Shopping for sales

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Kathy Johnson of Princeton unloads her Christmas bargains in the trunk of her car Friday morning outside of Gustafson’s Ace Hardware Store in Princeton. Johnson was one of about 30 people waiting for Gustafson’s to open its doors at 7 a.m. to begin the Christmas shopping season. (BCR photo/Donna Barker)

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Many Bureau County residents jointed the up to 134 million shoppers expected this weekend for Black Friday specials.

In Peru, shoppers thronged into Staples when the doors opened at 6 a.m., and by 6:15, a line stretched to the back of the store with customers who had found what they wanted and were eager to be on to their next destination.

Mindy Taber of Spring Valley was drawn out in the predawn hours to shop, first at Walmart at 3 a.m., and then Staples. She was one of the shoppers in line with an advertised laptop computer.

Taber said this is only the second year she’s ventured out early to take advantage of sales.

“They’ve got good deals,” she explained.

Also shopping at Staples was Lauren Koch of Arlington, who was making a few stops before work.

Koch was one of the lucky customers who was able to get one of the advertised Garmin GPS units before the store ran out less than 30 minutes after it opened.

“I found what I came for,” Koch said, lugging the Garmin and other items back to her car through the predawn darkness.

Koch, who had one more stop planned before going to work, said she is not a usual Black Friday shopper, and was surprised at the line at the store when it opened at 6 a.m.

“But it was worth getting up at 4:30 a.m.,” she said.

In Princeton, an estimated 30 people stood in line outside Gustafson’s Ace Hardware store at 6:55 a.m. to take advantage of Black Friday holiday specials.

Kathy Johnson of Princeton came out of the store a few minutes after 7, with a shop vac and some candles to use in her windows for Christmas. She hopes to be done with her Christmas shopping by next week. Though some of the shopping will be done locally, the majority of her gifts will be bought on-line, Johnson said.

One item she will need to buy locally is a live Christmas tree, Johnson said. For the first time in years, she and her husband will decorate for Christmas with a real tree.

Teresa Carlson of Walnut was out shopping even earlier than Johnson, arriving at the Princeton Walmart store at 4:30 a.m. Friday. After her shopping there, Carlson then went to Gustafson’s for its specials. Her searches were successful at both places, but the purchased items will remain unnamed since they will be found under her family Christmas tree this year.

Carlson said she’s pretty close to being done with her Christmas shopping. She’s one of those persons who likes to plan ahead and does some of her Christmas shopping throughout the year.

Scott Haurberg of Walnut also made a quick stop at Gustafson’s on Friday morning, getting two small artificial trees for his porch at home.

As far as Christmas gift shopping, Haurberg said he and his wife normally do quite a bit of it together. They haven’t gotten much Christmas shopping done yet. However, their kids are home today so he and his wife will be spending time with them. Shopping can wait, he said.

Black Friday is often the single busiest shopping day of the holiday season, and economists are watching the start of the season closely for signs shoppers are ready to open their wallets this year. The financial crisis made 2008 the worst holiday season in nearly 40 years.

While there are some signs of a recovery, unemployment and consumer uncertainty have made forecasts for this holiday season range from a decline of 3 percent to an increase of 2 percent, but those numbers might be going up. In a recent survey, nearly one-third of consumers said they now expect to spend more than they had planned a month or two ago.

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