Multiple car doors slam in the parking lot of the local mall. You look around; it seems as though The Walking Dead is recreating itself in this very parking lot as men and women of all ages drag themselves from their vehicles with tired eyes and post-Thanksgiving food bellies. Why are you here?
For the 15 percent off of that one scarf that will probably be on clearance in two weeks? Or for the 30 percent off of the brand that you don’t even wear? Black Friday has been an unnecessary trip for millions of shoppers every year for decades.
“Black Friday” started in the 1960s, when the store books were still kept by hand instead of digitally. In the accounting records, if something was marked in red ink, it was a loss, and if it was marked in black ink, then it was a gain. With all the deals that Black Friday brought, all of the records from that night were written in black ink. Black Friday was meant to be a night of multiple gains and no losses. This is still true, but people are consuming on Black Friday because they believe that they are getting exorbitant deals and sales, even though they are not.
I remember Black Friday, about two years ago, when I was called in to work at P.S. Aeropostale for the midnight to five shift. People were frantic and scary, with a similar wild look in all of their eyes. Mostly middle aged women came into the store, shopping for their children or their nieces or nephews. I got asked a lot of fashion advice on children’s clothes, but the one question that was, quite frankly, embarrassing was when one woman came up to me and asked, “aren’t these the same sales that have been going on all week?” With a red face, I let out a short laugh and answered truthfully, “yes, they are and the same sales will also be going on until Monday.” The woman shook her head, looked at the exorbitantly long line, and strutted out of the store.
This same situation happens at so many stores. The same sales that they say are “DOORBUSTER” either have been going on for a few days or will keep going until Cyber Monday. Sure, there are some stores that have items “only available for the first one hundred customers,” but chances are that it is a worthless item that would cost no more than five dollars on a normal day. This technique is to get you in early to get that item then have you shop and look at the other “deals.” Not to mention the chaos that arises from Black Friday.
There have been numerous injuries that have been caused by greedy people that felt the need to be first in line at any expense. Just last year there was a shooting caused by an aggravated man in Walmart who wanted the last 3D television, which ultimately ended in someone’s death. There have also been many accounts of people being trampled because of “doorbuster” events in which people actually bust down the doors.
Cyber Monday sales are just as good, if not better, and you do not have to risk your life. Even so, most of the “sales” on Black Friday are scams anyway. My advice: keep a lookout the week in advance for sales springing up and ask the associates if the sales are going to be any different come Black Friday. They don’t want a rush in the store just as much as you don’t want to get up early after a night of binge-eating, so they’ll be honest with you. Black Friday should not mean getting a black eye searching for something that you truly don’t need.