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Shoppers turn Black Friday into a mission of precision [The Beaufort Gazette, S.C.](Beaufort Gazette (SC) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Nov. 27--Steve Johnson of Beaufort had a plan when he arrived at Best Buy before dawn Friday. Tucked into the back pocket of his jeans was a neatly folded stack of flyers on which Johnson had circled a GPS device, some DVDs and other items he hoped to grab as he weaved his way through hoards of fellow bleary-eyed shoppers. "My goal is to get in and out of this store in 20 minutes," Johnson said. "I'm not going to get ruthless or rude here, but it's 5:30 a.m., and I'm interested in two things: saving some money on Christmas gifts and getting back to bed." He made it out of the Beaufort store in just less than 30 minutes. Johnson joined hundreds of shoppers who flooded northern Beaufort County retailers on Black Friday to take advantage of deep discounts and door-buster deals. Considered by many to be the official start of the Christmas shopping season, Black Friday is a big day for retailers. About 138 million shoppers plan to hit stores this weekend nationwide, according to the National Retail Federation. Far from the bustle of Beaufort's big-box retailers, Jodi Beason of St. Helena Island wandered in and out of several Bay Street businesses, looking for some unique gift ideas. "The stuff they have at Walmart or Best Buy, I can get online for less," Beason said. "Some of the stuff down here, you just can't get anywhere else. It's a little more personal." HOTTEST ITEMS Many who braved Black Friday crowds sought big-ticket items, such as laptop computers and flat-screen televisions, at rock-bottom prices. "I've needed a new laptop for a couple months now but waited until today to get one," said Stephanie Jolson of Okatie as she shopped at Beaufort's Walmart. "I figured I had a better chance of getting one today at the lowest possible price." Other shoppers said discounts on e-book readers, video game consoles and Blu-Ray players enticed them into area stores Friday. SHOPPERS WHO TRAVELED THE FARTHEST Parked more than 100 yards from the entrance of Best Buy, Ron and Stacy Rasmussen's 25-foot RV sat under a street light, waiting to take them home to Akron, Ohio. But not before the couple did a little shopping. "We spent the week down near Jacksonville and thought we'd do some Black Friday shopping," Stacy Rasmussen said. "Beaufort was on our way, so we decided to stop and shop for a few hours, then continue on home." EARLIEST ARRIVAL Taking advantage of cheap electronics was so important to Brian Jordan and Anthony Pierpaoli that they skipped Thanksgiving dinner to begin waiting in line for the Bluffton Best Buy's 5 a.m. Friday opening. They arrived at 3 p.m. Thursday. "I'm a broke college student," said Jordan, who is studying at Georgia Southern University to be a high school English teacher. "I need to spend as little money as possible on the things that I need." He planned to buy a $200 desktop computer, and Pierpaoli planned to buy an Xbox. They also took orders for friends and family who didn't want to wait up all night and brave the lines. The pair set up a card table and played chess and rummy to pass the time. One of their mothers dropped off leftover turkey later that night. Pierpaoli said this was his sixth Black Friday but the first time he'd been at the very front of the line. "I kind of feel like a winner," he said. BEST BLACK FRIDAY DISTRACTION While some Black Friday shoppers fretted over where to score the best deals, John Earle of Beaufort was concerned only with the answer to six-across. While his wife and daughter shopped at Walmart, Earle sat in the cab of his pickup, working on a crossword puzzle. "I'm here solely for moral support," Earle said. "And to be the voice of reason if the spending starts to get out of hand. They like to shop and I like to do crosswords, so everybody wins." BEST GAME PLAN Shari Parris and daughter Amber Parris woke by 6 a.m. Thanksgiving morning to fight over newspaper advertisements and develop a schedule and shopping list. They compared prices at several stores before deciding which retailers they'd hit and in what order. "My poor father. We ransacked the paper," Amber said. "He said, 'Just please leave me the front pages and the funnies.' " They ate Thanksgiving dinner about 12:30 p.m. to allow time to drive from their home near Augusta, Ga., to Bluffton's Old Navy by 10 p.m. They earned a front-row parking spot and the titles of Customer No. 7 and Customer No. 8. After finishing at the outlet center, the pair was going to make a coffee stop before lining up for the 4 a.m. opening of Target, where Amber planned to buy an iPod Touch, games and DVDs. Their Black Friday strategy has been perfected over time, as the two women have spent the day shopping together for the past 15 years. They have a few words of advice for rookies: "Have a plan and have patience. And expect rude people." Reporter Kate Cerve contributed to this report. To see more of The Beaufort Gazette or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.beaufortgazette.com. Copyright (c) 2010, The Beaufort Gazette, S.C. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For more information about the content services offered by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services (MCT), visit www.mctinfoservices.com, e-mail [email protected], or call 866-280-5210 (outside the United States, call +1 312-222-4544) |