Black Friday Dirty Secrets: Limited Quantities and Derivatives
CNN has an article here that discusses some of Black Friday's "dirty little secrets." CNN writes that retailers may only have limited quantities of the doorbusters they list in Black Friday circulars. Another issue is that some of the electronics doorbusters may lack features. Some doorbuster items are even specially made for Black Friday.
CNN/Money reports that some of the Sears doorbusters are available in limited quantities.
Sears (SHLD, Fortune 500) has not officially revealed its Black Friday sales. However, the company confirmed to CNNMoney.com that two of its post-Thanksgiving deals include a Samsung 40-inch 1080p LCD HDTV for $599.99, "Only while quantities last, minimum three per store, no rainchecks."
The other is a Kenmore 3.5-cubic-foot high-efficiency washer and 5.8-cubic foot dryer pair for $579.98, "Limit four per store, no rainchecks."
"Sure, you probably have more, but how do you put out a circular to millions of households and only have three?," Dworsky asked.
Most shoppers are aware there are limited quantities which is why there are people lining up early outside.
Another issue mentioned in the article are some doorbuster electronics sold on Black Friday that lack features. These are known as derivatives.
The difference can be subtle. "The image contrast ratio might be 20,000 in a derivative model versus 30,000 in a standard model," he said. "Most consumers probably won't even notice the difference."
A report earlier this month in Consumer Reports called attention to HDTV models from Samsung and Sony advertised in Black Friday deals that appear to be "derivatives." The report said these one-off TVs "with unfamiliar model numbers" are usually cheaper than the standard model in their class.
Some may not mind if they buy a tv or blu-ray player is a derivative if the price is great but the CNN/Money article says retailers don't always advertise that the product is a derivative. This is unfair to consumers who might think they are buying something better than they are. A couple other Black Friday shopping woes mentioned in the article are online deals that never get shipped and in-store rainchecks that turn out to be an empty promise. The main issue consumers should watch out for are the limited amounts of doorbuster items and the derivative electronics.
