Today's moment of WTF?!....

[poltr1]

....was seeing the back-to-school supplies being stocked in the seasonal section of the local Wal-Mart. (Yeah, I occasionally make forays into the Evil Empire. Mostly because they're the only retailer around that accepts plastic bags for recycling.)

We just had the Fourth of July! It can't be back-to-school time already, can it? In some places, like New York State, school doesn't end until mid-to-late June, and doesn't start until right after Labor Day. Here in Ohio, it ends around Memorial Day and starts again in late August.

Nothing like rushing the season to discourage kids from enjoying their summer vacation.

While I'm thinking about it, there's only about 170 shopping days until Christmas, give or take a few.

Comments

[redaxe.livejournal.com]

I'm not really all that surprised. Seasonal stuff does tend to come in way early; far more so than when we were kids. I don't know if the office places (Staples, Office Max, etc.) are on back-to-school yet, but I would be shocked if they weren't by the end of July. (And yes, our kids just got out, the last week of June, and back AFTER Labor Day.)

On the other hand, Wally World has to cope with early starts for school in places like Florida (mid- or even early August, I think), and it's possible that they need to stock uniformly across all their stores.

[daisy-knotwise.livejournal.com]

I was in Target on the last full day of spring and bought Katie a bunch of summer things. On clearance.
I was aghast. But I saved a lot of money. (30% to 70% off.)
Retail is just weird. Sigh

GHR

[kliklikitty.livejournal.com]

Actually the reason for back to school stuff to be on sale now is really very simple. Many schools issue a list of what the kiddies are going to need next year that comes with the report cards that are just getting to many parents this week. Rather than risk losing the stupid list many parents prefer to keep a few large bags full of stuff sitting in a closet waiting for school to re-open.

Maybe it acts as a beacon of hope for frustated parents. Tangable proof that summer vacation won't last forever.
{grin}

[yourmommma.livejournal.com]

Like using "It's the most wonderful time of the year" in their promos?

And don't forget that the one great thing to come out of back to school promos:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JaaZl4ZDz6M

[poltr1]

Was that the Staples ad? The firewall at work blocks all streaming media, and I still use dialup at home, which means I can't watch this.

But I thought it was a great commercial.

[yourmommma.livejournal.com]

Actually it's Rubber Band Man--the Office Max back to school commercial.

I'm very sorry you can't watch it. :( But if you've seen the Rubber Band Man commercials before maybe you'll pick up the tune and start humming it to make you smile!

That totally sucks about your work -- don't they know that tiny mental health breaks increase productivity? Or are they just jackasses?

[poltr1]

>That totally sucks about your work -- don't they know that tiny mental >health breaks increase productivity? Or are they just jackasses?

Yes, they know. Which is why they haven't toally blocked all non-local websites. (If I worked at a government installation, I wouldn't be able to surf or play any games whatsoever. That's fraud, waste, and abuse -- use of government property for personal use.)