At the last moment on Thanksgiving eve I decided that it would be a good idea to head over to my local Walmart store for their Black Friday sale. While a lot of the high impact Black Friday deals weren’t going live until midnight, there were some deals that were available at 10pm, and one of them was a video game that I had been thinking about getting. Instead of being on sale for $50 as it normally was it would be on sale for $15.
I figured that things would be pretty busy at the store, but given that a lot of the bigger deals didn’t go live for a couple more hours, I didn’t think it would be that bad. Boy was I wrong.
Lines Of Cars, Streams Of People And No Parking
Before I even got to the store I knew I was in for a spectacle. There was a line of cars coming off of the main highway, waiting to pull into the shopping center that held the Walmart, Sam’s Club, Best Buy and other stores. It was pure insanity. I had come in off of a back road and as such was able to pull directly into a parking lot. But there were no spots available. I had to circle around with other cars until someone else pulled out of their spot.
At that point I probably should have just gone home because I knew things were going to be crazy, but to be completely honest I had a morbid curiosity about what it would actually be like when I got inside the store.
I ended up having to walk a couple of blocks just to get to Walmart. There were constant streams of people walking to the store like me, it was almost like a strange pilgrimage as we all made our way towards the doors.
I Didn’t Know Walmart Could Fit That Many People
When I finally got up to the door and walked through I saw a scene like I never could have imagined. They had walkways roped off so you could actually walk in, but then it was wall to wall people as far as the eye could see. I tried to make my way towards the area where I knew the video games I wanted were, but there was no way that was going to happen. I just had to go with the flow of people and try to circle back around.
My wife had given me a couple of things to find at the sale as well, but I quickly realized that even though I had gotten there at 10:05pm, they were already gone.
I kept walking through the store and every so often there would be a plastic wrapped pallet with a long line of people waiting next to it – waiting for their $100 TV or $40 Blu-Ray player. Each pallet had a Walmart employee standing next to it, guarding it until the clock struck midnight. It was nearly impossible to make your way through the crowd.
In the end I took a few more quick videos, saw some good friends waiting in line (they actually bought a couple of the things I had been there to get and missed out on!), and escaped out the exit without buying anything.
Has The Consumerism And Greed Taken Over?
While I was walking through the store it occurred to me what a crazy scene this was. While most people were pretty nice to each other, people were pushing and jockeying for position around the most popular items. By all accounts people across the country weren’t all as well behaved. On one site today I saw a list of Black Friday stories that made me cringe:
Among the stories I saw were stories of shoppers macing each other, ladies punching each other to get articles of clothing, mayhem over cheap waffle makers, and gunfire erupting at one mall.
The question that comes to my mind is, has consumerism and greed overtaken so many of these people to the point where they’ve become violent and out of control?
In my opinion they would do well to heed the words of the Bible when it says:
Proverbs 28:25 A greedy man stirs up dissension, but he who trusts in the LORD will prosper
The mindless greed that is on display is a little scary. We would do well to seek contentment in Christ, and to follow the example of Paul when he says,
1 Timothy 6:6-12 But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that
Are a great deal on a TV or an article of clothing enough to get us to lose our ethics and morality?
Great post Peter – interesting look at the inside of Walmart on Black Friday. I’ve never been there that day – nor will I ever be! :)
I have no issue with sales and discount periods, but I do think that retailers try to whip us all up into a frenzy of consumerism.I think the first question we need to ask is do we actually need what we are buying, or are we just buying it because we’ve been persuaded that we need it?
We also went to the early Wal-Mart Black Friday sale for the 10:00 specials, got there at about 9:55 and by 10:01 what I wanted was gone. (Computer chair) I did find one item I wanted that they still had, bought it, and then we left When I got home I got on the internet and found the same computer chair that I could order on Friday from their website. So I ordered it for the same price, free shipping to the store, and no crowds…. The worse part was we live in a small community and it was people I knew standing by the items waiting to grab them when the clock struck 10. This made it seem more like a competition between the shoppers rather than trying to get a good deal from the store. I didn’t like that feeling….
This is a difficult subject. I see nothing wrong with people trying to save money; in fact I think people who look down on them are the ones who need to reevaluate themselves. Personally I don’t think consumerism goes against biblical principles, depending on how you define consumerism.
Great post tho and I am always amazed at how many people are at Wal Mart at once on Black Friday.
For the first time I went with my daughter last year so she wouldn’t be out late and alone. I would NEVER do that again. Crowds that were overwhelming and standing knee deep in people is not worth any potential saving I might be able to obtain. For those willing to endure the experience I have no issue, it simply is not my thing.
I went one time out of curiosity and decided never again. You are lucky that you didn’t get shot. There were a lot of stories about Wal-Mart and Black Friday mayhem. I see that you found other stores involved as well.
I went to a Black Friday sale at an electronics store about 5 years ago, and the scene there was nothing like this. The employees were handing out donuts and coffee.. Much more orderly and people were there having fun – not to get involved in an all out cage match for a TV. I can’t say that I’ll ever go again.
We were driving home on Thanksgiving night and as we came up to an exit, every single car that was either in front or behind me got off. I couldn’t figure out what was going on until I remembered that there is a WalMart there. We were amazed by the parking lot that was filled to capacity and this was only at 9pm. I was more than happy to bypass and any and all deals that would have required me to be associated with that madness.
Wow, that is a total circus! This really makes me happy that I don’t do Black Friday shopping.
Way to sum up what I had in mind about the Black Friday sale. It’s definitely worse than a circus gone wrong.
I agree Peter, I defiantly stay away from the Walmart Black Friday. I went to one once just to get a DVD player for $20 and a lady was so desperate to get one that she ran into the whole pile of them knocking them over.
Never Again.
What madness that Christmas has to come to.
Walmart + Black Friday = mayhem! But I’m glad you survived!