Economy Not So Bad That People Won't Line Up To Buy A New Gadget
from the phone-lines,-not-breadlines dept
So, the economy is collapsing, consumer spending is way down, banks and auto companies are on the verge of going out of business, unemployment is up, foreclosures are up, and some might have you believe that we're heading back to Great Depression style bread and soup lines. Luckily, it looks like we're not quite there yet, as plenty of folks seemed willing to line up, not for some free grub, but to get the latest hot new phone, the Blackberry Storm. Apparently, we haven't quite entered Great Depression territory yet.
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Filed Under: blackberry storm, economy, lines
Companies: rim
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Then again
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Re: Then again
"moron"? angry much??
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Re: Then again
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more significant?
also people like free things, even vegetables. Very generous of the farm owners no doubt.
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yeah
Sure, it's more significant. These are perishable goods, pick more than a weeks worth and you're probably wasting your time. How many people do you know these days who will brave that kind of traffic, trudge through dirty fields, and pick their own free vegetables to save just a few bucks? 40,000 people showing up to pick through an already harvested farm is a big deal when farmers usually HAVE to resort to migrant workers to get their fields harvested to begin with. 40,000 people (4 times normal) showing up at a field in Colorado is a big deal, we're not talking about a stadium in a big city.
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Re: yeah
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Re: Re: yeah
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Re: yeah
Brave traffic? Uh, lots. They're the same people that will be standing in line at Best Buy at 3:00am Friday. Trudge through muddy fields? The same people who normally PAY to do the same thing at self-pick farms all over the Midwest.
Plus, I would do it, and I don't fit in either category. It's not just a matter of saving money. Farm-fresh vegetables are FAR better than anything you can get in the grocery store.
The only thing weird about this is that the farm offered everything for free. There is nothing too surprising about the turnout. I live in Kansas City, and one of the suburbs has a biweekly (twice a week) Farmer's Market. Hundreds of people show up every Wednesday. Thousands show up every Saturday. And these are all people paying for stuff.
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Mike again sets up a straw man argument
Is the purchase of a gadget by some a new economical bell weather barometer?
Phew - I guess we are going to be ok as long as sales of the Storm are good!
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Re: Mike again sets up a straw man argument
Here is an article for you:
"CR found that, unsurprisingly, the number of folks hitting the stores is higher this year despite the economy's current position in the proverbial shitter"
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Re: Re: Mike again sets up a straw man argument
http://gizmodo.com/5093681/consumer-reports-survey-details-americas-black-friday-spending-plan s
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Re: Re: Re: Mike again sets up a straw man argument
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Re: Mike again sets up a straw man argument
Seriously though, the point is the economy is in trouble but possibly not as bad as one would think.
Myself? I'm worried. I keep hearing how the economy is in rough shape but I personally was able to afford to buy a new car, which they happily gave me a rock bottom price for without much effort on my part. On top of that, all my other spending has either stayed the same or gotten cheaper (fuel mainly for the latter).
So I'm not really noticing an economic downturn. JP Morgan bought my bank but its business as usual in that regard too.
So I'm worried. If we are 'heading for another Great Depression' it is going to happen quick for some people. A lot of people around where I live aren't changing their spending habits much, and things haven't been getting more expensive by a whole lot.
It's scary, and even scarier when you can't see a change but everyone tells you its coming.
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Re: Re: Mike again sets up a straw man argument
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Not Everybody was Broke ...
Items are still purchased during a depression, normally just fewer of them and at a lower price.
On a separate note re: "Farm-fresh vegetables are FAR better than anything you can get in the grocery store." ... where exactly do the items in a grocery store come from????
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Re: Not Everybody was Broke ...
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Re: Not Everybody was Broke ...
They are imported.
There's nothing better than a good, fresh tomato. Most Tomatoes are picked, and boxed in an unripened state. They are green!
To fix this, and turn them red, a little organic chemistry is employed: Prior to shipping, they are sprayed with ethylene. Ethylene is a ripening agent, and by the time they get to the grocery store, even in the absense of light, they are (vola!) red.
But as any good tomato connoisseur knows, these imported tomatoes are still biologically unripe, and hard like a baseball because they remain filled with un-broken down starch. Ethyline has three benefits- 1.) It prevents bruising while on their 5,000 mile journey from the plantation, 2.) It increases shelf life as the tomato runs through a complex import/export supply chain process 3.) it still looks appealing wile on grocery store displays for a month.
Point is, there's nothing like the real "Organically ripened" blend.
To further illustrate my point, please ask someone to throw an organic tomato along with one of the imported-variety at you. I imagine you'll appreciate the organic version- it won't feel like a softball as it hits your back because it's actually ripe.
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Re: Not Everybody was Broke ...
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Free food.
Has anyone (reading this) evey ventured to a gas station radio event where something (anything) was given away free. From Bumper stickers to a free t-shirt you will indeed get HUGE lines, even in the strongest Reagan economy.
The population is responsable for how they fair this economic "slump". I see News coverage of Mr. and Mrs. "smith" loosing their house etc. This early in the game its most assuridly thier inability to live within their means apposed to the fault of the bank. When you live using every cent of your income ANY change will result in severe concequence.
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Re: Free food.
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Re: Free food.
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A couple minor points....
The issue at hand today isn't (for the majority) of people living beyond their means, it's loans made by banks that are WEAK. Meaning, you shouldn't be allowing Senior Citizens on a fixed income take out a Mortgage on their home for $80,000 when all they have to live on is Social Security. The LOGICAL next step is foreclosure in this case, and every case like it.
For the Colorado Farm, let's re-tell this story in 4 months, when we find the local animals going hungry. Sure, it sounds like a great idea, but when you think that here's a real STAPLE of the local wilderness during winter, then you have to begin to look at things in balance. When there are MILLIONS of pounds of food being disposed of by the Grocery Stores weekly, I think to open a field to be picked over is a bit over the top right now.
I'm all for doing things for the poor, trust me I'm one of them, but let's not all jump too quickly to this idea that we are in a Depression. It's hard, but all that means is I won't be giving away Christmas Gifts or having Thanksgiving Dinner, I still have food to eat and a place to live. What we need to do is get the FOOD into the hands of people that need it, not that want it.
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I have a job
We can still afford our gadgets, especially with costs coming down all around us (anybody else save a ton a gas as compared to the summer?)
The great depression was great for people who managed to keep their jobs and kept the same pay. That would have been the equivalent of a huge pay increase!
PS - Lining up to get a gadget on the first day is kind of silly
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I am currently unemployed, not because of any market segment downturns, but because the company that bought the place I worked at are complete idiotic morons that couldnt work their way out of an open ziplock baggie. Im also not worried that i will not find another job. I will, there are plenty of jobs out there to be had.
this kind of gloom and doom "we are headed back to the great depression" talk always happens when there is a large market bubble that bursts. You want to help the economy? make SMART purchases in the market sectors that are in need of help.
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No new gadgets for techdirt punks
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oh FYI guys, this rescission started over a year ago.
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Re:
noun
Maybe you mean "recession." Can't anyone even ATTEMPT to spell?(law) the act of rescinding; the cancellation of a contract and the return of the parties to the positions they would have had if the contract had not been made; "recission may be brought about by decree or by mutual consent."
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poor coward
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