AP: How holiday shoppers are getting smarter

[Omaha Steve]

http://apnews.excite.com/article/20141205/us--holiday_shopping-smarter_shoppers-3_ways-85eea64502.html

By ANNE D'INNOCENZIO

NEW YORK (AP) — Shoppers are getting smarter.

The start of the holiday shopping season shows a simple discount, even a big one, isn't always enough to lure people to buy. Shoppers can sniff out a legitimate deal from a fake one and are even leaving items in online shopping carts as reminders to look for a better bargain.

Shoppers with more knowledge and new patience may have contributed to the less-than-stellar turnout over Thanksgiving weekend, the traditional kickoff of holiday shopping.

Stores heavily discounted holiday merchandise days and even weeks before Black Friday. That gave shoppers plenty of opportunities to avoid the big lines.


FILE - In this Nov. 28, 2014 file photo, a Target shopper uses her iPhone to compare prices at Wal-Mart while shopping after midnight in South Portland, Maine. Savvy shoppers are using the vast information at their fingertips to wring ever-better deals or offers. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty, File)

FULL story at link.

[AndreaCG]

1. I found the Black Friday and cyber Monday deals

To be totally underwhelming. Maybe the after Christmas sales will be better.

[greatlaurel]

2. Your observation is accurate. None of the ads had anything that looked like a deal.

We are shopping at stores that were closed on Thanksgiving and looking for American made merchandise, especially from local artists. Our budget is greatly reduced thanks to the increases in health care costs thanks to our GOP run state government. Stores like Walmart that support the ALEC backed politicians will get none of our very limited holiday shopping, either.

The ads for the big stores just do not have anything that looks interesting at all. I noticed that cheaply made, easily broken and ridiculously overpriced head phones seem to be featured in a lot of the ads.

Good post!

[SunSeeker]

3. Good point about the headphone ads.

Every store seems to be pushing those Dr. Dre Beats headphones in the $200 range. Why would anyone pay that for headphones?

[greatlaurel]

6. I cannot imagine who pays that for plastic headphones that will snap in two in no time at all.

One of my kids found a pair of headphones that are made of wire instead of plastic. He has had them more than 4 years and they still work perfectly. Do not remember the brand, but they were not more than 50 bucks.

I noticed the headphones advertised everywhere. Then we walked into a Radioshack looking for a pencil sharpener. There must have been a couple of hundred headphones lining the walls. It was bizarre. They will never sell those in the little town where they are located.Of course, Radioshack no longer carries pencil sharpeners. The one we bought there 20 years ago just wore out. It was a great little appliance, so they no longer sell such merchandise.

[LeftyMom]

7. The thing is they're not especially great headphones.

You can get better for less, but you won't see them advertised on TV constantly and they don't pay celebrities to wear them.

[jmowreader]

8. The question is, why would anyone pay $200 for THOSE headphones?

Sennheiser HD380 phones are about the same money, and they're twice the headphones.

[Arcanetrance]

9. Personally I own a $200 pair of sennheiser studio headphones

I bought them for when I was in a band and doing music. I'm not sure of the beats but someone told me they're supposed to compete with studio quality headphones but personally I see them closer to a fashion accessory

[LeftyMom]

5. We got a pretty decent deal on a couple of mattresses.

Not so much because OMG BLACK FRIDAY!!1! but because we're moving we needed to buy them, but a pretty sweet sale didn't hurt.

[SunSeeker]

4. Best Buy was particularly obnoxious with their big Black Friday door buster promos.

They only had a small number of each item, and you had to wait in line all day to get a ticket for the opportunity to buy one of those items. I just bought my son's laptop elsewhere, even though I paid $50 more. My time--and sanity--is worth it!