Snow was blowing from the rooftops and the wind chill had dipped to 18 degrees early Wednesday morning when Elaine Wynn of Cartersville rolled up to the front doors of Value Village on North Cobb Drive in Marietta.

The thrift store wouldn't open for an hour and a half — it was only 7:30 — but Wynn, in her insulated coveralls to ward off the cold, wasn't taking any chances.

Andy Sharp/AJC

Forty-five minutes after Value Village in Marietta opened, Rebeccah Karanja navigates a towering shopping cart of clothing toward checkout.

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"You got to get in line early," she said, as others began to leave the warmth of their cars to join her. "Otherwise, you might not get a buggy."

Indeed. By 9:01 a.m., exactly one minute after the store was scheduled to open, each of the dozens of carts inside was spoken for.

Shoppers, including women with babies in carriers and a few who'd been driven up in taxis, had pushed and squeezed their way inside when the glass doors finally opened. Already, they were feverishly finger-picking through the racks of T-shirts and sports coats, sweaters and sweat suits, outerwear and underwear. All merchandise was half-price today, marked down from already marked-down prices.

Who could resist? Certainly nobody here.

At Value Village, a retail chain with 10 stores in Georgia, every last Wednesday of the month is Bargain Day, when items are discounted an additional 50 percent.

The event is not unlike the day after Thanksgiving, when droves of craven consumers queue up outside bigger-name department stores in the predawn to get a crack at special sales or merchandise, such as holiday season toys that might not be around by noon.

Bargain Day, though, is different, because it is a monthly, not annual, happening, and because of the fervor of its flock.

After all, why stand in line in subfreezing weather for a half-hour or more just to get first dibs on some cut-rate clothes?

Talk about a ludicrous question.

"You get here late and it might be all picked over. There might not be much left," said Salina Diop of Austell.

Actually, said store manager Allen Pharr, fresh goods are brought in throughout the day, and the regulars know it. They wait like vultures near the back door for workers to roll the virgin racks by them. Then, they pounce. They stuff their carts full, then roll away to a quieter part of the store where they more closely inspect their wares. They keep the best, discard the rest.

For the more rabid hunters, Bargain Day is an all-day excursion. They come in the morning and stay until dinner time, waiting to search for treasure in each untouched rack of merchandise.

"When do you leave?" asked Ann Smith of Bremen. "When you get tired."

Some of them work fast, Rebeccah Karanja among them. By 9:45 a.m., she was ready to check out. The pile of clothes in her cart was higher than her head.

The unfortunate — those without buggies — had to improvise. One option: take the kid out of the stroller and stuff the goods in there.

While most of those shopping Wednesday were women, a few men roamed the racks of jeans, jackets and tees. Not many would admit they were there by design, however.

"I had to drive my sister, that's why I'm here," said Troy Stapler of Buchanan. "If it weren't for her, I wouldn't be here."

Gary Alexander of McDonough, who was spotted shopping on the last Wednesday in January, said he "stumbled" upon the store.

The idea of lining up outside in the cold to get a deal, he said, is "crazy."

"Why would you do that?" he asked. "I mean, come on. You can catch it again. Unless they saw something the day before that they wanted."

Ah, yes. Some shoppers, Pharr said, are not above coming in on Tuesday night, seeing something they like, and hiding it under a couch cushion. Come Wednesday morning, they're back to retrieve and buy the item at half-off.

Not that any of them would admit to it.

One thing they do admit: Bargain Day is about more than the shopping.

"It's a good deal, yeah," said Wynn, pressing her nose to the glass as she awaited the opening of the store. "But it's fun, too."