Speak with your actions

ok, I posted this on Facebook... way too long for Facebook. I know of at least one person who is not on Facebook who checks this little blog sometimes still... so... copy and paste is easy.... I'm tired of people complaining about business starting black Friday sales early... we want them to, we keep telling them we like it, we speak with our dollars. If we didn't like it then simple accounting would make it unprofitable to be open on Thanksgiving or start sales early. It is ridiculous to blame a company for selling products, it's kind of the idea of a business. If you wanted to live in a place where there is no competitive market you live in the wrong country. I think it is great to not participate in sales or whatever doesn't appeal to you. The market reflects your decision. When more people join you, the market will reflect your opinion a little clearer. People forget that black Friday is an accounting term that describes when small companies that barely are surviving and operating in the red finally put themselves back in the black. They do that by making a larger than average number of sales around now because as a country we buy more goods at this time of year than any other. Giving gifts is supposed to represent Christ. We honor the tradition of the Magi who brought offerings to the new King of all. They tried to bring gifts fine enough to show their respect for his position and reign. I love giving something to someone that shows the level of appreciation I have for them being in my life. I don't think anyone should hurt themselves at anytime to please anyone else, and that stays true at Christmas. If you appreciate demonstrations of caring and respect that have nothing to do with money, then do acts of kindness and charity and put a nice note into someone's life and wish them all of the best. If you want to buy a meaningful good from a company that would perfectly show someone that you took the time to notice that they always carry an old travel mug, and that they like sparkly things, then that ridiculous sparkly travel mug on sale at Walmart might be the absolutely perfect way to show someone that you know them and care for them and notice the little things. Thanksgiving is not a religious holiday, my family would not feel less loved if I went to the store on a Thursday or early on Friday to get something. My feelings of Christ are not diminished when Hobby Lobby puts sparkly glass spheres on their shelves a week before everyone else. If the opportunity cost of using that square footage for Christmas goods was so great that it would've been better to leave up fall decor, I bet they'll correct that marketing decision when they have data that shows them that. If you feel that society is going in the wrong direction then I encourage you to get people to show that they agree with you by changing where they put their feet. There are so many wonderful ways to communicate your opinions now days. Slamming businesses for being a business feels like a less than effective use of your energy. It is not a business's job to decide for you how much money to send or when to spend it. The market represents the equilibrium where supply meets demand. If you don't like what is being supplied, change the demand instead of yelling at the suppliers.