• Welcome to Autism Forums, a friendly forum to discuss Aspergers Syndrome, Autism, High Functioning Autism and related conditions.

    Your voice is missing! You will need to register to get access to the following site features:
    • Reply to discussions and create your own threads.
    • Our modern chat room. No add-ons or extensions required, just login and start chatting!
    • Private Member only forums for more serious discussions that you may wish to not have guests or search engines access to.
    • Your very own blog. Write about anything you like on your own individual blog.

    We hope to see you as a part of our community soon! Please also check us out @ https://www.twitter.com/aspiescentral

Thank Spectrum! I didn’t buy anything this Black Friday

The Midge

The Midge

Well-Known Member
V.I.P Member
Black Friday is a relatively new import on my side of the pond. This is one of those days it is a real advantage being on the spectrum.

I have no desire to join the riots of bargain crazed shoppers in town. I have looked on line and the logic and attention to detail that comes with the condition helped me realise that most of the bargains were just the same as the summer sales or previously available. Except on some end of line items that are at the end of the line or about to be replaced by a new model.

A discount is only worth something if you intended to buy it anyway. If you over spend you could lose out on overdraft and credit charges.

So I had a relaxed day at home on my own instead. Bliss.

Net result is that I have spent nothing.

So long black Friday. I’m still in the black and not in the red.
 
Amazon must appeal to great many of us for precisely that reason. No crowds, no noise, no net slowdowns either. Bought what I wanted and that's that.

Though with Black Friday now extending throughout the week, it's made Friday kind of a moot point in terms of the crowds. Nowhere near as bad as it used to be. Busy at Walmart...but not crazy like before. This is the second year I've discovered this. In the past I always avoided shopping on this day altogether. No longer an issue for me locally at least.

"Those who are about to die, salute you!" Or not. :p
 
Last edited:
The Midge said:
Black Friday is a relatively new import on my side of the pond. This is one of those days it is a real advantage being on the spectrum.

I have no desire to join the riots of bargain crazed shoppers in town. I have looked on line and the logic and attention to detail that comes with the condition helped me realise that most of the bargains were just the same as the summer sales or previously available. Except on some end of line items that are at the end of the line or about to be replaced by a new model.

A discount is only worth something if you intended to buy it anyway. If you over spend you could lose out on overdraft and credit charges.

So I had a relaxed day at home on my own instead. Bliss.

Net result is that I have spent nothing.

So long black Friday. I’m still in the black and not in the red.
Click to expand...

The only thing I have ever bought on Black Friday is my laptop. The one that I was going to buy anyway and that, hey, was suddenly a few hundreds $$ cheaper. Yay.

Though, who knows, Cyber Monday is coming...
Duh, not for me anyway.
 
With stores now opening on Thursday afternoon/evening the Friday crowd isn't too big of a deal. I went into Walmart this afternoon and it wasn't much busier than usual.

Another trend I have noticed is that stores are getting better organized in how they deal with the Black Friday crowds. I guess people literally being trampled to death was a wake up call and stores have found ways to mitigate the mad rush.

I am a big fan of online shopping as well. You just have to be ready and waiting for the deals to show up and be lucky/fast enough to buy it first. No camping out for hours and wasting life away to save some money on a luxury you don't even need. You either get the deal or you don't and can move on with life.
 
WittyAspie said:
With stores now opening on Thursday afternoon/evening the Friday crowd isn't too big of a deal. I went into Walmart this afternoon and it wasn't much busier than usual.

Another trend I have noticed is that stores are getting better organized in how they deal with the Black Friday crowds. I guess people literally being trampled to death was a wake up call and stores have found ways to mitigate the mad rush.

I am a big fan of online shopping as well. You just have to be ready and waiting for the deals to show up and be lucky/fast enough to buy it first. No camping out for hours and wasting life away to save some money on a luxury you don't even need. You either get the deal or you don't and can move on with life.
Click to expand...

Yeah, the trampling to death... Have to wonder why people are ready to die for a cheaper TV. That's why I prefer Amazon above everything. So. Much. Easier.
 
I only ever really buy anything on black Friday as a Christmas gift for someone else. This year many retailers appear to be having deals on for a much longer period, so today I bought my husband a birthday present (his birthday is 23rd December) that was included in the sales on Amazon. I only really shop online anyway, so sales are no different.
 
onlything said:
Yeah, the trampling to death... Have to wonder why people are ready to die for a cheaper TV. That's why I prefer Amazon above everything. So. Much. Easier.
Click to expand...

The people who got trampled were employees trying to get out of the way.
 
Extreme case, but this just goes to show how not worth it it is to get those amazing deals on Black Friday:


All of this is in the US of course, of all places on the planet. Still not my cup of tea regardless of the reality now.
 
Last edited:
Really look for deals, all year round. Rarely have I shopped for anything without knowing the prices of every store in the area selling the goods, and that includes some groceries as well.

It's a bit like a hobby for me, and I rarely go to stores that sell goods on 'black friday, cyber monday, or boxing day. Have gone to boxing day sales to see what's on offer, but it's usually something I have no interest in buying.

Avoid big sales locally, as they usually run out of the popular items on the first day. These are 'lures' anyway, to get you in the store, and sell you things that you didn't go in the store for in the first place. On days like this, I'll do a 'walk around' and buy nothing. You can in effect train yourself to ignore the popular sales items, and see if there are any goods that you would actually save money on. And go back the following day.

So I familiarize myself, with what's on offer. And then decide if there's anything I actually need, instead of want. And if there is, I'll return the following day or week. Having noted the prices beforehand, of items that I'm interested in. I'll look the at the cost differences, talk to the manager and ask for the discounted price. Sometimes they'll agree, and other times say the sale is over. Usually I walk away at that point, and they might offer me a discounted price, or not. Going at the end of the day, or week, usually helps.
 
Last edited:
Mia said:
Really look for deals, all year round. Rarely have I shopped for anything without knowing the prices of every store in the area selling the goods, and that includes food as well.

It's a bit like a hobby for me, and I rarely go to stores that sell goods on 'black friday, cyber monday, or boxing day. Have gone to boxing day sales to see what's on offer, but it's usually something I have no interest in buying.

Avoid big sales locally, as they usually run out of the popular items on the first day. These are 'lures' anyway, to get you in the store, and sell you things that you didn't go in the store for in the first place. On days like this, I'll do a 'walk around' and buy nothing. You can in effect train yourself to ignore the popular sales items, and see if there are any goods that you would actually save money on. And go back the following day.

So I familiarize myself, with what's on offer. And then decide if there's anything I actually need, instead of want. And if there is, I'll return the following day or week. Having noted the prices beforehand, of items that I'm interested in. I'll look the at the cost differences, talk to the manager and ask for the discounted price. Sometimes they'll agree, and other times say the sale is over. Usually I walk away at that point, and they might offer me a discounted price, or not. Going at the end of the day, or week, usually helps.
Click to expand...

I was following along until you mentioned talking to someone. Then I was like....NOPE, and ran away to hide.
 
WittyAspie said:
The people who got trampled were employees trying to get out of the way.
Click to expand...

From what I know, the trampled to death employee was the most noticeable death, however, there were others like a shopper that has collapsed and got trampled over, another ignored while having a heart attack, heavy injures to children and teenagers etc. It's enough to just look at one footage to understand that one misstep and collapsing to the ground can end in severe injuries of the party involved. Of course, I can be mistaken.
 
WildCat said:
Extreme case, but this just goes to show how not worth it it is to get those amazing deals on Black Friday:


All of this is in the US of course, of all places on the planet. Still not my cup of tea regardless of the reality now.
Click to expand...

Reminds you of something?
 
Well, you know that saying, "No mas! No mas!"

For me it's still, "No malls! No malls!" :eek:

Christmas season in the mall....the last shutdown I have experienced.
 
Last edited:
onlything said:
From what I know, the trampled to death employee was the most noticeable death, however, there were others like a shopper that has collapsed and got trampled over, another ignored while having a heart attack, heavy injures to children and teenagers etc. It's enough to just look at one footage to understand that one misstep and collapsing to the ground can end in severe injuries of the party involved. Of course, I can be mistaken.
Click to expand...

The one thing they should be doing is selling tickets.
Death and trampling involved, the human pamplona.

Its not true capitalism, not till they sell tickets.

I bought some noise cancelling headphones. Feeling I would panic if my existing pair broke.
Cost per use, my bet is less than a penny. 6 years old.
 
I’m not a shop crazy person. I buy bargains all year round. If there’s something that catches my eye and on sale I’ll buy it, but only
if I need it. On occasion, I’ll buy something if I want it.

Yesterday, on Black Friday, I was intending on going for a walk around the Botanics Gardens, but there were no buses going that direction and wasn’t sure on alternative routes at the time. I forgot it was Black Friday, so I went round some shops instead and bought some boots for the winter and a new bag. I’ve been wanting new boots/shoes for a while. I noticed that what as on sale was just a normal day shopping to me in the afternoon. Nothing had drastic price cuts. It was nice to be a part of the spirit of things, I suppose, even though it wasn’t planned.
 
My wife likes to buy online, But I do not. I am old and old fashion. I like to see what I am buying, handle it and get a feeling for it's quality. Compare it to other products like it. However I do not like crowds. So from Thanksgiving to Christmas I do not go into any retail stores, except equipment parts departments and the Snap On truck. I have not been in a store the Friday after Thanksgiving since before Black Friday was a thing. Lucky for me my wife likes to shop, so she takes care of all of that.
 
I looked up black Friday on Wikipedia ,strange how one country perceives it one way and another country perceives it another,way India doesn't have it because they don't celebrate Christmas.
Also strange that black was seen as being evil or an omen !but Black Friday is to get sales started before Christmas so being in the black is good
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

New Threads

Top Bottom