Mighty Bargain Hunter

Has Black Friday jumped the shark?

November 18th, 2009 | by mbhunter |

I mean, it’s still there and all, but does it really mean anything?

And if it does mean something, what more can retailers do that they already haven’t?

WalMart Stores, Radio Shack, The Apple Store, Best Buy, KMart, Kohl’s, Toys “R” Us, and Target have already had their Black Friday ads “leaked.”   I can’t really believe that these leaks were anything but completely planned: orchestrated to create buzz.

Black Friday just doesn’t seem that special anymore. It’s gone from being a crowded, but otherwise lighthearted, shopping day to a spectacle.  People with time on their hands and a few extra layers of clothing stand out all night to grab a few loss leaders, many of them hoping only to ride the wave of hype to sell them on eBay for profit.

Then there are people who just stay out of Black Friday completely, waiting for post-holiday sales or maybe regifting instead.

Retailers need us a lot more than we need them, frankly.  It’s their bottom line that suffers if we don’t go out the day after Thanksgiving.  We, on the other hand, risk blowing our spending plan for indulgence in frenzy and a New Year’s credit hangover.

As Black Friday gets crazier, just picture Happy Days.  And change the channel.

Thanks to Fiscal Geek for including this post in the Carnival of Personal Finance.

Questions tagged credit-card at Cash Commons:

• Anybody have sucesss with 0% Balance Transfers on Credit Cards?
• When entering credit card information on a website, does the billing address have to be correct?
• Two of my credit cards got hit with fraudulent charges the same day. What gives?