How Black Friday and Cyber Monday Are Losing Their Meaning (time.com) 140
HughPickens.com writes: Brad Tuttle reports at Money Magazine that while the terms "Black Friday" and "Cyber Monday" are more ubiquitous than ever, the importance of the can't-miss shopping days is undeniably fading. Retailers seem to want it both ways: They want shoppers to spend money long before these key shopping events, and yet they also want shoppers to turn out in full force to make purchases over the epic Black Friday weekend. When they use the "Cheap Stuff!" card day after day and week after week, the deals on any single day stop seeming special. Add to that the trend of manufacturers creating stripped-down versions of their electronics to sell on Black Friday, and consumers have less reason than ever to flood retail stores.
The true story behind Black Friday is not as sunny as retailers might have you believe. Back in the 1950s, police in the city of Philadelphia used the term to describe the chaos that ensued on the day after Thanksgiving, when hordes of suburban shoppers and tourists flooded into the city in advance of the big Army-Navy football game held on that Saturday every year. Shoplifters would also take advantage of the bedlam in stores to make off with merchandise, adding to the law enforcement headache. Sometime in the late 1980s, however, retailers found a way to reinvent Black Friday and turn it into something that reflected positively, rather than negatively, on them and their customers. The result was the "red to black" concept of the holiday mentioned earlier, and the notion that the day after Thanksgiving marked the occasion when America's stores finally turned a profit.
The true story behind Black Friday is not as sunny as retailers might have you believe. Back in the 1950s, police in the city of Philadelphia used the term to describe the chaos that ensued on the day after Thanksgiving, when hordes of suburban shoppers and tourists flooded into the city in advance of the big Army-Navy football game held on that Saturday every year. Shoplifters would also take advantage of the bedlam in stores to make off with merchandise, adding to the law enforcement headache. Sometime in the late 1980s, however, retailers found a way to reinvent Black Friday and turn it into something that reflected positively, rather than negatively, on them and their customers. The result was the "red to black" concept of the holiday mentioned earlier, and the notion that the day after Thanksgiving marked the occasion when America's stores finally turned a profit.
Good riddance (Score:5, Insightful)
the sooner those preposterous feeding frenzies are history, the better.
Re: (Score:3)
You can't show you really care about someone unless you spend money on them!
That's the message they keep selling us. In my opinion you're smarter if you stopped buying into that decades ago.
Re: (Score:2)
Considering that most of the US proclaim themselves "christian", it is quite shocking that no one seems to know what a "black friday" really is and that they abuse the "term" for a "shopping event".
So much about Muslim bashing ...
Re: (Score:2)
So much about Muslim bashing ...
Oh, you mean how every other comment the last week or so is 'ISIS this, Al-Qaeda that, Muslim whatever'? I'm not sure if I believe they're low-level operatives for those organizations, spreading propaganda, or just idiots doing essentially the same thing, but if neither then they need to knock it off because that's what they're doing: getting everyone talking about those jackasses, which is exactly what they want: easier to spread FUD if you've already got them in everybody's forebrains. Best thing anyone c
Re: (Score:3)
Says the guy publishing his opinion on a public forum.
Re: (Score:2)
Why don't you just live your own life on your own terms and not be so caught up in what everyone else is doing? Because you demand people pay attention to your pseudo-intellectual nonsense. You crave that attention.
As "Black Friday" sales creep earlier and earlier into Thursday, I start thinking about the employees of these stores that might actually enjoy having Thursday, and possibly Friday off to spend time with their family.
Re: (Score:2)
Why don't you just live your own life on your own terms and not be so caught up in what everyone else is doing? Because you demand people pay attention to your pseudo-intellectual nonsense. You crave that attention.
Why don't you just live your own life on your own terms and not be so caught up getting pissed at other people's opinions?
Re: (Score:2)
Tell that to the families that can't have a decent holiday because of employers anxious to show us how unthankful they are by trampling one of the few national holidays that are observed at all as anything but an excuse to sell mattresses.
Re: Good riddance (Score:1, Funny)
It was my daughter that got trampled to death on Black Friday. But you know what? I'm over it, because the deals are just too good! Bring on the deals!!!
Re: (Score:2)
I am in Ireland and all the shops have started this Black Friday shit. We don't even have a thanksgiving here. I want off this ride.
Move to sub-Saharan Africa. I rather doubt conspicuous consumption is an issue there.
Re: (Score:2)
Went to Canada a couple of years ago to get away from hearing about it - only to find that this plague has spread to there as well.
Now they start shit like "Black Friday in July" sales.
Re: (Score:2)
Went to Canada a couple of years ago to get away from hearing about it - only to find that this plague has spread to there as well.
Now they start shit like "Black Friday in July" sales.
Which is basically like Christmas 2 or Love Day [youtube.com]
Speaking for myself... (Score:5, Informative)
Works for me (Score:4, Insightful)
Re: (Score:3)
Re: (Score:2)
Am I the only person who wants my smart features outside my TV? Just give me HDMI/Displayport hookups (and lots of them) and get out of my way. I'll buy a Roku.
Re:Works for me (Score:5, Insightful)
Far from; my TV is essentially a monitor ... it takes HDMI input from my amp, and otherwise has NO part in anything other than passively displaying what is sent to it.
It doesn't change channels, it doesn't change the volume (in fact it doesn't even make sound). It sure as hell doesn't connect to the internet or do anything 'smart'.
I see no value at all in any of these 'smart' features. I have other devices better suited to the job, and which I trust more.
Just because marketing thinks I want a 'smart TV' doesn't mean I give a shit.
It's just one more annoying place where they can try to put ads, collect my information, and try to take a cut by 'monetizing' my TV experience. Yeah, thanks but no thanks.
Re: (Score:3)
Personally, I used to have the same opinion. But then I bought a Smart TV. There was no TV with the specifications I was looking for that also wasn't a smart TV. So I bought one. After using it for a while, I decided that I didn't need a Roku, or a computer hooked directly to my TV. The TV had Netflix, Youtube, and DLNA built in. So I can watch Netfix, Youtube, and even stream videos from PLEX without having a device hooked in to my TV. It also has Miracast so I can stream stuff directly from my tablet
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Re:Works for me (Score:4, Informative)
And in the meantime it is sending bog-knows-what to who-knows-what. I think I'll pass....
Re: (Score:2)
And in the meantime it is sending bog-knows-what to who-knows-what. I think I'll pass....
I didn't pass, I checked. I had my router log the packets from my TV for a couple of weeks, then fired up Wireshark to look at who it was talking to and what it was sending. Result? On a daily basis it sends a tiny request to the manufacturer, which I suspect is checking for firmware updates. Other than that, it appears to connect to Netflix when I watch Netflix, my DLNA server when I watch stuff from it, YouTube when I watch that, etc. That's it.
It also occurs to me... if you're worried about a informati
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Does your smart TV have a microphone or camera? Some do, some don't? Who is the manufacturer if you don't mind me asking? Samsung seems to be the most gregarious about seizing "rights" in their TOS.
No camera or microphone. It's made by Sharp.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
I bought a LG 55 inch smart tv a few years ago. About 2 years later the apps were no longer supported nor updated. That's how I found roku in the first place. It's cheaper to replace the roku than the tv every 2-3 years.
Re: (Score:1)
I would just like a TV with more than 2 friggin HDMI inputs! Recent models are so damn stingy with the I/O and I don't feel like replacing a perfectly good receiver or having to buy an HDMI switch just to plug everything in these days.
Re: (Score:2)
I'm generally with you there. I've been underwhelmed by the interface that a lot of smart TVs use, as well as how the platform is generally abandoned as the company releases new TVs. I can plug in a $39 Chromecast and bring "smarts" to an 8 year old Sony, or 5 year old Best Buy Dynex.
So far I've been very happy with my Chromecast. On Netflix or Youtube, the phone or Browser interface is a lot easier to look shows up on then the Smart TV interface, and it can be done while other content is playing. Localcast
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Manufacturers have long made custom versions of products for specific store chains, and not just TV sets. Pots and pans, clothing, furniture, most products are available to any store that's willing to pay for them. Some stores (like Walmart) have a specific price point, so the manufacturers produce a model without the chrome-plated knobs, the low contrast screens, and use only the cheapest cloned capacitors and dubious quality power supplies.
There's a lot of marketing power in it, too. Not only do they g
Re: (Score:2)
There's a lot of marketing power in it, too. Not only do they get to offer big TVs for ridiculously low prices, it's also safe to tout benefits like a "150% price match guarantee", when they have the exclusive contract to sell that exact model.
Since smart consumers already know about the model exclusion trick that retailers do in order to offer that "150% price match guarantee", care to tell me why this particular kind of marketing gimmick isn't illegal?
There literally is NO WAY to obtain a price match and EVERYONE involved knows this. IANAL, but how this is not false advertising or fraud is beyond me.
Re: (Score:1)
There literally is NO WAY to obtain a price match and EVERYONE involved knows this.
But everyone doesn't know this. There are lots of people who think the 60" Samsung TV being sold by BestBuy is the same 60" Samsung TV being sold by Walmart, and if their favorite store claims to match prices, then there's no reason to go check other prices.
I remember a jewelry chain in San Diego that had a "chapter 7 liquidation" sale running for the entire five years I lived there. There's a carpet store around the corner from me now whose "SALE" signs have been in the window long enough to bleach red t
Re: (Score:2)
That reminds me of a bicycle shop in my college town which had huge posters advertising that they were going out of business every fall, when the new freshmen were starting classes.
Re: (Score:2)
I agree completely. That Motley Fool article was obviously written by a fool, because it touts "smart TV" features as something desirable, when in fact it's a big negative. Basically the whole puff piece was pushing people to buy smart TVs over superior TVs from companies like Vizio and Seiki, where you can still get dumb TVs and save a bundle while not getting stuck with shitty, privacy invading BS that spies on you and sends your conversations to some corporate HQ [scambusters.org].
What 'meaning'? (Score:5, Insightful)
These aren't days with any real significance other than the usual "quick, come buy shit".
It's not like these dates have any significance, and they're pretty much entirely fabricated by and for retail industries for their own benefit.
I've been hearing ads talking about "Black Friday Week Savings" ... whatever. It's just marketing hype and bullshit.
Yo Dawg, we hear you like sales, so we have a pre-sale so you can buy stuff while you're waiting for the sale where you can buy stuff before the next sale, for which we'll have a pre-sale and hype it even more.
Sorry, but just because corporations want a two month long shopping frenzy doesn't mean we need to care.
Stop buying shit you don't need because some asshole in marketing is telling you need to run out today and buy it. How did these clowns get everyone acting like trained fucking monkeys?
I'm so glad we've given up on the whole Christmas gift thing ... pretty much from before Halloween until middle of January it's one big, over-hyped retail cycle which has NOTHING to do with ANYTHING except corporate profits and pointless consumerism.
Losing their meaning -- what a pathetic statement.
Re: (Score:2)
Because, for the most part, they are.
I don't think that it is about the "stuff" in general. It's about the social status of being someone who has the "stuff". The more in-demand the stuff is this season, the more social status afforded to acquiring it. Even if that status is only temporary.
Vendors want to see a repeat of customers fighting for their products. Whether it be an Elmo doll or a Cabbage Patch Kid or whatever. Be cool. Be the p
It's important to keep Christ in Christmas. (Score:3)
Re: (Score:3)
And if people want to put Christ in Christmas, they would be celebrating during late Summer or sometime in the Fall instead.
Re: (Score:3)
But if you do that, you won't be able to co-opt the Roman holiday of Saturnalia.
Personally, I think we should bring back Saturnalia.
Re: (Score:2)
I'm all for any celebration that involves a lot of good food, drinking, and nowadays, indulging in the wacky weed as well.
Re: (Score:2)
I think we need to add debauchery to go with the food and drink.
Re: (Score:2)
Sounds like a good way to wind down and decompress from another busy year of living and making one's way in the world, and steeling oneself for the upcoming year and whatever it may bring.
Re: (Score:3)
Could it be that the above is the true reason, or at least one of the more valid reasons, for the season?
Re: (Score:3)
Well, given the the holiday is a winter solstice holiday, which people have celebrated probably since the dawn of agriculture, and it was originally a week long and involved temporarily suspending normal social rules, I'd say that was absolutely the primary reason for the holiday, as well as honoring the great Saturn.
Re: (Score:2)
Could it be that the above is the true reason, or at least one of the more valid reasons, for the season?
Absolutely. Getting together with friends and family, enjoying a few adult beverages, and overeating is what it's all about.
I'm not even the type who needs a lot of human contact, and I enjoy it.
And coming from an extended family dominated by super cooks, I have a very easy decision as for a new years resolution.
Re: (Score:2)
There are good odds, what with how Thanksgiving and Christmas will be going, that many of us will spend the first quarter of next year having someone follow us around with a tuba. [youtube.com]
Re: (Score:2)
That would be Mardi Gras
Come visit us in New Orleans for that...
Re: (Score:2)
But if you do that, you won't be able to co-opt the Roman holiday of Saturnalia.
Personally, I think we should bring back Saturnalia.
Excellent! I thought about putting Christ in Christmas but I just couldn't work up an outrage against Starbuck's red cups.
Re: (Score:2)
"If we really put Christ into Christmas"
I tried, really I did... but I couldn't find at a discount on Black Friday.
Re: (Score:2)
How did these clowns get everyone acting like trained fucking monkeys?
You have it backwards. Someone in marketing realized that people behave in predictable ways in response to certain stimuli and have taken advantage of it.
A market economy is simply one where natural selection is applied to favor whatever generates the most profit. It turns out that using simple psychological tricks (e.g. big savings, "can't miss" opportunity, implied scarcity, etc.) are a great way to get people to spend money. Businesses that engage in this behavior have better long term success than th
Re: (Score:2)
How did these clowns get everyone acting like trained fucking monkeys?
It turns out that using simple psychological tricks (e.g. big savings, "can't miss" opportunity, implied scarcity, etc.) are a great way to get people to spend money.
At some point Crappy Tire frequently used "Good value" signs. They were the same colour and size as a Sale sign, but they said "Good Value" and had no indication of a discounted percent, or original price. . .
. . . Because the item was for sale at its regular price.
Once I saw someone complain because they saw the big yellow sign, grabbed all the items off the shelf assuming it was such a deep discount, and arrived home only to be dismayed when they realized it was the regular price.
Re: (Score:2)
assuming it was such a deep discount, and arrived home only to be dismayed when they realized it was the regular price.
Harbor Freight - same thing. You have to pay attention to their specials. I bought a 950 watt Generator for 89 dollars - decent price. But I've seen it as high as 149.00, and once at 79.00. All the prices advertised as "specials". Same with many other items. Most regulars get used to it, and figure it out
Re: (Score:2)
Hey at least it's a holiday that's not all about me, me, me. Sure, the retailers want to exploit it like every other special day (Mother's Day, Father's Day, Valentine's Day, Halloween etc.) but I kinda like finding a nice gift for someone, when I can. And it's a pretty good excuse to enjoy the end of the year the same way Sunday is the end of the week. Don't let commercialism get in the way of Christmas, it's pretty hard to ruin Crazy Shopping Day though since that was all it meant.
Re: (Score:3)
I just wish they would at least confine it to Friday. By letting it seep into thursday, they're causing quite a few dismal Thanksgiving dinners for the family of people who have to work.
Re: (Score:2)
Well, at least they're close to a national holiday. We've got Canadian retailers up here advertising Black Friday, and we celebrated Thanksgiving over a month ago.
Re: (Score:2)
Long before they were creating special models for Black Friday, retailers like CompUSA and Circuit City were buying up laptops with known design flaws (like a model made with hard drives whose fucked-up firmware seemingly worked fine with FAT32, but would slowly mangle NTFS or EXT2... their excuse was that they never said it would work with anything besides the OS it shipped with (Windows 98, if I recall). Goddamn, I spent literally 3 weeks trying to figure out why Windows 2000 Pro would self-destruct withi
Re: (Score:2)
I looked at a couple of this year's SSD deals from Fry's and Micro Center. Same thing. Insane failure rates or performance degradation problems.
Just think, HP could have just released updated firmware.
Pass (Score:1)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
LOL ... I was practically homicidal when I saw the first Christmas movie in my on-screen TV guide before Halloween. And now it seems pretty much every day of the week, in pretty much every time slot, there's at least one Christmas movie in my TV guide.
Christmas has become nothing more than a three-and-a-half month long bullshit marketing cycle.
Who gives a crap about these reta
Re: (Score:2)
Who gives a crap about these retail events "losing their meaning" ... the underlying holiday has so utterly lost its meaning...
The holiday lost its meaning long ago. It's retained some of it: gift giving has *always* been a major part of the holiday. However other parts have faded away, such as wearing conical hats, wearing loungewear, and slaves eating before their masters (or even being served by their masters) and being able to criticize their masters without fear of punishment. All these things have
Brick and Mortar stuff is dying (Score:2)
AliExpress/Alibaba have 365 black fridays a year, on the Chinese singles day (11/11) they sold stuff for 14 billion dollars on a single day, pardon the pun.
Re: (Score:1)
Just wait til American retailers try to push and American Single Day
Re: (Score:1)
We can't have American singles day unless you can find 00/00 on the calendar.
Two companies, one red cup (Score:2)
Now the mainstream media is going after BLACK FRIDAY. When will their War on Christmas end?
Re: (Score:2)
When will their War on Christians end?
FTFY - The only people who have a problem with Christmas are Christians, who feel left out of the celebrations. After all, the holidays are for them and not everyone else.
Re: (Score:2)
When will their War on Christians end?
FTFY - The only people who have a problem with Christmas are Christians, who feel left out of the celebrations. After all, the holidays are for them and not everyone else.
You mean when will this war on Saturnalia end...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... [wikipedia.org]
"...consumers have less reason..." (Score:2)
The violence haven't gone away... (Score:2)
Re: (Score:1)
Should've beaten someone with the crockpot and taken their TV.
Re: (Score:3)
Re: (Score:2)
And ruin a brand new crockpot? Are you nuts?!
I just scored one of the old ones that gets hot enough to be a fryer, too. For five bucks as well, coincidentally. It even came with the cookbook from 1975 or whatever.
BLACK Friday? That's just racist! (Score:5, Funny)
Re: (Score:2)
Also, the Black Friday holiday has been ruined by commercialism. I remember when it was all about worship of Mammon.
BACK OFF fatboy, give me time to finish my pumpkin pie!
Shopping events are a thing of the past (Score:2)
Big shopping events like sales or black friday do not make much sense in the information age.
Back then it was a way to manage supply. Now, everything is stream based, predictions are made to make sure that shops get the right amount of supplies. The result is that instead of a predictable pattern that resulted in special events, we are now left with random noise.
Shops now try to capitalize on the outdated shopping event concept by crafting special offers for it but people start noticing that it completely a
Black Friday emblematic of wider econimic issues (Score:3)
If it survives three years it's a tradition now? (Score:2)
They've existed long enough to have a meaning?
Shopping is for cows. (Score:1)
You are all cows. Cows say moo. MOOOO! MOOOO! Moo cows MOOOO! Moo say the cows. YOU TRAMPLED COWS!!
Re: (Score:2)
Can someone please explain this joke to me? It's usually the first response in any thread and rated a -1.
It's not funny, doesn't make me angry so can't be trolling, and doesn't reference anything I can think of. What's the point?
Re: (Score:2)
FINALLY, the cow troll is on topic!
For Catholics (Score:1, Interesting)
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
Re: (Score:2, Troll)
No, that's "Good Friday" you're thinking of. Black Friday got its name in Philadelphia in the 50s because it was right before some sports game and there was a lot of petty crime and shoplifting that day, creating a big headache for the police.
Re: (Score:1)
lol a Catholic complaining about cultural imperialism
I needed a good laugh today!
DOOR BUSTER SALES! (Score:3)
Boy, I so hate that term. It conotates everything that is wrong with this whole Black Friday thing.
Re: (Score:2)
You're right. It takes money to repair a busted door. We tried "Door Slightly Ajar" sales but we couldn't get it past marketing. We also tried "Hey, we're open now and we have a sale going on that really isn't much of a sale compared to the rest of the year but we're going to hype it up for no reason whatsoever anyway!" but it was panned as being too literal.
Those marketing drones I tell ya...
Oh, I know! Let's call it the "Shoot, Stab, and Trample Sale!" because...what? Too literal again? Guess I know why I
No more!!! (Score:1)
Internet shopping has for the most part made brick-and-mortar shopping a thing of the past.
These deals are not so, you can normally find the same items with better prices online a week after black friday.
I'm done risking life and limb going into walmart at frickin 4am after turkey day.
Re: (Score:2)
I'm done risking life and limb going into walmart at frickin 4am after turkey day.
If you wait that long, all the good deals will be gone.
Walmart will be open at 6 PM on Thanksgiving Day....and so will a lot of other stores.
They're just not mentioning that Thursday is Thanksgiving Day.
http://www.theblackfriday.com/stores-opening-on-thanksgiving.php [theblackfriday.com]
Simple (Score:2)
There hasn't been a Black Friday deal worth getting out of bed for since the late 1990s.
As soon as the media latched onto Black Friday as an "event" it started going downhill.
- Earlier hours
- Worse deals
- Fewer store exclusive deals
- Larger crowds (worse odds of getting a deal)
- Larger crowds (better odds of getting stabbed or trampled)
- Pervasiveness of deal sites facilitating hoarders and resellers
I've personally nev
Re: (Score:2)
Barnes and Nobles buy 1 get 1 50% off on collectible classics (their fancy leatherbound editions of classic literature), in conjunction with 30% off one item isn't bad.
There are some decent firearms deals out there, but for electronics, other than some deals at costco, there's not much to be excited about.
Re: (Score:2)
While most of what you say is true, I got a great Core i7 desktop for only $479. I didn't even have to wait for Black Friday. The CPU that was in it retails for $300 alone.
There's another piece (Score:2)
In addition to the already described points of "Black Friday" turning into "Black Week", and Amazon apps dinging us when there's a new deal we can swipe-left or swipe-right, the stores painted themselves into a bit of a corner - "up to 80% off!"...that thing that no one wants, ever. The things that are actually wanted are only 5% off. The $200 laptops...each store only gets three of them, so if you're dediated enough to be one of the first three in line, you might be lucky enough to get one, but stores stop
Don't recall... (Score:2)
Black Friday until mid June (Score:2)
I live in a smaller community of about 6000 people. We have a Wal-Mart here and it of course gets lots of our money. But when it comes to Black Friday sales, the products they bring in seem to last until mid June. Last year they had three pallets of these 32" RCA TV's for only $125.00. It was a good deal if you could live with 720p and only 1 HDMI, 1 Composite and 1 PC connection. It also had a tuner but we don't get any OTA this far from the city. It took until June before there was only one pallet l
I read the linked USA Today article (Score:1)
the day after Thanksgiving = turning a profit (Score:1)
'Black Friday' - what's that? (Score:2)
I stoppd paying attention to Christmas, Easter, etc - even birthdays - many years ago exactly because of the commercialisation of it. The thought of gorging myself on food and drinks that I don't actually like, in the company of people that I mostly don't care about and wouldn't see at any other time, just doesn't appeal for some reason. Plus, of course, the frenzy to buy gifts that are mostly misplaced and unwanted. (Sorry, did that sound cynical?)
I very pointedly do not buy gifts for birthdays or Christma
Re: (Score:2)
I agree. I've called a "gift truce" with my S.O. and my sister. We caught ourselves just buying crap that wasn't needed for each other just so we weren't "offending" each other by not buying a gift for the occasions so we agreed to stop.
Almost 90% of the year to make a profit, sad... (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Compiling your kernel again while trying to uninstall SystemD.
Why would you need to compile a kernel to uninstall systemD? Its about the only thing that would be unaffected at this point.
Just apt-get purge systemd && apt-get install $anyOtherInitDeamon