I remember watching the line outside of my local Pamida press up toward the front doors about ten years ago on my way to work. It was about 6:30 a.m. and they were opening at 7 a.m.
Then a few years back it seemed like 6 a.m. was the new 7 a.m.
Then Wal-Mart moved in and 6 a.m. became 5 a.m.
People are losing a lot of sleep. This is not healthy.
Now I see that Old Navy is opening at.......(drum roll)
3 A M
Really?!?!? 3 AM?
First of all, in order to be there at opening doors, a shopper will need to get up at 2 a.m. (so really, why bother going to bed?) to get to the store at 2:30 a.m. to be in line.
Secondly, I can't think of one thing that Old Navy has in their Black Friday Flyer that is worth getting up at 2 a.m. (or not going to bed at all) for which to stand in line at 2:30 a.m. to push other retarded, sleep deprived people out of the way.
So my next question is when does all this ridiculous one-ups-manship between stores just push everything into Thursday? Why not just open at midnight instead of 3 a.m.? Lots of stores do midnight releases of games and movies. Why not save us all the short night of sleep and just let us come in after our Thursday afternoon nap? We'll be all rested and ready to run for that ultra cheap LCD TV.Wouldn't this likely cut down on the car accidents from some mad shopoholic driving in the wee morning hours when he/she is over tired from only sleeping two hours and texting to her friends that Wal-Mart is out of Snuggies?
Or perhaps I am missing that people are actually starting their Black Friday shopping on Thursday because they go camp out in the parking lot of Best Buy Thursday afternoon. They bring their recliners and portable HDTVs, unzip, kick back, and watch football there instead of at home.
This might actually be a good thing. All the rest of the family is saved from seeing Uncle Bob's furry keg spilling out the especially grateful-to-be-finally-unzipped waistband. They can relax and let their turkey digest in visual peace whilst the rest of the Best Buy clientelle enjoy the scenery.
Whatever the reason and whatever time you start out, I hope any of you who are brave enough to wade through the endorphin-crazed bargain hunting crowds get your coveted zebra print Snuggie!
Guess what? Toys R Us opened at midnight this year in Fargo, and it was the craziest scene that I have ever witnessed in Fargo for a Black Friday sale (even worse than the scenes at Best Buy). The people took up two whole parking lots (the Toys R Us lot and the Office Depot lot) plus four or five rows of the Wal-Mart and Hobby Lobby parking lots (which are across the street on either side). I just cannot imagine what Toys R Us had that compelled people to stand in that horribly long line.
ReplyDeleteI will admit that my boyfriend and I did a little bit of Black Friday shopping this year, only because several nieces and nephews asked for video games for all the various gaming systems that they have. By going out yesterday, we saved between $150 and $200, which made the long checkout lines totally worth it! However, we slept until 5:00 and went to every store after the long lines outside were gone.
I was saying the exact same thing to my family when we were debating whether to hit the Black Friday shopping or not, and that was…why don’t they just start at midnight? It’s going to eventually be like that anyways. Like you said, think back a few years ago and we were thinking that 7 am shoppers were crazy. I too saw that commercial for Old Navy opening at 3 am and couldn’t believe it. I myself have never gone shopping on Black Friday because it really doesn’t appeal to me to deal with inconsiderate people shoving and pushing all to save a few dollars on a TV or some other electronic. Just not my cup of tea, however, one day maybe when the time comes that they are open on Thanksgiving with their crazy deals I will deal with the crowd but until then I will spend those extra few dollars and go on a Tuesday when everyone else is working.
ReplyDeleteI don't think there is much that is worth standing in line that long for. My mom went one year and she said she got distracted watching people buy five thirty dollar dvd player. That must have been high quality. I don't think it is worth it. I would much rather stay up late playing board games with the family. Money isn't everything.
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