The Off Topic Topic

[Liep]

Apparently black Friday is all a giant con. Reports suggest 85% of sales are actually more at other times

Reports here show that the biggest proponents of Black Friday all raise prises in the weeks leading up to the sale so as to make the discount seem bigger. January still seems to be the best time to buy.

[celedhring]

Over here they are mostly used to get rid of old merchandise. More desirable stuff only carries modest sales. It's right before Christmas, so sellers don't want to undermine themselves.

[Duque de Bragança]

Apparently black Friday is all a giant con. Reports suggest 85% of sales are actually more at other times

Reports here show that the biggest proponents of Black Friday all raise prises in the weeks leading up to the sale so as to make the discount seem bigger. January still seems to be the best time to buy.

Raising all prices before sales is a classic sales tactic. 
Nihil novi sub sole.

[celedhring]

Over here it's illegal. It used to be hard to prove, and thus pretty rampant (since you had to provide proof of the old price), but nowadays consumer groups can easily trawl webstores and capture all prices before and during the sale.

[Syt]

13 year old girl writes award winning essay about gun violence in Milwaukee, gets killed by stray bullet shot at her home:

https://edition.cnn.com/2018/11/22/us/milwaukee-sandra-parks-shooting/index.html

[celedhring]

There's a strike of Amazon workers in Spain throughout Black Friday. It's the seventh strike this year as working conditions are extremely poor, and the unions target high-volume days to exert pressure on the company (there's another one scheduled for Christmas).

Apparently the company asked the Spanish police to break the strike, and deploy cops inside their main distribution center to ensure workers actually worked, XIXth century-dystopia style.  The police refused to do any of that, of course.

[garbon]

There's a strike of Amazon workers in Spain throughout Black Friday.

Guardian seemed to suggest UK would be striking as well.

[The Larch]

AFAIK Amazon's working conditions are notoriously poor, mostly in their logistical centers. I must say I've been a bit leery of ordering from them since I started reading about the topic.

[celedhring]

Yeah, their service in the Barcelona area is damn great (same day delivery on some stuff, day after for most other stuff) while keeping low prices, and I'm aware this only can be possible with Dickensian style worker dystopia. Only buy from them if it's an absolute necessity (which is rare). Or Prime Video.

[mongers]

Yeah, I've hugely cut back on Amazon orders in recent years because of this and their VAT tax avoidance, maybe just two or three parcels this year?

I tend now to sometimes look on amazon and then go and find a reliable smallish UK supplier on ebay, getting if from them instead.

[garbon]

their VAT tax avoidance

Just checked my last order and I paid £4 in VAT.

[Syt]

Q: How do you bring a Swiss woman to guaranteed orgasm?

A: You stimulate her cheese pot.

[Tamas]

Q: How do you bring a Swiss woman to guaranteed orgasm?

A: You stimulate her cheese pot.

That's too German for me. I don't get it.

[The Brain]

I looked in the mirror and wished I had some pot.

[celedhring]

Q: How do you bring a Swiss woman to guaranteed orgasm?

A: You stimulate her cheese pot.

That's too German for me. I don't get it.

Wenn ist das Nunstück git und Slotermeyer? Ja! Beiherhund das Oder die Flipperwaldt gersput!