In a typical year, more than 160 million Americans wave off their Thanksgiving malaise and rush out to malls and big box stores, waiting in lines and wrestling with strangers to shop on what we now call Black Friday.
While it’s certainly the biggest shopping day, the name really sounds more like a plague (and some might argue that it is). History shows that Black Friday was also the name given to the historic stock market crash of 1929 that ushered in the Great Depression.
At Goodwill Central Coast, we believe that Black Friday should back off and give Thanksgiving some breathing room! There is an alternative to rising before the sun and joining the shopping frenzy with the mass of humanity that will spend a projected $60 billion at malls and big-box stores over the long weekend. By the way, that’s an average of roughly $1,000 per American family! And studies show that nearly 40 percent of shoppers put their purchases on a credit card, adding to the country’s crippling credit debt.
This year on the day after Thanksgiving, make your family a nice breakfast, avoid fighting hordes of fellow shoppers, cut back on holiday costs and find great clothes, gifts and decorations for your home at one of our 14 stores across three counties. Or go online and find a huge variety of products for sale at www.shopgoodwill.com.
Buy more for much less
Despite the discounts offered by the big box retailers, department and specialty stores, and online, it’s still difficult to beat Goodwill for the lowest prices in town. When you shop at GCC, you will spend less for brand-name clothing, books, housewares, and specialty items, including holiday decorations, music, sporting goods, and so much more.
Plus, at our outlet stores in Salinas and San Luis Obispo, you can always find incredible deals on just about everything. Items are sold in bulk at mere pennies per pound or individually priced. How about a golf bag for under $5, or an adult bike for less than $10? You never know what you might find, making the thrill of thrifting that much more fun.
Find unique treasures
Thrift shopping is known for its low prices, but smart Goodwill shoppers know they can find unique and name-brand items here as well. This Black Friday, when you shop at Goodwill, you could score upscale clothing, accessories, jewelry, shoes, handbags, and other designer-label items offered at a fraction of the cost of traditional retailers.
Each year, retailers open earlier and earlier during the Thanksgiving holiday to expand Black Friday shopping hours. While this may have eased the infamous long lines and crushing crowds to some extent, it’s still the biggest retail shopping day of the year, and you can expect there to be thousands and thousands of cars and shoppers out on Black Friday.
Avoid the crowds and lines by heading to your local GCC store instead. With 14 retail store locations conveniently spread across Monterey, Santa Cruz and San Luis Obispo counties, there is bound to be one near you.
It’s easy to see how shopping with Goodwill this Black Friday offers a better overall holiday experience. Say “goodbye” to spending too much money and wasting time in long lines at chain stores and “hello” to spending more quality time with family and friends. After all, that’s what the holidays are all about.
Feel-good purchases
When you shop at Goodwill on Black Friday (and all year round), you’re not the only one getting a great deal. Shopping at Goodwill gives you a chance to check off your gift list and reinvest in your local community. That’s because the money you spend in our stores helps fund Goodwill’s life-changing job training and employment services for friends and neighbors in your own community.