Did I actually NEED the smart plugs? Iāll answer that this way - I have Christmas items, lights etc, scattered through the house and on the front lawn. They are attached to about twenty different power points. With the smart plugs I have them grouped and on a schedule, without the smart plugs I would spend some considerable time running around to the twenty switches to to turn them on and then later off. Smart plugs are a great invention and getting them at a greatly reduced price when on sale saved me a lot.
And before someone tells me that I could use timers, remember that I can set the schedule for my smart plugs as one group on my phone app, and when we leave the house, to save power etc I simply tell Alexa to turn them off.
This is probably way too much information for a topic regarding sales, but at least you will know why I found the sale on the plugs so helpful.
Absolutely agree. If you donāt want anything, move on. Nobody is forcing you to buy anything. Itās absolutely politically motivated. One such side truly hates Capitalism and all the glory it brings. Just goes to show you who is who in the world.
Two things I ādislike about sales seasonā:
( I am actually quite offended by the use of āHATEā in any context, as it brings normalcy to āhatingā something. I think a kinder, more appropriate synonym would be better.)
On to my ādislikesā about sales season:
Number One: I dislike the sentiment that the retailer or other entity should step in and prevent someone from making purchases, sending targeted marketing SMS or emails (which one can āunsubscribeā at any time to cease these solicitations) with credit cards, loans, BNPL do to their inability to exercise self control. Social media is flooded with comments about this every time these āsale seasonsā occur. Itās tiresome to see so many topics related to the opinion by some that the sales should either not exist, or should be tightly regulated to prevent people from spending their own money, whether it be spent sensibly (which āsensiblyā can also differ per ones interpretation) or frivolously (also up to ones interpretation).
Secondly, I āDISLIKEā hearing those putting down the US and itās people when it comes to specific season based āsale eventsā. Iāve seen in responses here the words like āstupidā or using āUS or Americanā in a negative light. This is relevant to the question that was posted and opened for debate. I see this everytime the topic about these āAmerican Styleā sales events like Black Friday, Cyber Monday et cetera occur and the topic is brought up saying that their personal āHATE of the sales seasonā is because itās an American thing that shouldnāt be celebrated or brought to Australia, based solely on the concept being āAmericanā. Yet the irony is Australia, as well as Canada, the UK et al, have āBoxing Dayā sales, which are one in the same.
Iām an American as well, and so many put us down, with several comments on this thread that do so. Itās extremely offensive and in my initial post, several disagreed with my personal opinion of āwhat I DISLIKE about sales seasonā, which did not go against one community guideline, yet flagged my post anyways.
I do point to community guidelines:
- Attacks of a personal nature, such as name calling.
(The flagging of a personal opinion, even though no guideline was broken, is a personal attack) - Broad attacks on groups or collectives of people, including on the basis of politics, religion, nationality, race, gender, sexual orientation and lifestyle choices.
(As one of my āDISLIKES about sales seasonā is the fact that many of these āsales eventsā are rooted in American traditions, and attacks on this fact is something that, yes, I truly do āDISLIKE about sales seasonsā.)
While some went to address my posts being flagged, the two main topics are truly what my opinion is about āsales seasonsā. While some may think itās not an āappropriateā opinion doesnāt take away from the fact thatās itās my personal opinion.
There is a march on Sunday, my placard says āDown with pricesā
What sort of ism is it that is so short sighted, that canāt see a good bit of glory when it is staring them in the face?
Well I disagree. If someone doesnāt like, i.e. agree with your opinions, even if valid and non offensy, they will happily flag your posts. Sad though in a world that if someones opinion differs, they attack you for it. (Not saying you at all, haha. Just was commenting about you saying we have the freedom to express an opinion) 
Although you might be referring to ātheyā as the ones who imported the name, if you implied it was on the US side ānot knowing any betterā the name is from and has its history in the US context.
Having been blackballed more than most over the last 5 years I have not seen the effect that you describe, that flagging is used to silence opinions. The moderation here is remarkably consistent considering that the Mods are a mix of volunteers and paid staff. This is, in part, because there is quite a bit of discussion behind the scenes before a decision is made. As for who initially flagged your stuff and their motives - that is speculation.
Funny. I did set an email rule to delete advertisement emails with those words. Worked beautifully.
Totally agree with you. Iād absolutely trust the moderators to be impartial. A post similar to the one that is now up was flagged and automatically hidden. I changed a bit of the syntax and sentence structure and all good. I believe because I addressed some that commented on my original post and they didnāt really have a leg to stand on.
Being a Choice member for a long time, over the decade Iāve lived in Australia, their opinions, tests, articles et cetera are extremely fair and unbiased; a sign of a truly great āpublicationā. 
Not being an American, although Iāve personally worked for a large American Co with like management. As fellow inhabitants of the planet we have many values in common, but some very different ways in how we might express ourselves.
Love and hate are common pairings that by degree are highly emotive, or in relation to simpler things such as the seasons of the year or melting ice creams more trivial expressions of feeling. Perhaps us born and bred here Aussies are mostly desensitised to the extreme. We can and do use love and hate as an every day expression. It should not be taken in its most absolute form without due qualification.
The discussion of whether āBlack Fridayā is a suitable choice for naming of a sale event in Australia. I took it per @BrendanMays to be in the context of conflicting with how many Australianās describe or remember tragic and horrific events. That retailers have chosen to follow a US sale event is their prerogative. That being Australian they have chosen to use the same US naming of the event says much about their lack of sensitivity for Australia. Itās not a problem for the USA or in my opinion any reason to single out individuals of that nation. It has been solely the choice of our retailers, and some Aussies have been less sensitive to that than others clearly are.
For anyone who has come from the USA to Australia, some of us Aussies still have odd ways of expressing our feelings. Although there are no absolutes by my observation of either nation, one lot tend to be more direct and no āhorse droppingsā in how they express themselves. The other less adept at being so direct having adopted (more an older generation thing) of saying what they mean indirectly, EG calling someone an āold bastardā if itās not censored is an accepted term of friendship and not the obvious.
The alignment of an Aussie sale event to the Black Friday US sales reflect globalisation of some of the retail channels. Is there any alternate logic for the timing? Not really. Even Thanks Giving as a US event as others have offered has had various changes in timing, and inconsistencies in traditions. Sufficient to suggest like Australianās those in the USA welcome any excuse for a day off - public holiday. Hopefully the US is looking forward to adopting the day after Christmas as the best sale day of the year. Donāt let snow drifts keep the crowds from the retailers doors. Thereās little prospect of a BBQ at the beach for most in the US winter. 
You sound like a very sensible person who manages money well. Some would go to buy what they intend to buy at a sale price and then come out with more than they can afford. Thatās why so many people get caught up and end up in debt since the buy now pay later scheme makes it so easy. I would be one so I just have to so careful and not pick up extra items at sale time.
