The early bird gets the sale

The sky is still dark and most Blazers are still sleeping off their Thanksgiving meals, but sophomore Ashley Wilson has already dressed and left her cozy home to join the hordes of people waiting outside of department stores, malls and electronic stores.

To her and other Blazers, this day off from school is not an invitation to sleep in. The day after Thanksgiving is commonly called "Black Friday," the day when stores everywhere in America open at abnormally early hours, promoting discounts and special deals for the earliest buyers. "[Black Friday] is the most important day in American commerce because two-thirds of the economy is based on consumer spending," says computer science teacher Dennis Heidler. "This is the biggest shopping day of the year."

Great deals galore

Black Friday sales cover a variety of items that Blazers of all sorts can enjoy. Wilson, her family and her friends leave around four in the morning to take advantage of the sales. "I plan to get up early for the sales to do mostly holiday shopping." she says. Among the stores on her list of places to go are popular retailers like JC Penney and Macy's. These stores have and others have geared up for the big day with coupons in the catalogues, boasting the biggest discounts for clothing before sunrise for the earliest buyers.

Clothes are not the only things that go on major sales on Black Friday. CompUSA, Radioshack, Best Buy and other electronic reatailers are popular among America's consumers as well as Blazers. Sophomore Brittany Isaiah, who has participated in the Black Friday shopping frenzy in the past, says that all the discounted electronics are exceptionally cheap and worth pushing your way through crowds. "They mark down huge televisions," she says, citing a 23-inch, flat-screen television on sale for $70 that she saw last year.

Freshman Aaron Lane just found out about Black Friday this year. "My grandmother told me and I heard about it on the Internet," he says. To celebrate his new-found discovery, he plans to purchase a new Nokia 6102 cell phone and to do as much holiday shopping as possible.

Aside from holiday shopping, some Blazers also shop for themselves. Freshman Jessy Jimenez aims to snag the coveted Xbox 360 for himself this Black Friday.

The early bird gets the worm

Although many Blazers plan to buy as many things as possible, Isaiah believes that it is important to go shopping as early as possible to get the best items available. Her family and friends generally leave home at 4:00 a.m. to get a head start on the shopping craze, she says.

Isaiah remembers the deals she saw last year. She also remembers the crowds and the short shelf-life of the discounted products on Black Friday. "I'll probably be done in the morning," she says.

To augment the masses of shoppers clamoring to get their hands on in-demand products, a lot of stores extend their deals to a certain hour in the early morning or reward the earliest shoppers. According to the "Black Friday 2005" web site, most stores end deals at 12:00 p.m., although hours do vary.

The web site also reads that if shoppers missed out this year, they may want to catch some deals online on the Monday after Thanksgiving. Over the years, the Monday after Thanksgiving has gotten the name "Cyber Monday," when online retailers gear up for the beginning of their holiday spending season, too.