Bargains - not CDs!

[Alain Maréchal]

So..... er.....I hope nobody got caught up in the fighting , on the way to nabbing a Black Friday bargain.

http://www.theguardian.com/business/...attle-shoppers

I have only just seen the news reports: what on earth is going on? Does anybody really need a "Half-price Delonghi Prima Donna S Bean-to-Cup coffee machine, stainless steel at £514.45".
As my mother used to point out, if you didn't need it when it was full price, you still don't need it when it's half price. Is my puritan side showing? Plus, what happened to the recession you were supposed to be having, and where has the money suddenly come from?

Afterthought: what are people going to buy during the January Sales?

[amateur51]

I have only just seen the news reports: what on earth is going on? Does anybody really need a "Half-price Delonghi Prima Donna S Bean-to-Cup coffee machine, stainless steel at £514.45".
As my mother used to point out, if you didn't need it when it was full price, you still don't need it when it's half price. Is my puritan side showing? Plus, what happened to the recession you were supposed to be having, and where has the money suddenly come from?

Afterthought: what are people going to buy during the January Sales?

Sadly people are lured by the relative ease of credit cards to load them to the hilt in the face of a bargain.

I write not as some lofty non-participant but as a fan of the Big Boxed Sets year-round I cut up my credit cards years ago and now pay for everything on my debit card, which means that my splurges are curtailed.

How very sensible .

[Dave2002]

Oh, and yes, I wasnt literally forced to wear headphones, but I knew there would soon be complaints if I started playing Wagner at the right sort of volume!

I gather that "literally" has been given new meanings in the OED, which of course is literally a load of garbage - or **** if you prefer some other words.

However, consulting the OED site shows - http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/109061...From=literally and here we literally see a conundrum (of course I'm writing through my hat here ...) as under part (e) we see:

1769 F. Brooke Hist. Emily Montague IV. ccxvii. 83 He is a fortunate man to be introduced to such a party of fine women at his arrival; it is literally to feed among the lilies.
1801 Spirit of Farmers' Museum 262 He is, literally, made up of marechal powder, cravat, and bootees.

so the indication that the Coleman balls form - something like "he is literally running with two left feet" goes back centuries.

More on this here - too - http://www.theguardian.com/media/min...h-misused-word

[Nick Armstrong]

Is my puritan side showing?

No, just a perfectly sensible revulsion for the half-witted pack mentality on astonishing show yesterday

[teamsaint]

No, just a perfectly sensible revulsion for the half-witted pack mentality on astonishing show yesterday

be honest, you missed out , didn't you?

[Anna]

Black Friday perfectly demonstrates five of the seven deadly sins doesn't it?

[Alain Maréchal]

be honest, you missed out , didn't you?

"No, just a perfectly sensible revulsion for the half-witted pack mentality on astonishing show yesterday"

Thank Goodness Caliban, I thought it was just my being out of touch. ("Goodness Caliban" - one of your New England cousins?)

teamsaint - no sour grapes invoved, I hadn't realised it had reached the UK. It doesn't happen in France (well, not much - Amazon is trying hard) because the dates of sales are regulated. Most shops are permitted to open for three Sunday afternoons before Christmas, and supermarkets appear to be opening today. This particular town is an anomaly, since as a resort it is always open on Sunday afternoons: the entire region appears to arrive after lunch, which shows there is an appetite for Sunday trading. I doubt very much if there will be anything at half price, its merely an opportunity to buy presents and elaborate sweets.

[teamsaint]

Good things may come from this unpleasant episode.

[Alain Maréchal]

Good things may come from this unpleasant episode.

History suggests otherwise, although I suppose everybody's idea of "Good" varies.

[teamsaint]

History suggests otherwise, although I suppose everybody's idea of "Good" varies.

We do so sometimes learn from our mistakes, individually, as a society.

( shame about the removal of the irrelevant pontification ?!)

[Alain Maréchal]

( shame about the removal of the irrelevant pontification ?!)

I assure you it isn't!

[teamsaint]

Free day return tickets on Scotrail.

https://www.freescotrailtickets.com

[cloughie]

Black Friday perfectly demonstrates five of the seven deadly sins doesn't it?

Good Friday settles for the seven Last Words on the Cross!

[Dave2002]

Selections have squirrel baffles for £7.99 - http://www.selections.com/gardman-do...d-feeders.html

If you want one this is not a bad price, and these are hopefully good ones. A while back they were selling off "slightly damaged" ones at a low price, but not low enough IMO. We have one already - and it doesn't actually deter the squirrels completely, but it does slow them up, so I've ordered another one.

At the same time there are a few other items which might be of some interest in the Clearance section, including
Holst - The Planets CD - Hickox for 50p (very good that one)
Porgy and Bess - Demain for £4.99
A rather large number of Albany CDs at prices between 25p and £1
and this 2CD issue for 45p - http://www.selections.com/royal-page...ions-2cds.html which might not be good, but heck - it's cheap.

There's also Bliss Adam Zero for £1.99.

[Dave2002]

Amazon currently seem to be doing a promotion of Kindle "best seller" ebooks for 99p each. The selection changes each day.

The ordering process can present a problem though, as it's one-click, and it's quite easily possible to oder a book by accident simply in trying to find out what it's about.

However, although 99p isn't such a big deal for a mistaken accidental purchase, it does seem that Amazon does allow refunds of ebooks if done quickly. There is a procedure to follow, which seems reasonable, though in the short term difficult to check whether a particular order has been cancelled.

Why Amazon can't at least allow the iTunes model of requiring some form of confirmation for any Kindle purchase - even as an account option ... well - I was going to write "is beyond me", but of course they probably make money out of people falling into this particular elephant trap.

If you can avoid falling down the very deep pit, then there might be ebooks of interest to you!