Word on the street is that with the supposed Trump tariffs looming on goods made in China, people should buy what they need now to save a buck or two. If you’ve been eyeing a dishwasher upgrade and the thing is Chinese made, time to buy yourself a Christmas present.
Anecdotally, sales representatives have warned us at work to put in big orders now, should the tariffs come into fruition, and suddenly that batch of laptops is now 20% dearer in price. I’m sure the representative has an incentive to sell as much as possible before the end of the year for that bonus. That said, our university is not exactly loaded with cash, so any savings on bulk purchases is not nothing.
Maybe Trump is playing 4D chess: threatens tariffs, inadvertently causes the biggest holiday buying season of all time.
It may be the most wonderful time of the year in terms of weather and atmosphere, but the blatant and rampant consumerism of the holidays is kind of disgusting. The combination of Black Friday and present shopping is both a financial burden and environmentally unfriendly. The endless shipping boxes and the energy it takes to get them to customers.
I’m glad my friend group do not have holiday gifting culture. And even if we did, I’d buy everybody stuff they’d actually use. Like toilet paper, or a pack of USDA Prime beef. The last thing I need more of are items that just sits on a shelf to look nice. It would go straight to the trash bin if and when I ever move home again.
Good news: I saved 100% by buying nothing!
Take me out.