Bargain hunters binge on deals in Lodi on Black Friday

Under the glowing lights of the Target sign on Kettleman Lane on Friday morning, more than a thousand bargain hunters stood bundled in heavy coats and gripped cups of coffee as they waited for the store to open, so they could buy anything from a $3 Crock-Pot to a high-definition television at a fraction of its normal price.

Ten minutes before Target opened, customers stretched past the store and beyond the George Abrahamson Community Room on the opposite side of the street.

Spencer Grundmann arrived at Target at 10 p.m. Thursday in order to score some deals. He said he stayed awake with help from energy drinks and passed the time by talking to the people in line before the store opened at 5 a.m.

"Everyone is real nice," he said.

The day after Thanksgiving, or Black Friday, is the busiest shopping day of the year. Across Lodi, people scrounged through displays to find brand-name steam mops for $49.99, 700-thread-count sheets for 50 percent off, and $2 DVDs.

At Wal-Mart, customers weren't sharing Grundmann's feelings of camaraderie, as parking spaces were hard to come by and people piled on top of video games to claim them. Wal-Mart changed its procedures for Black Friday to avoid a situation similar to last year, in which a temporary worker died after being trampled by customers, in Valley Stream, N.Y.

Wal-Mart allowed customers into the store, but Black Friday discounts did not start until 5 a.m. Customers loaded their carts and made long, twisted lines at the cash register before the official kickoff.

Customers said there was some pushing and shoving when it came time for them to have a chance at a total of 30 Rock Band video game sets. Shopper Israel Rodriguez said that around 4 a.m. workers announced Rock Band wouldn't be available for another hour, but frenzied customers got in between the employees and the display, and picked it clean in less than a minute.

"It's a 'You snooze, you lose' type of situation," he said. "It was the highlight of the day."

Karen Nroman, of Lodi, walks through the Wal-Mart parking lot after purchasing items during the Black Friday sales. (Dan Evans/News-Sentinel)

Lt. Tod Patterson of the Lodi Police Department said there were four officers inside Wal-Mart when it happened and the situation wasn't unmanageable.

"It was nothing like usual," said Lt. Patterson. "They didn't need our assistance."

He said there were roughly the same number of shoppers as in previous years, but no arrests for shoplifting or fighting were made as of 7:30 a.m.

Outside Kohl's, Janel Job said she was waiting since 11:20 p.m. on Thursday so she could get some pajamas and vanillascented candles when the store opened at 4 a.m. While she waited, she snacked on sunflower seeds and homemade cookies, and listened to Brad Paisley on her i-Pod. Job said she planned to spend $40 at Kohl's and about $10 at Target on DVDs.

Other customers planned on shelling out more.

Knives, slippers, bedding, sweaters and Christmas toys were on the shopping list of Janice Knudson-Said. Between Kohl's, Target and Wal-Mart, she planned to spend up to $500. She also wanted to purchase a television.

Notable quotes

"You've got to make a shopping list and plan ahead,"
— Janice Knudson, customer outside Kohl's talking about the most efficient way to shop on Black Friday

"I'm from Nebraska visiting family. We've been here since about 3:15 a.m. It's pretty warm compared to Nebraska."
— Sally Lyons, customer outside Kohl's

"People were throwing themselves on them."
— Veronica Rodriguez, Wal-Mart shopper talking about customers trying to get Rockband games

"We got here at 3:30 a.m. and I was surprised to see we were this far back."
— Karen Schenk, Target shopper talking about waiting in line

"I brought an energy drink and got some coffee, but I didn't eat because I'm still full from dinner."
— Spencer Grundmann, who was in line at Target starting at 10 p.m. Thursday

"The one on sale," she said, when asked which television she was interested in.

In its first Black Friday in Lodi, Kohl's employees were determined to make a good first impression. Workers cheered as the doors opened and offered customers added discounts if they signed up for a Kohl's credit card.

"All items were on the floor," said Melissa Park, Kohl's manager. "We made it very easy for the customer."

Kohl's also beefed up its holiday staff. Park said friends and family members of coworkers were brought on as seasonal workers. The store's workforce is now around 140 workers, up from 125. Park said all of them would be working at some point Friday.

Downtown Lodi looked to cash in on the spending spree as well. The Downtown Lodi Business Partnership kicked off its holiday incentive program, in which customers who spend a combined $500 at Downtown Lodi stores between Nov. 27 and Dec. 23 receive a $50 gift certificate.

As the day progressed, shoppers continued to travel from store to store in order to get the best deals.

Rodriguez was also at Target after it opened, and collected two PlayStation 3 controllers from friends who had gotten in line earlier and secured the merchandise until he could come over and purchase it.

"It's got to be a team effort," he said.

Contact reporter Jordan Guinn at jordang@lodinews.com.

Jenna Ostrander rings up customers during the Black Friday sales at Kohl's in Lodi. (Dan Evans/News-Sentinel)

Reader Feedback

booklove wrote on Dec 1, 2009 12:36 PM:

" Newbie:

I have gotten junk emails from those sites. If what you suspect is true something should be done, but what? "

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sam wrote on Nov 28, 2009 5:34 PM:

" Captain, I do use credit cards but pay off the balance every month. I use them as a convenience and never ever carry over a balance. If I cannot afford it I do not need it.

As for Christmas gifts, we quit several years ago. Instead of giving physical gifts, we give of our time. Doing something for someone shows more love than just buying someone something.

In my family ALL ages seem to prefer it and our holidays are merrier... and debt free. "

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sam wrote on Nov 28, 2009 5:29 PM:

" newbie, your email had me actually concerned... then I checked the email address I use ONLY for LNS and I found no spam.

If I ever believe my email address was sold by LNS I will vacate their site immediately. Selling email addresses is lower than low. "

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newbie wrote on Nov 28, 2009 4:55 PM:

" Gee, ever since my comment about LNS selling e-mail addy's all of my comments have been deleted.

newbie wrote on Nov 26, 2009 12:25 AM:

" Well, well, well...

Seems the powers that be at LNS can't take a little heat. Nice move deleting my posts, you're just fueling the fire.

So I set up this phony e-mail addy to test a theory. Seems to me ever since I started posting on here my junk mail went thru the roof. So I created this e-mail addy to see if it was the LNS selling addy's. Guess what? They are. In the 5 days since creating this addy and registering on LNS I have recieved 18 junk e-mails and had 38 e-mails go directly into the "spam" folder.

Please tell us LNS, how could this have happened when I only used this addy to register for LNS? Are you selling our addy's?

Are you folks getting e-mails entitled;

-Fitness Report
-Nursing Degree
-Military Benfits
-Camyoo
-Credit Report Center

If you are then we you now know where these leaches are getting your addy from. Richie Hanna and your LNS! "

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Rhodie v2.0 wrote on Nov 28, 2009 9:56 AM:

" CaptainGort and O.C., we destroyed the CC's in 2004. Best financial decision we ever made. We listen to a guy named Dave Ramsey who laid out the game plan, we followed it and it worked. It is amazing how much more you can enjoy your money when you aren't worried about making payments at the end of the month. We started planing for Christmas in June, saving as little each month. Now, a month after Christmas, the only thing still lingering besides those annoying pine needles that never seem to get vacuumed up will be the gifts, not CC bills. "

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ordinarycitizen wrote on Nov 28, 2009 9:37 AM:

" No CaptainGort, sounds like you are using wisdom. We are doing the same. Tossed out the CC's and pay only cash and only for what is needed. My husband and I try to go shopping together and then whatever goes in the cart we ask if it's needed, really needed. If not, then it goes out of the cart. Simple. We are saving lots of money due to no impulse shopping purchases - and that includes food too. Do we really need the ice cream, chips, etc.? No - saving money and getting healthy. While I was fast asleep in my nice warm bed, people were actually lining up to spend money they probably don't have to spend in the begin with. "

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CaptainGort wrote on Nov 28, 2009 7:58 AM:

" I guess its the American thing to do.
Not for me, however. My newly-revived value system says "buy only what you need at the best price you can and pay cash only". No more blood-sucking CCs for me, God willing! A person can become quite poor by "saving money" on "good deals" for "stuff" that really is just an impulse buy....not a true and budgeted need. What a boring, tight-wad old dude I am, eh???? "

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