t’s hard to remember the time – just a few years ago – when someone tried to solicit business via the internet and was “flamed” (severely condemned) by the online community. With its origins in government and universities, the internet was only for research and education; commercial use and advertising were not permitted.
Today, the majority of businesses have a web site, and many people’s main use of the internet is as a place to shop and pay their bills. As consumers, we are no longer limited to our local store, our city, or even New York (!) but have at our fingertips a huge, global marketplace, where the biggest problem has become how to sift through the glut of information to find the bargains. Fortunately, web sites exist that help you do that.
If You Know What You Want
Web sites like www.pricegrabber.com, www.shopping.com, or www.nextag.com do not sell anything; they specialize solely in comparison shopping. (Some of them also provide reviews of products by other customers.) Here’s how to look for a great deal: If you already have in mind a certain product or company, say a Kodak digital camera, go to one of these sites and type in the name of the product. The computer will come up with the lowest price for that camera at both brick-and-mortar and online stores. After you choose a store, enter your zip code to calculate exact taxes and shipping, giving you a final price. Keep in mind that an expensive item like a digital camera may qualify for free shipping.
To browse for electronics, visit www.tigerdirect.com, www.ecost.com, or www.techbargains.com. Tigerdirect has many great deals on electronics, from computers to DVD burners to flash memory drives. Many of these items have rebates, making the price even lower. (Just remember to send in your rebate right away so you don’t forget about it.) The reason they offer these great rebates is because they get you to the store and you pay full price, while they hope you forget to send in the rebate. Remember also, that the prices you see on the site usually do not include shipping and handling of at least $7.
Ecost is a very cool website. In addition to electronics, they have all types of products at low prices. They start with 100 of each item until they sell out. Usually, they then restart the same sale another couple of times. Currently they are offering a 1GB MP3 player for $29. It comes to $4 after the rebate. Usually, of any 100 items they offer, four of them turn out to be free after the rebate. Often, they have free shipping but charge a handling fee of $4.95.
Techbargains gives a rundown of electronics that are on sale at all stores. I recently bought a Motorola H300 Bluetooth headset from CompUSA though this web site. I knew I needed a Bluetooth headset, and it took about three weeks before I found this one at a great price: free after the rebate. Obviously, that sold out fast, so you have to just keep checking.
If You’re Still Shopping
If you don’t have a particular brand-name product in mind, you can use the following web sites to inform you of products that are a great buy anywhere. Check out www.edealinfo.com, www.dealnews.com, www.morestuff4less.com, www.slickdeals.net.
Edealinfo usually lists 100 products per day on sale. Dealnews lists all the deals by category, like computers, cameras, cell phones, etc. Morestuff4less has 10 items per day. They usually list low prices from Amazon. Slickdeals highlights two to five awesome deals per day.
Slickdeals directed my son to a deal with Amazon. If you spent $99 on Huggies or Pull-Ups from January 1 through January 31, 2007, you got $30 off instantly. My son bought four cases of Huggies, which ended up costing him $89.96, averaging less than $.14 per diaper.
You can also check some of the leading web sites that sell directly. Overstock.com is a reputable business with all sorts of good quality merchandise, from linens to shoes to furniture to jewelry. They charge only $2.95 to ship your whole order, and sometimes run specials where they ship for a dollar. Amazon.com, which started as a bookseller, now sells in 36 categories. Check “today’s deals” for their sales and promotions. For example, in addition to January markdowns up to 60 percent on bedding and housewares, they offered an additional $25 off if you spent $125 or more.
Miscellaneous
One might think that, since Passover is so early this year, the Seder will begin before they change the clocks. Due to a law passed a year ago, however, daylight savings time begins this year on March 11, 2007. That is just one week after Purim! This means that the zman for tallis and tefilin will again begin at 6:25 a.m.
Speaking of Purim, the chain stores recognize the holiday. In just a few weeks, you will again see 22 oz. bottles of grape juice and 64 oz. bottles of apple juice for just 99 cents. Blintzes and Tabatchnick soups will also go on sale.
Here’s a terrific cell phone deal: Even though I have been with Verizon for 29 years, and according to Consumer Reports Verizon is rated highest in all cities but one, Sprint offered me a deal I can’t refuse. It’s a family share plan of 3500 minutes five phones, no activation fee, 500 free text messages, and night minutes starting at 6:00 p.m. – all for only $117 a month. How did I get out of my Verizon contract? Verizon raised the price of a text messages from 10 to 15 cents, therefore changing the contract and allowing me to leave without any cancellation fee.
At Costco in Glen Burnie, on January 21, 2007, gas was $1.96 for regular! That’s 13 cents cheaper than the lowest price in our neighborhood.
If you are a business and want to join or renew a BJ’s membership, it is much cheaper to do it through an outside salesman. The price for three members is $30 and a free company card. The salesman name is Jay Jordan, 410-340-2589.
If you want to subscribe to the Jewish Times, you can get an introductory rate of $29.95 for the year. If you wear Dansko shoes, you can get them for less than half price at the Dansko outlet in Jennersville, PA, just off Route 1 and Route 796, not far from the Herr’s potato chip factory.
If you want to know about where to find the best price on something you’re looking for, you can email me care of the Where What When, at adswww@aol.com, and I’ll try to help out.
