IT'S FROSTY on Dublin's O'Connell Street, where over 100 shivering figures are standing in line under a large clock. Yes, it's sales time again and doors are about to open at the Clerys store at the ungodly hour of 8am.
In shops all around town, staff are peeling off the posters that announced 20 per cent off in the pre-Christmas sales, which ended just 2.5 days earlier, and replacing them with promises of even greater discounts in the post-Christmas sales. Signs proclaiming reductions of up to 50 per cent are de rigueur in most shopfronts. Some outlets promise discounts of up to 70 per cent.
First in the queue at Clerys are Therese Nolan and Liam Maher from Dublin's Navan Road, who arrived to stand in line at 10.30am on St Stephen's Day, a full 21.5 hours before the sale.
Therese has her heart set on a 42'' plasma television reduced from €699 to €199, while Liam plans to pick up a freezer reduced from €899 to a mere €99. "We're freezing, we were shivering all the time and we couldn't sleep, but it will be worth it," Therese says, clutching the coupon given her by store manager Stephen Keating.
Perhaps the bargain of the morning ends up going to Derek Smith, a South African living in Dublin for three years, and his two young daughters, Bianca and Kirsten. They snaffled two beds for €1 each, down from €1,799 and €1,199. They wanted a laptop too - reduced from €569 to €199 - but this was gone.
Further down the queue it is just as cold, but spirits are holding up less well. Matthew Stacey from Ballyfermot started queuing at 3am but found the laptop and TV he wanted were gone. "My feet are frozen, I've been slagged off by passers-by all night, and now there's nothing for me. They've offered me a leather chair but they won't let me look at it first."
The first sale of the post-Christmas season on Saturday got under way at 5am in Next branches. Half an hour after opening it was "mental", one Grafton Street branch shopper tells me. Down the street at Brown Thomas, several hundred people have formed a queue by the time the doors open at 9am.
Miriam Alobai, a medical student from Kuwait who earned her place at the top of the queue by arriving a mere 90 minutes beforehand, says she is looking for discounts of 20-40 per cent on a Gucci bag costing "€750ish" and shoes priced at "€450ish".
Beside her, Tony says he has driven up from Co Roscommon to buy a deferred Christmas present for his wife. "I love beautiful things and she won't buy anything unless it's discounted, so I'm hoping to pick up some jewellery for her in the sale."
As the morning wears on the crowds thicken, but you never feel overwhelmed. It's half-price everywhere, even in Sheridan's cheesemongers. Women's shoes in Brown Thomas is frenetic but the men's department across the road in Marks and Spencer is positively serene.
Despite promises of huge discounts, it's clear many stores are not offering across-the-board cuts. Shoppers have come out, but whether they are opening their purses is far from certain.