Shoppers spend time to save money on busy Black Friday

Griddles, handbags, wide-screen TVs. Bedding, IPods, and bags and bags of clothes.

Ask shoppers about the holiday bargain they scored and you'll hear an inventory as scattered as the newspaper inserts. Many people couldn't wait to grab the stuff so they headed out Thanksgiving Day for stores that, in some cases, launched sales in October.

But as the sun rose on cars slipping into parking spaces from Sarasota to Oldsmar, it grew clear that showtime for Bay area bargain hunters is Black Friday.

Tami Conetta, 45, of Sarasota, shopping with 15-year-old daughter Emory, figures she saved about $300 on shoes at Cole Haan in the Ellenton Premium Outlets. She boosted the bargain by taking advantage of early-morning deals.

"Most of my friends think I'm crazy, but we do it every year," Conetta said. "It's a tradition."

The Black Friday experience extends into the weekend with "doorbusters" advertised Saturday at many major retailers.

At Ellenton, the shopping cycle was busy from the start, with people reporting a half-hour backup to get off Interstate 75 in time for a midnight Friday opening at the dozens of outlet stores there.

Shoppers at Best Buy, Walmart, Target and CompUSA found 20-minute waits at the registers as soon as stores opened in the pre-dawn hours.

At malls including the Shops at Wiregrass in Wesley Chapel, some stores added to the frenzy with free cans of Red Bull energy drink.

"Everyone's feeling that there's more folks, and everyone's taking advantage of the sales," said Taylor Clifton, Westfield Citrus Park's marketing director.

Mall officials have reason to be optimistic. Florida's collection of sales taxes - an indicator of retail sales - have risen for seven of the last eight months compared with the same months last year, according to the Florida Office of Economic and Demographic Research.

Nationally, more shoppers appeared to be buying for themselves than last year - an encouraging sign for retailers.

This was the case with three 18-year-old friends from Tampa - Seeta Mangra, Kylee Rosado and Julitza Mercado - who woke up early to stand first in line for the 9 a.m. opening of Urban Outfitters at International Plaza.

"We were shopping for us," Mangra said.

Plenty of time to shop for others between now and Christmas, the teens agreed.

As many as 400 people crowded around the Mac store at International Plaza, which offered big price cuts today: iPads $41 off, MacBook Pro $101 off, iMacs $101 off, and Nanos $11 to $21 off.

Three generations of shoppers came to International Plaza for deals on low-tech items: stuffed holiday figures from The Disney Store.

Christina Bratz, 24; her mom, Kim Diaz, 39; and grandma Alma Coston, 68, started their shopping at 3 a.m., all in holiday dress. "Every year we buy matching shirts," Diaz said.

Tina Bohannon, 49, of Tampa, served dinner for 30 on Thanksgiving and never went to bed before getting in line at Walmart around 5 a.m. That's where she found her deal of the day: a 32-inch television for $150.

"We do it every year," said Bohannon, after moving on with daughter Belinda Lopez to WestShore Plaza in Tampa. "We're not all done, either. We've just started."

Joanne Dugan, 37, and Christina Southworth, 26, started their bargain hunting at 9 p.m. Thursday. By mid-morning, they were making a "bag drop" at their car to lighten the load for more shopping at Tyrone Square Mall in St. Petersburg.

The women wore bright pink, custom T-shirts with "Black Friday Shopping Experts" on the front and a shopping checklist on the back. The last item reads: "If I don't go home bruised, it wasn't worth it."

Sada Pena of Tampa filled a pickup bed with the bargains she found at Beall's Home Outlet in Lutz's Sunset Plaza. She and friend Kelly Diaz said they saved more than 70 percent on bedding.

Vicky Miller and her mother, Helen Thompson, drive from Starke, Fla., every year to shop at the Westfield Brandon Shopping Mall. This year they were rewarded with coveted Zhu Zhu pets at Hallmark for $2.50 and a warm-up suit at JCPenney for $15.

"We don't really like the malls in Jacksonville, which is closer, and we really enjoy having one day all to ourselves, girl time," Miller said.

Marcia Reyes stopped at Walmart en route to the Brandon mall and bought a GPS device for $59 and kids' pajamas for $4. Then she found a $79 men's dress shirt for $9 at the mall.

"I buy for Angel Tree, so I just loaded up," Reyes said. "I couldn't believe how nice Walmart was. The workers really had it organized, and I got in and out fast."

In the Coach store at Ellenton, Tonja Strickland of Brandon bought three gift purses - a black one, a pink one and another in red. But the prices were no better than they were when she visited the same store earlier this week.

"I'm just thinking about what my husband is going to say," Strickland said.

Grace Torres, 49, of Land O' Lakes, was shopping at Ellenton with an entourage - twin daughters Ashley and Leslie, older daughter Lizzete, friend Judy White, White's son Billy and his friend Brian, and her son's fiancée.

Torres got a jacket and coat as gifts from Rue 21 and bought her husband a pair of $24.99 Adidas slides for $4.99.

Was this first-ever Black Friday foray worth the trip down for Torres?

"Not at all," she said, pointing to a shirt she found for the same price at Wiregrass. "I think Black Friday is a bunch of hype."

Dennis Joyce, Shannon Behnken, Ryan Bauer, Richard Mullins, Michael Sasso and Lenora Lake contributed to this report.