But CHRISTMAS!!!1111!<ranty>

[KingOfAllSocks]

That ridiculousness is soooo not out fault - the woman who wrote those books had never even been here when she placed her "shiny happy vamps" in our area - and btw - those shiny folks are on the other side of the state and should in no way reflect badly on Spokane.
Also, Spokane suffers from "biggest small town syndrome" - I swear corporate for every major company thinks we are this little podunk town when in fact it is the biggest town from Seattle to Chicago on our latitude. Hence the ridiculously small amount of stock sent.

OP us "509ers" have to stick together - let me know if you need back up - I'll be home for x-mas.

Speaking of vampires and small towns, 30 Days Of Night - while being a damn good film and comic - had Barrow as this relatively small town. In fact, it's pretty big.

[cinema guy]

Speaking of vampires and small towns, 30 Days Of Night - while being a damn good film and comic - had Barrow as this relatively small town. In fact, it's pretty big.

It also actually has 65 days of night!

[Can I Help Your A$$?]

Weird--I'm about 250 miles west of Spokane and I just got through cramming all the Christmas stuff I could in every corner of Seasonal, because my boss told me we have like 12 days before it all goes salvage.

That's when people should try and use their brains to decorate for Christmas, and use stuff that other peeps don't think of to decorate with, like small toys or old costume jewelry, or...gasp...the stuff you still have from last year.

Seriously: we're getting in massive amounts of plastic tubs and I wonder to myself: are these people vying to be featured on Hoarders? How many plastic tubs for how many years of new Christmas crap do you need anyway? What about cherished traditions? What about space to walk around in?

[alowlypotato]

I honestly don't blame your customers as much as I blame your corporate office for being completely ridiculous. No one should be mad at you, as you cannot control what is happening -- but gods, it's not even technically winter yet, and they're already pushing spring?

I hate what retail is currently like. Maybe that's why I don't shop offline anymore -- I don't get annoyed at the pushing seasons three months ahead, and I don't bother the poor employees who have to suffer through stupid upper management ivory tower BS.

[Lace Neil Singer]

Buhahaha! I love ruining Christmas! It makes my cold, cold heart feel warm and alive again for a few bitter moments!

Same here. Knowing that I have ruined yet another Christmas gives me a warm, Readybrek glow. I've ruined tons of Christmases during my time in retail.

It's weird to read your post cuz all the shops round where I am are stuffed with Christmassy stuff from the end of September right thru to January. After Christmas, everyone goes mad buying leftover cards, decorations etc, so most stores order a little more just for that.

I bought some metallic red wrapping paper last January that lasted me all year; it was just plain metallic red, so did very well for birthday presents too. ^^

[ExRetailDrone]

That's when people should try and use their brains to decorate for Christmas, and use stuff that other peeps don't think of to decorate with, like small toys or old costume jewelry, or...gasp...the stuff you still have from last year.

This is the way that I think, too, so I really don't understand the people who go out and buy tons of new decorations every year. I remember when I worked at The Bullseye I would always see the same people in for the crazy after-holiday discounts, and they would load up multiple carts full of clearanced crap. I have no clue how they had enough room in their houses for all of it.

Me, I was raised by a mother who hated shopping and would reuse decorations year after year. I remember as a teen in the 90s she was still using garland from the 60s. It was well-made, too, so it still looked really nice, and she took awesome care to package it up so it wouldn't fall apart. The only thing new she would buy decoration-wise was one ornament for me, as that was tradition. I still get an ornament per year. She jokes that her tree is going to be bare once I finally settle down enough to get a tree and take all my ornaments for my own decorations

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

This is the way that I think, too, so I really don't understand the people who go out and buy tons of new decorations every year. I remember when I worked at The Bullseye I would always see the same people in for the crazy after-holiday discounts, and they would load up multiple carts full of clearanced crap. I have no clue how they had enough room in their houses for all of it.

Stay the hell away from my store the January day all our remaining Christmas stuff gets marked down to 90% off. Unless you really want to see The Running of the Clearance Whores when the doors are opened and can run to a safe place.

I don't know why we have to carry so many Christmas ornaments and decorations and crap. It just makes the store look trashy. I wish we did things more like Target, where there isn't such a big selection, but what is there looks neat and put together, not like a bunch of shit shoved on a shelf until it sells.

Also, try saying "shit shoved on a shelf until it sells" fast three times.

[Kristev]

No. Try cleaning it three times fast. On a busy day.

[Gamegirl]

I think we work at the same chain, Android.

All of our Christmas stuff has been shipped to us. We won't be getting anymore. Not until next year. I do not have any more "in the back". WTF is up with people asking me if I have anymore of whatever they are looking for in the back room? do they think we hoard stuff back there just to torment them? trust me, everything we have goes out on the floor pretty much the second we have it, unless there isn't room for it, so if it isn't on the shelf, I DO NOT HAVE IT. I'm sorry, end of rant.

If you see Christmas stuff you want in my store, buy it the day you see it. There is no guarantee it will be there next week.

[Orelinde]

sc: But I feel I should be able to shop for shorts all year round and I certainly should be able to shop for Christmas lights at the grocery story year round as well. In fact, I should be able to have all things delivered to my bed before I wake up in the morning. And if I decide the world should turn the other way ... It should graciously comply.

[Gamegirl]

sc: But I feel I should be able to shop for shorts all year round and I certainly should be able to shop for Christmas lights at the grocery story year round as well. In fact, I should be able to have all things delivered to my bed before I wake up in the morning. And if I decide the world should turn the other way ... It should graciously comply.

What's really sad is there are plenty of customers who wish this would actually happen.

[ExRetailDrone]

Stay the hell away from my store the January day all our remaining Christmas stuff gets marked down to 90% off. Unless you really want to see The Running of the Clearance Whores when the doors are opened and can run to a safe place.

I don't know why we have to carry so many Christmas ornaments and decorations and crap. It just makes the store look trashy. I wish we did things more like Target, where there isn't such a big selection, but what is there looks neat and put together, not like a bunch of shit shoved on a shelf until it sells.

At The Bullseye I used to work at, we had the Running of the Clearance Whores the day after every major seasonal holiday (Valentine's Day, Easter, Halloween, Christmas). There would always be at least a handful of people waiting impatiently outside the front doors on those days, apparently thinking it was a new Black Friday, and they made a mad dash toward the back once the LOD finally opened the doors. Sucks to be whoever might be between them and the Mother Lode. I hated the first couple of years when I was still a cashier and had to ring those vultures out once they finally satiated their rabid cravings for cheap crap that's only useful once a year.

One good thing about my Bullseye was that they moved their excess seasonal junk really quickly. It would be at 90% off when Wal-Shart across the way was still selling theirs for only 50% off.

While I hated trying to keep that area neat and would avoid it like the plague if I could get away with it (working in softlines for most of my time there helped me be able to do that), I admit that people did a pretty decent job making it look fairly tidy. But you're right, we had a lot less stuff than your store seems to, (I've been in one in a different location/state and their seasonal sections always look so trashed). Except maybe wrapping paper... I swear that shit never went away.

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

One good thing about my Bullseye was that they moved their excess seasonal junk really quickly. It would be at 90% off when Wal-Shart across the way was still selling theirs for only 50% off.

Which is one of the reasons I like shopping at the Bullseye so much. They don't have so much junky clearance mutating and multiplying and taking over every back endcap and every other aisle like the swamp does.

At the swamp, first markdown for clearance stuff is generally anywhere from 50 to 60 percent off. Except we often run stuff at greater discounts off on sale. If we can't sell this stuff when it's priced lower on sale, what makes you think we'll sell it faster when it's higher priced on clearance?

The first markdown does take care of a lot of seasonal stuff, but we have to go to 90% off to really clear it out. And even then we still have a few odds and ends we have to send back.

[sylvier]

And here's that whole lack of planning thing again ... "let's wait till next week to buy tree/ornaments, etc., there might be a sale" Or there may be some very slim pickins'.

[b2addm]

We had a ton of red and green 2 weeks ago, but now, not so much. And we sell the heck out what's left everyday. Nothing is left in backstock either and we get very few cases of decorations and the like each week. (!!Thankfully!!)
People are watching it go and still bitching because they waited and we-shock, gasp-SOLD it all!! We were supposed to read their minds, know what they wanted, and save it or order more so they could get it when they were ready to buy it.