By Olivia Walker

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On Friday November 26, teenagers will flock to stores to take advantage of the most discounted day of shopping in America: Black Friday.  This day of deals marks the time where many adults begin their holiday shopping and many teenagers scavenge those same shelves in order capture valuable shopping opportunities. Sophomore Bennett Dierckman will do exactly that.

“I go to the mall on Black Friday; it can be pretty crazy.  But it’s worth it ‘cause you get a lot of awesome stuff for cheaper,” Dierckman said.

However, Black Friday is not the only day of the year when teenagers opt for the smarter buy.  According to both a 2007 and 2009 teenage shopping analysis done in both The New York Times and The Washington Post, more teenagers have begun making the choice of bargain over brand.

Gail Laminck, Carmel Goodwill assistant manager, said she also sees this trend in her store.

“I don’t know if it’s a matter of economics so much as (students are) learning the value of money, and they’re understanding they can come and they can dress the way they want to dress for a lot cheaper so they have the money to do other things with,” she said. “I have a 19-year-old and that’s what I hear a lot: ‘Why spend a lot of money on clothes when I could take my girlfriend out to dinner and surprise her?’”

Junior Valerie Hicks fits this trend as well. She is a bargain shopper who takes advantages of discount buys, a habit that, according to Hicks, she has had since childhood.

“I get it from my mom,” she said. “We used to go shopping all the time together, and so I just kind of picked up on her ways. I’m a little bit obsessed, which can be a little bad sometimes, since whenever I get my paycheck now it all goes straight to my shopping.”

However, although saving money has always been a habit, Hicks said her paycheck also contributes to her need to make the most of her dollars.

“My parents never give me money for clothes,” Hicks said. “They believe in the whole ‘teaching responsibility’ and things like that. All my money that I use comes from my own pocket, which makes me need to get more for my money.”

But although the cheaper products may stretch money for a longer time, the lifespan of the clothes themselves cannot be expected to follow the same trend. It is not a surprise that buying discount, or even second-hand clothing, increases the risk of damage of the items.

According to Dierckman, the wise thing to do is to check clothes beforehand to avoid any stupid buys.

“You’ve kinda gotta just look at it,” he said. “Especially when you’re shopping at Goodwill. I mean, check under the sleeves, make sure there are no holes, or it’s not majorly damaged.”

Still, for students like Dierckman and Hicks, a bad purchase every now and then still saves more money than buying from most expensive brand stores. For Hicks and Dierckman, as well as many other students here, bargain shopping is a question of choice as opposed to a need out of sheer desperation.

Dierckman said, “(Buying at discount prices is) in style. It’s not like I’m poor or anything. It’s just that I like shopping at Goodwill because you can get the same clothes, or the same idea of clothes, for a lot less money.”