Bargains and brawls on Black Friday

unclepercy

Electoral Member
Jun 4, 2005
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I try to avoid Black Friday like the plaque, and we spend that day putting up our Christmas decorations. When completed, our house looks like the Griswalds in National Lampoons Christmas movie.

The indoors is done, and next comes the wrapping. I scoured the ads for bargains/but I pretty much know what I want. Today this came out in the news:

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The bargains were so good at Wal-Mart Stores Inc., which offered better deals than last year, that things got out of hand. In Cascade Township, east of Grand Rapids, Michigan, a woman fell as dozens of people rushed into a store for the 5 a.m. opening. Several stepped on her, and a few became entangled as a man pushed them to the ground to keep them away.

When the rush ended, the woman and a 13-year-old girl suffered minor injuries.

In nearby Grandville, Michigan, two shoppers were hurt when they slipped on a wet floor as they entered a Wal-Mart, fire Lt. Lynnae White said. One of the injured was after a bargain notebook computer, he said. Neither was hurt seriously.

The same computer discount was the catalyst for trouble at a Wal-Mart in Orlando, Florida, where a man allegedly cut in line to buy one. He was wrestled to the ground, according to a video shown by an ABC affiliate, WFTV-TV. (Watch shoppers scuffle in Florida -- :41)

Discounted notebooks, particularly the $378 HP Pavilion notebooks, were not the only attractions at Wal-Mart, which also sold out of its $997 52-inch plasma TV sets and 15-inch LCD TVs, priced at $178, in many stores, according to Gail Lavielle, a Wal-Mart spokeswoman. But apparel and toys also did well, she said.
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Is Christmas taken as seriously in Canada as in the US? Here is the link:

http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/11/25/holiday.shopping.ap/index.html

Uncle
 

Ocean Breeze

Hall of Fame Member
Jun 5, 2005
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"Is Christmas taken as seriously in Canada as in the US?"


Christmas or Xmas (holiday) shopping??
 

no1important

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Jan 9, 2003
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RE: Bargains and brawls o

I don't think we do, but the Boxing day sales are pretty competitive, intense and full of chaos. I stay away from stores as far as I can. A lot of places now have Boxing week sales.

I always get a kick out of people camping out for a day or 2 to get a bargain.

I have never done it myself. Boxing day is a day for me to recover from the night before. Ha Ha

Boxing Day

Boxing Day is a public holiday observed in many Commonwealth countries on 26 December. In many European countries it is also a holiday, called St Stephen's Day or the Second Day of Christmas. Strictly defined as the first weekday after Christmas [1], popular usage [2] has more recently maintained that Boxing Day always falls on the 26th, and that its associated public holiday may fall on a different day.

There is much dispute over the true origins of Boxing Day, but one common story of the holiday's origins is that servants and tradesmen received Christmas gifts from their employers on the first weekday after Christmas, the day after the family celebrations. These were generally called their "Christmas boxes." Another story is that this is the day that priests broke open the collection boxes and distributed the money to the poor.
 

Ocean Breeze

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Jun 5, 2005
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Re: RE: Bargains and brawls o

no1important said:
I don't think we do, but the Boxing day sales are pretty competitive, intense and full of chaos. I stay away from stores as far as I can. A lot of places now have Boxing week sales.

I always get a kick out of people camping out for a day or 2 to get a bargain.

I have never done it myself. Boxing day is a day for me to recover from the night before. Ha Ha

Boxing Day

Boxing Day is a public holiday observed in many Commonwealth countries on 26 December. In many European countries it is also a holiday, called St Stephen's Day or the Second Day of Christmas. Strictly defined as the first weekday after Christmas [1], popular usage [2] has more recently maintained that Boxing Day always falls on the 26th, and that its associated public holiday may fall on a different day.

There is much dispute over the true origins of Boxing Day, but one common story of the holiday's origins is that servants and tradesmen received Christmas gifts from their employers on the first weekday after Christmas, the day after the family celebrations. These were generally called their "Christmas boxes." Another story is that this is the day that priests broke open the collection boxes and distributed the money to the poor.

Boxing day is kind of fun......... almost like entertainment post the xmas day feast and glutton.;-) People might wait in line etc.........but the intensity is not there. Hard to phathom an actual brawl just to get a boxing day special. ........ :x
 

peapod

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Jun 26, 2004
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Very exciting stuff, you can almost see the sugar plums dancing and what not. a child dies every five seconds in this world from stravation, so much for sugar plums.

oh boy, I guess I am gonna get it now... :?
 

Ocean Breeze

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Jun 5, 2005
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peapod said:
Very exciting stuff, you can almost see the sugar plums dancing and what not. a child dies every five seconds in this world from stravation, so much for sugar plums.

oh boy, I guess I am gonna get it now... :?

ain't that the truth , kids, people are starving the world over......people/kids are dying in the bush fecking war......and all americans do is brawl over getting the best deal on some damn luxury item. not only that , but it actually makes the news when more important stuff does not... 8O

t's a puzzlement.......that they would even try to preach some higher moral ground or standard with a straight face.
 

peapod

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Jun 26, 2004
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Well lets not ruin everyones christmas eh ocean :? It amazes me how people fall for this dis crap. Just thinking to myself, of course. Hey whata think of my avatar ocean? Its mocha dick of the pacfic, but some people call him moby dick :wink:
 

Ocean Breeze

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Jun 5, 2005
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peapod said:
Well lets not ruin everyones christmas eh ocean :? It amazes me how people fall for this dis crap. Just thinking to myself, of course. Hey whata think of my avatar ocean? Its mocha dick of the pacfic, but some people call him moby dick :wink:

I like it......Like the shades of gray effects too..

( hey, no intentions of ruining Xmas.........but you know not everyone even "celebrates" it......:) Ok.......so I have an issue with greed , and gross materialism..;-) what can I say?? :wink:
 

missile

House Member
Dec 1, 2004
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What I saw on the News of the Black Friday Shopping Events: Greedy people fighting over crap on sale. And,as usual,the worst were shopping at WalMart :(
 

no1important

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Jan 9, 2003
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RE: Bargains and brawls o

It looked like a herd of wild animals on the run when they opened the doors. They just kept running over people who fell then there was a scrap as one guy kept barging in line. If I live in America, this would be one day I would stay away from the stores. It was pretty bizzare what I saw on tv, all this to save some money. :roll:
 

MMMike

Council Member
Mar 21, 2005
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ain't that the truth , kids, people are starving the world over......people/kids are dying in the bush fecking war......and all americans do is brawl over getting the best deal on some damn luxury item. not only that , but it actually makes the news when more important stuff does not...

t's a puzzlement.......that they would even try to preach some higher moral ground or standard with a straight face.

:roll: Spare me your righteousness... Canadians are no less obsessed with overconsumption. When I lived in Fredericton there was the 'Tickle me Elmo' craze, where there was a mob fight at Walmart people trying to get one. Some poor guy stocking shelves got knocked off his ladder and hurt. Don't kid yourself that we Canadians are somehow above this type of behaviour.
 

missile

House Member
Dec 1, 2004
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You're right,we can be just as animalistic as them. But,in our defense, it seems that WalMart instigates these incidents every year by offering for sale some desired item at a ridiculously low price ..knowing what chaos the deal will cause in the stores. Publicity reasons,perhaps?
 

MMMike

Council Member
Mar 21, 2005
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missile said:
You're right,we can be just as animalistic as them. But,in our defense, it seems that WalMart instigates these incidents every year by offering for sale some desired item at a ridiculously low price ..knowing what chaos the deal will cause in the stores. Publicity reasons,perhaps?

I think its great, missile. They should make it more entertaining, though. Maybe put grease on the floors everywhere... or by putting the 'big special' on the back of a golf cart and get the people to chase it around the store. I'd love to see that on camera! :lol: Anybody who would line up at a WalMart and run like a madman to get 'the deal' is a fool. I have no sympathy for these consumer monkeys.
 

Canucklehead

Moderator
Apr 6, 2005
797
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MMMike said:
missile said:
You're right,we can be just as animalistic as them. But,in our defense, it seems that WalMart instigates these incidents every year by offering for sale some desired item at a ridiculously low price ..knowing what chaos the deal will cause in the stores. Publicity reasons,perhaps?

I think its great, missile. They should make it more entertaining, though. Maybe put grease on the floors everywhere... or by putting the 'big special' on the back of a golf cart and get the people to chase it around the store. I'd love to see that on camera! :lol: Anybody who would line up at a WalMart and run like a madman to get 'the deal' is a fool. I have no sympathy for these consumer monkeys.

I love it... the soundtrack would have to be Yakety Sax (aka Benny Hill theme)though :lol:
 

missile

House Member
Dec 1, 2004
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Laptops for under 300 dollars! I bet they break down 5 minutes afte booting 'em up & can't be repaired & the warranty [well.what warranty?]
 

Canucklehead

Moderator
Apr 6, 2005
797
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RE: Bargains and brawls o

Dammit I knew I shoulda installed those new blinds sooner :p
Ah well... gotta go with it... *struts for Pea* :lol: :lol: 80
 

peapod

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Jun 26, 2004
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Never mind the strut, just go ahead and do the full monty :p Summer is here and we will sing along and clap for you.

Dah da-dah da-dah *clap clap* Dah da-dah da-dah *clap clap :p