Shoppers line up for Black Friday deals, lines shorter than last year

McALLEN - Perhaps it's the already deep discounts retailers have been offering or maybe it's the slumping economy, but the Black Friday lines at McAllen retailers early Friday morning were shorter than usual.

Still, when the doors opened, people went nuts.

Hundreds slowly poured through the doors of the Best Buy north of the intersection of Trenton Road and 10th Street in McAllen at 5 a.m. Inside, they scurried to the back for laptops, televisions, printers and IPods.

University of Texas Pan-American students Edgar Mireles, Alex Rodriguez and some their family members were the first through the doors - employees applauded their arrival. They had camped out since 2 a.m. early Wednesday morning, sleeping in a small purple tent and eating whatever food family and friends brought them.

The two friends from Mexico City live in the same dormitory and were there to score deals on big-ticket electronics, including computers and televisions. Mireles' family actually drove from Mexico City earlier that day to join him in line.

"We don't want to waste our time," Mireles said, hours before shopping. "But we don't want to waste our money."
A friend had brought the pair turkey, mashed potatoes and all the Thanksgiving fixings earlier in the night for dinner, Rodriguez said.

At the Wal-Mart Super center at 1200 E. Jackson, hundreds of people shoved, pushed and elbowed to be the first to grab Hannah Montana gear fresh from the shipping pallet. At times the chaos was seemingly out of control as the pack closed in on the doors to the store's backroom waiting for the next discounted good to be brought out.

"Are they free," one shopper asked as the store's employees resorted to tossing action figures into the swarm as if they were handing out free shirts at a rock concert.

Several people snapped pictures with their cell phone cameras.

"It's crazy brother," said Fabian Muñoz, 34, as held tightly to his finds and laughed about the calamity. "Honestly, I just came to look around."

Despite 50 percent more doorbuster deals - discounts offered for only a few hours when doors open early Friday morning - the line outside Toys "R" Us near La Plaza Mall barely wrapped around the building, veteran shoppers said.

"There wasn't a lot of people at all," said Sabrina Hernandez, 27, a ten-year veteran of early morning waiting.

Desperate for sales and saddled with excess inventory, retailers began offering deep discounts before Black Friday, hoping that consumers would rescue the industry from already slumping sales.

For Hernandez, who recalled her years of experience as her brother, 33-year-old brother, Valde Reyna, snacked on fries from Whataburger, this year's deals were not impressive. For her, standing in line is more about the experience than saving money.

"First it was for our nieces and nephews and now it's for our daughter," she said as she looked at her husband Joe. "We do have a list of things we plan to get here."

Further back in line, Jackie Rodriguez's two teenage nieces rested in shopping carts as the 38-year-old eagerly awaited the 5 a.m. opening. Dim lighting helped the young pair sleep.

Rodriguez too is a ten-year veteran and her family is spread out at many stores across the Rio Grande Valley. Every year they meet at Denny's after a few hours of shopping and tell their Black Friday tales.

"It's crazy in there, it's hilarious," she said, adding that she's already done all her Christmas shopping for her four young children.

Rodriguez started the night browsing the few open stores at La Plaza Mall, which she said had shorter lines than in previous years. Other shoppers agreed.

"It's not really worth it," she said. "We just socialize and catch up on gossip."

The day after Thanksgiving is dubbed Black Friday by retailers and the media because it's traditionally the day when retailers go in the black, or start making a profit, as compared to being in the red, or losing money.

U.S. retail sales had the largest one-month decline on record in October, and in the Rio Grande Valley sales have been falling for months. Mexican shoppers, who annually spend millions of dollars in the region, are now crossing the border less and U.S. shoppers have reined in spending as the world's economy tumbled.

All this has many local retailers hoping Christmas will entice shoppers back to their stores.

Terry Zamora waited with three friends outside Best Buy, planning to buy laptops, again. The three had purchased the computers every Black Friday for years, but this time was different.

This was their first year with a tent, which they had purchased a few hours before setting up camp at 5 p.m. Wednesday. Last year's bad weather - drizzle, cold temperatures and wind - finally persuaded them to bring their own shelter.

"It's kind of a tradition," she said.

Nearby, hours before the store opened, more than six people slept on the cold concrete, wrapped in sleeping blankets. Other peo-ple in line played cards, joked and made sure that nobody cut in front.

Humor helped past the time. For many people, the humor was about all that kept them there, even if the discounts weren't big enough.

Alex Gonzalez had told dozens of people who stopped at the store to harass people in line that he was waiting to buy silly household items that weren't really discounted.

"I tell people I'm going to buy a microwave," he said, before entering the store.

Shortly before opening, a sea of blue shirts appeared just inside the Best Buy's doors, as the store manager delivered a speech befitting a football coach.

"We were the one with the biggest line," said Veronica Malvaez, referring to the chain's other two McAllen locations. "Everything that we talk about. Everything that we read about. Now is the time to show it."

The caffeinated employees gave a hoorah and a resounding applause at the news that the line wrapped a little over halfway around the building.
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Sean Gaffney covers business, the economy and general assignments for The Monitor. He can be reached at (956) 683-4434.