Following up on another post (as a dispatch from a local mega mall)....

[Aviation Pro]

...I went to Office Depot today, there were three employees on the floor, there was one customer (me). I was approached by each employee and asked if I needed any help (I didn't) and I thought to myself, how foretelling. This Friday will probably be the worst Black Friday ever and will live up to its real meaning.

I also thought the following, when it comes to the bottom line there are just handful of scumbags who caused this and the country and world should bring these motherfuckers to justice.

From another DU correspondent: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x4522925

[eleny]

1. Husband was at Lowes this afternoon

He said it was crowded - very unusual since today is a "Bronco Sunday" and the game was on when he was there. And that store is hardly every busy.

So I'm concluding that people are doing things themselves these days to save money. My guy was there to get some plumbers putty so he can install our new garbage disposal. We're only replacing it because it started to leak.

[Aviation Pro]

2. I saw that in Southland too, Lowe's parking lot was packed....

...but poor Office Depot had four cars.

[eleny]

6. Hubby needs a new office chair

I'm going to go over there this week. I want to support my local store. they always have great chairs on deep sale. I think the time is now. Jeez.

[NC_Nurse]

3. Costco was hoppin'. In fact, we got out of there as quickly as we could due to

the massive crowd. I was afraid we might get run over with one of their jumbo carts!

[MamaDem]

4. I was at one of the huge outlet malls in Orlando today..

and it took FOREVER to find a parking place. My daughter needs a jacket (yes, it does actually get cool here) and the shop we were in was packed but only one person at check-out and no wait. Seems like a lot of lookers but not a lot of shoppers. We bought just a few things and were in and out in about an hour or so. The mega-mall, on the other hand, looked pretty slow for the weekend before Thanksgiving.

Orlando's a little tricky, because of the tourism. The really telling thing is the local malls and not the tourist ones. The mall near our home is dead. I'm pretty sure the Dillards is closing, which sucks, and the Circuit City is closing.

I'm trying to think of gifts to give that are homemade this year - I just don't want to shop even though we really aren't hurting (yet). I just feel the need to hold back and save every dime we have.

[Sydnie]

5. Black Friday is not called Black Friday as in a bad day on the stock market

It is called Black Friday because it is usually the day when under performing businesses make the majority of their money for the year, thus taking them out of the red and into the black.

If sales are as bad as anticipated, it will remain Red Friday and then we will be in serious doodoo.

[buckettgirl]

7. It only follows though...

that people aren't spending money, and that ALOT of the money spent for holidays of the past few years has all been done on credit - so people didn't really have the money to begin with and were spending anyway.
Now, they just have no credit and are stuck spending only what they can afford.
Its a hard lesson all the way around. . . and we're the ones the paying the price now.

Sadly enough, my husband and I could have one of the best christmas's ever in our house, but we just aren't up to spending the cash we have managed to stash away this year. . . we need to have all the cash we can "just in case" and that big 52" LCD just somehow doesn't look so important anymore.

[lamp_shade]

8. JoAnn Fabrics Saturday was packed. I talked with several people who

are "making" gifts and decorations this year (unlike prior years) to save money. One gal I talked to said she's from a large family and this year they're not exchanging gifts.. only buying for the little ones.