TVs, boots among bargain faithful's favorites

ASHEVILLE - For a decade now, Jon Hart has been a door buster.

That first year, back in 2006, the Asheville man waited through a night of snow, ice and crowds to score that year’s hottest consumer electronic, a flat screen television. This year, like every year since, he’s again back at Best Buy before the store opens, though both the Thanksgiving weather and the crowds were cooperating.

The temperature registered in the mid-60s and the crowd numbered less than ten, even with only three hours left before opening. 
But ask Hart what the biggest changes a man sees in a decade of Black Friday shopping, and he doesn’t point to the dwindling crowds and the option of online shopping. He points to a shift in customer service that he says began about five years ago.

“The management comes out and takes care of you better than they used to,” he said. “They bring you a flier, ask what you want. They make you feel welcome. Before, they used to have cops out here,” he said. “It felt like, ‘Give us your money and get out.’ It’s not like that anymore.”

Black Friday isn't over yet: Get great deals before they run out

Nearby, the bulk of stores at the Asheville Mall remained closed for Thanksgiving, but hundreds of people lined up for a 4 p.m. opening at Belk, celebrated by fashionistas for offering boots at $19.99.

Among them was Keish Talbert of Asheville, who last year bought seven or eight pairs, and hopes this year, among other booty, to win a $1,000 gift card offered at the store.

This Thanksgiving shopping day is about finding great deals for herself and her daughter, she said, not worrying about Christmas shopping.

"If they want something they should have been here," she laughed.

But behind her, Carrie Spicer of Candler said she and her daughter will ignore the boot display at the front of the store to check off items on their Christmas list. She expects to knock about half of it out with a watch for her husband, a jacket for one friend and a comforter set for another among other items.

"We go right past the boots," she said. "They'll be fighting over them, and I can head to household and there will be hardly anyone there," she said, and looks forward to saving about $150 compared to shopping for the same items on another day.

At JCPenney, Rachael Bravo was one of about 100 people lined up for a 3 p.m.. opening, hoping to win a $500 in-store coupon.

"The sooner you're here, the luckier you are. At least we hope so," said Bravo, a longtime Thanksgiving and Black Friday shopper. "It's like a seek-and-find. I'm a couponer, so the lowest deal I can find, I'm going for it. It's an adrenaline rush."

She usually goes for electronics in the Black Friday deals, but this year is looking for clothing bargains. Last year, she said, she got a television and doesn't want another: "How many TVs do you need?"

For Hart, waiting at Best Buy, that number is seven. Should he get the 49-inch Toshiba he's eyeing, 49 thin inches of ultra-high-definition resolution, it will join six sets in use that he's gotten at Black Friday deals. This one, he explained, isn’t an online deal. Show up and wait or miss it.

His list includes a host of gadgets – a Garmin, a printer, a DVD player – all of them for himself. Presents for family will come later.

“My mom is 89 years old and we don’t let her buy gifts anymore for Christmas, so she gets upset if I don’t have anything to open up,” he said. “So I give her the things I buy for myself and tell her to wrap them and put them under the tree for me.”

By the time Hart leaves the store, his family will have already enjoyed their Thanksgiving dinner and he’ll need to warm up a plate of leftovers.

Should he maybe pick up a microwave too?

“Don’t worry,” he said. “I’ve already got plenty of those.”