I have no understanding at all of this materialistic nonsense. I dont understand this excitement about saving a few quid on an item just because .
I only buy if I need it and I need very little and I like having very little. Maybe I’m.just an old biddy .
People get caught up like sheep , queuing outside a shop to but a dress a few quid cheaper . Excitement about sales .
I must be a black sheep
Forum members please note … other varieties of sheep are available 
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I’ve heard that from several sources and it applies to almost all January Sales, Easter Sales, etc. In any case, we buy what we need/want as and when we need/want it.
There are even white sheep in varying shades and also black and white sheep!
Edited to add: Just in cases some feel left out of that description there are also white and black sheep!
I wouldn’t like to think anyone would either feel ‘left out’ or ‘offended’!
Which? say:
How to avoid fake Black Friday deals Don’t get duped by dodgy deals this Black Friday. Follow these tips to find out whether the ‘special offer’ you’ve got your eye on is real
The hype around Black Friday creates the impression that every offer is worth trampling over fellow shoppers to get to, with retailers slashing prices to historically low levels for one day only. But our research has found that’s rarely the case. Are Black Friday deals real? In 2020, our investigation into Black Friday deals revealed that 98% of the discounts advertised the previous year - including promotions on popular tech, home and personal care products - were available for the same price or cheaper in the six months after the sales. And, while you might expect some products to fall in price over time, we also found that 85% of the items had also been the same price or cheaper in the six months before Black Friday. In fact, just three of the 119 products we tracked - that’s 1% - were at their very cheapest price on Black Friday. So before you rush into impulse-buying a discounted coffee machine or tablet, read on for our advice on how to work out if a deal is real.
Read more: Are Black Friday Deals Real? How to Spot a Fake - Which? - Which?
The January Sales were around when I was a kid.People camping out all night on the pavement to get a cheap electric kettle or fondue set.
Ah I see but it’s not really given a high profile. Is it linked to environmental concerns?
Did people really queue up for a fondue set? I always thought that people who owned those could afford to splash out.
Talking of splashing out, I found a new feature on google maps where they have built in the google earth layer of aerial photos. I had a snoop around my neighbourhood and then around some other cities and saw lots of circular dark things in gardens dotted about. It took me a while to realise that these were hot tubs. That’s real extravagance but they seem very popular and prolific. I have friends on IoW who have one and it seems to be the norm there.
I remember the indigenous people of White City sharing the fondue set, I expected more.
My main reason for buying things at the moment is that I think we will at some point in the not too distant future be unable to buy them. Because they will no longer be produced. I can see entire supply chains collapsing the way the world is going.
they most likely share a hot tub these days
going! why, what’s happening?
a number of variables coinciding, in particular the environmental agenda coupled with unstable geopolitics.
Can’t see that happening, there’s far too much money, money, money involved.
Ways will be found to make things work, it’s money (greed) involved after all said
and done! Remember also that ‘money talks’!
while we have “money” as a medium of exchange, which may all change soon
Yes, but whatever replaces it will still be ‘what talks’ and it will be the perhaps previous ‘rich’ in monetary (cash) terms who will have and want more of this new ‘medium of exchange’. Unless of course we go back to bartering, that should be fun!
Any medium of exchange will be worth less. Because the way things are headed supply will be restricted and markets will contract. A lot of companies could fold. We take it for granted that things will continue as they always have. I am no longer convinced that is the case. An era is ending.
Yes, possibly worth less but even today if the £ was devalued by 50% to 50p those who have most will still have most and be ‘rich’. Companies may fold but there will always be those who will want to take the chance to make money. Those companies may be bought out cheaply and then run to make money in some way or other. An era may be ending but another one will start in its place, who knows what that may be but I can never see ‘greed’ and the ‘need to make money’ ending.
I cannot see our ability to just go out and buy what we want off the shelf carrying on for too much longer. Inflation coupled with restrictions in supply = a literal collapse of our economy as we have known it. We are currently being buttered up to see this as acceptable. Drip feed of media reports to normalise it when it happens. It’s inevitable, any economist must realise.
On Black Friday I will be getting annoyed at all the emails from Amazon. 
