It’s like everyday Black Friday.
Dozens of shoppers shielded against 40-mph winds Friday morning as they lined up outside Levittown’s Island Black Friday, knowing that once they got inside the store, they would find brand-new laptops, vacuum cleaners, cellphones and other valuable merchandise for only $12 apiece — and be entered for free in raffles to win luxury goods.
A new 12,000-square-foot bin shop on Hempstead Turnpike that sells returned and overstocked products from retailers like Amazon, Target, Home Depot, Walmart and Costco has Long Islanders scrambling for deals for a fraction of what they’d cost new.
Items — some in obvious manufacturer boxes and many of which are a mystery in nondescript brown packaging — begin at $12 on Fridays and get marked down daily. Anything not sold plus restocked merch drops down to $10 on Saturdays, $8 on Sundays, $4 on Mondays, $2 on Tuesdays and then $1 on Wednesdays.
Friday’s $12 stock included two $400 HP laptops, a $700 Apple iPhone, 10 $250 Samsung Galaxy Tablets and a $600 Dyson Airwrap.
Before customers enter, workers roll out the packaged goods piled high atop long-wheeled tables covered in black tablecloths. The wares are shrouded to avoid fights between shoppers, who at once might spot a coveted item and all grab for it at the same time, co-owner Ali Shuaib told The Post.
And, there are other rules to abide by. If you’re new to the store, Joseph Shuaib, who owns Island Black Friday with his cousin, Ali, will remind you of the policies and procedures by bullhorn.
“Please, do not open boxes,” Joseph told the 75 people who entered shortly after the store’s 9 a.m. opening Friday to hunt for treasures among four truckloads of stock.
Most goods are in cardboard boxes that folks snatched not knowing what’s inside until an employee opens them for inspection and testing behind the counter. If someone decides not to buy it, the box is resealed and placed back on the sales floor.
“Hands up, everyone,” he announced before shopping began.
Patrons held their arms in the air to show that no one could gain an advantage by feeling what was underneath the napery.
“Are you guys ready?” he asked.
“I don’t hear it — are you guys ready?” he asked again, this time to a more enthusiastic response.
“Uno, dos,” and on what should have been a count for three, Shuaib sounded the alarm on his megaphone and said, “Vamanos,” as shop workers pulled away the swaths of fabric in unison.
People of all ages, including children tall enough to reach, swatted about the boxes looking for something worthwhile to buy and throwing what they could in their trolleys. Before long, the tabletops started to thin.
At 10 a.m., another 10 tables were brought out and the second round of shopping and raffles began. This was followed, as it is every Friday, by repeats at 11 a.m., noon and 5 p.m.
The bargain hunting can be as thrilling as the raffles, said Maria Machado, 54, a Freeport homemaker.
Last Friday, the shop gave away $1,500 to $2,000 worth of prizes, including a Galaxy tablet, a Dyson hair straightener and a Stanley cup.
“Oh my God, it’s exciting,” said Machado, who won cookware worth $200 the week before. She cut her shopping trip short last Friday for an appointment but would return to do more shopping that day and be there for the final 5 p.m. raffle.
Giveaways are held daily. On Thursdays, the shop donates surplus to churches and schools and the staff focuses on selling furniture at a discount and preparing new stock for the Friday refresh, said Ali Shuaib.
The Shuaibs said they opened Island Black Friday six months ago and Ali said for three years prior, they owned another store called Crazy Hot Deals in nearby Bethpage.
Wantagh retiree Jill Steiger, 72, discovered Crazy Hot Deals three years ago and followed the cousins to their new location. She goes daily, “unless I’m sick or have a doctor’s appointment.”
Although she has spent thousands of dollars over the years, she said she doesn’t need anything, giving away whatever her two children or three grandchildren want and chucking the rest in her basement.
Shopping there has “become a friend thing,” said Steiger, who knows many of the other regulars by name and sometimes goes out to eat with them.
For David Lopez, 35, outings to the store from his home in Selden have become a family thing. Last Friday, he arrived with 10 family members, eventually loading up six shopping carts. “You’re saving a lot,” he said, adding, “It’s fun for all of us.”
Rachell Rosales Cardena, 32, an East Northport nurse, showed up early last Friday, as she does every Friday, after working a 12-hour overnight shift at a nearby hospital. “I love getting the best deals I can get,” she said.
“We want to keep it a secret,” she said. “I don’t want it to get out. But they are doing great things here.”
Island Black Friday, 3131 Hempstead Tpke., Levittown, NY 11756; open daily 9 a.m. to 7:30 p.m., Sundays 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Thursdays 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
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