Are you one of those people who queues for sales at 6 am? Confess, and tell me why.

[Iamthewombat]

I’ve seen a number of threads on the subject of ‘all shops should close on Boxing Day, blah blah’ but what I want to know is this:

If you are one of those people waiting outside shops on Boxing Day at 6 am (or earlier), why do you do it? The bargains can’t be that good.

We visited friends in Liverpool today and they showed me photos in the local paper of people queuing outside Next at 5.30 am, outside Lush at 6 am etc.

Why????

The paper had interviewed some of the queuers (is that a word?). Their reasons were as follows:

Woman outside Lush: “the gift sets are 50% off so I can get £400 worth for £200!”

Sorry love, they aren’t going to last until Christmas 2020. When I assume you will attempt to re-gift them.

Women outside Next: “It’s a tradition for us and we come every year but we are trying to buy less because we are worried about the environment” (!!!!! I wonder if Next sell self-awareness?)

Genuinely, why do you do it? Is it because you are trying to recreate the Blitz spirit? Is it so that you have something to talk about?

I’d kind of understand if it’s a young person who is label-conscious and wants to snag a particular designer brand from Flannels or Harvey Nics and can only afford it in the sale but Next and bloody Lush? Come on! Neither are a motherlode of sought after quality items at drastically reduced prices, are they?

[7thlevelofthecandycaneforest]

It’s a tradition for me and my friend to go together. We both work crazy hours over Christmas but always make sure we get Boxing Day off. Neither of us have kids so get up early and spend the vouchers we get given for Xmas. We normally get there for 8am and enjoy a McDonald’s breakfast first.

[ClemDanFango]

My DH works in fashion retail and he says the behaviour of these bargain hunters is absolutely savage.
They effectively tear the shop apart rooting for what they want, everything thrown on the floor or discarded half way around the store when they change their mind. He walked in to work on Boxing Day and said it was like they’d been broken in to and the whole place ransacked, it took staff hours to sort through it all and get it tidied up only for people to just trash it again.
He just wishes people wouldn’t turn in to completely disgusting savages in order to find a bargain, some staff left work on Thursday so stressed out of them were in tears.

[BillHadersNewWife]

I always wonder how people have got spare cash to spend right after Christmas! I certainly don't!

[MamaGee09]

I couldn’t think of anything worse than going shopping on Boxing Day. For us it’s still family time and I hate the sales, shops are always a mess

[lljkk]

The earlier poster who said they bought a skirt they loved for £15...
I can't help but wonder if they don't already own 5 skirts they love.
You can only wear one skirt at a time.
I can't get it, can I?

[Redrosesandsunsets]

I went past a Next at 1pm once and there was still a massive queue from the opening at 6am. Why do people do that? I didn’t even bother waiting to take a look.

[Jsjeksmne]

I mostly go to the next sales. Never used to miss them but I haven’t been going to them recently. Only because of work. I go to them because I like their clothes and I’m quite a large person. Most clothes on the high street don’t fit me but next do. They are also good quality. If you don’t get there early then all the good stuff is gone! I know many people love their children’s clothes as well.

The next I go to is small and in a small shopping centre. Although there can be a queue it’s never as bad as what they show on the tv. Bigger next stores will have much longer queue. I was so shocked when I saw it on tv for the first time. I couldn’t believe all those people are queuing. As I said my local next store won’t have queues as long as that especially if you get there early. You’d also probably get better stuff as there are less people.

[Dita73]

We had this conversation yesterday. I don’t think there’s anything in Next that’s worth getting up at bollock o’clock for even if they were giving it away for free. Sod that!

[RunningAroundAgain]

I think it's more of a tradition tbh. I don't personally know anyone who does it, but a friend's mum started it back in the 80s when there was 'proper' sales, ie when sales used to only be once a year and they would be heavily discounted. Now, like you say there's sales all year round, cheap discount shops, Primark and eBay so I don't really get it myself

[slashlover]

As for the poor staff - they were, and are always in my experience, happy to be there. They get “first pick” for volunteering to work it and they do shorter shifts that day on rotation so they can have time at home. I think the lady who served me said she was doing 5am-11am. I know this because I asked her after reading lots of threads on here about how awful it is to work in retail at this time of year.

Staff are hardly going to tell customers that they're miserable though. I used to work in a supermarket and would tell customers that it was good to get out of the house/better than sitting around etc. but I was actually annoyed to basically have a ruined Christmas because I had to go to bed silly early to get up for work. we closed at 10pm Christmas Eve and opened at 8am Boxing Day so not even the 5am of Next.

[Beseen19]

I went once as DS was awake at 5am, thought it might be fun to see what like it was. I'm not really good at sales shopping, literally never see anything. My best friend buys all next years birthday presents though.

Got a tan aspinal of London wallet reduced to £30 on Christmas eve though which was a nice bonus for DH that he wasnt expecting

[spingly]

@midnightmisssuki OP started a discussion topic, I don't suppose she cares that much! Did you not have a good Christmas?

I think it's perception of bargains, they think by being first they've got a better deal than people going in the next day or week?

[GinNsnowmen]

My friend spent 350 in next on tops?!

[OpportunityKnocks]

I go to the Next winter sale every year since having children. It saves us a fortune and the clothes are usually decent. I usually don't have time to shop around for reasonably priced clothes in the year, so doing a chunk in one hit is actually pretty handy.

Up at 5.40, out the house at 5.50, park outside and in the queue at 5.55. Straight in at 7, grab anything that looks reasonable in the kids sizes for the following year, straight to the till by 6.15, home by 6.25. I then have tea and toast in a silent sleeping house before they all wake up.

I go through it all later that day to check what would or would not be worn and return the rest the following day.

[OpportunityKnocks]

I mean straight in at 6.

[Doublethesarcasm]

As for the poor staff - they were, and are always in my experience, happy to be there. They get “first pick” for volunteering to work it and they do shorter shifts that day on rotation so they can have time at home. I think the lady who served me said she was doing 5am-11am. I know this because I asked her after reading lots of threads on here about how awful it is to work in retail at this time of year.

The staff certainly don't volunteer to work it. It's compulsory, some of them won't have finished till gone midnight Christmas Eve doing sale prep.

[nakedavengeragain]

A PP said they had £300 of clothes for £100 from Next. But that's the problem isn't it. It's £100 of Next clothes

[IggyAce]

The last time I remember getting up for the Next Boxing Day sale was when I was pregnant with DS 9 years ago. I did it because I liked the quality of the baby clothes and knew money would be tight so I basically got him kitted out with baby grows for the first year and a few outfits.
Since then I would pop in while out shopping and pick up a few bits if they had anything but I haven’t got up and queued at silly o’clock.

[GlamGiraffe]

My sister has always been short of money, coupled with the fact shes an insomniac, she used to nip to the lical next 5-10 mins away,buy all her baby and kids clothes for that year and the following (nice stuff that she liked, they dont just sell dress, just reduce the whole season's stock) and it used to cost her very little. The quality of them is better than shops like primark (which I do buy from) but for the amount of wear baby clothes they get, they definitely last better and they have been worn twice over, so a good move on her part.

[Apolloanddaphne]

I think the quality of clothing form Next is very poor. Lots of man made fabrics. I can never see anything I want to buy when I look. The whole queueing for the sale thing baffles me but I guess everyone to their own.

[Hellofromtheotherside2020]

I used to work in Next while doing my PhD. I didn't care at all! Used to get first pick of the sale items, my children and husband were still asleep anyway (I was always finished by 11am) and it was only twice a year.
People used to come in and tell me they felt sorry for me etc, but I was getting paid to be there and really did not care! It was more annoying having everyone's unwanted sympathy. I loved the buzz and so did most of my colleagues.
I'm now teaching at a university, and this role requires far more from me than my previous retail job...and isn't much better paid either!

[xJodiex]

No I don't do it, can't really understand it either.

''Work, buy, consume, die'' as David Icke says.

[squeekums]

Want want want! Spend spend spend! Got to have! It never ends.
It's sickening really

I'm a Postie and the sheer volume of stuff people buy sickens me; I knock at some doors every single day for 6 weeks and even yesterday, first day back at work after my amazing break of 2 days' duration, I knocked those same damned doors again with more parcels

So you two
Are the things bought with your money? No
Does it come in your house where you have to store it? No
So why do you care and waste energy on what other people do with their own money and homes?
If you dont wanna buy stuff, dont, but many of us like too

[squeekums]

No lining up, that involves effort
Online though.....
but this years sales were pretty crap locally. I got more in black friday sales

[speakout]

jehovah's witnesses perhaps?

I know a family- don't buy any gifts at christmas because of their religion, but go crazy in boxing day sales.