Shoppers’ delight

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For Susan Harris, there is no better way to follow up a huge Thanksgiving feast than waking before sunrise the next morning.

At 4:15 a.m. last Friday, she began her shopping frenzy with two neighbors from the 2400 block of South Chadwick Street. Around midday, Harris was still overcome with Black Friday fever outside the Toys R Us, 2703-2817 S. Third St.

"Everything we got was on sale," she said. "We don’t mess around."

The bargain-hunters sniffed out reasonably priced scooters and Playstation Portable devices, one of the season’s hot sellers. Between the three of them, the women spent about $1,000 and were in no mood to quit. Their next stop was Walgreens.

"It gets you into the Christmas mood," said Harris, grinning while trying to stuff huge white bags into the car.

"Especially when you look into your pocketbook," added Barbara Sofi, accompanied by her daughter, Michele.

Considered a favorite day of the year for retailers, Black Friday lived up to its reputation of putting stores in financial good graces. Retailers had no problem luring in customers and shoppers had no qualms about spending their dough – or increasing their credit-card debt.

Retail giant Target made sure sleepyheads did not wither the day away, offering wake-up calls by celebrities such as Kermit the Frog and country singer Brad Paisley.

And some customers apparently took full advantage of the service. At 6 a.m., 60 people waited outside the store at 1 Mifflin St. in hopes of purchasing a 17-inch flat screen monitor for $188, or any number of specials available.

The new Xbox 360 also appeared on many wish lists, but the store sold out in 25 minutes Nov. 22, said Maurice Thomas, the store’s brand manager. The gaming system includes a hard drive and supports CDs, DVDs, MP3s and digital images.

As the crowds filtered in Friday, Thomas made note of an amiable tone among the customers.

"People have been real pleasant for the most part," he said. "Focused, but pleasant."

New to the Black Friday scene was Glenda Burrus of North Philly who purchased dolls and DVDs. Accompanying her was veteran shopper Florence Teagle who acquired a remote control dinosaur and a DVD player for $29 at Target. She forked over $200 at the store.

"At Wal-Mart I only spent $40, so I have plenty of money left," Teagle said.

When asked where they were heading next, the two simultaneously replied with a "hmm" before erupting in laughter.

"The shopping will continue until the money runs out," Teagle said.

SHOPPERS LOOKING TO take a break at the Oregon Diner, 302 Oregon Ave., could not escape the crowds. With almost every seat filled, the place was swarming with people around lunchtime.

Manager Donna O’Leary said customers had not stopped filtering in since she arrived at 6:45 a.m.

"It’s usually dead during this time," O’Leary said. "We’re still busy."

Rather than waste time gallivanting across town, Eddie Evans prefers to shop for his 9-month-old daughter at one place. He exited the Wal-Mart, 1601 S. Columbus Blvd., with a cartful of toys and a warm smile.

"Everything in the store is on sale. You can’t beat that," he said. "It’s convenient. [The prices] are not too high. When you save a lot, you can buy a lot."

Spending two hours in the store, Evans snagged a Fisher-Price Little People Animal Sounds Farm and a toy bike. The $119 Evans paid was less than what he anticipated.

"This is the first place I hit. I don’t got to go anywhere else. This is it," he said.

Joyce Palio, originally from Second Street, does not mind scoping the different stores to find the best deals. And she doesn’t need an alarm clock to get her out of bed for those early-bird sales.

"I’m a senior citizen. I wish I could sleep," she quipped.

Some shoppers took advantage of the sales for their own benefit. A 32-inch television for $242 was too enticing for Gia, no last name given, of Upper Darby, to pass up.

"We don’t do presents like this," she said with a chuckle.

Resting next to the big TV box in front of Wal-Mart, Gwen Waddy made note of the next task: "We’re paying bills after this."

Shopping safeguards

Tis the season for giving – and for the increased threat of identity theft. Thieves can achieve this through phone calls, Dumpster diving, online scams, purse or wallet theft, and "shoulder surfing."

"Many thieves use camera phones to take pictures of credit or ATM cards while standing behind people in line at a store or at an ATM machine," said Catherine L. Rossi, spokesperson for AAA Mid-Atlantic.

AAA advises shoppers to guard their printed personal information, shred bank and credit card statements and credit card offers, subscribe to a credit monitoring service and to not disclose Social Security numbers.

If consumers believe they are victims of identity theft, close the account in question, file a police report and contact the Federal Trade Commission, Rossi said.