Black Friday

what'd ya get?

i actually got off my ass early this morning and went to best buy to try to get their $199 deal on a Westinghouse 22" LCD widescreen monitor, but it was sold out … so i went to staples and picked this bad boy up:

http://news.com.com/2300-1041_3-6136884-7.html?tag=ne.gall.pg

Originally posted by HoyaSaxa08:
i actually got off my ass early this morning and went to best buy to try to get their $199 deal on a Westinghouse 22" LCD widescreen monitor, but it was sold out …

Not surprising. The Best Buy near my parents' house had a line 20-30 deep by 7:30pm last night. Ugh.

Originally posted by Bombay Chutney:
Not surprising. The Best Buy near my parents' house had a line 20-30 deep by 7:30pm last night. Ugh.

that's just disgusting

The Best Buy in Waldorf already had a line at 7:00 last night, so I noticed when I was heading back up here last night from my parents' house.

It's soooo dead downtown at work today. I love it.

since when do people line up in the cold to save a few bucks?

Originally posted by Alex:
The Best Buy in Waldorf…

That's the line I saw :)

Originally posted by chokeychicken:
since when do people line up in the cold to save a few bucks?

I guess you don't watch the news much since it's been going on for while. Nevertheless, it's a good question. When did stores really start to hype Black Friday sales? What is the media's role? Why do they lie about the reason for the name "Black Friday?" If you've ever worked retail on that day you know what it means, and it has nothing to do with profits.

I'm suprised people aren't in an uproar over Black Friday being a racist statement.

Originally posted by beetsnotbeats:
Why do they lie about the reason for the name "Black Friday?"

What's the "real" reason? I didn't see any sordid controversy noted in the Wikipedia entry.

There was a best buy on the news that had a line at 2 in the afternoon yesterday. What a waist of a day.

I don't mean to sound élitist, but if you're poor enough that you need to stand in line for hours outside to shop at a store, then you probably shouldn't be shopping at Best Buy in the first place. And if you're not poor enough that you have to do that, you're a freakin' idiot.

Although not as much of a loser as those who lined up for their PS-3s…

… and you could say the same thing about people frantically clicking "reload" on ticketmaster.com for 30 minutes … it's all a matter of perspective, i'm sure a lot of people actually enjoyed going through that whole rigamarole, however crazy that sounds

I was working today and at the shop I am at (White House|Black Market in Georgetown) we called it Green Friday. :)

Cheers

DJ Medusa.

Whose waist are you referring to?

Originally posted by Che:
There was a best buy on the news that had a line at 2 in the afternoon yesterday. What a waist of a day.

Because black people come out in droves on that day.

At least that's what my wife says; she worked at K-Mart as a teen.

Originally posted by Christine Moritz:

Originally posted by beetsnotbeats:
Why do they lie about the reason for the name "Black Friday?"

What's the "real" reason? I didn't see any sordid controversy noted in the Wikipedia entry.

These are the two theories about the origins of Black Friday:

"Black Friday" (as it is known in the retail industry, supposedly because it's the day when retailers turn the corner and see their income statements move out of the red and into the black, or it's the day when retail workers are exposed to the worst crowds and customer behavior).

Nothing about black people. I actually didn't see any black people today at Best Buy. lol

Originally posted by Steny Hoyer, Pubic Destroyer:
Because black people come out in droves on that day.

At least that's what my wife says; she worked at K-Mart as a teen.

Originally posted by Christine Moritz:

Originally posted by beetsnotbeats:
Why do they lie about the reason for the name "Black Friday?"

What's the "real" reason? I didn't see any sordid controversy noted in the Wikipedia entry.

Joe M., your first theory is right. Any economist will tell you that. When sales are going swimmingly, companies consider themselves "in the black." And thus you have Black Friday, because everyone goes out and buys everything and gives into the overall lunacy.

Originally posted by you be betty:
Joe M., your first theory is right. Any economist will tell you that. When sales are going swimmingly, companies consider themselves "in the black." And thus you have Black Friday, because everyone goes out and buys everything and gives into the overall lunacy.

Work retail on BF and you'll find Joe's second definition fits better. But the mainstream media won't say that because it would sound anti-business.

I went to REI today. There may have been as many staff as there were shoppers.

I think this weekend's nice weather will lead to a poor weekend for retail sales.