Shaneel Chand and Reubin van den Berg (both 18) had queued outside Farry's Menswear from 8.30pm on Tuesday in the hope of getting the jump on other bargain-hunters.
The prize: Two $850 suits for just $1 each.
But when the doors were opened at 9.30am yesterday and the 15-strong crowd surged into the store, it was every man for himself.
"We missed it by this much," a rueful Shaneel Chand said minutes later, indicating 2cm.
Farry's Menswear owner Seba Farry took pity on the Hayward College students.
"I felt really sorry for them after they'd queued all night. Their heads were really down. They ran past the rack by a couple of feet and by the time they got back to it someone else had grabbed the two $1 suits," he said.
"So I've decided to give them a suit for free. They can share it."
"We're really happy with that," a smiling Shaneel said after being handed a $900 Escena suit.
"That's really generous."
The teenagers had decided to get in line early in a bid to update their wardrobes.
"It was just an experience. We just thought it would be a fun thing to do," Shaneel said.
"It wasn't as cold as we thought it would be," Reubin added.
"But we were pretty well prepared. We brought three sleeping bags and blankets and pillows."
