It may be only Wednesday, but dozens of devoted locals are already lined up outside big box stores across the county, waiting to get their hands on the best Black Friday bargains.
At Best Buy stores in Mira Mesa and Carmel Valley, some serious shoppers had set up camp – tents and all – to be among the first to score great deals on electronics and other tech-related items.
“I’m waiting for a television,” said local Geoff Swink. “The LCD 40-inch; [it’s] $180 out the door.”
Swink told NBC 7 he wasn’t going anywhere until he got that TV – even if it meant missing Thanksgiving dinner. He said he had been waiting outside the Best Buy store since 1:30 p.m.
When asked what he had been doing to keep busy, Swink said he had been people-watching.
“Sitting here, watching people walk by,” he said.
Instead of feasting on turkey Thursday, Swink said he’d continue camping out in front of the store and eat his own modified, Black Friday-style Thanksgiving meal.
“I got some food, I got some Pepsi, and that’s about it,” he added.
Swink wasn’t alone.
He also had some neighbors who had been waiting in front of the store for days, sleeping in tents to score a bargain themselves.
Former marine Kurt Short was among the deal hunters. Short is as dedicated to his country as he is to his girlfriend – he’s fighting the crowds to buy her a blu-ray player on Black Friday.
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“She told me, ‘You better go out there if you love me.’ So, I decided to come out and make sure she’s happy,” said Short, who admitted he’s wrapped around his girlfriend’s little finger.
Short said he had passed the time outside by playing with his electronic gadgets.
“I have my laptop, have my phone, just [trying] to keep those charged up,” said short.
And, although it might seem a bit extreme to camp out for days for a bargain, Swink wouldn’t have it any other way.
“I probably am [crazy], but I’m crazy for a new television. And, that deal, I’d be crazy not to do it.”
Many of the Black Friday campers said they have friends coming to relieve them for a couple of hours so they can get some sleep and lose their place in line.
And, on midnight Friday, they will finally get that great deal they’ve been dreaming of.
