Sunday, November 28, 2010

Black Friday. . . .afterthoughts

This from the Boston Globe shares more startling revelations. . . .akin to but more subdued that J's vibrant description. . . ;-)


The Boston Globe reports:

Gabrielle Mancuso, a nursing student and certified nursing assistant, adores shopping. American Eagle, TJ Maxx, H&M, those are her haunts. But with bad economic news bombarding her daily, there's something that brings the stylish Mancuso more pleasure than buying jeans and tops: returning those jeans and tops -- unworn.
"I get cash back," Mancuso, 19, of Franklin, explained as she browsed at the Prudential Center recently. "It's instant gratification."
...
"There's a weird euphoria when you return something," said Michelle Foss, 33, as she shopped. "You're relieved that it's coming off your credit card."

Unlike "wardrobers" - crooked shoppers who buy with the intention of using their purchases before returning them - returnistas are guilty of nothing more than a bad case of buyer's remorse. Some have lost jobs and know they shouldn't be shopping at all, others haven't seen a decrease in income, but worry they should be saving for an uncertain future. Some feel guilty about spending when others can't.

Most of us know the thrill of the buy, and perhaps both empathize and at the same time see the spiritual poverty in this behavior. There is sin here, and it includes the costs the behavior imposes on retailers and other buyers. At the same time, retailers know the thrill of the purchase, and have long used it in marketing.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Dunno, but it rings warning bells.

If those people are so stuffed in the head, if they are thrilled by something so nonsensical , then how the hell do these people relate to other people? What are their relationships like?
What is their sex life like?

Honest?

They aren't even honest with themselves for gawds sake!!!!!
Really!

I do despair for the human race some times....the other times I just try to ignore those crazies and get on with my patch.

Greg in Adelaide

Gary Kelly said...

Yes, most of us know the thrill of the buy, but not many of us know about the thrill of the not buy.

Now that I'm a pensioner restricted to a limited income, I've learned to save and be thrifty. And you know something? It's fun! Sometimes I feel like Scrooge McDuck gloating over his bathtub full of coins.

Yes, folks, swapping shopping for saving can be a real joy. It just takes a bit of getting used to.