Inquiring readers named Kurt want to know: If a buyer from Canada buys something from someone in America on eBay, pays for it, including shipping, and then it shows up with a $50 C.O.D. charge for imports and customs, is that kosher? Discuss…
shopping
Supermarkets Begin To Shrink
By 9.12.08
The New York Times reports that several supermarket and retail chains, including Safeway, Walmart, and Whole Foods, are beginning to experiment with much smaller store sizes that emphasize things like cafes, prepared meals, and produce. The idea is to emphasize speed over choice, and was apparently triggered by UK competitor Tesco, which has launched over 70 small-format supermarkets in Nevada, Arizona, and Southern California over the past year. Of course, the stores also require less shelf space for products than they did a year ago.
Get Fistfuls Of Coupons At Ultimatecoupons.com
By 9.12.08
Want a crapload of coupons? Check out Ultimatecoupons.com. They’ve got tons. You can navigate by topic or retailer or manufacturer and see if there’s some discounts available. Some of them are printable and some are online-only. The site design is underwhelming, but functional. What else is there to say? It’s coupons, you know what to do with them.
FTC: Protect Gift Card Holders When Companies Go Bankrupt
By 9.12.08
Consumers Union (CU) filed a petition with the FTC Thursday to protect consumer gift card holders more when retailers go bankrupt. For as long as the stores remain open, CU wants companies to have to hold gift card funds in a secure trust, unless bankruptcy courts say otherwise. Currently…
Zappos Continues Awesomeness
By 9.12.08
Zappos online shoe store, famed for its amazing customer service, has done it again.
Morning Deals
By 9.12.08
Highlights From Dealnews
- Lenovo ThinkPad | ThinkCentre: Lenovo ThinkPad R500 Core 2 Duo 2.26GHz 15″ Widescreen Laptop for $636 + $20 s&h
- OldNavy: Old Navy men’s and women’s jeans from $8 + $7 s&h
- Amazon.com: How to buy 360 AA batteries for $22 after rebate + free shipping
Highlights From Dealhack
- TiVo.com: $120 off Refurb Model or Free 3 Months Service with New TiVo HD DVRs
- Sierra Trading Post: Free Shipping on top of Deep Discounts
- Buy.com: Genius G-Pen F610 6×10-inch Graphics Tablet $69 Shipped
Highlights From Buxr
- Aeropostale: Back to School Sale – Up to 50% off + 20% off w/ coupon code 20BTS
- NewEgg: OCZ Platinum Edition 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM Desktop Memory for $46.99 after $30 rebate w/ Free shipping
- Walgreens: printable coupon for $10 Off Friday and Saturday Only
Morning Deals
By 9.11.08
- Apple: Refurbished iPod touches on sale, 8GB for $180, 16GB for $240, 32GB for $320
- Amazon: Rewards points upgrade for existing Amazon.com Visa holders
- Apple: Free Select iTunes TV Shows in HD (requires iTunes 8
Highlights From Dealnews
- Travelocity: United Airlines Sale: Round-trip flights from $108
- Amazon.com: Amazon.com Men’s Watch Deals: Timex, Marc Ecko, more from $40 + free shipping
- Sears: Seven7 Women’s Jeans for $18 + $6 s&h, more
Highlights From Buxr
- Budget Truck Rental: $50 Gift card when paying w/American Express
- Reverie: T-Shirt Sale: Buy 1 TEE get 1 free TEE
- BestBuy: Westinghouse 42″ 1080p LCD HDTV and portable DVD Player for $749.99 + shipping
Highlights From Dealhack
- Drugstore.com: New Customers: Save $5 or $10 off First Order
- Vann’s: Panasonic FZ28 10.2MP Digital Camera $340 Shipped
- Amazon: Get Savings of up to 75% off Bargain Books
Readers' Favorite 3rd Party Online Wishlists
By 9.11.08
A number of readers chimed in on the Best Buy-branded wishlist browser add-on post with the alternatives they prefer instead. They were: 1) Amazon’s Universal Wishlist, 2) Del.icio.us, 3) Wishlist.com, 4) Wishlistr.com. Got any others? As far as what most Consumerist’s thought of the Best Buy add-on, commenter dragonfire81 probably captured it best…
Morning Deals
By 9.10.08
- 6PM.com: DC Brand Shoes $20 + S/H, all sizes/styles, 856 to choose from
- Nicorette: free pack of Nicorette White Ice Mint (warning, site is slow)
- Circuit City: Panasonic SH-FX85 Wireless Multi-Room Speaker Kit for $44.96, requires in-store pickup
Highlights From Buxr
- Hewlett Packard: $400 Off $999 or more for Desktop Purchase w/ coupon code: DT1158 (Good for 2250 uses)
- NewEgg: Targus Notebook Wireless Optical Mouse for $8.99 w/ Free shipping after $20 off coupon code: EMCAKAKAK
- Buy.com: Av Lab Solar Backpack Charger for $29.99 w/ Free shipping after rebate
Highlights From Dealhack
- Best Buy: Toshiba Satellite Dual Core Notebook PC $500
- Geeks.com: Canon Pixma iP6210D Color Inkjet Photo Printer $35 with Coupon
- Musicnotes.com: 20% or 30% off Guitar Guru Interactive Lessons with Coupons
Halo 3 Limited Edition Xbox 360 For $199.99
By 9.8.08
Hot Topic seems to be selling Halo 3 Limited Edition Xbox 360 for $199.99, a price cut of $200. An insider tells us that select Hot Topic stores will have them on sale starting tomorrow, but I also spotted them on HotTopic.com. One of the guys at Kotaku says he bought one in-store this morning. I had no idea that Hot Topic even had video game systems, I guess they really do have the complete catalog to fill out your cool and alternative lifestyle.
Morning Deals
By 9.8.08
- Banana Republic: 30% off today only with coupon code HAPPY30 or printable coupon
- Sears: Free Masterlock with printable coupon
- MusiciansFriend: AKG Handheld Condenser Microphone for $100 + free shipping. Today only.
Highlights From Dealhack
- Timbuk2: Save up to 60% off Messenger Bags, Backpacks, & More
- New York & Co.: Extra 20% off Store-Wide Women’s Apparel
- Office Depot: Viewsonic N3235w 32-inch LCD HDTV $470 & Free Shipping
55% Off Groceries At Amazon
By 9.5.08
Amazon is having a grocery clearance sale, 55% off regular price with coupon code CLRNCFTY. [Amazon]
Safeway IDs Everyone In Your Party When You Buy Beer
By 9.5.08
Daniel went to his local Safeway with his brother to buy some beer. Daniel had his ID, but his brother didn’t—but that’s okay, because Daniel was the one buying the beer. The cashier, however, felt otherwise, and wouldn’t complete the transaction without carding both of them. The store manager told him “the policy is, at the discretion of the clerk, to check the ID of every person present.”
Morning Deals
By 9.5.08
- Woot: Refurbished Apple iPod 30GB Video for $129.99
- Macy’s: J.A. Henckels Four Star 7-Piece Cutlery Set + $0 s&h w/$125
- Amazon: Motorola H500 Bluetooth Headset for $19.99
Highlights From Dealhack
- Design Within Reach: Free Shipping on Everything & All Orders
- Amazon: Garmin nuvi 200 3.5-inch Portable GPS $160 Shipped
- Buy.com: Soyo 22-inch Widescreen Dual Input LCD $180 Shipped
Highlights From Buxr
- Amazon: Denmark 60 Piece Prep, Cook and Serve Set $69.30 w/ Free Shipping
- Dell Home: Seagate 500 GB Serial ATA Barracuda 7200.11 Internal Hard Drive for $62.99 + $5 Shipping
- The Limited: The Limited Printable Coupon: $30 off $100 or $20 off $60
Save On Back-To-School With Google Checkout
By 9.4.08
Google has a special back to school promotion where you can get $10 off $60 and $5 off $30 discounts at a bunch of different online stores when you use their Google Checkout payment service. Official Site [via ProBargainhunter]
Amazon Closes Accounts En Masse
By 9.3.08
Slickdeal forums members are complaining about a mass-closing of Amazon accounts. The reasons cited vary from having too high a percentage of returns, shipping to too many different addresses, and having too many different Amazon accounts. Guess they’re trying to tighten their bottom line and prevent loopholes from being exploited, but the net may have been cast too wide; some of the adversely affected users say the action was unfair and unwarranted. Couple this with the online retailer dropping the post price guarantee at basically the same time and you have to wonder if the boys in the Amazon backroom spent Labor Day Weekend earning their Six Sigma certificates.
