North Carolina shoppers swarmed shopping centers early this morning to take advantage of Black Friday sales. No official numbers are available yet, but anecdotal reports say the lines were a little longer than they were last year. Deep discounts on toys and electronics brought out Black Friday regulars, as well as some first-timers like Cindy Ratkovich. She doesn't usually take part in the early-morning Black Friday madness:
"But one of the major department stores had a deal on something I couldn't pass up," she says. "So my son and I left the house at 2:30 am to get there at 3:00 - and stood in this one little section for 2 1/2 hours, got my item, checked out, and came home (laughs). "
Ratkovich says the first person in line at the New Bern Wal-Mart had been there since 10:00 Thursday night. She says the early wake-up call was worth it - she saved about $400 - but she probably won't make a habit of it.