Jessica Wynn

No there's a sneaker store near me that I swear it's like once a month there's a line around the block. It's wild. Yeah. But retailers depend on it. I mean we spend billions in a very short window and stores need that yearly boost to justify keeping those doors open.

So yeah, stores design the event to get you in because Black Friday and the days around it can make or break a store's entire year. They need that frenzy. It's part of the business model. So some stores implement precautions now by organizing crowds at entrances and in line, but it still gets wild. So they need us to act like maniacs. Are there actually good deals? Is any of this worth it or are we just getting played?

Kyllä, se on hauska joukkopiiri. Kyllä, se on todella hauskaa. Jokaisen Black Fridayin he lisäävät asioita, lisäävät asioita, he lisäävät asioita online, ja ihmiset edelleen ostavat niitä, ja sitten he ottaa rahoja ja donoittaa niitä ammattilaisuuteen. Joten he aloittivat tämän niin, että luodaan ymmärrys siitä, mitä tämä sydämellinen konsumerismi luo, ja minä tarkoitan tätä luonnollisesti. Katsokaa, mitä sinä tarkoitat?

Joten vuonna 2016 he tulivat uudelleen sivuun. He lopulta tuli uudelleen sivuun ja sanoivat ihmisille, että me jatketaan tukimassa niin kauan kuin sinä jatketaan myyntiä. Ja he rakensivat yli 100 000 dollaria Black Fridaylla tukimassa ei mitään. Se ei ole rauha. En tiedä, mitä se on. Onko se performance art, mielestäni?

I mean, it was satire, but it was done to prove a point. Their tagline for it was, when you gaze long into an abyss, the abyss also gazes into you. And they were right. You know, people will spend money for the experience of spending money. And it was a perfect metaphor for the void of consumerism that just goes nuts on Black Friday.

So Cards Against Humanity pulls stunts like this every Black Friday. One year they actually sold nothing for $5. It was advertised as nothing. And they made $70,000 off people who knew they were buying nothing. Another year they sold literal bull feces to 30,000 people, bringing in $180,000. Wow, what a world. Is Black Friday just an American thing or is it global? Actually, I don't even know.

Kyllä, kyllä, kyllä, kyllä, kyllä, kyllä.

That is incredible. Other countries watched Americans brawling over big screens and thought like, we need that too. We need to bring that over here. Australia and New Zealand got on board around 2013. They kind of were holdouts. And now it's one of their biggest shopping days. It's just this homogenization of the whole world. So the chaos is international. We've successfully globalized impulsive spending. Fantastic.

Capitalism is the world's love language, I guess. Santa must be sighing. Some places and people must not buy into this madness, though, right? I mean, this can't be a thing everywhere. Right. I mean, Cards Against Humanity has fun with it. But there is an anti-Black Friday campaign called Buy Nothing Day. They encourage people to take a pause on spending. This is my kind of holiday. I fast on Thanksgiving, and I don't spend a penny the next day. Buy Nothing Day.

Kyllä, kyllä. Se aloitettiin 90-luvulla anti-Black Friday-protestissa. Joten ennen kuin ostettua, ihmiset ovat yrittäneet huomioida haasteitaan, ratkaista asioita, joita he jo omaavat, donoita tai vain pysyä ja ei osallistua. Onko ihmiset tullut siihen? Minun mielestäni se kuulostaa vaikealta. Kyllä.

Oh yeah, I mean, there's also creative protests like zombie walks, where people dress up and march through malls and stores to highlight consumerists' mindlessness. They promote not buying anything for 24 hours to raise awareness about environmental and ethical consequences of overconsumption.

So there are buy nothing groups all over the world and members gift and request everything from furniture to tools to food. They actually have an app similar to other ones like OfferUp, if you've ever used that. And they're just sort of community swapping types of things. Is that more performance art or capitalism eating itself? I can't tell which one it is.

First, stick to reputable retailers. If you're online, look for the HTTPS and the lock icon in the URL bar. Use credit cards, not debit, for better fraud protection. And don't fall for wild discounts or sketchy links. I mean, that's good advice every day, not just during Black Friday. Focus on genuinely needed items. Black Friday is a great time to save on items you are already planning to buy for yourself.

or as holiday gifts. Yeah, Jen does this. She saves things in a list for Prime Day or Black Friday and then just goes to town online and done. Yeah, I mean, that's the smart way to do it. And remember those doorbuster items or special store-only models are sometimes cheaper for a reason.

So always compare model numbers and reviews before hitting buy. The hype can make you buy stuff that you don't need, and that can negate any savings you might have made. So just be mindful.

Kyllä, joten ole perinoinen, olisi haastavaa, ja voit itse asiassa elää viikkoja. Kuulostaa hyvältä. Kyllä, melkein. Mutta jos viikkoja tuntuu niin, että sinun täytyy elää niitä, pitäisi arvioida, mitä ja miten elämät. Tiedän, että totuus on, että nämä menetelmät ovat suunniteltuja korporatioihin, eikä saavuttaa saavutettavuutta. Kiitoksia, Jessica, saavuttamalla meidät kiinnostuneisiin kuljettajien, tyypillisiin tyypillisiin tyypillisiin tyypillisiin tyypillisiin tyypillisiin tyypillisiin tyypillisiin tyypillisiin tyypillisiin tyypillisiin tyyp