As the holiday season approaches, so does the age-old debate: is Black Friday worth the chaos? At the crack of dawn, long before the sun rises, you would expect people to be sleeping off the turkey, mashed potatoes, and pie they stuffed their faces with the evening prior. Some people, however, don’t mind sacrificing their REM cycle if it means getting the best deals. After being awoken by their 4 a.m. alarm and bracing themselves for the day ahead, they arrive at the battleground with all their essentials. In one hand, these tenacious shoppers are clutching a Venti Caramel Macchiato (with extra caramel drizzle) and in the other, their cellphone’s notes app, possessing a list of nearly three hundred stores they’d like to conquer before 8 a.m. This phenomenon makes people like me wonder: are the potential savings really worth it?
As a passionate shopper myself, I have a lot of thoughts on why I believe Black Friday is a scam. Reason Number One: Black Friday is actually like three weeks long. While deals start the morning after Thanksgiving, they usually last throughout the following weeks. What used to be Cyber Monday has now morphed into Cyber Week, and you can normally count on deals being similar if not completely unchanged. Am I saying there aren’t any good Black Friday deals the day of? Absolutely not. But the idea that we should scramble to recklessly amass discounted products the day after Thanksgiving is illogical.
My second point to prove the foolishness of Black Friday is the strategic allure companies use. Most corporations that offer Black Friday deals are very conservative with the amount of product they release. For example: Best Buy is selling their Dyson Airwrap Styling Tool for 25% off. You plan to wake up early and beat the rush to grab it. What you don’t know is that although Best Buy normally has 15 Airwraps in stock, they now only have 9. This is all part of a luring tactic to get you into their stores, and when you’re upset about not obtaining the original product you wanted, you’ll see all their advertising on other items and cave. Although sneaky, there’s no denying this is a genius scheme.
Did you know that retailers sometimes partner with manufacturers to make a lower-quality item so they can sell it for less without losing profit? I hope you’re now able to see how my aversion toward Black Friday shopping stems not from the disdain for discounts or bargains, but rather from the concern people are getting ripped off. I am all for getting a good deal, but not at the cost of receiving a lower-quality product or falling into the conspiracies of immoral enterprises.
I am not hating on Black Friday whatsoever; I myself have participated in the past. But, knowing what I know now, I don’t think the chaos is worth it. At the end of the day, it’s important to recognize the true meaning of why we even have Black Friday: the holiday season. Beyond the rush for discounts and clamor for limited items, the holidays are a time for compassion, gratitude, and love. Happy shopping (or not)!