North Shore consumers swarmed shopping malls and stores over the weekend to take advantage of the state's suspension of the 6.25 percent sales tax on items costing $2,500 or less.
Danvers resident Rob Anderson, who works at Best Buy in the Liberty Tree Mall, said customers were lined up outside the store when it opened Saturday morning.
"It's been busy pretty much from the time we opened until the time we closed," said Anderson, an asset protection specialist at the store.
Many shoppers took advantage of tax-free weekend to purchase electronics, hardware, appliances and more. For the first time this year, beer, wine and alcohol were included in tax-free weekend. Items such as cars, motorboats, tobacco products and meals were still taxed.
Revenue officials say their best guess is that the holiday could end up costing Massachusetts anywhere from $20 million to $23 million in lost taxes. The tax break only applied to individuals, not purchases by businesses and corporations.
The Salem News checked in with local shoppers yesterday to see their tax-free purchases.
Michael Mullarkey
Essex resident Michael Mullarkey headed to Home Depot at the Liberty Tree Mall in Danvers with his son, Shawn, and his stepfather, Charles Russell of Danvers, to buy supplies to re-side a 30-by-30-foot portion of his house.
Mullarkey said he spent just shy of $5,000 for his purchases: red cedar bevel siding, some shingles and two-by-fours, for a total tax savings of $312.50.
Becca Baker
Becca Baker, of North Andover, headed to Best Buy at the Liberty Tree Mall with three friends to buy herself a Toshiba laptop computer.
Baker, who will be a junior at Penn State College, said she paid $579 for the laptop, saving a little more than $36 in taxes.
Al Morse
Al Morse, of Beverly, went to Home Depot and to Sears at the Northshore Mall over tax-free weekend. At Home Depot, he purchased a pop-up canopy/awning for roughly $200, and at Sears he bought a storage shed for $107 for a total tax savings of about $19.
"If you can save a little money, Why not?" said Morse. "We ought to get rid of sales tax altogether."
Paul Nikas
Ipswich resident and police Chief Paul Nikas went to Best Buy to purchase a 32-inch flat-screen television and a DVD player.
"My old TV was starting to fail, so I figured, 'Why not take the opportunity to get it taken care of on tax-free weekend?" said Nikas who spent $450, for a savings of abut $28.
Betsy Stavis
Hamilton resident Betsy Stavis, who turned 21 last week, went to Kappy's on Andover Street in Danvers to stock up on beverages for her upcoming birthday party.
Stavis, a student at Boston University, purchased vodka, tequila, rum, gin, triple sec and a keg of beer, spending roughly $300, for a savings of about $19.
"I saved $20, so one of the bottles was free," she reasoned.
Anthony Lombardo
Everett resident Anthony Lombardo purchased a three-wood golf club for himself for $129 and a pink field hockey bag for his daughter at Dick's Sporting Goods in Danvers for a total of $167, saving about $10.50 on sales tax.
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