With a line of 80 people behind her, Erika Cherry of Auburn waited out the minutes until midnight, when the Coach outlet at the Factory Stores at North Bend opened its doors for early Black Friday deals.

Cherry got in line at 9:30 p.m. on Thanksgiving evening, making the 30-mile drive with her husband Marty and 11-year-old son for the deep midnight discounts.

“It’s all about the Coach bags,” said Marty Cherry. Coach had by far the biggest line-up for its midnight opening, but other Factory Stores opened late or had lines outside.

Energy drinks and potent coffee fueled waiting shoppers and employees alike during “Midnight Madness” sales early Friday.

“We’re open for 24 hours straight,” said Michael Kuntz, a store manager at the Corningware Corelle outlet. That shop opened at 10 p.m. to offer half off on dinnerware and other deep discounts.

“This day is going to be easily the biggest day of the year,” Kuntz said. “This day represents about 80 percent of our sales for this entire week.”

Customers are excited, Kuntz said — “they know what a good deal is.”

“Sales go off the charts for this day, compared with how the economy is,” said Chris Davenport, manager at Mount Si Board and Skate. “People save up until Black Friday. This is when they get their Christmas shopping done.”

Davenport stocked up on Monster and Red Bull energy drinks and plenty of snacks on his shift, which stretched until 3 a.m. Friday.

“We stay pretty hyped,” he said. “We have a lot of fun staying up all night.”

Savings and customer service were big factors in Kenmore resident Anita Johnson’s visit to the board shop’s midnight promotion.

“We’re now paying for college,” she said. “We have to be more economically conscious.”

Her son, home from college, needed new snowboard bindings and boots.

“The bindings are his Christmas present,” Johnson said. Her son was going to help work off the price of the boots by helping his dad that weekend.

This is the third year that the Factory Stores have held midnight promotions for Black Friday. Overall, economic signs are more positive this fall compared to last year, Factory Stores General Manager Ed Cook said.

“Sales are up, which is indicative of people shopping here because they want the value,” Cook said. “That happens regardless of the economy.”

Now, Cook hopes the rest of the season’s 27 shopping days are equally busy.

Lined up at the back of the Coach queue, friends Aja Tracy, Kassie Mill and Ashley Levin of Kent laid their shopping plans.

“We go straight from here to Old Navy,” Tracy said. The trio are once-a-year midnight shoppers, scooping up discounts at malls in Auburn and Southcenter. They planned to shop until 8 a.m. the next morning, seeking half-off promotions for toys, shoes, clothes and other goods for their families.

“This is such a rush,” Tracy said. “Don’t do drugs — just do this.”

Texting her friends from the line outside the Coach store — “they think we’re crazy” — Kent resident Quiyonna Miller planned a search for a purse, wallet and shoes within. She drank a coffee frappé to stay awake.

“Honestly, this is my first time to be able to purchase a Coach purse,” Miller said.

• Learn more about seasonal deals at the Factory Stores at North Bend at www.premiumoutlets.com.