If you’re reading this, we hope you're enjoying a nice day off, spending time with your favorite people or animals, and recovering from a delightful food coma. We’ve gotten some questions on Black Friday for TOM BIHN, so we wanted to share our perspective on why we do not participate in Black Friday.
First, today is a well-deserved day off for the crew. You can, of course, continue to shop and place orders on our website, but our Fulfillment team won’t get to them until Monday. And any questions emailed to our inbox during this Thanksgiving holiday weekend won’t be answered by our Customer Service team until Monday either. Sometimes, it’s hard to resist the frenzy of the holiday season, but we are committed to promoting a healthy work-life balance and acknowledging the hard work and dedication of our crew.
As for promotions, we stand by our long tradition of pricing fairly year-round, and thus, we do not on Black Friday, or any other time, run sales, discounts, or coupons. We recognize that our prices are not cheap but each TOM BIHN bag is designed and hand-crafted in our own factory in Seattle with high-quality custom materials and dedicated artisanship. We have one of the best teams of cutting, sewing, and joining professionals anywhere and we are committed to operating an ethical, safe, and pleasant facility in Seattle. Ultimately, we believe our formula creates great, long-lasting products. Paired with an incredible TOM BIHN community, we are proud to be recently told by our customer reviews vendor that we have one of the highest customer review engagement rates and average review across all brands.
While we refrain from promotions, every year, we debut new designs and bring back some old favorites for special reruns on Cyber Monday. Dive into the details in our holiday debut blog. Our team has been diligently working on this for months, and we can’t wait to finally share these bags with you on Monday.
Cheers and we are so thankful for your support and the entire TOM BIHN community!
Michael Ortenzi - November 28, 2023
Honestly, very refreshing to see a company that values their employees and live the Work Life Balance Statement. I wish more companies would Take Notice and implement the same values instead of preaching them and not living up to the them. Excellent products, Superior Customer Care and consistent quality all around all the time.
Charlotte - November 27, 2023
I understand your reasons. However, I was hoping for a Black Friday or Cyber Monday discount. Without a discount, your backpacks, specifically the Synik 22, are out of my price range. I have read many reviews and was looking forward to the possible holiday sale.
Jenny - November 25, 2023
I was just spending time deleting the loads of Black Friday emails in my inbox when a fresh breeze flowed through the room – your non-Black Friday email. I clicked through and was delighted by this article. I loved your company (and my bags) before, I am completely over the moon now. Thanks for what you do – it’s much more than a bag.
Edward - November 25, 2023
From the very first days of finding Tom Bihn bags years ago I knew there was something quite unique and special about this company. And those feelings have only grown as has my respect and appreciation for all that Tom and his wonderful crew provide us. Thank you!
Andreas Demetriades - November 25, 2023
I completely agree with and support the Tom Bihn approach to Black Friday. I believe that when you have a great “total customer experience” (great design, top quality, uniqueness, customer service) then you do not need and should not engage in promotions etc. Tom Bihn has another very special and unique ingredient in its magic recipe: the passion and strength of its customer community. In my view this was sorely tested and damaged over a year ago when we discovered that Tom Bihn the man had secretly sold out to new owners, thereby compromising his own values and honesty, openness and transparency. I for one had been inspired by Tom Bihn the man and the wonderful team he had built around him, and I purchased many products throughout the early months of 2022 without knowing that he had already handed over to new owners. When the news finally leaked out, I felt let down, betrayed and cheated. And I felt sorry for Tom Bihn the man who had (probably due to imposed conditions in selling his company) to leave without saying goodbye to his devoted fans, thereby damaging his long term legacy. But the world carries on, and fans like myself have continued to support the company (if a little more skeptical and a little less naïve), hoping that customer trust will continue to be restored over time. I have recently become the proud owner of the new Trinity bag, which again hits a sweet spot in both design and quality, and has become a valued little brother to my beloved Tristar.
Michael Ortenzi - November 28, 2023
Honestly, very refreshing to see a company that values their employees and live the Work Life Balance Statement. I wish more companies would Take Notice and implement the same values instead of preaching them and not living up to the them. Excellent products, Superior Customer Care and consistent quality all around all the time.