Black Friday

Today is Black Friday. A traditional start for the Christmas shopping season here in the United States. This is a day that has become something else over the years. Stores open at insane times. 6 AM? 3 AM? Anything is possible, including stores that open on Thanksgiving and stay open all night long! And it seems like every year some ugly incident occurs at some store. Someone gets maimed so badly by the crowd charging in to find That Great Bargain that he or she ends up hospitalized. Or even dead.

I'm not the first to note this, but there is a certain hypocrisy in all this. On Thursday, we give thanks for what we have. Hours later, some of us are in a store fighting to the death over a flatscreen TV set.

It's my plan to avoid shopping today, unless I need to make a quick stop by the grocery store. (Interestingly, a clerk once told me that his grocery store was dead on Black Friday. Apparently, people are too busy with the mall to do anything like shopping for mere food.)

The Black Friday shopping orgy at the mall is just not my thing.

I'm not  interested in "hot door buster" deals. (Usually, if one reads the fine print, there is something like two per store, which are probably snagged within twelve seconds of the store opening at Insane O'Clock.)

Every year, I get less and less interested in the hot item of the year, which is often some short lived "investment." Today's hot toy, tomorrow's Goodwill find.

These days, when I give gifts, I try to use something other than a one day sale. I try to use my intelligence, and creativity, to come up with something right for the recipient.

And when doing any shopping, I always prefer dealing with stores that have reasonable prices, and a willingness to give the best deal they can year round. I prefer buying something that will be in use much longer than it takes to pay the next month's credit card bill. I like buying stuff, in fact, that will last a long time. And I like dealing with stores that view me as a person, not a "consumer" whose sole value is what I spend. I also like shopping with small stores that are locally based, because more money stays local, and helps the place where I live.

All this - and more - is what one can get at a good audio dealer. Admittedly good dealers can be hard to find. But they are out there.