Im am a very experienced shopping, to me its like a sport. I dont buy anything expensive thats not worth it and I get a thrill out of finding expensive quality items on clearance, which Im really good at with out putting any real research or effort in other than showing up to a store.
Black Friday was upon us recently and I only attended one time, to buy a computer, which I feel is a decent reason to go out also I only stood in line for like 20 minutes. Though the context of my computer purchase was that I hadn't had one in 6 months ( I know ridiculous) and I needed something cheap. I would not recommend buying any electronics that you want to last during black Friday. Most items that are put on super clearance or brought in just for black Friday are made specifically for this shopping holiday and the quality reflects the new crazy price. Dont get sucked in. After this recent black Friday I watched several popular Black Friday Haul videos on Youtube and noticed a few things. Common sense is not existent. The first store that everyone hit up was Victoria's Secret. Yes the quality of the clothing etc is pretty decent, though a bit over priced, Black Friday there are not any deals that I would even open my eyes for. Each year they have an option when you get to the door of leggings or a hoodie and at first I thought oh thats nice, no you still have to pay 25$ for them, Oh wow thanks for the honor of letting me pay 25$ for this item that again was clearly mass produced with even less quality for this event. I poured over black Friday adds and I thought I found something worth my time. A tablet that had a key board attached from Walmart for only 168$ish. I looked around and for the RAM and processor (2/quad-core) the deal really couldn't be beaten. I used it for a week and it annoyed mje so much I returned it. I have never returned an electronic devise ever, I was pushed off the cliff with this one. Everytime I wanted to use the key board I had to hold the tablet on the edge and press it down into it and tilt it slightly. Obviously buying cheap computers is not a good idea these days, but dont worry I found a loop hole! I was desperate after I returned the tablet I needed a good computer for only 300$. I was looking at target.com casually and saw that they sell computers (I know odd). I looked around and my desire for something with an i5 processor minimum and 8gb of RAM as a goal. (knowing this unrealistic) I found a section of refurbished computers offering everything I wanted for the price too, As a person who has worked in retail and repaired computers for a living I know the ins and outs of crap in the electronic world, though as a person who preferred non used items I always thought of refurbished computers a dumb idea. I was wrong. New especially with electronics these days, which are very flimsy and replaceable, isnt the best option. I, with out any other options, bought the refurbished computer. It arrived yesterday and I could not have fallen into a better gold mine. I saw the model when I unboxed it and it is an older looking laptop, not super old but not from this year. It was heavier and the parts were sturdy. Though at this point I was of course still skeptical ready to lean on that 30 day return option. I could not find the system key to activate the operating system so I called their costumer service department, I was on hold for about an hour and the person who helped me solved my problem immediately. I was very impressed. After I started the computer I fell in love, The speed is exceptional and the quality is that of a time when quality existed. After running through three computers that were cheap and new this is a breath of fresh air in an unexpected place.
Coupons, Im not a big coupon user, at least in person, but online there are codes you can use and its so liberating to see money drop off the cart price. Cyber Monday was pretty good with overall discounts. I found many sites that offered 20% to even more off of total purchases. So I bought what I normally would, and spent a lot less.
TO return to YouTube hauls. When I said there was a lack of common sense i was proved right and right again. Every person that I watched on youtube got a lot of their items for full price and were given the false sense of deal success. I know its easy to get sucked in but just because it is black Friday it doesn't mean you are getting a good deal.
