People Camp Out Ahead of Black Friday
It's not your typical campsite, but come Friday morning, it's saving two teens hundreds.
Some South Florida residentsare preparing for the biggest shopping day of the year in their own way: are camping outside of department stores.
Some South Florida residents are preparing for the biggest shopping day of the year in their own way: are camping outside of department stores.
It's not your typical campsite, but come Friday morning, it's saving two teens hundreds of dollars.
"I'm looking for a plasma 42 inch for 200 dollars," 19-year-old Juan Vanegas said.
A $200 TV and $300 laptop are what made Vanegas set up his temporary home at the Pembroke Pines Best Buy Monday night. And two days later, he got some company, 15-year-old Justin Calean, who came down from Ocala.
"I always come down here for Black Friday," Calean said. "There's better deals and more stores."
The two said they have a pretty comfortable set up. Their only complaints so far? It's a little warm out, and they don't have outlets to charge their phones.
"It's been going good," Calean said. "People just walk by and ask what we're getting... and my phones dead, so I lost my music and contact with my friends."
But not for long, because friends and family are always stopping by. That's how these guys say waiting in line is possible: by having a rotation.
"We switch shifts with other people in my tent. There's 10 of us," Vanegas said. "I'm here most of the time."
This year, the minute the holiday ends at midnight, the doors open.
Calean's sister is splitting the day with him, so they will both have turkey.Vanegas said he's had plenty of Thanksgivings with his family in Columbia, and now it's time to get a deal.
He disagrees with the nationwide petition signed by more than 200,000 Target employees and customers who don't want workers to start their shift before midnight.
George Daniell from Delray Beach even wrote a letter to the editor in the South Florida Sun Sentinel about it titled "Boycott shopping on Thanksgiving Day."
"If you don't want to do it, don't do it," Venegas said. "Just because the stores open at 12 doesn't mean you have to go. You're going to miss eating turkey. It's not the end of the world. You can eat turkey the next day."
As of Wednesday afternoon, the Best Buy in Pembroke Pines had four tents pitched but had room for many more behind a roped off area.
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