Your thoughts on pre-Black Friday sales?

[disneysteve]

I'm not going to say that everyone that works at Walmart wants to be there, but I'm positive there are a few that NEED the hours to make ends meet.

I agree. To be honest, most holidays that my office is closed I would prefer to be working. I don't celebrate Christmas, New Year's Day, Memorial Day, Labor Day, etc. I don't really see any reason to be closed on those days personally. Of course, the problem is the staff wants those days off so I would be there by myself. Sometimes I do just that. I don't schedule patients but I do go in and work a couple of hours doing paperwork and getting caught up on stuff.

[BMEPhDinCO]

I'm a bit conflicted on this - on one hand, it's embarrassing that our country is so attached to shopping that the news is on how much we can spend and how early we can spend it instead of a holiday devoted to being thankful and family and friends.

But I don't have much of an issue with people working that day - those football games you watch? people have to work... that hospital you go to? people have to work... that movie you see? people have to work... that hotel your in-laws are at instead of your house? people have to work... that last minute "oops we need" grocery store run? people have to work...

So yeah, for me, a reason to spend early isn't good, but people working on Thursday (or Thanksgiving) isn't a big deal.

[Bob B.]

those football games you watch? people have to work... that hospital you go to? people have to work... that movie you see? people have to work... that hotel your in-laws are at instead of your house? people have to work... that last minute "oops we need" grocery store run? people have to work...

The only necessary thing I see listed there is that hospital you go to...

If people don't patronize the rest of the list and Thanksgiving Day door busters, they don't exist. And, yes, I include football games in my list.

[JulieAlbright]

I'm not gung ho angry about stores being opened or closed. We're eating a fairly early meal tomorrow because my son's girlfriend will be working later and then my son has to work early Friday. She's pretty happy about it though. She gets double pay plus the tips are always better during that type of thing because people feel more giving when they know somebody is "giving up" a holiday to serve them.

As for shopping I rarely go out to any store other than the grocery store during the entire Holiday season and when I do I always regret it. I don't like huge crowds or avalanches of commercialism overwhelming my brain. They idea that one has to be at a certain place at the exact correct minute to get the best sale or all is lost doesn't impress me. I live in the United States, there's pretty much always loads of stores around willing to sell me crap cheap.

[HappySaver]

I live in the United States, there's pretty much always loads of stores around willing to sell me crap cheap.

Well put!

[disneysteve]

They idea that one has to be at a certain place at the exact correct minute to get the best sale or all is lost doesn't impress me.

So true. I find that the older I get, the less I pay attention to sales. I won't say I ignore them entirely because sometimes there are truly good deals to be found, but I spend far less time seeking them out. If I need something, I buy it. The trick is to not need much. Make yourself as low maintenance as possible and the sales become less important. If I know that the pair of pants I buy today will still be getting worn 10 years from now, whether or not I save $5 on them really isn't such a huge deal. If, however, I was going out every month and buying new pants, the savings would be more significant.

[J.Apple902]

I will say that I have never seen more anti-black friday things before. So many articles about "black friday myths and scams" lol.

[Amanda695]

I think it kind of sucks for the employees that want to be with their families when they have to work for the pre- black friday sales that are on thanksgiving day! I mean really???

[gogirlanime]

When it comes to Black Friday you can get burned or you can score it's all about how well you know the average cost of an item the other 364 days of the year. I scored a 50" LED 1080 TV for $288 this year, I know for a fact it was a steal because I haven't come across anything like that in at least 15 months. Also, I scored a bunch of Blu Rays for $4 each, even Ebay and Amazon rarely matches or beats that. So in a nutshell, do your research and know your prices outside of Black Friday.