Area Shoppers Share Their Black Friday Experiences

The holiday shopping season has officially begun.

At Best Buy this morning, cars swarmed the parking lot and shoppers were greeted by a friendly security guard who wished everyone a good morning.

Inside, special discounts on televisions, iPods and computers lured prospective buyers. The store was well-staffed, but employees were not allowed to speak to reporters about the event.

Some customers left the store empty-handed, but others, like Rocior Reynoso of Elgin, bought a new desktop computer and printer. This was not her first time shopping on Black Friday morning.

"We look for the sales, and depending on what we need, that's what we go for," Reynoso said.

She arrived at Best Buy at 5 a.m. and waited a half hour to enter the store, as the managers let a group of people in the store at a time to avoid overcrowding.

"Even in the early morning people were friendly," Reynoso said. "It was very organized."

Howard Walovitch, of Crystal Lake, also came to Best Buy on Friday morning with his daughters, Jessica and Kelly. Howard said they go shopping on Black Friday mostly for the experience.

"There's nothing friendly about today," he said while laughing.

Across the street at Target, the parking lot told a similar story. A manager, who declined to give her name, said that everything was going well and that this year is similar to last, although she thought this year may even be busier than last.

The Black Friday shopping experience was new for Joe and Beth Edwards and their son, Joe Jr.

"It was nuts; the lines were so long," said Joe. He said he asked a fellow customer if the long wait was worth it, and he replied "no."

"He looked like he had just come from the battlefield," Edwards said.

Edwards said he tried to buy a camera, but it was already sold out, and just as they opted for a different one, someone else bought the last one in stock. Despite the crowds, "people seem to be having fun," his wife, Beth, said.

The Edwards family did not walk away with any electronics, but Beth joked, "we were the first ones to buy groceries here today."