Black Friday Deals Attract Shoppers at Big Box Stores

Area shoppers kept the Black Friday madness going throughout the day as they stopped at local big box stores to score deals.

drew a crowd of more than 300 shoppers waiting to get their hands on electronics deals that sold out within an hour, said Tyler Deanda, a Bloomfield Hills store employee.

“We let about 25 people in at a time to make things go smoother,” Deanda said.

A few police officers were stationed outside of the Bloomfield Hills store as well which helped deter any Black Friday brawls.

One of the hottest bargains was a Sharp 42-inch television for $199.99. There were also select 99-cent DVD’s and 4.99 Blu Rays.

had a more traditional Black Friday opening at 9 a.m., unlike Target and Best Buy’s midnight madness openings.

“One of the things that’s greatest about our company is that we respect our employees’ holiday," said Patrick Mulholland, a warehouse manager at Costco in Bloomfield Hills.

Mulholland said more than 75 percent of the staff, 202 employees, were on duty for Black Friday.

Some shoppers had a game plan before venturing into the wholesale store on Black Friday.

“I was looking for a specific 46-inch LED, 120 Hertz, and Costco was the one that had it," said shopper Lyn Williams of Bloomfield Hills. "Naturally Sony is top-rated, and I think from a quality price standpoint, here at Costco it’s the best."

Other Costco shoppers scored surprise deals while shopping.

“I showed up at Costco at 9:30 a.m. and was pleasantly surprised it wasn’t very packed,” Bloomfield Hills shopper Colleen Richards said.

Richards got a 37-inch TV at Costco for $375 because it was better than the 32-inch Toshiba she picked up at Radio Shack and it was only an extra $90.

Somerset Collection in Troy was another attraction for many Black Friday shoppers.

“I got three dresses, a leather jacket, a sweater, a shirt and a camisole at Express,” Richards said.

Richards was slightly embarrassed to say how much she spent ($350) because she couldn’t resist how cute and what a deal her new clothes were, saving nearly $250 on her plunder at Express because everything was 40 percent off.

Susan Gregory, a Lake Orion resident, did her Black Friday shopping at Macy’s and other clothing stores in Somerset.

“Pretty much what you see in the stores is the guys on the outside and the women inside,” Gregory said.

Gregory went to in Bloomfield Hills for a piece of furniture that was out of stock, but she plans on buying it online during the Target two-day sale.

“This store is dead, the (Target) store over at Great Lakes is packed to the gills. If you go over to the one over there you won’t be able to find a parking spot,” Gregory said.

The Target two-day sale saw steady traffic throughout the day, but mid-afternoon the electronics section had the only noticeable traffic.

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