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Long Lines Of Shoppers Are A Clue Black Friday Is Here

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

It's the day after Thanksgiving, which means that shoppers are already lining up outside stores across the country for Black Friday sales. As a matter of fact, some people have been waiting for stores to open since Tuesday evening.

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

But if waiting in line's not your thing, you have some alternatives. You can shop online, of course.

INSKEEP: Or you can hire a company like Washington, D.C.'s, Skip The Line to pay someone to hold your spot in line. There are similar companies in New York and Nebraska.

MARTIN: So here's a question. Does this bug the actual shoppers standing in line? Are they annoyed at these placeholders? Here's founder of Skip The Line, Jennifer Goff.

JENNIFER GOFF: We always tell the people behind us, hey, you know, there's going to be some people joining us here.

INSKEEP: OK. So suppose you were to reach out to a service like this. How much will it cost?

GOFF: The average price is about 30 an hour.

MARTIN: Hey, sometimes you've got to spend money to save money.

INSKEEP: But wait a minute - if you're going to, like, stand in line from Tuesday to Friday at $30 an hour, that better be some amazing deal. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.