Daxton King will be celebrating this Black Friday shopping season the same way he’s celebrated the last three Black Friday weekend — with an overnight camping trip in front of Best Buy and a steadfast determination to be the first person in line.
King is well aware of the stigmas, the negative feedback and the judgement that some may hold against him in his endeavor. In a technologically-driven society, it’s hard for some to fathom spending their Black Friday shopping season at an actual brick-and-mortar store. For others, the thought of camping out in front of a store might press them to judge King as materialistic, selfish and maybe even a little bit crazy.
King is none of those things. For him, the camp-outs, the anticipation of being first in line, the excitedness in waiting for the doors to open — they are all a tradition his father began with him when he was 10 years old. They signify a tradition with his friends, who camp out with him and play disc golf in the Best Buy parking lot. They signify his desire to help a great number of people who give King their shopping lists for Best Buy, asking him each year if he will wait in line for them and face the crowds in their place. For 2017’s Black Friday, he had a list of items to purchase for 10-12 people.
“The last couple years, I haven’t gotten anything [for myself],” King said.
King, who lives in Hancock County, has many friends, family members and co-workers who live outside the Owensboro city limits, so he volunteers to do some of their shopping for them during Black Friday season.
“The first time I went was with my dad when I was younger. I didn’t really understand what was happening,” King said with a laugh. “Now it’s a tradition. It’s like my own holiday for me.”
Each year that he camps out, King takes a tent and a heater to stay warm through the typically cold November night. Last year he brought a portable projector with him.
“It has been cold every year. As long as it’s just cold, and the precipitation isn’t too bad, I can deal with that,” King said.
Several times King has been harrassed and ridiculed for his tradition of camping out on Black Friday. People have driven by his tent in the middle of the night, blaring their horns as he’s tried to sleep. Others have thrown drinks at him, and they’ve yelled obscenities his way too. But King doesn’t take it too personally. Instead, he has a comeback for those who try to deter him.
“I don’t let the negativity get to me. They might think, ‘Doesn’t he have anything better to do?’” King said. “Well, apparently they don’t have anything better to do than yell at me.”
King has nothing against online shopping, but he believes that in-store shopping requires one to step out of their comfort zone.
“I get a lot of negative responses because people ask me why I don’t shop online,” King said. “I could shop online, but this is what’s fun for me.”
While online shopping has become more popular and often runs the same Black Friday deals, the statistics actually show that King isn’t alone in his enjoyment of in-store shopping. Forbes said that in 2017, a record-breaking 116 million Americans left their homes to shop in brick-and-mortar stores last year and analysts expect this year to be even higher.
National Retail Federation and Prosper Insights & Analytics expects that 21 percent of Americans (34 million) will shop on Thanksgiving Day, 71 percent (116 million) will shop on Black Friday, 41 percent (67 million) will shop on Small Business Saturday, and 20 percent (32 million) of Americans will shop on Sunday.
From King’s perspective, it’s great to be able to save some money on pricey gifts, but that’s not what Black Friday is primarily about for him. What’s remains important to King are the people — the ones he gets to meet, the ones he gets to share his tradition with and the ones he gets to help along the way.
