Member-only story
The Problems with Black Friday
Scams, overspending and environmentalism, oh my.
Despite the financial hellhole that 2020 has been, Black Friday is the tradition that doesn’t want to quit, and it’s coming full-force this year. All of us are currently being bombarded with unabashed sales marketing for 15%, 40% or up to 60% sales from companies that most of us are pretty certain we unsubscribed from the email lists of a long time ago.
As a no-buy connoisseur with an appetite for a bargain, I’m not against a good deal. Growing up in a low-income family meant many presents were bought at discount prices, especially in the January sales in preparation for the following Christmas.
Technically, sales prices were all we could afford to spend on other people and using windows of money-saving opportunities meant the costs were spread out more evenly.
Theoretically, therefore, discount windows should serve people when it comes to saving money, but this isn’t the case for the majority. While approaching days like Black Friday and Cyber Monday sensibly with a plan in hand can serve the buyer in terms of personal savings during the gift-giving rush period, most people get a little carried away and overspend during Black Friday.
The term you’re looking for here is “cruel irony”.
