Friday, November 28, 2008

Ah, Black Friday

For many, Black Friday is a day full of crazy deals and exhaustive shopping. It was for me, that is until I worked in retail for a few too many years. Now black Friday is a day of hibernation, a day to avoid all retail outlets no matter what the deal may be. So here I sit, surrounded by the fading smells of Smallpox Blanket Day (thanks for that, Warren Ellis) with my laptop in hand searching out the few online deals that strike my husbands fancy.

With all that in mind, I struggled with the idea of a weekend sale. I assumed, as I seem to always do, that other people think like me and aren't really all that interested in crazy deals that are not meant to last more than a few days. However, I did decide to offer up a free gift with purchase until Monday and a free upgrade to Priority shipping for all orders over $25. This kind of deal is honestly the least amount of effort I can expend. I don't have to send new invoices and I will probably end up making only a couple of free gifts because these kinds of offer have never resulted in sales for me.

I'm not sure why I even bother given my history with offers. I'm starting to wonder if it's a feeble attempt to be a part of the Black Friday cultural event without subjecting myself to actual shopping. In any event, my deal is good through Monday and I may continue to offer the shipping upgrade through the holiday season. We might try to go see a movie later with the family if we get brave enough and of course the holiday decorations need to come in from the garage. In a couple of days, Christmas will have thrown up all over the house and I'll have to let the kids start watching the holiday DVDs. It is now officially that time of the year and I'm a little scared.

3 comments:

Jrahn said...

Black Fridays are for suckers! I prefer paying full price on everything and complaining later.. it is how I function. Nah, most of the stuff on sale is garbage quality or soon to be discontinued anyway.

AJ said...

I'm tired of Black Friday and Cyber Monday. I never seem to have any luck running sales, either, so I'm not bothering this weekend.

I'm going to do some holiday shopping on Etsy today, but I'm going to buy from specific sellers who I already bookmarked because they have specific items that I want to buy for specific people. The only reason I'm waiting until today is that some of it is for my in-laws, so I wanted my husband to be free to offer his opinion on exactly what to buy. If they're having a sale this weekend, great. If not, oh well.

I plan to not leave the house at all today, except maybe to take my dogs for a walk around the park!

Sewicked said...

I hit a couple stores, after 9 am. Then it was off to see family and spend the weekend.