Wal-Mart shopping frenzy

[ibe98765]

Fla. Woman Knocked Out in Shopping Rush Nov 29, 8:45 PM (ET) ORANGE CITY, Fla. (AP) - A mob of shoppers rushing for a sale on DVD players trampled the first woman in line and knocked her unconscious as they scrambled for the shelves at a Wal-Mart Supercenter.Patricia VanLester had her eye on a $29 DVD player, but when the siren blared at 6 a.m. Friday announcing the start to the post-Thanksgiving sale, the 41-year-old was knocked to the ground by the frenzy of shoppers behind her."She got pushed down, and they walked over her like a herd of elephants," said VanLester's sister, Linda Ellzey. "I told them, 'Stop stepping on my sister! She's on the ground!'"Ellzey said some shoppers tried to help VanLester, and one employee helped Ellzey reach her sister, but most people just continued their rush for deals."All they cared about was a stupid DVD player," she said Saturday.Paramedics called to the store found VanLester unconscious on top of a DVD player, surrounded by shoppers seemingly oblivious to her, said Mark O'Keefe, a spokesman for EVAC Ambulance.She was flown to Halifax Medical Center in Daytona Beach, where doctors told the family VanLester had a seizure after she was knocked down and would likely remain hospitalized through the weekend, Ellzey said. Hospital officials said Saturday they did not have any information on her condition."She's all black and blue," Ellzey said. "Patty doesn't remember anything. She still can't believe it all happened."Ellzey said Wal-Mart officials called later Friday to ask about her sister, and the store apologized and offered to put a DVD player on hold for her.Wal-Mart Stores spokeswoman Karen Burk said she had never heard of a such a melee during a sale."We are very disappointed this happened," Burk said. "We want her to come back as a shopper."

[Guest LilBambi]

Now that is a disgusting testament.

[Grasshopper]

WalMart only loses one DVD player but gains ALL THIS PUBLICITY?!?!?!?!?!They don't give a rat's smelly orifice about this lady!Anyone wanna move to Mars??The day after Thanksgiving is my least favorite day of the year just because of the shopping thing. Because of that, there are WAY too many people on the road so you can't go anywhere either. The big companies love this "tradition" of shopping for Christmas. The executives rake in the money, the employees are worked to death and the shoppers are led about, like a #@$% herd of cattle, by a "need" to get their Christmas shopping done.......ON THE BUSIEST SHOPPING DAY OF THE YEAR!! Sheer madness.rant off

[havnblast]

I agree tbird9768 - I avoid that day

[Guest ThunderRiver]

Each time you quote a page, make sure you include URL links. I would like to see image.. but boy.. no linkie.. had to google around for it.As for the DVD player.. Well, it is just insane to shop right after Thanksgiving. I never shopped right after Thanksgiving, nor do my parents. We rarely shop online either. We are all well prepared way before Thanksgiving.. Yes, the day after Thanksgiving always has the best deals, but I am not insane enough to get in line 5 AM in the morning.It is not even a tradition back in Sugar Land, Texas either.. It is actually new to me after I moved to north.

[pc-tecky]

People are crazy? More like people are just RUDE! I just heard of a story second hand of a mother rewarding the children for basically grabbing an item out from somebody else's hands - their christmas gift shopping is now complete. The world would be much better off it kindness was used rather than the greedy self-indulging dog-eat-dog mentality. What are children being taught? Am I totally off base here?

[Prelude76]

Britons have their soccer, Americans have their Shopping Sales Events. we lucked out; we had a blizzard in Barrie this weekend, almost 2 feet of snow (and 2 more coming today), so stores were empty as only Blizzak owners like myself were able to get to the stores. (FYI californians: Blizzak is a type of snow tire )shopping online is pretty bad too. i orderd a US/CANADA/MEXICO road atlas from Amazon.ca. they shipped US only atlas. i returned it and complained they screwed up. 2 days later, another US-only atlas was shipped to me. i swear, it makes me think they have a bunch of trained monkeys working at Amazon.

[littlebone]

(FYI californians: Blizzak is a type of snow tire  )

Wow! They make tires out of snow where you come from? How does that work in the summer? Here in California we have to use rubber.

[Prelude76]

(FYI californians: Blizzak is a type of snow tire  )

Wow! They make tires out of snow where you come from? How does that work in the summer? Here in California we have to use rubber.

actually, its a type of rubberized tire that 'transforms' into a metallic ski with the press of a button.

[pc-tecky]

getting mixed up in realities again?? wasn't that in the lastest 007 movie?? or was that mission impossible?

[Prelude76]

getting mixed up in realities again?? wasn't that in the lastest 007 movie?? or was that mission impossible?    

i dont think it was MI. MI just had some bike scene with people jumping off and tackling each other in the air (read: stupid unrealistic garbage). cars with skis makes SENSE.

[pc-tecky]

Yes is does. They have them for quads, that and tracks.

[henderrob]

Getting back to the Wal-Mart Madness. I just refuse to go there for fear of being run down by a shopping cart loaded so high that the driver can't see where their going. It's come to this... I'll spend more and go elsewhere.

[ibe98765]

At least Wal-Mart could have given the lousy DVD player to the woman. Instead, they offered "to hold one" for her! Sheese. I bet she will sue them for 100k or so and win because it is the responsibility of a commercial establishment to provide a safe experience.

[epp_b]

I wouldn't be surprized if a lawsuit arised out of this. But it really isn't Wal-mart's fault, it's the fault of the idiots who care more about some stupid DVD player than a human being.

[Prelude76]

I wouldn't be surprized if a lawsuit arised out of this.  But it really isn't Wal-mart's fault, it's the fault of the idiots who care more about some stupid DVD player than a human being.

let's face it, everyone lining up to storm a store to grab a cheap DVD as soon as a store opens are of a sub-human species, and Walmart is also to blame for gearing their sales event to appeal to sub-human species only.

[epp_b]

let's face it, everyone lining up to storm a store to grab a cheap DVD as soon as a store opens are of a sub-human species, and Walmart is also to blame for gearing their sales event to appeal to sub-human species only. 

Well, that certainly has some truth to it too. I was wrong: we're both to blame :(Humans for being so materialistic, retail stores for encouraging the rush.

[BarryB]

Man that creates a paradox ...in many areas..if we blame Walmart for consumer behavior ...then aren't Vid games responsible for the behavior of their users..or Movies have a true impact on what people do?.......we can't have it both ways (or can we) ...either we are all mindless victims in some form( I know I'm reaching)..or we make choices....or we place things in little boxes (left/right..that way, we can demonize them)so we can define and defend our opinions(which is normal human behavior)....why do we expect humans to be other than what they are...they are good, they are bad, confused, selfish and sharing..they lead, they follow...all at the same time....and our Governments, businesses, charities, cultures (and there are extremes in any direction)....and daily life reflects that...I agree it is both..but which came first..greed or greed

[pc-tecky]

Niether, but rather envy for what somebody else has creates a desire for something not in one's own hands.

[BarryB]

Very true...a normal trait we see in 3 year olds...and continues for life in some degree...Humans (we have some strange hardwire problems)

[Peachy]

Two words: cognitive dissonance

[Prelude76]

see, my reasoning behind blaming walmart as much as the stampeding folks is this:they created the setting. just like Romans created the 'setting' by putting christians in an arena with gladiators, so is walmart responsible by putting a DVD so cheap, knowing full well what a stampede it will cause. someone had an idea how to get a rush of people into their store on the busiest shopping day; "lets sell a DVD at below cost to get a flood of people in here". it's like throwing a bunch of dollars into a busy crowd and watching the reaction. they could've said everyone gets the DVD for that price, and give out rain checks if they run out, instead of creating the 'setting' by saying "while quantities last" beside the sale price.

[BarryB]

Two words: cognitive dissonance

Oh yes...and given the number of people on the planet..isn't it any wonder we all can't agree..or get along for that matter

[GolfProRM]

see, my reasoning behind blaming walmart as much as the stampeding folks is this:they created the setting.

Okay... now you can't just blame this on Wal-Mart... what about all the other stores that run "Black Friday" sales? They're just as much of a contributor to the problem as Wal-mart is... And they keep opening earlier and earlier!!! There are a few that open at 5am, and we even had one store open at 4:30!!!!! Shoot, before too long, they won't be the day AFTER Thanksgiving sales, they'll be the day OF Thanksgiving sales! Sheesh!

[BarryB]

And then the Day before Thanksgiving sales.....our culture feeds us and we feed it..

[Guest ThunderRiver]

Even though this year's shopping day seems to be crazy, it turns out that the net sales earning is the lowest out of the past 30 years? That's on the news by the way.

[Prelude76]

i do blame wal-mart. and every other retailer like that. and all the fanatical shoppers. and all of society for turning christmas into shopping Xmas, for turning easter into "buy-chocolate-bunnies-til-u-puke" sales event. for turning 'trick or treating' on halloween when apples were handed, into a big ad campaign for hershey's and cadburys.all retailers are to blame, as well as all docile greedy sheep that fall for the traps of sales and zero-down zero-interest, no payments til 2005 gimmicks.

[epp_b]

Yup, it's peoples' faults for being so greedy, and retailers' faults for provoking that.BTW, I've never really gotten those Don't pay until 2000-whatever gimmicks (Oh, goodie -- I can be in debt for a whole two years!)

[ibe98765]

see, my reasoning behind blaming walmart as much as the stampeding folks is this:they created the setting.

Okay... now you can't just blame this on Wal-Mart... what about all the other stores that run "Black Friday" sales? They're just as much of a contributor to the problem as Wal-mart is... And they keep opening earlier and earlier!!! There are a few that open at 5am, and we even had one store open at 4:30!!!!! Shoot, before too long, they won't be the day AFTER Thanksgiving sales, they'll be the day OF Thanksgiving sales! Sheesh!

I noticed out here in CA that there were a number of stores offering special sales on Thanksgiving day. I think Tower had a special from 5-8PM. And Walgreens is open 24 x 365. I believe there were others, I just can't remember who at this point. Seems retail employees don't get any holiday's anymore.USA consumers are bent on spending themselves into a deep hole. But eventually the piper must be paid. When intrest rates begin rising, there will be **** to pay for the many who live on their credit cards and 2nd mortgage borrowings.

Portrait of the ConsumerBy FLOYD NORRISPublished: November 30, 2003n the early years of the 21st Century, consumers have accounted for more than two-thirds of spending in this country, their greatest share in more than half a century.In the first nine months of this year, that share came to 67.2 percent, slightly ahead of 2002. Not since the consumer spending boom that followed World War II have consumers spent so energetically. Then they were reflecting pent-up demand after years when production capacity was shifted to war matériel.Full story

Why Americans Must Keep SpendingBy LOUIS UCHITELLEPublished: December 1, 2003OTHING props up the economy more than consumers, and dips in their spending frighten forecasters. But that is all that has happened in recent years - dips, not plunges. Consumers in America spend because they feel they must spend. More than in the past, the necessities of life, real and perceived, eat up their incomes.That treadmill spending is good news for the economy. As a recovery takes hold, the biggest threat to its survival would be a downturn in consumer spending. That is not inconceivable: The support for recent spending - the household cash generated through mortgage refinancings and tax cuts - is disappearing, and a new source of cash, from many new jobs and many new paychecks, is not yet a reality.But do not worry, various experts say. Consumers will keep spending anyway, going deeper into debt to do so if they must. They have too many needs, some that were luxuries only yesterday. A second car and child care, for example, are now necessities for millions of households with two earners commuting to jobs. Mall-crawling, for all its popularity, is increasingly the anomaly, not the norm, in the vast realm of personal consumption.So as the typical household keeps spending, and as other sectors of the economy revive, the country will prosper. There is considerable optimism on this point among the nation's forecasters. All but one of the 51 surveyed by Blue Chip Economic Indicators expect the economy to grow more strongly in 2004 than it has in the past 33 months - expanding at a 4 percent annual rate, up from less than 3 percent through most of the past three years. Full story

[GolfProRM]

As a follow up to the actual story... seems this "trampling" may have been planned? The woman that was trampled has a long history of filing injury claims at stores:http://www.local6.com/money/2683654/detail.html