That right, dear readers! We are only a few short weeks away from that most magical time of the year, Thankshopping Day. Er, I mean Black Friday. In my defense, retailers keep pushing the Christmas season backwards and forwards and outward, and some day it will consume not only Hannukah and Kwanzaa, but Thanksgiving, New Year's, and Halloween in one long orgy of consumerism.
Welcome to the Hobby Haven!
I have cut most of this post because it's long.
I've always had an uneasy sense about holiday shopping. I love holidays! I love eating delicious food and giving gifts. I love getting gifts even more. And I like shopping and getting good bargains. But I just dislike the sense of panic and urgency that retailers instill in it. Shopping should be a fun and leisurely activity, not full of panic and worry and possible physical injury. (I dread the inevitable Black Friday news reports of shopper and employee injuries and even deaths.) And I dislike the crass commercialism that's infested everything. I just wish that it would be possible to do holiday shopping without the ridiculous panic and hype. Sadly, I don't see that happening.
This is a really weird way to start a blog post about holiday shopping, I know, but I just wanted to get that off my chest. I am all for shopping! Just responsibly, please. No pushing, shouting, stealing, or hyperventilating over the correct amount of money to spend or getting X brand popular toy.
But what I made this post for is to point out that I'll be doing some intermittent posts over the next few months on various sales and bargains that I see cropping up, both online and in stores. Mostly related to hobby topics, of course. So expect to see me posting intel (probably just dribs and drabs of things) about video game, toy, electronic, etc sales.
There are a few sales that I'll personally be partaking in, and am looking forward to. Every year, the online anime/manga retailer Right Stuf launches two fantastic year-end sales for Black Friday and Christmas. I look forward to these so much that I actually figured out their sale patterns. Don't judge me.
The Black Friday sale almost always starts the Monday of the week before Thanksgiving, and usually ends the Wednesday before Christmas. It runs in three progressive "waves" of sales spaced a few days apart. The Christmas sale starts 12 days before the Thursday of the week before Christmas. So, assuming that my calculations are correct and that the employees there aren't reading this and making plans to alter the dates, we can expect to see the Black Friday sale start November 17th, and the Christmas sale start on December 6th. I will be so smug if I'm right.
The online video game retailers Steam and Good Old Game also offer massive discounts on most of their games around the holidays, so we can expect to see some deep discounts from them. It's not uncommon to see games--especially indie games--get slashed up to 50% or even 75% off.
I've actually done most of my Christmas shopping already! I have sort of a thing regarding gifts. Either 1. give them something that they've specifically stated that they want or 2. give them something that they can use or consume. I used to give far too many knick-knack gifts as a child, and have now developed the mindset of "I don't want to give them useless junk they don't want. Give them something they can use!" I almost always design calendars or give out things that will keep, like special coffees or teas. Hence, most of the things I shop for are for myself. I tend not to buy many things during the rest of the year, since the sales are never as good. That's why you'll see posts with me buying non-gift items.
You can also expect to see some posts about Black Friday deals. I've only been shopping on Black Friday a few times, but I might do it this year. Assuming I don't have to go in to work that day, of course. I'm looking to pick up a game console on the cheap, so I'll be scouring ads for deals. And listing them here too, of course!
In more toy news, Wal-Mart is currently offering a Halloween sale on Monster High Freaky Fusion dolls. The basic dolls are $11-15, and the new characters are roughly $20. They will also be offering a bundle with a basic doll and the Freaky Fusion movie, "coming soon." Pictures have been leaked of a re-issuing of the Monster High Dawn of the Dance dolls at Toys-R-Us, with tags suggesting that they will be on sale for Black Friday. More promo pictures of the new Monster Exchange Marisol Coxi and Lorna McNessie dolls are surfacing, too.
Second, pictures were FINALLY leaked of not only the Ever After High Duchess Swan basic doll, but also of the four "Spring Unsprung" dolls. So hyped, y'all. Duchess' doll is pretty, and very close to what the re-designed character artwork (the kind you see on the boxes and merchandise, NOT the artwork from the webisodes) looks like. Compared to her webisode appearance, her hair is a lot flatter, with more black in it, her skirt is nowhere near as fluffy, and her white shoes and stockings are now both black. She also doesn't have a corset panel in her tutu, it's now a physical corset tied on top of her tutu, which makes no sense to me. Her face is just as beautiful, though, and the star pattern on her skirt was kept, which makes me happy. I might like her better once I see her. Official promo pictures will apparently be revealed soon.
Just a bit more of a word on the Spring Unsprung dolls...they are stunning. The line features Cerise Hood, Cedar Wood, Holly O'Hair, and Briar Beauty, all in very detailed and elaborate party-type dresses. Think Hat-Tastic Tea Party, but with flower crowns, crazier shoes, patterned tights, and cutaway skirts. I...I love it. I haven't been thrilled about the Legacy Day and Hat-Tastic Tea Party lines because I felt the dolls simply didn't look as good as the webisode designs. I'll be picking up Cerise, and quite possibly Cedar. She's decked out in pink roses and knee-high sandals and looks stunning.
Before I sign out, I want to add in a teensy bit of personal news! First, Amazon has FINALLY found a supplier for their Sailor Saturn Figuarts, and she will be arriving sometime this week! I already have a review planned, so I will just review her on the 7th, and you guys will have to deal with several Friday reviews in a row, heh. She'll be the last Figuarts review for 2014--Uranus and Neptune will be released in early 2015 and we have no information about Pluto--so please be excited! I am crossing my fingers that some spare cash floats my way next year to get Mercury and Mars, but we will see. I'm getting them eventually, of course.
Whew, that was a lot of stuff. Miss Scarlett, signing out!
