Throngs hit the malls, stores for holiday sales

November 29, 2008 - 9:54am

Sharon Lapkoff customarily waits until January to shop. That's when the deepest discounts are available, the Jefferson resident said.

Black Friday's deals at Frederick Towne Mall shattered Lapkoff's routine.

"I'm making my second trip to my car" with goodies, Lapkoff said. "I didn't even use my coupons, the doorbuster deals were so good. Get your butt in there!"

Boscov's offer of 20 Christmas cards for 99 cents was so irresistible, Lapkoff stocked up for next year as well.

As expected, sales galore were available for throngs that blanketed local malls and stores. Black Friday is named for the day retailers hope to drive account books out of the red ink and into the black.

Despite the rush, no one in Frederick was injured, although it was difficult getting in and out of Francis Scott Key Mall and Wal-Mart on Md. 85 throughout the morning.

Long lines and long waits were worth the deals offered at Kmart, said Connie Fender, of Brunswick.

She bought the solar lights she wanted and said she'd be back for more deals. She was on her way across town to Md. 85 to continue her hunt.

Asked how she felt about spending in the wake of a depressed economy, Fender said, "People should shop to help the economy whether we like it or not."

Frederick resident Jennifer Bega carried several bags as she left Rugged Warehouse on South Jefferson Street in Frederick, her two children in tow.

"Things are tight, that's why you cut back, that's why we came to shop at Rugged. It all depends on where you go to shop. You get a better deal here. We got gloves, clothes for the kids," Bega said.

For some shoppers, like Nadia Bawa, no number of enticements could break their resolve.

"I normally buy what I need, not what I want," said Bawa, of Frederick, who was leaving Frederick Towne Mall with one item. "I don't have a lot to spend. I just came to look around and bought one sweater."

Everybody has a different budget, Bawa said. "Whatever you feel you can spend, you spend. To each his own," Bawa said.

Foot traffic was down to a trickle at Sunrise Liquor on South Jefferson Street in Frederick.

"That's always how it is right after Thanksgiving," owner Meng Hong Srun said. "It will pick up again one week before Christmas." That's when Srun usually sells a lot of liquor gift sets, he said.

Srun doesn't relish going to shop, especially on Black Friday. But he is interested in the latest electronic gadgets out there, he said.

This year, Srun would like a Global Positioning System that can tell a parent where their children are with the family car, he said.