Buy NOTHING day.
 

Okay, so I'm totally late on this, but theres a few hours left.

From
Wikipedia's Entry on Buy Nothing Day: So who else is observing this? I know I sure am, after reading countless Black Friday Horror Stories from Fark.com. MAN. Some of the things I've read, I'm surprised that I'm trying not to buy anything ever.

This should work about as well as "Don't buy gas day".

Yeah, this will be a big hit.

I've been doing this for 15 years lol

(unless you count me buying a dr pepper at the convenience store today)

it pisses me off to no end that a store can sell something for 5 hours and a really low price but cant sell it for the same price any other time. I positively refuse to shop on black friday

Yeah, I should say that it doesn't apply to like... Things that you need.

It's like, don't participate in the holiday madness.

And yeah, I've been doing this a very long time. Since before it was actually called Buy Nothing Day. I'm like Dale Gribble, I don't vote so I do all my shopping on Election day.

Well in that case I'm in.

My wife on the other hand... But for some it is something that they look forward to. My wife, her three sisters and her mother all made a day of it.

Mr. and I always avoid this day. It's just plain nuts to go out and be abused by the mobs. :)

sorry, I took the GF to see Harry Potter (which sucked by the way), but we bought our tickets last night when we saw "thumbsucker", so maybe we are ok anyway?

The prices you see on Black Friday are actually losses most of the time. At RadioShack, we had (for example) a 7" portable DVD player on sale for $150 with a $70 Mail In Rebate... bringing it down to $80. At $150, we're barely making a profit on it. At $80, it's a significant loss. You can't get that price every day. The prices exist to get people into the store, where they will then proceed to buy other things, that are not on sale. From then, when they have a good customer experience, they will become repeat customers, who will continue to buy things.

That doesn't mean I'll buy things on Black Friday. I don't even bother looking at the sales. I don't want to put up with all that shit just to save myself a few dollars on something I don't really need anyway.

I'm ashamed to admit that I did not participate in this event. In fact, I spent a whole lot of money today.

However, I shop on this day as a test of my mental fortitude. I like to think of it as a kind of ancient eastern philosophy to subject myself to the crowds in order to make more peace with myself. If I can survive the crowds on a day like today, I can survive almost anything.

The concept is rediculous. One way or another your earnings get spent. The only way to take yourself out of the consumer loop is to destory your money. Yet for some reason a Burn Your Money day hasn't caught on yet.

You're never going to convince enough people to boycott "Black Friday", to effect change of any significant degree. As long as people are willing to get out of thier warm beds, at 3:00 in the morning, to go stand in line at Walmart, to save a couple of bucks, it's never going to happen. Far too many people see it as some sort of...sport.

I, for one, would much rather see people boycott retail stores that are open on Thanksgiving and Christmas. Call me old fashioned ('cause I am), but I see absolutely no reason for anyone to have to go to Walmart on Thanksgiving day. That just strikes me as pathetic.
You want to close your wallet? Do so on an actual holiday, and send a larger message.

i took 30 minutes of my day picking up some good stuff for dirt cheap. it was a very painless experience. many stores had online sales this morning, too.

it seems that BND can be no more that a symbolic gesture. i'm not going to adhere to adbusters' ideas because i think they whine too much, anyway.

"It's A Whole Thing" for a lot of people...a bonding experience for those who don't care what a sweating 280 pound black man did on the field last Sunday.

however~

Black Friday madness proves that there are very large segments of the American population that suffers from some masochistic tendencies.

While I appreciate the sentiment behind Buy Nothing Day it really is a pointless endeavour.

Sadly, production and consumption are intrinsically tied to one another. My income will get spent whether it is by me or in the bank... in the bank someone else gets to spend it.

The only way to lower consumption is to lower my production levels... I don't think Earn Nothing Day has quite the same ring to it though.

i guessed i played the other end of the system and worked all Friday. So my day was "earn money without spending it day"

...Which is okay becuase i broke the piggy bank to go see the Rolling Stones so it all works out.

I don't understand the point of buying things in the store anyhow. Why not just buy things online while you are at work?

Since I hate slogging through crowds, I've supported this idea for years without knowing about it. From the news reports, I'm glad I did.

But I'm happy to know about the online sales.

That book was a good read :thumbsup:

Yeah I'm actually not feeling too bad that I bought a 48" Flatscreen LCD HD TV on black friday, for only 1400 dollars, when it's normally 1900 or 2000 dollars.

That lil protest thing looks pretty stupid to me, why make things harder on yourself?

I think the whole concept of 'buy nothing' day is stupid but ironicly......

I bought nothing today.

Now this I agree with. I used to work at TGI Fridays, and they decided to be open on Xmass. I told them if they scheduled me for Xmass don't count on me showing up, then or ever. They didn't schedule me. You can only be kicked around in life if you let people kick you around.

Well, I did buy stuff yesterday. I feel a bit ashamed about it, as it really wasn't stuff that I needed either [I have a tendency to be extremely frugal on some things, to the point where it might hurt myself in relationships, etc. but thats tangential to the thread]

However, based on a couple past BF experiences, I knew it wasn't worth going out there. BF really brings out the worst in people. A few months ago, on a summer morning, Staples (office supplies store) had a 6AM grand opening sale. The crowd was very seedy, with narcisstic people and hellbent about getting their deals.
My sister was the one who went out for me. She was going to pick up some things herself anyways for my mum and herself, so I asked just asked her to pick up the about a boy dvd [$5] and arrested development s2 dvd set [$15].

BND and the culture jamming movement is pretty radical and can be pretty easily misconstrued. IMHO, What BND is about citizens to voice their distress over the rampant consumerism (which is promoted to the citizens by the corporations and being consumed by their fellow citizens) in Western nations, particularly the US.
Delaying your purchases by a few days doesn't do any justice according to the BNDers. What they're encouraging is rather "don't buy that TV or gift for some one at all, instead of buying it on BF or another day either - because for too many people the gift is only what matters" and to reexamine your criteria of a necessary purchase.

During freshman year of high school, I was a pretty big follower of the adbusters movement. While I support their ideals for the most part, their methods of distributing their aren't that effective and often muddle the messages they're trying to spread. They tend to alienate anyone else on the other side of the fence, (for example, those who are out on BND). I guess I've learned it's more effective to subvert the system from within ;)

catcha back on the flipside,
will.

[Heh - at least the adbusters' online store was closed this weekend for BND, since it was on friday for us and saturday for europe]

keyshawn,

We don't buy things because we are forced too, we buy things because we have money. Supply and demand are interlinked. If you have $100 in your hand someone will supply you with a way to spend it. The only way to stop the cycle is to not have $100 in your hand.

But perhaps, we can be smarter about our spending. How about a

Give to cancer research day?

I think that makes a hell of a lot more sense.

Being the shopaholic that I am, I shop anytime I get a chance. So yesterday was no exception. However, I about cried when I saw everything I bought a couple of weeks ago now $10 to $20 cheaper. I went ahead and bought some more at the lower price. Black Friday is supposed to be a good term...getting businesses out of debt. If you have the money and you're going to spend it, why not go out on a day when you ar going to get more for your money? I hate crowds and don't go for the craziness, but it wasn't too bad this year. Well, I do all my shopping on Michigan Ave. so it's always crazy there. :lol:

I say spend and prosper. Boycotting is a futile attempt on something that is such a 'tradition'.

I already observe a 'buy nothing'day, Every Wednesday the day before I get paid is buy nothing day in my household. the day I do get paid is the 'buy everything you need, before the money runs out' day....Ithought all one income families worked like this!

This obviously isn't true -- many people give away a great deal of money for the benefit of others. Others save it for a rainy day, or for retirement. I have stuck to a $100 limit for Christmas for a long time -- tree, presents, everything -- and I think it's the most sane thing I do during the holiday season.

I read in the paper today how CompUSA employees yelled "Be civilized!" to shoppers on Friday morning, as they clawed each other for $20 network cards. I choose to move myself away from that mindset altogether.

yeah, i think they would be more effective if they put on a suit and took public policy classes instead of making photochops complaining about coca-cola. in the end, i think the adbusters posse has kind of a narrow/negative outlook, not unlike the talk-radio crowd.

one of my "friends" is really into this type of thing. he bought the $60 "fair trade" chuck taylors or whatever and he can hardly make rent. he got mad at me for talking smack about BND, even though his weekly beer/cigs habit keeps the Machine humming nicely (and i really haven't bought anything since july).

I think it's a stupid idea. If you want to protest materialism, lead by example 365 days out of the year. Don't choose one and go "WOW I AM SO COOL" then go back to being a consumer whore. I don't buy much of anything, and I will shop for items whenever I feel it best (such as when there are sales). So in honour of my high-horsedness, I declare November 25th "Go Fuck Yourself Day", when I flip the proverbial bird to everyone who thinks that changing their habits for one day makes them a better person.

Actually it is very true.

As long as you are participating in a means of production and earning money you are part of the problem (if there is said to be a problem to begin with). If you earn $200 and only spend $100 for Christmas and you put the other $100 in the bank... all $200 of you money spent.

The $100 you put in the bank is loaned by the bank to others and they spend it... as I said above production and consumption are inextricably linked. The folks at adbusters and buy nothing day fall into the trap that many do when critiquing consumerism... they ignore this connection and treat the two (production and consumption) as seperate issues.

The only way for you to truly curb consumerism, in the way they are suggesting (ie buy nothing) is to earn less or earn nothing. Then you have taken yourself out of the equation. You have lessened the whole... not very practical is it?

For the record, I am a regular reader of adbusters and have been since they launched. I think they have some interesting ideas... I just think they have missed the mark.

Consumerism on this scale has basically turned us into drones chasing 50 per cent off signs around the mall. If someone is prepared to tread, trample, abuse or even knife-fight me over a piece of discounted plastic, then frankly they're welcome to it. I'd rather lose out on the shiny trinket and walk out of the shop with my dignity intact.

The irony of it being they'd think they were the winner, standing there in a sweaty dishevelled heap, puffing and panting, pushing stray wisps of hair back, wild eyes rolling, glancing at other shoppers, gauging which motherfucker might be the next to try and wrestle that sweat-slicked piece of extruded joy from their chubby fist.

We have way too much investment in our 'stuff' to begin with.

We are hardly drones because we wish to purchase things on sale... there is more at work here than just consumerism "turning us into drones".

It's not that we wish to purchase things on sale, it's that we're prepared to sacrifice our dignity, our humility and even our humanity to get at them, and woe betide anyone who tries to stop us! People fighting over stuff, scalping one another, buying something then walking out to the parking lot and immediately selling it for twice the price. Just being dicks, basically.

With respect, I think people are turned into drones. They act without thinking, buying shit they do not need simply because it has a discount tag, and prepared to do violence to anyone who's in the way. And don't tell me it doesn't happen that way, I've been on too many girlfriend-mandated shopping trips in my time to buy it.

My ex was the type who felt that a Saturday not spent trawling through the town centre for 'bargains' was a Saturday wasted. Who gave her that idea? Where did it come from? They don't teach you that in school, or at least, not at the school I went to. She was as much a drone as anyone else. If you asked her, she couldn't tell you why she did it (still does, in all likelihood).

There was this article that caught my eye: http://www.gamespot.com/news/6140287.html

A precis:

Conclusion: Shoppers are dicks.

It is now Sunday morning, and I haven't even left the house since Wendesday (Thanksgiving was at our house).

Exactly!
I guess this is what many people don't get upon immediately hearing about Buy Nothing Day. Although i tend to shy away from Adbusters and their ilk (it's just another brand nowadays), the fundemental idea of Buy Nothing Day is a great one. Sometimes it's nice to step back and really examine our consumption, especially those of us in North America. Then again, every day is Buy Nothing Day for us poor college students. ;)
Regardless of my distaste for Adbusters though, this year in Halifax, i helped organize some Buy Nothing Day action , which for the most part, turned out really well (and we had a blast doing it).

Does anybody care that there doesn't seem to be any impact on the rate of purchases, etc, from this type of activity? They keep hitting record after record...

No problem. It's a personal thing. For me these causes are less about making measured change in the system than they are about reminding people of what's important. If the crusades provide some moral support, fine.

Which pill would you swallow? :)

I can agree with you on taking a stand... I do it all the time and my wife hates it. However, at some point, it's not worth it.

Also, I love the sig line.

Black Friday marks the annual Day-After-Turkey-Day LAN FngKestrel and/or I host. This year was the fifth one. It tends to be the only day that most of us have off at the same time without other engagements and is as good a reason as any to get together and game all day long while avoiding the general craziness of the day. Usually our purchases are limited to snacks and such, but this year several of us had to go to Fry's to pick up the game we played that day. So much for being prepared, eh?

I agree that the BND (as well as Buy No Gas days, etc.) concept tends to not do much good since most people are just going to spend their money or buy their gas on another day anyhow. As long as you're part of the system, you're part of the problem. Yet so few are willing & able to remove themselves completely.

Heh. That sucks that you had to go buy the game on Buy Nothing Day. That really defeats the purpose.

Fry's the day after TG? Every mucous membrane in my body just spasmed involuntarily.

Not in a good way.