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The End Of America: People Have Lined Up For Black Friday Sales Since Last Week
As the old adage goes, "The early bird catches the worm," or in this case, a flat-screen TV. People are already camping out for Black Friday sales in SoCal, with some who have lined up since last week.
Black Friday might as well be called "Black Thursday" (or our dystopian present), as big-box stores like Target and Walmart are starting their sales even earlier, before families can even sit down for Thanksgiving dinner. Best Buy's sales kick off at 5 p.m. on Thanksgiving day.
KTLA caught up with eager shopper Edgar Ruiz outside of Best Buy's store in Riverside this morning, and he said he's been waiting since last Wednesday with his buddies. He's mostly in line to snag a 49-inch Toshiba TV, which will be on sale for $150 come Thursday. By that time, he will have camped out for eight days, and saved $280 on the TV.
CBS Los Angeles reports that people have been lining up at this location since last Tuesday, and they found six people camping out on Sunday.
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There's a whole system to waiting in line for so long. A woman told KTLA that she goes in a group, where everyone takes turns going home to shower or go to work. While some are queued up in line for their own purchases, others have been paid to stand in line for someone else.
Anthony Lualemaga is one of the shoppers going in groups, taking turns waiting in line, and he's been there since Tuesday. "I've been first or second in line eight years straight," Lualemaga said.
He purchases items for others, racking up Best Buy rewards points, and is able to buy Christmas gifts with those points for his family. His wife isn't too happy about all of this, though. "My wife gets bummed out because we never have a traditional Thanksgiving meal," Lualemaga says. "I always get a to-go plate."
Lualemaga could be doing worse though. Last year, two friends, Vickey Torres and Juanita Salas, started lining up in front of the Best Buy in Beaumont, a city in Riverside County, on Nov. 4, three weeks before Thanksgiving day. They're pros since they had done this for years.
"Some people say we're crazy," Torres told Banning-Beaumont Patch earlier this month, but that doesn't bother her at all.
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