And so...the sales are upon us. The ritualised duping of millions of people, not necessarily by the sales themselves but as part of the pre-Xmas/ post-Xmas gullibility system as a whole. The Sales won't work without the pre-Xmas hype.

On the run-in we are subjected to the full raft of advertising techniques carefully designed to appeal to our core needs of food, happiness, safety, belonging and nooky. We are then given a fabricated deadline...the 25th December...miss this and you are simply uncaring, irresponsible, lacking in Xmas cheer, miserable, and mean. To avoid the stigma you will willingly pay the asking price of course.

Then we are then lured back into the shops by appealling to our sense of competition and advantage over others. On your marks, get set...sales!

To complete the trick, the money something costs us is conveniently presented to us a 'none money' - you know, 'this sofa is only five nine nine' and the discount of the decade is offered to you by the 'oh so generous retailers' as real money saving you an amazing 'three hundred pounds/ dollars'

What is astounding is that we are told that we can have these amazing discounts as 'savings'. No they aren't they are an invention! The price is the price regardless of the notional drop in price. You and I are buying products we need not 'savings'

Waky waky everybody!!