Members techristian Posted November 25, 2009 Members Share Posted November 25, 2009 I HOPE NOT! Best Buy adds $197 HP laptop to Black Friday lineup http://blogs.zdnet.com/gadgetreviews/?p=9711&tag=nl.e505 As you all may remember, that poor young man died a year ago in a customer stampede at a New York Walmart. A new dvd player or computer isn't worth a human life.I hope that this doesn't happen again. Dan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members UstadKhanAli Posted November 25, 2009 Members Share Posted November 25, 2009 That's a very dramatic subject header, Dan! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members techristian Posted November 25, 2009 Author Members Share Posted November 25, 2009 I don't want anyone to have nightmares, but I'm still shaking my head over that mess last year. A man in on the ground and people walk over him to get "more stuff". Dan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Lee Knight Posted November 25, 2009 Moderators Share Posted November 25, 2009 I'd never done the Black Friday deal before... until last year. I had my mind made up. I was going to surprise the family with a Sony Bravia Flat Screen. 56". The only way I could swing that was at the Black Friday price so... I set out at 3:30 for Fry's. When I got there the line wrapped around the very large building and doubled back down a side street... The look in people's eyes was greed. And there I was WANTING MY TV!!!! The police were all over the place making sure a riot didn't break out. I was not about to wait in a mile long line only to find out they had sold the last of 5 advertised Bravias. So I headed home. But wait... Best Buy. Let's swing by. No line. I'll take the Bravia. Yes sir. Thanks and go back to bed. It's a crazy thing and I will never do it again. Be safe everyone. There's always a crazier person who wants that toaster more than you do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members UstadKhanAli Posted November 25, 2009 Members Share Posted November 25, 2009 It's my least favorite shopping day of the year, and given that I dislike shopping in general unless it has to do with books or musical equipment, you can be sure that I will not be one of those lining up. And perhaps I'm lucky in that I don't really want much and I have everything I need anyway. As always, YMMV. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members techristian Posted November 25, 2009 Author Members Share Posted November 25, 2009 Best Buy. Let's swing by. No line. I'll take the Bravia. Yes sir. Thanks and go back to bed.It's a crazy thing and I will never do it again. Be safe everyone. There's always a crazier person who wants that toaster more than you do. Do you remember how the TV that you bought compared with the one that you first set out to buy? Price, features? Dan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Jeff da Weasel Posted November 25, 2009 Members Share Posted November 25, 2009 I'm shopping on Black Friday. With my ass in a chair in front of my computer. Why would I do otherwise? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Lee Knight Posted November 25, 2009 Moderators Share Posted November 25, 2009 Do you remember how the TV that you bought compared with the one that you first set out to buy? Price, features?Dan I got exactly what I set out to get. Lucky. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members spokenward Posted November 25, 2009 Members Share Posted November 25, 2009 There is more than one way to handle a line. The Wal-Mart death really was their fault. There were accidents for years before this at Wal-Mart and at other retailers. Best Buy went to a ticket system in line for limited doorbuster items years ago. Of course, the retailer needs to have staff to handle that strategy. It is a terribly abusive day on a lot of levels. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Extreme Mixing Posted November 25, 2009 Members Share Posted November 25, 2009 http://blogs.zdnet.com/gadgetreviews/?p=9711&tag=nl.e505As you all may remember, that poor young man died a year ago in a customer stampede at a New York Walmart. A new dvd player or computer isn't worth a human life.I hope that this doesn't happen again.Dan I don't know... Maybe if it was a Mac. Certainly not for an HP laptop. Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Ernest Buckley Posted November 25, 2009 Members Share Posted November 25, 2009 Well, there are few things worth dying for. With that said, you could give something away and I would probably show up a day late. I`m not one thats much for "stuff". This year, I have seriously downsized just about everything and its liberating. Its amazing how much crap we accumulate and then you realize you`re drowning in it. I will continue the downsizing in 2010. Less TV = more quietLess Internet = more music making Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CMS Author MikeRivers Posted November 25, 2009 CMS Author Share Posted November 25, 2009 Best Buy adds $197 HP laptop to Black Friday lineup Every time I go into Best Buy (not on Black Friday, thank you) I look at those little laptops and try to think of what I'd do with one if I had one. Of course there's always the dream of making a portable recorder out of it, but you need to get about a $500 one in order to get an ExpressCARD slot (for a Firewire adapter) so I could use something other than a USB interface with it, And the screen (and hence the text size) is too small for comfort, even just to read e-mail on the road. So, no I wouldn't die for one. The only thing I'd consciously die for is my own cremation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members nerol1st Posted November 25, 2009 Members Share Posted November 25, 2009 Anyone who stands in line on a black friday to save $40-80 is an asshole. Take offense or don't I don't care. Black Friday is a horrible idea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Jeff da Weasel Posted November 25, 2009 Members Share Posted November 25, 2009 Anyone who stands in line on a black friday to save $40-80 is an asshole. Take offense or don't I don't care. Black Friday is a horrible idea. Though I might not say it as bluntly as this, I tend to agree. One thing to keep in mind: your time spent standing in line is probably worth more than the savings you'd get. Even if that time spent is making music, hanging out with a friend, playing with your kid, and so on (as opposed to working, where the value of time seems more easily measurable), it's still worth more than the time you'd spend being pissed off at a mall or store outlet with a thousand other pissed off people. And these days, I can pretty much guarantee that you're going to find equal or better deals on the Internet anyway. Brick-and-mortar shopping is almost always a crappy experience IMHO, but if you like that kind of thing, don't let me sway you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members coyote-1 Posted November 25, 2009 Members Share Posted November 25, 2009 I'm not sure I agree. There's entertainment value in seeing Darwin Award candidates fulfill their destinies. A new dvd player or computer isn't worth a human life.Dan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members UstadKhanAli Posted November 25, 2009 Members Share Posted November 25, 2009 I'm not sure I agree. There's entertainment value in seeing Darwin Award candidates fulfill their destinies. Not me. I get enough of that crap at work as it is. I don't need to fill my life with it more. Again, YMMV. All I ask is that in the highly unlikely event that I drive anywhere on that day, please obey all traffic rules. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members spokenward Posted November 25, 2009 Members Share Posted November 25, 2009 I'm not sure I agree. There's entertainment value in seeing Darwin Award candidates fulfill their destinies. They didn't kill a shopper. They killed a worker. A stampede of shoppers in a Valley Stream Wal-Mart on Friday morning left one worker dead and at least three patrons injured after an impatient crowd broke down the store doors and trampled the seasonal employee, Nassau police said.Jdimytai Damour of Jamaica, Queens, was pushed to the ground by the 2,000-plus crowd just before 5 a.m. as management was preparing to open the store, which is located across from the main Green Acres Mall building. Hundreds stepped over, around and on the 34-year-old worker as they rushed into the store."This crowd was out of control," said Nassau Police Det. Lt. Michael Fleming, whose squad is investigating."Nobody was trying to help him," said shopper Nakea Augustine, who was in the line. "They were rushing in the store, rushing, rushing, rushing."During the fracas, first-responders struggled to reach Damour to tend to him, witnesses said. Even the first police officers on the scene were jostled around, police said. http://www.newsday.com/long-island/nassau/wal-mart-worker-dies-in-black-friday-stampede-1.884298 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Jeff da Weasel Posted November 25, 2009 Members Share Posted November 25, 2009 All I ask is that in the highly unlikely event that I drive anywhere on that day, please obey all traffic rules. I was just thinking the same thought. My current plan, upon arriving back from the short trip over to Mom's for turkey tomorrow, is to barricade myself in the house and wait out the storm of humanity, drunk on spending money and full of Mall Rage. I mean hell, I have music to work on and stuff. I'll just seal myself inside with a guitar and a huge vat of leftover bird, stuffing, bread and mayo, and pretend I never heard of Black Friday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Ernest Buckley Posted November 25, 2009 Members Share Posted November 25, 2009 I usually spend Black Friday in the studio. Its wonderful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members techristian Posted November 25, 2009 Author Members Share Posted November 25, 2009 I don't agree. I might be an ***hole if I stand in line for that. However, this may be the only opportunity for someone with a very low income to acquire the item at an affordable price. Anyone who stands in line on a black friday to save $40-80 is an asshole. Take offense or don't I don't care. Black Friday is a horrible idea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members UstadKhanAli Posted November 25, 2009 Members Share Posted November 25, 2009 Then drive safely, bring someone with you, and wear non-slippery shoes with rubber soles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Dessalines Posted November 25, 2009 Members Share Posted November 25, 2009 What is really a bizarre concept is one day, one single day that retail success hinges on and its tied to a religious holiday. Of course I realize that retail, (I worked there in another distant life), also has many other ways to add to the bottom line but every retailer knows that it all comes down to the Christmas holiday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CMS Author MikeRivers Posted November 25, 2009 CMS Author Share Posted November 25, 2009 Though I might not say it as bluntly as this, I tend to agree. One thing to keep in mind: your time spent standing in line is probably worth more than the savings you'd get. That depends on several things. I wouldn't camp out the night before to get in line for a bargain. That's just silly, but I can see that a group of folks much younger than I could make a social event out of it. If you get up at 5 AM, to to store that opens at 5:30, buy what you want (or find that it's sold out) and go home and get back to bed, well, what else were you going to do at that hour of the morning anyway? Better if you can stop by at 2 in the afternoon and see if there are any good bargains left that you can use. Worst part of that is probably finding a parking space. And these days, I can pretty much guarantee that you're going to find equal or better deals on the Internet anyway. Maybe eventually, but there are some things you can buy on a Black Friday deal that will get you a year or more's use before you find the same deal on line or in a store. Two years ago, GPSs were the big deal. I walked over to my local Radio Shack store about 10:30 in the morning and bought one for $100 with no lines and no hassles. I could have bought the same thing for $90 at Staples if I wanted to get up too early. It was another year before I could have bought the same thing or the equivalent at the same price. This year they have a better one at the same price, only $40 more than buying a map update for my present one, so maybe I'll upgrade if all I need to do is walk over to the store again. And if they don't have it, I won't cry. But here's a real BS deal for you. I get e-mail with specials from Micro Center. Last week's had an MP3 player nicer than the one I have now, that was $30, of which $10 was a mail-in rebate and $10 was an "Instant Saving." This week's had the same thing, same deal, but the headline was "Black Friday." I figured that since the had advertised the same thing at the same price for two weeks running, that was the price. So yesterday, I was in the area and I stopped in to buy one. I had to ask a salesman to find it for me since it wasn't where all the other MP3 players were. He took the same ad I got in the e-mail out of his pocket and asked if that's the one I wanted, and confirmed the price of $29.95 after the rebate. I took it up to the cashier and it rang up at full price. I pointed out the "$10 Instant Saving" and he went off to get the manager to approve it. The manager said "That was the price last weekend and this coming weekend. This is the price today. Plop! He wouldn't bend on it. What kind of manager passes up a sale for the same item at the same price that he'd be selling it three days later and two days before? Good thing I didn't have to go out of my way or stand in line to get into the store. And, no, I'm not going back on Black Friday to buy it at the discount price. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CMS Author MikeRivers Posted November 25, 2009 CMS Author Share Posted November 25, 2009 What is really a bizarre concept is one day, one single day that retail success hinges on and its tied to a religious holiday. In what religion is Thanksgiving a holiday? We all think of the "black" in Black Friday as having sinister connotations, but actually it's supposed to be the day that retail stores get "in the black" for the year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Still Learning Posted November 25, 2009 Members Share Posted November 25, 2009 Not Thanksgiving...CHRISTmas. The MAIN reason people are shopping on the day after Thanksgiving is to buy CHRISTmas gifts, Hanukkah gifts, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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