I’m a deal enthusiast.
Throughout the entire year, you can find me on various deal sites just to see what prices are like, and if there’s anything on sale that I’m interested in. Though I almost never buy anything even when there’s a crazy deal available, just scrolling through these websites is a personal hobby and pastime. Weird, right?
Anyone would naturally think I would be the kind of person who would go crazy over Black Friday, but recently the the hype for me has started to drastically die down. Historically, Black Friday has been my most anticipated holiday of the year — there are always good deals for something new and exciting.
Some of my favorite products have come from past Black Fridays, including my Xbox and Beats headphones. These items were the kinds that I was looking into for months before the special day. I would watch countless product reviews on YouTube and read about these items almost daily, and when the deal finally came out, I would be first in line to pick it up. The satisfaction of deal hunting comes when you get to hold the item that you’ve been researching for so long in your own hands.
Don’t get me wrong: I’m still really into deal hunting, but it’s just that Black Friday has lost its appeal for me. This year, as I scrolled through ad scans one by one from the most popular stores, there just wasn’t anything really interesting to get.
Each year the same things go on sale — Beats headphones, some cameras and TVs. To me, the TVs are the worst part. These items take up almost half of all Black Friday promotions and obscure all the other items I’m genuinely interested in, like headphones other than Beats and desk accessories.
In addition, most Black Friday deals aren’t as good as they seem. Many deals on almost any item you can think of occur year round, not just on Black Friday; they just aren’t advertised with as much hype.
This year, my family set out to get a new printer to replace our old one from 10 years ago, but despite a day’s worth of looking for the best deal, we came away empty handed. Likewise, I was hoping to find a new pair of headphones to replace my broken pair, but again there just wasn’t a deal worth picking up.
In the end, I’ve realized why Black Friday doesn’t seem so special anymore. The truth is the day really isn’t all that special. On the surface, stores say they’re advertising crazy deals that will sell out the second they’re on sale, but most people can find these exact same deals anytime, sometimes even better, if they just do a little research.
