I should have mentioned this before the weekend, but before you go nuts on Black Friday, check out the prices of things asap. Odds are that many of those prices will go up this week only to be "discounted" back to the normal price as a sale. This seems to be a new tactic that I'm running across everywhere. I've been watching some converse sneakers for our youngest. Their regular price is $49.99 at Zappos and "on sale" at everywhere else. Monday, most places made them $55. Wanna bet on Thursday they get offered as a Black Friday super sale at $49.99?
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A few more Black Friday/Christmas shopping tricks to be aware of:
● Black Friday is often a day for moving out discontinued items. Those "price slashes" would normally be tagged clearance...and if it's tech, you're buying an outdated product.
● Some manufacturers, even big names, release special models just for Black Friday. These may be made from inferior components, lack features, or have a shorter warranty.
● There's still time for more sales. Some of those Black Friday deals may end up looking pathetic compared to the Last Minute sales three weeks later. Yeah, it's probably on some of the above-mentioned stuff, but at least you're not paying more than you have to.
tryanmax, The multiple model thing drives me nuts. It makes it impossible to compare "the same" product across different companies because it's often not the same.
One thing is definitely more true than ever. Do your research, start early, and don't buy until you understand how they price it. Watch it long enough, you will see a pattern and you will learn the actual price.
Absolutely none of this is surprising considering the way a lot of companies do business these days. You'd think this shadiness would catch up to these companies eventually (especially game companies, which I vented about a bit in the last post) but people seem to keep lining up to get fleeced. It's sad and annoying to watch.
Anyway, I've never done Black Friday myself aside from the times I had to work it at my previous employer and I'm happily retired from that now! What bothers me more about it these days is the fact that it's becoming more Black Thanksgiving than Black Friday, meaning a lot of retail employees are being pulled away from their families to deal with the psychotic masses on what should be a day of friends, food, family, and rest. I know we wouldn't be having it if the demand wasn't there but again it's still both sad and irritating to see.
I did Black Friday only once to get a pair of cheap iPad minis that I knew were the outgoing model. As I recall, the lady two spots behind us got the last one.
Daniel, What I've found with Black Friday is that 10-20 years ago, there were some good deals. Retailers saw it as a way to draw you in. But by now, they've learned to turn it into an "event." Events make people irrational and they automatically assume they MUST participate, whether it makes sense or not. So the deals are mostly ripoffs by now because most shoppers make themselves too stupid to notice.
tryanmax, I've found that the best deals come around the second week of December, after the rush ends and before the last minute desperate rush begins... or in October.
Andrew, I don't know if you remember how last year, headsets to turn your smartphone into a 3D viewer were a minor craze? Well, I had to go to Walmart for something for the baby late on Thanksgiving night. Since Walmart never closes, the way they do Black Friday is they wrap the things that aren't on sale yet in plastic wrap until the official start time. The place was as much of a ghost town as Walmart ever gets and I wasn't in any particular rush, so I did a little browsing through the sale items. I saw a big stack of house-brand 3D headsets with special holiday pricing: $20, which was pretty good compared to the name brands.
I made a note to myself to see if there were any left the next time I came in, after the rush had died.
It was probably four or five days later that I got back and I saw that the big pile was only about a quarter sold. Somebody's projections were clearly wrong. But the kicker was that now they were only $5.
It's not a new practice. When I worked as a grocery cashier years ago the store would raise the price of items for which a big coupon was being issued in the Sunday paper. Diapers are the one I remember most. The coupons were always for $1 off and the day before the price went up $1 and didn't come back down until the coupon expired. You need to watch BOGO sales, too. Know the regular price of meats especially as they are often jacked up or even doubled during a BOGO sale.
I must admit, we have never been sale watchers. I am sure that sounds elitist capitalist piggish, but I research what product I like and as long as it is in the ballpark if what general pricing has been, I get it where convenient. Maybe I rationalize the stress reduction is worth the potential loss in saving
Jed, I'm generally like that but when I buy something that is inherently overpriced (like tennis shoes), I look for sales on principle.
Stacy, I have a lot of goodwill toward my grocery store, except for two things they've been doing. The first is that they will display something like two types of cutie oranges side by side, but they make them look like only one type. Then they put a big sign over it that says $2.99. I go, "wow! Great price!" and I grab some. Well, it turns out that's the price on the small number of ones in the bag at the side. If you grab one of the boxes, those are $7.99. I have learned always to watch them ring up and I'll leave anything that doesn't ring up like it should. They keep doing this though and it bothers me.
Secondly, they've started displaying the sales price as including the digital coupon if you buy 5. If you buy less or forget the digital coupon, the price is a lot higher and is written in small print in the corner. I see that as dishonest.
tryanmax, That's interesting. It doesn't surprise me though. Walmart does seem to dump stuff they can't sell.
Black Friday has always weirded me out. There are some good deals out there, but nothing I'd stand in a long line and fight mobs for so my Black Friday purchases are either online or before the actual day/rush.
Wanna hear something funny? All the dopers voted in medical marijuana here in Missouri...probably the first time most of them have ever voted...and now they are disturbed to find that if they have a medical marijuana card they are not allowed to have a gun. This is based on a ruling by one of our judges...Now, I'm not a lawyer, but I drink with a few of them; other states, especially out WEst had similar issues with their grass laws...so why didn't these Einsteins that wrote our law think about it beforehand? They were probably stoned is why.
Anthony, I think Black Friday started as a gimmic, but had been turned into an event - a negative event. That's why you see people getting hurt (or killed) every year now, because they want people to come shove each other around like an MMA match so the get the PR. Then they leverage that publicity to get shoppers later in the day.
Critch, That is funny.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Oh man! To my chagrin, after the day’s festivities, we were out of milk, so I reluctantly ventured to Walmart, as the non-ghetto store is closed. Talk about Black Friday stupid!
First, some yahoo in management decided the meat and dairy section was the perfect place to display discount DVDs.
Then, the had half the registers closed so everyone can complete their purchase under the watchful eyes of the rent-a-cops.
Of course, we’re all digital now, so some of us don’t get paper receipts, which is all kinds of shenanigans when they want to check the receipts.
And, last of all, some guy decided that tonight is the perfect time to assert his fourth amendment rights. I figured I’d contribute to the tension, so I started filming with my phone, mainly to see the reaction. All I got was some harrumphing from rent-a-cop #5.
tryanmax, That does not sound like fun. Neither does the videos I'm seeing this morning of people beating each other up for non-sale sales. It's definitely a day for the low end of the human race to get in a little violence.
Kind of like "Festival" in that one Star Trek episode or "The Purge."
Some days, I think we need a Purge.
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