Black Friday shoppers at Woodfield tell all
Here's the equipment list for one family of serious Black Friday shoppers who started their expedition at 8 p.m. Thursday:
&bul; Matching black T-shirts with “Black Friday” emblazoned in hot pink on the front, not to mention a warning on the back designed to give pause to anyone eyeing the treasures in a wearer's shopping cart.
&bul; Rented stroller or wheelchair at Woodfield in Schaumburg to carry around packages.
&bul; Cash and credit cards.
&bul; The baby.
That last one is a joke -- sort of. Sixteen-month-old Alexandra Otte didn't join the shoppers until midmorning when her grandfather Bill Otte of Northlake brought her to Woodfield Shopping Center.
Alexandra is in the third generation of the extended family that has been hitting the stores on the Friday after Thanksgiving for 25 years.
Their first stop was the line outside the Target in Rosemont at 8 p.m. Thursday. Spelling each other with two-hour shifts and walking side by side to thwart anyone bent on pushing ahead of them when the store opened at 4 a.m., the family members scored two 40-inch television sets for $298 each, about half price. They estimate 40 of the sets were grabbed up in 3 minutes.
The family usually stays on its feet until midafternoon, said Mary Nessling of Rosemont.
And with siblings, in-laws and offspring there to confer about taste and sizes, about 75 percent of Christmas shopping gets done on Black Friday, said Teresa Pusateri of Park Ridge.
Of course, it's a family tradition, but it's more.
“It's the competition,” Otte said. “It's winning. It's getting that best buy. We've got to compete with other shoppers.”
Does competitive shopping scare them?
No, said one of the twentysomething cousins. “People are usually scared of us.”
Other Black Friday veterans interviewed at Woodfield Shopping Center shared their tips on how to get the best deals:
&bul; Shop in groups, or at least in pairs. Michelle Soo Hoo of Crystal Lake stood in line while her daughter, Zoe, looked for a jacket in a busy store. Then voila, when Zoe was ready to pay, her mother was almost at the cash register.
Zoe Soo Hoo, a Chicago accountant, said it's important to know regular prices ahead of time so you're sure it's a good deal. She was happy with the half-price coat she bought for $60 at New York & Company.
&bul; Be flexible, says Veronica Howard-Sims of Chicago, who rode along to stores chosen by friends and was pleased with the $80, 15-piece pot and pan set she found at JCPenney at Golf Mill in Niles.
“Typically if I can't find what I want or they're out of stock, I wait for Cyber Monday (for online shopping),” she said.
&bul; When you're in line for those door busters, talk with other folks, according to Donna Collins of Lake in the Hills, who spent all night shopping with her cousin, Julie Mertz of Algonquin and Mertz's mother, Fran Divizio of Schaumburg.
Collins chatted up a stranger in line and learned they had mutual shopping interests.
“We both wanted quesadilla makers and electric blankets. So I said, ‘I'll get two quesadilla makers, and you get two electric blankets, and we'll meet up and trade.' This is a perfect stranger, mind you,” Collins said.
One of the treasures in this group was the electric skillet that Divizio bought at Macy's. After a rebate it will cost her $10.
Friends have labeled the shoppers BFF Black Friday Freaks.
&bul; Do your homework with newspaper ads and online.
Sue Black of Arlington Heights was also on a traditional shopping trip with three of her four sisters and some of their daughters. One even has a husband who scouted out Sears on Thanksgiving Day.
They believe that when youngsters reach a certain age say high school shopping together so everyone gets what they want for holiday gifts is more important than having surprises under the tree.