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Today is Buy Nothing Day.[1] Don't shop.
Dunno. I get the idea. But it's not like Black Friday is the only scam. Cyber Monday is the same crap. Just like Prime day.
(And most of the other days too, when the price is actually the same as on these "holidays", but without the fanfare)
I don’t follow. There’s lots of discounts on Black Friday. Are you suggesting the prices have been inflated so with the discount it’s “normal” price? How is Black Friday a “scam”?
This literally is the method of pricing used on Amazon and many other retailers, raise the price 20% and then offer a 15% discount is actually common as well.
If you're just buying things without knowing the general price of them, then Black Friday is the least of your problems. And no I don't mean just checking Camel^3, which is also thoroughly gamed.
I love camelcamelcamel. How is it gamed? I trust it when I see a long and varied price history of an item.
Coupon codes, exclusive pricing (business, prime, etc), different product listings - all not reflected in the history AFAICT. Never mind that for many products, Amazon has consistently high prices. CCC is handy, but it's just one data point.
That or it’s different skus and lower quality product that was binned just for black friday
> Buy Nothing Day is a day of protest against consumerism.
This is basically counterproductive. The problem with consumerism is buying things you would not otherwise buy (because you don't need or want them really). But obviously there are things that you do need/want, and if those things can be purchased on sale, failing to do so merely results in paying more money to the people driving consumerism.
If you want to protest consumerism (as I do), I suggest three methods of doing so which are actually effective:
1. Mindfully reduce what objects you own and what objects you take in. Read The Last Viridian Note [1] for a potential strategy for categorizing what objects belong in your life and don't.
2. When you mindfully conclude that you do, in fact, need/want something, exhaust all avenues for obtaining it for free, used, or locally, in that order, before buying from a retailer connected to the global supply chain.
3. Don't view ads. The entire raison d'être of capitalism is to provide the highest quality goods and services for the lowest cost. Advertising fundamentally breaks this premise because it allows lower quality goods and services at a higher cost to outcompete higher quality goods and services at a lower cost. Every dollar a company spends on advertising is a) not spent on creating a quality product and b) passed on to the consumer in the form of cost. More relevant-ly, advertising makes it much more difficult to mindfully reduce what you own and take in. No one is immune to advertising: modern manipulation tactics are more sophisticated than any of us can truly guard our psyches from: the only solution is abstinence.
[1] https://www.viridiandesign.org/notes/451-500/the_last_viridi...
> Don't view ads.
I don’t think that is possible. If you go outside, you will be exposed to advertising. And lots of it.
>The entire raison d'être of capitalism is to provide the highest quality goods and services for the lowest cost.
Quality is absolutely _not_ of paramount interest in capitalism; return on investment is.
Which if anything has exactly the opposite effect than what GP is claiming; sell the lowest quality goods and services(i.e. lowest cost) at the highest price possible.
Yes, exactly, as well as rent-seeking behaviour.
If that's your argument that capitalism should exist, it's not a persuasive one: why should people be given money for doing nothing ("investing")?
I'm not making any kind of argument, I'm simply describing capitalism as it is.
Ugh. This is why the left can't get anything done--we're always getting divided over irrelevant details. Do you see how maybe that isn't a disagreement with what I said? You just jumping in to "correct" me without making any effort to understand what I'm saying is extremely counterproductive.
Hint: maybe Google "raison d'être".
I've been speaking French at an intermediate level for a couple of decades, but thanks. I'm happy to expand my critique to how your arguments all individualize responsibility for a systemic issue that requires targeted collective action and social transformation. This is not leftist strategy.
Why people keep saying Black Friday is a scam? I find things on sale worth buying.
Like I’ve been eyeing an Xbox Controller and it is now at 40, which normally is 60 in my currency. Where is the scam?
Or the Proton Pass Lifetime Subscription, even though I don’t know whose lifetime, it is a reasonable offer.
Where is the scam?
If you know you need something, then find it at a discount on Black Friday, you’re fine, especially where you’ve tracked the price and know it’s genuinely cheaper.
If you find things you don’t need, and otherwise wouldn’t buy, but are convinced by the fake scarcity and fake discounts, then you’re being scammed.
In NZ, there's a lot of fake discounts, sure, but I found comparing prices worldwide can be a good indicator of a good deal.
It's not uncommon for local shops to give massive, real discounts, making items cheaper than Amazon US or even aliexpress, which is definitely not the case in general.
I bet you could answer your questions all by yourself if you read the article.
1. MOST things on sale are not worth buying at any price.
2. The sale price is closer to the actual market value of the item. Instead of viewing sales as a boon from retailers, it's more accurate to view retailers as price gouging the rest of the year, or charging a convenience fee to not have to wait for a sale.
3. It's commonplace these days for retailers to simply lie about normal prices in order to pretend an item is on sale, when in fact it is simply being sold at the normal price. That TV is always $300, but today it's "<strikethrough>$500</strikethrough>$300 (40% off!)".
1. Then don't buy those things, it doesn't detract from the fact that are things worth buying that are at a significant discount.
2. You're making the point that Black Friday/Cyber Monday etc. are not scams, but are in fact the most reasonable time of the year to buy things.
3. Well then it really doesn't matter when you buy it, so Black Friday is as good a day as any.
I'm just answering the question, man.
It's a great day to unsubscribe from mailing lists that you didn't know you were on.
Most of the items are not any better than a typical sale. I usually have a good idea of what I want or plan to buy and the price. A few deals I found were Airpod Pro 2 for $154 which I thought was fair. Costco had a $299 15.6 inch 1080P HP laptop (U100,12GB/512GB), a decent price. JC Penny had amazing deals on luggage, $34 for a good quality carry-on bag. Even AMZN had the Mac Mini M4 for $499.00 which is $100 less than reg.
Just need to be aware of historical pricing and what is a deal, the rest is an attempt to get rid of old stock or market shit you think you need.
For the opulent folks, sure. However, I grew up poor, and Black Friday was one day my family would "splurge" aka buy stuff we waited a long time that we needed (new clothes etc.). Especially with inflation these days, Black Friday and the like are very useful for poorer folks.
Sure Black Friday creates a lot of waste and results in impulse buys, but it's a good thing for 11.1% of Americans who are poor. I use r/buyitforlife to select long lasting stuff to buy during BF etc and from companies with lifetime guaranties such as Darn Tough and Patagucci. I'm all for preventing companies from manipulating people to buy junk.
I’ve been pretty happy with adding expensive things to save for later on my Amazon shopping cart all year and seeing most of them pretty cheap over the past week.
I don't know really.
Maybe a majority of BF offers are a scam, but I think if you look carefully you can still find good deals.
Of course with that I mean buy stuff you actually have use for.
And I think that sites that track items price history are invaluable for this, with them you can find out if something you want actually is discounted.
4chan on Black Friday: <https://i.4cdn.org/pol/1732876862173527.jpg>
Hello fren....
Kind of seems a bit incomplete. The entire ponzi scheme debt / consume cycle is a trap. Black Friday is just a small but highly promoted and gross part off it.
> The entire ponzi scheme debt / consume cycle is a trap.
I'd append that to be an increasingly inescapable trap.
Debt is needed to raise credit scores and high scores are needed for necessary things like housing. It's a brutal lesson for typical-income folks who only spend what they have.
Relevant debt isn't needed to raise credit scores. One can simply play the system with short-term "debt", borrowing only what you can pay off immediately. This isn't meaningfully different from only spending what you have.
If you‘re in the EU, use geizhals.at and filter by all time deals. Plenty of good deals there.
I did 3 years in the trenches at a major eComm company (who is known for their jeans and T-Shirts) helping keep the site up.
Second year running this year, of being able to fully enjoy family time (even the drama) without cutting it short for high stress work. (Black Friday for eComm websites starts at 8 EST on Thurs.).
Me, my wife, my old colleagues, and even my old boss all agree: Fuck this Black Friday shit.
marketing schmarketing, let the people shop