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Shoppers hunt for Furby and bargains PORTLAND -- Throughout Oregon, Christmas shoppers lined up in chilly weather before dawn Friday to get a crack at holiday bargains and a talking, gremlin-like furball that is the new must-have toy. The first 285 people at the Wards store in Beaverton got tickets giving them the right to purchase a Furby, a $30 toy that has been flying off the shelves. They've been going for as much as $200 on the Internet and in classified ads. Some of the shoppers camped out in tents overnight to be among the first in line. Assistant Manager Torey Orvis of the Wal-Mart store in Klamath Falls said his 60 Furby dolls were sold in 10 minutes and some of the purchasers were trying to resell them in the parking lot for a profit minutes later. Some 600 people waited outside the Wal-Mart store in Lebanon before dawn. "They started lining up at 5 o'clock," said Dale Larsons, manager of Wal-Mart in Lebanon. "It's hard to believe." They made a beeline for the Furby aisle and scooped up his supply of three dozen dolls in five minutes. At the Disney Store at Lloyd Center Mall in Portland, shoppers began arriving at 5 a.m., three hours before the store opened, to vie for 200 Winnie the Pooh Beanie Babies at $6 each. Downstairs at Toys 'R' Us, Vivianne Boozer of Portland was observing a personal holiday tradition. She and a friend in Seattle get up early every day after Thanksgiving, shop all day and compare their loot at the end of the day. "If I don't get up this early, I'll get kicked out of the shoppers' club," Boozer said. She was accompanied by her friend, Kathleen Caldwell, who brought along her less-than-enthusiastic son, Eric, 5. Asked how long he had been shopping, Eric said, "It already seems like a hundred hours." Fred Meyer stores were mobbed by people snapping up half-priced socks. Target stores were attracting shoppers by giving away Hot Wheels cars to the first 1,000 customers. And for those who had other priorities, The Meier and Frank Holiday Parade brought horses, floats and marching bands to a cold, but dry downtown Portland. Also downtown, proponents of "International Buy Nothing Day" set up a kiosk between Nordstrom and Pioneer Square. Dressed as dragons and pigs, they waded into crowds of parade-goers and urged them not to purchase anything. "People have been sold a bill of goods that stuff makes us happy." David Sweet said. "We struggle to buy things we don't need to impress people we don't like." Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1998, Medford, Oregon USA