They stood outside Davie's School Supply in Anniston Saturday morning, waiting for the doors to swing open.

Once inside, shoppers — which included teachers and parents — strolled the aisles with lists in hand, dumping into their shopping carts handfuls of items they'll use to decorate their classrooms or fill their child's bookbag.

Their enthusiasm was due to tax-free purchasing power they're enjoying this weekend on certain school supplies, making all those Magic Markers, crayons and packets of paper cheaper than usual.

Tamika Lindsey, a teacher at Oxford Elementary, said shopping Saturday bore striking similarities to Black Friday, that infamous day after Thanksgiving known for great deals and long lines.

"It can be a little hectic...," she said, loading bags of supplies into her SUV outside Davie's. It was about 4:30 p.m. and she was just getting started. She still had trips to Quintard Mall and to the Oxford Exchange to buy new clothes for son Tyetus, who starts the third grade Monday.

From midnight Friday until midnight tonight, shoppers are paying no state sales tax on items such as less-expensive clothing, school supplies, books and computers. In addition, 254 Alabama cities and counties are waiving their share of sales taxes — nine more than last year, according to the Alabama Retail Association. Locally, all cities and counties in The Star's coverage area are participating except for Oxford, where shoppers will pay 1 cent on the dollar, which represents the city's own tax for its schools.

Georgia Sears of Jacksonville got out with the masses fairly early to shop for her grandson, 8-year-old Corbin Deason, who'll ride the bus for the first time this year to Kitty Stone Elementary.

Sears said that last week she bought the child two pairs of Nike tennis shoes. And at Martin's Family Clothing in Anniston Saturday, there she was again, looking for something to make a smile stretch across his face.

Spoiled, maybe?

"Just a little," she quipped.

Gov. Bob Riley said Tuesday the weekend was an opportunity for families to save and for retailers to see some much-needed profits. He said the state's sales tax collections for August have increased every year since the holiday began in 2006 because once people shop tax-free, they end up purchasing items elsewhere.

The workers of Davie's School Supply enjoyed seeing the aisles crammed. But it wasn't just because of the clanging cash registers.

"We feel good when we help them finish the task of getting their child ready for school," said manager Joy Jacks.