<img src="http://valdosta.sgaonline.com/headlines/noon.gif" /> Ga shoppers hit stores on Black Friday spree

Marietta — Shoppers around Georgia took advantage of clear weather and Black Friday bargains and got the holiday shopping season off to an enthusiastic start.

At a Walmart in Marietta, early morning specials on flat-panel TVs, cameras and other electronics were sold out before 7 a.m., two hours after the store started selling promised doorbusters.

Store clerks said $2 bath towels, kitchen items and children’s toys were also selling well.

Ernest Bell of Marietta was first in line when the store let people begin shoppping at 5 a.m. He made a scouting expedition to the store Thursday night, then returned to wait in line at about 1 a.m.

Despite his efforts, he didn’t get the Rock Band video game at the top of his list.

The 49-year-old was laid off from his job as an IT support representative in April, but said that because he had savings and receives unemployment benefits, he planned to spend about the same amount as last year, between $700 and $1,000.

“With the layoff there have been a few cutbacks, but with the great sales they’re offering this year, I think it’s, overall, going to be a great Christmas for my two granddaughters.”

Deborah Lima, also of Marietta, was shopping for video games, a portable DVD player, a new Nintendo game console and Transformers and Bakugan action figures for her 6-year-old son. She had no trouble finding what she wanted, but said money’s tight because her husband is out of work.

“I’m planning to spend no more than $1,000 for the whole family, when normally I’d spend that on just one child,” she said. She was shopping for the 6-year-old and three older children who are all adults.

More than 300 people were in line when Best Buy in Gainesville opened at 5 a.m., and shoppers were lined up at Lakeshore Mall in Gainesville and the Target in Flowery Branch well before daybreak.

People camped out in the parking lot overnight at Best Buy in Buford across from the Mall of Georgia, hoping for a laptop computer for under $200.

Inside the mall, Susan Harris had a big shopping bag filled with merchandise.

“We got out here about 4.m. to Penney’s, and we did a little shopping and got a few really great deals,” she said.

At 10:15 a.m. the Augusta Mall parking lot was packed, and cars were parked on the grass along the street that goes around the mall as shoppers circled in search of a space.

Tammie Strickland of Metter drove 70 miles to shop at Augusta Mall, leaving home at 6:30 a.m. She said she doesn’t like online shopping, and that shopping on Black Friday is a family tradition.

Her first stop was Dick’s Sporting Goods to find a gift for her husband, an avid hunter.

“We hope to catch some sales. It’s a lot of fun. I love shopping,” she said.

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