Downside of Walmart's early Black Friday

Remember when shoppers lined up at 5:00 a.m. to grab those early morning deals on Black Friday?

That's so "2000 and late," as the Black Eyes Peas might say.

This year, Walmart, Target, Best Buy, and even Macy's are opening Thanksgiving night at either 10 p.m. or midnight.

How will shoppers react?

But some shoppers we spoke with are unsure if they want to shop so soon after their turkey dinner.

Diane Rizeka said "I won't be out. I won't be out at midnight.

But deal lover Brenda Whitter is one shopper looking forward to a longer Black Friday. She said "I think it's great. Get out there earlier, get more deals, so we have longer through the day, spread out."

And that's exactly what stores are hoping, according to Forbes magazine, which says the midnight openings are not just gimmicks. It says stores are staggering their sales starting Thanksgiving night, to get people to shop more.

How the sale will work

The Walmart Black Friday ad -- released 2 weeks early this year -- shows toys and clothing sales starting at 10 p.m., electronics sales at 12 midnight, and the rest at 8 a.m. Friday.

10 p.m. deals include:

-Wrangler jeans for $9.97.
-Barbie dolls for $5.

Among the best midnight doorbuster deals:

-$199 for an Xbox 360 with Kinect, plus a $50 gift card.
-$99 for a Nintendo blue Wii bundle.
-$98 for 20 inch HDTVs.

And 8 a.m. doorbusters will include:

-$10 Black and Decker coffee makers
-$10 Crock Pots

Bottom line: Plan your night carefully, so you visit at the right time. You may have to go twice.

The one advantage to these earlier opening: Crowds will be much more staggered than in the past, when 200 people would line up outside the store 4am.

In fact, if you head out at 9 a.m. Friday, you might find plenty of parking, while the early birds are back in bed, or at Waffle House, savoring their "gets."

Whenever you go, don't waste your money.

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