Phil Riddle
editor@weatherforddemocrat.com
No one would have blamed Millsap’s Amy Irving for skipping Black Friday shopping this year.
After all, less that a week ago, she had surgery.
But, there she was, at the head of a line of bargain hunters at Best Buy in Weatherford early this morning.
Irving, an old pro at waiting in line for good deals for Christmas gifts, formed the line at 8 a.m. Thanksgiving Day, 21 hours before the store opened.
She came for laptops advertised at under $200.
“We did the same thing two years ago,” Irving said. “I bought my kids laptops. Now it’s time to replace them and start over again.”
Irving said she had to get her doctor’s approval to spend the night in front of the store.
“I had to ask my doctor if it was okay,” she said. “To tell you the truth, the only place it would be okay is here because of the way they handle things.”
Irving said Best Buy staffers issue coupons which allow the first in line to purchase the items they waited for, stopping a crush at the front of the line when the doors open.
“I couldn’t risk being knocked over,” she said.
A line of about 40 early bird shoppers were in front of Best Buy by 10 p.m., Thursday, huddled under sleeping bags and in tents, laughing, joking, and in some cases, sleeping.
Black Friday camping first timer Jennifer Garrett came from Granbury about 8:30 Thursday night, bringing line mates from Missouri and Virginia to also wait on queue for laptops.
“I have never done this before,” she said. “None of us have ever done this, but we are having a lot of fun.”
All across the country, shoppers looking for an edge in getting money saving bargains for gifts on their holiday lists, were camping out overnight to be among the first in stores as the starting gun sounded on the 2009 Christmas shopping season.
In Weatherford, some stores, including Kohl’s, Belk and JC Penney opened their doors at 4 a.m. today.
Nationwide, stores are opening early, staying open late and offering low prices to entice skittish consumers.
