AUBURN — The Home Depot was ready.

Before the 5 a.m. Black Friday opening, a table outside the store offered free coffee and doughnuts.

At another table, Steve Latham gave out advice and store maps showing where the deals were inside.

Bargain hunters, many of whom spent the night shopping, stood in line in the dark and fog.

Scott Johnson of Minot had been waiting since 3 a.m. “We’ve been going since 8 o’clock last night,” Johnson said. “We got in line at Walmart. We got out of there, went over to Kohl’s. We’ve been here since we left Kohl’s.

Johnson, a carpenter, was after a chop saw. He was shopping with his mother-in-law and his wife. “She did most of the buying, ’til here,” he said.

Dana Tice of South Paris came for tools and an air compressor. One of his sons is opening a car wash in South Paris. “It’s $149, instead of $199; a good deal,” he said.

In addition to more stores opening earlier this year, another trend was more male shoppers. Unlike Black Fridays of the past at which women dominated, the crowds this year appeared to be 50-50 by gender.

Tice spent much of his night in lines, inside and out. He got in line at Best Buy at 10 p.m. “I was almost standing in line at the checkout as long as outside.” He got what he went for: an Xbox 360 for his grandchildren.

Before the doors opened, The Home Depot’s Shawn Cornish made an announcement.

“There’s plenty of stuff, enough for everybody,” he said. “There’s no need to run.” Inside the store, associates were positioned at stations that offered the best deals.

Within seconds, shoppers, including Gail and Natalie Trundy of Hebron, had loaded pre-lighted Martha Stewart Christmas trees into carts. The trees were going for $59, regularly priced at $179.

Other big sellers were tools, drill sets, drill drivers and power equipment. “This year, we’ve got stuff we’ve never had before: tents, sleeping bags, remote-control cars, teddy bears,” Cornish said.

Barbara Charity of Hartford was shopping with her children, including Wyatt, 11, who was wearing Micky Mouse pajamas.

“I decided to be comfy for the event,” Wyatt said, adding that this was his first Black Friday. “We started shopping last night, but he started at 3 this morning,” his mother said. “I didn’t want him in the rush.”

A Black Friday shopping veteran of 12 years, Charity said these days, stores are better organized, with crowd control. Five years ago, that was lacking, she said. “It was scary.”

Before 6 a.m, the sky still dark and foggy, Jen Herrick of Lewiston was first in line at Big Lots.

“I got in line at 3 a.m.,” she said. Herrick was at Kmart for the midnight opening but didn’t get what she wanted, an Android computer tablet.

“That’s why I’m here,” she said. “I talked to the manager at 4:30. He said he has a good amount.”

Morgan Hackett and Becca Barnes of Mechanic Falls began shopping at 11 p.m. Thursday. They went to Kmart, Walmart and Big Lots, scooping up bargains on electronics, toys, footwear and clothing. And, they were going to JCPenney.

“A lot of people say, ‘You are so crazy,’” Hackett said. She said she responds by saying, “’No. You’re crazy for spending all that extra money when you could be saving. Stay up and go!’”

JCPenney opened at 6 a.m. At 7 a.m., the parking lot was jammed.

The overnight shopping went “without a hitch,” said Sgt. Benjamin Quinnell of the Auburn Police Department. “It was business as usual.”