Give Me the XBox 360 or Give Me Death!

By Pepper of the Daily Pepper

Here are some of the silliest stories that emerged from Black Friday: At a Wal-Mart in Mountain View, CA: Police were eventually called to calm unruly shoppers who climbed over a display case and shouted in a desperate effort to get their hands on one of a couple-of-dozen Hewlett-Packard notebook computers -- on sale for just $22 off the regular price of $400.

At a Wal-Mart in Hamilton Township, NJ: Authorities said it took a dozen police officers to control a disorderly crowd in the store's electronics department after shoppers began forcibly removing items from the area and forcing their way past other people at cash registers. It was all part of a violent and chaotic morning that required police from two communities to descend on the Wal-Mart and a nearby Circuit City, after crowds of more than 1,000 people at each store engaged in what police describe as mob-like behavior, which began with a rush to get inside around 6 a.m.

So why are the current headlines calling Black Friday sales "lukewarm"? Do heads have to roll?

Already there's whining about how Black Friday didn't meet expectations:

According to ShopperTrak RCT Corp., which tracks total sales at more than 45,000 retail outlets, the overall sales Friday were relatively unchanged compared with a year ago, despite heavier discounting and expanded hours that drew a surge of shoppers to stores in the early-morning hours. The Chicago-based research group reported total sales Friday at $8 billion, down 0.9 percent from a year ago.

One analyst called sales "a bit flat." CNN echoes the sentiment by calling Black Friday a "flat start."

Based on the early results, only Wal-Mart did well, but that seems to be with a few black eyes and bruises. I'd hate to see what Black Friday would look like if it marked a fizzy start for the holiday season.

I was out on Black Friday with my family, more for sociology than anything else. We walked into a Kohl's to check out the athletic shoes, and we walked to the shoe section, which was at the back of the store. The checkout stands were all staffed, but the line kept stretching ... and stretching ... and stretching to the back of the store, curving along the back wall of the rather large department store. The rage was at a slow simmer, and come lunchtime, no doubt someone got into a tiff. I didn't feel too sorry for these people. One woman was thrilled to find a stuffed frog toy that performed 50 Cent's "In Da Club" when you squeezed its tummy. Alas, this particular shopper was by the shoe section, and the novelty of a frog singing Fifty wore off pretty fast. If she wanted to wait in line until sundown for that frog, then she deserved to wait in line.

If Thanksgiving is the Food Orgy, Black Friday is the Shopping Orgy, during which people buy what they don't need (that darned frog mentioned above) or buy items just because they are brand-spanking new (the 360). And then analysts say that you didn't shop hard enough? Or that you didn't suffer enough broken bones in your patriotic buying frenzy? You don't have to go to war, but by golly you'd better get that XBox! There's nothing good about Black Friday. It makes sense to expect the holiday shopping season to bring good returns for companies, but pinning hopes on one single day sets everyone - shoppers and sellers - up for disappointment.