Remember, Home Depot’s price match policy doesn’t apply to online listings, including its own website. At his local store, Michael paid more than twice the online Home Depot price for a coaxial cable, but Home Depot refused to refund him the difference. They even say as much in small print on each page of their website. With Home Depot, be sure to call and get a valid local price quote before heading off to purchase something you saw online.
bargains
By 10.7.08
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“If Radiohead can do it, so can we,” writes GOOD on their subscription page. They’ve temporarily changed their subscription model from $20 annually to pay-what-you-can, as long as it’s at least one dollar. If you’re on a restricted budget but want the hard copy version of GOOD, here’s your chance. [GOOD]
Woman Buys House For $1.75 On EBay
By 10.2.08
Joanne Smith from Chicago now owns an abandoned home in Saginaw, Michigan, and she only paid $1.75 for it on eBay. Well, there’s also $850 in “back taxes and yard cleanup cost,” reports MSNBC. Smith says she hasn’t seen the house yet or visited the town, but we’re thinking hello summer home! Or maybe it’s a good place to put the parents when they retire.
How Do You Get Out Of An EBay Auction? Say Killer Bees Attacked The Vehicle
By 7.25.08
Pat won an auction for an RV on eBay last week. He bid a little over $15,000 for a vehicle that was listed for sale by the RV company for $29,999 on other sites. Pat was worried that Nelson’s RV might try to find a loophole to cancel the auction since he’d scored such a great deal, so he immediately sent his required $250 deposit to them and asked for someone at Nelson’s RV to contact him. Eventually, after some run around, he got the following email—with one of the ballsiest excuses we’ve ever seen.
By 7.22.08
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If your phone uses the Symbian S60 operating system (most Nokia phones, and a few from Samsung), you can purchase QuickOffice Premiere 5.0 for $1.00 for today only. The software, which lets you edit Microsoft Office 2007 files, usually costs around $70. [Quickoffice via All About Symbian]
Nevada Brothel Offers $50 Gas Voucher To Customers
By 7.9.08
Clients of the Shady Lady Ranch will get a $50 gas voucher if they fork out $300—worth about one hour’s worth of services—at the brothel in Beatty, Nevada, 130 miles northwest of Las Vegas.
Expedia's "New York From $58 A Night" Offer Is Bunk (Beds)
By 6.15.08
Expedia says they can get you room and board in NYC for $58 a night. Amy at NewYorkology looked into what such a low, low price actually gets you, and it’s not pretty: think hostels, co-ed group rooms, mice, bunk beds, and generally dirty environments. If you’re undaunted by college-lifestyle travel, Amy points out that there’s one cheap hostel listed that has some good reviews, but since we’re talking about ultra-budget hostels here, a good review actually includes the phrase, “best of all NO ROACHES!!!”
How To Get $90 Off Your Comcast Bill
By 4.29.08
Reader Matthew just cut his Comcast bill in half with a single phone call. He received a flier from one of Comcast’s competitors that boasted a much better price than the $175 per month he was paying. When he called Comcast and told them about the better rate, he was swiftly transferred to “customer retention” which must be a place of magical wonderment because by the time he got off the phone his Comcast bill had been reduced by $90. How did he do it? His letter, inside…
Best Time To Shop For Seasonal Bargains
By 12.26.07
Air conditioners, bicycles and outdoor gear, boats, and carpet and flooring.
How To Get A Great Discount On A Year Of T-Mobile HotSpot Access
By 11.13.07
We’ve been covering One Laptop Per Child’s “Buy One Get One” deal because it’s a cheap way to get a very unique, kid-friendly laptop, and because at the end of the year a lot of people are looking for places to burn off some extra tax-deductible donations. But now that OLPC is rolling in one year of free T-Mobile access, the deal just turned into a true bargain—if you meet a couple of conditions.
Do Your Thrift Store Shopping Online At ShopGoodwill.com
By 10.22.07
Ebay isn’t the only shopping site revamping its look: Goodwill’s online shopping website, which has been around since 1999, is about to launch a redesigned site that’s cleaner and easier to navigate. Because the only sellers on the site are member organizations of Goodwill Industries International, the selection may not be as big as eBay, but the fraud is minimal as well—and the member pool is large enough to have “posted more than 17,000 items from inventory that includes antiques, collectibles, clothing, electronics, books and musical instruments, which are arranged according to category. “
New Farecast Service Tells You Whether That Hotel Rate Is Really A Deal
By 9.13.07
Farecast.com is testing a great new feature that evaluates a hotel’s given rate, then tells you how much of a deal it really is when compared to past quotes and fares at similar hotels, says the New York Times:
The $179 rate for a room at the Hyatt Regency was listed as “average” because it was 28 percent more expensive than rates at that hotel on the same date in past months, according to Farecast. It was also 13 percent more than recent Friday-to-Monday stays at the same hotel.
Tips For Shopping At Thrift Stores
By 9.11.07
Sometimes it seems like thrift stores are on the verge of extinction. What used to be a necessity for college students, “alternative” types, artists, and practical moms have mostly been replaced by “super-low prices” at big box stores, or dirt-cheap fashions from retailers like H&M, Steve & Barry’s, or Old Navy. Still, if you’ve got the time and the right attitude, and you’re okay with that vintage/hand-me-down look, you can find some good bargains at thrift stores.
Fall Is The Best Time To Buy Cars, Jeans, Wine And More
By 9.4.07
“The dynamic of the wedding industry is that most people get engaged at Christmas, and most people who are planning [a wedding] get distracted by the holidays,” says Alan Fields, co-author of “Bridal Bargains.” The result: very lonely bridal-shop owners anxious for business.
Now we know what everyone’s getting for Christmas!
Cooking With Wine? Use the Cheap Stuff
By 3.21.07
Whew! What a relief. No more cooking with the 2000 Chateau Lafite-Rothschild for us! — MARK ASHLEY
