Thousands hit Houston-area stores on tax-free weekend
While clouds kept temperatures relatively low on Saturday, shoppers’ tempers were hot as they flocked to stores during Texas’ annual sales tax holiday weekend.
Scarce parking and long lines plagued some retailers, making shoppers grumpy and less than polite.
“This is crazy. I’ve never seen people act like this,” said Trey Robinson, who went to The Woodlands Mall to buy a last-minute anniversary gift Saturday afternoon.
Unaware of the tax-free weekend, he found himself amid thousands of shoppers.
“It’s definitely worse than Christmas. It’s like the entire Christmas shopping season rolled into one weekend — without the holiday spirit,” Robinson said, laughing.
He said a woman in front of him argued for at least five minutes about whether the item she was purchasing was a purse or a backpack. Under the state guidelines a purse would have been taxed, a backpack would not.
The verdict?
A purse, according to a manager.
“And you should’ve seen her storm off,” Robinson said.
The Mendez family decided several weeks ago that it would do all of its back-to-school shopping Saturday.
“And people are acting bad, not respecting others. We are all just out here trying to save a little money, so there’s no need to act crazy,” said Betty Mendez, noting that a woman told her 5-year-old son to “move out of the way.”
Despite the frenzy, the family spent about two hours inside a Target store near downtown, buying school supplies, socks, pajamas and even diapers, which also are tax-exempt under state guidelines.
“It’s crazy not to save that extra amount when you can. Everything’s so expensive that every little bit can help,” Mendez said. “Even if you have to deal with a few jerks.”
At The Woodlands Mall, parking spaces were tough to come by. Motorists blew their horns and even exchanged a few one-fingered gestures as they jockeyed for position.
