Black Friday Madness – Please Explain…

[outtamojo]

I picked up 2x4gig ddr3 pc 1600 1.5 volt for 29.99 free shipping and I didn’t even need it : )
What declining buying power? Oh wait you must be referring to internal hard drives I was planning to get at about 50 bucks for 2tb by now but are instead about 4x that price ;(

[paramount]

[quote=outtamojo]I picked up 2x4gig ddr3 pc 1600 1.5 volt for 29.99 free shipping and I didn’t even need it : )
What declining buying power? Oh wait you must be referring to internal hard drives I was planning to get at about 50 bucks for 2tb by now but are instead about 4x that price ;([/quote]

That is the going price for ddr3 memory (depends on the brand) – I paid the same price last summer at Tiger Direct.

What declining purchasing power? Isn’t that the main reason why women entered the work force in large numbers?

Don’t confuse purchasing power with debt (another symptom of declining purchasing power).

[outtamojo]

[quote=paramount][quote=outtamojo]I picked up 2x4gig ddr3 pc 1600 1.5 volt for 29.99 free shipping and I didn’t even need it : )
What declining buying power? Oh wait you must be referring to internal hard drives I was planning to get at about 50 bucks for 2tb by now but are instead about 4x that price ;([/quote]

That is the going price for ddr3 memory (depends on the brand) – I paid the same price last summer at Tiger Direct.

What declining purchasing power? Isn’t that the main reason why women entered the work force in large numbers?

Don’t confuse purchasing power with debt (another symptom of declining purchasing power).[/quote]

The devil is in the details – memory is all about speed at x voltage, plenty of the crappier 1.65 volt stuff on sale over the summer and I will pay off the credit card when the bill comes and by the end of the year I will have enuf rewards points to take my family to Disneyland on the house.

[outtamojo]

OMG- 50 pack HP dvd-r/dvd+r at Staples 5.99 free shipping http://www.staples.com/HP-4.7GB-DVD-R-50-pk-Spindle/product-nr_592647
Not that I burn discs anymore, just to have around.
Gotta run. bet its sold out by the time you read this….

[scaredyclassic]

People used to go to midnight mass to worship but now we go to midnight shop to worship at the altar of the competition that us the essential mystery if free market capitalism

[zk]

[quote=paramount]That’s really an unsatisfying explanation (and largely incorrect) and really only address potential behavior in the moment. In the midst of a mob scene – well that part of the behavior is well understood.
[/quote]

I thought that was the behavior you were referring to, as there was no indication otherwise. As far as it being unsatisfying, whether or not something satisfies you is irrelevant. As far as it being incorrect, you’re going to have to do more than just say it’s incorrect for it to carry any weight.

[quote=paramount]The real question is that given a choice to be home in bed (for most), why do some people choose in some cases to camp out on a cold sidewalk for days just to save a few bucks (maybe…). Or wait in line for hours on end in the cold to get a shot of saving a few messily bucks in most cases. Often just for ‘stuff’ – so it’s not for survival.
[/quote]

Fair enough. But I don’t see how you can unequivocally say that that’s irrational behavior. Stampeding over other humans and hysterically screaming and pushing and grabbing, I can see as irrational (which is why I thought that was the behavior you were referring to). But spending 6 hours in line to save $100? That could easily be considered rational behavior for many. What if you make $8.50 an hour? What if you want to work as many hours as you can but can’t find more work? Maybe you shouldn’t be buying an XBox, but that’s a different discussion. If you’re going to buy one, and you can save $100 on and XBox or a laptop or a big screen TV, and all you have to do is sit around for 6 hours, it could easily make sense for a person. I don’t think most people don’t wait in line for that long, though. I think most people wait in line for an hour or two, maybe three, and for them they’d have to save even less for it to make sense.

[quote=paramount]

Q: What reasoning sets in motion that makes Black Friday so appealing in the 1st place? Is it the hype? No, not really.

A: It’s an addiction – an addiction to consumerism and the drive to maintain an illusion of a living standard that is not sustainable.

[/quote]

Interesting theory. What evidence do you have for this?

[quote=paramount]

Could that addiction and illusion be partially induced by chemicals, much like a smoker is addicted to cigarettes via nicotine. Diminishing ones ability to make rational choices. Sure, it is possible.[/quote]

Sure, it’s possible. Anything is possible. But first, you assume that your addiction theory is correct, which you haven’t shown it to be. Second, even if your theory is correct, an addiction to consumerism being “partially induced by chemicals” would be nothing like a smoker being addicted to cigarettes via nicotine. With nicotine there is a direct link to the addictive behavior. In your theory, apparently, these chemicals would have some unspecified and unknown affect on the brain diminishing one’s ability to make rational choices. Not similar at all.

But my question was, and still is, why do you think this is one of the best explanations? What evidence is there for it?

And I’d still be interested to hear whether you think the government should regulate these chemicals if they’re show to be dangerous.

[zk]

[quote=zk]
And I’d still be interested to hear whether you think the government should regulate these chemicals if they’re show to be dangerous.[/quote]

Really, my only question about the “chemical lobotomy” theory is why you think it’s one of the best explanations, and your explanations are good enough to explain that. You probably just meant that it makes as much sense to you as anything else you’ve heard.

What I’m really curious about is whether you think the government should regulate these chemicals if they’re dangerous.

[svelte]

what you see on black friday used to be called ‘mob mentality’. it is well known behavior in humans and has been going on for many many many generations.

nothing new, b.f. is just a new way of displaying that behavior. we went to the l.a. auto show instead on that day to display another well known human behavior: the desire to spend way to much on rolling metal and rubber.

it’s a good day to go, with the rest of the population at the malls. 🙂

[scaredyclassic]

we went to the mall last night to buy a crockpot and it was pretty empty. we talked to the clerk and she said it was totally nuts at the temecula mall on midnight in women’s shoes. we asked if we woulda got a much better deal on the deeply discounted crockpot and a few sale pans we also picked up if we bought on friday. she said no. then she asked if we had a coupon. we sadly said no. she said, that’s ok, then dug up a coupon and scanned it for us. we saved 20% I think for being nice and engaging her in conversation and also my kids were cute.

really excited about this crockpot.

also got some chain to attach to a filson leather belt to do weighted pullups and dips. and we also got a funnel for my kid to demonstrate the bernouilli principle in show n tell for his ap physics class.

just trying to help the economy in our own ways.

[Arraya]

Well if this doesn’t have capitalism written all over it I don’t know what does? Feral consumerism rears it’s ugly head again. That behavior shares a gene with the mass bad behavior that caused the housing bubble.

[Coronita]

For me, I have stayed away and plan on staying away from any Walmart Black Friday or doorbuster forever….

I said this before, but every year there is always some ridiculous thing that always happens at Walmart.

Last time, I believe people were trampled to death.
This time? Some stupid lady pepper sprays others so she can save a few bucks on some video games.

On the other hand, if you want to get rich quick the good old american way, step into a Walmart during Black Friday doorbusters..Because chances are, you’ll get injured, and then you can sue…. (end sarcasm):(

Only at Walmart…Where low prices means seeing the most ridiculous samples of the human species on the entire planet.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/walmart-pepper-spraying-customer-charged-report-article-1.983094

Los Angeles police have yet to decide if they will charge a woman accused of using pepper spray on a shopping crowd at Walmart on Thanksgiving, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Investigators also declined to discuss her motive for doing it – whether she felt threatened by the crowd or merely wanted to clear people away so she could shop.

“We have her identity and we know who she is and where she is at. When appropriate action needs to be taken, we know where to find her,” said Officer Bruce Borihanh, a police spokesman told CNN. “She’s a suspect, but she’s not booked or anything, so we’re not releasing her name.

The unidentified woman, who turned herself into police on Friday night, was released as police continue to interview witnesses and investigate the case, which made international headlines.

Police said earlier that she was looking to beat shoppers to a discounted Xbox 360 set.

About 20 Walmart shoppers complained of burning eyes and sore throats after the incident, the Times reported.

The suspect, according to the report, paid for the Xbox before leaving the store.

The LAPD wasn’t the only police department busy investigating a Black Friday incident at Walmart.

In Arizona, police said they were conducting an investigation into the arrest a 54-year-old man at one of the retail stores, CNN reported.

Jerald Newman was charged with shoplifting and resisting arrest and released Saturday. But his grandson, Nicholas Nava, told KNXV that his grandfather simply put the video game under his shirt to avoid protect it from other shoppers as they made their way to the register.

CNN reported that a police officer approached Nava and then eventually slammed him to the ground, leaving his face bloodied.

“We may have an independent agency conduct the inquiry, just to show transparency,” a spokesman said.

Newman, meanwhile, has hired an attorney and plans on speaking with reporters later this week, CNN reported.

[Coronita]

[quote=outtamojo]OMG- 50 pack HP dvd-r/dvd+r at Staples 5.99 free shipping http://www.staples.com/HP-4.7GB-DVD-R-50-pk-Spindle/product-nr_592647
Not that I burn discs anymore, just to have around.
Gotta run. bet its sold out by the time you read this….[/quote]

I already stocked up on them 3 years ago when they were free after rebates 🙂

[Coronita]

[quote=svelte]behavior. we went to the l.a. auto show instead on that day to display another well known human behavior: the desire to spend way to much on rolling metal and rubber.
[/quote]

I prefer to spend my time watching two groups of grown men trying to bounce a ball around and putting the ball in a small hoop that is above the ground…It’s just too bad they are all on strike because they feel underpaid for doing so 🙁

[an]

[quote=flu]I prefer to spend my time watching two groups of grown men trying to bounce a ball around and putting the ball in a small hoop that is above the ground…It’s just too bad they are all on strike because they feel underpaid for doing so :([/quote]
Damn those greedy 1%.

[Arraya]

This should make CAR happy

http://eastcountymagazine.org/node/7985
November 26, 2011 (San Diego) – Startled shoppers in two San Diego Walmart stores received a message delivered by 75 Occupy San Diego protesters forming a human microphone. The protesters urged Walmart shoppers to support locally-owned small businesses instead of corporate-owned mass merchandizers.

http://occupywallst.org/article/solidarity-striking-chinese-workers/
This Black Friday, as millions of Americans scramble to find the “best deals” on consumer goods, thousands of Chinese manufacturing workers are striking to demand livable wages, job security, and other basic rights. In Huangjiang alone, 8,000 striking shoe factory workers took the streets Thursday, blocking roads and standing down lines of riot police.

[Author]

Posts