I mean, what is wrong with people???
I know, right? It's like simply saving money doesn't satisfy our evolutionary need to signal economic fitness to others. Or something.
And why on earth would anyone make purchases on a day when the best deals of the year can be had? Insanity.
There are in fact super-stupendous Black Friday loss-leader sales on a few items...always with
very few in stock. Those are the eye-popping deals on "toys" (on the front page of the flyer) that get people standing in line in the wee hours of the morning. If you're lucky enough to nab one of those without getting trampled, then yeah, I'd agree you got the best deal of the year. Problem is, that price is only good on the
tiny limited inventory they have on hand, with no rainchecks. (That's the bait.)
Sadly, after THE deal items are gone, everyone else is out of luck. But wait! BF shoppers never have to go home empty handed. They can get a 60" flat screen TV for Uncle Fred after all! See? There's also that model over there...and it too has a markdown sign on it. (And here we have the switch.) Retailers know at that point, shoppers are very inclined to simply shrug and say, "Well, as long as I'm here at 3 AM, I'll get that one. It's xx% off, that's still pretty good. Maybe I'll get one for me, too. I deserve it. After all, it's Christmas"
And so "film at 11" shows people walking out of the store with two or three TV's (or whatever) piled high in their cart, convinced they got the deal of the century on them. Maybe, maybe not. If they kept a price book and tracked prices on these (ahem) essential Mustachian items in the months leading up to Black Friday, they would often find that the Black Friday deal was nothing special at all.
Rule #1: It's not what you "saved" that counts. It's what you spent. And the "best deal" is spending nothing at all.
(Hey, I wonder how those crazy big TV's get paid for...plastic? 20% or more interest? Minimum payments? Nah..... :-)