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The Horror of Black Friday: Excerpt from a Lady's Journal

By Daneil Fletcher

I completely dragged myself out of bed Friday morning when I heard the shattering buzz of the alarm clock at 4:30 am. I showered, combed my hair, dressed up and put my lipstick on. A girl like me has to look fabulous at all times. You never know who you're going to meet. I've been anticipating this day for weeks now, who doesn't like treating themselves? I finally began my journey only to see what I would describe as a freak show!

Noisy crowds, long lines and packed parking lots to heavy traffic. Store aisles were jammed. Escalators were nonstop people. It was the first day of the Christmas shopping season and despite the economy, folks here went on a buying spree.

We've all heard and experienced the horror of Black Friday like it's almost another episode of " The Survivor" where people fight, literally, for the best bargains and deals. People were actually pushing me to get what I saw first.

Almost defeating the purpose of a reason for excitement when I woke up this morning, noon came and retailers pulled the plug on the bargains. I didn't get half the stuff on my list and the day of deals was over. What to do? I got in my car and waited almost an hour to get out of the parking lot. Frustrated, tired and beaten down, I spent the rest of my day just relaxing.

Later that night, I had one of those light bulb experiences. I was chatting with my gal friend about the fabulous stuff I did manage to get at super prices but then I had a remorseful feeling about how stupid I was for wasting all that time and energy when I could have gone online on any given day and got better prices.

Typed in "shop online" and came across the term "cyber monday on PriceforSure.com" For those of you who are not quite familiar with it, this new term applies to the Monday after Thanksgiving when consumers return to work to take advantage of shopping online with fast broadband connections. So I'm really excited about that.

I managed to take a look at this site PriceforSure.com, and not only do they have great deals for Cyber Monday but you can compare the same products at different prices from over 1 million stores on the internet. What that means is snatching deals for the lowest prices ever. It's a keeper; for my social life as well as social network + comparison shopping. What more can a girl ask for? Maybe I'll live to find the love of my life right here; joking-psyche!

Do you think that our shopping habits are evolving? Are consumers more likely to purchase something online at work than braving the storefront crowds? Or do you think that consumers will opt to jostle for position outside the nearest bargain?

You Decide.