to be totally confused by this Black Friday thing?

[MrsDeathOfRats]

I actually understand that in America it was a day of sales after thanksgiving and a way of seriously boosting revenue etc (or so is my understanding!)

Anyway, I was keeping an eye on m&s as there are a couple of items I like but out of my price range.
I have just noticed that some of their 'black Friday' deals seem to be live? It's Wednesday?
Also when you look in the '30% indigo' section some of the items are still full price?!?
Does this mean they will go live sometime between now and Friday?
I'm so confused. I wasn't expecting anything to be discounted until Friday!

Why oh why is it a 'black Friday' event if it's gonna go live on a bleeding Wednesday?!?

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Hi! This thread is a little out of date. This thread is a little out of date. If you're looking for deals, take a look at our black Friday deals roundup.

MNHQ

I've never quite got the hang of Black Friday. It seems to be a recent idea that we have 'borrowed' from the US.

I agree, I thought it was just on Friday after Thanksgiving, but it seems to be what can only be described as "Black Friday Week" judging by my inbox.

No idea if M&S buy into it or not...

It is meant to be Friday, running through the weekend into Cyber Monday.

Obviously it means nothing over here as it's not a holiday for a start. It's just an excuse for retailers to flog us more crap in the run up to Xmas.

its just typical british retail greed .argos its black friday 12 day sale .they are just all milking it ..what they dont seem to get is if you spend just now you wont spend in december .no one has double there christmas budget .and the mad thing is asda/walmart started it and most of there stores now not taking part .black friday should be one day end of story

I don't get it either and my po face part of me says its a very unfortunate term just after Paris - but I do get that world wide traders can't change their whole sales thing just like that

I understand it in the States - its like Boxing Day sales and its designed to pick things up ready for Christmas. But here it is pointless. Why would they want to sell everything off cheap now, why not wait til after Christmas when no-one wants it?

IMO it's just a marketing scam that retailers use to get rid of all they uni that they haven't managed to shift earlier in the year!

I'm all for sales and flogging stuff cheap works for my benefit!!

But it just doesn't make any sense. It's like each morning and at random times of day in checking the website to see if the thing I want has gone into the sale or not...

It just confuses me!

Lots of stores are doing black five days so the week running up to the day.
Amazon bought it to this country I think. I've been hooked on the Amazon deals for years now.

Actually the police have asked stores to spread it over several days this year due to the chaos caused by having one-day sales in the past few years.

But online that doesn't make sense 4China.

My OH bought something a month ago for £279. It is being delivered on Saturday.

I just checked the black friday 'deal' and it is on offer this week at £299. A little note below it says that it has previously been sold at £279.

It is all a huge con and anyone that thinks otherwise is a fool.

I may be completely wrong but I thought it was originally publicised as an "anti-capitalism" spend-nothing day for people to express their disapproval of commercialism and materialism by not buying anything. But such sentiments are unamerican and so retailers responded by having a massive one-day sale so that any protest would have no effect and could safely be ignored.

But arent british shops putting sales uo nefore christmas, so traditional boxing day sales happen earlier and earlier? So X shop takes more money then Y shop because they got in earlier?

It's retail wankery adopted by way of american wankery. Avoid.

Online stores are discounting over a number of days because almost all major retailers had issues with websites crashing for hours last year, meaning nobody could buy anything. In store it has been spread out because there were mini riots in some shops last year.

Why would you "Avoid" getting a good deal on something?

THAT is mn wankery!

Because they are often not good deals reality, that's why I'd avoid.

Black friday here is the last weekend before xmas when for some reason everyone gets pissed, fights break out and you make sure you aren't in town.

Offers have been on in the shops all week.
I got tons from Debenhams, especially pj's etc.

I thought it represented huge crowds heading to Walmart and other stores looking like little black ants when viewed from high above the ground.

It is a con if you're not careful and haven't done your homework.

I was in Florida for thanksgiving. A couple of days before I was buying clothes in Kohls for half price.

Went back on the Saturday to see if I'd left anything...as you do...and everything was a third off. What a Swizz!

They have a few loss leaders....tv for $10 etc and the rest is just mayhem.

I think are are good deals to be had. If you are buying something anyway then it can be worth waiting to see if it's discounted.

Amazons deals have been week long since I have followed them. Though the offers are not as good as they were. The days of the £150 kitchen aid seem to be long gone.

NewLife that's Mad Friday round here.

Nope its black eye Friday youre thinking of.

It's actually from accounting terms. The "black" refers to putting retailers in the black rather than the red.

what they dont seem to get is if you spend just now you wont spend in december .no one has double there christmas budget

No, but Argos are banking you'll be spending what you do have with them on their deals so you've nothing left to spend with other retailers!

notso also known in the past as "plastic bag Friday" where office workers unused to drink take a change of clothes to work for the big xmas night out, get shitfaced by 7pm and leave their plastic bag containing secret santa gift/daytime office wear in the pub