Opinion : Are you ready for the Boxing Day sales?

Sadly Boxing Day is nearly over for another year.

The turkey is all but finished and my guests are about to go home. What a shame.

It’s been a lovely time this Christmas and we all had so much fun.

My indoor firework display on Christmas evening went off a treat even though the drawing room, where we let the indoor fireworks off, filled with smoke and we had to retire to the sanctuary of the dining room while we ventilated the drawing room.

Of course after Christmas the shops traditionally hold sales to dispose of the stock that failed to sell on the run up to Christmas.

Once upon a time the sales didn’t start until the Christmas festivities were completely over however these days some shops even open on Boxing Day itself. This is a shame because surely people should be with their families on Boxing Day rather than indulging in spending money?

Just as Christmas Day has lost its meaning so has Boxing Day. I can still remember when we would put out a gift for the milkman, paper boy, baker, butcher and postman who used to deliver goods and provide services directly to our home.

These days of course most of those services have ceased, being replaced by supermarkets and the postman seems not to be able to accept gifts due to anti-corruption legislation brought in by the politically correct brigade.

As for the Boxing Day sales, well, from what people tell me the sales are more about advertising huge discounts to lure shoppers in but once inside the number of items actually discounted are few and far between.

‘65% off’ was proudly displayed in large writing the window of one shop before Christmas, however underneath, in much smaller writing, were the words ‘*Selected lines only, while stocks last’.

So that means that only a few, or possibly even one item was discounted by 65% and if that items sells out then the stocks haven’t lasted but the poster can still appear in the shop window to draw in unsuspecting customers.

In my opinion if a shop puts what appears to be a blanket discount on their goods there should be no small print. All items in the store should be discounted and the customers should not have to play ‘read the small print’ or, once inside the shop, ‘hunt the bargain’ which incidentally may have sold out.

My good self has given up with the shops in Wycombe, indeed in my opinion Marlow has far better shopping facilities with many independent retailers offering a wider range of goods than the large chain stores in Wycombe that are run on behalf of faceless shareholders.

Anyway, yours truly is going to enjoy the last few hours of Christmas. After all it will be a whole year before it’s Christmas again.

What do you think?

My blogs are published every Tuesday and Friday evening around 8.00pm here on the WycombeToday.com website.

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