With Thanksgiving 2011 fast approaching I know many of you are making plans for Black Friday.

Since 1975 the day after Thanksgiving has been dubbed “The Super Bowl Sunday” of shopping.

Retailers tell us that Black Friday is a shopping day no one should miss! They bombard us with advertising about killer money saving opportunities you’ll never ever get again.

But have you ever wondered why so many of us go crazy for Black Friday? Fancy marketers help retailers advertise this day using “scarcity”, which means they put us into a feeding frenzy by creating a sense of urgency.

They tell us things like “50% off ONLY on Black Friday”…”Buy one get one free ONLY on Black Friday”…”$500 off ONLY from 5 AM – 11 AM on Black Friday”. That makes us believe we have to go or we’ll miss out. Oh no!

But are they telling the truth? Is the cost of what you have to do to get those deals really worth the deals themselves? Think about all the hurdles you have to jump on Black Friday…

HURDLE#1: Waking Up At the Buttcrack of Dawn
I believe time is money. And I think my limited time on this earth, just like everyone else’s, is very valuable. Because you can always make more money or find another deal, but you can’t get more time.

Unfortunately though one of the enormous costs we have to pay to get these so-called “limited time offers” on Black Friday is waking up at the buttcrack of dawn, some of us in the freezing cold. The typical Black Friday sale starts as early as 3 AM!

Is standing outside in the freezing cold at 3 AM really worth $20 off a new coffee maker?

This year many retailers are even opening at 12 midnight. My friend works in retail at the mall and her shift starts at 10:30 PM the night of Thanksgiving in preparation for the midnight opening.

And you know little secret what she told me? All the deals her store is advertising as “Black Friday Only” have actually started this week.

She said you can walk into the store today and get the same exact discounts as if you went on Black Friday and that most retailers do this…..YOWZA!

HURDLE #2: Crazy “Out for Blood” Shoppers
Another sucky thing about Black Friday is the aggressive and often violent shoppers you have to compete with. Every year we hear stories about people getting hurt because they were fighting over the “hot” sale items or they were rushing to get into the store exactly when it opened.

Look at this video where people are literally getting trampled after stampeding into Target at 4 AM. Talk about a feeding frenzy. YIKES!

It’s pretty easy to understand why Black Friday shoppers are so aggressive. The people who show up to Black Friday sales are the most hardcore, devoted deal-seekers.

So year after year, we keep seeing what happened in this video. Unfortunately sometimes the consequences are deadly. Back in 2008, a Walmart employee was trampled to death by crazed shoppers.

Is getting $50 off a Playstation worth risking your health or your life?

HURDLE #3: Pissed Off Store Employees
Need some help in the store from a kind employee? Then don’t shop on Black Friday!

For store employees, Black Friday is the most stressful and chaotic day of the entire year. All day long employees are faced with aggressive customers and worked to exhaustion.

My friend that works at the mall has a full 12 hour overnight shift in all this madness. She is a very kind and helpful gal but I can’t imagine she’ll still be feeling so gracious in the 10th hour after she has had to break up customer fights.

Trying to get some help from these over-stressed employees on Black Friday can be a giant headache-filled nightmare.

HURDLE #4: The Gas Isn’t On Sale
Do you ever factor in the fuel it actually costs you to get to these stores? Hardcore shoppers don’t just visit the local Walmart to stock up on a few calculated purchases and call it a day.

Nope – they usually visit every store in town and maybe other towns as well. Those who genuinely love to shop on Black Friday may see gas as a small price to pay, but it does add up.

The more fuel you burn in pursuit of a deal, the less of a deal it becomes. Because of this, a Black Friday spent trekking around the state could be a complete wash as far as saving money goes.

HURDLE #5: The Deals Are Not So Fabulous After All
Even the deals themselves are not always all they’re cracked up to be. Remember what my friend who works at the mall said…that those same deals are available all week.

And check out what Dealnews.com had to say about Black Friday:
“These days, more and more Black Friday deals are available online as well as in-store. Couple that with the fact that many Black Friday doorbusters are either matched or beaten later in the season, and you can only conclude that it’s not worth camping out for Black Friday specials.”

Hmmmm….so I can get the same deal on a different day where I don’t have to go shopping at 3 AM and risk getting trampled to death?

Sounds good to me. Forget you Black Friday.

I’ll just wake up late and do some deal searching in my jammies on the internet.

Happy Thanksgiving 2011 everyone!

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