Posted: 12/3/03

ëBlack Fridayí shopping and common sense

They call it ìBlack Fridayî because this is the day retailers are said to turn the corner and make a profit, thus the ìblackî definition. If it was ìRed Fridayî it wouldnít be such a good day, right?

The Friday after Thanksgiving is a day to avoid shopping malls if you have any common sense. But still they come by thousands, lured by the avalanche of bargains that arrive in our Thursday newspapers.

We should be wiser with age but sometimes wisdom takes a holiday. I thought I had learned my retail lesson a few years back when I reluctantly relented and made a trip to the Mall of America in Bloomington. Iíve been in recovery since and feel satisfied that I am able to fight the desire to ever go back.

Staying away from the big mall has been easy. But last Friday my common sense and ability to stay away from any retail store vanished.

I went to Wal-Mart, lured by an $80 deal for a combination VCR-DVD player.

So there I was at 6:15 a.m. looking for the deal of the year. As I drove into the parking lot, I began to second-guess my decision.

Parking spaces were at a premium and a Forest Lake police squad car was cruising through the lot looking for problems.

As I entered the store it was with a feeling of ìthere by the grace of God I go.î If my trip to the Mall of America was eye opening, my adventure in Wal-Mart was like opening night of a big play. Wal-Mart can be a busy store most any day but to see something like this before the crack of dawn is unimaginable.

I am now of the full belief the economy is heading in the right direction. If the folks who waited in the cold for hours for the Forest Lake store to open were suffering from a bad economy, they werenít about to let that bad economy stand in the way of a good deal.

Shopping in such a mob is an experience I can do without. It certainly wasnít a place for small children nor pets.

The usually wide shopping aisles were packed with mostly aggressive adults who were on a mission. My shopping partner and I made our way without a shopping cart. (Thank God!). Those who tried to bolt through the store with a cart went nowhere. My shopping partner is a master at maneuvering in and out of traffic. It must be a skill learned from a daily drive to the metro area.

With me in tow, we found the deal of the year.

Leaving home that morning I figured the store would have a select product inventory. My trip would be easy in that case and I could quickly leave.

But Wal-Mart is no rookie in this marketing season and its inventory of the VCR-DVD players was extensive. There were box and after box of the electronic players stacked high.

A steady procession of shoppers filed by like zombies with open arms to haul one home.

Our adventure was not yet finished. The next challenge was to get to a check out lane. Making a mad dash through the womenís section led us to the front of the store. After a short wait, the purchase was made and it was back to the car. It was still dark and most people with common sense should be home sleeping.

Was the trip worth the effort? My common sense logic has been strained a bit but it was time to add a DVD player to the house while maintaining the ability to use the VCR tapes that are collecting dust.

The quiet of the ìBlack Fridayî shopping spree has settled. In the TV room sits the box containing my next challenge.

A trip to the Mall of America or Wal-Mart in the morning when people should be sleeping may be joyful memories when that box is pulled open and itís time to hook up the contraption.

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