Not so long ago, it seems, it used to be that the Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals remained mysteries, freak days where the rules of consumerism - as well as the etiquette - went out the window and shopping was an almost literal free-for-all of chaos and massively discounted goodies.
Now, most companies start advertising their offers weeks, sometimes even months, ahead of the manic weekend, ensuring that the element of surprise has been robbed from the chase but appetite for cheap shopping remains at an all time high.
So if you don't know your Black Friday from your Cyber Monday, we're here to show you the ropes - so you can use them to lasso yourself a television set for 30% of its original price.
The "Holidays"
Thanksgiving (which falls this year on Thursday November 22), being the American equivalent of Christmas in terms of consumerism gone wild, is quickly followed in America by Black Friday (November 23) and Cyber Monday (November 26) - two of the busiest shopping days of the year.
According to one survey, Americans spent $682.0 billion on Black Friday last year alone, with individual Americans spending $967.13 on average. This year, they're expected to spend $717.5 billion in total and $1,007.24 individually, an increase of 4.3%.
And that's just one side of the world. Ireland has firmly jumped on the bandwagon, thanks in part to our latent "Americanness" borrowed from shows like The Simpsons as well as the accessibility of a rake of American companies advertising their sales in Ireland.
Given the limited number of holidays in America it would be surprising if it was made into an official national holiday but, for a number of government employees and school goers, it is. The annual four-day weekend, which comes only weeks away from Christmas, is a seller's dream.
Cyber Chaos
Not content with one capitalist holiday, Cyber Monday emerged as an extension of the shopping crazy, ensuring that celebrants are spending the entire weekend through, in some cases. The focus here is in the name - with companies encouraging online shopping after the exhaustion of the Thanksgiving weekend. And reader, it works a treat.
If so inclined, any number of companies are surely filling your email inbox with offers as you read, and information on where to get the best deals is not in short supply online. Us? We'll be watching the carnage play out on the #BlackFriday and #CyberMonday feeds.
