Shopping as a Sport

Here's a mini profile on Sara Edquist, a "desperate" Black Friday shopper:

Sara Edquist, 22, considered herself a desperate shopper as she waited in line at Circuit City in the frigid early morning at 4:45 am. And she was not the only one. The line to enter the store wrapped around the building. Two employees that looked like security guarded the front doors before the 5 am opening to “keep things in order.”

Photo Courtesy/Rus McLaughlin

Most people huddled together standing impatiently waiting for their price vouchers, each reserving a chosen hot ticket item like games or electronics.

“For some people it’s a sport, and for others it’s desperation,” Edquist said about the mood while waiting in line. “Because the economy is bad people will go out on the sale days for the bargain shopping.”

Despite her having to work a shift at Barnes and Noble later that evening, Edquist was determnined to wake up early for her big ticket items: a big screen TV and Guitar Hero World Tour.



Although Edquist said Barnes and Noble was busy two days before Thanksgiving, the store seemed empty on Black Friday when she worked.

“If I worked at any other store I’d expect it to be busy,” she said. “Because there are no students here during break we don’t get much sales.”

After her day of working and waiting, Edquist went to bed at 9:30 and slept in late the next morning.