Black Friday / Cyber Monday

[Coastercraze]

For those of you outside the US, Black Friday and Cyber Monday are when retailers usually push out big deals in limited quantities to try and get you into the store or website. It typically marks the kick off of the holiday shopping season which retailers attempt to boost their overall profit for the quarter / year, hence the term "Black".  Cyber Monday is online only deals, hence the term "Cyber".

Anyone planning to go out this year? I've noticed a lot of retailers have pushed it way back to Thanksgiving day (In the US). I have been looking at some ads online that are already released and might consider Target or Best Buy.

If you want to look at some ads bfads.net usually has them.

 

[drmike]

I ignore all the noise.... This time of year just means my normal provisions that arrive by mail are delayed.   But in general, they've been most of this year as government and postal service does their best slacker impersonation.   

Hard to complain about much of it being free shipping.

 

[MannDude]

Hmmm... I'm looking for a TV. I've got like a 27" old style box tube TV.

I don't really watch TV. But it'd be nice to have something a bit nicer to watch movies on. That and my laptop is falling apart. I'd like something a tad smaller and lighter than what I have now. When I say falling apart, I literally mean the screen is falling off the hinges and the battery doesn't charge unless the cable is in a certain position. Audio cuts in/out randomly and will work when it wants to and then not work for days. I look forward to replacing it and taking it to the shooting range.

These will be cyber Monday deals. I sure as hell will not go out in the mess that is Black Friday.

 

[drmike]

Seriously, I buy lots of stuff online since I can't find a gallon of lots of things in my local crap market.  

I also buy all sort of tech crap and parts from China, so purely there direct and Cali importers.

Sales, hmmm ideally I'll find some more good deals on drives.  Never can have enough storage.  

In the market for some decent battery units... USB packs that actually have capacity.

That's about it for mainstream retail

@MannDude, you should eyeball refurbed TVs from manufacturers.  Lots of them out there.  Picked up a nice Vizio with apps for relatively little.

I bet it is a slow holiday season for retailers.  Hopefully they drop the prices and push heavy sales.

 

[texteditor]

No amount of good Cyber Monday e-shopping deals will ever help you experience the rush you get as you walk out the front door of a Best Buy, $200 Doorbuster-special laptop clutched in one hand, speckles of blood of the middle-aged homemaker you elbowed on the other, knowing you got The Last One They Had.

 

[rds100]

For those of us outside US - when exactly are the Black Friday and Cyber Monday?

 

[MannDude]

For those of us outside US - when exactly are the Black Friday and Cyber Monday?

Fat American consumerism. Limited supplies of things at super good deals that people will camp outside of a national chain store for, waiting for the doors to open so they can run in and grab something before someone else....

 

[rds100]

Yes i know what it is. I mean which days of the year exactly are they. I know it's somewhere around Xmas, but don't know exactly which days.

 

[MannDude]

Yes i know what it is. I mean which days of the year exactly are they. I know it's somewhere around Xmas, but don't know exactly which days.

Haha, woops, my bad.

Black Friday = the day after Thanksgiving.

Cyber Monday = the Monday after that Friday.

And Thanksgiving is the last Thursday in November every year. One of my favorite Holidays, as I get to wear a nice sweater and eat food I usually get to eat once a year.

 

[drmike]

I do like the crazies camped out in the cold for days prior...

The news recaps of the in-store brawls are often rather funny.

 

[Magiobiwan]

speckles of blood of the middle-aged homemaker you elbowed on the other, knowing you got The Last One They Had.

Don't forget the bodies of the trampled people laying strewn by the doors. 

 

[Ivan]

Hopefully Amazon would have some slick deals..

 

[switsys]

It typically marks the kick off of the holiday shopping season which retailers attempt to boost their overall profit for the quarter / year, hence the term "Black".

The term 'Cyber Monday' isn't that hard to understand, but what makes the Friday 'Black' ?

 

[Aldryic C'boas]

It's a reference to the start of the holiday sales season, when store ledgers are climbing back into the 'black' (as opposed to red for negative).

 

[clarity]

Here is another take on it. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Friday_(shopping)

Aldryic's point is mentioned here as well, but there is really no data behind it. The larger stores make profits in every single quarter.

 

[switsys]

OK. Got it. Thanks.

 

[Coastercraze]

Could a mod move this to the pub? Just noticed I put it in the wrong section

 

[astutiumRob]

It's a reference to the start of the holiday sales season.

My local supermarket has been stocked with Christmas items since the 12th of October - who buys their wrapping paper 11 weeks before the event ?

 

[nunim]

My local supermarket has been stocked with Christmas items since the 12th of October - who buys their wrapping paper 11 weeks before the event ?

My local Walmart has had Christmas stuff since just before Halloween.  I would buy wrapping paper 11 weeks before XMAS if it was on sale but it usually isn't until after Christmas.   I've got a few rolls left from last year that I bought after XMAS.  Of course I don't actually do my wrapping until the night before Christmas but that's a different problem. 

 

[Aldryic C'boas]

I've got a few rolls left from last year that I bought after XMAS.

This.  I get most of my decorations/etc a year early (right after the holiday in question, when it's all on clearance), and just bin it until the holiday rolls around again.