Whether it’s “Black Friday” or “Small Business Saturday” it all means the same thing – businesses are “in the black” – and customers are in the “smile” with all kinds of sale values for gifts and themselves.
There were deals and door-busters to entice people to “spend,” but reports were that only 10 percent of people surveyed said they expected to spend more this year during the holidays than last year.
Whether it’s “Black Friday” or “Small Business Saturday” it all means the same thing – businesses are “in the black” – and customers are in the “smile” with all kinds of sale values for gifts and themselves.
There were deals and door-busters to entice people to “spend,” but reports were that only 10 percent of people surveyed said they expected to spend more this year during the holidays than last year.
“Even though I was second in line last year, I still didn’t get everything I wanted,” one Best Buy customer said.
Best Buy customers reportedly started camping out Monday, Nov. 21, to get Black Friday deals.
Some Target employees worked hard to have their stores not open Thanksgiving night, so they could spend more time with their families, but Target held to its midnight advertised opening for customers.
Kohl’s either followed suit or set the trend for a midnight opening as well, on Thanksgiving night, or officially Friday morning, offering an extra 15 percent off of everything in the store and age 60+ sales.
One Garden Grove resident said she made her way to Kohl’s in Buena Park just before midnight but couldn’t find a parking place; went back home to sleep and then returned at 7 a.m. to find her bargains and a parking spot, with coupons and discount-cards in hand.
Sam’s Clubs throughout the region didn’t want to call their sale day, Black Friday, so instead called it, “Date: Day after Thanksgiving Event.”
Staples in Cypress held a Black Friday from 6 a.m. until noon with their sales advertised on-line.
“It was a two-day sale so we had the same prices on Saturday as on Friday, but some of the door-busters like lap-top computers are all gone and there’s no rain-checks,” one Staples employee said.
Chic Wide Shoes in Cypress had an early Black Friday, offering a $20 discount on each pair of shoes purchased Nov. 21 to 27.
Best Buy, in Westminster, is always a popular place for electronic holiday items, with lots of people camping out over night and standing in long lines.
One family from Anaheim said they stood in long lines on Friday night at the Westminster Best Buy to purchase a large-screen TV but then couldn’t decide if they really wanted to purchase it; they returned Saturday evening to get the TV.
“We wanted a 47-inch TV that was on sale, but Friday night we had a hard time deciding if we really wanted to buy it,” Anaheim resident Leslie Martinez said.
Do all people enjoy Black Friday shopping? Seems there are a few who don’t get into the “group shopping…” and choose other days to hopefully catch holiday sales.
“I like a bargain as much as anybody, but I also like my sleep,” one woman said.
“Yes, I typically have participated in Black Friday for the great deals,” Buena Park resident Sandy Smith said. “Especially when Cabbage Patch Babies were the rage; however, as my ‘baby’ has become an adult I am not so apt to be out on Black Friday, but we did discuss the sales.”
Smith said she has many fond memories with friends of going out at 4 a.m. for that “have to have item.”
“I take Thanksgiving Day and scour the papers for sales and then plan our morning adventure,” she said. “It always starts with a ‘special gift’ for my shopping friend and holiday music; things change but our memories, we will always hold dear to our hearts.”
Talk about heart and Black Friday, the Seal Beach VFW Post No. 4048 and Ladies Auxiliary, and the Leisure World American Legion Post No. 327 located in Seal Beach , took advantage of Black Friday sales to shop for 12 military families who are stationed at the Joint Forces Training Base in Los Alamitos and struggling because of the economy.
Ruth Echelberger-Bell, of Seal Beach, and daughter An-Marie Davis, of Garden Grove, members of the VFW Post No. 4048 Ladies Auxiliary, took a list of four names and lots of sales information and did their shopping on Black Friday and Saturday to get the best buys for their four families and the most for their dollars.
One military father, identified only by a number on his “wish list” asked for items for his young daughter because she likes to draw.
“This soldier really made his daughter a priority and the way his request for assistance was worded sounds as though the family is having great financial difficulty,” the VFW ladies said.
Some requests were not for gifts but just “food.” It’s a difficult economic time but there are always angels with open hearts at Christmas time and Black Friday helped to make those wish lists come to fruition.
Loreen Berlin may be reached at loreenberlin@verizon.net
