Shoppers are reminiscing about the Black Fridays of the past, where customers would throw punches and wait in enormous lines for hours over a good deal.
The 2000s-2010s specifically was the peak of good Black Friday deals; this was evident in the chaos the deals created. One redditor recounted in a subreddit how when the the Xbox 360 came out in 2005, the then 19-year-old watched a child and senior citizen-aged woman get pushed for the last Xbox. In a 2012 interview with a local Fox station, one Victoria Secret worker described the chaos after their store’s doors opened on Black Friday. “Customers there went crazy, climbing up on the ‘panty bar,’ throwing clothes and boxes, pushing and shoving and trampling each other,” the worker recalled. And In 2014, the cops were reportedly called over a fight for a Barbie doll.
On the plus side, there hasn’t been a Black Friday-related death or injury since 2021, according to the Black Friday Death Count tracker. However, that indicates the deals in-store just aren’t as good these days.
TikTokers are putting this on the record in their viral videos. “Not to be a greedy a** f*cking b*tch, but the Black Friday deals this year—they don’t exist,” TikTok user Cody Jacob (@imcodyjacob) started his video, which was viewed over 3 million times.
Jacob, who said he is in the market for a Bluetooth speaker, showcased a deal from Best Buy. The Bluetooth speaker only has $20 sliced off the original price. “We can do better than that,” he said.
He then showcased a pair of Bluetooth speakers that are on sale for $15 less than their original price tag. A humidifier, he showed, is $5 off. “Oh, OK,” Jacob said. “Like, it would be cheaper for me to get a job at Best Buy, and then get it with the employee discount.”
He then featured some deals Target is offering, including $1 off a speaker.
“I don’t know which one of you needs to hear this, I want to kick sand in your face,” he concluded the video.
@imcodyjacob what happened to record breaking profits #blackfriday2023 #onlineshopping #tiktokshop #blackfriday #bestbuy #target #holidaycountdown #holidayshopping #discount #moneysaving #bluetoothspeaker ♬ original sound – Cody Jacob 🍉
Viewers of Jacob’s video are now reminiscing about past Black Fridays. “Black Friday used to be like 70% off and now it’s only 20%,” the top comment on Jacob’s video reads.
“I miss mid 2000s and earlier black Friday deals where we left Thanksgiving to get in line and could be trampled. what a rush,” @beautylore said.
“Fr we want a $1,000 tv for $20. That was the whole point of the Black Friday frenzy,” @youzets98 wrote.
The Daily Dot reached out to Jacob via email as well as to both Best Buy and Target via press email.