How was your Thanksgiving? Did you eat a lot of turkey, watch football, and fall asleep? You are not alone. Did you go shopping the next day, taking advantage of big sales for the opening of Christmas shopping season? If so, then you were not alone there, either.

In fact, the Friday after Thanksgiving has been called Black Friday because of the heavy traffic it generates. The term originated in Philadelphia in the 60's, but then during the 80's it morphed into explaining the name, "Black Friday," as being due to the fact that so many retailers depend on Holiday shopping to take them out of the "Red" and into the "Black." In traditional accounting red ink shows losses and black ink is for profits.

Though this is a less negative way of looking at it, for Retail Store employees, bus drivers, cab drivers, and police, the original meaning is likely to resonate.

In many cities it is not uncommon to see shoppers lined up hours before stores with big sales open. Once inside, shoppers often behave like pirahnas in a feeding frenzy, as many stores have only a few of the "door busters," the big draw items. On occasion, injuries and even fatalities are reported; last Friday, a worker at a Wal-Mart in Valley Stream, New York was trampled to death by shoppers who broke through the store's glass doors minutes before the store's scheduled opening at 5:00 am; a pregnant mother was hospitalized from injuries in the same human "stampede", though early reports of a resultant miscarriage were determined to be in error. And in Palm Desert, California two people shot and killed each other after arguing over an item in a Toys R Us store.

For economists looking to see how the Holiday Shopping Season would do, Black Friday had a higher turn out than expected. But they still expect sales to be way down this year.

Today, or the Monday after Thanksgiving, is now being referred to as "Cyber Monday." That is because workers returning to the office on Monday often use the broad band available on their work computers to do online shopping. Cyber Monday is getting to be less dramatic as more consumers have broadband at home, and don't have to depend on their office computers for online shopping. People are getting a jump on Cyber Monday by starting to shop online on Thanksgiving. Online Shopping is getting bigger every year, and there are lots of sales and incentives to get people on there. It is fairly easy to find free shipping, and other discounts.

So, there are lots of bargains out there, but be careful, both online and off!!!!!

Happy Holidays,

Chris Craddock, Realtor

The Key to Bakersfield Real Estate

Chris@ChrisCraddockRealtor.com

http://www.ChrisCraddockRea...