Bargain Sales

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Bargain Sales

***** Location: Europe, Japan
***** Season: Various, see below
***** Category: Humanity

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Explanation


Sales (English), soldes (French)

Winterschlussverkauf,
Sommerschlussverkauf (German)

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In most countries of Europe, shops have strictly regulated times when they may release regular goods at cut prices. These are usually towards the middle of winter and summer, respectively.

Thus, the winter sales start soon after Christmas or New Year's Day, and the summer sales take place in July, just before people head off for their holidays.

The opening of the sales is often accompanied by some particularly attractive bargains, for which people in many cities (e.g. Dublin, London) are prepared to queue and wait on the pavements for several days prior to the opening moment. There is a huge rush to reach the desired object, which, if valuable, may have been reduced in price by several hundred Euro. Items are reduced by up to (and sometimes over) 50 percent. In Ireland, some shops may even adopt a policy of reducing all items by 10 percent as well as giving larger concessions on those items specifically in the Sale.

Some factories may sell slightly damaged or imperfect items to the public once or twice a year in a sale which attracts the local public and boosts their public image. Such factory sales are very popular in Ireland, though less frequent now that much production has been globalised.

In Belgium, only a minority of items are reduced for the Sales -- the shops also take the opportunity of restocking with new season items which they sell at normal prices to the crowds of customers attracted by the reductions.

Isabelle Prondzynski
Belgium





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Worldwide use

Japan

kigo for mid-summer

. chuugen uridashi 中元売出（ちゅうげんうりだし）
bargain sail for mid-year presents




. hatsu uridashi 初売出し（はつうりだし）first bargain sales
kigo for the New Year


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. Ebisu markets and bargain sales


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New Zealand, Australia, UK

. Boxing Day 　
December 26



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Things found on the way


In 1923 Mitsukoshi in Nihonbashi had
bargain sales of the canned meat.
. WASHOKU
Yamato-ni 大和煮 simmered meat of wild animals 　



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HAIKU


winter bargain sale -
she does not even like
the color

Gabi Greve, 2004


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Related words

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EUROPE SAIJIKI ... TOP


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