The day after Thanksgiving is traditionally the busiest shopping day of the year and several area retailers took advantage by offering extended hours. After being closed on Thanksgiving, the Jupiter Wal-Mart re-opened at 5 a.m., and will be open 24 hours until Christmas.
Accompanied by her daughter and mother, Laracuente wanted to get "the laptop on sale for $378," she said, noting that it was limited to one per person.
"I need your hands in the air if you want to buy the laptop," Dallman said. "I've only got eight left." Those diligent shoppers towards the front of the line were let in a few minutes before 5 a.m.
"The only thing we're short of is the laptops," Dallman said. This year, the store opened at 5 a.m., instead of at 6, "to get a jump on the competition," he said.
"I never would have come if I had known it was like this," said Nancy Freese, a culinary arts teacher at William T. Dwyer High School. "It wasn't like this last year." She gave up after realizing how far the line of shoppers stretched.
Peggy Dupée of Jupiter didn't mind the wait, exiting the store with her shopping cart filled with large boxes. She got up early to buy toys for the Marine Corps' Toys for Tots program, coffee pots and other gifts. She made a deal with her daughter, she said.
"My daughter wanted a bicycle for her nephew," Dupée said. "So she went to one store (at 4 a.m.) to get what I wanted." That being a laptop computer on sale as a 2-for-1 at Best Buy in West Palm Beach.
Staples at 201 N. U.S. 1 had a shorter line outside its store for the 6 a.m. opening. Jupiter resident Larry Porter, who marked his place at about 5 a.m., came to get an LCD monitor for $199. It usually retails for around $400, he said, "depending upon where you go.
Kevin Valonis of Jupiter came about the same time, with a shopping list that included speakers, a pen drive and a webcam. "I just wanted to make sure I got everything I wanted," he said.
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