NATCHEZ — By the time Belk opened its doors at 6 p.m. Thursday night, Latarsha Shelton had already been waiting for three hours.

“They have these boots that I want, and I wanted to buy them on Black Friday because they are affordable,” Shelton said.

Shelton was one of the many shoppers who came to the Natchez Mall Thursday looking for bargains. The boots she wanted had been marked down from $80 to $19.99.

Several stores were open Thursday offering Black Friday specials a day early.

Shelton was also hoping to get the $1,000 gift card, which would be handed out to one lucky shopper.

Farther down in the line, sisters Andrea Cater and Billie Magee waited their turn to get inside. They came at 4 p.m. to wait for Belk’s doors to open, saving spots for themselves and their other two sisters.

“I need to finish up a few Christmas gifts, and then they’ve got a lot of buy one, get two free (sales),” Cater said.

But Belk wasn’t Cater, Magee and Shelton’s first stop. All three women had been to Goody’s when the store opened at 2 p.m.

Shelton waited in line and bought boots for her daughter. With the $10 gift card she received and the sale, she ended up paying approximately $5.

The original price was approximately $50.

“I think that was a steal and it was worth standing in line for,” Shelton said.

And, shortly after Shelton stepped inside Belk, Ebony Hill arrived at Goody’s after going to Walmart earlier.

“I’m a shopper,” Hill said. “I love to shop.”

Pre-Black Friday sales, Hill said, helped her save money. In particular, Hill wanted to shop for new apartment furnishings.

“I’m looking at some luggage, a coffee maker and some pots,” Hill said.

Hill had already planned out what she wanted using a booklet advertising the Black Friday sales at Goody’s. She’d gone through and circled items, a technique she shared with Ellis Felter’s wife, who sent her husband to Office Depot.

“My wife told me to get out here and get her a computer,” Felter said.

His wife had gone to Walmart.

“We split up to do this,” Felter said. “That’s the only way we could do this.”

Magee and Cater had a similar idea, only within a store, figuring out which items everyone wanted and then splitting up.

“We divide and conquer,” Cater said.

Cater described the sales as “fun family time” and said they try to do it every year.

Magee, however, wishes the sales weren’t on Thursday night.

“They bypass Thanksgiving time,” Magee said.

But Magee said she’s still willing to come to Thursday night sales.

“Even if I don’t buy anything, it’s like a tradition,” Magee said.