Two years ago my laptop died on me, weeks before Thanksgiving and the approach of finals.  I had never been shopping on Black Friday before, and didn’t have much intention of changing that status.  That was until I heard the deals available on laptops and saw that lines had already begun to form by 11 on Black Friday Eve.  On an impulse I dressed warmly, grabbed a blanket, a book and headed down to take my place in line.

I got in line about 11:30 pm and quickly realized how unprepared I had come.  Most people had come with teams so that they could take turns in line.  Others had brought tents, heaters, food, chairs, sleeping bags, TV sets etc.  It didn’t take long for me to rue not having prepared better.   There were moments I feared frost bite had set in.  I was deliriously tired and just miserable.  The lines didn’t stop even when I got in the store finally with my voucher.  The whole ordeal was almost a 12 hour experience.

I am actually writing this article on the laptop that I purchased that day.  I reflect on the price I had too pay and feel that it was too high.  When I refer to the price it is a direct reference to the experience.  It was so miserable; I came away with the conviction that I would never do that again.

I continue to wonder how this has become a social norm, Black Friday, camping out the night before.  This mentality extends to film and book releases, new restaurant openings.  I just don’t understand where this masochistic tendency stems from.  How is it that people can afford to invest so much time into these different scenarios? 

I suspect that it is in a large part due to loss framing.  Marketers create a sense of urgency by telling you that you could lose so much money if you don’t get to the store and save.  They limit offers.  I would suspect that there is also an element of elitism.  The idea of being the one who gains possession of anything considered a highly valued commodity is another source of appeal.  Of course motivations vary among shoppers, but their unified investment in Black Friday have made it almost a holiday of its own, and indicate that it will only grow bigger each year.