11/26/10...BE THERE

[stumpfreeman]

The recession is NOT over in the housing/construction industry. Matter of fact, it may get worse before it gets better. If you don't think that will influence the rest of the economy again eventually, you are kidding yourself.

[MasterOfTheDark]

Originally Posted by wolffer12

LOL at the recession being over.. LOL

hahahahaha....recession over......ahahahahahahahahahahhahahahahahahaa

No offense guys, but responses like these are hardly worth responding to because they come across as quite uninformed.

Check whatever source you believe to be credible, but the recession ended quite some time ago for the country as a whole. That doesn't mean everything is all hunky dory in every single city or state or anything, simply that things are not anywhere close to as dire this year as they were last year.

[MasterOfTheDark]

Originally Posted by stumpfreeman

The recession is NOT over in the housing/construction industry. Matter of fact, it may get worse before it gets better. If you don't think that will influence the rest of the economy again eventually, you are kidding yourself.

True, the housing sector is still struggling, but that was expected. Everyone knew the housing bubble was going to pop, the only question was "when?". And it will take awhile to recover and it probably won't reach the prior levels for decades, but that's what bubbles do. No different than the gold bubble. Gold is through the roof and once that bubble pops, it will be a very long time before gold ever reaches the current levels again.

However, with all of that said, the housing industry will affect the market, but it won't cause the recession to start again.

[kevinshreves]

Originally Posted by MasterOfTheDark

No offense guys, but responses like these are hardly worth responding to because they come across as quite uninformed.

Check whatever source you believe to be credible, but the recession ended quite some time ago for the country as a whole. That doesn't mean everything is all hunky dory in every single city or state or anything, simply that things are not anywhere close to as dire this year as they were last year.

You sure about that????

Unemployment rate---
9.6% in Oct 2010
9.3% for 2009

I still dont think we have seen the worse of it yet. It's kinda like a person that racks up credit card debt, eventually it will catch up with you. I think we are in the same boat.

[MasterOfTheDark]

Originally Posted by kevinshreves

You sure about that????

Unemployment rate---
9.6% in Oct 2010
9.3% for 2009

I still dont think we have seen the worse of it yet. It's kinda like a person that racks up credit card debt, eventually it will catch up with you. I think we are in the same boat.

There are a lot of factors that make up the determination of "recession" and employment is only one of them. With unemployment benefits being extended so much and for so long, it makes the official "rate" look a lot worse than it is. I've read a couple of articles recently on msnbc.com about people choosing not to work because they'd only make 5-10% more than what their unemployment checks are, so why bother?

I do agree that people rack up a lot more debt than they really should and it will bite them in the end.

This wasn't meant to be a political discussion at all, so I'll drop my end with this post. I just wanted to point out the fact that the recession is over and the number of businesses desperate for cash flow was almost cut in half, so that's likely a very big reason we didn't see the kind of Black Friday promotion we expected. We got spoiled last year due to the recession and things corrected themselves a bit this year. Wasn't just here at Blowout either, check that link I posted. 96% of businesses had killer deals last year compared to only 56% this year (and it will be even less next year). And of course the market was going to correct itself, that was expected, so I just wanted to point that out to those that might have overlooked it.

[wolffer12]

Gold is in a bubble lol.... Man you are full of them today.. How much gold do you own? My guess is none as most Americans don't own any.. So how can it be in a bubble?

[blingbrian]

why are we arguing about the economy. the whole point about all of this is that blowout sucked on black friday

[MasterOfTheDark]

Originally Posted by wolffer12

Gold is in a bubble lol.... Man you are full of them today.. How much gold do you own? My guess is none as most Americans don't own any.. So how can it be in a bubble?

If you care to learn a subject, here's a good read about the gold bubble and the author doesn't think we're there quite yet. I can grab links pointing to a gold collapse, but then you'd think I was biased, so here's a "fair" take on the subject:

Gold mania is here, but there's no gold bubble (yet) - MSN Money

[BroncosFAN#1]

I slept in because the wife didnt want me spending a bunch of money on cards. I wound up watching from about 11 eastern time and didnt refresh the screen every 10 seconds like last year. I think I would have bought a few of the earlier deals but Im glad I didnt waste to much of my time Friday. I may just take a break from wax for a while and just concentrate on my PC players and just buy nice singles. The sports card companies are turning into crap. Im so dissappointed in Certified last year which was my favorite product but now the RC freshman fabric autos are #d to 699 and 599 and thats just crap. It was the hottest stuff last year and this year, youll be able to find boxes of it 10 years from now. Topps is just copying formats from other companies. Oh well, its starting to get old

[highlaem]

Okay guys, I work in the financial industry - please no talk about the economy or gold or whatever... I work with that stuff 14 hours a day and I come here to get away! Personally, no one is really correct. Technically recession is over according to some key indicators, other key indicators point another way. Same can be said about gold as well.

But lets all agree on one thing, Andre Johnson won that fight over Finnigan!

[marino5084]

Originally Posted by MasterOfTheDark

There are a lot of factors that make up the determination of "recession" and employment is only one of them. With unemployment benefits being extended so much and for so long, it makes the official "rate" look a lot worse than it is. I've read a couple of articles recently on msnbc.com about people choosing not to work because they'd only make 5-10% more than what their unemployment checks are, so why bother?

I do agree that people rack up a lot more debt than they really should and it will bite them in the end.

This wasn't meant to be a political discussion at all, so I'll drop my end with this post. I just wanted to point out the fact that the recession is over and the number of businesses desperate for cash flow was almost cut in half, so that's likely a very big reason we didn't see the kind of Black Friday promotion we expected. We got spoiled last year due to the recession and things corrected themselves a bit this year. Wasn't just here at Blowout either, check that link I posted. 96% of businesses had killer deals last year compared to only 56% this year (and it will be even less next year). And of course the market was going to correct itself, that was expected, so I just wanted to point that out to those that might have overlooked it.

That's what the rich want you to think. Let me tell you how it really is. I was making $60,000 a year and lost my job a while ago. My unemployment is much less than 5-10% less than what I made.

So far the only leads I have found are making 40% or more, less than what I was making. Should I be forced to take that type of pay decrease. The reason a lot of people are still collecting is because companies are paying sh!t, because they can, due to all the people out of work.

Now if you have some answers for me, I'm listening, because I for one want to work.

[marino5084]

Originally Posted by highlaem

Okay guys, I work in the financial industry - please no talk about the economy or gold or whatever... I work with that stuff 14 hours a day and I come here to get away! Personally, no one is really correct. Technically recession is over according to some key indicators, other key indicators point another way. Same can be said about gold as well.

But lets all agree on one thing, Andre Johnson won that fight over Finnigan!

He did get 2 nice shots in at the end.

[Divino]

keep listening to CNN, and the dreams they lay out for you. I'm in the Architecture field, and this recession is far from over. Until the banks start loaning money again, we won't see the end for a while.

Believe me...I'm FAR from uninformed...but thanks anyways.

[ajbenson18]

Ha... wanna see where i live???

Video - Breaking News Videos from CNN.com - US town with a lot of jobs

Far from a recession here... it is an unreal scenario. Housing has doubled over the past two years. People crying for help (including us). It is unreal.

[MasterOfTheDark]

Originally Posted by marino5084

That's what the rich want you to think. Let me tell you how it really is. I was making $60,000 a year and lost my job a while ago. My unemployment is much less than 5-10% less than what I made.

So far the only leads I have found are making 40% or more, less than what I was making. Should I be forced to take that type of pay decrease. The reason a lot of people are still collecting is because companies are paying sh!t, because they can, due to all the people out of work.

Now if you have some answers for me, I'm listening, because I for one want to work.

I am far from rich, however I will stipulate that I'm in Texas and the recession didn't affect us much. We were the last state to enter the recession and the first state to come out of it.

I'm sure your unemployment is less than the 5-10% I mentioned, it varies by state as to what people receive, it isn't uniform. But there are a ton of people in that exact spot and it simply isn't worth it to them to work, or it makes little financial sense to do so (for example, the 10% more that they would make by working would be eaten up by fuel, day care, work clothes, etc).

Yes, companies are paying less than before. It is partly the fact that they don't have to pay more right now (like you said), coupled with a correction to the market. Payrolls got far too big for most companies and it bit them in the rear, so smart companies won't let that happen again. That means fewer workers and smaller salaries. I'd get used to it, because that's how it will be for decades.

As to answers, I'm not sure exactly what you want me to say. You want a job making that same $60,000 doing the same work? I wish you good luck in finding it, but honestly I wouldn't hold my breath (depending on what field you're in of course). I'm a bit confused when you say you want to work, but you're not working because you can only find jobs paying $36,000. Sounds more like you only want to work if that means getting the $60,000 you used to get... and there is a big difference in those two statements.

Now if your unemployment ran out, you'd be at one of those jobs making the $36,000. Of course you wouldn't be happy about it and you'd be looking for something better, but you'd be off the unemployment books, which is exactly what I mentioned to someone earlier about the unemployment rate being skewed and people choosing not to work.

The landscape has changed, and we ALL (and notice I said "ALL" - I'm part of "ALL") have to change along with it.

[hairysasquatch]

Originally Posted by wolffer12

LOL at the recession being over.. LOL

I don't often agree with Wolffer, but I think he is spot on here - MoD I want some of what you're smokin' man!!

[MasterOfTheDark]

Originally Posted by hairysasquatch

I don't often agree with Wolffer, but I think he is spot on here - MoD I want some of what you're smokin' man!!

How about what I'm reading instead?

Recession officially ended in June 2009

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The Great Recession ended in June 2009, according to the body charged with dating when economic downturns begin and end.

The National Bureau of Economic Research, an independent group of economists, released a statement Monday saying economic data now clearly point to the economy turning higher last summer.

The NBER said it "did not conclude that economic conditions since that month have been favorable or that the economy has returned to operating at normal capacity." Rather, it decided that June was when the economy hit bottom, and that it has been slowly but steadily growing since then.

"No, we are not still in a recession as some people have asserted," said Barry Ritholtz, CEO of Fusion IQ, a research firm based in New York. "No, it's not a depression. The wheel has turned, the trough is more than a year behind us. This is not a robust recovery, but the economy is now expanding, not contracting."

NBER declares recession ended in June 2009 - Sep. 20, 2010

No one is saying things are back to the way it used to be (at the top of the bubble), but we are certainly not in a recession anymore.

[MasterOfTheDark]

First I want to thank Blowout for being such an awesome place to buy cards and supplies from all year round. You guys do awesome work, I am a very satisfied customer, and I will continue to happily buy with confidence from Blowout.

I didn't expect this year's deals to be as good as last year's deals (we got spoiled by a terrible economy last year and this year it is much better), so price-wise Black Friday was about what I expected. There are some things worth mentioning though.

#1. Zero wrestling cases for the second straight year. Really? I know it is a rather small niche compared to the major sports, but when I see things like "High School Musical" getting listed, surely a case deal of some sort on the wrestling front was possible. Pointing out the box deals doesn't do any good since adding the shipping basically takes them back to the regular prices which leads me to...

#2. There has to be a better way when it comes to the shipping. The Ebay deals had free shipping and those boxes were $26.11. Blowout pays Ebay fees, Paypal/Credit Card fees, and shipping costs, but on the website shipping isn't included? Even though Blowout only pays Paypal or credit card fees on the transaction? I don't understand that at all. The only thing that makes sense on that is if Blowout is writing those boxes off as advertising. People see deals like that on Ebay and Blowout gets more business because of it. Anyway, figuring out something with the shipping would improve the Black Friday promotion.

#3. Site went down quick. So Facebook and Twitter was the only way to follow the deals. Well, there is a growing group of people that HATE both of those sites. I don't mean dislike them, or are annoyed by them, or roll their eyes at those site, I mean HATE those sites. And I am one of those people. Hey, some people like those sites, good for them. However, more and more people are being turned off to those sites. Anyway, before going to either one, I turned on all my adblockers and NoScript, and about two hours into the specials I just gave up. Why keep checking and giving those two sites the clicks? The Ebay deals were gone before they were listed, the site wasn't up, and even if it did load it was less than half the speed of dial up. On top of the fact that the deals weren't "amazing" (not bashing, it was about what I expected) and I knew the odds of a case deal on wrestling was slim to none. So why bother?

#4. What was with all of the retail product? You carry it, we know. Felt like it was being shoved down our throats though. I can't speak for everyone else, but if I want a retail product, I'll go down to Target or Wal-Mart, pick it up, go home, and open it. Instant gratification and for about the same price as the "deals" since shipping has to be added to those "deals".

#5. What is your time worth? Per hour I mean. This special ran 9 hours, so how much money would you have to save in order to sit at your computer clicking "refresh" a couple hundred times per hour for 9 straight hours? I'll admit I had fun with this promotion last year and I didn't buy anything until the "Finale of Finale's" at the end. But this year? I said earlier I quit about 2 hours into the promotion, it just wasn't worth my time. It would have taken an extremely good deal to have kept me around. So put yourself in the buyer's shoes as to what it would take for you to go through that, and then adjust from there.

#6. Isn't there a better way to make a ton of sales and make a ton of people happy other than who's the fastest on the trigger? Is having to rush and fight in order to get to buy something a bit silly? Reminds me of watching the herd of people blast through the doors of a retail store when it opens. Yuck. Please don't misunderstand, I had fun with last year's even though I didn't buy anything until the end, but it is more of a "been there, done that" kind of fun. Did it once, no need to do it again. And I can't imagine this kind of promotion is easy for you guys, I'm sure you're busting your tail all day during it (and long after it is over as well). There has to be a better way, and other websites gave a glimpse as to some ideas on how to do it.

Again, I want to thank Blowout for being so awesome all year round. I hope the points I've brought up are things that can be used as helpful observations for next year's Black Friday Blowout. Thank you again for all you do for us!

[Highcheese4U]

I don't know how my post got deleted from this thread but I will say it again. Blowout makes their money on 'shipping' for all the people that live out of the lower-48 because shipping charges are downright ridiculous for us! Doesn't matter how much you spend because their shipping calculator/software is the real thing that blows. I even brought it up to Pat I think before and there wasn't anything they would do.

Not to mention, those deals on ebay were pretty lame too because you couldn't even get through to the damn link!! Those are the only ones worthwhile. Shipping is only free when on ebay.

Don't believe the hype people..

[Boo]

Some of you guys don't understand that BO doesn't care if you didn't like the deals. I'm sure at least 90% of them still sold out without all of you buying. My only hope is that they find a way to let EVERYONE get a chance to get a deal, not just those with no lives who sat hitting F5 for 9 hours on Friday. One way to do that would be to limit each buyer to ONE special in the morning and ONE in the afternoon, then you would have to decide if you wanted to jump at something or wait to see what else there was coming up. Then at 4, everything left over if fair game to anyone.

[hairysasquatch]

Ohhh, so you have to hit F5?? Nowww I get it...

[hairysasquatch]

Originally Posted by MasterOfTheDark

How about what I'm reading instead?



NBER declares recession ended in June 2009 - Sep. 20, 2010

No one is saying things are back to the way it used to be (at the top of the bubble), but we are certainly not in a recession anymore.

Mmmmkay; no arguing with such a well-read person as you, I suppose. Keep reading/smoking, avoid looking out the window in places OUTSIDE your home state. Keep on believing in the merits of a jobless recovery.

[Highcheese4U]

Originally Posted by Boo

Some of you guys don't understand that BO doesn't care if you didn't like the deals. I'm sure at least 90% of them still sold out without all of you buying. My only hope is that they find a way to let EVERYONE get a chance to get a deal, not just those with no lives who sat hitting F5 for 9 hours on Friday. One way to do that would be to limit each buyer to ONE special in the morning and ONE in the afternoon, then you would have to decide if you wanted to jump at something or wait to see what else there was coming up. Then at 4, everything left over if fair game to anyone.

I do know that BO doesn't care...because if they did, things like what mentioned wouldn't still be an issue. Besides, the only thing they probably care about is the bottom line, it was never about being accomodating. That being said, I'm sure as long as they did reach their quota, things like limiting each individual to a certain amount would probably head to the back burner as well...

I know one thing tho, I'm not losing sleep over it!

[boxbust421]

I can't believe this thread is still so active four days later. Shouldn't we just let it go by now? Products were still cheaper than usual... If you wanted the box or case you knew what you were up against... There are plenty of holidays and mid week or even weekend sales to make up for what you couldnt get.

[JAMmedia]

Okay. So after reading all of the feedback, here is what we have:



Oprah = Blowout
Audience = everyone that tried to get Black Friday deals

Am I right?