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![TMCNet: COLD WAIT, HOT DEALS: Budget shoppers brave crowds, pre-dawn on Black Friday [Albuquerque Journal, N.M.]](http://images.tmcnet.com/siteart/invisible.gif)
COLD WAIT, HOT DEALS: Budget shoppers brave crowds, pre-dawn on Black Friday [Albuquerque Journal, N.M.]
(Albuquerque Journal (NM) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Nov. 28--Holiday budgets might be tighter, but that didn't stop thousands of New Mexicans from skipping a good night's sleep to score this year's Black Friday deals.
There were myriad bargains to be found and plenty of takers, evidenced by the number returning to their vehicles with big screen TVs, tools and toys -- well before sunup.
"Good night... I mean, good morning," an Ultimate Electronics staffer said to a customer leaving the store, reflecting the disorientation such an early hour tends to bring on.
For the moment, shoppers seemed to shrug off the bad economy.
Sears shoppers Dave and Patsy Ortiz of Albuquerque are planning to spend at least what they did last year.
"Both of us still have our jobs, so we're doing good," said Dave Ortiz.
Kelly Flynn said he expects to spend more, no question.
"I have a job. I didn't have a job last year," Flynn said.
Traditionally one of the country's biggest shopping days, Black Friday actually began earlier than usual this year. Albuquerque's Toys "R" Us outlets opened at 12 a.m., featuring "mystery deals" and more than 70 "doorbuster" sales between midnight and 5 a.m.
"We were there about 10:45 (p.m.) and we were about 100 people back," recounted Athena Martinez outside Coronado Center, where she and her husband had made their second stop of the day. "By the time we got in at midnight, there were about 1,000 people. It was insane. But we got in and out. "
The scene was similar at Coronado, where Sears and JC Penney opened for business at 4 a.m.
At Sears, a line starting outside the electronics department snaked around the building. Another formed at the entrance to the tool department, which featured sales on items like power saws, tool chests and utility carts. The first in the door were Kevin Painter and his daughter, Cholena.
What makes it worth arriving at 2:15 a.m. in near-freezing temperatures?
"Save some money," said Painter, a former Californian, and: "Tools."
An hour later, he waited with a cartful of them as others in his party finished their shopping in the electronics department, which was offering sweet deals on 42-inch big-screens and other items.
Keith Eidschun of Albuquerque found the DVD player and TV stand he was looking for at Sears. He said he's been shopping on Black Friday for 15 years.
"I used to come out with my dad and he passed away," he said. "So I just keep the tradition going."
Not everyone, however, plans to be a repeat Black Friday shopper.
"This is the first time, and this will be the last time. This is crazy," said slightly harried Rebecca Ball, who drove in from Edgewood with her daughter to buy a pair of boots on sale at JC Penney.
"Would you pick a pair of boots so we can go, please?" she implored her daughter.
Across the river at the Cottonwood Mall, about 100 people were in line at midnight for the 3 a.m. opening of Old Navy, where the first in line would get Lego Rock Band video games with a minimum purchase.
Meanwhile, people at the front of the line at Best Buy on the West Side had been camped out in tents for two nights to secure the best deals, as coupons for available merchandise were passed out to those in line first.
"Every year it gets earlier and earlier," said Rosanna Nunez, who arrived at 10 a.m. Thursday.
At Ultimate Electronics, which just moved to the Pavilions of San Mateo, manager Brett Larson said the store opened 40 minutes before its scheduled 5 a.m. opening "to get people in out of the cold."
"The TVs have been the hottest items for sure," he said. "The Mitsubishi 60-inch TVs, those got sold out first, and the 46-inch JVCs have been really good, too."
Both were offered at big discounts.
Outside, Rossie Morris of Albuquerque waited for his hauler --the pickup truck driven by his daughter -- to load up his new 40-inch flat screen.
Even so, he said he's watching his holiday budget carefully.
"I'm part of the Eclipse (Aviation) disaster, so we're still in recovery mode," he said. "But, we got a TV."
Journal staff writer Andrea
Schoellkopf contributed to this story.
To see more of the Albuquerque Journal, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.abqjournal.com.
Copyright (c) 2009, Albuquerque Journal, N.M.
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.
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