“It was extremely hectic,” Junior Kevin Tran said. “People were pushing and running past me, bumping into me, just to get a deal on a TV or laptop. Black Friday really brings out the animal within when hunting for great deals.”
Black Friday is one of the most eventful and action-packed days of the year. People rush to stores looking for the best deals that they can find after retailers have significantly lowered their prices. It’s always been a tradition to have this day land upon the Friday right after Thanksgiving but the day hasn’t always been called “Black” Friday.
The day after Thanksgiving began being called with Black Friday for two primary reasons. The first instance of the day being coined “Black Friday,” according to The Balance (a personal finance website), was when the Philadelphia Police Department used that word to describe the traffic accidents and sometimes even violence surrounding the downtown area of Philadelphia after Thanksgiving Day. The violence and traffic was due to the hefty amount of people rushing to stores to pounce on “the Friday after Thanksgiving sale.” The second reason, according to the Business Insider, was that the term “Black Friday” was used to describe the day that merchants and retailers began to gain profit after being at a loss the entire year. It wasn’t until the day after Thanksgiving that retailers and merchants started to gain a substantial profit due to the rush and demand of buying gifts for cheap and in time for Christmas.
The Philadelphia Police Department had only seen a glimpse of the worst to come. Black Friday over the years has changed in terms of calmness and has become extremely hectic. Stores become packed to the brim and lines start to get extremely packed as customers rush to every section trying to find the best deals possible. People even steal one another’s items to try and get the deals for themselves. Many people have even fought each other for grabbing the same item at the same time, trying to claim that item as their own. In the worst cases, people get severely injured, and even killed, according to the Daily Mail UK, trying to grab the best steals and deals.
“I went shopping for purses, wallets and new clothes,” Junior Tracy Hoang said. “I stopped by Kate Spade and found a wallet I really liked. I went over to pick it up and just as soon as I did, some old lady grabbed it from me and walked away. I wasn’t bothered too much about it, I actually found the whole altercation to be amusing.”
Some people, however, are starting to realize that the acclaimed low prices on Black Friday are often more expensive. According to Forbes, retailers such as Curry’s listed the LG 43UF680V TV at £449 (‘was £899’) making it seem like a significant discount when the “was” price was actually £499.
“Black Friday seems like a scam honestly,” Junior Gabriel Rossi said. “I went to Best Buy about a month before Black Friday looking for this video game and I found it for $60. Thinking I could get it cheaper, I waited until Black Friday and saw that it was $50, only $10 cheaper than before. It was funny though because the before price stated that it used to be $75. It would’ve been better to just shop before Black Friday and avoid the crowd while getting a pretty reasonable price.”
