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You are here: Home / Open Threads / Shopping Madness

Shopping Madness

by John Cole|  November 27, 200910:02 am| 124 Comments

This post is in: Open Threads

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How many of you actually intend to go shopping today?

*** Update ***

What I thought. Most of you are like me and could not be dragged kicking and screaming near a store today. Which reminded me- do any of you remember a couple years back when there was an online call to action to shop to save America, and shopping was like the highest form of patriotism, etc. I want to say it was an Instapundit thing, but I just can’t remember.

We’ll be greeted as liberators, the war will pay for itself, and we can shop our way to prosperity!

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Reader Interactions

124Comments

  1. 1.

    r€nato

    November 27, 2009 at 10:04 am

    no. farking. way.

  2. 2.

    robertdsc

    November 27, 2009 at 10:04 am

    Not I.

  3. 3.

    donovong

    November 27, 2009 at 10:04 am

    No wucking fay, kemo sabe. Not even if they were giving away Powerbooks preloaded with free porn and WoW.

  4. 4.

    erlking

    November 27, 2009 at 10:05 am

    I’d rather saw my own foot off.

  5. 5.

    Woodrowfan

    November 27, 2009 at 10:06 am

    Online only. haven’t been in a Mall (except to go to a restaurant or a movie) in several years…

  6. 6.

    Wayne

    November 27, 2009 at 10:07 am

    I’d rather saw someone elses foot off.

  7. 7.

    debit

    November 27, 2009 at 10:07 am

    Does grocery shopping count?

  8. 8.

    Waynski

    November 27, 2009 at 10:09 am

    @erlking — WIN.

  9. 9.

    Karen

    November 27, 2009 at 10:09 am

    Oh hell no. I hate shopping. Amazon.com, here I come. (My son claimed their stock lost value when I stopped buying as many books as I have.)

  10. 10.

    UlyssesUnbound

    November 27, 2009 at 10:11 am

    I braved the crowds–first time I’ve ever participated in Black Friday. I have to say, other than being tired from waking up so fracking early, it wasn’t too bad. I waited in line at Office Depot for $300 off a desktop PC. The managers handled the crowd well and everyone was happy. Then it was across the strip mall to a department store for $250 off a kitchen aid stand mixer. All in all, a loss of sleep and a wait of an hour for saving $550 was well worth it.

  11. 11.

    JenJen

    November 27, 2009 at 10:12 am

    I saw some pretty awesome Macy’s door-busters in the paper yesterday, promptly went online, found the exact same prices there already, with free shipping over $99, picked up the best deals, and went in the kitchen to baste the turkey some more.

    No muss, no fuss, no parking, no people. Gawd I love the internets.

  12. 12.

    Tom65

    November 27, 2009 at 10:13 am

    Oh HELL no.

  13. 13.

    SiubhanDuinne

    November 27, 2009 at 10:13 am

    Not this mother’s child, for sure. I think the hype surrounding “Black Friday” is absurd. Some stores open at midnight, or 4:00 am, local news stations send their traffic helicopters out to report on which mall parking lots still have space (the “shopper chopper”), people stand in line for hours in the cold and then trample each other when the doors open as though they were hopped-up bulls in Pamplona, and all for the sake of “getting a bargain” which probably isn’t a deal they couldn’t get next week or grabbing a wildly-overpriced “scarce” item. I hate the tradition of it, the stores and media for encouraging it as competitive sport, and the people for participating in it.

    And you?

  14. 14.

    valdivia

    November 27, 2009 at 10:13 am

    no shopping. lounging around on a gray day after yesterday’s whirlwind.

  15. 15.

    Rey

    November 27, 2009 at 10:14 am

    No way- hosay—

    Heard it’s been a madhouse here at the local Walmart and such.

  16. 16.

    Kristine

    November 27, 2009 at 10:17 am

    Grocery shopping, possibly. Wouldn’t set foot in a brick and mortar department store today if you paid me.

    Online may be another story.

  17. 17.

    jeffreyw

    November 27, 2009 at 10:17 am

    I clicked through to amazon from here twice today, meaning to buy the complete calvin and hobbes, but twice the sale didn’t go through. Is it a problem with the referral from BJ? Never had a one refuse to work before.

  18. 18.

    HRA

    November 27, 2009 at 10:18 am

    Not I. I got cured some years ago when a jerk yelled I was taking too much time looking at children’s books and he walked away when I moved for him.

  19. 19.

    Rey

    November 27, 2009 at 10:18 am

    Although- I am looking forward to footage on the news when they show Americans running into the stores like shit is free. And then there is always the woman that has the wig falling off her head as she falls to the ground and nearly gets killed by everyone running over her. lol- Good times…..

  20. 20.

    jeffreyw

    November 27, 2009 at 10:19 am

    @jeffreyw: make that read “one click order”

  21. 21.

    Hawes

    November 27, 2009 at 10:20 am

    My wife will, but it’s a tradition of hers to go shopping on days that end in the letter “y”.

  22. 22.

    burnspbesq

    November 27, 2009 at 10:24 am

    I wasn’t planning to, but my desk chair died on Wednesday evening.

    If anyone can recommend something that is as good as an Aeron (it was a Christmas gift about 7-8 years ago) but substantially less expensive, that would be much appreciated.

  23. 23.

    Calouste

    November 27, 2009 at 10:25 am

    I’ll do some grocery shopping when I arrive in Hawaii for my vacation, but that will be it.

  24. 24.

    bago

    November 27, 2009 at 10:27 am

    I’ll probably go see Ninja Assassin, but that’s because I prefer my spectacles driven to the point of parody to be safely contained works of fiction.

  25. 25.

    RSA

    November 27, 2009 at 10:27 am

    I hope fewer people will be killed by shoppers today than last year.

  26. 26.

    beltane

    November 27, 2009 at 10:30 am

    Not me. Not under any circumstances. Though I do find it fascinating to observe how easily humans can be manipulated into behaving like pigs. Wave a slop bucket and both species tend to grunt and push and jostle.

    Working in retail when I was younger gave me a very dim view of homo sapiens. I can understand why starving people would fight over a crust of bread. i will never understand why well fed people would line up at 3 am outside of a Wal-Mart, ready to trample others to death to get a allegedly good deal on a Wii.

    Pamplona has its running of the bulls; we have our Running of the Bullshit.

  27. 27.

    Max

    November 27, 2009 at 10:30 am

    Get thee to the mall! I’m here at work right now and it’s busier than last year and we opened earlier (5 am).

    Great bargains. I am hopeful that this holiday season will be better than last year.

  28. 28.

    Osceola

    November 27, 2009 at 10:33 am

    @bago
    My son went to see Ninja Assassin last night and said it was terrible. With his usual taste in movies you would be better off just throwing the money away. Shopping? I have to go to the hardware store. Does that count?

  29. 29.

    bdeevdad

    November 27, 2009 at 10:34 am

    Already done via Amazon. Wife hates shopping.

  30. 30.

    freelancer

    November 27, 2009 at 10:34 am

    Black friday is like Kryptonite for my sense of patriotism.

    Hoardes of well-intentioned Americans trampling over each other to get $15 DVD players and $200 HDTV’s, none of which are manufactured in America.

    The Chinese sure are getting their money’s worth, owning both our debt and our manufacturing base.

  31. 31.

    StonyPillow

    November 27, 2009 at 10:35 am

    No grisly stampedes, murder or mayhem reported yet. But the day is still young.

  32. 32.

    Butch

    November 27, 2009 at 10:36 am

    No. No, no, no. Actually we quit exchanging a while ago; we’re both scuba divers and would rather put the money toward a trip. There’s diving here in Colorado but it’s cold….

  33. 33.

    canuckistani

    November 27, 2009 at 10:36 am

    Online only. Where I don’t have to see ugly, smelly people.

  34. 34.

    Karen

    November 27, 2009 at 10:37 am

    http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_13877967

    Classy people in action. Shopping…

  35. 35.

    freelancer

    November 27, 2009 at 10:39 am

    @Karen:

    C’mon, it’s fair game unless she was pregnant, or in the military, or a minority.

    /IGMFU

  36. 36.

    Arnon O'Miss but not really

    November 27, 2009 at 10:42 am

    not me, I have a photo exhibition tonight and I also finished the first draft of my newest novel, The Newropean.

  37. 37.

    eemom

    November 27, 2009 at 10:44 am

    even my 15 year old daughter won’t go near a mall today. Nuff said.

  38. 38.

    smiley

    November 27, 2009 at 10:46 am

    Best Buy has a Compaq netbook on sale for $179.99 today and tomorrow only. I’m sorely tempted. They might be sold out tomorrow.

  39. 39.

    Elizabelle

    November 27, 2009 at 10:46 am

    Nope. No shopping or malls at all.

    Wishing we’d thought ahead and scooped up more Turkey day leftovers, though. It was a 35 pound bird, and likely fearsome in real life.

  40. 40.

    Punchy

    November 27, 2009 at 10:47 am

    If by shopping you mean hosting a large poker party, then yes.

    If by shopping you mean going butts-to-nuts with 8 gazillion frantic, crazy women with 9 bags apiece, then hell no.

  41. 41.

    PeakVT

    November 27, 2009 at 10:50 am

    I hate Black Friday so much I’m willing to join the War on Thanksgiving.

  42. 42.

    cay

    November 27, 2009 at 10:52 am

    goin’ scuba diving!

  43. 43.

    Fern

    November 27, 2009 at 10:54 am

    Our equivalent to Black Friday is the Boxing Day sales. There is nothing in the world that I need so badly that I am willing to stand in line at 30 below and face overcrowded stores and pushy people.

  44. 44.

    freelancer

    November 27, 2009 at 10:56 am

    @cay:

    don’t forget the dildos!

  45. 45.

    wonkie

    November 27, 2009 at 10:57 am

    Nope. I already did moswt of myChristmas shopping. My goals is to get everything in the mail eforee the lines get too long. Of course that’s my goal every year and I usually don’t meet it.

  46. 46.

    bedtimeforbonzo

    November 27, 2009 at 10:59 am

    Watching the Black Friday reports on the news all week, I kept thinking to myself it must be the most hyped event year after year, a real Groundhog Day perennial.

    I’m not much of a shopper (especially clothes; thank God for catalogs) and don’t cotton to shopping amidst big crowds at all, so Black Friday is a no-go for me. Besides, I work on BF; clearly, most people don’t — the short ride in was like a ghost town.

    Before I got into the car business earlier this decade, I would have thought BF was an event for the malls and big-box stores. But surprisingly, it has traditionally been a good day for car sales.

    Last year we sold six cars on the used lot and they did OK in new across the street. But comparing year-over-year sales is becoming less and less of a guide as market conditions change so much: Been here since 9 and nary a soul has walked on the lot. Scary to think what December — always slow — will bring.

  47. 47.

    MattF

    November 27, 2009 at 11:00 am

    Well, I might go buy myself a cupcake. Sugar, butter, and chocolate being three out of the four basic food groups. The interesting news is that there will be a ‘cash for clunkers’ for household appliances, so probably sometime next year I’ll replace that old, leaking, broken dishwasher.

  48. 48.

    Steph

    November 27, 2009 at 11:04 am

    The fact that people have actually been killed on Black Friday, all in the name of buying unneeded crap, is reason enough for a boycott.

    Happy International Buy Nothing Day!

  49. 49.

    ET

    November 27, 2009 at 11:18 am

    No freaking way.

    Saying that about 2 years ago I was up earlier (still on a turkey high I guess) and got a bug in pants about it. So I went at about 6:30-7. Went to both Best Buy and Target and was out in enough time to be at work for 8:30-9. All of the morons who were that at O-dark hundred were finished and out of the door and the wake up at a reasonable time shoppers hadn’t arrived yet. I had no wait in the lines of either store and I got what I needed. If I had done this during a regular weekend it would have taken way more time.

  50. 50.

    jcricket

    November 27, 2009 at 11:19 am

    I once accidentally went shopping on Black Friday – I had forgotten just how crazy the mall was and wanted something (not as a gift). oops.

    Many years of working in retail on black friday during college cured me of any desire to shop on this day. Plus now that I have kids, I have specifically avoided promising them any kind of toys that you can only get by waiting in line.

    Online shopping only during the holiday season, if at all possible.

  51. 51.

    JenJen

    November 27, 2009 at 11:19 am

    @smiley: That was a good one. I tried online, where they offered the same price, but it was already sold out… probably just like in the stores.

  52. 52.

    jcricket

    November 27, 2009 at 11:20 am

    @smiley: I’ve read on gizmodo and engadget that you might want to be careful with these super cheap laptops/TVs. Some of them have horrible warranties, or run only Windows Vista, etc.

    Buyer beware on that stuff.

  53. 53.

    Lisa K.

    November 27, 2009 at 11:20 am

    Grocery shopping…the pets are out of food.

  54. 54.

    JenJen

    November 27, 2009 at 11:26 am

    I don’t know if any of you are in Europe or have lived there, but as an American I always marveled at the lack of materialism at Christmastime there. When I was in Germany, the days preceding Christmas were delightful, with Christmas markets and lots of baking and ornament-making. Family members bought one small gift, like a nice sweater or something, for their loved ones. On the big day, you ate a wonderful meal (fondue was traditional in my region), in the early afternoon, and then everyone would go out for like a 5-mile, rather strenuous hike.

    Maybe it’s changed, and it’s as commercial there now as it’s almost always been here. But I hope not, for their sake, and I really, really need to get back to Germany one Christmas to visit my friends.

  55. 55.

    smiley

    November 27, 2009 at 11:28 am

    @jcricket: This one has a 1-year limited warranty and runs on Windows XP Home (+SP3). JenJen is probably right though. Likely sold out already.

  56. 56.

    andy

    November 27, 2009 at 11:29 am

    It’s the perfect day for a visit to the laundromat or buying food at the Coop!

  57. 57.

    PurpleGirl

    November 27, 2009 at 11:29 am

    Years ago I enjoyed mall shopping — walking in and out of stores for a few hours. But after I began having back problems that became harder to do. And now with malls having hip-hop and dance music blaring all the time, I don’t enjoy the mall atmosphere. So if I want to go to a store that is in a mall, I head just there and then leave. Anyway I never found the idea of early morning shopping enticing so these doorbuster sales aren’t interesting to me.

    I had planned to maybe go to the new Micheal’s Crafts on the Upper West Side (Manhattan) but my apartment building is doing some plumbing work and they need access to certain hot water pipes from my bathroom so I’m stuck at home for a few hours. I do need to do some food shopping but that’s a local grocery store.

  58. 58.

    Dream On

    November 27, 2009 at 11:32 am

    Hell no. I heard somewhere that the economy was bad.

  59. 59.

    asiangrrlMN

    November 27, 2009 at 11:33 am

    Oh to the hell fucking no. I hate crowds, stupid people, and noise. I loathe shopping. Put it all together, and if I were forced to go shopping today (if I were, indeed, well enough to leave the house), and you would read about the Asian woman in MN going postal at Rosedale Mall. Seriously. You’d read about it and think, “Hm. She sounds fam–it’s asiangrrlMN from Balloon Juice!”

    I only shop online. Normally, I am done by this time because I hate holidays and hope to get it done as quickly as possible. This year, though, I just can’t do it. I may skip Christmas completely.

  60. 60.

    freelancer

    November 27, 2009 at 11:34 am

    This link just popped up at C&L:

    http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/cspanjunkie/celebrate-buy-nothing-day-reverend-bil

    This guy is lovingly profiled in the movie “What would Jesus buy?” which can be seen on Netflix Watch Instant.

    However, I was disappointed in the activism because like a lot of lefty protest (coughCODEPINKcough) it seemed more an exercise in bolstering protesters’ self-esteem rather than an effective avenue towards change.

    Guy completely goes medieval on the xBox 360 and how we don’t need one. (Guess on which platform I found and watched his movie?) Well, duh, but it’s more about the negative consequences of conspicuous consumerism and corporate globalization that we don’t see that is the issue. Getting arrested at Disneyland or kicked out of the Mall of America for forming a flashmob choir that sings about the ills of buying mass produced bullshit doesn’t really accomplish much. That being said, if there is one thing he’s doing, he might be engaging in consciousness raising, which he’s getting exposure on CNN and other mediums.

    I still channel my inner Lloyd Dobler on days like today:

    I don’t want to sell anything, buy anything, or process anything as a career. I don’t want to sell anything bought or processed, or buy anything sold or processed, or process anything sold, bought, or processed, or repair anything sold, bought, or processed. You know, as a career, I don’t want to do that.

  61. 61.

    jcricket

    November 27, 2009 at 11:34 am

    @smiley: Just throwing up a caution light (not specifically about that laptop, but in general). You know the whole “looks to good to be true…” kind of thing.

    At any rate – I will be doing a bunch of holiday shopping online this year. Last year was pretty reduced (blew our wad on a family vacation), but I finally saved up enough to get a home theater/sound system. So I’m busy scouring all the deal sites to wait for the $50 coupons and price-drops that are trickling in now.

    That’s exciting, and does not involve getting trampled.

  62. 62.

    Xanthippas

    November 27, 2009 at 11:34 am

    My wife loves it…which is why I’m at work right now, supporting her habit.

  63. 63.

    Pococurante

    November 27, 2009 at 11:34 am

    I do all my shopping on Super Bowl Sunday… I have the entire city to myself. Great stuff.

  64. 64.

    Elroy's Lunch

    November 27, 2009 at 11:35 am

    Not me. Spent all my money on BJ. Well spent I’d say.

  65. 65.

    asiangrrlMN

    November 27, 2009 at 11:35 am

    @asiangrrlMN: Please to forgive grammatical error in first paragraph. I was too riled at the thought of shopping today to check.

  66. 66.

    bemused

    November 27, 2009 at 11:36 am

    I’ve never gone shopping on these crazy days, shudder, & never plan to ever but might make an exception if I got the bargains that Ulysses Unbound did & that was the only day to get them.
    Every year I have hated the media reporting obsessively on how the retail world is doing during the holiday shopping season. Just briefly looking at the news this am, it’s already much worse this year almost giving breaking news hourly updates on retail sale dollar amounts.
    After a 3 day cleaning/cooking marathon, I skipped the morning cereal & went for the turkey day leftovers. Now I’m settling down on the sofa with the new Molly Ivins biography for a few minutes & a nice long nap. Heaven.

  67. 67.

    Jamey

    November 27, 2009 at 11:37 am

    I bought new hockey skates online–saved a further 20% off the already reduced price of Mission NME 9-1s (Bauer bought Mission last year and smothered the infant ’09-’10 product line in the crib. The year’s production was liquidated). Shame what’s happened to the ice hockey gear biz. Didn’t have to trample anyone to get them.

    The wife is going to the local produce co-op.

    Does that count?

  68. 68.

    Kirk Spencer

    November 27, 2009 at 11:38 am

    Yes, both the wife and I went. I went because I make pies and WalMart was selling pyrex pans for a price too good to ignore. My wife was TRYING to get new towels same place, and also had reason to go to Target which put her in Mall Street. (shudder).

    FWIW, my “personal annoyance” with these is the combination of limited supplies and “fill the basket” shoppers. The towels, for example, took two people (each store) to empty at both stores, both using four baskets between them. The pie pans… I managed to get one because someone had set it in the wrong place while digging through things.

    ON THE OTHER HAND… I went about an hour and a half after the door-buster had opened, and the crowds were much thinner than what my wife described. I got the towel story from one of the workers there, not from observation.

    For this reason, if there’s something you want that should be on sale but isn’t a door-buster type of item (in other words, rain checks or restocks are possible) I’d be comfortable suggesting a trip this afternoon.

  69. 69.

    Just Some Fuckhead

    November 27, 2009 at 11:38 am

    How many of you actually intend to go shopping today?

    Can’t, this is the time of the year I break into the houses of people who are out shopping.

  70. 70.

    Jamey

    November 27, 2009 at 11:39 am

    Yeah, who the fuck with a lick of sense goes out to shop on the one day when all the news media are reporting on the horrors of holiday rush shopping. Why, that’s like continuing to smoke even after someone put a sticker on the pack that says that smoking will kill you.

    Oh, wait …

  71. 71.

    CaseyL

    November 27, 2009 at 11:39 am

    Human and pet food, and supplements only, today. In fact, no gift shopping at all, since I’m broke this year. If I absolutely have to give someone something, I have a pile of “potential prezzies” purchased in happier, earlier, more employed days.

  72. 72.

    JenJen

    November 27, 2009 at 11:41 am

    @asiangrrlMN: You and I may have been separated at birth. Except for the part where I’m Carpatho-Russian.

  73. 73.

    slag

    November 27, 2009 at 11:48 am

    But does grocery shopping count? I’ve got a tofu turkey to purchase.

    As for other stuff, I used your Amazon link last night, John. First time I’ve used Amazon in years, so I appreciate the reminder about the link! Made me feel like I was doing something at least minimally useful while I was reluctantly purchasing a gift for people who have a tendency to just throw stuff away rather than getting it repaired. Gotta expand the economy and the Great Pacific Garbage Patch somehow, I guess.

    Obviously, I’m overcome with holiday spirit today. I’ll go away now.

  74. 74.

    asiangrrlMN

    November 27, 2009 at 11:48 am

    @JenJen: And I’m Taiwanese and don’t twit. Other than that, we’re likethis!

  75. 75.

    asiangrrlMN

    November 27, 2009 at 11:50 am

    @slag: You stay. You are definitely in the right place for curmudgeons.

  76. 76.

    Janefinch

    November 27, 2009 at 11:51 am

    Not today…will go south to North Dakota tomorrow for the day-after-Black-Friday bargains.

  77. 77.

    aimai

    November 27, 2009 at 11:53 am

    I’m heading out in a minute to buy fresh bread to eat with leftover turkey. But I’m not actually planning on eating lunch, myself, at all–my guests want it. I’m saving up because we are going out to Oleana tonight. It was the only night of the year we could get a reservation and we have foodie guests in town.

    But otherwise, no, you wouldn’t catch me shopping today. I don’t think of christmas shopping as being full of boring/mall style, consumer goods anyway. Maybe its our time of life but we and our friends and family have all the consumer frangibles that we need. Christmukah is devoted to giving things that can’t be found in malls, at target, or at best buy.

    aimai

  78. 78.

    Ash Can

    November 27, 2009 at 11:57 am

    Shopping today? HALE to the NAWL. Bottle Rocket and I will be out and about, dropping off Thanksgiving leftovers to an elderly aunt, but no stores for us.

    I minimize my store shopping anyway. I find gorgeous, practically unused goodies for the ladies in the family for pennies on the dollar at fancy-shmancy tag sales throughout the year, and neither the husband nor the bro-in-law want me to get them anything. That leaves Bottle Rocket, and one trip each to the Lego Store and to Toys R Us — on a weekday when the kids are in school and before the last-minute rush starts up — covers that.

  79. 79.

    mandarama

    November 27, 2009 at 11:57 am

    Yeah, yeah, I hear everyone’s good reasons from personal comfort to political stance. I still like it. My sis and I have a fun tradition where we get up at the buttcrack of dawn and complete a planned expedition for targeted gifts. It sometimes involves doughnuts. We stay unfailingly cheerful, and we reprove anyone crabby with a patented “you knew it would be like this; now love your fellow humans or we’ll kick your ass” attitude. We started doing this in our 20s when we had teeny-tiny budgets, and now we consider it fun. Kind of like football players consider participating in a game where the actual point is to painfully run into other people fun, I guess. Uh, except we don’t run into anyone, as I mentioned already.

  80. 80.

    srv

    November 27, 2009 at 11:57 am

    I have always loathed this day, but this is the first I’ve spent working tending a major ecommerce site.

  81. 81.

    TaosJohn

    November 27, 2009 at 11:58 am

    I never buy anything unless I’m unconscious.

  82. 82.

    trollhattan

    November 27, 2009 at 12:03 pm

    Nyetski on shopski. Going to Tut exhibit, so perhaps a gift shop stop. Am planning to ask them where the “Don’t touch my Tuts” tshirts are (a somewhat popular item the last time funky Tut was here).

  83. 83.

    Charity

    November 27, 2009 at 12:07 pm

    @jeffreyw: Hey Jeffrey, I had a problem with Amazon this morning too, trying to order some DVD’s for my mom’s birthday. I wasn’t sure if I used the BJ link or not. Weird! Maybe they just had a system glitch.

    Hell of an awesome day to have your shopping server crap out. glares at Amazon

  84. 84.

    Tom Levenson

    November 27, 2009 at 12:09 pm

    No, no, a thousand times no.

    If I leave the house before dinner at the in-laws, it will be to get another couple of sticks for the fire.

  85. 85.

    Tom Levenson

    November 27, 2009 at 12:09 pm

    @Just Some Fuckhead: Win. (Can I come?)

  86. 86.

    RedKitten

    November 27, 2009 at 12:10 pm

    We’ll be looking for a new crib this evening. Sam’s crib is one of the ones included in that huge Storkcraft recall (evidently, the drop-down side hardware is mucho unsafe). They said they’ll send out something to “fix” it, but I’ve decided that Sam isn’t going to spend another night in that cheap Chinese piece of shit. Hopefully we’ll be able to get a refund when the class action suit goes through, but regardless — the kid’s getting a new crib, even if I have to hock my jewelry for it.

  87. 87.

    Anoniminous

    November 27, 2009 at 12:14 pm

    Never.

    I fail to see the sense of buying stuff between November 27th and December 24th when the exact same stuff will be 20% to 80% off on December 26th.

    Yes. I am a cheapskate.

  88. 88.

    DaddyJ

    November 27, 2009 at 12:15 pm

    Don’t plan to hit the malls today, and John, wasn’t it Bush himself who urged us all to just go shopping?

    Anyway, what I’m wondering is when and where did the phrase “Black Friday” come from? I’d never heard it until last year. I think it’s a really awful coinage: why on earth would you use a phrase reminiscent of catastrophic market collapse to describe post-holiday shopping activity?

  89. 89.

    henqiguai

    November 27, 2009 at 12:33 pm

    re: DaddyJ #88

    Anyway, what I’m wondering is when and where did the phrase “Black Friday” come from?

    Retail accounting. It’s the day the majority of retail operations expect to finally break into the ‘black’ for the year.

    If I recall correctly.

  90. 90.

    Steeplejack

    November 27, 2009 at 12:34 pm

    @John Cole:

    I will be going to the store today, and it will be kicking and screaming, because I have to work at the store today. The silver lining is that I don’t go in until 4:30, and I’m hoping there will be something of a lull after about 7:00. But it’s basically going to be crazy between now and about January 5. (After Christmas everybody comes in to return everything or else to shop with gift cards they received.)

  91. 91.

    asiangrrlMN

    November 27, 2009 at 12:35 pm

    @Steeplejack: Luck, Steep man. I would not want to be you right now. Sorry.

  92. 92.

    Woodrow "Asim" Jarvis Hill

    November 27, 2009 at 12:38 pm

    Like a couple others, I went out shopping w/friends. First time in some years for a physical shopping BF, an d it was fun — with friends. I’d shopped for most folks online already, made my lists the same way, compared prices & reviews beforehand to ensuse Quality, and stayed the hell away from “hot” items, esp. Electronics (which were almost always cheaper online as well).
    I like challanges, saw it as a big adventure, and had a blast. I, too, would go ’round the bend if it was a duty.

  93. 93.

    gwangung

    November 27, 2009 at 12:42 pm

    @Woodrow “Asim” Jarvis Hill: A group outing makes sense. By yourself…not so much.

    Accordingly, I’m sitting in a Starbucks, sipping morning coffee and getting my one moment of sun for the next two months…

  94. 94.

    PurpleGirl

    November 27, 2009 at 12:42 pm

    DaddyJ: Black Friday — the retail segment starts to make its profit for the year on the first day of the Christmas shopping season, i.e., they go into the black side of profit ledger. The Wekipedia article gives several dates for several meanings to the term, but it seems to have started in the Philadelphia area.

  95. 95.

    HRA

    November 27, 2009 at 12:47 pm

    @JenJen:

    Christmas in Germany seems a lot like my childhood Christmases. After all the years of having to wear myself out shopping for gifts and being Santa to my 6 kids, I appreciate those childhood Christmases ever so much more. It’s no wonder I find Thanksgiving my favorite holiday.

    I think it was after 9/11 that we were told to “shop to save America”, John.

  96. 96.

    gnomedad

    November 27, 2009 at 12:51 pm

    If I could put the Imperious Curse on Bible Spice I would have her tell everyone to stay home with their families today. The stunned silence would be entertaining.

  97. 97.

    Cat Lady

    November 27, 2009 at 1:06 pm

    @aimai:

    Oleana gives me a happy. Warm olives – yesssss.

    Have you tried Hungry Mother? Foodie daughter raves about it all the time.

    Have an Oleana no. 49 for me. Or three, if you’re walking. ;-)

  98. 98.

    ThatLeftTurnInABQ

    November 27, 2009 at 1:08 pm

    I worked retail in a shopping mall for a decade. Not a good way to store up happy holiday memories – I’d vote Republican before I would go to a mall on Black Friday. And those stores that force their already overworked and overstressed employees to come in before dawn to set up for a 4 am opening, imposing that on folks who basically won’t see their families until after Xmas because of their holiday working hours – that earns a permanent boycott. If you are a store and treat your staff that way I will never buy from you again, ever.

  99. 99.

    Splitting Image

    November 27, 2009 at 1:26 pm

    Funny you should ask. I was on the bus today and two women sitting nearby said that if they were in the States today they’d be spending all day in the malls. They were incredulous that some friends of theirs from Chicago had come here to celebrate Thanksgiving instead of joining in the fun.

    That said, I went out myself last Boxing Day. Instead of going to the malls, I made a beeline to my favourite DVD store and bought the complete Jeremy Brett Sherlock Holmes set. No fuss, no muss, and no sales tax. Then I went back home and got back to stuffing myself with food.

  100. 100.

    les

    November 27, 2009 at 1:32 pm

    Well, I braved it. Replaced the 15 year old rainbow screen tv with a big Vizio HD discontinued model at about half current prices. 40 minutes in line, 3 minutes door to checkout, no stampede. Better than I expected, here in the heart of America.

  101. 101.

    D-Chance.

    November 27, 2009 at 1:46 pm

    Today? I wouldn’t go shopping this season, not in this Obamaconomy. Hang onto whatever cash you have. I may go so far as to purchase a few necessary clothing items that I would have purchased anyway, regardless of season; but, no way am I parting with my savings.

  102. 102.

    licensed to kill time

    November 27, 2009 at 1:56 pm

    Never have, never will. Stay home and watch Affluenza instead. We all have too much stuff .

  103. 103.

    phoebes in santa fe

    November 27, 2009 at 1:57 pm

    You all know there are other stores at which to buy things that are NOT mall stores or on-line.

    There are a whole lot of really cool local, non-chain stores, that have wonderful merchandise and are located on the actual streets in actual towns. I used to own one, a contemporary craft gallery, http://www.woodstockcrafts.com, where you could shop for great things at great prices that were not ratty sweaters that no one wants or electronics. How many big-screen tv’s do you need.

    Look at LOCAL STORES. We need your business.

  104. 104.

    mutt

    November 27, 2009 at 2:06 pm

    I ALWAYS hit the malls today! Looting trampeled corpses is how I earn my xmas $……

  105. 105.

    Graeme

    November 27, 2009 at 2:06 pm

    Yes, I do think it was that chickenhawk sci-fi dork, Glenn Reynolds, who would brag about the viagra-like economic power of the 101st Chairborne forces.

    No shopping for me. I think we may hit the track & bet on some ponies, though.

  106. 106.

    licensed to kill time

    November 27, 2009 at 2:16 pm

    How about some nice strong beer to go with that sandwich?

    A controversial Scottish brewery has launched what it described as the world’s strongest beer – with a 32% alcohol content.
    __
    Mr Watt added that a beer such as Tactical Nuclear Penguin should be drunk in “spirit sized measures”.
    __
    A warning on the label states: “This is an extremely strong beer; it should be enjoyed in small servings and with an air of aristocratic nonchalance. In exactly the same manner that you would enjoy a fine whisky, a Frank Zappa album or a visit from a friendly yet anxious ghost.”

    Where’s Corner Stone? ;-)

  107. 107.

    licensed to kill time

    November 27, 2009 at 2:18 pm

    oops, meant to put that in the sandwich thread :-O

  108. 108.

    BeccaM

    November 27, 2009 at 2:23 pm

    Given I’m practically agoraphobic, shopping on ‘Black Friday’ is nightmarish to consider. But as others have noted, there’s always the Internet — which is where I do all my gift shopping anymore.

    I would have adhered to the “Buy Nothing” movement…except for the fact Sunbelt Software is having a 70% off sale on the yearly subscription for their superb Vipre antivirus software (ten bucks for one computer, twenty for every computer in your household). And in their mailing, they even mentioned that you can buy the subscription code now and just wait until your current one expires, then apply it.

    (Note: I am not affiliated with Sunbelt. Just a very happy customer.)

  109. 109.

    debbie

    November 27, 2009 at 2:26 pm

    I always refused to shop the day after Thanksgiving. But last year, I was washing dishes on Thanksgiving night and broke my coffeemaker carafe. I thought I could tough it out until Saturday, but the caffeine headache pushed me out the door to Target at about 10:30 am. Luckily, I hit a lull, and was in and out in 10 minutes. Even the cashiers were bored.

    I figured that was just a lucky break, and I will not test the mall gods again.

  110. 110.

    Linkmeister

    November 27, 2009 at 2:27 pm

    @mandarama: I can understand this approach. If you look at Black Friday shopping as a cultural phenomenon, participating can be amusing.

    I went down to the mall at midnight once to pick up a copy of a Harry Potter book and stood in a 200-person line. It was full of adults all looking at one another, ruefully saying “I can’t believe I’m here.” But there we were, kinda sorta enjoying it.

  111. 111.

    JGabriel

    November 27, 2009 at 2:30 pm

    John Cole @ Top:

    … do any of you remember a couple years back when there was an online call to action to shop to save America, and shopping was like the highest form of patriotism, etc. I want to say it was an Instapundit thing, but I just can’t remember.

    Sadly, it was a George Bush thing. Yep, that’s right, our president was the genius who told us to shop to save America.

    And we re-elected the asshole.

    It’s really kind of amazing that we didn’t all die of shame.

    .

  112. 112.

    KDP

    November 27, 2009 at 3:49 pm

    No shopping for me, tried it once about 10 years ago. Never again. Instead, I spent a lazy, lazy morning, did not even touch the computer until 5 minutes ago. Watched stupid TV, finished my cheesy mind candy novel, played with the dog, and enjoyed homemade turkey-rice soup.

    Now, it’s off to the gym, and then a last review of my final paper for my Feminist Theory class and my personal statement for my MPA program application before I submit them. Woohoo, only two more assignments to complete and this quarter’s over and only two more quarters until graduation.

    Lovely, relaxing week, but I’m ready to go back to work on Monday.

  113. 113.

    Wile E. Quixote

    November 27, 2009 at 4:03 pm

    I have to pick up a few items today. But I’m into tactical shopping, define the objective, kill your way through the store to get it, secure the objective, kill your way to the cash register, pay for the objective and go home.

  114. 114.

    Little Macayla's Friend

    November 27, 2009 at 4:26 pm

    Buying local handcrafts and foods made buying for family living a 1000 miles away easy for many years. Last year (Bush Depression employment collapse) I stopped buying any gifts, and started making donations in family members names to local emergency food pantries and shelters, and then use greeting cards to explain each charity. Now the time I spent shopping and mailing can be spent writing a lot more than just my signature at the last minute.

  115. 115.

    ThatLeftTurnInABQ

    November 27, 2009 at 4:26 pm

    @Wile E. Quixote:

    But I’m into tactical shopping

    LMAO

    But don’t forget that amateurs study tactics, professionals study logistics.

  116. 116.

    Ruckus

    November 27, 2009 at 5:02 pm

    Won’t go shopping but I do have my store open. And it’s dead, dead, dead. I’m thinking of taking a nap or removing my appendix using the intertubes as a guide. Either one would be more entertaining, and one might be useful.

  117. 117.

    ksmiami

    November 27, 2009 at 5:47 pm

    Sorry John – took the family to Key Biscayne today and it was exquisite… but no shopping malls, sorry, not even a strip center visit.

  118. 118.

    ksmiami

    November 27, 2009 at 5:52 pm

    DaddyJ –

    The term black friday comes from the fact that it is the first major retail shopping day of the holiday season and retailers can get a sense of the season by whether their sales are “in the black (profit!) or in the red (eek)

  119. 119.

    Comrade Darkness

    November 27, 2009 at 5:57 pm

    Dropped someone else at the mall and picked them up again. It was only moderately busy. It might have been livable.

    @ksmiami: Actually, that’s a false etymology. It comes from 1960s Philly when between the excessive shoppers and the visitors for the Army-Navy game, the police and others referred to it as Black Friday for the hassle of it all.

  120. 120.

    cj

    November 27, 2009 at 6:38 pm

    People stop being so negative about Black Friday. I went and loved it.

    The crowd was big at the Toys R Us store I went to (which I was surprised because people are losing jobs), and we behaved ourselves no pushing, no shoving, and no fights.

    The workers at the door even thanked us for taking our time.

    Sad yes, for being thanked for not stomping people down.

    But once people were through the doors it was all fair gain.

    Bought a lot of stuff, but still have plenty of shopping to do in December.

  121. 121.

    JenJen

    November 27, 2009 at 7:46 pm

    @HRA: I adore Thanksgiving, too. That bountiful feast, great company, and you don’t have to buy anyone any presents.

    And yeah, Cole, I actually thought it was Bush himself who told us to go shopping (and to Disney World) post 9/11.

  122. 122.

    Jill

    November 27, 2009 at 9:22 pm

    Not I. I did, however, try to be one of the 500 people to score a Roku for half-price today online. I got as far as putting in my shipping info before their server crapped out completely. For $129, I think I’ll just pay full price.

    Tomorrow I’m going shopping for our gift thing we do at work. The company “adopts” a few needy families who give their Christmas wish lists to a group. Then we pick tags off a tree in the lobby and buy gifts for them. I have to get some bed linens and “women’s clothing size 14.” Everyone in my family and I have more tchotchkes than we know what to do with. Might as well buy people we don’t know things they can actually use. Stimulate the economy, buy gifts that will appreciate it, and get warm fuzzies all at the same time. It doesn’t get any better than that.

  123. 123.

    Steeplejack

    November 28, 2009 at 12:25 am

    Late report from the retail trenches.

    Worked 4:30 to 11:00 p.m. (a Big Box Bookstore that closes at 10:00). Hectic in the early going, lull after about 7:30-8:00. (Coworkers said it had been busy all day before I got there.) One woman late in the evening said everyone was just tired after shopping all day. Another customer blamed the sudden cold weather we had all day today. (Temp in the low 40s but wind chill around 32° because of high winds. This fall has been mild up to now.)

    Another factor in our foot traffic could be that our BBB is a relatively small one (for suburban D.C.) and is not in a mall. Still, our “plan” for the day was about $21,000, and we did about $22,000. The Big Giant Head in New York will be happy, if not ecstatic. And we about matched the same-day number from last year. But I insert parenthetically that we are running a lot more specials and discounts, so this year’s revenue may not represent the same amount of profit as last year.

    No one trampled in our store, although a plush toy was injured in a small mêlée in the kids book section.

  124. 124.

    CynDee

    November 28, 2009 at 10:59 am

    I like to spend the entire Thanksgiving week on the Thanksgiving holiday — getting ready for it, then phasing out of it.

    It feels creepy to me to put away the leftovers and go out to ConsumerLand the very next day. I just relax and read and serve different combinations of all the lovely food. Then I spend the long weekend basically doing whatever feels peaceful.

    I have always hated malls, and get creeped out at the way all the stores start in with the Christmas stuff at the end of September. I just stay out of all the stores. Year round I watch for things I think the loved ones would like, and usually have them all pulled together by autumn without having to shop in the Christmas Crush.

    In early December I put my packages together and send them out, and then talk to the lovef ones on the phone and listen to them talk about their lives. Then also listen to music the rest of December when I’m not looking for new ways to make a living in modern times.

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