Black Friday is dying a slow death

[bcking 3,157]

I wonder if there is any data on the energy and packaging waste. The mail is coming out for several folks so there is some economy on the transportation there.

In Seattle we recycle but there is no home for all the bubble wrap...sit there and pop it while watching TV

Amazon Fresh is coming to the neighbor hood soon. Then there will be few reasons to go to the grocery store.

Ya I don't think it is as wasteful as on paper it would seem. Likely there is a delivery truck already driving by my house regardless. However just the packaging alone. If most of this is coming from an Amazon warehouse, putting kitty litter in one box on one day and the next day laundry detergent and the next day something else and sending them all in separate cardboard boxes would add up.

Like I said it would just be nice if you could set up the buttons so that when you press it, it orders a delivery for the next Wednesday or something. Every button you press before that Wednesday gets added to that one shipment. I would prefer that system.

Eventually I guess we'll just have cupboards and refrigerators that order the stuff for us because they "know" what we like and want. That's some Black Mirror stuff right there.

[OriZ 3,157]

Luckily for me, my wife hates shopping almost as much as I do. We avoid it at all costs, to the point that we won't even step foot in a grocery store until we have like nothing left(well, first we'll try to get around it by eating out for a couple days till that gets old, expensive and unhealthy). We get lotsa stuff from Amazon, at times several times a week. Even our cat's food. We have a prime account and we're actually just in the process of switching from comcast to amazon fire tv because we got tired of never having anything good to watch.

We have never done Black Friday before because of all the crowds but this year is actually going to be the first(and probably last) year we actually will just because there's some real good sales on a few things we need from Kohl's. And well being in VT...what kind of crowd can we already expect?

Not yet here. We got a dusting of snow yesterday morning, but there's still some leaves left in the trees. My rule of thumb is whatever doesn't fall by Thanksgiving gets picked up in the spring.

Got a few inches here yesterday, first of the season. Lots more on the mountains though, talking feet already there.

Edited November 22, 2016 by OriZ

[Voice of Reason 10,298]

Credit scores. What an interesting way to gauge one's ability to pay, eh? I have learned a lot about credit scores in my time on earth. The #1 bestest way to get a higher score is to open a credit line young. Then never use it. I opted in for a free credit report a few years back. Got somewhere north of 50 pages of printed material. Discovered that a credit card I though I had closed about 20 years prior was still open. Hadn't used it, but it was still out there. Called and closed said card, and my credit score plunged about 120 points. Point: Keep it open, even if you don't use it, and monitor it. Length of time is a large factor in credit scores.

Another thing is early payoff of a CC. I pay my CC bill in full every month. But some months, the bill exceeds $3k. If I let my balance ride until a regular payment is made, the credit bureaus see it as me maintaining a "high balance", even if I pay it in full. It all comes down to when they pull your credit balances for the report. If it's right after a payoff was made, great. If it's right before the bill is paid, you suck. So, if you know you will have a higher than normal bill, pay in advance that month. Even paying weekly can up your score.

I am able to keep my score around 815 (unless I buy something big, then it dips for 3-4 months) by using these simple tips. Hopefully someone else can benefit from the info.

Quite a few. I've worked with a few people who have gone bankrupt multiple times, they always seem to come out of it smelling like roses. I have too much of a consciense to live that way. I try to pay off all bills monthly and both my wife and I have credit scores in the 790's and sometimes they get over 800. I am always checking our scores and credit reports on Credit Karma to make sure nothing funny is going on.

[Voice of Reason 10,298]

That's an issue? Sounds like you need to MOVE! I have been using Amazon Prime for several years, in three different states, and have never had one thing stolen. Over 258 orders, delivered, (mostly) on time.

i love Amazon by hate having to be home for the package. my neighbors have often head packages stolen.

Equal to Sony? I'd say superior to Sony. Samsung has the best screens, hands down.

BJ's has some really good deals on Samsung tv's as well, I've bought a 48" & 55" there at really good prices. I find the Samsung quality to be equal to Sony, but much cheaper.

[Voice of Reason 10,298]

Mostly depends on your bank. I get my pay between 1-3 days prior to payday, depending on holidays. If payday is a Saturday, I get paid on Friday. If it's Sunday, I get paid on Monday. If Monday is a holiday, I get paid on Friday. I think once in 20 years did I get direct deposit a day "late".

well that sucks. lol. in Canada we always got it earlier

[MarkPerry 488]

I don't shop, I don't do Black Fridays, I avoid malls at all cost. I may hit a BassPro Shop or Cabelas from time to time.

I usually either go fishing or hunting black friday and the weekend.

[OriZ 3,157]

That's an issue? Sounds like you need to MOVE! I have been using Amazon Prime for several years, in three different states, and have never had one thing stolen. Over 258 orders, delivered, (mostly) on time.

Equal to Sony? I'd say superior to Sony. Samsung has the best screens, hands down.

232 orders here, in 3 years.

Looks like this:

I took the dollar amounts out, but as you can see we're becoming more store-averse as time goes on lol

I like how lax their refund policy is, too, if there are any issues.

[Dashinka 24,505]

BJ's has some really good deals on Samsung tv's as well, I've bought a 48" & 55" there at really good prices. I find the Samsung quality to be equal to Sony, but much cheaper.

Interesting. I know it is anecdotal, but my experience with Samsung is less than stellar. I bought a 48" Samsung LED about five years ago, and at the same time purchased a 32" Dynex (Best Buy brand) fluorescent LCD. The Samsung display crapped out at 2.5 years, and the Dynex is still going strong. I replaced the Samsung with an Insignia LED and it is still fine. So the moral of the story, your mileage may vary. ?

[Dashinka 24,505]

I am not a Black Friday person, but I do go out from time to time to do a little people watching. I have to go to Costco tomorrow, so I will try to be there first thing and get out. As to the working Thanksgiving, and Black Friday stuff, I work with a lot of Canadians here in the Detroit area that live in Windsor and Sarnia, they absolutely loved the stores that opened on Thanksgiving as they would come over for shopping since they had the days off based on their US company schedule yet, they had already celebrated their Thanksgiving.

Personally, I don't really care. If a store wants to be open on Thanksgiving, and they have workers willing to work and who want the money, then so be it.

[Teddy B 17,252]

Interesting. I know it is anecdotal, but my experience with Samsung is less than stellar. I bought a 48" Samsung LED about five years ago, and at the same time purchased a 32" Dynex (Best Buy brand) fluorescent LCD. The Samsung display crapped out at 2.5 years, and the Dynex is still going strong. I replaced the Samsung with an Insignia LED and it is still fine. So the moral of the story, your mileage may vary. ?

Yes definitely anecdotal. I know people like yourself that have had bad luck with the Samsung, whereas I swear by them. I have one Vizio tv in the house that I purchased at Best Buy, it isn't as good as the Samsung, but it was about half the price.

That's an issue? Sounds like you need to MOVE! I have been using Amazon Prime for several years, in three different states, and have never had one thing stolen. Over 258 orders, delivered, (mostly) on time.

Equal to Sony? I'd say superior to Sony. Samsung has the best screens, hands down.

I really like the Samsung product. I think next year we might try one of the UHDTV's.

[Voice of Reason 10,298]

I really saw the difference when I visited a store that was mostly Samsung. Walk by a bunch of their TVs while on, getting an idea of the quality, then pass by a Visio or other lower-priced TV, and you could really tell the difference.

I really like the Samsung product. I think next year we might try one of the UHDTV's.

[Voice of Reason 10,298]

Did you make that graph, or does Amazon have it for you? I did not see it on my order history, will hafta look.

I recently moved to where they charge me tax (I haven't had that for the past 5 years), so I have to pay attention to see if I am really saving money or not. Also, some items I have discovered are higher than local. Then it comes down to whether or not I want to put on clothes and go to the store to save a buck. Meh...

232 orders here, in 3 years.

Looks like this:

I took the dollar amounts out, but as you can see we're becoming more store-averse as time goes on lol

I like how lax their refund policy is, too, if there are any issues.

[Merrytooth 5,748]

Try LG OLED TV

The picture color is superb

[Teddy B 17,252]

I really saw the difference when I visited a store that was mostly Samsung. Walk by a bunch of their TVs while on, getting an idea of the quality, then pass by a Visio or other lower-priced TV, and you could really tell the difference.

Same thing happened to me with the tv's in a Best Buy. They had a Samsung widescreen next to a Sony & a Sharp. The picture was much more crisp & vibrant on the Samsung and I couldn't adjust either the Sony or the Sharp to match the Samsung picture.

[OriZ 3,157]

Did you make that graph, or does Amazon have it for you? I did not see it on my order history, will hafta look.

I recently moved to where they charge me tax (I haven't had that for the past 5 years), so I have to pay attention to see if I am really saving money or not. Also, some items I have discovered are higher than local. Then it comes down to whether or not I want to put on clothes and go to the store to save a buck. Meh...

Amazon does it. Go in your account and "download order reports".

I find it very rare for prices on amazon to be higher, usually I would say on average we probably save 20-30% simply by ordering through amazon. For example we order this cat food for our cat: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00KS1AMUY/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 if you go into a petco store here you pay over $50, not to mention the invonvenience. If you order it online from petco right now it is on sale for $35 instead of $39 but once you factor shipping into it(which on amzn is free for us) then it comes out the same, but more when it's not on sale. So on that one it's about a 10-20% savings usually but some things are even more.

Also, we have it delivered to the shop but if I was working for someone who would let me, I'd definitely have it delivered to work, much better than to home if you're not there,

Edited November 23, 2016 by OriZ