Black Friday kicks off in So. Fla.

SWEETWATER, Fla. (WSVN) -- Some South Florida retailers opened hours before Black Friday, kicking off the holiday shopping season for many locals.

Dolphin Mall was full of shoppers early Thursday morning, as shoppers fought their way through traffic, looking for parking, then managing to make their way inside the store to find the big sales.

Some people gave up on looking for parking and to their cars to the valet. "I couldn’t find any space, so I said, 'I'm gonna do valet,'" said shopper Jasma Bain. "That’s the same thing I did last year instead of keep driving around."

With sales kicking off at 8 p.m. Thanksgiving night and continuing throughout the day Friday, crowds gathered at malls like Sawgrass Mills and at stores like Walmart, Target, Best Buy and Bass Pro Shops.

The quality of the deals depended on the shopping list. "The sales, money is not good right now so to have these big sales, it’s amazing," said Liriano.

Some of the best bargains were on 40-inch televisions priced at $179 at Best Buy and $147 at BrandsMart. Both sold out in less than an hour.

Shoppers piled up their bags on suitcases and carts to push around the mall. "Actually, this is our fourth mall we've been to," said Lesley Liriano. "We've been up since 12 a.m., and I'm pretty tired."

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