Shoppers get early start

Ashley Sherrill looks at jewelry Friday while shopping in the Dress Barn at Prime Outlets. (Ledger photo/Scott Powell) As many county residents slept off their Turkey Day feasts in the comfort of their heated homes, many others braved the frigid early-morning temps on Friday, eager to take advantage of early bird specials.

Some ended up at Belk at the Peachtree Marketplace.

Jim Tyler, manager of Belk, said he opened the doors at 4:45 to get the bundled up shoppers out of the cold.

“There wasn’t really any need for them to be outside when we had a warm store,” he said.

Once inside, the shoppers headed for the electronic items and fleece tops.

“The sales went real well,” Tyler said. “We did better than last year.”

Down the street at Wal-Mart, shoppers loaded their baskets with laptop computers, Powerwheel Hummer vehicles and discounted televisions.

Shoppers snatched up Gameboys and 3-in-1 pool tables, store manager Scot Bowman said.

“Our store did very well,” Bowman said.

The cash registers were also getting a workout at Prime Outlets Gaffney, where early traffic counts were up 17 percent from last year.

The outlet mall remained open from 6 a.m. until 11 p.m. Friday, traditionally the busiest shopping day of the year.

Shoppers lined up outside the door at K B Toys at 6 a.m. for one of the holiday’s most wanted items an Atari Flashback Classic Game Console.

The Atari game systems were sold for $12 at K B Toys well below the $25 to $35 at many other retailers.

But people are out of luck if they hope to pick up an Atari game system for that price today.

“The Atari game systems were our big seller. We were blowing them out the door,” K B Toys store manager Chris McLaughlin said. “Our buyer was able to get a real good deal so we snapped a bunch of the Ataris. We had 72 Atari game systems when we opened at 6 a.m. We had sold out by two o’clock.”

K B Toys is hoping for similar results when it hosts a “Fill the Van” promotion on Dec. 11 to support the Marine Toys for Tots, McLaughlin said. Customers are asked to stop by the store between 12 p.m. and 5 p.m. to purchase a toy for the Marine toy drive.

U.S. Marines from Greenville will be on hand to help fill the van with toys. The store is offering a 10 percent discount on any toy purchased for donation to Toys for Tots.

Strings of customers also filled the Pflatzgraff Outlet store, where the first 200 shoppers paid $20 for the chance to fill a brown paper bag with as much clearance merchandise as long as the items didn’t lap over the top of the bag.

“If Friday is any indication, we expect to continue the trend for the remainder of the season,” mall manager Patricia Byrd said.

Mall stores will be open for extended hours until Christmas. On Thursdays, county residents are eligible for discounts and specials with an ID.