Black Friday vs Cyber Monday: Which is Best?
November 23, 2011, By Steve Kissing 1 comment
Social or reclusive? Outdoors or in? Lug merchandise or have it shipped? These are but a few of the options to consider when you decide if you’re going to score your biggest bargains on Black Friday or on Cyber Monday. I’ve tried both approaches several times in recent years and see pros and cons to both. While these shopping days are not mutually exclusive, of course, the assumption here is that you’re going to make a choice about which day to spend the bulk of your time, adrenaline and cash in search of the best bargains.
Let’s look first at the Black Friday pros:
- As it’s a day off work for most, you’ll likely have more time and more flexibility, though you may still feel some residual effects from the tryptophan. It’s a more social experience, even if you’re shopping alone. The people watching is every bit as good as that found at renaissance fairs and monster truck rallies.
- You can knock some things off your shopping list a couple of days earlier. That means you need not have shopping hanging over your head during the weekend’s family activities or big games.- You get to actually put your hands on the merchandise that you’re buying. Not a big deal if it’s, say, a DVD, but could be if it’s, say, a piece of jewelry for your wife.
- Some retailers are more aggressive with their offline deals than their online ones.
Now for some Black Friday cons:
- Long lines, moody people and bad drivers. Need I say more? I don’t think so.
- Inclement weather can make the aforementioned headaches even more painful.
- You only have two hands, and making multiple trips to the car to drop off parts of your bounty gets old. Fast.
- If you have to bring your kids along with you, you can’t do any chores for Santa. (Wink, wink.)
NEXT: Cyber Monday
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