It’s called Black Friday mostly because retailers count on it as the kickoff to moving into the accounting color that stands for profit. As the economy has struggled, retailers have continued to tack on extra hours to add to that bottom line. By now, many have pushed it into mere seconds outside of Thanksgiving Thursday.

Which brings up the question—who the devil is shopping at 4 a.m. and what are they looking for?

In search of answers and a couple of extra dollars, I snagged a midnight to 8 a.m. shift at a major big box retailer. The answer from that vantage point seemed to be it’s the few and patient who haunt shopping’s most wee hours.

When I arrived just before midnight, there were than 200 people queued up on a sidewalk. The ones up front said they’d arrived at 10 p.m.

The opening of the doors was like a chute in a rodeo bull pen. People bolted full speed down the aisles for their prime targets, which seemed dominated by housewares and electronics.

But there was really no reason for the sprint. Despite the plethora of cashiers, an hour and a half wait was common for check out. The lines snaked from the front doors down the aisles and to the back of the store.

Surprisingly, most of the people maintained their composure, if not their outright goodwill. But there was no doubt they’d found one more thing to be grateful for once they reached the promised land checking out.

Just as suddenly as the waterfall of commerce that had exploded, at almost exactly 4 a.m., it almost dried up. It gave a store full of experienced retailers and a few rookies the opportunity to straighten and stock up.

The predicted second wave never really came. As the sun came up about seven, so did the number of shoppers. But it wasn’t much more than a typical weekend morning would be.

Those who heard the tale of the deluge expressed relief they had the patience to come away from the frenzy that is a very early Black Friday opening. Even if it meant a few items might be sold out.

“There’s nothing I need that bad,” one customer said.