Black Friday got an early start in Hamilton yesterday, when Jewann Lathan took a chair on the pavement opposite City Hall at about 10am, in anticipation of a midnight deal.And she quickly had company outside Digicel’s Church Street branch.“People have been saying, ‘What are you guys doing? You lot are crazy’,” Ms Lathan said. “People are saying that. But that’s an expensive phone. Where else can you get that for $99?”The phone in question is the latest Samsung Galaxy, which is coming with a free Samsung Tablet for ‘early birds’ like Ms Lathan.“I’m just doing this for my sister and my daughter,” she said, adding: “A woman behind me paid a homeless guy to watch her spot for $50.”Ms Lathan, who is first in line, planned to eat Four Star Pizza and brought an umbrella in case of rain. Her chair, she said, was provided by the store.As for toilet facilities: “There’s a public bathroom down in the bus terminal, and it’s clean there. I’ve been down there already,” she said.Such scenes are commonplace in the US, but new to Bermuda, and the brave few already gathered for the midnight sale attracted no small number of onlookers.Undeterred, Ms Lathan said: “Just you watch. By about 4pm, this place is going to be rammed.”Not quite — but more faithful trickled in with the end of the working day.Retailers advertised 12.01am, 4am and 5am sales for last night, making this year’s Black Friday — traditionally, the opening shot of the US Christmas shopping season — a local fixture as well.Last year, Black Friday exceeded expectations: 2011 shoppers told The Royal Gazette they enjoyed the camaraderie along with the bargains. Whether this year’s, arguably Bermuda’s third, performed well enough to cheer retailers is a matter to be tallied this morning.As of 3pm yesterday, Enrico Durrant and Donald Johnson — second and third in the Digicel queue — expressed satisfaction with the offerings.“Just ten more hours,” said Mr Johnson, also eyeing a Samsung Galaxy.Asked how he would be sleeping, the Sandys resident said: “I got someone bringing a Snuggie for when it gets cold.”Mr Durrant, meanwhile, awaited a BlackBerry Bold 9790, with free PlayBook.Both men acknowledged there were issues with telephone contracts to be negotiated once they got inside, but were still happy to wait for the doors to open.“For $59?” Mr Durrant said. “That’s like a $500 phone. You can’t go wrong with that.”By 8.30pm the queue had grown to more than 100-strong, sitting on the pavement, deckchairs and even milk crates.Sisters Janaya and Jalisa Caines were waiting for an iPhone 5 which comes with a free iPad for a total of $399.“I don’t want to wait all night but I have to because I want the phone,” explained Janaya, 15, who plans to give the iPad to her younger sister.The queue at neighburing Cell One numbered around 40 by 8.30pm.“I’ve been here since 6pm. I want a Samsung Galaxy,” explained Tyra Simmons, 40, from Devonshire. “It’s for my daughter’s birthday. Usually they are almost $500 but they are selling them for $399. I’ve got my pyjamas on under my sweats and I’m in it for the long haul.”