From The Sacramento Bee:
Ikea fan plans to be first in line
Man is camping out in front of new store to win a gift card.
By Ed Fletcher -- Bee Staff Writer
So while many people were sleeping off a Super Bowl-induced hangover, Reynolds, of Quincy, Mass., was directing his cab driver to take him to the big blue-and-yellow building in West Sacramento.
And that is where he's been ever since, camping out in front of West Sacramento's yet-to-open Ikea home furnishings megastore in hopes of being the first in line when it opens March 1.
Reynolds says he's a dedicated Ikea fan, but his concrete camp-out isn't just about pride in inexpensive, smartly designed furniture. If Reynolds doesn't break any contest rules and remains first in line, he stands to collect a $3,000 Ikea gift card. He took home second prize after camping out before the grand opening of Ikea's Stoughton, Mass., store."It's almost like a hobby of mine, going to Ikea store openings," said Reynolds, 51, who details cars and boats for a living.
Ikea officials said Reynolds would set a record for longest store camp-out, if he follows contest rules.
"I'll make it. I'm a dedicated fan of Ikea," Reynolds said.
He said his first Ikea experience was going to the Stoughton store.
Reynolds sleeps in a small dome tent near the store's entrance. He has a thin sleeping bag - he said he was thinking about palm trees and beaches when he packed - a duffle bag worth of clothes and his tent. He buys water and sandwiches from a chuck wagon that occasionally comes by for workers.
While his living conditions are Spartan, he is not lonely.
Two days after his camp-out began, Dave Sisson, 39, of Citrus Heights, joined Reynolds. Sisson said he sells cars but can't work because of a back injury.
Sisson - who stands to collect a $2,000 gift card if he remains second in line - said he's never been inside an Ikea. (Rules say you can't go in even to sample the meatballs in the cafeteria.)
"I'm going to stick it out," Sisson declared Friday.
While Reynolds traveled light, Sisson likes to sleep in comfort. His dome tent featured a fold-out cot. The store would not let him use his stove. Friday, he ordered pizza while dominos were scattered on the top of his ice chest.
Reynolds said someone with the company somewhat jokingly challenged him after his second-in-line finish, but he didn't know what the prize would be before he lined up.
"Although IKEA has a special tradition at its U.S. grand openings and often celebrates with giveaways to its loyal IKEA customers, both of these 'campers' had no idea what to expect or details about what they'd be getting," the Sweden-based company said in a press release, adding it was "humbled and flattered by the excitement that these two loyal IKEA customers have about our grand opening."
As of early Friday evening nobody had arrived in an attempt to claim the $1,000 gift card that's the third-in-line prize.
