Paying price for a deal

Many across Ohio seemed to enjoy the experience despite the crowds.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Shoppers mindful of economic worries and rising gas prices jammed stores and malls across Ohio on Friday, attracted by sales and come-on deals that drew bargain hunters out in the cold, pre-dawn hours.

Shoppers were looking for value and cut-rage prices, like the $25 Bissell bag-less vacuum and $20 wet-dry Shop-Vac that filled carts leaving the Wal-Mart in Strongsville in suburban Cleveland.

Richard Radey, 52, of Brunswick, and his wife, Diane, emerged from the store just as the sun started to melt the early season ice on the parking lot and estimated they would spend $400 to $450 each on their two sons, making sure both are treated the same.

Diane Radey, a teacher, said Wal-Mart was out of the DVD player that she wanted and instead turned her attention to housewares including dishes and a toaster.

“I usually don’t go out on Black Friday early, but I was up at 6 a.m. looking for an X-Box 360 and was out of luck there,” said Radey, making her third stop in two hours. She said she had seen only one line of shoppers, at a mall Radio Shack at 6 a.m.

In Cincinnati, Juanita Ansteatt, 58, of Milford, said she had once scorned Black Friday shopping but now enjoyed doing it with her daughter.

“When these kids were little and I needed all these toys, I wouldn’t do this for love nor money. I thought all these people were stupid,” she said. Now, however, she relishes the prospect of shopping all day for her three children and four grandchildren.

Charlie Greenert, 68, of Cincinnati, pausing outside a Macy’s store in the eastside suburb of Anderson Township, said he had good reason to look for bargains.

“We’ve had a house on the market for several months that we haven’t been able to sell, and gas prices are so high we’re keeping our spending down,” Greenert said.

Stephanie Smith, 29, of Cincinnati, said she was shopping for nieces and nephews at Macy’s but would be watching her budget. “I’m going to be spending less this Christmas mainly because of the gas crisis,” Smith said.

The J.C. Penney Co. store at the Westfield Great Northern mall in North Olmsted near Cleveland opened at 4 a.m., an hour earlier than last year’s day after Thanksgiving. The store’s general manager, Blaine Wilson, was concerned when he saw the waiting crowd lined up outside all down the side of the store. But they were in the holiday mood, he said.

“The attitudes of the customers in here this morning were just really holiday-like. They understood it was going to be a busy day and it is,” Wilson said.

The store had $29.99 Chantilly stuffed bears on sale for $18.88, mattresses 40 percent to 50 percent off and a $99.99 GPX Karaoke party machine on sale for $68.88.

The store wasn’t leaving Saturday’s return shoppers to chance: It offered $10 coupons with any Friday purchase, redeemable on a $50 purchase Saturday.

The Prime Outlets mall in Jeffersonville southwest of Columbus gave away 2,000 gift bags, including 10 with $50 gift cards and one with a $500 gift card. The bags went quickly, with more than 2,000 people in line when the mall with 100 stores opened at midnight Thursday.

, spokeswoman Kristen Early said. The 22-hour shopping marathon lasted until 10 p.m. Friday.

Cathy Gilkison, 55, of Goshen near Cincinnati, needed help from her daughter to lug a huge box to her minivan. Inside was a Butterscotch Pony, big enough for a small child to sit on but too new and too popular to be on sale. But Gilkison had a store coupon for 20 percent off one purchase, so she used it on the $250 pony.