Please explain "Black Friday" to a limey

[Steve the Pocket]

The good news about Black Friday is that online retailers, including stores run by actual physical store chains like Best Buy, are starting to price-match the stores on the same day, so rational people can stay home and get the same deals without ever leaving the house (or at least not having to pick them up at the store until the fools' rush had died down). Used to be the best we could hope for was free shipping on everything the Monday after and no actual sales. If the bloodbath ritual is starting to spread overseas, hopefully it won't have time to catch on before online stores catch up and make it not worth it.

Also, isn't it a bit of a weird name for a day, given that the US is so politically-charged that you have to call a blackboard a "chalkboard" to avoid being racist?

Pretty sure that one comes down to pedantry; I can't remember the last time I saw a chalkboard that wasn't either dark green or brown. 'Course, that's on the fast track to becoming irrelevant as schools switch to white markerboards if not giant unnecessary computer screens.

 

[major_chaos]

Everyone has already giving the actul facts so I'm just gonna say what it currently is for me: a day where a get really annoyed that somehow not a single damn place has a good deal on the harddrives I want to buy.

 

[Racecarlock]

Hi all, I'm taking a break from my usual furtive R+P dwelling to throw out a question to the wider Escapist community.

I feel a little lazy not just Googling or Wikipedia-ing this, but what is Black Friday? I gather it's something to do with sales?

Also, isn't it a bit of a weird name for a day, given that the US is so politically-charged that you have to call a blackboard a "chalkboard" to avoid being racist?

It's basically a live action steam sale. Everything has ridiculous discounts, so people often trample and injure each other to get to the items on sale.

 

[Double A]

He's a troll, son. Let it go.

Wasn't talking to you..? Let it go.

You posted on a public forum, so yes, you were.

I truly fail to understand how you would take such a ridiculous post seriously. I thought it was funny, myself. There have been numerous answers to OP's question in this thread. Any non-answers solely exist to elicit a laugh. If you don't grasp that, then you will not find your time spent on this website very enjoyable. Just relax a bit, and don't take things too seriously.

 

[spartan231490]

It's the first and biggest Christmas sale, typically starting at midnight, though some hyper-consumerized stores are starting at 6 on thanksgiving itself, and the sales only apply to what they have in stock. It gets a lot of bad press because a few people invariably get trampled every year, but I want to stress that only happens in areas that are a bit more violence and crime prone than usual anyway. In most places, it's just a bunch of tired, bleary-eyed, slightly grumpy people shopping at stupidly early hours and getting really good deals.

 

[ObsidianJones_v1legacy]

So, I'd like a little advice.

There's a good price on a laptop on a website on Cyberpowerpc.

But I'm wondering if they cybermonday sale would be even better.

I have only three more hours to get the deal on the laptop (around 600 dollars off), or wait until cybermonday and maybe get more off.

What the hell should I do?

 

[2xDouble]

What an extremely convenient coincidence. A video was posted just today that answers this exact question. Ladies and Gentlemen, Mr. Jesse Cox explains Black Friday specifically to non-Americans:

 

[AusGamer44]

We have a similar thing in Australia. The December 26 'Boxing Day' sales. They started as the big post-Xmas Myer(slightly more expensive dept store in Aus) sales and then when shopping hours were extended in the 90s and now all the stores have a big sale on that day.I usually avoid them unless it's an expensive item I REALLY want and cannot afford otherwise.Excellent time of year to buy a tv or washing machine.

 

[option1soul]

He's a troll, son. Let it go.

Wasn't talking to you..? Let it go.

You posted on a public forum, so yes, you were.

I truly fail to understand how you would take such a ridiculous post seriously. I thought it was funny, myself. There have been numerous answers to OP's question in this thread. Any non-answers solely exist to elicit a laugh. If you don't grasp that, then you will not find your time spent on this website very enjoyable. Just relax a bit, and don't take things too seriously.

Lol I love people like you: "The Anti-arguer". Yes, you've morally "one-uped" a complete stranger by calling a poster a troll, answered a question someone didn't ask you, talked down to someone because they didn't respond the same way you did, and then insinuated that you represent the culture of The Escapist forums.

Textbook narcissism with a hint of entitlement and elitism. I understand your need for attention but being hypocritical isn't any better then trolling, kid. Considering the wealth of comments and polite discussion regarding the OP (not to mention all the people who've already called you out), I'm quite sure you're the one who "fails to understand such a ridiculous post".

But go ahead and reply to this post with your scathing retort because I'm sure you can't accept your own suggestion to "let it go".

So, people working in Retail started calling it "Black Friday" because it was the worst day to work retail each year due to how busy it was.

I think you got the "true spirit" of Black Friday on this one ^_^ After 2 Black Fridays in a row working at Best Buy, I decided I needed a radical life change and switched careers from retail. Every BF is like an anniversary of my new birth.

 

[Something Amyss]

Also, isn't it a bit of a weird name for a day, given that the US is so politically-charged that you have to call a blackboard a "chalkboard" to avoid being racist?

Except we don't.

I mean, I can't blame you for being misinformed on the subject, given Americans keep prattling on about the faux war on Christmas and imaginary political correctness, but still.

It's still common to call chalkboards blackboards, even when the 'black' board is green.

I gather it's something to do with sales?

Many many moons ago, companies discovered that people started christmas shopping the day after Thanksgiving, it being a niche Friday where many people would not be working. They decided to cash in on this, by increasing the volume. Big sales get people in the stores, and those people tend to buy other things. It's very similar to the overall "loss leader" strategy employed year-round by stores like Wal-Mart.

I also think that 'Black Friday' is an unnecessarily ominous name. Haven't numerous horribly violent historical events been termed "Black [weekday]"?

While it technically has a more over-dramatic origin, it became a common term because of the financial success. This was the period where many stores would enter the black (as in, running a profit), and even stores like Wal-Mart enjoy a huge shot in the arm.

When I worked at Wal-Mart, they preferred the term "Gold Friday" because it had a more positive tone and would chew people out for saying "black" instead. Though I'm not sure if this was store policy or the manager being a complete douche. It would make sense, however It's just, you know, Black Friday has become a big name. Doesn't matter if it makes sense to people, MARKETING.

 

[Batou667]

OP here.

Thanks for the replies everyone - I'm getting some mixed messages as to the origins of the name but like many cultural artifacts it looks like that may have slipped into the realms of urban myth.

The name seemed a bit alarming to me, probably because it brought up associations with Black Tuesday, Bloody Sunday, and so on. Also, the "racially sensitive" aspect of the name was a genuine question (no, I wasn't trolling, thanks anyway buddy) - years ago I'm sure an American told me that "saying blackboard is racist" and the notion stuck.

(As an aside, there's a whole generation of schoolkids in the UK who have never seen a blackboard IRL - I think I may have been among the last. Shortly after I left school most blackboards were changed to dry-wipe whiteboards, and nowadays most primary schools use interactive whiteboards with projectors, which are ironically inferior to old-fashioned chalkboards on a sunny day).

Anyway, Black Friday sounds like a great day to stay indoors. Much like the Christmas season in general...

 

[Trek1701a]

The term Black Friday was a internal term that only stores themselves used for a long time. However, the general public had an idea about it. Then somebody decided that "Black Friday" would be great as a marketing strategy and boom, there you go. It has become just more of a zoo/circus ever since.

As for where it originally came from. Over the years, retail stores, mostly the big department stores (Macy's, Gimbels, JC Penney, Sears, etc.), would usually run in a negative profit margin (which is represented in red in accounting sheets) during the course of the year. However, the day after Thanksgiving and always a Friday, which historically kicked off the Christmas/Holiday shopping season, created a big boost in sales and usually pushed the stores into positive profit margin (which is represented by black numbers), so that day internally was known as Black Friday.

 

[Thaluikhain]

(As an aside, there's a whole generation of schoolkids in the UK who have never seen a blackboard IRL - I think I may have been among the last. Shortly after I left school most blackboards were changed to dry-wipe whiteboards, and nowadays most primary schools use interactive whiteboards with projectors, which are ironically inferior to old-fashioned chalkboards on a sunny day).

In my experience, almost all the blackboards I've seen are actually dark green.

 

[Flutterguy]

It's a day where consumer whores buy a bunch of shit they don't need, because apparently our planet is a never ending supply of materials. Which is a good thing because people are programmed to buy shit to make themselves feel happy rather then maybe think, exercise or express themselves creatively.

Maybe I am just a miserable prick, but I really don't think giving every kid 100's of pounds of pointless plastic toys is in the best interest of the planets future. Seeing as our species is more or less stuck here.

 

[shootthebandit]

Im assuming with it being the last friday of november that its the last payday for people before xmas

 

[Double A]

He's a troll, son. Let it go.

Wasn't talking to you..? Let it go.

You posted on a public forum, so yes, you were.

I truly fail to understand how you would take such a ridiculous post seriously. I thought it was funny, myself. There have been numerous answers to OP's question in this thread. Any non-answers solely exist to elicit a laugh. If you don't grasp that, then you will not find your time spent on this website very enjoyable. Just relax a bit, and don't take things too seriously.

Lol I love people like you: "The Anti-arguer". Yes, you've morally "one-uped" a complete stranger by calling a poster a troll, answered a question someone didn't ask you, talked down to someone because they didn't respond the same way you did, and then insinuated that you represent the culture of The Escapist forums.

Textbook narcissism with a hint of entitlement and elitism. I understand your need for attention but being hypocritical isn't any better then trolling, kid. Considering the wealth of comments and polite discussion regarding the OP (not to mention all the people who've already called you out), I'm quite sure you're the one who "fails to understand such a ridiculous post".

But go ahead and reply to this post with your scathing retort because I'm sure you can't accept your own suggestion to "let it go".

Well hell. I'm not trying to morally one-up you, pretend to represent or even embrace the culture of this forum, or do anything other than point stuff out. I came across as more abrasive than I intended, but I've gathered I sometimes do so to people who don't know me. I was just trying to offer advice. I don't care if you take the advice itself.

The only other thing I want to address before I do go do something else is that I usually use "ridiculous" as a positive adjective. That guy's post was funny nonsense, and you didn't think it was either of those things. That is really all I wanted to point out, I'm just shit at explaining things.

 

[Psychobabble]

Hi all, I'm taking a break from my usual furtive R+P dwelling to throw out a question to the wider Escapist community.

I feel a little lazy not just Googling or Wikipedia-ing this, but what is Black Friday? I gather it's something to do with sales?

Also, isn't it a bit of a weird name for a day, given that the US is so politically-charged that you have to call a blackboard a "chalkboard" to avoid being racist?

From what I've been told and seen on the news I'd compare them to the last Brixton riots without the possible justification for outrage.

 

[Ryotknife]

And here I was thinking South Park was just making a joke.

People die over this?

How fucking stupid can people get?...

well, 4 people have died over 7 years. You are ~90x more likely to die from a bee sting or from lightning than die at black Friday.