Black Friday brings outholiday shoppers and door buster deals

ROBERT DeBERRY/Frontiersman

WASILLA— Black Friday brought out holiday shoppers to large retail stores and helped smaller business boost their bottomline in an otherwise slow shopping season.

Shimek's store manager Steve Burress said business was about average."People looking to make a big purchase like a television will come back a couple times before actually buying."

Burress who was closing a $1000 plus deal by mid afternoon for a home entertainment center had parked his pick-up truck with a sign in the back advertising sale specials next to the Seward Meridian Parkway before opening Friday morning.

Across the street at Wal-Mart the store aisle were packed with shoppers looking to score big ticket items at low prices, and by 5:30 a.m. those big ticket items like high definition televisions were being pushed through the parking lot and loaded into waiting cars.

For Valley resident Carol Campbell-Taunuu getting her big ticket items was not to be. "I was at the store at 4:50 a.m and by time I got in at 5 a.m. everything I wanted had sold out. It was a mad house."

Apparently says Campbell-Tanuu Wal-Mart had people in line at midnight so the store began handing out tickets for some big ticket items.

For more on the kick-off to the holiday shopping season see Sunday's print edition.