Published: November 29, 2008 12:19 am         

Camping out for bargains

Black Friday a family tradition

Some Black Friday shoppers go to extremes.

Take the Haney family.

With overnight temperatures dipping into the 20s Thursday, Wabash resident Laci Haney spent the night in a tent outside Best Buy in Kokomo.

Bundled up as best she could, she slept on hard concrete.

It is the price she willingly pays — every year — for the coveted first place in line come opening time the morning of Black Friday.

This year, she was vying for deeply discounted laptop computers for her children.

And don’t ask her what time she got there.

“You don’t want to know,” Haney said. “It was pretty early.”

By pretty early, she means 8 a.m. Thursday. The doors would open at 5 a.m. Friday.

“It’s a lot better than last year,” she said. “It was snowing and colder.”

Camping out for bargains is an annual ritual for the family, and once the children reach the sixth grade, they can join in the fun.

“We dress warm, and it’s a lot of fun,” she said. “You meet a lot of people.”

She wasn’t waiting alone.

By 8 p.m. Thursday, dedicated shoppers bundled against the cold in lawn chairs. A line of pop-up tents stretched from the entrance doors to the north end of the building.

Tara Oman, of Indianapolis, was visiting family members in Greentown and continued the family tradition of camping out.

Dressed in a camouflage snowsuit, she shared a portable propane heater with her brother.

The siblings — in the market for a computer, GPS device and a laser printer — arrived at Best Buy at 3:30 p.m. Thursday.

“We learned our lesson last year,” she said with a laugh. “We got here at 5 p.m. and were at the end of the building.

“Last year, we saved $400 on some computers,” she said. “Divide that by 10 hours, and it’s $40 per hour. More than I make when working.”

Last year, Oman said, her mother brought them Thanksgiving dinner while they waited in line.

Kokomo resident Kim Beard and her 11-year-old daughter, Bailey, were prepared with an air mattress and were waiting for the delivery of a tent.

“This is my first time camping out,” Beard said. “I have stood in line before at 2 a.m. waiting for stores to open.”

Beard said her daughter wanted a laptop computer for Christmas.

“Everyone is pretty friendly,” she said.

After shopping at Best Buy, they will fit in a few more stores, wrapping it up about 10 a.m. Then, it’s out to breakfast and home to sleep.

Dave Holmes, of Logansport, was bundled against the cold while sitting in a chair. He was joined by his son.

“We got here about 6 p.m.,” he said Thursday. “We were hoping to be here around 4 p.m., but got delayed.”

Holmes was there to purchase his son a desktop computer as an early high school graduation present.

“This is the first time I’ve waited outside a store for so long,” he said. “When I was younger, I camped out for concert tickets.”

Ryan Bolinger and two friends from Peru arrived at 3:30 p.m. He has camped out before.

“We didn’t expect to be first in line,” he said. “Last year, there was someone here at 10 a.m.”

Bolinger was looking to save $100 on the purchase of a flat panel wide screen computer monitor.

“We’ll keep shopping,” he said. “We have a list of ads in the tent and decide where to go.”

Ken de la Bastide can be reached at (765) 454-8580 or via e-mail at ken.delabastide@kokomotribune.com

     

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