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CNN Live At Daybreak
Early Morning Shoppers Get Some Good Deals
Aired November 23, 2001 - 06:17 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DONNA KELLEY, CNN ANCHOR: Many of you will take part in a day after Thanksgiving tradition today. You'll be hitting the malls to get those big sales. For more on the traditional opening of the holiday season, let's turn to Marnie Maclean of CNN affiliate WCBV. She's in the Boston suburb of Braintree -- good morning, Marty.
MARNIE MACLEAN, WCVB/BRAINTREE, MASSACHUSETTS: Well, good morning, Donna. You know, I know some economists are predicting a very sluggish economy this holiday season, but I have to tell you, the people coming out to this mall this morning are certainly doing their part for the economy.
The K-B Toy Store opened at 5:00 this morning, and there was a line forming to get in as early as 3:00 a.m. Now, when people get to the store, they have to wade into another line to get in. They are armed with flyers and giant plastic bags, which they certainly need, because these people are filling up. These are serious shoppers looking for bargains, and these early-bird shoppers say they are certainly getting a lot of bargains by getting up early this morning.
And I just grabbed a couple of them, so -- we're going to chat with -- Sharon Joseph (ph) and Tarrin Fryer (ph). Sharon, I've got to ask you, I can't imagine getting up before sunrise to go shopping. Why are you here so early?
SHARON JOSEPH (ph), HOLIDAY SHOPPER: Well, my sister has eight children, and I figure that instead of her coming out this early in the morning -- she has a month-old baby -- that I'd come out and tackle the situation ahead of time and do it for her.
MACLEAN: So how did you find it in there?
JOSEPH (ph): It wasn't too bad. We got here early enough. We got up at 4:30. We're about 15 minutes away. So we came with a plan ahead of time, got here, got in line, and they opened up about 5 minutes to 5:00, let us in, and then we knew exactly where to go.
MACLEAN: Tarrin (ph), you have got three giant bags here. Tell me about some of the stuff you got.
TARRIN FRYER (ph), HOLIDAY SHOPPER: Well, we got holiday Barbies, some Monsters, Inc. things, and a lot of Barbies, because there's a lot of girls. So...
JOSEPH (ph): And the Holiday Barbie.
FRYER (ph): We bought a Holiday Barbie, and the Volkswagen Barbie toy that...
MACLEAN: Now, is there one toy that everybody in there is going for -- any hot toys?
FRYER (ph): I think it was the Volkswagen Barbie for the Barbies. It seemed like all of the people that were going in had that, and the Barbie Bungalow. It's like a cottage -- for Barbies.
MACLEAN: I think it was the Barbie Dreamhouse when I was about 10, you know, five or six years old. What about the bargains, though? Getting here this early, are you really saving a lot of money?
JOSEPH (ph): Definitely, because I notice doing comparison shopping, which I think everybody is doing now, they open up at 5:00 in the morning, so you have more time to get here. And then you can get the better bargains that early.
MACLEAN: I want to ask you too. A lot of economists are saying it's going to be a difficult holiday season, with September 11, and the slow economy that it's going to affect people's holiday shopping. Is that affecting you?
JOSEPH (ph): Well, I think because of the effects of September 11, which was devastating, nobody was prepared for that. I think we'll all be affected in some way. But I was smart enough, and I know with my sister's eight children, that I saved up a little earlier, so I would have had to plan ahead of time.
MACLEAN: So you're all set. It looks like you should have everything you need.
JOSEPH (ph): For the most part. We have a lot of birthdays, so we still have one next weekend, so I still need to go shopping for that. But I think we'll do a little bit more along the way, but for the most part, I think I conquered everything today.
MACLEAN: I'm guessing you're one of the favorite aunts.
FRYER (ph): The favorite aunt.
MACLEAN: The favorite aunt. Thank you both so much.
FRYER (ph): Thank you.
MACLEAN: So that's the story here in Braintree, Massachusetts. The K-B Toy Store opened at 5:00 this morning, and lots of people are taking advantages of all of the bargains. Reporting live in Massachusetts, I am Marnie Maclean -- Donna, back to you.
KELLEY: Marnie, have you had a chance to look at any of the flyers in addition to the toy store, or any toys -- or any other stores there? How much does it take of a bargain to get these people -- to lure them in this early in the morning? Is it 20 percent off, 30 percent? What are they offering?
MACLEAN: You know, I saw one of one of those scooters, those popular scooters, and they said normally it's like $79.99, and if you got here before 11:00 this morning, I think it was $20 or maybe even a little bit less. So there are, on certain things, some deep discounts. And this Holiday Barbie that Sharon was just showing me -- Sharon can show it -- this normally they tell me is about $40, but if you spent $100 in the toy store today, you got this for free.
So clearly, the stores are going to be -- are doing some very deep discounting in order to get people in.
KELLEY: All right. Marnie Maclean of WCVB -- thanks very much -- happy shopping when you finish working.
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