MISHAWAKA — Some shoppers decided not to wait until Black Friday for their bargains; instead they headed to local stores offering doorbuster deals Thursday.

At Meijer some people started waiting in line at midnight for deals on HDTVs and iPods. Others trickled in Thursday morning to grab half-priced toys.

The store manager at the Meijer on 331 in Mishawaka said the Thanksgiving Day doorbuster sale was a big hit.

"In earlier years when we opened on Thanksgiving it was kind of quiet and we thought what the heck, if we're open let's give some great bargains and create some excitement," he said. "So it worked pretty well."

This year, it's clear people are looking for bargains.

Tina Dougherty, who lives in South Bend, said she was laid off a year ago from an Elkhart RV company.

Dougherty says she has no choice but to clip coupons and shop the sales.

"My husband tells me they are going to kick me out because I get so many things for practically nothing!" she said.

She's not the only one. Michelle Dewey saw Thursday's sale at Meijer and decided to take advantage.

"Everything in my cart is on the doorbuster ad — everything," she said.

Rick Zeef says shoppers are more thrifty than ever.

"It appears people are bargain hunting very well," he said. "They are comparing ads, looking online and they are going for the bargains."

He also says based on the lines he saw Thursday he expects Black Friday to be just as busy as last year with everyone looking to save.