Determined gift buyers brave cold and chaos

While a lot of us slept through the early-morning cold, Black Friday shoppers warmed retailers' hearts.
By JEANNE STARMACK
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
BOARDMAN -- Ah, Black Friday. It's the day when retailers' ink runs black, and it's the day when you're least likely to find a parking spot at the mall.
It starts early, with many shoppers getting up for 5 a.m. store openings, and the competition can be fierce for bargains.
This year it started out cold, too, but that didn't stop the die-hards from getting out of their warm beds -- on the day after Thanksgiving no less, when a lot of people have the day off and just snuggle deeper into their mattresses in a kind of tryptophan-induced stupor.
They, the shoppers of Black Friday, are the perseverant, with the drive to find those deals that defies the frustration of the drive down traffic-clogged U.S. Route 224.
They are the brave, willing to risk fender benders and runaway shopping carts as they circle endlessly in parking lots, looking, waiting, for that space to open up so they can trudge for hours through store after store, fighting those crowds, fighting on.
The rest of you, if you were awake yet, would have admired them. Many of them were already on the road long before the stores opened, and a lot of them were headed to two big draws in the Boardman shopping hub: Southern Park Mall and Wal-Mart.
Attractive factors
Ah, the mall, with its festive music, sparkly holiday decorations and of course, Santa Claus. Who doesn't like going there?
Ah, Wal-Mart, with its low prices and great deals -- what's not to love?
But some of these trailblazers of the holiday shopping season definitely have their preferences. Some just don't find that the sparkle of the mall is enough to overcome the one-stop, low-price siren song of the big-box store.
For others, the mall just can't be beat for ambience. And, oh yes, you can find some bargains there as well, the mall's marketing director, Sheryl Raulin, is quick to point out. The mall opened at 6 a.m. Friday, the earliest she has ever opened it, Raulin said. One anchor store, J.C. Penney, opened at 5. "They were mobbed," she said.
At midmorning, Angela Doty of Salem and Nancy Benson of New Waterford were taking a break in the main hallway of the mall, with bags grouped around their feet. They had left their homes at 4:30 a.m., and they arrived in time for the opening of Penney's.
Why? Well, the bargains.
"And the fun," said Doty.
They do it every year, Benson said, and this year, she found a lot of deals on children's clothes. That's important, because she's the grandmother of triplets. Do they go to Wal-Mart? Well, that depends. Wal-Mart's fine for groceries or toys for the kids.
And indeed, some Black Friday shoppers were having it both ways -- checking out the discount stores and the mall, too.
Anthony and Mary Ann Testa of New Castle started out at the Wal-Mart there at 5, ending up at the Boardman mall around 7. There were bargains to be had at Wal-Mart, Anthony said, "but things got ugly there when they ran out of laptops."
Enjoying the atmosphere
He said it's the atmosphere in the mall that they like.
"It wouldn't be Christmas if we didn't do this," Mary Ann said.
Kelly Kordupel, 12, also looked forward to Black Friday shopping, but as for her twin, Michelle, the day would have been just fine had it not started so early.
"They literally -- I mean, literally -- dragged me out of bed, she said.
"I wanted to go," Kelly said. And the girls, who are from Boardman, did manage to find some good deals. Kelly said she likes the mall, not Wal-Mart. "It has more stores, and there's a variety. You can find what you want."
Michelle appreciates its clean bathrooms.
At a booth in the main hallway, shoppers were having their packages gift-wrapped.
Evan Smith and Nick Hardy, both 14 and of Canfield, were doing a great job at wrapping -- their finished work was smooth and even.
Was it fun for them? "Of course it is," Evan said.
And it's also for a good cause. For a minimum donation, starting at $1, shoppers can have gifts wrapped and contribute to Hospice of the Valley at the same time. The boys, members of the Interact Club, were at the booth as a community service project.
The gift-wrapping is a feature you won't find at Wal-Mart, Raulin said.
Searching for deals
So what will you find there? Shoppers seeking low prices. By midmorning, there weren't as many people there as there were at the mall, and it was easier to find a parking space. Assistant manager Woody Jones said the mad rush happened at 5 a.m., when the doors opened.
He said he arrived at the store at 3:20 a.m. to the sight of about 100 people in line, and more were waiting in their cars.
Dallas, Rosemary and Kyle Staton of Youngstown waited until after the crowds died down to begin their shopping.
"We typically come to Wal-Mart. They usually have what I want, and there's good bargains," Rosemary said. She said they'll likely skip the mall because prices are higher.
Debbi Beil of Boardman browsed in an aisle all to herself, and for her, the chance to be alone was the big draw of the day. Beil has five children, all younger than six. On Black Friday, she leaves them at home with her husband. She started at 5:30 and was hitting the discount stores, Toys R Us, Staples and the Shops at Boardman Park. She was skipping the mall. The discount stores have more of what she wants for the kids, she said, "and it's just easier."
The worst part of the day was half-hour waits in lines, she said, but she planned to finish all her Christmas shopping.
Avoiding the mall
Pat Watson and her mother-in-law, Mary Watson, both of Poland, just happened to be at Wal-Mart doing their weekly shopping. They weren't planning on buying gifts but said that when they do, they'll start out at discount stores.
Pat said she won't go to the mall unless she can't find it at Wal-Mart, Kmart or Target. "Prices are better, and there's too much walking at the mall," she said.
"And you're lucky to find a place to park," Mary said.
Ray and Chrissy Smith of Canfield, who own the Dairy Queen in Cornersburg, were looking for gifts for their employees. They had started out at 5 a.m. at Value City, and they were looking for deals. They said they wouldn't be going to the mall.
Mall loyalists, that just means another parking space for you.