Katherine Gartin and her sister have more than one reason to line up early outside malls the day after Thanksgiving.
“You actually can get good deals,” said Gartin, standing outside Alderwood mall about 4:45 a.m. Friday. “And we like to watch people fight.”
There were plenty of sales, but unruly crowds and bumper-to-bumper traffic were no-shows during Snohomish County’s version of Black Friday, police and mall officials said.
“Everybody was very organized, standing in line for their favorite stores,” said Michele Rothstein, spokeswoman for Seattle Premium Outlets in Tulalip, where several stores opened for business at midnight.
State troopers in an airplane watched for traffic backups between Marysville and Smokey Point. Traffic remained free-flowing, and no blocking accidents were reported, Washington State Patrol trooper Keith Leary said.
Troopers in the airplane helped nab several speeders in the area, including two driving more than 100 mph, Leary said.
Otherwise, police didn’t report any scofflaws during the shopping rush.
Carmen Mathews, an employee at the Coach outlet at Seattle Premium Outlets in Tulalip, arrived at work at 10:30 p.m. Thursday to find customers lined up around the side of the building.
Mathews was still working at 10:30 a.m. Friday.
“I love it!” she said. “I love the crowds. I’ve been retired three times already, but I still like to come on weekends, because I love this.”
Coach, a purveyor of luxury handbags and shoes, offered deep discounts on buttery-soft leather goods. One winter-white purse, regularly priced at $299, was going for $199. There was an extra 20 percent off for early birds, Mathews said.
The Hansen family of Everett began its day at Sears at Alderwood mall.
Mike Hansen’s 12-year-old son, Andrew, clipped newspaper ads Thursday to help his parents shop for him. As Hansen stood in line – about 100 people back from the entrance – he pulled his son’s wish list from his coat pocket.
He was probably too far back to snag one of the store’s five Nintendo Mini video game systems, he said.
Anxious shoppers began lining up outside Best Buy near Everett Mall late Thursday. Employees admitted customers in shifts when the doors opened at 5 a.m.
The line stretched down the street to Bed Bath &Beyond, Operations Manager Brandon Van Tassell said.
The hottest item was probably a $379 laptop, he said.
Marie Lester of Granite Falls started shopping at 11:30 p.m. Thursday and was still going strong at 10 a.m. Friday. She slept outside G.I. Joe’s with her 12-year-old daughter in hopes of scoring a free $500 gift card. After waiting in the cold for four hours, she was finally admitted – only to receive a $5 gift card.
They ended up not making any major purchases at G.I. Joe’s. The girls bought pajama pants, which they wore for the remainder of their trip.
“The deals were OK, but it’s a family tradition,” said Lester’s sister, Lori Hyvari of Snohomish. “It’s a girls morning and night out.”
Tiffany Petersen of Gold Bar was last in line at Wal-Mart in Lynnwood. She wanted a Cabbage Patch doll. Her friend, Kathryn Everett of Sultan, was aiming for $1.88 DVDs, including “Pink Panther” and “Cat in the Hat.”
Lance Cutely of Bothell, who was among the first to enter the Wal-Mart, emerged pushing a 52-inch wide-screen television on a dolly.
He bought the regularly priced $894 RCA model for $474.
“Merry Christmas to me!” he screamed.
Reporters Kaitlin Manry, Krista Kapralos and Kristi O’Harran contributed to this report.
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