Those who know me, know I’m not much of a shopper. When I do buy things, I usually look for a good deal, so you might think I’d be into the big sales on Black Friday or Cyber Monday (now a weeklong event at some online stores). But I always feel a little ambivalent about it. I sure as heck don’t want to fight the crowds for late-night Thanksgiving pre-Christmas deals. Now one of our favorite retailers gives a good rational for skipping the cyber deals. Fair Indigo on their blog, note that free shipping is never really free. Companies either pay themselves, raise prices to cover the difference, or take it out of the workers’ salaries by paying less for their products. I’m all for saving a buck, but there are times when I’d rather pay more for something I care about, like fair trade products (from stores I trust). So this shopping season consider paying a little more for things if you can buy them from a small business you trust.
Black Friday / Cyber Monday Ambivalence
Published by Kendall Dunkelberg
I am a poet, translator, and professor of literature and creative writing at Mississippi University for Women, where I direct the Low-Res MFA in Creative Writing, the undergraduate concentration in creative writing, and the Eudora Welty Writers' Symposium. I have published three books of poetry, Barrier Island Suite, Time Capsules, and Landscapes and Architectures, as well as a collection of translations of the Belgian poet Paul Snoek, Hercules, Richelieu, and Nostradamus. I live in Columbus with my wife, Kim Whitehead; son, Aidan; and dog, Aleida. View more posts
Kendall Dunkelberg 