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Record-Breaking Black Friday For eBay's PayPal
adeelarshad82 writes "eBay's PayPal division reported that PayPal processed 20 percent more transactions on Black Friday compared to last year. PayPal didn't release the total payment volume, but claimed that its Payflow Gateway system processes nearly a quarter of e-commerce, while its direct sales numbers reflect 12 percent of all e-commerce. In general, reports from a number of e-tailers and retailers indicated that consumers spent more on Black Friday than in 2008, when the United States was in the midst of a recession. However, it's still unclear whether shoppers bought more on Black Friday, when they could expect a discount on what usually is one of the busiest days in the holiday season, or whether the pattern will continue. In 2008, shoppers stopped buying in early December, a shock that the US economy felt well into 2009."
How did your Black Friday turn out? Did you wait in endless lines and contribute to the trampling deaths of fellow shoppers, sit at home and help take down your favorite online retailer's servers, or eschew the process altogether?
We don't have "Black Friday" here, but I noticed Steam has also been having five-day-long every-day-new-games discount on games, usually ranging as 33-75% discount. Since they actually have good games there on sale, with a good percentage off, it's been leading me and many of my friends to buy the games that look interesting now. People have been buying those LucasArts and THQ Complete Packs and many single games (I bought Borderlands, City of Heroes and LucasArts pack last night) Since PayPal also processes purchases for Steam, some of the increase probably comes from it too - there are hundred thousands players buying those games now.
I didn't buy more because I didn't even know about the special day. But I bought when I saw the discounts. I'm a lazy guy so I wouldn't go fighting in stores anyway (and I hate all that crowd), but these discounts surely lead to some impulse buying on Steam. And it still continues for a few days, oh man.
People buy on special occasions. People buy even more when they know things will be cheap.
Let me give you an example.
If a pizza place advertisers for weeks that on this exact day all the pizzas will be just $2, and there will be hookers, and there will be free beer, and there will be rock music, people will come in and buy. And they will come in as a big crowd. So big that if everyone orders a combination of sweet Italian sausage, pepperoni, Canadian bacon, Capicola ham, julienne salami, Mozzarella cheese in BBQ sauce, there will not be enough for everyone. But the business will flower and they get great returns as so many people rush in.
This same thing happens everywhere, so why not online too?
They wait in lines in front of stores 2 days before Black friday. I find most of my tech/entertainment deals online (amazon, newegg) with no hassles of going into crowded stores. Some of the B&M retailers even have deals where you can order the stuff online and ship it for cheap or free.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/29/business/29walmart.html
He was exaggerating about this year I think (not seen any trampling to death news reports), but it happened last year on Black Friday.
I did all my online shopping Thursday morning... If not cooking, or while taking a break from the cooking, assuming the house is "decorated" enough, there is nothing else holiday related left to do.
"Science flies us to the moon. Religion flies us into buildings." - Victor Stenger
Spent my day drinking with my girlfriend.
Screw deals. Booze and women are were it's at.
Non impediti ratione cogitationus.
How did your Black Friday turn out?
What is a "Black Friday", why is it black, why is it a Friday, and why is it important?
Pass ... online retailers up the price just to reduce it ... will wait for the deals which await when shopping grinds to a halt in December again.
I went to ZERO stores. I spent all my money online. I got deals from newegg that worst buy and the others could not touch even after shipping. Plus I did not have to stand in line for hours to get a chance as a cupon to buy a item, or elbow idiots in the face to stop crushing my wife. 4 years ago was the LAST time we went to a store on Black friday. She suffered 2 broken ribs and I had to physically assault 10 people to protect her from more harm.
I'm never going into a store for a black friday thing ever again, I can get better deals, save more, and do it in comfort away from the mobs of morons that lose all social ettiquette like not crushing people for some stupid shiny.
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
That America is a country of weak-minded sheep.
http://www.sacbee.com/static/weblogs/photos/2009/11/black-friday.html
bing offered quite a bit of cashback (up to 20% on dell and 10% on ebay) to any user with a paypal account starting on black friday
"Black Friday" is the Friday after Thanksgiving in the U.S. Thanksgiving is always the last Thursday in November. It is "Black" because retailers throughout the country count on the Christmas shopping season for the majority of their yearly profits. In other words, it is the day beginning the season when they hope to bring themselves "into the Black" (on an accounting sheet "Red" ink is used to indicate money owed, "Black" ink to indicate money made). If a retailer is "in the Red" they owe their suppliers more than they've taken in. If they are "in the Black" they have made a profit.
As far as why it is important? IT ISN'T. Not anymore. Whether or not retailers have a "good year" is now irrellevant to the U.S. economy. I've been carefully watching what is for sale in stores and almost none of it is manufactured in the U.S. So buying a bunch of stuff made in other countries (especially using further consumer debt) will do absolutely ZERO to improve the U.S. economy. Everyone should refuse to buy anything this year except for necesseties. If you want to give gifts for the spirit of the season, buy only locally made goods and services. Here are some suggestions:
ANY of the above are 100% guaranteed to be better for the U.S. economy. If everyone did one of the above, the economy would be 100% back on its feet in no time flat.
Over-the-top Response Guy! Giving "Over-the-Top Responses" since 1970.
I had forgotten entirely about the "Cyber Monday" idea until some spam helpfully reminded me. If online sales switch to Friday, I'd be sad to see our most doubly-entendred day disappear.
Must have sucked to be a walmart greeter on black friday. Good to see that online sales are becoming more of the norm.
I know, that's heresy in the US at Christmas time.
It's NOT me! It's the meds! I'm on 1000mg of Fukitol.
You are not a "Conscientious American". You sir, are a piece of shit! I say, try "exporting all the White Trash". They will fucking kill you! You are a complete asshole. What is so great about the JUNK selling in the stores. It is all complete crap! Any time you want, you and I can go toe to toe. I'll stand for my countrymen. You are a piece of garbage.
Over-the-top Response Guy! Giving "Over-the-Top Responses" since 1970.
That's what eBay/PayPal is known for anyway.
Yesterday I was cold (older houses in California are not insulated, so even though it is only 55 degrees Fahrenheit outside it is still freezing in my office.) I thought, I should go buy some long underwear. Then I remembered what day it was, and put on a hat instead. Also, a friend from Japan posted on Facebook "What is black Friday?" My answer: "It is a day Americans commemorate the blackness of their souls by leaving what should be the joy of the company of their families to spend money they don't have on shit they don't need."
San Francisco Photographers
Do you mean that those recordspending whatever moments mean that the public knows that the system is gonna crash? That they spend it before it is too late?
PayPal processed 20 percent more transactions on Black Friday compared to last year.
I didn't buy anything this black friday, not even online. But I can certainly see how paypal's volume would be up - so many credit card issuer's are screwing themselves by jacking up the fees now that it makes more sense to use paypal to transfer directly from your checking account than it does to use a credit card.
The fee that pushed me over the edge are these new "foreign transaction fees" - not "foreign currency exchange fees" but simply "foreign transaction fees" - almost all the major banks are charging a couple of percent for any transaction even vaguely outside the local borders. I bought two things on ebay via paypal but with my credit card - the transactions were back to back on my statement and one of them had a ~$1 extra tacked on for this "foreign transaction fee" because the seller was in canada - even though the statement showed identical entries for the merchant field (paypal, there address in california and their phone number in california). Even though the auction and payment was in US dollars and through paypal - Bank of America slammed me with this ridiculous fee on one charge but not the other. The next week I purchased an online game subscription in us dollars, but apparently the parent company is in germany so wham another 50 cent fee out of nowhere.
When you can't tell at the point of sale what the total cost will be, then that is a huge incentive to move to a different method of payment where the costs are known up front. Dumbass Bank of America has lost the revenue from ~$1000 worth of monthly online purchases but they nailed me for just under $2 in abusrdist fees, hope it was worth it!
(And when I called to register a complaint, the dumbass service representative spent 15 minutes trying to convince me that the government has made these new fees mandatory and that it wasn't BoA's fault (which is utter bullshit, confirmed on sites like the consumerist and bankrate), when all I wanted him to do was write down that I was unhappy about the fees because there was no way to know up front if the fee would apply or not)
When information is power, privacy is freedom.
Obvious.
What will ever happen next... People buying chocolate for easter?! Blasphemy.
It's the time of year to celebrate many different things religious or religion-derived. So true to form the marketoids come up with a name that not only ignores the origin of the celebrations but also ignores itself, instead focusing entirely on the only thing the marketoids can perceive, making money.
Every time I see the words I cringe. How do you answer "How did your Black Friday turn out?" Well, let's see. I went to a leadership seminar hosted by Charles Manson then had lunch with Jeffery Dahmer. After lunch I signed up for flying lessons so I can learn to fly an airliner, but not land it.
"I may be synthetic, but I'm not stupid." -- Bishop 341-B
Bzzzt. Thank you for Playing. I donated over $4,000.00 to Barrack Obama's campaign.
Over-the-top Response Guy! Giving "Over-the-Top Responses" since 1970.
I stand corrected. But, not really relevant to the point.
Over-the-top Response Guy! Giving "Over-the-Top Responses" since 1970.
And how is this different from any other country? 50% of people are BELOW AVERAGE on ANY measure you care to choose.
Over-the-top Response Guy! Giving "Over-the-Top Responses" since 1970.
Financial Services? Yeah, that is something. Fuck You! Real Americans (White, Black, Hispanic, whatever) will soon see the likes of you in the Gallows!
Over-the-top Response Guy! Giving "Over-the-Top Responses" since 1970.
What the fuck? You can't justify being an asshole by voting for Barack Obama. Who cares how much you donated? There are plenty of wealthy successful asshole Democrats. Trust me, I am related to some of them.
And if it makes a difference to you,
I also voted for Barack Obama.
I'm calling your bluff. Let's go there. Let's see where things end up.
Over-the-top Response Guy! Giving "Over-the-Top Responses" since 1970.
Haven't got any. I, unlike you, live within my means. Still, my point remains valid. There is absolutely NOTHING in it for the average American to continue to go an buy things for Christmas in order to prop up the economy. That is a fantasy that far too many have been sold on for far too long. Frankly, there is not one thing imported that this country needs (besides Oil). All the rest of the crap everyone buys is a bunch of over-marketed hype. Shove it up your ass!
Over-the-top Response Guy! Giving "Over-the-Top Responses" since 1970.
...who are you going to send to collect? Anyone? Buehler?
Over-the-top Response Guy! Giving "Over-the-Top Responses" since 1970.
How did things get this way? How did the U.S. go from being the world's preeminent manufacturer to today? You would like everyone to believe it is because Americans are Lazy and Stupid. Sorry, but, you are in for a BIG SURPRISE.
It happened because, in this country, people gave a damn about one another and so pushed/fought for worker protections, health care, job safety, living wages, and a modicum of respect. They fought (with their blood) to not have factories dumping toxic pollutants into their water supply and poisoning their environment for themselves, and their progeny. They fought to have some semblance of a fair and equitable society where even the least amongst us could live with some dignity.
Then, along came the profiteers, regrouping, realizing that they had lost the battle here and they could no longer exploit the American worker. But, here, there, and everywhere they saw where the poor of the world could be exploited while at the same time undercutting the advancement of their own countrymen. They gave not a hoot for their fellow Americans, just like they give not a hoot for anyone else in the world. The only thing the believe in is enriching themselves, no matter the expense to others.
That's OK, the people of America will RISE UP! They will grab their guns and their ammunition. They will suffer what they must suffer and they will BURY YOU! We are not cowardly livestock waiting for you to dole out our daily feed. We come from the stock of pioneers and risk-takers. For too long, the American people have been sung a lulla-bye to make them sleep. But, you shall see, the sleep will awaken!
You align yourself with those that would exploit the common man (American or otherwise) at your peril. The will of the many will surely put the egomaniacle few who think they are beyone reproach and are entitled to the fruits of others labors in the gallows. They will line them up against the wall and put a lead slug directly in their skull-cap. Make no mistake, your arrogance will be YOUR undoing!
Over-the-top Response Guy! Giving "Over-the-Top Responses" since 1970.
GLD closed at $80.31 last Black Friday and $155.06 this one. (GLD is an exchange traded fund that tracks the price of gold. One share is the price of 1/10th ounce. I use it as a proxy for the price of gold because it was quick to look up.
That says the price of gold went up by over 43%. Since gold is essentially stable in value, it says the Dollar inflated by about 43%. So if the sales, denominated in dollars, only went up by 20%, they dropped drastically (in terms of gold or a gold-backed currency).
(1.2 * 80.31 / 155.06) -1 = -37.85% Down by more than a third.
Bantam Dominique roosters crow a four-note song. Once you've heard it as "Happy BIRTHday" you can't NOT hear it that way
Some people climb Mt. Everest. Some people run with the bulls. I like to risk my life on Black Friday.
It's not even to get good deals. It's an attempt to enter a store, find an item, and leave with both the item and my health intact.
normally NE is the best. I do LOTS of business with them. more than I want to admit.
but let me say this upfront: the concept of 'doorbuster' does not, imo, apply to online stores.
that said, I got up an hour before 6am (pst) to be online and ready to order the netbook of my dreams.
I had my pc setup properly and all that. at 6am I keep refreshing until the new sale price appeared. added 1 (I'm not greedy; and I'll not go into THAT rant right now..) to my cart and tried to check out. it put me into a login cookie loop (I can normally buy at NE easily; like I said at the start). for 10 minutes it played this game with me. finally I WAS able to complete checkout AND do the credit card thing AND do the verified-by-visa thing. I got the email saying I reserved one and I was all happy ...
until half an hour later when newegg sent an email to me saying they 'ran out' and, well, tough shit, basically.
LAME LAME LAME!
newegg sucked big-time this year. their server fell down on the job and the saled dept ordered only 1000 (from what I learned later on on the phone with them). they advertise a special and have probably 1/10 the supply for the demand.
POOR SHOWING NEW EGG! ;(
so, basically, I got nada. I wanted that one item (or something close) and they were all gone at the attractive prices. which was the only real reason to jump on a luxury (for me) item in this 'bad economy', to be serious.
no good deal == no sale. and NE's servers blew it (and their sales dept, as well).
--
"It is now safe to switch off your computer."
But, there is the technical meaning of "Average" and then there is the colloquial meaning. I was using the colloquial meaning, which is to say, average is 1/2 the members at or below, and 1/2 at or above. I know that isn't the correct mathematical meaning of average, but, it is the meaning that *most* average people think of.
Over-the-top Response Guy! Giving "Over-the-Top Responses" since 1970.
Well, as someone who created the software that managed the sales, finances, inventory, customer relationships, etc for a national retailer, I can say, without a doubt, that without Christmas, the company was a bust!
Over-the-top Response Guy! Giving "Over-the-Top Responses" since 1970.
The pen is mightier than the sword.
Yes, just words!
Over-the-top Response Guy! Giving "Over-the-Top Responses" since 1970.
You've been trolled. The guy clearly dislikes obama and was trying to parody his supporters.
When information is power, privacy is freedom.
What makes you think Gold is stable in value with respect to all other commodities?
Over-the-top Response Guy! Giving "Over-the-Top Responses" since 1970.
...the point still stands.
Over-the-top Response Guy! Giving "Over-the-Top Responses" since 1970.
Didn't I say they needed to STOP living this way?
Over-the-top Response Guy! Giving "Over-the-Top Responses" since 1970.
GLD closed at $80.31 last Black Friday and $155.06 this one. (GLD is an exchange traded fund that tracks the price of gold. One share is the price of 1/10th ounce. I use it as a proxy for the price of gold because it was quick to look up.
That says the price of gold went up by over 43%. Since gold is essentially stable in value, it says the Dollar inflated by about 43%. So if the sales, denominated in dollars, only went up by 20%, they dropped drastically (in terms of gold or a gold-backed currency).
(1.2 * 80.31 / 155.06) -1 = -37.85% Down by more than a third.
How does this relate to the USD, which is not gold-backed?
I agree that it's not *just* about "Buying American". The more important point is, you/we don't need to, and it is not desirable for ourselves, nor the economy as a whole, to continue to purchase a lot of useless junk manufactured in foreign countries using ever increasing amounts of consumer debt. If you really want to help the economy, then buy as local *as possible* (sometimes it isn't possible for something you need). Don't fall for all the marketing hype that says "you just HAVE to have this or that". Definitely don't buy the hype that for the U.S. economy to recover, you must continue to spend your hard-earned dollars on a bunch of junk manufactured in foreign countries using effectively slave labor. Ask yourself, "Who is selling this line? Who are the beneficiaries?"
Over-the-top Response Guy! Giving "Over-the-Top Responses" since 1970.
What does the IRS have to do with it?
Over-the-top Response Guy! Giving "Over-the-Top Responses" since 1970.