Fifteens minutes after opening early on Black Friday the queue at the Rosebank Game store in Johannesburg snaked from the tellers‚ past the fresh fruit and vegetable section‚ and into the electronics section.The store‚ which usually opens at 9am‚ gave customers an early start on their bargain shopping at 7am.Customers in the long line had their trolleys stacked with blenders‚ televisions‚ cooler boxes and other kitchenware. In the television section customers lined up to get their hands on deals offering savings as much as R1500.Thandi Makubela had three televisions in her trolley‚ even though the policy is only one per customer.She had friends with her to help make the purchases.“It's always better to buy appliances when they're cheaper. This is the biggest sale of the year so it just makes sense to buy it today‚" she said while queuing to pick up her TV licence.“I looked at Makro‚ looked at Game‚ looked at HiFi Corp and Dion Wired. So I did shop around before making this purchase.“It's a scam‚ this thing. I'm well aware of it. But it's the time to get the cheapest deals.” Mojalefa Mapena made a saving of about R1600 on a 40-inch Samsung smart television.“Already they are sold-out. In 10 minutes they were gone.“I think the store is smart. They only put out a limited amount of stock.”Mapena hoped to get in more shopping before heading to work.“Obviously some liquor. Festive season is coming so I'm going to save that up.”He said he would not be putting himself into unnecessary debt‚ however.“My kids need to go to school.”Mall of Africa besiegedShoppers staked out spots outside the recently opened Mall of Africa from the wee hours to take advantage of Black Friday sales.“I came here at around 3 with my sister to buy a few groceries before it becomes too packed. I bought Kellogg’s‚ Weet-Bix and a few groceries. I saved about 50% on most of my purchases‚” Sally Ndlovu said.Another said she did not have anything specific she wanted to buy‚ but just wanted to check out what was on special.“I am just going shop to shop‚ checking anything on sale so I can take advantage of Black Friday. I bought sneakers for R300 at Game‚ which go for R1000 at the normal price‚ so I saved 70%‚” Litebogo Kgwedi said.A security officer at Checkers Hyper (below) said he arrived at work to find an overwhelming number of shoppers camped outside.“There were so many people here at 5 in the morning‚ there were so many people here I think we are going to have a very long day‚” the guard‚ who asked not to be named‚ said.“Shoppers have not been giving us problems so far. There are just a lot of them‚ but they are peaceful and orderly - it’s not as crazy as I had anticipated yet.”Shops in the mall are offering discounts of up to 70% on various items.Shoppers were warned to take extra caution while shopping at the mall to avoid being robbed.Eastgate nightmareStaff at Eastgate’s Checkers Hyper faced nightmare crowds as thousands of shoppers pushed and shoved for every item on the shelves on Black Friday.The queue to Checkers Hyper (below) was the longest in the mall and‚ by 6.30am‚ it already extended beyond the doors. Phumzile Langa arrived in the early hours of the morning to get the best deals on the day - and it paid off.“I was in the first group that made it into the shop. But it is a nightmare. We are pushing each other for everything inside the shop. If you take your eyes away from your trolley‚ people take stuff from it. It is not properly organised and it is really chaos inside‚” said Langa.She and her daughter filled two trolleys with groceries before beating a hasty exit as Langa had to rush to work.She focused on groceries that were on sale – “that was my priority”‚ she said.Checkers Hyper tried to limit the number of people getting into the shop to avoid a stampede‚ but that appeared to have little effect in keeping the crowds at bay.Shoppers were being allowed to enter in batches‚ but only after similar-sized batches left the premises.The centre’s Game store was struggling with the same problem.Guards struggle to hold back impatient Black Friday shoppers in DurbanSecurity guards had to intervene after impatient Black Friday shoppers pushed and shoved their way into The Pavilion Shopping Centre early in the morning. Thousands of shoppers - some of whom had taken the day off work - queued from as early as 6.30am to take advantage of specials on offer at Checkers.Traffic on the N2 near the offramp to The Pavilion was gridlocked as people battled to find parking. Inside the parking lot‚ shoppers queued with their trolleys to get into the store.“I should rather have gone to work‚” said one shopper who had been standing in the line since 7.30am. Outside one of the entrances to the mall‚ security guards were struggling to control shoppers pushing their way in.“I expected crowds‚ but not this chaos‚” said an elderly shopper.PE shopper squeezes in prayers before being first in the queueThe parking lots at Port Elizabeth’s Metlife Mall Shopping Centre and Makro – which are across the road from each other – were already filling up by 7am.Makro staff were seen leaving the Metlife Checkers shop with trolley-loads of groceries before they reported for duty across the road where a long queue was already forming outside the retail store.Other customers were seen leaving Checkers laden with items such as cooldrinks‚ milk and toilet paper.At Makro‚ Bethelsdorp husband and wife Allan Maggott‚ 31‚ and Charneil‚ 27‚ joined the queue at about 7.15am. Charneil‚ who is on maternity leave‚ and Allan‚ whose work shift was to start at 2pm‚ said they hoped to go home with at least three items.“We are here for some entertainment stuff‚ the Xbox One‚” Allan said.Charneil said: “And for the Samsung 13kg washing machine and the Defy oven and top. We hope we get it‚ fingers crossed. We are hoping to get in now‚ at 8am‚ so we should be done by 1pm [so Allan can go to work].”At Greenacres Shopping Centre‚ Gelvandale shopper Subeida Hassen was first in the queue for Black Friday specials. She said she rose at 4am for Muslim prayers and was at the shopping centre by 5am.She said it was “exciting‚ like the first day of school”.“It was a great morning to be‚ it’s a privilege for me. There are so many bargains‚ I hope each and everyone will be satisfied and get what they want‚” she said.- additional reporting by Karen Van Rooyen And Gillian Mcainsh..