British Columbians head to the States for Black Friday

BELLINGHAM (NEWS1130) – The biggest shopping day of the year in the United States is now upon us: it’s Black Friday.

It seems even more Canadians than Americans are taking advantage of the deals in Bellingham today.

At Bellis Fair early this morning, the parking lot was full and BC plates were dominating. People with blood-shot eyes could be seen carrying multiple shopping bags or pushing carts full of toys.

What did they pick up?

“What didn’t I buy? I bought some clothes for my husband, toys for my grandson,” says one woman who jokingly admits she bribed her husband a bit with gifts to get his approval for the big shopping trip.

We also caught up with one man from Langley who really lucked out.

“We’ve got four 40″ flatscreen TVs, four 7.5-foot Christmas trees, popcorn makers, [and] kitchen appliances,” Jake tells News1130 as he fills his Escalade with boxes.

“We just bought some tie-downs and some rope and we’re going to strap a couple of the Christmas trees to the roof of my truck,” he adds.

Jake waited in line for hours, got impatient and left. But when he returned, he struck Black Friday gold.

“They hand out tickets for the TVs. Six people didn’t come pick them up. So we grabbed four of them.”

A Bank of Montreal survey suggests nearly one in five Canadians plan to shop in the US this holiday season, well above last year.

The BBB’s tips for Black Friday success

If you are doing some bargain-hunting today, the Better Business Bureau has some advice for you. The Bureau’s Mark Fernandes says first, you need to know what you’re getting.

“Consumers have had bait-and-switch happen to them, where they’re given inferior products,” he warns. “Also, things like the fine print on return policies – some things are final sales, especially when it’s a Black Friday.”

He also notes that just because one store is advertising a huge sale doesn’t mean you won’t find the exact same products somewhere else for an even better price.

“Do some comparison shopping,” he advises. “There are so many tools available online. You can even get things that you can download to your smartphone. Applications can help you do comparison shops so you don’t have to get too much sticker shock.”

Borderline behaviour

Adam Coultish with Canadian Border Services says lying to border guards about Black Friday purchases to try to avoid paying duties and taxes is not in your best interest.

“If travellers are found to have made a false declaration, all of the goods they have falsely declared are subject to seizure,” Coultish says. “That includes the potential for the vehicle transporting the traveller and the goods to be seized.”

He says you could also be fined.

“Any financial penalty may be assessed and forced to be paid against the goods and the vehicle to have them returned to the traveller,” he explains. “The penalties range from 25 to 80 per cent of the falsely declared goods.”

He says it is best to keep your receipts and have them ready.

Black Friday gets violent

A few incidents south of the border have shown Black Friday is not for the faint of heart.

Things got a little out of control at a Los Angeles Walmart when a woman got out the pepper spray. Ten people were treated for minor injuries, at least half of which were caused by crowd-jostling after the spraying. The store stayed open and the suspect walked away during all the chaos. Police are still looking for her.

Meanwhile, there was gunfire in a mall in Fayetteville, North Carolina. No injuries have been reported.

There’s a campaign called Occupy Black Friday that’s trying to enlist supporters to boycott just about every major retailer.

Each year, stores across the border open early the day after US Thanksgiving and lure shoppers with deals of up to 70 per cent off. Some, like Walmart, opened at 10 p.m. yesterday.