Orange County Register

Shoppers steer carts through Target during the first couple minutes of the store's early opening. MIGUEL VASCONCELLOS, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

All morning, visit the Irvine Retail blog for updates on the madness that is Black Friday, traditionally the busiest shopping day of the year. Will big sales result in money saved for consumers?

At the Irvine Marketplace Target on Jamboree Road, about 550 people were queued up at 5:15 a.m. for the store’s 6 a.m. opening, with a line of early-risers curving around planters to form an elongated “U.”

Security officers manned the door, speaking crackling messages into hand-held radios. None were cracking smiles, though, as they kept their eyes out for any hovering folks who might attempt to cut in line and sneak through the doors.

The Hendersons of Irvine — Terri, her 20-year-old daughter Heather and 18-year-old son Willis — stood at the front, wearing hooded sweatshirts to combat the mild chill. They’d been there since 8 p.m. Thanksgiving and the siblings’ eyes looked tired.

Terri clutched a full-color newspaper insert of Target ads and said she camped out to buy a new vacuum cleaner and cordless phone. Who could turn down such slashed prices?

“This is depressing,” said Terri, comparing the early showing to last year’s, which she described as more populated. “You gotta get in line, but no one’s moving today.”

“Maybe everyone’s feeling it,” she said, referring the national economic pinch.

Behind the Hendersons, a quad of young, regular Black Friday “door-busters” from Santa Ana waited. They’d been in line since about midnight and unlike Terri, were positively surprised by the size of the turnout.

“It’s usually not this intense,” said Dylan Ambrose, 19. “We usually wake up an hour before and go.”

His girlfriend, Sherri Cruze, cut in with a quip and then an observation about online shopping vs. the in-person kind.

“We’re out here for the thrill of the spirit,” said Cruze, 22. “Seems people online
don’t get that sense of combat. It’s not even contact. I really enjoy shouting out, ‘I got the last one!’ I really do.”

Deeper in line, married couple Leo and Stephanie Grillas sat in fold-out chairs, with soft drinks from a fast food joint in the cup holders. They’d been caffeinating themselves since the wee hours to get through the gates and buy some kids’ toys.

Stephanie could already check one item off her list: a GPS unit, thanks to Dad in Montana, who got up early in his time zone and headed to his neighborhood Target.

The line grew.

And then the security officers conversed on their radios and began letting in people. Despite the hardened looks of the officers, one woman managed to sneak through the human wall. A boy standing next to her waved his thumb at the line, appearing nervous at the prospect of trumping the patience of all those sleepless campers.

Business in the a.m. of Black Friday looked pretty average, said Target security manager Darrick Guy.

Inside, the gridlock gravitated to the electronics section. With widened eyes, one boy looked through the glass window that separated him from a trove of XBox 360/PlayStation 3/Ninendo Wii games.

Outside, at 6:45 a.m., a girl exited the store, walked through the parking lot and exclaimed on a bright note:

“It’s light outside!”

Comment below with your tips and pointers for avoiding long lines and finding the best deals.

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