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photo by Jessica St. James
Amanda Fizer, of Proctorville, walks to the check out line at the Big K-Mart in Chesapeake on Friday morning. Fizer, who showed up to toy shop for her son, was one of more than 100 who made a line into the parking lot.
Black Friday
Shoppers get out early to hunt down good deals
Published Friday, November 28, 2008
By just a little after 6 this morning all 20 checkouts at the Wal-Mart Supercenter here were open with lines stretching 10 to 15 shoppers each back into the store.
All those who came out with shopping carts crammed to the top, mostly with toys and the occasional utilitarian vacuum cleaner, agreed it was a madhouse in there.
“It’s awful, those long lines. It’s crazy,” said Becky Cremeans of Pedro, who had hit the shopping center around 5 to get the bargains on the Wii’s at Sam’s Club. On her Christmas list were two children and several nieces and nephews.
That done she decided to forego the long wait at the Wal-Mart checkout, she said, just to save a few dollars.
Huddled by the door of the discount department store was a Salvation Army Santa, getting an extra early start on the charity scene. He said it had been a steady stream of customers with most coming out with arms loaded.
He declined to volunteer on how many had stopped at his distinctive red check out counter.
Foreclosures, banking industry bailouts, massive AK Steel layoffs and the auto industry claiming ruin failed to keep local bargain hunters away from the traditional Black Friday shopping extravaganza where consumers are convinced the best and brightest sales are there for the earliest of buying birds.
However, this year many surveyed agreed cutbacks in the shopping budget were going to happen.
Probably by 30 percent was the figure Cremeans expected she’d be cutting back on this holiday season.
“It was crazy,” Misty Morrow of South Point said after she came out of the store, where she saw buyers grabbing relentlessly to get good buys on DVDs. “People were getting hurt.”
“Your Barbie Dream Car is going to fall off,” a friend called out to Letitia Fox who was pushing a cart so full it was past overflowing.
“This is about half,” Fox said about what she plans to get this year. The South Point mother has to do double duty this month with her son celebrating his 4th birthday on Dec. 9 plus Christmas for her 2-year-old daughter as well.
“There were some deals,” she said.
Down the road at the Chesapeake K-Mart that opened up at 6 a.m. the store manager who declined to give his name reported an equal amount of buying activity.
“I’m so busy that I can’t talk to you.”
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Comments
Posted by michaelOH (anonymous) on November 28, 2008 at 8:03 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Times are hard right now for must people.
Trouble is,,, it's going to get worse for awhile.
We need a miracle right now.
Posted by cashmere (anonymous) on November 28, 2008 at 11:35 p.m. (Suggest removal)
it was hard to detect a recession at the Ashland Town Center.
Posted by Vil (anonymous) on November 29, 2008 at 3:15 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Same can be said at the SP Wal-Mart, Ashland Wal-Mart, and Cannonsburg Wal-Mart. My wife was at the SP one, while we have friends who are managers at the other two stores. Every store was a mad house and thousands upon thousands of dollars, maybe even millions of dollars, were spent at these stores today.
Posted by Preacher (anonymous) on November 29, 2008 at 8:29 a.m. (Suggest removal)
cashmere & Vil...I agree with you two. Everyone goes on and on about how bad the economy is right now. Drive by the movie houses and take a look. They're always packed. Drive by restaurants like Outback & Texas Roadhouse and look. They're always packed. Drive by the Towne Center or the Huntington Mall or Best buy and look. They are always packed. Vil, you were talking about the money spent at these stores. I worked at the Wal-Mart at the 29th street exit in Huntington back in the mid 90's. It was considered a high-volume store. One year, I think it was 96, that store did just a little over a half million dollars for the day! Is that incredible, or what?
Posted by AlisonMiller (anonymous) on November 29, 2008 at 8:58 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I have a feeling that a few of the people who are at these stores aren't paying something else to afford it. Or they won't be doing anything else until their next payday, anyway.
I went really early one time---people were acting insane over this crap. I don't think the economy is the problem, MichaelOH--I think people going nuts over junk is.
Posted by cashmere (anonymous) on November 29, 2008 at 11:33 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I think "normal" people are better off than the media portrays. they are hearing from the bankers who think that if they get $10 million less in bonuses, we are in the Great Depression, part II. and the government who is thoroughly meshed with Wall Street panics too, and gives whatever they want.
The stores believe this too, and so offer lots of sales this year, and the shoppers decide to cut back too, thinking the crisis will hit sooner or later, but might as well take advantage of the sales while cutting back.
Yes, I expect a call any minute from the Obama team, asking be to be an advisor. But I think I'm not too far off what is happening..
and anytime we cut back on junk spending, it's a good thing!!
Oh, and while I find him usually annoying, the Robert Scheer column in the Herald Dispatch this morning, provokes some thought.
Posted by michaelOH (anonymous) on November 29, 2008 at 11:40 a.m. (Suggest removal)
All I really know is now I can reflect back to the 50's until my parents passed away.
Every year was a struggle for them to buy gifts and they were not fancy.
Posted by michaelOH (anonymous) on November 29, 2008 at 12:03 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I hope the "lay-away" option becomes popular again.
Wonderful way to purchase.,,, especially now.
Posted by michaelOH (anonymous) on November 29, 2008 at 12:36 p.m. (Suggest removal)
lol, a lot of the young here might not even know about "lay-away"
Good way to learn about stretching your bucks.
It's not talked about much.
Posted by Slick77 (anonymous) on November 29, 2008 at 4:34 p.m. (Suggest removal)
K-Mart is still doing lay-aways! :) Go ye, and stretch those budgets! And stop buying junk and "crap" nobody wants.
p.s. Give food and gifts to the "real" needy. Not your kids who already have everthing under the sun!
Posted by Slick77 (anonymous) on November 29, 2008 at 4:42 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Hey, Question for everyone... How many of you can tell me what you received as gifts last year? That's what I thought. Call me "old fashioned", call me "nerdy", it's ok! I consider it a compliment. lol Homemade items are thoughtful, homemade cards, goodies, etc... These items are meaningful and show you took time to care. Not just running into the "dollar store" and buying cheap last minute stuff that will probably be used as a "recycle" gift at some point.
Hey MichaelOH, you could wrap up some of those "beans" and put a bow on it.
Posted by donrbs (anonymous) on December 1, 2008 at 3:53 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Given the kind of crowds seen at these places one would wonder whether there is an economic crisis. I happened to ask a few people as to how they raised the money to go and spend at these establishments. Most said they maxed their cards. Some used money they put away during the good times to shop at this time of the year. The next obvious question was whether they realize that the economy is in a down turn and do they have a safety net in place. For most it was too much to think about at this time of the year. Times are really trying, one needs to be financially prudent and anything might happen which might require additional funds on short notice. One person told me, it's the holiday season and we should enjoy at any cost. Well the only person who will enjoy and laugh will be the banks and financial institutions who will collect their pound of flesh come next bill. Of course the establishments where you spent your money don't forget them !!!!!!!
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