6 Reasons Why Black Friday is not worth your time or money

Why Black Friday is not worth your time or money

Black Friday is known for its crazy deals, its incredibly long night-before slumber lines, and its massive media coverage. Long ago, it did save shoppers a lot of money. I think Black Friday has changed quite a lot.  

In all my years of shopping, I’ve never really bought anything during Black Friday that proved to be worth the time in line or the money spent.

Perhaps you have. Perhaps you’ve gotten some really crazy good deal that was worth the hassle. I haven’t, and I’m not sure that the majority of Black Friday shoppers have either.

Black Friday is a coax in my opinion. It’s this amped up phenomenon to get the masses up and out of their homes during a time where family and friends should be the number one focus. The craze gets people to do some very odd things.

I’ve heard of people making Thanksgiving dinner at 2:00 pm so that they could start their shopping by 4:00 pm.

I’ve heard of people choosing to camp out in front of stores all night and some people have even been injured because of the chaos that Black Friday is accustomed to.

I’m sure you’ve heard of a crazy Black Friday story as well. Be sure to share it in the comments!

I just don’t get the hype. Maybe it’s me, but I find that the Christmas shopping deals aren’t that great and I don’t see much savings that are worth that kind of time and effort commitment. I could be wrong but here’s why I don’t think Black Friday is worth it anymore:

Limited Quantity

Black Friday deals come out to the masses and only offer a very small amount of crazy good deals. Of course they market these deals so that everyone and their mom wants them.

But, it vaguely reminds me of a bait and switch. You’re running to get the deal on a TV for $200 when the retail price is close to $1000. You get there and that TV has been long gone.

Needless to say, you’ve been waiting in a really long line, you’re tired and cranky and you’re not leaving empty handed, are you? You opt for the $500 TV and walk out feeling a little better.

The company made $300 more from you and many others that experienced the same scenario. You walked in willing to pay $200 and ended up paying $500. Now tell me again, how’s that a deal in your favor?

Limited Quality

Often times we grab items and put them in our carts so fast on Black Friday that we don’t really have the time or focus to stop and inspect what we’re buying. I did this one year.

I bought pj’s for my then toddler and first grader from Walmart when the Black Friday deal was $6 for a pair of Disney pj’s. They were not good quality at all.

And if I had just spent an extra minute looking and feeling them, I would have known that. But, like everyone else, I was in the craze of Black Friday and people were pushing and shoving me.

So, as soon as I found the sizes I needed, I quickly tossed them into my cart and went on my way.

Isn’t this the typical scenario? Do we check if the quality of what we’re getting is worth the price? No, not on Black Friday.

The Craze

I will never forget the time I went out to a Walmart and found the line 2 streets long (yes, you read that right). It was ridiculous.

What on earth could be that great of a deal to wait in such a long line? I couldn’t tell you because after driving down the line to see how far it went, I totally snapped myself out of it and left for home.

No way am I going to subject myself to that kind of insanity. I’m willing to pay a little more on another day. My time is too valuable and time, after all, is money.

The Returns

How many of us bought something on Black Friday and realized it wasn’t quite the deal we thought it was? Raising my hand too!

The most frustrating thing is to survive Black Friday only to realize you must stand in another insanely long line to correct your mistake and return the once sought out item. Annoying to say the least.

You Spend more money

Whether you’d like to admit or not, chances are you’re going to spend more money than you planned.

You’ll find things you didn’t see in advertising and you’ll see a swarm of people on it, which means you must have it too.

You’ll have so many unplanned purchases and you’ll walk out with hundreds of dollars spent over what you originally budgeted. Blame it on the craze. It gets me every time too.

Cyber Monday

This is an honest question, why would we shop on Black Friday and stand in lines when we can just shop at our leisure on Cyber Monday and get the same crummy err “fabulous” deals online in the comfort of their own home?

Yes, you are hearing the sarcasm in my voice. I just can’t buy into many of the “deals” that marketers want us to believe we’re going to miss out on.

But I will tell you, I would choose to shop Cyber Monday over Black Friday any day of the year, hands down. It’s just more convenient. It may not save me much money, but at least it saves more time.

I hope this post gives you some insight as to why I feel like Black Friday is just not worth my time or money. It’s my honest opinion based on my experience.

Of course, I know that some of you will comment and say that you absolutely live for Black Friday and that you’ve gotten awesome deals throughout the years.

I’m here to tell you that you’re rarity, and I envy you. For me, it’s just not worth it.