Black Friday is a trap
vox.com
vox.com
(And most of the other days too, when the price is actually the same as on these "holidays", but without the fanfare)
This is basically counterproductive. The problem with consumerism is buying things you would not otherwise buy (because you don't need or want them really). But obviously there are things that you do need/want, and if those things can be purchased on sale, failing to do so merely results in paying more money to the people driving consumerism.
If you want to protest consumerism (as I do), I suggest three methods of doing so which are actually effective:
1. Mindfully reduce what objects you own and what objects you take in. Read The Last Viridian Note [1] for a potential strategy for categorizing what objects belong in your life and don't.
2. When you mindfully conclude that you do, in fact, need/want something, exhaust all avenues for obtaining it for free, used, or locally, in that order, before buying from a retailer connected to the global supply chain.
3. Don't view ads. The entire raison d'être of capitalism is to provide the highest quality goods and services for the lowest cost. Advertising fundamentally breaks this premise because it allows lower quality goods and services at a higher cost to outcompete higher quality goods and services at a lower cost. Every dollar a company spends on advertising is a) not spent on creating a quality product and b) passed on to the consumer in the form of cost. More relevant-ly, advertising makes it much more difficult to mindfully reduce what you own and take in. No one is immune to advertising: modern manipulation tactics are more sophisticated than any of us can truly guard our psyches from: the only solution is abstinence.
[1] https://www.viridiandesign.org/notes/451-500/the_last_viridi...
Quality is absolutely _not_ of paramount interest in capitalism; return on investment is.
Hint: maybe Google "raison d'être".
I didn't ask you to speak French, I asked you to put in any effort at all to understand what I said. Unsurprisingly, speaking has not conferred any understanding of what I said--you might try reading instead of speaking.
> I'm happy to expand my critique to how your arguments all individualize responsibility for a systemic issue that requires targeted collective action and social transformation.
Case in point: I'm puzzled where in my post you think I mentioned who I hold responsible for consumerism. It's certainly not individuals. But again, to know what I think you'd have to try to understand what I say.
> This is not leftist strategy.
Speaking as if you know what I think was bold, speaking for the entire left was bolder.
I don’t think that is possible. If you go outside, you will be exposed to advertising. And lots of it.
Like I’ve been eyeing an Xbox Controller and it is now at 40, which normally is 60 in my currency. Where is the scam?
Or the Proton Pass Lifetime Subscription, even though I don’t know whose lifetime, it is a reasonable offer.
Where is the scam?
2. The sale price is closer to the actual market value of the item. Instead of viewing sales as a boon from retailers, it's more accurate to view retailers as price gouging the rest of the year, or charging a convenience fee to not have to wait for a sale.
3. It's commonplace these days for retailers to simply lie about normal prices in order to pretend an item is on sale, when in fact it is simply being sold at the normal price. That TV is always $300, but today it's "<strikethrough>$500</strikethrough>$300 (40% off!)".
2. You're making the point that Black Friday/Cyber Monday etc. are not scams, but are in fact the most reasonable time of the year to buy things.
3. Well then it really doesn't matter when you buy it, so Black Friday is as good a day as any.
It's not uncommon for local shops to give massive, real discounts, making items cheaper than Amazon US or even aliexpress, which is definitely not the case in general.
If you find things you don’t need, and otherwise wouldn’t buy, but are convinced by the fake scarcity and fake discounts, then you’re being scammed.
Just need to be aware of historical pricing and what is a deal, the rest is an attempt to get rid of old stock or market shit you think you need.
Sure Black Friday creates a lot of waste and results in impulse buys, but it's a good thing for 11.1% of Americans who are poor. I use r/buyitforlife to select long lasting stuff to buy during BF etc and from companies with lifetime guaranties such as Darn Tough and Patagucci. I'm all for preventing companies from manipulating people to buy junk.
Of course with that I mean buy stuff you actually have use for.
And I think that sites that track items price history are invaluable for this, with them you can find out if something you want actually is discounted.
I'd append that to be an increasingly inescapable trap.
Debt is needed to raise credit scores and high scores are needed for necessary things like housing. It's a brutal lesson for typical-income folks who only spend what they have.
Second year running this year, of being able to fully enjoy family time (even the drama) without cutting it short for high stress work. (Black Friday for eComm websites starts at 8 EST on Thurs.).
Me, my wife, my old colleagues, and even my old boss all agree: Fuck this Black Friday shit.