Boxing Day sales serve ultimately the same purpose except its after Christmas instead of before.
the mind fairly reels…please elaborate.
That’s romantic 
Yes, I’m axious to hear as well.
Black Friday is mostly a marketing gimmick. Most of the “deals” are illusory. WSJ even has a write up about this today. Most of the high % discounts are driven by artificially high non-sale prices; stores mark up the initial price, then offer a big discount to bring the price back down.
http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304281004579217863262940166
In addition, stores make money by selling you maintenance plans and warranties, and they limit losses by allocating the biggest % discounts to cheap items, or low tier products which do not sell well to begin with. Losing some money on a $2 waffle iron is worth getting people in the store.
I did Black Friday a few times over the past few years and not doing it anymore. I wanted to get some dress shirts and was a little disappointed when only the blue and white ones were on sale in slim fit. There were also the same three ugly patterned ones that you could tell didn’t sell or were made for this purpose. Unless there is a specific deal you have in mind it doesn’t make sense to me.
I wasn’t there, but from the stories I’ve heard there wasn’t anything all that shocking or surprising, just a few altercations with fellow shoppers, empty bottles being indiscriminately thrown out the window of the limo, bodily fluid secretions on the side of the road, etc. If there are more lurid details, I’m thankful they were not shared with me given the fact that we’re talking about my sister.
im stopping by the breitling black friday sale then making my way to the lambo black friday sale after…locations are top secret of course
It’s called Boxing day in Canada, which is now Boxing week.
And never try to be rational with a chick. Recipe for disaster.
America’s Team is already eliminated by the time Martin Luther King day comes around.
I have some great memories of Black Friday shopping from my college years.
The weekend of Thanksgiving was usually the first time I would see my best friends from high school since the previous summer. They would all meet me at my parents’ house around 2:00 am. My mother even woke up early to cook us all a nice breakfast. We’d usually line up at Best Buy or Circuit City by 3:00 am. We’d even bring lawn chairs and thermoses. When employees started handing out vouchers for big ticket items, we’d all take one and then sell them to other customers who were behind us in line. One year, I think we even sold our spot in the line. The voucher proceeds usually totalled between $20-$30 (per person). I’d always spend the money on a stack of cheap movies.
Kind of, other than that you can’t buy Christmas gifts on Boxing Day, but I can buy Christmas gifts on Black Friday. I’m pretty sure Americans have big bargains after Christmas too as retailers clear out the last of their old stuff.
you can save a lot by shopping in the states. I went down a couple months ago and bought a tv. I went for the day to the ghetto part of Buffalo (aka Buffalo) and hit up wal mart. I had to pay the HST on the tv when I came back but it was still a lot cheaper. Plus, in ontario we have that environmental fee which I was able to avoid by shopping in the states. In total I probably saved over $300. I’m only an hour drive from the border so it made sense.
the key word is “lining up”. It’s not a bunch of cottage cheese legged women knocking each other over to save a few dollars like the Black Friday nut jobs in the states. And at least japanese are lining up for new things like Krispy Kreme or fashion. They wouldn’t line up outside a wal mart (I hope not)
I don’t want to defend Japanese for their line-ups because i find them ridiculous at times as well. There are always some kind of special edition jacket, t shirt, perfume, jeans, etc, every week and i just don’t think it’s anything prettier, just the fact that “i got something you don’t have!” but then after a week, something else comes up and what you got last week is nothing “new” anymore…
I’d rather just buy something i like and not have to line up for it.
It’s like latest apple products, does it kill you to have it a few weeks later??
I’d say it’s very much a group mentality for japanese and Japan is very much a fad loving country. I remember when Krispy Kreme first opened in Yurakucho and I stopped by to see a three hour wait but went back two months later and there were 10 people in line. The one fad that still brings a smile to my face is Billy’s Boot Camp. It was everywhere and it seemed like every woman (wife included) was in to it. Six months later and most people forgot about it. At least the lines are orderly (outside Osaka that is).
I totally agree with you abut new products. Buying a mass produced product that’s assembled in China isn’t much to be proud of (I am typing this on an iPad btw 
). I do always use these examples as to why I have no sympathy for debt laden people.
Did anybody watch South Park episode on Black Friday sales?
I wonder if the fad culture in Japan has any influence from the country’s history of lack of individualism. japan went through a period of lacking identity and uniformity. flash memories of learning from my college days. .
Don’t even talk about Krispy Kreme, so stupid!!! why would anyone line up for 3 hours for deep fried fat?
And the crazy thing is, after Krispy Kreme opened, there were many domestic donut cafes opened in tokyo, clearly t hey did not survive…