What annoys you about Black Friday?

[PlumPudd]

My top one is the phrase “Up to 40% off”, oh right so that’s 5% of 95% of your stuff and 40% off sun hats then - thanks!

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On the hunt for Black Friday discounts? Find our guide to this year's best Amazon Black Friday deals. Hope this helps, and happy shopping! MNHQ

This plus it's seems to have been going on for weeks already PLUS I don't think any offers are any different to what you could normally get at any time of the year. I just ignore it completely.

Last year I got an OK price on kindles for the dc. Dh forgot to buy my new kindle in the black Friday sale. Got it for a better price nearer Christmas.

It's bollocks. We don't bother any more. Putting the price up in advance to pretend there's a discount is so overdone no one falls for it now. You just don't buy things when overpriced.

All the app (TV, dating, robot vacuum cleaner, you name it) sending me notifications about their deals. Piss off and leave me in peace. Unfortunately there's no way to opt out of these notifications without silencing the ones you actually needed to get.

Why is "black" being equated with "cheap"/want to be rid of?............Just asking.

I don't plan to buy anything this year and think all I've ever bought on a Black Friday is a discounted bath bomb (and given I'm British-Canadian I think Thanksgiving is in October anyway!) but what really does annoy me is how Mumsnet uses Black Friday as an excuse to get on their collective high horse about consumerism and how We Don't Need Any More Stuff. It can feel very performative and in real life at least I have noticed that a lot of the We Don't Need Any More Stuff brigade already own the Stuff they acquired before their newfound convictions, bought full price of course.
Also it did annoy me that a cancer charity I support sent me an email with "BLACK FRIDAY 25% OFF" which was about discounted charity Christmas cards but appeared in my inbox like I was being offered a bargain on the disease itself.

Supposedly it started with police because the shopping crowds and traffic were so bad. Everyone would come into cities to shop (I believe this was the 1950s) and it would be bedlam. "Black" applied to days of the week has more of a history with financial crises, e.g. Black Monday in 1987.

You have an odd way of saying things, while avoiding the question.

My mother worked at an F.W. Woolworth in the US and did their accounts. She explained it to me this way:

Most of the year, the company was in the "red" or in financial debt (she had red pens to signify this).

The retail industry would have sales right after Thanksgiving in preparation for Christmas. The point was to get their accounts into the "black" or "in profit". Hence, "Black Friday".

That it doesn't make sense. Why would retailers discount things so close to Christmas when they get the highest sales? So they choose things that don't sell well or inflate prices.

I'm so bored with consumerism and Black Friday is designed to make you buy even more shit.

Since the pandemic, I'm only buying the stuff I need. I'm got so much crap already! (from previous Black Fridays).

Argh. Hit send instead of return 😣

Continuing on my explanation:

Most of what was out on sale on Black Friday were generally items that were on the shelves too long. The only way they could make room for new items would be to put those older, stagnant items or overstock on a deep discount to clear the shelves. That's essentially why many items are not the "hot" toys or "most wanted" anything are on a deep discount. To lure people into the stores, they advertise: "up to 40% off" for example. The overstocks are on deep discount but the rest will have minimal discounting, if at all. If it's a coveted item, they don't need to discount anything or possibly, minimal.

That was all my understanding from a retail perspective.

All the washing up and cleaning after Thanksgiving. But leftovers make it (almost) worthwhile.

Nothing annoys me about it.

That version is actually not correct but often touted on the Internet as the origin of Black Friday.

www.history.com/news/black-friday-thanksgiving-origins-history

I wasn't trying to avoid the question. The issue is that "black" wasn't to do with things being cheap. It was just the term for a very busy day. As I understand it this pre-dates all the sales.

When I’ve just bought something at full price and it’s significantly discounted for BF. 🤬

It’s a sale, by any other name just as the other sales are that regularly come up every few weeks, very boring.& it will probably be a bit cheaper in the big January sale

The use of an American term, especially as we did not have thanksgiving yesterday.

Bargains that are not really bargains does not bother me, though I'd like to see better advertising restrictions on supposed price reductions.

I'm glad I read this thread, because it has reminded me to step away from temptation!

I always think that if you can afford to sell it at a reduced price for Black Friday, you can afford to sell it at that price all year.

I needed to buy a bed, picked one and happy with the price. Got to the checkout and got £85 off due to their black Friday sale so I'm loving it this year 😁

This exactly.

nothing about Black Friday annoys me.I hardly notice it.

You don't shop 3 weeks before blsck friday like you don't buy yourself nice things before Christmas (so spouses who got you that thing as a surprise don't get little heart attack when you show them what you bought😂)

Nothing I really need so I’m not tempted!