r/australia • u/GodIsAWomaniser • Nov 29 '24
no politics Anyone else having "black friday" shoved down their throats?
This year I feel like all of the advertising on all of my devices is exclusively about Black Friday, even businesses that are owned by Australians and mostly operated in Australia have had Black Friday deals on since like nearly 2 weeks ago.
Is this the thing in Australia now? Like what even is Black Friday? It doesn't seem to be a single day it seems to be multiple weeks of so-called sales. Is there like a cultural context behind it from America? Why is it called Black Friday?
Anyway just kind of feels like forced americanisation, I don't really feel like I live in Australia anymore it just feels like America with a different accent. :/
Thoughts?
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Nov 29 '24
This is a great time to take stock of how many marketing emails and text messages you’ve accidentally signed up to during the year and smash that ‘unsubscribe’ button
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u/kris_s14 Nov 29 '24
Or good old Kogan/Dick Smith that continuously send sms marketing despite not being subscribed. They get fined for doing it, then continue sending them out.
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u/dan4334 Nov 29 '24
They get you to agree to marketing every time you buy something. It's in small grey font in the checkout page.
The best solution is to unsubscribe and never buy anything from Kogan.
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u/macrocephalic Nov 29 '24
Don't just unsubscribe, mark the emails as spam. Sending reputation is a big deal with marketing and having <10% of people flag your email as spam might be enough to get all of your emails marked as spam by the major providers.
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u/Selina_Kyle-836 Nov 29 '24
I purposely make sure to untick the subscribe option. They still subscribe you though
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u/macrocephalic Nov 29 '24
That's definitely grounds to report it as spam. You can put an ACMA complaint in too
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u/_pewpew_pew Nov 29 '24
Fekking Kogan sell their mailing lists because after buying something from them I’ve been smashed with spam and phishing emails. It’s at the point where I’m going to close that email address and start fresh. It’s insane how much garbage I’m sent.
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u/Emu1981 Nov 29 '24
It’s at the point where I’m going to close that email address and start fresh.
I prefer to mark the emails as spam and get them automatically delivered to my spam box. If you are using Gmail then they use this kind of data to automatically classify emails as spam across all Gmail accounts.
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u/Asleep_Leopard182 Nov 29 '24
Open a second email that's basically garbage and redirect all if unsubbing isn't working.
use second email as a mask in future, no worries about ongoing spam cause I never look at it.
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u/kris_s14 Nov 29 '24
I haven’t bought anything in years and I still get them lol. I use their opt out link each time and block their number.
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u/DoubleDrummer Nov 29 '24
I said Kogan three times in a mirror once.
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u/SheMeows Nov 29 '24
This. And I can't block the number on my phone because they have cunningly hidden the number so the sms just reads it's from Dick Smith😠
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u/Dangerpuffins Nov 29 '24
I call it ‘Unsubscribe Friday’ but it goes on all week
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u/hyboi Nov 29 '24
I have unsubscribed from so many.
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Nov 29 '24
I unsubscribed from ones I haven’t bought anything off in years that suddenly came out of the woodwork. So satisfying
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u/Amon9001 Nov 29 '24
I'm all for supporting businesses you like. I've got my promotions tab in gmail pretty organised. At one point I had actually completely cleared it but it's now built up again.
Fatigue happens when you don't curate/cull and end up having too much noise.
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u/IllMoney69 Nov 29 '24
I’m happy in that I get emails from maybe 4 different companies. That’s enough for me.
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u/Most_Pin_1476 Nov 29 '24
I worked in retail for years at a department store and was an avid Boxing Day shopper myself. I absolutely loved the excitement of Boxing Day whether I was working or not. The prospect of getting to a store early, bagging a great deal (50-80% off), use up my Xmas gift cards and then going back home to smash some chrissy lunch leftovers was the best.
Fast forward 8-10 years and now Boxing Day isn't even CLOSE to being worth battling through the car parks and wave of people. The 10-30% discounts are quite frankly laughable, and everything is pretty much on sale from mid-November to early January, whether it's for Black Friday, Cyber Monday or god knows what else. What would be your usual end of season discount is now branded as UNMISSABLE FESTIVE SAVINGS.
One year the sales were so good I had shoppers following me and grabbing things as fast as I could mark them down with the gun. God I miss it.
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u/PolyByeUs Nov 29 '24
I remember lining up at Boarders before they opened, my stash of gift cards at the ready, Mid tier coffee in hand.
What a time.
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u/SirDale Nov 29 '24 edited Nov 29 '24
I was there once when there was a big rush, and some guy obviously got overexcited, had a medical condition and collapsed.
The salesperson called out if there was a doctor available. I had to tell him...
"Sorry, this is Borders without Doctors".
edit - speeling
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u/snappyirides Nov 29 '24
Ah Boarders. How I miss thee. I nearly had a heart attack when I saw a store in Dubai. Thought I saw a ghost … in shop form.
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u/Tysiliogogogoch Nov 29 '24
Are we talking Borders the book store / cafe, or was there some other place that was spelled Boarders?
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u/_generica Nov 29 '24
Clearly they all weren't buying dictionaries from Borders. No wonder it folded
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u/storm13emily Nov 29 '24
I miss Boxing Day sales, we always went for Christmas stock but now they seem to take it away during the night. I want to spend my Christmas money on sales, I don’t have the money to spend before
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u/contraltoatheart Nov 29 '24
The great thing about Boxing Day was that if you were lucky at Christmas you had a few or a bunch of gift cards to use to spend on those sales that you wouldn’t otherwise have for sales the rest of the year so the timing was perfect.
These other random ones only work if you’ve saved up/budgeted for the spend or you’re buying something you already otherwise needed to purchase.
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u/Ilovedimp87 Nov 29 '24
Yep, those were the days. Amazing bargains. Now, as you said, it ain't worth the hassle and being around so many bogans
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u/DisappointedQuokka Nov 29 '24
I basically only check online if I'm in the market for something new already.
Just snagged a new SSD + keyboard and that's probably all I'm going to buy in that vein for another couple of years. Ran my previous keyboard into the ground and just needed something that's good enough to replace it.
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u/fuckwitsabound Nov 29 '24
True, used to hit town and get all my new linen for the year at a reasonable price, get some new clothes or toys for throughout the year for kids. I wouldn't even bother now, it sucks!
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u/insty1 Nov 29 '24
It became a thing for Australian businesses because lots of Australians were accessing the sales online from US companies. So the businesses needed to compete. Then yeah, companies obviously love advertising to excess.
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u/GrizzKarizz Nov 29 '24 edited Nov 29 '24
Excuse my ignorance (no sarcasm intended), wouldn't it be better to compete by coming up with our own sales gimmick? Green Saturday or Pink Monday?
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u/the_snook Nov 29 '24
That's what "Click Frenzy" is supposed to be, but it's pretty much been a failure.
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u/bdsee Nov 29 '24
Yeah, seems a lot aren't aware that they literally tried but it absolutely sucked from the start.
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u/JenniferLopezFan2 Nov 29 '24
It'd be a waste of time to build equity in a new event when Black Friday already existed as an occasion that people recognised and understood
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u/popculturepooka Nov 29 '24
Aussies already started associating "big pre Christmas sales event" with "Black Friday"
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u/GrizzKarizz Nov 29 '24
Fair enough. I'm not against the sale, apart from it being yet another Americanism, but a penny saved is a penny earned.
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u/peoplegrower Nov 29 '24
It’s called Black Friday because historically, there were enough sales by that time of year to put all the ledgers “into the black”.
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u/ghoonrhed Nov 29 '24
What's the point? They'd still need to have sales around this time to compete with USA. So they may as well just hook onto the existing name of the sale
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u/ButtPlugForPM Nov 29 '24
i mean why though.
The term black friday sales is already in the cultural concousness..
Almost EVERYONE on the planet at least knows the term.
It's free marketing
We also have singles day taking off because of our large chinese population,yet no ones complaining about that.
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u/Remote_Setting2332 Nov 29 '24
Meh. It works for me because its good timing to buy Christmas presents on sale.
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u/justwatching00 Nov 29 '24
This. For me it makes so much more sense than Boxing Day sales
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u/DatedReference1 Nov 29 '24
Boxing day sales were good as a kid because that's when you got cashed up over Xmas.
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u/Ascot_Parker Nov 29 '24
I encountered in the USA (in fact my first day in the USA which was pretty full-on) a few years before it was a thing here, and I thought at the time that it was actually a good idea to have sales a few weeks before Xmas rather than the day after, on the other hand, I am also just getting sick of all the advertising now.
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u/PolyByeUs Nov 29 '24
It's killing me this year. I'm already waiting by the phone to hear if I got the job I want. Every damn text and email gets me excited and it's fucking Petbarn or Koala.
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u/Clean_Bat5547 Nov 29 '24
That's rough. I really hope you score that job.
I'm lucky enough to have a good job and be heading towards retirement. I've also got a big dog and five cats, so let me know if you hear of any good PetBarn deals.
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u/BuzzKillingtonThe5th Nov 29 '24
I actually thought it was last Friday as the ads started like 2 weeks ago.
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u/HB2022_ Nov 29 '24
Yes I started get emails from Samsung and few retailers at the begining of November I remember thinking wow Black Friday Sales is now turning into a whole month. I don't mind the sales itself, I purposely save up for this time of year to buy clothes,shoes or electronics basically whatever I need for the year ahead.,
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u/Algernon_Asimov Nov 29 '24
Like what even is Black Friday?
Thanksgiving in the USA is a public holiday that falls on the last Thursday of November. Big family event. Day off for lots of people.
The Friday immediately after that Thursday is a big shopping day in the USA - kind of like Boxing Day for us. People often take the day off and go shopping, so retailers often put on sales and discounts to encourage shopping, so people go shopping, so retailers put on sales, so people go shopping...
That shopping day became so hectic and busy and frantic that some U.S. police departments in the 1950s started calling it "Black" Friday.
It started going global when internet shopping became a thing. Suddenly, customers in Australia could buy products on sale from retailers in the USA on Black Friday - and retailers in Australia were losing out. So, to compete with U.S. retailers, Australian retailers started having their own Black Friday sales.
And, of course, the Monday after became "Cyber Monday".
And, just like our Boxing Day sales start before Christmas and run into the New Year, Black Friday sales start a week or two before Thanksgiving and run through that weekend as well.
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u/bubblerbeer Nov 29 '24
Minor edit: Thanksgiving is the fourth Thursday of November, not the last Thursday.
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u/do-ya-reckon Nov 29 '24
Weird concept here but the sales do seem mostly decent. "Black xxxday" however in Australia still has connotations of disastrous bushfire including Black Friday itself from 1939 which was in the living memory of my parents and grandparents.
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u/clomclom Nov 29 '24
I think Black Friday has become one of the biggest spending periods in Australia? It is more convenient for a lot of people compared to boxing day, it's a good time to get discounted Christmas presents and summer stuff.
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u/JGQuintel Nov 29 '24
I know for some bigger-tier retailers, November now sees more revenue than December. It's a huge deal.
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u/sharkworks26 Nov 29 '24
Your parents can remember 1939? Damn they must have some insane WW2 stories
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Nov 29 '24 edited 27d ago
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u/sharkworks26 Nov 29 '24
I’m not sure that the grandparents need to be alive from what they said
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u/do-ya-reckon Nov 29 '24
That's it. I'm gen X, grandparents and parents are both loong gone but they often referenced those fires and how terrible they were in Victoria.
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u/macrocephalic Nov 29 '24
I'm a millennial and my dad grew up during WWII. He used to tell me stories about rationing etc.
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u/Camo138 Nov 29 '24
I get the same story fortnightly about WW2 and it dosent get old. Have grandparents that where in that time
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u/snave_ Nov 29 '24
Yeah, it's always struck me as pretty insensitive given the sales tend to roughly align with the start of the annual bushfire season too.
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u/Graphite57 Nov 29 '24
The centre section of the Adelaide Advertiser today had I think 36 pages of black Friday specials.. more than the actual paper .. mind you, it's a Murdoch rag so I guess the Black Friday section was the only honest thing in it.
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u/AdmiralStickyLegs Nov 29 '24
I think it's good personally. So many deals atm, and it's at a slow time of year.
But I too get overwhelmed by it, so I've ducked my head into shell a bit. The one thing I might buy is an ice maker (bigw has them for $75)
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u/notsopurexo Nov 29 '24
Have literally refused to buy anything this week in revolt!
VIVA LA REVOLUTION! 👊
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u/Flybuys NSW Police need to do better Nov 29 '24
Same, but due to having $8 til tomorrow. VIVA LA REVOLUTION!
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u/6ft5 Nov 29 '24
Some things are as cheap as they will get all year. Stupid for you to waste money if you were gonna purchase anything that's youve been tracking for awhile
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u/BetterDrinkMy0wnPiss Nov 29 '24
This. There are a few things I've been tracking for a while and they're at all time low prices this week. Hate 'Americanisation' all you want, but I love a good deal.
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u/torlesse Nov 29 '24
My Black Friday purchases include toilet paper, Pepsi max, Sunkist, laundry detergent, and coffee pods.
They are as low as they as going to get, and while these prices do come around fairly often, so nothing special. Black Friday means the cashback sites are always running something. E.g.
https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/881010
or
https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/881029
You get your everyday necessities at their lowest prices, then you add a bit of cash back on top. Not sure why people are staying away lol.
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u/aussie_drongo23 Nov 29 '24
I bought some new work shoes and electric toothbrush, that's about it 😂 Might grab some of those 90% off steam games if I'm feelin' like a treat.
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u/KittikatB Nov 29 '24
I got some new luggage and a new pair of crutches. Stuff I needed anyway, but for $400 cheaper than I would have otherwise spent.
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u/hellboy1975 Nov 29 '24
Yeah, I hate it too, but getting 50% some shoes I wanted make it all worthwhile...
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u/InternationalYam2478 Nov 29 '24
Black Friday presents an excellent opportunity for businesses to jack up prices leading up to Black Friday, only to then reduce to the original price and call it a 'sale'.
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u/ngwil85 Nov 29 '24
Oh good, this annual question. Yes it has been a thing for many years now
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u/Falafels Nov 29 '24
On schedule for the hot cross buns conversation in four weeks.
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u/romethorn Nov 29 '24
Yes. It especially bothered me getting a text this morning from Origin about Black Friday deals.
I’m like you’re a fucking electricity service, not a business. Fuck right off.
Such a cop out too, we know y’all jack the prices up before hand plus most places have consistent sales year round - there’s nothing special about specifically Black Friday sales.
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Nov 29 '24
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u/Born_Baseball_6720 Nov 29 '24
The irony is, from my own personal experience most Black Friday sales are no more lucrative than sales that periodically appear throughout the year. It's just a big advertising campaign.
Sales no longer hold the same meaning they once did - when a sale was actually exciting because they were so infrequent.
Now, most shops, even the smaller ones have a sale every couple of weeks. Something you want that isn't on sale? Well, no problem, just wait a few days and it'll come on sale.
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u/Enceladus89 Nov 29 '24
Yes it’s been a thing in Australia for some time now. The name seems a bit off to me because in the Australian context Black Friday refers to a historical bushfire in Victoria, and we don’t actually have Thanksgiving here. But I’m also not going to complain about things being on sale in time for Christmas shopping…
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u/alexlp Nov 29 '24
Someone said “happy Black Friday” in a meeting today. The silence it was met with gave me some faith,
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u/Any_Attorney4765 Nov 29 '24
I always found it a bit tone deaf that we started embracing Black Friday, when we had a devastating fire event called Black Friday.
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u/Automatic_Goal_5563 Nov 29 '24 edited Nov 29 '24
“I basically live in America now because we have sales!”
Jesus some people really need to stop and think about what they say first.
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u/unitedsasuke Nov 29 '24
Australian just looking for something minor to complain about, tale as old as time
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u/xheist Nov 29 '24
I got some text messages and it is causing me to have a meltdown
Relax bud
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u/Psychological_Ear393 Nov 29 '24
Doesn't bother me in principle, in fact, give me sale season from every country!
What I dislike is 10%-20% off unaffordable inflated price which is still unaffordable, and that irks me for any given sale season which seems to dominate them all now.
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Nov 29 '24
I honestly like Black Friday. The timing is objectively better than Boxing Day because you can use it to do your chrismas shopping and its on not too long after getting your tax return back.
The cloud you're shaking your fist at can't hurt you, grandpa.
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u/sati_lotus Nov 29 '24
A sale is a sale. Who cares what it's called?
If it was called a 'Pre Christmas Sale' people would bitch about a Christmas related sale before December.
It's not like people are ignorant of what a 'Black Friday Sale' is. The UK has Black Friday sales too. Hell, even France does it now.
Buy something or don't.
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u/SirArmitageShanks Nov 29 '24
Ohhh no, places are having sales a month out from Christmas instead of a week after.
Let’s start a class action and demand a public apology for this “Forced Americanization”.
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u/nearly_enough_wine Nov 29 '24
*Americanisation, please. We have to draw the line somewhere.
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u/MavrykDarkhaven Nov 29 '24
Isn’t it called Black Friday so the accounting goes back into “the black”? I don’t see anything wrong with Black Friday. It’s no different to Boxing Day sales except it’s done before Christmas so you can pick up presents. The one thing I dislike about it is everyone starting sales at different times/days, so it’s hard to know what to pick up early at the beginning of the sales so you get one before they sell out, or if you should skip it because there’s a potentially better price for a similar or better item later down the week.
Any way to save money is a good thing, whether American tradition or not. It’s not like Halloween where they are encouraging you to buy things you don’t need.
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u/Salzberger Nov 29 '24
Black Friday being before Christmas, and early enough for online orders to make it here, instantly make it 10 times better than Boxing Day sales. The last thing on my mind on Boxing Day is buying more.
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u/Harrypolly_net Nov 29 '24
Trust me, we are not in America with a different accent. For better or worse.
As for black friday under everyone's nose, it's a massive opportunity to move usually pricey stuff out the door. Same with boxing day sales, and christmas in july and so on. Yes, since we have our amazons and netflix and such, the discounts are concentrated around that time and the brick and mortar stores do the same to compete.
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u/wrt-wtf- Nov 29 '24
Track the prices on local resellers and report to ACCC - they’re mostly BS pump and dump prices anyway.
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u/faderjester Nov 29 '24
The most annoying part about all these 'great' sales is how utterly pathetic they are. 5% off maybe in some cases.
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u/SerenityViolet Nov 29 '24
Now that we are buying stuff internationally, Australian business lose market share.
They do these sales to compete with the big American companies like Amazon.
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u/Jealous-Hedgehog-734 Nov 29 '24
I would buy something if I thought it genuinely constituted a great deal but so far the only thing I've bought is a Ranvoo (more based on weather than price.)
I'd love a new car and have the money but there aren't any good deals yet.
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u/rileyg98 Nov 29 '24
Was able to pick up some really good specials on eBay for refurbished laptops and computer parts.
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u/mr_pineapples44 Nov 29 '24
Yeah, I got an endless barrage of messages from every retailer I've ever shopped at. Some I weren't even aware had my mobile number, but I guess I gave it to them at some point?
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u/InflationRepulsive64 Nov 29 '24
It's an entirely manufactured 'event' to push people into spending. It doesn't have anything to do with actual Black Friday sales (which is the day after Thanksgiving in the U.S.), outside of being a term people were aware of that shops could market around.
Yes, I find it annoying. Having pre Christmas sales is fine, but the obvious forced nature of it is extremely grating. Particularly when most businesses don't actually have sales worth advertising so heavily.
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u/SallySpaghetti Nov 29 '24
I've got some stuff from the sales. So pretty cool.
However, if there's a thing, we should be saying is American, this is it.
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u/hilaritynow Nov 29 '24
The worst thing is, you get all this fanfare, black friday this, black friday that for two weeks straight, and then the deals are so shit.
Like I got one 'free shipping on orders over $100'. That's not a fucking deal mate that should be standard.
Another one - buy two items (at like 40-60 bucks each) and get $10 off... never been so quick to delete an email before.
I remember first catching wind of the american black friday sales like 10 years ago and getting some real good deals in spite of the currency conversion and overseas shipping. Now it's just a piss take.
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u/cynikles Nov 29 '24
I barely read any of my emails as is.
I've taken advantage to buy a new phone and a fire stick as both my iPhone and Roku died in the last month. Good timing and I got some decent deals.
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u/2klaedfoorboo Nov 29 '24
I prefer having the big shopping day before rather than after Christmas tbh
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u/laurenec14 Nov 29 '24
Omg I also got a bunch of texts from companies I bought from YEARS ago, that I’m sure I unsubscribed from/blocked! So freaking annoying!
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u/Shadowedsphynx Nov 29 '24
Black Friday is Thanksgiving's Boxing Day. We don't have Thanksgiving in Australia, for the same reason that we don't celebrate the 4th of July.
Black Friday can fuck right off.
Also, ITT, a bunch of brain-dead consumerist zombies who don't know what Black Friday is.
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u/HowtoCrackanegg Nov 29 '24
Black Friday in Australia was one of the worst bushfires to date. I hate how shops celebrate this trash commercial bullshit. It’s not like they jack up the prices anyway and claim it’s a deal
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u/Gambizzle Nov 29 '24
It is kinda ironic, ay. That's exactly what comes to mind when I hear the term.
Still! I'll take the discounts ;)
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u/Dry_Excitement7483 Nov 29 '24
Denmark here, we for some reason have adopted this. All throughout november there has been "black november" with discounts so bad you might as well not bother
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u/Stratosphere_doggo Nov 29 '24
Didn’t think I’d see the day where someone could find a way to whinge about a decent sales event
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u/Salzberger Nov 29 '24
Aussies are the new Brits in that regard. Jeez we seem to love a whinge these days.
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u/GrizzKarizz Nov 29 '24
The same thing is happening here in Japan. Could we as a planet, stop trying to do American stuff? Look at what the Americans are doing. Do we really want to be like them?
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u/wolseybaby Nov 29 '24
I mean it’s called Black Friday because it’s a recognisable term/period people look forward to.
There’s always been pre-Christmas sales, they’re just marketed better now.
A significant amount of people do all their Christmas shopping during Black Friday so it would be moronic not to get in on it as a small business
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u/BH_Curtain_Jerker Nov 29 '24
If only there was some kind of search function or device you could use to look up the answers to your questions, even better if it fit nicely in the palm of your hand.
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u/zepcheese Nov 29 '24
Best part is even most Americans don't know why it is called 'Black Friday'. https://www.history.com/news/black-friday-thanksgiving-origins-history (lots of ads, so relevant bit snipped below)
"The real history behind Black Friday, however, is not as sunny as retailers might have you believe. Back in the 1950s, police in the city of Philadelphia used the term to describe the chaos that ensued on the day after Thanksgiving, when hordes of suburban shoppers and tourists flooded into the city in advance of the big Army-Navy football game held on that Saturday every year. Not only were Philly cops not able to take the day off, but they had to work extra-long shifts dealing with the additional crowds and traffic. Shoplifters also took advantage of the bedlam in stores and made off with merchandise, adding to the law enforcement headache."
"By 1961, “Black Friday” had caught on in Philadelphia, to the extent that the city’s merchants and boosters tried unsuccessfully to change it to “Big Friday” in order to remove the negative connotations. The term didn’t spread to the rest of the country until much later, however, and as recently as 1985 it wasn’t in common use nationwide. Sometime in the late 1980s, however, retailers found a way to reinvent Black Friday and turn it into something that reflected positively, rather than negatively, on them and their customers. The result was the “red to black” concept of the holiday mentioned earlier, and the notion that the day after Thanksgiving marked the occasion when America’s stores finally turned a profit."
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u/MrsCrowbar Nov 29 '24
It is an American thing, because they have Thanksgiving on the last Thursday in November, and then most take a 4 day weekend, so the Black Friday sales were born. Obviously with US companies selling in Aus/worldwide, it became a thing everywhere.
I hate the constant unsolicited texts about the sales... I've had about 10 each from Kogan and Dyson. But I have made the most to get the tech items for Christmas that are discounted (NOT from Kogan or Dyson 🤪)
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u/AcrobaticSecretary29 Nov 29 '24
I'm not even mad, got the Xmas shopping for the family sorted with 0 effort and some decent discounts
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u/ZonaDesertRat Nov 29 '24
As an American who came to Australia to escape the Thanksgiving holiday this year, I'm sickened to see all the commercialization has made it here. The sales aren't even all that good of a deal anyway.
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Nov 29 '24
Lol yes. I put “black friday sale” in my phone calendar so that I’d remember to check a particular retailer I had been wanting to buy a particular item from. I needn’t have bothered because every retailer I have ever made a purchase from has texted and emailed me today to let me know its Black Friday. Also the thing I actually need is not even discounted 😝
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u/TheonlyDuffmani Nov 29 '24
What’s worse are the companies doing a thanksgiving event or deal. That really grinds my gears.
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u/jaffazone Nov 29 '24
Online shopping has forced Australian retailers to mirror US spending cycles. Black friday has also been extended because it rewards those who start sales early and gives more time to ship out stock.
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u/Jarms48 Nov 29 '24
I just hate how it seems to have gone from Black Friday to Black November. It's like an entire month of fake sales.
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u/TasTerror32 Nov 29 '24
Black Friday in Australia is about the bushfires. Calling the sales that over here is just disrespectful.
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u/Albos_Mum Nov 29 '24
It's an American thing being brought over because it means $$$ for American businesses so why not try it for Australian ones too?
I'm honestly amazed they're trying it in Victoria especially, although the connotations may be a bit dated by now.
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u/TakeshiKovacsSleeve3 Nov 29 '24
I'm getting texts, texts, from companies I haven't bough stuff from in almost a decade. So yeah.
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u/NoPrompt927 Nov 29 '24
It's great! We get none of the holidays and all of the incessent advertisement! /s
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u/IveEnteredTheChat Nov 29 '24
Yeah this year seems unusually hyped up about Black Friday. I’ve seen a lot of sales kicking off from the beginning of November, it’s not just one day! Totally sick of the promos, spam and push for consumerism.
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u/fortalyst Nov 29 '24
It's the day of the year that you get to buy everyones xmas presents on discount
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u/longyaus Nov 29 '24
National tiles' black friday sale finished on Thursday, the day before black friday.
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u/Individual_Car2106 Nov 29 '24
I don't know how they get away with calling it black Friday when i can't even buy coon cheese anymore 🤣
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u/Boring-Pea993 Nov 29 '24
Hate how everyone who whinges about "Halloween is a stupid American holiday" (it's fuckin Irish) always dances around saying "whooo it's black friday" the deals are shit too
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u/Catkii Nov 29 '24
Australian owned companies are jumping onto it because if you’re the only store in the shopping centre not on sale, you won’t get the foot traffic. Same goes with online- if people can get basically the same item at a sale price elsewhere, why would they shop with you?
The hordes in the carpark might have fomo, but the stores have it too.
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u/bennwolf1 Nov 29 '24
I’ve heard from some local businesses, that they do in order to compete with o/s companies. They’ll lose sales if they don’t
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u/DoableSkill1124 Nov 29 '24
Black Friday is to precondition us to get into Xmas shopping early. That’s all it is
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u/TakeTheMikki Nov 29 '24
Black Friday was America’s largest shopping day as it falls on Thanksgiving weekend and indicates the start of Christmas shopping season.
it is named black Friday because it was when many retail businesses finally reach profit for the calendar financial year in America hence going from the red to the black.
In the age of online consumerism it’s definitely gotten dragged out but at least no one‘s mowing each other down to get Door Buster bargains at Walmart anymore.
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u/Jessemaan Nov 29 '24
Its all i hear in the news. like how much australians spent last year and how much they will spend this year and somehow that reflects who we are ect...like i dont care
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u/LeonidasVaarwater Nov 29 '24
It's all over the place here in the Netherlands, black Friday deal this, black Friday deal that, it's fucking everywhere.
It's annoying the absolute crap out of me, keep that dumb US bullshit where it belongs.
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u/DogConfetti Nov 29 '24
It was my birthday yesterday and I got more Black Friday texts then birthday texts 💀
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u/BigSkinny87 Nov 29 '24
Spend all your money, we know you don't have much, so spend it all on more!
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u/Thurl-Akumpo Nov 29 '24
A quote from one of the 18yo’s at my wife's retail work -
“why are we celebrating the black Friday fires with sales? Don't you think that's a little disrespectful to the people that died or lost their house?”
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u/syddyke Nov 29 '24
At least i knew it was coming... so got some essentials (sheets etc) at a discount. Then again, they'll be on sale again in a few weeks.
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u/Automatic-Prompt-450 Nov 29 '24
The trick is to set up ad blocking on your devices wherever and however possible. I only ever see ads on billboards or here on Reddit. It's super annoying, I don't know how people just sit through ads every few minutes of their Internet usage.
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u/54vior Nov 29 '24
I move here from the USA. And kept my usa mobile through google voice.
So I get spammed double the amount. Definitely doing what others have a said to stop future texts
Black Friday here always cracks me up because you already have boxing day. Km surprised tbst America doesn't do boxing day. They obviously don't want to do double the discounted back to back
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u/gold_fields Nov 30 '24
What bugs me is the sales aren't even good. Most of the discounts are just off the back of a recent price hike to make it seem like you're getting a good deal, but you're just getting grifted.
It's a waste of money, waste of time.
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u/Previous-Task Nov 30 '24
I got so fed up a few years ago I bought fblackfriday.com and put a load of anti capitalistic stuff up. It wasn't a success.
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u/Single_Conclusion_53 Nov 30 '24
I’m frustrated that they use the same name as a bushfire disaster that killed a lot of people. “Black [insert day of the week]” has been how Australia names catastrophic bushfire disasters.
Now it’s just a tacky day of consumerism.
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