Kim and Webster were not the only customers eager to take advantage of what Best Buy had to offer in the wee morning hours. The 20 people standing behind them had also been waiting since the day before. “We created a family during these hours,” Webster said,
“We even made our own football team and started playing last night.”

The experience wasn’t fun and games for the customers in the back. The customer line started from the entry doors of Best Buy and slithered around to the back of the store where cars were parked saving places in line.

At the very end of the line, many people were shivering their way towards the front of the store. There was hope within the family of morning customers that they would soon be able to receive the coupons that were being handed out giving access to more discounts.

Ten minutes passed when a Best Buy worker, wearing an ocean blue shirt and tan pants, shattered all hope. He said that all coupons had been given away.

5 a.m. and those in the back of the line had made it to the middle of the line outside the store. Coffee cups and donut boxes were scattered around the cement leaving a trace of where the early bird customers had been. Coupons were said to be circulating again, but were never seen. There were still, at least, 50 people waiting in line who had yet to hear the bad news.

After 30 additional minutes, we finally made it to the front of the store, and the workers let us in one by one. By the time we made it through the massive glass sliding doors, the plasma television, HP Notebooks, Mini Ipods, and Sony Digital Cameras were all gone.

Chaos occurred outside with customers freezing in the frigid weather and inside as they bumped their way to get to the nearest register.

Elisa Kim said it all when she explained the event as being a “once in a lifetime experience.” But are the savings really worth pneumonia, sleep deprivation, and hours of frustration? Only those lucky enough to receive the savings can answer that question.