2008.11.28
Black Friday in the New River Valley
In case you're wondering what the Black Friday shopping frenzy looked like in the New River Valley today, here are some details from reporter Amy Matzke-Fawcett:
About 20 people were waiting in line at Best Buy in Christiansburg around 8 p.m. Thursday, bundled up against the cold with hats, coats and gloves, waiting in lawn chairs and equipped with sleeping bags.
Jack Noble and his daughter Anna of Salem had been in line since 3 p.m. Thursday to get the early bird “doorbuster” sale tickets Best Buy hands out around 3 a.m. for the 5 a.m. store opening, Jack Noble said. They were planning to buy laptops.
“We got here at 2 a.m. last year,” Anna Noble noted.
It’s the second time the Nobles have stayed over at the Christiansburg Best Buy. The two previous years they arrived at the Roanoke Best Buy at 3 a.m. to wait, but when the Christiansburg store opened in 2007, they decided to make the trip from Salem because they thought the store would be less crowded.
This year is one of the warmer years, Jack Noble said. Last year, the temperature hovered around 18 degrees, he said.
In Blacksburg, a line stretched around the First & Main shopping development, which was celebrating its grand opening by giving away $5 bills to the first 2,000 customers, starting at 10 a.m.
About 1,000 of the five dollar bills had been given out by around 10:20 a.m., said Stuart Moss, advertising director for MACS, the advertising firm in charger of the opening. Serial numbers of some of the bills corresponded with prizes, including goody bags, Elizabeth Taylor’s “White Diamonds” body spray, two liters of Pepsi and prizes from various merchants.
“We’re trying to make it a great shopping day and a great experience for everyone,” Moss said. “It gives us the chance to have everyone see the stores and what we have to offer.”
Teresa and Andy Ko of Blacksburg had been waiting in line since around 9 a.m. to try to win prizes to give to a friend.
“We’ve heard all kinds of rumors about what the prizes are and what’s going to happen, but we don’t know what’s true,” Teresa Ko said.
The couple ultimately didn’t win a prize, but decided to stay and shop anyway. The original plan was to drop 10,000 $1 bills from a helicopter hovering over First & Main, but it was changed after town officials called the plan too risky.
"The original plan was to drop 10,000 $1 bills from a helicopter hovering over First & Main, but it was changed after town officials called the plan too risky."
Ya think? All that was missing was alcohol and a mechanical bull.
Comment by Henry — November 29, 2008 @ 8:20 am
I still find it incredibly sad that people feel compelled to sleep overnight outside
of a retailer in order to be the first to jam inside to grab some 'stuff'. The sadness isn't
based on financial need or anything like that. It comes from the kind of mentality by
retailers who will 'take advantage' and people who will "fall for the hype" in order to
instigate a true frenzy around what they are selling. In Long Island, this mentality led to
the worst possible outcome when an employee was trampled to death by these 'bargain hunters'.
People need to stop 'hungering for things they don't need' as they have been for so many years.
We need to re-set what is important in our lives. It's unfortunate that those same people won't
commit that same level of energy to volunteer to teach in schools or after school programs. That
they won't volunteer to clean up our trash strewn country roads or pursue any one of hundreds
of 'good' things that our communities need.
Instead, it's just the hunt for the junk.
Comment by Love NRV — December 3, 2008 @ 2:57 pm