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Gray Thursday Steals Black Friday Shoppers

LUZERNE COUNTY — You’ll still find lines wrapped around the doors of stores, but nowadays, it’s on Thursday, not Friday. People say, with many...
black friday

LUZERNE COUNTY -- You'll still find lines wrapped around the doors of stores, but nowadays, it's on Thursday, not Friday.

People say, with many stores open throughout the night, Black Friday has lost the rush that defined it for decades.

"I expected it to be a mile back," says Mary Ellen Weaver of Berwick. Weaver was one of a handful of people waiting outside Best Buy in Wilkes-Barre Township.

"They started all the sales way earlier," says Tracy Pashinski.

Pashinski is a regular on Black Friday with her friends. But at Toys R Us in Wilkes Barre, there weren't the long lines or crowds of people on Friday that she is used to; and for her, that was half the fun.

"I understand everyone wants the good buy, but at the same time, it's not as fun now," says Pashinski. "They ruined it."

She's not alone. Bryanna Ator and Jeremy Kistler of Hazelton shopped for 13 straight hours, starting at 6 p.m. on Thanksgiving. They say they did that just to keep up with everyone else.

"I don't like it, that it's 6 o'clock," says Kistler. "Everyone likes being with their family. It's cool to come out and get some deals, but push [the openings] to 8 p.m., 10 p.m., midnight or whatever."

Even though more and more stores are opening up on Thursday, there are still plenty of shoppers that say they'll stick to Black Friday.

"It's wonderful 'cause you can have a nice sit-down dinner with everybody," says Phil Losito of Plains. "You don't have to worry about rushing anywhere, and you can take your time and enjoy everything."

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