(J Dailey)
As July winds down the retail industrial complex is luring parents into stores with promises of discounts on clothes and supplies to commemorate state-sponsored daycare. Regular Morning Deals contributor Dealio is on top of things, putting together a massive list of back-to-school sales, the annual high season for the protractor industry.
Click on the link below to check out the sales. Even if you’re long out of college, this is still an excellent time to replace the plastic “dorm furniture” you buy every year that seemed like a great idea at the time but disintegrates all too soon.
Back To School Sales Roundup [Dealio]
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“State-sponsored daycare”? Really? The concept of public education is that offensive to you, Phil?
Over react much?
Maybe…but Phil’s snark could be dialed back a notch or two. It gets in the way of a lot of his stories.
This is one of those articles on the onion that really does make sense and might explain some things:
http://www.theonion.com/articles/increasing-number-of-parents-opting-to-have-childr,17159/
I guess you didn’t learn comprehension at your state-sponsored daycare, which is sort of the point of Phil’s original comment regarding the quality thereof.
“It’s the most wonderful time of the year”
it sure is, beat me to it by the way.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fwcYbo7pjto
That is freaking hilarious! Especially because I was in Target last night and saw the real-world version of this – the kids looked like they were being marched to a firing squad!
“Back to School” is the new “Christmas Creep.”
It’s not. Christmas is always, never fail, December 25. Back to school varies for students around the country. Around northern VA, students go back to school as early as mid-August and as late as mid-September. It makes sense to have back to school sales right now because some students are getting ready to go back to school.
Going back to school is the new “Christmas creep”. There are some places in the country that start the second or third week of August now.
I effectively started school the first week of august when cross country training went from 8-10 band from 11:30 – 3:30 cross country from 4:30- 5:30. The next week was actual band camp then the third week was the start of school. You can bet I did my shopping in July.
Schools here start next week. August 4th.
Same here.
My kid starts back to school in August….I actually need to get started on this back to school junk
I wouldn’t call it much of a “creep” either.. When I was growing up, I recall seeing “Back To School” sales pretty much the week after school let out.. And this was back when the joke stated that the best three things about being a teacher were June, July, & August.
I hated it then, “I just got out, don’t tell me it’s time to go back yet!” But it was all good for my mom who loaded up on all our summer duds which were already on clearance.
One of the school districts that I do work for put up signs declaring when school would start.. about a week after it ended. I thought, jeez, are you *trying* to demoralize the kids?
How does this demoralize kids? Where does this thought process even come from and even if it did, so what. Get a shrink.
Umm…relax. It was a joke.
Most kids like summer and do not like school. If you don’t understand this, you probably got beat up a lot as a kid. Maybe you need a shrink.
I never shop for my children before school starts. I wait until October when the prices drop and things go on clearance.
My kids always loved back-to-school shopping. It was the actual going back to school they were less than thrilled with.
I loved shopping for school supplies when I was a kid. Hell, even to this day, I cannot resist the lure of a super cute notebook.
I could take or leave school, but shopping for new supplies was always fun.
When I was a kid, I was a sucker for anything Lisa Frank, and those funky-shaped erasers. I still have a weak spot for cute notebooks. I buy one whenever I feel like I deserve a treat.
As an adult, I do not think I have ever experienced the level of abject misery that back to school shopping caused me when I was a kid. Going back to school was bad enough but a full day of clothes shopping with my mother inspired actual suicidal thoughts.
“Turn around. Stand up straight. Go back and try that shirt with the first pair of pants. Stop slouching! Turn around. No, put it all back, we will go have a look at Zayre’s first, then come back here”
Ugh – I still have flashbacks.
It’s true. Sometimes, when life sucks, I just tell myself “it could be worse- at least I’m done with elementary school”.
Maybe your mom should have bought some stuff, had you try it on at home, then return what didn’t fit.
Oh wait, you get crucified around here for suggesting such a plan!
Part of the problem is your mom made you go clothes shopping at Zares.
I always hated the end of August “back to school” shopping. It coincides with my birthday; so you guessed it, I always got school clothes for my birthday.
Bah. When I was a kid we had to walk back to school uphill & in the snow.
We had to walk backwards up the hill through 15 feet of snow with no shoes cause we had no feet and we liked it!
Showoff!
My grandfather claimed he killed a bear with a loose-leaf notebook.
-Bill Cosby
I always liked shopping for back to school stuff, in August at least. Of course, now that would conflict with Christmas sales.
Some places go back to school the first week of August, that is why you are seeing the sales now. Its perfectly appropriate timing, however over here they don’t go back till after Labor day, so it does seem a bit early. But not as early as christmas creep in August. The one thing I don’t understand is parents who buy a whole winter wardrobe in August/September, first of all its usually hot here in September, the kid won’t be wearing the coat till October/November at least, and by that time they might even outgrow it. None of the schools here have air conditioning so I guarantee you your kid will want to wear shorts and t-shirt aka their summer clothes for at least the first few weeks. The clothes shopping could easily be saved for end of September or October in which case you would be able to buy things on clearance. The stores won’t run out of fall/winter clothes, school supplies on the other hand, might want to get those early especially if you know what items are needed. I guess because I wore a uniform in grade school and high school I don’t understand the frenzy for back to school clothing.
I make my child’s school supplies at home.
Really, I’m so glad my child’s school asks for a $40 check with spring registration for the following year’s school supplies. Before this school district, I had the “joy” of shopping for BTS in another school district, searching for specific items in particular sizes and colors that either didn’t exist or were sold in bulk. It was a little frustrating and a waste of gas. Plus there was the moral dilemma – since many teachers have the kids share supplies, do I cheap out with the Rose Art or go for the gold with Crayola, knowing that my child’s chances of ending up with the cheapo version were good, since the majority of parents would go with cheap.
Even if that $40 makes the coupon crowd cringe, I’m okay with it – I do love sales, savings and coupons, but I love my sanity more.
Ugh, I don’t even have kids, but IT’S WAY TOO EARLY.
We talk about Xmas creep; there should be posts about back to school creep.
Too early? When I was in high school (which was just a few years ago, actually), school usually started the first week of August, which is next week. The local school district waits until about the 3rd week of August now (due to some bullcrap about summer tourism…what that has to do with when school starts I don’t know). But the surrounding counties start back quite a bit earlier, and some of my cousins’ children have already gone back (to a “year-round” type school).
Back when I worked at Best Buy, the vacation black-out policy was Halloween to February 1st. My friends that work there now tell me the blackout is August 1st through February 1st. Alot of good Vacation time does you when there’s half the year you CAN’T take any. Halloween to Feb 1st I thought was entirely reasonable given my experiences during harvest season on the farm. But seriously….HALF THE GODDAMN YEAR?
One day this will bite the retailers right in the ass.