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On the topic of extended warranties

Jon Brooks — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 21:40:00 +0000

This post on the concept of extended warranties from late last year on the blog Economists Do It With Models includes this quote from the book Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, and Happiness, by Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein:

…the extended warranty is a product that simply should not exist. If Humans realized that they we paying twenty dollars for two dollars’ worth of insurance, they would not buy the insurance. But if they do not realize this, markets cannot and will not unravel the situation. Competition will not drive the price down, in part because it takes the salesperson a while to persuade someone to pay twenty dollars for two dollars’ worth of insurance, and in part because it is difficult for third parties to enter this market efficiently. You might think that firms could educate people not to buy the warranty, and indeed they might. But why should firms do that? If you are buying something that you shouldn’t, how do I make any money persuading you not to buy it?

The blog Thought Gadgets expands on this:

Shouldn’t exist? Well, yes. Most markets have enough competition that a $2 product priced for $20 won’t stay alive for long; but a few don’t. In the case of warranties, strange services offered only after you’ve purchased something else in the dark of an electronics store with little competitive information to guide you, the absence of knowledge allows margins to float to the sky. In this case, the friction that blocks comparative value data from competitors creates a sticking point of artificially high margins for the one company pitching the warranty.

We don’t mean to disparage the warranty industry; rather, simply to warn that price gouging of any kind always comes home to roost. Thaler calls this the point when consumers enter a “rip-off” stage of awareness…

Jeez, I have to admit, sometimes I do get the extended warranty. But I always experience an irritating cognitive dissonance when I do, because here I have just plunked down a good chunk of change for some fancy piece of electronics, and immediately the person who has just convinced or at least encouraged me to buy it is in my face telling me that there is a good chance that in the near future it may not work as it’s advertised on TV, in the newspaper, on the box, and as they themselves have just assured me it would.

Man, I need a drink, even if it’s just hot cocoa. See ya next week.

More on thrifting

Jon Brooks — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 21:04:58 +0000

Following up on our last post, on thrifting blogs, these items:

How I Paid My Rent For 6 Months By Thrifting (Things I Found at the Thrift Store)

Let me first start by saying that having to make rent this way was in no way fun or recommended. Unless you’re retired or insanely dedicated to it. Paying my rent for 6 months via scraping by on reselling thrifted goods was a ton of work. I was able to utilize my in-depth knowledge of web-selling platforms to more easily liquidate most of the items. I was able to achieve this feat mainly by selling just a few items each month that made up most of my then $800 a month rent. On a soapbox-rant side note: let me say that when congress or some rogue old senator (who you know doesn’t even use the web) dabbles with the idea of taxing people’s income from selling items on sites like eBay and Etsy, it makes me seriously cringe. Some folks do this for a living and it’s grueling. An extremely slim percentage of the web sellers are making good coin from doing it. Like I said above, reselling items for a living is not what I’d call fun.

HOW DID I DO IT? You have to have a keen eye for items that you know will sell. “Don’t sell what you don’t know.” A bus driver wouldn’t apply for a job as an Army helicopter pilot would he? You have to know what you’re looking at or you’ll waste a lot of money on stuff you can’t liquidate and end up looking like a hoarder with a garage full of junk. My item of choice was art, because that’s what I’m comfortable in. Having a fine art and design background I was able to find rare prints that had probably been turned in by someone who didn’t know any better. I found real screen prints by David Weidman, hand-colored etchings by UK artist Jo Barry, and ORIGINAL impasto oil paintings by Italian artist P.G. Tiele (which still blows my mind!) I also found art objects such as original McCoy pottery and vintage little sculptures and plant holders from various artists & eras that sold for amounts that still surprise me to this day. America is a nation of collectors and when they see an item they want or don’t have – you bet your ass they’ll pay for it…

WHERE DID I FIND THE TIME TO DO ALL OF THIS THRIFTING? I had the time to pull this off because I was freelancing at in the evenings and would go out and thrift by day to avoid heavy crowds…I’d set my alarm and get up to go hit my spots 6 days a week. Through this experience I quickly learned how, when, and what time the newest goods were delivered to each location. I even started to notice (and feel) like some of those old creeps sitting in their cars for the stores or garage sales to open, just to be the first to get in there and peruse. QUICK TIP: using a phone with fast and strong Internet can help you quick google any artist or pot or item you think may have good value.

It’s now been well over a year since I was doing this and have found a real comfort in knowing that if I ever hit a rough patch again in my life, that I’ll be just fine due to my sheer resourcefulness. Anyone can do this if they really have to. It may take a little bit of studying and a keen eye but you can pull it off. The thrill of scoring something you know isn’t supposed to be in there for $2.99 is the best feeling in the world…

And…

Top Secret Thrifting Tips (Painfully Hip)

*Go regularly, and go on off-hours. The first helps you acquire more goodies. The second is for sanity’s sake. If you don’t go on a regular basis, you’re just asking to miss all the good loot. You can take this a step further and inquire about “restocking” day.

* A lot of the larger/more “established” thrift shops – especially in bigger towns and cities – have “last chance,” “outlet” and “as-is” shops… I can’t even begin to explain how wonderful these places are. it’s amazing what treasures make it to these shops…

* Make a list of what you need, and refer back to it to avoid stocking up on things you don’t. Aso, racks of $3 clothes are not an excuse to inundate your closet with heaps of poor-quality crap… Maintain your standards, ladies.

* Shop off-season. You’ll find the best deals and have a better selection to pick through. (Winter coats are plentiful and purchased for pennies in Tucson in august. I would imagine the same would go for vintage sun dresses during January in Vermont.)

* Give some thought to a “thrifting uniform.” You want to wear something that is comfortable and easy to try things on over (in case of long lines for – or even non-existent – changing rooms). I like leggings, long, slim-fitting tank or tee-shirt style dresses, a loose-fitting cardigan and slip-on flats. If you’re not wearing socks, at least slip a pair in your bag for trying on shoes. Not doing so is gross. And i will judge you.

* You can also take an even easier route and throw a flexible sewing tape in your bag for taking measurements right there at the racks.

* Approach things with an open mind. If you go out with specific desires – “i want a pale yellow floral house dress made in 1953. In a size small.” – you’re probably going to be disappointed. Remember that things can be shortened, re-sized, altered entirely – by you, a crafty friend, or even a tailor. And even factoring in the tailor’s fees, it’s still cheaper (and cooler) than buying something brand new and mass produced.

* Try to find shops off the beaten path. shops in areas with a high population of amazingly hip college students will be a) picked over, and b) pricey. Look for the ones near ritzy 55+ communities. Go wild.

* I’m a little nervous about sharing this last tip, out of fear of a good lecture from anyone will a little self-respect, but just hear me out, ok? Flirt. Not in that creepy, “unwanted attention” sort of way. I’m not even suggesting you give out your phone number. But putting on a big friendly smile and striking up a conversation with the occasional employee – male or female – will do some pretty amazing things…I don’t see anything wrong with securing a “50% off everything, just for you… shh!” by using some (genuine) friendliness. It is my opinion that it brightens both party’s day.

Thrifting

Jon Brooks — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 18:13:32 +0000

From Wikipedia:

“Thrifting refers to the act of shopping at a thrift store, flea market, garage sale, or a shop of a charitable organization, usually with the intent of finding interesting items at a cheap price…

Thrifting lures a variety of different audiences. Two most commonly come to mind: 1) People who have no economic choice but to buy secondhand, 2) Bargain or treasure hunters. There is an emerging third audience and chances are it far outnumbers the first two. Simply put, this is an audience of smart shoppers comprised largely of families with a stay at home parent and young professionals. Their reasons for thrifting are a combination of the first two. Overall, these three groups thrift to save money because they have to or want to.”

Thrifting’s especially helpful if you’ve got the itch for kitsch. Examples below. The images of coveted and/or purchased items were culled from the following blogs:

Thriftaholic:A Tale of Two Addicts
Secondhand Nation
Manic Thrift Store Shopper

Dime Store Thrift
Things I Found (at the Thrift Store)

There are a lot of thrifting sites out there if you’re looking for more inspiration. To spend your whole day looking at fabulous junk, check out the blog rolls on the above sites.

Facebook war on H&M page

Jon Brooks — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 22:48:41 +0000

As described in our last post, the retailer H&M is suffering a public relations nightmare stemming from a New York grad student’s noticing on the street hundreds of unsold garments that it destroyed. Twitter, Facebook, and the blogs are all ablaze in condemning H&M for not donating the clothes to charity.

The H&M Facebook page is especially interesting, with quite a war of words going on between the pro and anti-H&M factions. (The store has a startling 1.5 million Facebook fans.) Numerous H&M employees are weighing in too.

Examples:

It’s hard to trust that “reevaluating what we categorize as “damaged”" doesn’t just mean, “In the future we will try not to let members of the public find all the clothes we throw out.” Former staff members from various stores across the country have confirmed it was standard to cut up and throw out garments.
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People shouldn’t be so upset before they are well informed. In the past 5 years H&M has given over $5 million to UNICEF projects and that’s just one example of what “good” they do.
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All of you slagging off H&M should read comments of myself and other employees of H&M and get a life ! Over 500,000 garments were donated by H&M last year! If an item is soiled it will not get donated but anything with small damages or rips are donated as they can be easily fixed and made use of.
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The homeless and those who are not as fortunate don’t care about damaged, weathered, stretched or used clothing. If they can wear it for warmth, it’s definitely usable. Donate all of it and let the people and the shelters decide what needs to be trashed.
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I live a short distance from your Michigan Avenue store in Chicago and will gladly come to your store any day or night to pick up your “damaged” “peed on” “pooped on,” “unsafe,” “unwearable,” etc clothing and will wash & repair every single piece of it to donate to the numerous homeless shelters in Chicago and the surrounding areas.
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H&M would rather destroy good clothes than see second class citizens wear them. True snobbery shows.
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If H&M can’t use ignorance as an excuse than either can any individual posting on here. You all shopped at this company without thinking twice about where all the unused stuff goes, you just mindlessly shop and shop and shop without having a clue aboutwhere you’re buying your stuff. Now you’re going to boycott and move on to some other big chain that probably does the same thing or pay people $5/week to make their clothes.
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i love h&m. employee for 3 years! we do more good in other areas besides clothes! so, people who want to make it sound like we are doing something horrible, do some more research on the company.

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Absolutely loving this! Seems H&M has started delegating shop-floor assistants to raise support on facebook. Back to the point: garments found outside H&M’s 34th Street store.

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While I do respect the brand, I find that your damage control tactics are horrendous.surely there could have been another way to handle this, hence your US staff needs re-training
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Everyone needs to get their Sonia Rykiel panties out of a bunch! H&M is a caring company.

More here…

The H&M incident

Jon Brooks — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 21:40:51 +0000

“The phone no longer just rings off the hook at the corporate public relations office. Now the Internet lights up too with thousands of posts and instant messages. Talk about pressure to behave responsibly.”

You may have heard about the big to-do going on over H&M (as well as Wal-Mart) dumping unsold clothes. A few days ago a City University of New York grad student noticed hundreds of the stores’ discarded garments and called the New York Times, which wrote up a story.

What happened next has become a familiar story in the annals of bad corporate p.r. H&M took too long to respond, and the Web went wild. A day later, H&M issued a statement. From Wallet Pop:

After spending a day in the number two “trending” spot in Twitter, H&M called the New York Times. “It will not happen again,”said spokeswoman Nicole Christie. “We are committed 100% to make sure this practice is not happening anywhere else, as it is not our standard practice.” Interestingly, on H & M’s website, the answer to the FAQ “What do you do with surplus clothes?” is this: “We donate clothes that do not meet H&M’s quality requirements to charity organisations like Oxfam, Caritas, the Red Cross and Terre des Hommes. Each store is itself responsible for clothes that are returned to it. Often there is an agreement that the clothes will be passed on to a suitable local charity organisation.”

But that has not stopped the negative posts on Twitter, Facebook, and blogs. Some examples…

From etcology

H&M and Wal-Mart Slap the Poor in the Face

Despite 1/3 of New York City being poor and thousands being unable to afford new winter clothing, H&M and Wal-Mart have decided to throw out and destroy unworn, unsold clothing rather than donating it to those in need…Cynthia Magnus, a graduate student at City University of New York, noticed piles of discarded clothing “outside the back entrance of H&M on 35th street in New York City. Just a few doors down, she also found hundreds of Wal-Mart tagged items with holes made in them that were dumped by a contractor.”

Magnus listed intentionally destroyed items found among the twenty garbage bags of clothes such as “gloves with the fingers cut off, warm socks. Cute patent leather Mary Jane school shoes, maybe for fourth graders, with the instep cut up with a scissor. Men’s jackets, slashed across the body and the arms. The puffy fiber fill was coming out in big white cotton balls.”

The jackets were tagged $59, $79 and $129. The waste is especially heartless considering that just around the corner from that H & M is a big collection point for New York Cares, which conducts an annual coat drive. A spokeswoman for the charity said, “We’d be glad to take unworn coats, and companies often send them to us.” In addition to the lost opportunity of helping those in need of warm clothing, the actions of the two clothing corporations were environmentally irresponsible, generating huge quantities of unnecessary solid waste.

Wal-Mart responded to the report saying “the company normally donates all its unworn goods to charities, and would have to investigate why the items found on 35th Street were discarded.” H&M originally did not return phone calls or emails about the issue but after several days released a statement promising to stop destroying the garments at the midtown Manhattan location and pledging to donate future items to charity. “It will not happen again,” said a spokeswoman who also said the company would make sure none of the other locations would do so either.

That better be the case or I certainly will not be supporting that brand ever again.

From Bitter Wallet

One thing remains unclear however. Does all this mean that H&M don’t mind selling stuff that don’t meet ’safety requirements’ and ‘chemical restrictions’, but they do mind giving it away to charity? Hmmm. That’ll need clearing up I’m sure. Failing that, if you’re good with a sewing machine, it’s obvious you should get down the arse end of the High Street clothes shops… they’re chucking stuff away which you might be able to do something cool with.

From The Recessionista

My hope is that H&M will investigate this and stop the “alleged” practice of discarding clothes. After reading the comments from (another blog), it appears other retailers engage in the practice of destroying clothing and goods that don’t sell, damaging them so that others can’t profit from reselling them. Maybe the “Great Recession” and the loud voice of The New York Times plus Twitter, Facebook and the blogosphere can bring about some social change here….The phone no longer just rings off the hook at the corporate public relations office. Now the Internet lights up too with thousands of posts and instant messages. Talk about pressure to behave responsibly.

Comment on The Frugalista

I think it is a horrid and wasteful practice, but I’m sure the reason H&M did not bother to comment is because it is a completely normal practice among many stores — I know that Dillards and many others have the same practice. I’ve since tried to stop shopping at stores that do that, but it’s hard to find out!

From Culture Slant

Disgusting and Greedy A-Hole of the Week

D&G should be the new initials for store H&M. H&M along with Walmart (of all stores), was found throwing out clothes that they could not sell. Now, throwing them out so homeless people could find them, may not be too bad. The problem is they throw them out after cutting them all up so no one could wear them…Now with all the homeless people we have out there these two companies could not donate the clothes?

…It’s bad enough that restaurants do that kind of stuff, but now clothing stores. I mean at least clothes can be stored for a length of time, unlike food. Shame on you Walmart and H&M, you earn the A-Hole of the week award!!

For more H&M tirades, see the store’s Facebook page and Twitter.

Vacant

Jon Brooks — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 14:51:42 +0000

From the Empty buildings for economic reasons photo pool:

Click on an image to see it full size.

More photos here.

The Return of the thing

Jon Brooks — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 20:17:41 +0000

Speaking of crime and the recession, we found this press release issued last year by the National Retail Federation. It deals with store return policies and “return fraud.”

Though retailers seem to be confronting return fraud, incidents continue to permeate most retail stores. According to the survey, most retailers (88.9%) have had stolen merchandise returned to stores within the past year. Retailers also report being victimized by returns of merchandise originally purchased with fraudulent or stolen tender (74.1%) and returns using counterfeit receipts (45.7%).

The release goes on to address something called “wardrobing.”

“Consumers experiencing a bit of buyer’s remorse as a result of the economy may be returning unworn and unused merchandise to stores,” said NRF Vice President of Loss Prevention Joe LaRocca. “While retailers look at returns as a way to provide good customer service, an increased rate of returns is yet another challenge for retailers during a tough economic climate…”

The unethical practice of “wardrobing,” the return of non-defective, used merchandise—especially in the apparel and electronics categories—continues to be problematic for retailers. Nearly two-thirds of retailers (64.2%) have seen this type of merchandise returned in the past year – down from 66.1 percent last year, but up from 2006 levels (56.0%).

So remember, this year, act ethically. When you unwrap that new blender – the moment you hit “puree,” it’s yours.

Cyber Monday

Jon Brooks — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 16:59:38 +0000

Welcome back everyone. You lived through Thanksgiving, and Black Friday. But just 3 1/2 more weeks till Christmas. Better get clicking, for today is:

CYBER MONDAY!

From Wikipedia:

The term “Cyber Monday” is a neologism invented by Shop.org, part of the U.S. trade association National Retail Federation. It was first used within the ecommerce community during the 2005 holiday season. According to Scott Silverman, the head of Shop.org, the term was coined based on research showing that 77% of online retailers reported a significant increase in sales on the Monday after Thanksgiving in 2004. In late November 2005, the New York Times reported that “The name Cyber Monday grew out of the observation that millions of otherwise productive working Americans, fresh off a Thanksgiving weekend of window shopping, were returning to high-speed Internet connections at work Monday and buying what they liked.”

Whether you buy into that or not, many retailers have. So while some people like to hit the malls and shop till they drop, others prefer to stay home and click till they’re sick. Some web sites to help you find Cyber Monday deals:

Black Friday sales tomorrow

Jon Brooks — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 18:00:25 +0000

If you’re starting your holiday shopping tomorrow and are looking for bargains, check these sites…

Buy Nothing Day

Jon Brooks — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 20:20:02 +0000

As most consumers with an early eye on holiday shopping know, the day after Thanksgiving is also known as Black Friday. On that day, savvy purchasers arise at 4 a.m., attire themselves in running shoes, flak jacket, and football helmet, and brave the vast hordes of salivating shoppers intent on scoring a dirt cheap price for their desired merchandise.

Yes, it’s easy to be snide. But in the midst of this brutal recession, with 10% unemployment, who can blame beleaguered Americans for seizing any opportunity they can to achieve some semblance of their former lifestyle while still meeting their dwindling budgets? Plus the economy needs that holidays’ jolt. Early scenes from the mall have not been encouraging:

But despite all those reasons to have a rooting interest in Black Friday, that mad rush to spend–which has spawned ugly scenes like last year’s trampling death at a Long Island Wal-Mart–has also triggered a backlash. This has manifested in the alternate-reality Buy Nothing Day, co-existing on the calendar with Black Friday.

According to Wikipedia:

Buy Nothing Day is an international day of protest against consumerism observed by social activists. Typically celebrated the Friday after American Thanksgiving in North America and the following day internationally, in 2009 the dates are November 27 and 28 respectively. It was founded by Vancouver artist Ted Dave and subsequently promoted by Adbusters magazine, based in Canada.

This year, Adbusters is calling for a Wildcat General Strike on November 27 and 28. From the site:

On November 27/28 we’re asking tens of millions of people around the world to bring the capitalist consumption machine to a grinding – if only momentary – halt. We want you to shut off your lights, your televisions and other nonessential appliances. We want you to park your car, turn off your phones and log off your computer for the day. We’re calling for a Ramadan-like fast. From sunrise to sunset, we abstain en masse. Not only from shopping but from all the temptations of our five-planet lifestyles.

Instead we’ll feed our spirits and minds with a feast of subversive activities: pranks, shenanigans, credit card cut-ups, bicycle swarms, mall invasions and all manner of culture jams and creative détournements … and some of us will take things even further with sit-ins, demonstrations, passive resistance and acts of nonviolent defiance, anarchy and civil disobedience. If we can create a big enough ruckus on November 27/28, then we may be able to catalyze what the Situationists tried to set in motion half a century ago: a chain reaction of refusal against consumer capitalism … a sudden, unexpected moment of truth … the first ever global revolution.

We’ll check in next week to see how Black Friday/Buy Nothing Day went. In the meantime, here’s a sampling of blog posts about Buy Nothing Day:

Twilight Earth

We are in a mess. Actually we are in a bunch of messes. The financial collapse was caused in large part by our greedy and over consumptive nature and practices. Markets will not hold when so many people live lives based on an ever revolving line of credit, made necessary by the need to own more than one can afford.

The environmental mess we are in, is a direct result of over harvesting the planets resources to supply our consumptive society.

We are running out of nature… fish, forests, fresh water and minerals. We are running out of clean air, water and soil.

There’s only one way to avoid the collapse of this human experiment of ours on Planet Earth: we have to consume less.

It will take a massive mind-shift. You can start the ball rolling by buying nothing on November 27th. Then celebrate Christmas differently this year, and make a New Year’s resolution to change your lifestyle in 2010.

It’s not just about saving the planet though. It’s about returning to relationships that aren’t based on material gratification.

Social Work Blog

I’ve had enough of the commercialization of Christmas. Now Black Friday shopping is being hyped more than the supposed reason for the shopping.

Earlier this week I went to my church to help fill bags of Thanksgiving foods for those in need right here in our community. Last week the regular food give-away had to be closed early. The demand out-weighed what was available.

So please join me in boycotting Black Friday shopping. Instead, stay home and write checks to your favorite charities. Or if you are having a tough time financially, use the money to pay down your credit cards.

Christmas is a season of goodness and appreciation for the life that has been given us… and all the joys associated with family and friends.

Going Concern

This particular capitalist wouldn’t do well without her BlackBerry and her credit card for a full day, it’s one or the other, with the credit card much easier to keep in my pocket than the device. But whatever.

Other clever ways to spend the day? How about Whirl-mart; an impromptu conga line of shopping carts in the middle of any large warehouse or retail store (Target would work in a pinch) much to the chagrin of store security?

You can even take it all the way and declare a Buy Nothing Christmas if that’s your thing. Why stop with Black Friday? It’s not like you can afford crap your friends and family don’t want anyway, so just don’t do it. Sock away some money and put it into something useful like gold ETFs or at least new gadgets.

It goes without saying that retail has a long hard slog upward this winter. In fact, some stores are opening on Thanksgiving just to get a jump on the holiday season, hoping they can squeeze out every little bit they can to make it through the end of the year. Yeah, good luck with that.

Implications and Experience

There’s a movement to de-emphasize our roles as “consumers” and return to being “people” and not taking part in the spending frenzy of “Black Friday” is a big part of that. Of course, with the economy in the shape it’s in, buying something to help retailers and producers get out of the red and into the black seems vaguely patriotic, as the breathless reports of sales and “consumer confidence” will set the tone for the rest of the holiday season, and the economic attitude for the year ahead. It’s like a Hollywood blockbuster… if it doesn’t have a massive “opening weekend” then it’s considered a failure. So, I guess decide for yourself: resist the urge to be defined by how much you spend, or be part of jumpstarting the economy.

triple pundit

The idea of waking up at the crack of dawn the day after Thanksgiving to go shopping for trinkets among hordes of what seem like crazed zombies strikes me as a horrible kind of torture. Nonetheless, millions of Americans consider “Black Friday” a kind of celebratory tradition, with this year expected to be the biggest and craziest yet. Understandably, retailers and other merchants are delighted at the opportunity to cash in.

As an antidote to the madness, some folks stay home or actively participate in anti-shopping movements such as “buy nothing day” – a clever, mostly symbolic, attempt to reign some sense into the consumptive lifestyle.

But why can’t progressive-minded business people suggest a saner alternative? After all, folks who understand the appeal of shopping locally, buying organic, and taking the time to understand where products come from and who makes them, already recognize that we vote with our dollars. When consumers line up at 4am at a big box store to buy next year’s landfill discards then they are voting approval of an economy based on thoughtless consumption, materialism and waste. Only by casting competing votes can we, and other responsible business owners change that tide.

I propose “Buy Something Responsible Day”.

Actually, someone could probably come up with a better name. Green Friday? But the idea is to make a concerted effort to encourage spending some extra money the day after Thanksgiving at businesses who you recognize are making an effort – be it sourcing and employing locally, producing ecologically minded goods, or just making an honest effort at reducing their footprint on the earth. There are dozens of companies we’ve profiled over the years here at TriplePundit, over at TreeHugger, and elsewhere that ought to qualify. The point is to actively stimulate a new, greener economy a “BUYcott” could accomplish much more than a “BOYcott”.

Jewish Simplicity

Popular legend has it that the day after Thanksgiving, “Black Friday,” is the busiest shopping day of the year. Anti-consumerist activists have for some years been designating this day “Buy Nothing Day.” This is a day not to go to the mall, not to add to the balance on your credit cards, but rather to start thinking about how to spend this holiday season giving the gift of love, of self, rather than of material goods.

This year, of course, we’re in recession, so is it irresponsible to “Buy Nothing” when the economy depends so much on consumer spending? Well, as Juliet Schor points out in this post on the Center for a New American Dream website, it was financial shenanigans and the housing bubble that caused the problem. For an economic recovery, the pump will need to be primed at a level high above the average consumer.

In addition, many Americans are in hock up to their ears with credit card and mortgage debt, and the wiser option at this stage is to cut down on purchases, pay down debt, and increase the rate of savings, which hovers around zero for Americans. (According to Consumer Reports, in 2006, 23% of shoppers were still carrying holiday-related credit card debt the following March.)

Remember that the cost of every purchase includes not just the price of the item but the price to advertise it, ship it, package it and dispose of it when it breaks down. Much of this cost is in oil, something to think about in this time of global climate change.

And most importantly, real meaning and purpose cannot be found in the mall, or in the exchange of material goods. Real purpose can only be found in human connection, in time spent with friends and loved ones, in volunteering – generally giving the gift, not of stuff, but of self. And that’s the gift that keeps on giving.

(Of course, Jews who observe Shabbat know that “Buy Nothing Day” comes every week!)