CAPITAL REGION — David Chung wasn’t going to leave anything to chance on Black Friday.

The Saratoga Springs High School student and his brother, Eric, grabbed their sleeping bags and headed to Best Buy in Wilton shortly before noon on Thanksgiving so they’d get first dibs on the big-box retailer’s post-holiday deals. Drawn by 1 percent cash back on credit card purchases and in-store deals on laptop computers, they decided to forgo the standard Turkey Day festivities for a sleepless afternoon, evening and morning in front of the electronics retailer, “just to be early,” he said shortly before the store’s doors opened at 5 a.m.

And perhaps it was also to enjoy a bit of the camaraderie that seems to accompany Black Friday. For some, the day is the perfect end to the holiday.

“It’s almost become like a tradition,” said Mike Richau of Schuylerville, who joined the Chungs in line for the second consecutive year. “You end up making friends with people, especially if you tough it out together.”

Malls and shopping plazas around the Capital Region swelled with frenzied bargain hunters in search of Black Friday deals. Many said they figured that the slumping economy would have goaded businesses into unprecedented price cuts.

But some shoppers noted that the deals weren’t nearly as lucrative this year, nor were the crowds as rabid. Last year, police were called to Best Buy several times to quell overanxious crowds gathering outside the store.

“Controlled chaos,” remarked Frank Himes, the store’s manager. “That’s what we try to do.”

Still, the shoppers turned out en masse. J.C. Penney at Wilton Mall opened at 4 a.m., giving each customer a token snow globe at the entrance.

Debbie Kumo of Johnsonville was one of the first in.

“I’m here at 2 in the morning,” she said after wrapping up her shopping at the store shortly before 5 a.m.

On Broadway in Saratoga Springs, a handful of store owners were offering their own Black Friday deals. Nearly a dozen people gathered outside of Impressions of Saratoga waiting to cash in on early-bird sales.

Owner Marianne Barker passed out cookies and coffee to her loyal customers, many of whom had been there last year when she offered deals. She said more retailers in the city are starting to offer early sales.

“We’re trying to think what we can do to compete with the malls,” she said.

Black Friday is nothing new for Lisa Schroeder-Bevis, the owner of the Clothes Horse on Broadway. In fact, she began opening up her store early the day after Thanksgiving during the late 1980s, long before it became a common practice.

“Nobody did it back then,” she said, clad in flamingo pajamas and with curlers in her hair. “It grew and then the big stores started doing it.”

The cavalcade of early shoppers prompted Tony Calvi to open Pizza on Broadway shortly before 6 a.m. In addition to normal morning fare, he was offering customers a “breakfast pizza” featuring hard boiled egg and bacon as toppings.

Schenectady’s business district had a few stores open a bit earlier than normal. However, the extended hours didn’t appear to be drawing a greater than normal crowd.

John Flower said his antique shop on Jay Street had seen some morning traffic but nothing to boast about. Yet with his business just a few months old, he said it was good to get exposure.

“We’re keeping our hopes up right now that business will pick up this afternoon,” he said.

Wal-Mart stores throughout the region were bustling during the pre-dawn hours Friday. Cash-out lines snaked through the Wilton store shortly after 5 a.m. as bleary-eyed customers waited to pay for their merchandise.

Chelsea Gatzendorfer of Ballston Spa was among the first in line. Her prize for arriving early was a deal on a 12-foot trampoline that saved her more than $150.

Even with her savings, she was not impressed by the early morning bargains. “The deals weren’t that hot this year,” she said.

The scene was similar in Rotterdam, where more than 300 people poured into the Wal-Mart off of Altamont Avenue when its doors opened at 5 a.m. Manager Rebecca Paukstela was there to greet them with maps of the store in an effort to cut down on the chaos.

“We try to give them some direction so they know where to go,” she said.

On Long Island, Black Friday madness at a Wal-Mart led to the death of a 34-year-old store clerk. Authorities said the man was trampled after frenzied customers physically broke down the doors.

Walter Boyd of Fonda could relate. The first-time Black Friday shopper was swept into the Wal-Mart off of Route 30 in Amsterdam by the crowd there.

“It’s insane,” he said, taking a break from his next round of shopping at the Rotterdam Square mall. “It was just mass chaos.”

Boyd’s wife Jackie decided to forgo all of her shopping until a more reasonable hour. That’s something he said he’ll do next year instead of braving the throngs of shoppers.

“This is the first year I’ve done it, and this will be the last,” he said.