Bay Area shoppers get early Black Friday start

8 a.m. -- CAMPBELL -- When store manager Michael Avila came to work at Kohl's in Campbell this morning at 2:30 a.m., he passed by customers who had brought sleeping bags, waiting for the 4 a.m. opening. Shoppers were there mostly for the early bird specials -- digital cameras were going for $59.99 and MP3s were selling for $24.99. They were all gone by 5 a.m.

"Customers are having a ball," Avila said.

At 8 a.m. cash registers were humming. Managers were efficiently directing customers buying such items as sheets for college, suitcases, bath mats and little boys winter coats.

Sylvia Zwiller, 53, a pre-kindergarten teacher from Yuma, Ariz, was in town visiting family in San Jose for Thanksgiving. She had a carload of toys for her 8-month-old grandson that she had methodically selected beforehand online.

"I knew ahead of time what I was going to buy today," she said, noting that she plans to simply leave all the gifts in town for her grandson.

"Why ship from home?" she asked. "That means I'll have more money to spend."

She said the recession hasn't really limited her spending, because she's "always a wise shopper."

-- Lisa Fernandez, Mercury News

8:30 a.m. -- SAN

JOSE -- The Poinsettias and Christmas lights were bright on Santana Row early Black Friday morning, but much of the upscale shopping area was dark, as though it were a normal Friday morning. Most of the shops were not planning to open until later this morning.

Best Buy was a major exception. By 5 a.m. a line of shoppers stretched past the darkened Gucci and Burberry store to Cocola, a cafe almost a football field away.

Rajeesh Kulanbaivadivelu, 30, of San Jose, was loading up with a new IMac, a camera and hoard of other electronics from Best Buy. Yet he and others interviewed at Santana Row shared a financial caution to this Black Friday.

"I'm way more picky than last year," he said, "But if you're a geek, and I'm a geek, you buy these things."

College buddies Amanda Kim and Helen Cho, both 18 of San Jose, said they were shopping despite their nervousness about college tuition hikes. Cho was still in the sweat suit she had been wearing since beginning an all-night shopping spree at midnight at the Great Mall. The two had just finished shopping for clothing at Urban Outfitters, another of the sprinkling of stores open early at Santana Row.

The young women said that to hem, Black Friday was not

just a great chance to find sales, but also an annual social event.

"It's the one day of the year," Kim said, "I allow myself to do this."

-- Sean Webby, Mercury News

8:15 a.m. -- SAN MATEO -- Sears and J.C. Penny's has long been open, but now the real fun begins at the Hillsdale Shopping Center as the entire mall is open to all. Already it's started to bustle.

"My husband is over at a Best Buy or Fry's, but I like to come here because I can buy gifts that require a bit more thought," said Judith Samson, as she heads to Crate & Barrel. "I plan to be shopping all day."

-- David Morrill, Oakland Tribune

6:45 a.m. -- SAN JOSE -- Massive lines form around stores for the under 20 set, such as BeBe, Puma and Betsey Johnson, where everything in the store is at least 40 percent off. The crowd looks like they're heading to a night club instead of just picking up discounted sweater.

The Apple store is also buzzing, with teenager lounging in chairs with IPod headphones attached to their ears.

Naomi Nakamura-Tomine, 31, of San Jose, is standing outside the Apple store, one of the few shoppers buying for others and not herself. She scored an iTouch for $179 for her husband and about $200 worth of toys and clothes for nieces and nephews at the Disney Store and Limited Express.

"I scaled back on splurging on myself this year," she said. "I wanted to buy for others first."

She's worked in retail for years and this is the first time she's had the day off to shop on Black Friday. With no sleep following Thanksgiving dinner, she headed to the Great Mall in Milpitas at midnight and then to Valley Fair.

"I thought I'd be really tired but I'm not, it's all this excitement."

- Lisa Fernandez, Mercury News

6:30 a.m. -- SAN JOSE -- By now the bottom parking lot at Valley Fair shopping mall is full, but there are still a few spaces left on the second floor near Macy's. The mood inside the mall, as it has been for years at this time of day on Black Friday, is festive, as if people feel like they're shopping at a secretive hour.

Lines snake around the corner near Starbucks so people can fuel up on caffeine before heading to the stores.

Juan Carlos Lopez Procoppio, 16, and his 12-year-old brother, Jonathan, are in a great mood despite not having slept s a wink all night. They came to the mall with their family at midnight and have scored on such items s an iTouch case for $13 -- regularly $40 -- and an argyle sweater at half-price for $20.

"It's fun," said Juan Carlos. "We just like the people-watching. We're shopping for us. We don't even celebrate Christmas."

They said they'd catch a nap later in the day.

"This is worth it."

-- Lisa Fernandez, Mercury News

6:06 a.m. -- SAN CARLOS -- John Sanchez of Redwood City braved the rain to check out bargains at the Best Buy in San Carlos, but he was having second thoughts. "I have been doing this for three years in a row, but this might be the last," he said already weary from the early morning shopping.

While stores that were open attracted plenty of shoppers, streets were generally deserted on the Peninsula before daybreak.

-- David Morrill, Oakland Tribune

5:45 a.m. -- SAN JOSE -- Toys 'R Us on Winchester was much busier shortly after midnight when it opened.

Trudy Fujii, 56, of Santa Clara, was at the store twice early this morning, once at 1 a.m., "but the lines were too long."

"I went home and went back to sleep," said Fujii, who woke up again at 5 a.m. to buy gifts for her five grandchildren gifts.

"I come for the good deals," said the retired mail carrier. She was pleased with her purchases, some of which were 30 percent to 50 percent off. Five items, from a baby seat to a Nerf gun, cost her $80.

-- Lisa Fernandez, Mercury News

5:15 a.m. -- SAN JOSE -- Unlike the packed parking lots at Valley Fair Shopping Mall and the long lines circling inside the nearby Best Buy at Santana Row, the scene at Toys 'R Us on Winchester Boulevard was much more calm early this morning.

Still, it was odd to see anyone awake at this time of day roaming the isles for Guitar Hero and Barbie Dolls.

"I'm here just for the experience," said Jennifer Church, who awoke at 4:30 and drove from Los Altos with five relatives just to shop. "It's fun. We do this every year. We don't even need anything."

No one in the family showered, Church ate a bagel and the only person in the group that didn't seem especially blurry-eyed at this hour was 2-year-old Madison. "She's ready to shop," her family said, "She's the only one of us in a good mood."

-- Lisa Fernandez, Mercury News

4:30 a.m.- 5:20 a.m. -- SAN MATEO -- Michele Vergara, the store manager at Target in Bridgepoint Shopping Center, knows that if she doesn't have control of the crowds on Black Friday, it can get out of control.

"If there is pushing and shoving, you will not get in my store," she says to the crowd that wraps around the building.

After that, Vergara is all smiles. Answering questions and doing everything she can to make sure the crowd is comfortable. She's only been at this Target for a several weeks, but she's had "about 20 years" of Black Friday experiences at another Target and Mervyns before that.

"Black Friday shoppers are a little more anxious and on edge to get what we're looking for, so we just got to be careful of that," she said. "For us, this time is a lot of fun."

Her employees go through the crowd handing out maps of the stores and where to find what they're looking for.

"Why are the camera's in the girl's clothing section?" one person in the line asks.

The answer is that many stores, including Target, are aware that electronics and toys are what most people are after. So if they need to spread those items around the store to avoid people being trampled.

-- David Morrill, Oakland Tribune

4:47 a.m. -- SAN MATEO TARGET -- Tim Tomasi stands at the front of the Target line with obvious excitement and anticipation. The friends he's made over the course of the night he knows simply by their number in line. He's brought his family in and they go over last minute strategy before the doors open.

"We've got some people going to the T.V.'s and others going to the Daredevils (vacuum)," he said.

"Don't forget the $3 sandwich makers," one of his family members chimes in. "We are going to need a couple of those."

After Target, they plan to jump into the Office Depot line next door that opens at 6 a.m.

-- David Morrill, Oakland Tribune

5 a.m. -- SAN MATEO TARGET -- Target doors open and people came in. People were told to walk, but several steps in most peoples urgency went from a brisk walk to a near sprint. At 5:12 a.m. the first person came out with a purchase even while the line itself continues to stream in for the next 8 minutes. The first five carts that came out had television sets in them.

-- David Morrill, Oakland Tribune

7:05 a.m. -- SAN FRANCISCO -- A steady stream of shoppers came trickling into Union Square early Friday morning, but not everyone is buying holiday gifts for others. Fatrie Johnson of Oakland is using the sales to shop for herself.

"I'm not doing Christmas shopping today, I'm just trying to get some bargains for myself," she said.

Westfield Shopping Centre opened it doors at 7 a.m. Among the first to arrive was Nina Saunders of Antioch and Zeleana Jenkins of Oakland. Sanders said they chose to go to the Westfield Centre because the mall has more shopping options, albeit fewer sales than Easy Bay shopping centers.

"It's a trade off," she said. "There's not a lot of people this year. ... Last year," she snapped her fingers, "It was crazy."

-- Eve Mitchell, Oakland Tribune

5:07 a.m. -- ANTIOCH -- Early morning shoppers at Slatten Ranch's J.C. Penney were greeted with free Disney snow globes and long lines at the cash registers. Doorbusters sales of 50 percent off that meant $12 slow cookers had people like Oakley's Audry Williams patiently waiting to pay for assorted cookware. "You just can't get prices like this any other time of year. Waiting is the easy part," she said along with more 30 other shopper in line despite it being 5:07 a.m.

-- Bay Area News Group

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