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90% of Black Friday deals were the same price or cheaper six months before

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Re: 90% of Black Friday deals were the same price or cheaper six months before

#171

Post by tpxl »

beebeepka wrote: post #157
tpxl wrote: post #121

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They haven't lost meaning, you can still wait a bit to get your game cheaper. It does usually follow a pattern of: opening sale 10%, full price for a bit, seasonal sales 10-50%, eventually up to 90% off during seasonal sales.

Sure. But have you not noticed how the same, now oldish, games go on sale for the exact same amount for years and years? I can tell without looking that Cities: Skylines is sold for 6.99 euro. Or the latest Civilization game at 15 euro. Or bioshock infinite at 7.99 euro or so.

What's the problem with that? Terraria has been on sales for 2$ for ages now, that doesn't mean it isn't a bargain to buy at that price instead of 10 or 12 that it is regularly.

Re: 90% of Black Friday deals were the same price or cheaper six months before

#172

Post by tpxl »

mordae wrote: post #167
tpxl wrote: post #121

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They haven't lost meaning, you can still wait a bit to get your game cheaper. It does usually follow a pattern of: opening sale 10%, full price for a bit, seasonal sales 10-50%, eventually up to 90% off during seasonal sales.

https://isthereanydeal.com ?

Thanks!

Re: 90% of Black Friday deals were the same price or cheaper six months before

#173

Post by allen_lasn »

toast0 wrote: post #145
dougmwne wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I used to chase these kinds of deals, but if you stop to think about it, spending hours to optimize for $10 is almost certainly a terrible waste compared to what you could have been doing with that time. Deal seeking always eats up many hours of time for these small gains. That analysis skill applied to any kind of business problem is easily worth thousands. No offense intended if this is pure stamp collecting.

When I was salaried, the marginal value of my time was $0. Thar extra thirty minutes shopping costs me nothing and gives me satisfaction. Now that I'm retired, my marginal value is still $0. Taking longer to spend money is in itself valuable. If I get discouraged by the shopping and don't buy the item I was looking for, that's the best outcome for my wallet.

The marginal value of your time was not $0. You could have been doing something other than shopping with your time. That thing could have afforded you pleasure or had some other utility. The dollar value of that utility was not zero.

Even resting has some benefit to you. Unless your only alternative is some mildly unpleasant activity which doesn't allow you to rest, that time was not valueless.

Re: 90% of Black Friday deals were the same price or cheaper six months before

#174

Post by thinkingemote »

ctdonath wrote: post #56

“Black Friday” = the day most realtors go from “in the red” to “in the black” financially for the year. Been interesting watching it mutate from merely the day customers start buying gifts en masse in earnest, to a real discount & deals day, to a jack-and-drop fakeout.

The only comment in this thread that accurately describes the origin of the name, and the reason why there are so many "non bargains".

It's a day for retailers, not for consumers. It's a celebration of retailers and marketeers making profit.

Re: 90% of Black Friday deals were the same price or cheaper six months before

#175

Post by allen_lasn »

pirate787 wrote: post #61
orev wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Black Friday is only associated with Thanksgiving in the US because it marks just about 1 month before Christmas, but otherwise it’s not part of Thanksgiving. It’s also to start selling products for Christmas gifts — not related to getting rid of unsold inventory. Most companies have a fiscal year ending in December, so it’s mostly just about getting that last boost of sales before the end of the year.

The history of Thanksgiving -- FDR moved the holiday to support the holiday shopping season. Black Friday has not really been about dumping excess inventory but as the beginning for the holiday shopping season..."black" references the profit retailers make, going from red to black for the year. https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/franklin-roosevelt...

The name Black Friday comes from the nightmare experienced by store staff, shoppers, mall cops, etc on a day of extreme overcrowding and sometimes fights over discounted items.

The reference to being 'in the black' was invented afterwards to try and make the name seem more positive.

Re: 90% of Black Friday deals were the same price or cheaper six months before

#176

Post by allen_lasn »

orev wrote: post #25
gaius_baltar wrote: post #11

This have been a joke for a few years here in Brazil, we call the day "Black Fraud" (sounds a little better in Portuguese) The relevant point is that Black Friday is an "artificial" event here: we do not celebrate Thanksgiving Day so there is no need for a the stores to get rid of unsold inventory. It started just ~10 years ago when marketers began advertising it as a sales day.

Black Friday is only associated with Thanksgiving in the US because it marks just about 1 month before Christmas, but otherwise it’s not part of Thanksgiving. It’s also to start selling products for Christmas gifts — not related to getting rid of unsold inventory. Most companies have a fiscal year ending in December, so it’s mostly just about getting that last boost of sales before the end of the year.

It's not entirely true that it's unrelated to Thanksgiving.

That day originally became a popular day to start Xmas shopping because a lot of people took that day off, since Thursday is a federal holiday, but the actual Thanksgiving festivities were over.

Re: 90% of Black Friday deals were the same price or cheaper six months before

#177

Post by kolla »

nitsuaeekcm wrote: post #48

For those who use Amazon and want cost perspective on particular items, Camelcamelcamel is a superpower ( https://camelcamelcamel.com/ ) I’m sure one day I’ll find out they make money in all sorts of sketchy ways, but in the mean time it’s a great free website, and I’m continually astounded to see how often retailers play around with the prices they post.

That page could use the help of a designer / ux person. Things from the 90s look better than that.

Re: 90% of Black Friday deals were the same price or cheaper six months before

#178

Post by nickspicer1993 »

maccard wrote: post #5
zeppers wrote: post #4

I worked in retail sales from 2004-2006 and I remember management ordering us to increase prices on items leading up to big sales. It seemed like fraud and it made me feel icky doing it. Especially when we would replace labels of an item that cost $99 to say that it cost $139 and was now on sale for $99. Luckily I haven't had to work in retail since...

> It seemed like fraud and it made me feel icky doing it. In many places, it _is_ fraud (well, illegal but still). In the UK, the higher price must have been offered for 28 days out of the last 6 months.

This is actually the old law and now you need to prove that the RRP is "realistic" which usually means it has been sold at that price for more than half the time it has been on sale.

Source: https://marketinglaw.osborneclarke.com/advertising-regulatio...

Re: 90% of Black Friday deals were the same price or cheaper six months before

#180

Post by goodcanadian »

noisy_boy wrote: post #118

My grandma used to say about discounts that they are all frauds to push items that they can't sell by first jacking up the prices and then putting a "discounted" price on it. I used to (naively) think that grandma just doesn't understand. Turns out, she understood pretty well.

Reminds me of a time when I was a child. My mother was browsing for something in store "A". A stranger "helpfully" pointed out that the item was 50% off in store "B". My mother thanked her and bought the item in store "A" anyway. I asked my mother about this, and she said that store "B" was always double the price. Their 50% off sale was probably the same as the store "A" regular price. Later, we walked through store "B", and sure enough . . .
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