Black Friday kicks off 2009 holiday shopping season
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At the front of the line
Early birds who stood at the front of stores' lines on Black Friday include:
Mike Cornish
Age: 27
Occupation: Oil field worker
City: Goliad
Store: Kohl's
Time arrived: midnight Friday
Item sought: Kids' ...
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At the front of the line
Early birds who stood at the front of stores' lines on Black Friday include:
Mike Cornish
Age: 27
Occupation: Oil field worker
City: Goliad
Store: Kohl's
Time arrived: midnight Friday
Item sought: Kids' digital camera and a ballerina jewelry box
Shawna Cornish
Age: 27
Occupation: Sheriff's office employee
City: Goliad
Store: Kohl's
Time arrived: Midnight Friday
Item sought: Kids' digital camera and ballerina jewelry box
Delfino Escalante
Age: 52
Occupation: Oil field worker
City: Victoria
Store: Sears
Time arrived: 4 p.m. Thursday
Item sought: High-efficiency washer/dryer combo
Margaret Hamilton
Age: 46
Occupation: Teacher
City: New Braunfels
Store: Academy Sports + Outdoors
Time arrived: 3:15 a.m. Friday
Item sought: Frogg Toggs and Crocs
Maria Netro
Age: 27
Occupation: Housewife
City: Flatonia
Store: JC Penney
Time arrived: 2:15 a.m. Friday
Item sought: Arizona blue jeans
Gabriela Ortiz
Age: 15
Occupation: Student
City: Victoria
Store: Target
Time arrived: 6:30 p.m. Thursday
Item sought: TVs
Holly Powell
Age: 22
Occupation: Teacher
City: Houston
Store: Academy Sports + Outdoors
Time arrived: 3:15 a.m. Friday
Item sought: Frogg Toggs and Crocs
Susie Prichard
Age: 48
Occupation: Training specialist for a software company
City: New Braunfels
Store: Academy Sports + Outdoors
Time arrived 3:15 a.m.
Item sought: Garments
Stefanie Weaver
Age: 23
Occupation: Receptionist
City: Victoria
Store: Victoria Mall main entrance, waiting on Old Navy
Time arrived: 2:45 a.m. Friday
Item sought: pants, sweaters, clothing in general
Tips for surviving and thriving on Black Friday
Hurry to get to the items you want in the store. If your shoes fall off, keep on going.
- Gabriela Ortiz, Victoria
Take chairs, a blanket and friends when you know you'll be waiting in line.
- Delfino Escalanate, Victoria
Get to the stores early.
- Maria Netro, Flatonia
Wear tennis shoes and socks.
- Roxie Medina, Port Lavaca
Divide and conquer. Give each person with you a specific item to look for in a store. It makes things go faster.
- Holly Powell, Houston, Margaret Hamilton and Susie Prichard, both of New Braunfels
Do your homework. Check ads in the paper and look online for deals.
- Becky Barfield and Lynn Guerra, Victoria
The trail of people snaked down the Kohl's sidewalk, lit by fluorescent lights in the pre-dawn darkness. Excited chatter mingled with the sizzling of money, which burned holes in pockets. Just after 4 a.m., the doors opened.
Crossroads shoppers headed out early on Black Friday, one of the busiest shopping day of the year, in hopes of finding bargains.
Mike and Shawna Cornish arrived on the Kohl's doorstep at midnight with their 2-year-old son, Blake. The trio's early arrival earned them a spot at the front of the line and bettered their odds of buying the items they'd set their sights on: a digital camera for children and a ballerina jewelry box.
Local early birds Karley Guest and Kristie Miller rushed into the store when the doors opened and were the first to leave. They made it in and out in eight minutes, armed with the iRobot Vacuum Guest purchased as a gift.
The morning rush went better than expected, Kohl's manager Jason Woodman said. He said the crowd was larger than in previous years, but added that he couldn't share sales goals.
"We're gonna do a lot," he said, directing a shopper to a gum ball machine on sale. "Let's just put it that way."
Best Buy opened its doors to a long line of customers at 5 a.m., ushering them in group by group to avoid a mad rush.
Houston's Joe Webb scored the front spot in line. He drove by the electronics superstore at 3:30 p.m. Thursday and noticed no one gathered outside. He brought blankets and chairs and prepared for a long but hopeful night. He wanted a laptop.
"I figured if I sat out here for 12 hours and saved 500 bucks, I'd make about 40-something dollars an hour," he said.
Jon-Mikal Cano and nine other friends also gathered outside Best Buy, but made sure they didn't miss out on Thanksgiving. They set up a table and chairs and ate an entire holiday feast in front of the store, complete with fruit salad for dessert.
Sergeant Glenn Vaughn with the Victoria Police Department patrolled the growing crowd and called the event "controlled chaos."
The entry system helped and Best Buy also dispersed coupons for specific items to those in line. Those with coupons were guaranteed to get their items.
"It worked real well today," Vaughn said. "Either you get it or you don't. It's a very good system."
Not everyone was happy with their shopping experience, though.
A group of shoppers outside Victoria Mall's main entrance arrived early to take advantage of Old Navy's advertised 3 a.m. opening time. Security informed them, however, that mall doors wouldn't open until 4 a.m.
The local site always planned to open at 4:30 a.m., said sales associate Nia Madrid, explaining the national ad's earlier time applied only to select stores.
Victoria teacher's aide Carin Drozd planned to begin her day at Old Navy and move on to Sears and other stops, but the snafu put a wrench in her plans.
"It's really frustrating," she said, shaking her head.
Technology kept those faced with an unexpected wait entertained, Drozd said. She was surrounded by people who checked Facebook accounts on cell phones and watched "Twilight" on iPods.
Mother-daughter duo Becky Barfield and Lynn Guerra began at Victoria Mall at 3 a.m. but moved to Walmart when they learned of the Old Navy change.
The change in plans was beneficial, they said. They got the TV, Blu-ray player and other items they wanted.
Barfield, a teacher, said she planned to spend about $1,500 on Friday and complete almost all of her holiday shopping. It's a system she's employed for years and it hasn't failed her yet.
"I don't shop early because then you end up spending more money," she said. "This works for me."
Comments
When I saw it this morning, it had a tag line under it that said Kohl's
November 28, 2009 at 7:38 p.m."You need to look at the sign in the picture!!! That was at Best Buy not Kohl's :0"
That was a video clip. The picture of Kohl's is next to the article.
November 28, 2009 at 5:45 p.m.You need to look at the sign in the picture!!! That was at Best Buy not Kohl's :0
November 28, 2009 at 9:27 a.m.If they had fun and saved a few bucks, it was well worth it! Enjoyed the post VA.
November 28, 2009 at 12:50 a.m.How much was the kids digital camera? We picked one up at Target last week for $35.00.....how much cheaper could it get? Between the gas & time, it would have to be buy 1 get 3 free.
November 27, 2009 at 9:10 p.m.The sheep says "Baaah"
November 27, 2009 at 8:17 p.m."I figured if I sat out here for 12 hours and saved 500 bucks, I'd make about 40-something dollars an hour," he said.
Sounds like a really good deal. But speaking as one who has never partaken in the Black Friday shopping, I have an important question: What do you do for a potty break? I KNOW I can't last that long!!! :)
November 27, 2009 at 7:08 p.m.