Comments on: Black Friday Spenders: Wasting Away in Hamsterville

By: Rick Beagle

Rick Beagle — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 09:24:19 +0000

I was a youth when the Pet Rock was the fad, and even at that tender age, I realized there was some truth to the adage, a fool and his money are soon parted. Black Friday… lol, who would want to shop on that day?

By: kitty

kitty — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 20:52:25 +0000

Personally, I’d take a live kitten over a robotic hamster any day, but in the long run I guess robotic hamster is much cheaper….

I’ve never shopped on Black Friday; I’ve only learned about the concept of “Black Friday” last year. Before that I thought it was just a day after the holiday with some sales, but I hadn’t known that one needed to get up early to get some of the best deals or whatever. So I supposed I might’ve gone into stores on Friday after Thanksgiving some time in the past during the normal day time without ever knowing of some great steals one could’ve gotten in the early morning… Normally, though I waited till Christmas or after New Year for holidays. I guess I missed some great deals. Or maybe not.

There was an article last week on yahoo finance about some of the deceptive marketing that goes on on Black Friday. For example, they would announce a great deal, but if you read the fine print you’d find out that they may only have 3 items at the price. Or this one TV sold at a discount may have a slightly different model number than the full price TV and be lacking some features.

This time around, I just really didn’t have time. No time or energy. I do need a refrigerator, but I am waiting for the government rebate. It’ll be a pity if I could get some for less than what the price would be with a rebate, but then my guess it the stores would do something to attract people during the rebate time as well.

By: No Debt Plan

No Debt Plan — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 16:00:07 +0000

I completely agree (and wrote a post about how some of those deals aren’t really deals in the first place).

I was stunned to hear that everyone just “had to have” these stupid little hamster toys. You’ve got to be kidding me. Americans seem to lack an understanding of the value of their time. I would much rather get a good night’s rest and save myself 5+ hours in the freezing cold by purchasing the item online for a similar price.

Saving $50 for 5 hours = $10/hr worth of savings. That’s not worth it — especially on a holiday with family. Crazy stuff.

By: Writers Coin

Writers Coin — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 12:54:52 +0000

Spot on with your A/B on the terrible reasons people buy anything these days. I was out there myself but mostly watched other people as they scooped up stuff they knew they didn't need, they just thought was too good to pass up. Bucksome does have a point though: if you are going to buy certain stuff anyway, there are good deals to be had.

By: MasterPo

MasterPo — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 03:04:48 +0000

I did the Black Friday thing a few years ago. Also at Best Buy for some minor stuff. Prices were good but nothing I couldn’t really live without. Won’t be doing that again.

Not spending much this season anyway.

By: Bucksome

Bucksome — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 01:36:20 +0000

Not everyone that shops on Black Friday pays with credit cards or buys unneeded items. We needed a new set of bed sheets due to our dog thinking he can bury bones in our bed.

Several stores had high thread count sheet sets 50% off or more as early bird specials. That’s the only item we bought; something we needed and within our budget.

By: PW

PW — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 21:32:11 +0000

We were away in a small cottage in the woods for hiking,for the holiday. We don’t have cable at home but in the eve around 9:00pm we accessed the free cable to check weather. We rarely watch TV at home. I was in awe of the news stories of all the people lined up in tents, sleeping bags on Thanksgiving afternoon/evening to buy things, they mentioned computers,games,the hamsters,and on and on. Looking at them, they looked like they wouldn’t know what a savings account was. We thought”these are the people that we will be supporting” when they loose a job, can’t afford housing, etc. OK, guess that was important to them. We did wander to a new uncrowded Wal Mart out in woods, around 10:30 pm to get my husband his much wanted Tom Tom on sale for $89.00-got it there to save the huge taxes in our big city area. Saved us about $10 in taxes. Didn’t eat out while gone, brought our own food,didn’t shop in any of the glitzy stores. Thank you for making us think economically.