to sales people having to deal with that insanity, so I intentionally stayed away on those days and shopped businesses that did not offer obnoxious, midnight trample your neighbor deals.

I haven't embraced that yet, I think the control freak inside of me, isn't willing to let go. I need to be the one picking the specific box. Avoid crushed boxes, dented cans. Ensure I get the freshest dairy, i.e., looking at the expiration dates.

A for instance, my local market (just a small local grocer) frequently sells milk one or two days the best before date Given the cost of food in 2025, I want to be the one ensure I get milk that has the maximum number of days before expiration.

I don’t do delivery because I don’t want to pay for it but I do use pickup quite frequently - specifically when I have the kids with me. I’ve gotten some cruddy produce & one time they forgot my diapers but overall it has been a BIG time saver for me so I have a few saved carts that I will quickly drop via the respective app.

I still shop the store however - usually on a Monday morning for me. There are deals that can only be taken advantage of when in the store which is fine. The kids inhale milk for example so I often find $6.99 ultra pasteurized organic milk for a couple bucks or under $10 beef/pork roasts or $10 scented candles for $2 for my wife - things like that you pass up on by having someone else do your shopping so I try & make it in once a week.

 

[Apple fanboy]

I haven't embraced that yet, I think the control freak inside of me, isn't willing to let go. I need to be the one picking the specific box. Avoid crushed boxes, dented cans. Ensure I get the freshest dairy, i.e., looking at the expiration dates.

A for instance, my local market (just a small local grocer) frequently sells milk one or two days the best before date Given the cost of food in 2025, I want to be the one ensure I get milk that has the maximum number of days before expiration.

We have had no issues with dates etc. But then we don’t buy fresh milk. All long life skimmed stuff here.

 

[Apple fanboy]

My opinion in the 90s & early 2k was that BF was unfair to sales people having to deal with that insanity, so I intentionally stayed away on those days and shopped businesses that did not offer obnoxious, midnight trample your neighbor deals.



I don’t do delivery because I don’t want to pay for it but I do use pickup quite frequently - specifically when I have the kids with me. I’ve gotten some cruddy produce & one time they forgot my diapers but overall it has been a BIG time saver for me so I have a few saved carts that I will quickly drop via the respective app.

I still shop the store however - usually on a Monday morning for me. There are deals that can only be taken advantage of when in the store which is fine. The kids inhale milk for example so I often find $6.99 ultra pasteurized organic milk for a couple bucks or under $10 beef/pork roasts or $10 scented candles for $2 for my wife - things like that you pass up on by having someone else do your shopping so I try & make it in once a week.

Most offer a free or less than £5 delivery if you choose the time of day most people don’t want. My time would cost more than that. Driving to the shop and back is 20 minutes if there is no traffic.
We also tick no substitutions. So we get what we ask for. A couple of times the eggs are broken. You let them know and get a refund. Then you eat the remaining 10 eggs free of charge!

 

[maflynn]

We have had no issues with dates etc. But then we don’t buy fresh milk. All long life skimmed stuff here.

Yeah, milk here in the states is different then many other places around the world. While there's shelf stable milk available the clear majority of consumers buy fresh refrigerated milk - the expiration date of that milk is typically 7 days. Not that it's suddenly sour on day 8, but the clock is ticking.

 

[Apple fanboy]

Yeah, milk here in the states is different then many other places around the world. While there's shelf stable milk available the clear majority of consumers buy fresh refrigerated milk - the expiration date of that milk is typically 7 days. Not that it's suddenly sour on day 8, but the clock is ticking.

I think the majority buy that way here as well, but shelf life is usually a lot better than 8 days.

 

[Certificate of Excellence]

Most offer a free or less than £5 delivery if you choose the time of day most people don’t want. My time would cost more than that. Driving to the shop and back is 20 minutes if there is no traffic.
We also tick no substitutions. So we get what we ask for. A couple of times the eggs are broken. You let them know and get a refund. Then you eat the remaining 10 eggs free of charge!

Yep, I had to request a refund on the diapers in their app which I expected and then they gave me another free one which was like 28$ because of the error. Unexpected but a really nice gesture.

I get the delivery rationale if you live far away from the grocer. I have 5 (!) competing grocers within 8 minutes from me (Kroger, Albertsons, Trader Joe’s, Walmart & WholeFoods) LOL and am in good health so that rationale doesn’t get much traction here

I do want to try delivery some day though but I can work in the quick 2-8 minute drive to have the pickup person walk my order out and put all the groceries in my trunk for me haha. I don’t even have to get out of my car You’d think with all the competition in my area that they all would offer free delivery but they haven’t gotten there yet.

 

[Certificate of Excellence]

In regards to milk, the higher the fat content, the longer shelf life you will get beyond the sell by date. The low fat/skim options concentrate the water and lactose (the medium bacteria live in and the food they eat) which shortens shelf life. I also buy UHT products which dramatically extends shelf life as well.

When I shop for discount dairy, I look for UHT Whole milks and high fat half/half or heavy creams which I can find quite often truthfully. The milks are great for drinking and the H&H or heavy creams are fantastic for soups, chowders, sauces, mashed potatoes/root veg etc.

Subsequently, UHT is a fantastic scientific innovation driven by the economic drivers put in place by the economic systems of free market capitalism which is a beautiful economic system and philosophy. We’d likely have few of the comforts and innovations like UHT without it.

 

[eyoungren]

For a month and a half we had no working car. Since we had Amazon already, we signed up for the food service.

It was fine, but it seems that the ONE store in Phoenix that provides the groceries from Amazon is basically an airport grocer. One of those types you'd find after getting off an airplane at 2am. They did great, but because of what I just mentioned there were limitations as to what was available.

So, after abandoning Walmart's grocery delivery a year or so ago, we went back to that and found that they'd quite improved the service.

Now we have a car again and I just don't see the sense of not making a 5-minute trip to the store. It was different before, because that same distance is around one hour there and one hour back when walking.

Going to have to decide at some point because I'm being charged for it.

 

[ndouglas]

Wow I’m surprised this thread has been permitted by our overlords considering how zealous the main page is every year (and every day) about promoting capitalism and endless consumption of Apple and related products. Impressive.

and yes Black Friday advertising and participation seems to get worse each year. … well, party till the wheels fall off…

 

[Nermal]

Black Friday has historically not been "a thing" here in NZ, but over the past few years - and particularly this year - the retailers have been screaming "Black Friday sales!!!" for weeks. And I really do mean weeks: as it's not a traditional event here, different retailers do it on different days. Most of them have passed now, but at least one place is having their Black Friday tomorrow.

Going actual physical shopping any time of the year is bad enough. We both avoid it like the plague. So glad we can get most things delivered these days.

I tend to buy a lot online, so I was fairly surprised to see a statistic a few days ago saying that around 85% of purchases in NZ are done in person. I can see some truth to that though: we're heading into the silly season for traffic at the moment, and a lot of that is probably people doing Christmas shopping. I was part of the problem today as I went to four different places to try to find something resembling Christmas tree lights. I failed to find any (don't people want them any more?).