感恩节圣诞夜黑色星期五 美国和巴西的天壤之别

　　巴西不庆祝感恩节。但是这个国家确实会用另一种形式来庆祝感恩节；以巴西特色的狂热，媒体的谄媚，来向美好的黑色星期五致敬。

　　Carnival³ and the soccer field, Brazil has taken to imitating that day when millions of Americans camp out on frozen sidewalks in dilapidated tents in front of Walmart, all in the spirit of giving of their time and precious cash, in the hunt to trample⁴ and claw their way to a Panasonic

　　可悲的是，除了狂欢节和绿荫场外，巴西自创的庆祝形式为数不多，反而是开始学起美国人。而这一天的美国，数百万美国人露宿在冰冷的街头，沃尔玛（Walmart）门前密布着破旧的帐篷，所有人都是本着付出时间和宝贵金钱的精神，就为了等大门一开争先恐后地购买一台松下平板电视机或者XBox One游戏机。

　　But in the U.S., if Black Friday is a score card for Christmas retail⁵ sales, in Brazil it is more of a means for retailers⁷ to fraud eager shoppers, happy to participate in an American tradition that is still as foreign to them as the moon. If Brazilians were doing Black Friday right, they’d have people camping out in front of Patio⁸ Higienopolis Thursday night, or at least barging through the doors at 00:01 on Friday at the nearest FNAC.

　　在美国，如果说黑色星期五是一张圣诞节假期的零售业绩记分卡，那么在巴西，它却更像是零售商欺骗热切的、愿意接受美国传统节日的购物者的一种手段，因为这个节日对他们而言还相当陌生。如果巴西人懂得怎么过黑色星期五的话，那就应该在周四晚上到Patio Higienopolis卖场门口扎营，或至少在周五凌晨第一时间闯入最近的FNAC门店。

　　And as Black Friday approaches the second most populous⁹ nation in the Americas, city and state governments are taking to warning their shop-a-holic citizens, full of holiday cheer, that there are many Brazilian Grinches looking to take advantage of their gift giving selves by selling them up a river without a paddle.

　　鉴于黑色星期五逐渐被巴西这个美洲第二人口大国所接受，市、州政府开始向他们的市民——那些充满假期欢乐的购物狂发出警告——有许多“巴西怪杰”打算利用他们奖励自己点礼物的想法打捞一笔。

　　The consumer protection bureau of S?o Paulo, Brazil’s largest city, released a list Tuesday morning of 325 companies Brazilians should avoid this holiday season, primarily for e-commerce. The bureau, known as Procon, or Pro-Consumer, also published a list of tips today on what to look out for when shopping online. So while Black Friday in the U.S. is a day of deals, in Brazil it’s come to be known more as a day of fraud. As a result of last year’s fraudulent fiasco among on line and traditional retailers, the local government is using Black Friday as a way to remind consumers of their rights.

　　在巴西最大的城市——圣保罗的消费者保护局周二早晨公布了一份巴西人应该在这个假期回避的325家公司名单，主要是针对电子商务。被称为消费者保护组织（Procon）或者维护消费者权益（Pro-Consumer）的保护局还在当天发布了有关在网络购物注意事项的指南清单。因此，虽然美国的黑色星期五是场购物盛宴，但到了巴西却变成诈骗盛宴。考虑到在去年发生的网络和传统零售商的诈骗丑闻，巴西地方政府把黑色星期五当成了提醒消费者维权的契机。

　　This is quite different from the U.S., of course, where consumers are more than aware of their rights, and might even tend to abuse them. Brazil is not a litigious society. You get trampled¹⁰, you grin and bear it. There is a new Brazil emerging. One acutely aware of fair play. A web based company called ReclameAQUI, or Complain Here, set up a site to give consumers in Brazil a voice. This of course is their busiest time of year.

　　这与美国相比，真是一个天一个地。当然，美国的消费者更清楚他们的权利，甚至是变得滥用自己的权利。巴西并非一个好打官司的社会。你的权利被践踏也只能咬咬牙认了。不过，巴西正在改头换面，这是一个更加认同公平交易的巴西。一家名为Complain Here的网络公司创建了一个网站，让巴西的消费者发出自己的呼声，当然，这是他们一年之中最忙碌的时候。

　　Brazil is getting ready for its fourth Black Friday, but this year is getting extra attention due to last year’s abundance of consumer complaints.

　　巴西正为其第四个黑色星期五做准备，但是鉴于去年大量的消费者投诉，今年得到了越来越多的关注。

　　Brazilian daily Estado de Sao Paulo has even taken to posting up to the minute story items about Black Friday, serving as a watchdog to the bad boys of Brazilian retail.

　　巴西报纸圣保罗州报(Estado de Sao Paulo)甚至已经开始发布有关黑色星期五的详细的新闻报道，以监督巴西的零售业中的“坏孩子”。

　　Last year, many Brazilians went to stores promising¹¹ discounts upwards¹² of 70%, only to find out the discounts were much lower, or were tied to other offers. Some stores simply raised prices weeks before Black Friday, only to lower them on the actual date in order to give consumers a sense that prices had dropped precipitously.

　　去年，许多巴西人涌进那些宣传三折大减价的商家，结果却发现折扣根本没那么多，或者是附加了种种条件。一些商店干脆在黑色星期五前几周抬高售价，只是在节日当天降低价格，继而让消费者们感觉到是在大减价。

　　“This year’s Black Friday will be a testing ground for retailers, ” said Rodrigo Bore, vice¹³ president of online retailer⁶ Buscapé. The company said it spent around $200 million on software and staff to build a system that validates¹⁴ price offerings from the retailers it showcases on its search engine. The prices of items marked down for Black Friday will be compared with the average value of the same goods sold over a three month period to see if there really is a discount in play, Bore told Estado on Tuesday.

　　“今年的黑色星期五对于零售商而言是一块试验田。”电商Buscapé副总裁罗德里戈·博尔（Rodrigo Bore）说。这家公司表示，为了建立一个系统，来验证其搜索引擎中零售商报价的真实性，它在软件和人员方面投资了大约2亿美元。该系统将对黑色星期五打折商品的价格与前三个月同类商品的平均售价进行比对，以此来判断折扣是否真实。

　　Search engine Busca Desconto, which helps organize Black Friday on line in Brazil, partnered with the Brazilian E-Commerce Chamber¹⁵ to create a code of ethics¹⁶ for participating e-tailers, in an effort to move them into good ole gringo-style customer service.

　　搜索引擎Busca Desconto，不仅组织巴西的黑色星期五在线购物活动，同时还与巴西的电子商务商会（E-Commerce Chamber）合作，为参与电商制定行为准则，以此来规范他们的顾客服务，向“外国佬”的水平看齐。

　　Chamber director Gerson Rolim said Brazilian retailers are notorious for phony sales. Part of the new code of ethics is to guarantee consumers that Black Friday sales are actual sales, below the average three month price. Another target, said Rolim, is to get e-tailers in particular to clarify exactly what items are on sale and what shoppers have to do in order to secure the discount. Getting a free TV if you buy a Mercedes C is not really a Black Friday sale.

　　该商会负责人格尔森·罗里姆（Gerson Rolim）说巴西的零售商因虚假打折促销而臭名昭著。制定这套新的行为准则，一定程度上是为了向消费者们保证，黑色星期五的打折是真实的，低于三个月的平均价格。罗里姆表示，另一个目标是让零售业者，尤其是电商，明确哪些商品在打折促销以及为了享受折扣，消费者们需要满足哪些要求。买奔驰车送电视机，这种活动算不上是黑色星期五的打折促销。

　　If companies violate the code of ethics, they will be banned from participating in Black Friday sales in 2014. By then, Brazilians will be in their fifth year of Black Friday madness. Forget the phony sales. I say, let the trampling¹⁷ begin!

　　如果有公司违反了这套行为准则，那么他们将被禁止参加2014年的黑色星期五减价促销活动。届时，巴西人将迎来黑色星期五疯狂的第五个年头。忘记虚假促销。我是说，让盛宴开始吧！

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