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Dan Liu knew before he moved to College Station that Americans like to shop on the day after Thanksgiving. But the Texas A&M civil engineering graduate student from Taiwan had no idea that the tradition was its own type of holiday, Black Friday.
This year, he joined in on the festivities.
Liu and a few Taiwanese friends packed their car Thursday night and drove to San Marcos. He said they began shopping at midnight Friday and spent a total of twelve hours at the outlet stores.
"It was really fun," he said. "You make yourself exhausted, spend lots of money and get lots of discounts."
Thousands of Brazos Valley residents hit the stores Friday, many shopping locally in stores across Bryan-College Station that opened their doors early and offered special prices.
Customers who camped outside the Best Buy store in College Station began receiving tickets at 3 a.m. to purchase $200 laptop computers and $50 digital cameras. The store opened at 5 a.m.
In Bryan, Walmart's large parking lot was barely big enough to hold the hundreds of cars parked by shoppers seeking $250 plasma screen televisions and inexpensive toys.
College Station resident Judy Draper was carrying a large bag of presents for her grandchildren as she browsed at stores in Post Oak Mall. A Black Friday newcomer, she said she avoided the early crowds and started shopping later in the day.
"My husband is working, and I just needed something to do," she said.
Friday was her last day of holiday shopping. She said she did most of her gift buying online because it was more convenient.
She said the day had been hectic, but not overwhelming.
"It would be better if I hadn't left my coupons at home," she said. "Inside the stores, it is not too bad, but outside it looks like a typical College Station parking lot."
Sgt. Craig Boyett said the College Station Police Department had two additional officers working at the mall to handle large crowds and potentially unruly shoppers.
"A lot of stores will hire off-duty officers to come and kind of help keep things under control," he said. "In years past, if there is a shipment of a popular toy or item, there will be an off-duty officer around it to keep people calm."
He said there were no major incidents Friday.
At JC Penney, all 90 employees who worked Friday wore black in honor of the event.
"This is our biggest sales day of the entire year," said Veronica Fly, the store's manager. "We've been prepping for two weeks."
The store was open from 4 a.m. until 11 p.m., and the number of shoppers was high throughout the day. By mid-afternoon, it was clear that it had been a good day. Many of the racks had been cleared and workers were scrambling to keep things neat.
"It is great to see the customers come through the store, and it is important to keep your customers happy," Fly said.
JC Penney was advertising "Doorbuster" specials. The store gave customers who arrived early a free Mickey Mouse snow globe, and judging by the sale signs, almost everything was discounted.
But the main draw was projection screen televisions on sale for under $70. Fly said the store sold out of those within three minutes.
"It was very busy," Fly said, describing, the store's 4 a.m. opening. "People were waiting outside at all the doors."
