The Register-Herald, Beckley, West Virginia

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November 28, 2008

Frenetic Friday

Shoppers do it for fun and the deals

By Fred Pace

It was 4 a.m., and they had a plan.

“We are just getting started,” Christine Campbell of Corinne said.

Campbell was in Beckley Friday with her mother and aunt to begin their Christmas shopping on the day after Thanksgiving, known as Black Friday.

“You have to have a shopping strategy on Black Friday,” said Phyllis Bolt, Campbell’s mother. “You have to know when the stores are going to open and what the door buster deals are going to be even before you start.”

Although it was Campbell’s first time shopping on one of the busiest shopping days of the year, her aunt, Donna Morgan, is a Black Friday veteran.

“There have been some large crowds, but I’ve seen it worse in previous years,” she said. “I think with the tough economic times, people are looking for more deals and shopping more carefully.”

At several Crossroads Mall stores, early-bird shoppers said this has become an annual tradition.

“It’s fun and you can get some good deals if you are one of the first people in line when the stores open,” Morgan said.

The women said they were shopping for relatives, but it wouldn’t all be accomplished in one day.

“Black Friday is just the start,” Campbell said. “We hope to have it all done by Christmas Eve.”

Joe Runyon of Beckley said although some men might like shopping on Black Friday, he was not one of them.

“My wife recruited me to drive her and her friends here at 5 a.m.,” he said. “After going out at 4 a.m. to deer hunt the past several days, without her complaining, I owed her one and this was it. I’ll probably spend most of the day sitting on benches in the mall or out in the car.”

Some men, however, seemed to be looking for the same deals as the women.

“They had a Craftsman drill for $40 that is regularly $80, but that sale started at 5 a.m. and was for a limited time only,” Dale White of Beckley said. “That deal was too good for me to ignore, so here I am at 5 a.m. waiting in line.”

Missy Smith with City National Bank was at Crossroads Mall bright and early handing out free coffee and donuts to shoppers.

“It seems like everyone is having a really good time,” she said. “Everyone has been polite and friendly.”

— E-mail: fpace@register-herald.com

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