Watching over East Leyden

The Eagle's Eye

Watching over East Leyden

The Eagle's Eye

Watching over East Leyden

The Eagle's Eye

Black Friday Then and Now

Each year shoppers line up in the frigid cold to get the best deals available as part of the infamous Black Friday. Although many people take part in this unofficial holiday,  few are aware of the actual origin of this day.

Black Friday began to appear in newspapers in the 1960’s. Philadelphia police officers referred to the post-Thanksgiving shopping days as Black Friday and Black Saturday because of the crazy traffic jams they had to deal with. In a public relations newsletter from 1961 by Denny Griswold, he writes how “Deputy City Representative, Abe S. Rosen, one of the country’s most experienced municipal PR executives…recommended adoption of a positive approach which would convert Black Friday and Black Saturday to Big Friday and Big Saturday.”

Despite their attempts to change the name to become more positive “Black Friday” stuck, and it gradually came to be recognized outside of Philadelphia.

Today, thousands of customers line up outside stores as early as 8:00 pm the evening before and make sure that they don’t leave until they get what they were waiting for, even if it leads to tragic results.

One of the most notorious stores for crazy shoppers is Walmart; its been known for its sometimes out-of-control shoppers and the frenzy that brews up while they wait in line. In 2008 a 34-year old employee was trampled to death by the large crowd waiting outside as he opened the doors.

This year however there were no reported deaths from Black Friday crowds.

Despite the large crowds, many stores seemed to be more prepared in managing the large crowds.

At Woodfield Mall by there were still many shoppers by 3 p.m., but everyone was pretty calm and the worst thing you had to deal with were the long lines.

Sophomore Steven Marquez shared his experiences from shopping at H&M. He said that the “people were pretty calm and the cashiers were really nice.”

However he agreed that “the lines were long,” and all the crazy shopping left store very messy.

While many were attracted by the fashion deals, several more were interested in the electronic departments.

Sophomore Andrew Ornelas decided to try his luck at Gamestop, however, he didn’t have the best experience. He admitted that “it wasn’t worth going in the afternoon, I don’t see why people would go in the morning too.”

Much to his dismay he realized that “the store had no good deals” and that “the service was poor.” Even worse he said that “the parking was hectic” and he narrowly avoided getting into an accident with a lady who almost rammed into his car.

While the reviews are mixed with several big name stores now opening up on Thanksgiving evening it seems like the post Thanksgiving shopping craze is here to stay. One thing seems certain: as the years go by people will continue to participate in the event and major retailers will happily rack up their profits.

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  • M

    Mehdin BilalicMar 8, 2013 at 7:41 am

    Black Friday is bad when you go to the store and shop because sometimes you can’t find what you want or it’s sold out. That is why ordering online is way better.

  • A

    A. CardonaNov 30, 2012 at 1:03 pm

    Black Friday shopping is not that bad, yeah there are a lot of people that go nuts for sales but if you keep to yourself you should be fine.

  • S

    SAlatorreNov 30, 2012 at 11:33 am

    I like Black Fridays because they have good specials and is true about all the big long lines. This year me and my cousins got home at 7AM. It was fun.

  • B

    Bart TomalNov 30, 2012 at 11:29 am

    I think that the stores were very messy during and even after black Friday. that is why I buy my things online during black Friday.

  • M

    Mark MenaNov 30, 2012 at 10:41 am

    Its real insane how so many people can last in a line that long just to get some select items for cheap prices but in all honesty I would go black Friday shopping to in order to find sales on electronics and clothes.

  • O

    OscarNov 30, 2012 at 10:39 am

    wow this is good stuff

  • N

    Nick ElliottNov 30, 2012 at 10:35 am

    I’ve noticed that on black friday there really is no good deals at clothing stores ,but the best deals are at electronic stores like Best Buy. I went to Best Buy and got a TV for a really good price. It is best to go for electronics on black friday