QUOTEBOX: Black Friday shoppers serious about deals

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. shoppers turned out in strong numbers to hunt for holiday bargains on Black Friday. Many said they were spending selectively, using cash instead of credit cards, and looking for specific deals.

Following are a selection of quotes from shoppers across the country:

ROBERTO TOMALA, AFTER OPENING A $10 GIFT ENVELOPE HE GOT AT THE QUEENS CENTER MALL IN NEW YORK

"This is beautiful. I am so happy. This is a good motivation to everybody. In this (economic) situation, even $10 helps to buy something."

TONIA MAISTROS, 18, COLLEGE STUDENT, SPENDING $5-$10 EACH ON NEW FRIENDS IN WASHINGTON, D.C. NEAR THE WHITE HOUSE

"There's so many cheap places that there's no need to go to expensive places."

SANDRA LORD, IN HER FOURTH HOUR OF SHOPPING IN HOUSTON

"Normally, I'm not a shopper, but when I looked at the ads, things I normally need were really marked down ... I'm finding big-time bargains."

PAULA SMITH OF MESA, ARIZONA, OUTSIDE A SCOTTSDALE, ARIZONA, WALMART

"All of my friends, we agreed there was no exchanging gifts," she said. "We all own a lot of stuff."

SENTA ERBE, A 30-YEAR-OLD LAW FIRM ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT LIVING IN SAN FRANCISCO

"The big difference is last year, I put it on a credit card and I didn't think twice about it," Erbe said of her holiday spending. "This year, I set aside money for the last two months."

AMBER PLETCHER, 29, WHO DROVE TWO HOURS WITH HER HUSBAND TO A CABELA'S STORE IN FT. WORTH, TEXAS

"I think I'm shopping more this year because we are blessed."

LOU MCANANY, A PHOENIX COLLEGE STUDENT, WAITING FOR A BEST BUY STORE TO OPEN

"I'm happy with the discounts, I wouldn't be standing out all night if I weren't. It seems like they are better than last year."

JIMMY JOHNSON, OUTSIDE A TARGET STORE IN SPRINGFIELD, PENNSYLVANIA

"I'm buying whatever I can get a great deal on -- cameras, TVs, toys," he said, adding that he would not be using any credit cards this year. "Straight cash, homie, straight cash. I don't have to worry about paying it back. Use your own money and you earn it and you spend it."

LAURENCE MORAN, A 30-YEAR-OLD ACTOR VISITING NEW YORK FROM LONDON, WHO WAS SHOPPING AT ABERCROMBIE & FITCH

"Things are so cheap in the U.S. and I plan to take advantage of it."

AYANNA BROWN, 34-YEAR-OLD BROOKLYN RESIDENT WHO LOST HER JOB LAST YEAR AND WENT BACK TO SCHOOL

"Anybody old enough to get a job," is being cut from her gift list. "Around Christmas you have to splurge on the kids, so the grown-ups understand."

(Compiled by Martinne Geller; Reporting by Dhanya Skariachan and Phil Wahba in New York; Diane Bartz in Washington D.C.; Anna Driver in Houston; Brad Dorfman in Scottsdale, AZ; Nicole Maestri in San Francisco; Ed Stoddard in Ft. Worth, TX; Tim Gaynor in Phoenix; Tom Hals in Springfield, PA)