Early birds get the bargains

Shoppers hit stores on Black Friday

Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2008

Nichalas Rubio, of Golden Beach had the pick of the litter on Black Friday at Best Buy in Waldorf as he was the first in line. Rubio started the line at 7:30 a.m. Thanksgiving morning, equipped with a portable heating device, portable toilet, the company of his friend Jennifer Walzer of Chaptico and the motivation to purchase big-ticket items at heavily reduced prices.

"Three hundred dollars off a laptop is a good motivation to buy especially in these economic times," he said.

Like many, Rubio has made waiting in line prior to store openings something of a holiday tradition.

Rubio said he has been participating in early morning Black Friday shopping for a couple years now.

Rubio was not the only early bird; the Barrientos family from Hyattsville along with many others began their after-Thanksgiving Day shopping on Thanksgiving Day, while many others entered the line at Best Buy in the wee hours of the morning.

Ryan Carpenter of Waldorf was in line anticipating good deals on items such as the Nintendo Wii Rock Band game, digital cameras, BluRay surround sound and more, while Kathey Childress, of La Plata was anticipating getting good deals on electronics for her daughters birthday next month.

While there were hundreds of people lined up around the perimeter of Best Buy Friday morning, the regulars said it was not as crowded this year as in years past.

Cassie Davison of Accokeek arrived at Best Buy at 1 Friday morning. Sitting in a chair next to her new friend Troy Talbot of White Plains, she recalled years past where the lines were wrapped all the way around buildings much earlier than this year. Davison, 23, said she has been participating in Black Friday shopping for 10 years with family and friends.

This year she said her family and friends were split between two stores but waiting in line, you meet a lot of people such as her new line friend Talbot and his wife.

According to Childress, one can't help but to bond with line waiters as there isn't much else to do.

The thrill of the hunt

Jennifer Thompson and Shannon Diehl were standing outside Kohl's Department store in Waldorf just after 3 in the morning before its 4 o'clock opening.

Once inside the store, the two friends from Indian Head made their way for the toys to eliminate some wish list items from the children in their families.

"There is nothing really that we have to get, its just fun," Thompson said.

The girls said they rotate each year between the day after Thanksgiving and the day after Christmas.

"It's a vicious cycle," Diehl said.

The two agreed that the best sales happen on Black Friday.

Margie Kerns of South Carolina was shopping with family from the area Friday morning She said she is out every year for the good sales.

Over at Best Buy, Father and son duo Carlton Bell Sr., and his son Carlton Jr., 14, were not looking for anything in particular but knew they would find good sales.

Bell Sr. said the two came out last year for the first time and found themselves ill-prepared for the cold weather and the long wait.

"We remembered this time to bring things," Bell Sr. said.

The two were prepared this year with double coats, hats, gloves, chairs and food and drink. The Bell family arrived around 4 a.m. and was in line towards the back of the building; however, they said they were much closer than last year when they arrived a little bit later in the morning.

Kohl's manage Michelle St. Germain said there were many outside Kohl's Friday morning and employees were ready to help get them in and out of the store as quickly as possible however, St. Germain said the lines at cash registers since the opening of the store would be very long all day long.

Despite the long lines, St. Germain said she enjoyed working on such a chaotic day because all the customers are very eager to get the good deals and all seem to be in good moods.

With so many people out shopping several hours before stores typically open, the question was what happens next?

For Rubio, it would be a long-awaited trip to Denny's for a hot breakfast. For Diehl and Thompson, Chick-fil-A was in their sights and for many others, it was back to sleep.