By OSEYE T. BOYD
oboyd@muncie.gannett.com

The desperation of retailers to get shoppers into their stores is bordering on ridiculous. Not only have retailers had sales similar to those found on the-day-after-Thanksgiving since November began, but now some have announced stores will be open on Thanksgiving.
The changes are throwing off veteran Black Friday shopper Ashley Ranes.
“I saw that Meijer was having better deals on Thanksgiving than the day after, but I don’t have time for that,” Ranes said.
It’s not that Ranes, 25, isn’t keeping up with the changes. She’s so serious about her Black Friday shopping that she’s not waiting until the sales ads come in her newspaper on Thanksgiving Day to plan her strategy. That was so 2008. Her new strategy still includes looking at the newspaper, but now that some retailers are placing sales ads online days before Black Friday, she’s checking them out for a sneak peak. She also signed up for e-mail blasts that alert her to new sales items.
Ranes, of Muncie, and her mom have been shopping on Black Friday since Ranes was 13. Both she and her mom will shop in Indianapolis on Friday, probably hitting Kohl’s first.
If Ranes enjoys the hustle and bustle of Black Friday shopping, Angie Hart, Muncie, avoids it like the plague. Hart, 43, starts shopping in late September or October and buys items as they go on sale. The discounts this year have been comparable to Black Friday, Hart said.
“I figure there’s nothing out there that good that warrants me to get up at 2 a.m. and fight traffic,” Hart said.
Jennie Irving, 47, has done the whole Black Friday thing before and said it wasn’t for her. Having no desire to fight crowds, she tries to have her shopping done by Thanksgiving. Instead of hitting the stores on Friday, Irving, of Eaton, prefers to spend time baking and making crafts with her grandchildren.
The thought of shopping on Black Friday is exciting to Muncie resident Tari Bruner, but she’s never done it. Bruner, 48, is afraid. Stories of people stealing out of another’s cart, trampling people and fist fights, have turned her off. That type of behavior is contrary to a holiday about love and the birth of Jesus Christ, Bruner said.
If Bruner ever finds the nerve to go Black Friday shopping, however, Ranes has some advice for her (or any newbie):
“Be ready for all the crowds,” Ranes said. “Just get there early … that’s when you’re going to get your best deals.”
z Contact news reporter Oseye T. Boyd at 213-5830.