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In the wee hours, at one Black Friday destination

E-mail|Link|Comments () November 27, 2009 01:01 AM

By Michael Corcoran, Globe Correspondent

BRAINTREE -- The lines of tents, space heaters, blankets, and beach chairs stretching down the rain-speckled sidewalk early today gave the gathering the air of an orderly, out-of-season camping trip.

The most anticipated shopping day of the year, Black Friday, does not technically begin at the Best Buy in Braintree until 5 a.m. But by 1 a.m., about 100 dedicated shoppers had already been waiting outside for hours, braving a light drizzle -- and the clock -- to get the season’s best deals.

Linda Rorie, from Weymouth, arrived at 6:30 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day. More than six hours later, there she stood, firmly grasping a big umbrella near a tarp that covered several chairs and other personal items. She was 30th in line.

"This is the first time I have ever come out overnight for Black Friday,'' she said, with a hint of pride. "I am looking at the computer deals. They are really good this year.''

Shoppers were waiting in long lines at the electronics superstore so they can grab one-day-only “door buster” sales on high-definition televisions, video games, mobile phones, and notebook computers for less than $200. Best Buy planned to hand out tickets at 3 a.m. that guaranteed they could return and buy certain items at a reasonable hour; the chain hopes that will keep customers as orderly as possible amid the shopping frenzy.

The deal hunters said they were not worried about safety, but were focused on knocking off a few items on their Christmas lists.

At the front of the line sat a huge, square open tent. Inside, a convivial group of about 15 huddled around a space heater. They didn't all come together, but in the small world of hard-core Black Friday fans, several knew each other from previous excursions.

One woman in the group, Theresa Drosdik, of Quincy, pointed out that she waits in line because "it makes Christmas more special. I could not afford to buy my daughter a $300 camera if I didn't come here.''

Kaila Scatto, 22, of Weymouth, agreed.

"I'm pretty young and I have a 2-year-old daughter,'' Scatto said. "For me to save $300 on a computer is a really big deal.''