Brace yourselves, Pandas—Black Friday is upon us! Traditionally, the Friday after Thanksgiving marks the start of the Christmas shopping season in the United States, as well as in many parts of the world. Unfortunately, this period brings out some of the worst traits in people: greed, aggression, and envy.

Our team at Bored Panda has compiled a list of photos featuring some of the most epic Black Friday fails ever. From stores ransacked by customers hunting for the biggest sales to companies trying to pull the wool over crazed shoppers’ eyes, there’s a bit of everything. Scroll down for a taste of what discounts can do to someone if they’re not careful.

#1 A Black Friday “Bargain”

Image credits: Zoykah

#2 My Local Macy’s Store After Black Friday Sale

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#3 I Finally Bought Myself A Security Camera On Black Friday From Target After Dealing With A Psycho. However, I Got Rice Instead

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The National Retail Federation reports that 196.7 million Americans shopped in stores and online during the five-day holiday in 2022, from Thanksgiving Day to Cyber Monday.

That’s more than the jaw-dropping 179.8 million shoppers in 2021, 186.4 million in 2020, and 189.6 million in 2019.

#4 When You’re At The Hospital And It Dawns On You That Today Is Black Friday

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#5 Black Friday Fail. People Are Fighting Over Products

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#6 My Friend Saw A Baby Being Born At A Walmart On Black Friday

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Broadly speaking, Black Friday tends to be (one of) the busiest shopping days of the year in the US… as well as in some other parts of the world. However, you’d be wrong to think that Black Friday begins and ends on… well, Black Friday.

The shopping ‘holiday’ has a tendency to ‘bleed’ into the surrounding weeks… and even months (yes! Months!).

#7 Black Friday At Walmart

The line decided to cross the street, blocking traffic. It extended down the parking lane rather than turning down the sidewalk like normal human beings.

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#8 My Partner Ordered Our First Ever “Big Purchase” On The Black Friday Sale. Apparently, The Delivery Guy Dropped It Down The Stairs And Ran

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#9 Here In Brasil There’s No Black Friday But Only Scam

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For instance, the Monday right after Black Friday is known as Cyber Monday. Retailers and companies continue to sell products and services at a discount. Some of them go further, celebrating Cyber Week.

Others, however, go even beyond that.

#10 The Laptop I Bought Online On Black Friday

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#11 My Friend Ordered Two Fitbits During The Amazon Black Friday Sale, But Got Paper Plates Instead

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#12 I Captured The Essense Of Black Friday In One Picture

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CNN reports that in 2023, retailers “threw out the playbook,” rolling out deals in a similar vein as Black Friday weeks in advance. What this means is that this year, the impact of Black Friday itself might be lessened.

After all, if you’ve already hunted down the best deals of the season in advance, you might not want or need anything else. If you bought a new laptop/TV/console, you don’t need a second one.

#13 Black Friday At A Walmart In Alabama. So Many People Waiting To Just Get In

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#14 This Epic Black Friday Deal

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#15 When You Go Shopping On Black Friday But Forget Your Child’s Stroller

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According to Parija Kavilanz from CNN, the November and December months account for around a fifth of retailers’ sales for the entire year. This means that the gift-buying season is incredibly important for companies’ sales and profits.

Retailers who fail to take advantage of the seasonal rush might find that they’re far behind their competitors.

#16 Target Has These Up All Over Their Electronics Section. Guess Which Games Are Specifically Excluded From The Offer

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#17 What A Great Black Friday Deal

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#18 This Chair I Was Going To Buy Was £169.99 A Few Hours Before Amazon’s Black Friday “Sale” Started

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Marshal Cohen, the chief retail industry analyst with market research firm Circana, told CNN that Black Friday is now more akin to ‘Grey Friday.’ “The dilution of the power of Black Friday has begun again this year. Gone is the sense of urgency and excitement. But the quest for value is still there,” the specialist explained.

As the shopping ‘holiday’ spreads out over a longer period of time, what this means, in practical terms, is that there’s less urgency for shoppers to rush to their local retail stores. Though you’ll still find people camping and queuing up before opening time and fighting over goods, this year, all of this might be slightly muted (well, comparatively). There’s slightly less competition.

#19 My Friend Ordered Two Elgato Game Capture Cards At $180 On Black Friday, And Amazon Sent Him Two Empty Boxes

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#20 FedEx “Efficiency”. I Live In Oregon And Ordered This Package On Black Friday

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#21 This Ad

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What’s also changed the dynamic of Black Friday is the continued growth of online shopping. This makes deals incredibly accessible to anyone with a smartphone, a computer, and an internet connection.

When you’re offered awesome deals with (hopefully, insured) delivery straight to your door, why would you want to risk being crushed by several hundred other shoppers at a physical store? Convenience is a huge factor here.

#22 What A Steal

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#23 People Who Do This

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#24 The New TV I Bought For Black Friday From Walmart

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CNN notes that some retailers may be worried about rising prices, higher interest and mortgage rates, and Americans having to restart repaying their student loans which were frozen for many during the Covid-19 pandemic.

This means that some companies respond by turning Black Friday into a massively long event, hoping to draw in more customers.

#25 This Occurred On Black Friday At A Local Shopping Mall In Lancaster, Pennsylvania

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#26 Apparently Someone Got A Little Too Excited And Lost Their Underwear In The Bathroom On Black Friday

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#27 Such A Great Deal. Amazon vs. Manufacturer’s Retail Price

I’ve been waiting to buy this on Amazon, assuming there would be some sort of Black Friday discount. But no, the price stayed at $150, but they added a crossed-out price, which is even higher than the actual manufacturer’s suggested retail price.

Image credits: zubrowka1

The upside for shoppers is that they get access to better deals for longer and have to compete less with others. The downside is elementary fatigue: if it’s always sale season, then it doesn’t matter much.

In the meantime, BBC Worklife notes that Black Friday has become shorthand for any deep-discount shopping event, whether it happens in October or… July!

#28 These Dudes Are Trying To Put Two 65″ TVs On The Top Of Their Honda Civic. Just Unreal

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#29 Deals Like This

Costco sales are unbeatable right now. They’re next to the tires, in case you were wondering.

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#30 Black Friday, The One Day Saving 30 Bucks Is More Important Than Your Baby’s Well Being

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“Black Friday really is a huge deal. But Black Friday is no longer a single-day event,” David Bussak, managing director at the global business advisory firm AlixPartners, told the BBC’s Brennan Doherty.

For some deliciously accurate and funny Black Friday memes, check out Bored Panda’s previous article when you’ve enjoyed this list to the fullest.

#31 They Told Me They Are Waiting For Black Friday. What Do They Need That Bad? I’m Sure They Could Get It Online

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#32 Black Friday Sales Are Fire This Year

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#33 The Majority Of Stores At “Toronto Premium Outlet” Have Put Stickers Over Cheaper Prices Or Have Changed Tags For The Black Friday Weekend

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#34 My Coworker Went A Little Crazy On HDMI Cables This Black Friday

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#35 Be On The Lookout For The Best Black Friday Deals

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#36 Black Friday Deals On GPUs

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#37 Someone Was Way Too Excited For Black Friday Deals

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#38 Target’s Black Friday Sale

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#39 A Casualty Of Black Friday

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#40 Black Friday Scam

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#41 I Spent 30€ On This Thing

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#42 My Awesome Cousins Bought Me A Nice Big 55″ TV Last Night, As A Thank You And As A “We Will Be Spending Lots More Time At Your House” Gift

Two minutes in, the picture goes out. Get it outta here kids. Try again. 

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#43 This Black Friday Sale Tactic

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#44 Human Decency Is Gone During Black Friday

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#45 This Shopping Cart Traffic During Black Friday. People Are Going Crazy

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#46 Black Friday Be Like

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#47 Black Friday Parking. This Guy Parks On The Plant Bed In Between The Handicap Parking

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#48 This Sums Up Black Friday

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#49 Thank Goodness For Black Friday Deals

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#50 Black Friday In Portugal

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