Friday, November 25, 2011
STAFF REPORT
By the time Best Buy in Boardman opened its doors at midnight Black Friday, more than 400 people formed a line circling the box store giant.
Store manager Melissa Gregorino said it was the largest crowd she’s seen in the past few years at the U.S. Route 224 location.
A stampede was avoided by giving customers outside vouchers for hot ticket items, such as TVs and laptops. The vouchers were given to those first in line on down until supplies ran out.
Nick Lockshaw, 17, of Boardman, was one of the first to check out at Best Buy with his Black Friday purchase — an X-Box 360 video game console.
The X-Box was on sale for $199 instead of its regular price $299. Lockshaw got in line at Best Buy about 6:30 p.m. Thursday and said his purchase was worth the wait.
Although thousands of people flocked to retail stores in Boardman, police said it was a relatively quiet start to Black Friday. A few customers at Best Buy were asked to leave the premises after they tried to sell their vouchers to late-comers, but the situation was resolved quickly, police said.
For more on Black Friday shopping, check back here throughout the night and morning.