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Websites For The Frugal?
fwc writes "Like most people, I like being able to get the most benefit out of my money. In pursuit of this, I use several websites which help stretch my dollar even more. For instance, I have found smarterliving.com which I consult for good travel-related deals. I also use slickdeals.net and fatwallet to make sure I don't miss those almost-too-good-to-be-true deals. When looking for the best price on a specific item, I usually consult Froogle, Pricewatch, and Shopper.com. I also use a collection of online stores which sell stuff dirt cheap, such as newegg, PC Surplus Online, and of course half.com. Recently, I was looking for some tools at Harbor Freight's Website and a friend suggested that I might want to also look at Homier's. I was pleasantly suprised to find that they have some prices which are even lower than at any other site which I have found. This makes me wonder what other sites are out there I haven't found yet which are in the same category." I know techbargains has "saved" me money on some things I might not otherwise have bought. Where have you been best led?
The Frugal Living Tip File has some top notch advice. It disappeared from the net awhile back, but archive.org has a copy.
EVERYDAY IS CATURDAY
always check Reseller Ratings before buying...
--IronHelix
I usually check most of these and end up saving a decent amount of cash. The only thing I really dislike is that most of the "ceap deals" are rebated products, so you end up laying out a bunch of cash, then waiting 6-10 weeks to get it back. Are these really deals???
Tiger Direct has pretty good prices on tech stuff.
Tiger Direct
"What we have here is a failure to communicate"
The Warden, Cool Hand Luke
Where have you been best led?
I was led once to water, but i refused to drink.
Come on guys, we're not all dirty rotten foreigners in need of a good invasion to teach us the worth of Yankee Imperialist Running Dog consumer products. We already buy all your shit so why not tell the guys in the online side of your companies to let us order from you lot directly?
Is it a credit card verification problem or what? I'd rather not wait the six(teen) extra weeks while the local marketing team work out what price point to put on these items.
I am a leaf on the wind
You should have met my father, I'd say he's far worse.
My father was one of those who when he'd buy a coupon book, he'd carefully note how much he saved to ensure he got his money's worth.
Help Brendan pay off his student loans
In no particular order:
In my experience, Amazon is almost ALWAYS the cheapest place to buy something, not because of their prices on items, but because of their free shipping on orders over $25.
Cloud City Digital: DVD Production at its cheapest/finest
What about eBay? It's a pretty good place, and yes, of course, you do take the risk of getting screwed by a seller every so often, but in general I've gotten pretty good computer hardware off there (think SCSI and SCSI RAID) for a whole lot less than in the store.
dealnews.com and its related sites
...can be bought cheap, too. Go to Cheap Ass Gamer; it relies on different users posting the deals they have found, but it seems to be a very effective system. The availability of some deals depends on your area (and the brick & mortar stores you have access to).
How is this usefull or relevant to anyone outside US?
Redflagdeals.net is a GREAT site for Canadian deals for all of us up north.
Check it out.
I think Yahoo bought a lemon when they acqured Kelkoo... Or maybe they just have a damn good buisness plan for them...
I always shop at http://www.computergeeks.com although lately I have been burned on a few things which were not their fault as much as it was mine for not checking around. Caveat emptor.
TT
Here's a site that'll give you advices on how to save big: clickey
"A door is what a dog is perpetually on the wrong side of" - Ogden Nash
But of course, www.freestufftimes.com must be mentioned:)
allofmp3.com of course :-)
...and you want MORE? I know you want the best for your money, but that's just greedy... :)
Passwird.
My blog can kick your blog's ass
http://www.gotapex.com/
:-)
superior. they update every day with new deals, coupon codes, and much more. i check up every day when i get home
Ebay can be a good source for cheap stuff if you don't mind buying second-hand goods. I've bought a few things dirt-cheap on Ebay... sometimes you have to take a little gamble, but generally I haven't been disappointed often, not even with items sensitive to wear and improper handling such as model airplane engines.
;)
An added bonus for the environmentally-conscious: you're helping to save the planet by recycling
If construction was anything like programming, an incorrectly fitted lock would bring down the entire building...
I'm actually quite surprised (and yet strangely impressed) ./-ers know about frugal websites !
.
:)
I thought is was all Alienware this, top-end that, modded for no bl**dy reason the other.
Sorry, must dash, the 360 Modena's turned up . .
P.S. Oh, almost forgot my tip : hot grits makes a delicious, nutritious meal that's cheap and plentiful
I co-founded the ebay sniping website snipeswipe.com and I can say that our users routinely win ebay items very cheaply.
Unfortunately, due to ebay's no-spidering rules, we can't search out for sweet deals on ebay.
You can also spend your time on ebay searching for "Labtops"
Thrift is 'positively' loaded. You want 'cheap' or 'stingy'.
He posts a ton of stuff daily, and seems to aggregate what's on some of the other sites and combines it with coupon codes, etc. link
"Want in one hand and spit in the other and see which one fills up first." - My Dad
There is a local am radio talk show host that is nationally sydicated that you might have hear of. His name is Clark Howard http://www.clarkhoward.com/. He has pretty good advice and some links to some sites that might not already be added to the posts.
[Shameless plug]
Sites like 100bigcoupons.com work pretty nice, offering up %off, free shipping, and other coupons for pretty much every retailer. Similar to others, but sorted by retailers, with new coupons posted daily.
[/Shameless plug]
May this post be indexed by spiders, and archived for all to see as my Internet epitaph.
Think that's bad?
Well, you know those soap chips that are left over when you're almost finished using a bar of soap? My father saves them, and then compresses them into a new bar of soap when he's saved up enough of them.
How's that for frugal/cheap?
A.K.A. SurplusComputers
Old rack mount systems, SCSI drives, motherboards, and a lot of cheapo tools.
don't buy new rpg's, wait six months until someone returns or sells his copy back to the store and buy or for half price (it's "used" but only cause it's been sitting on his shelf instead of the store's!) ;-)
or check out salvation army and pick up 1st/2nd edition ad&d books (or basic/expert edition) for $1 and play that instead of the new shit that's out
yeah, i get my gaming stuff cheaper than most people pay for dice
I usually look out for travel deals at Travel Zoo
For Canadians, Red Flag Deals is a great site. Coupons, links to online deals, freebies, and forums.
I use DealHunting.com, as they have a lot of "female" oriented deals, plus one of the better coupon databases
I've found that HookedOnTronics usually has incredibly low prices on quality home theater equipment & miscellanious geekery. The selection is a bit limited, but the prices are hard to beat.
-- m.Operandi
http://www.fractured.net/ it's about frugality.
Cyberbite Networks - Web Hosting, Dedicated Servers & Colocati
biddingfortravel.com contains a whole lot of valuable information on how to bid on priceline.
The best part is that many of these websites now offer RSS feeds. So, instead of going to the website itself, you can just subscribe to the feeds, and scroll through to only look in detail at deals that interest you.
BensBargains pretty much does it for me. Ben parses a lot of other deal websites, then compiles it together. Overall, pretty good.
If you're looking for the best deal, and don't mind the risk of getting screwed there is nothing better than eBay.
CD-Wow for your CDs.
Ebuyer for your computer kit.
Holborn Books for your computer books.
Click Ink for your generic ink cartridges.
Cahoot for your banking.
Ebay. No explanation needed!
Netto to check out what deals they've got on. Shortcut to Netto's offers.
I had a dealing with Homier. They came through town and was offering a door, a specific door, that normally would sell for.. at least $500.. and was only $100. We stood in line, assured we had a door to find out the guy in front of us changed his mind and talked them into selling him two -- his door and ours. Then when we spoke up they told us we could basically fuck off.
Their prices were really crazy cheap, but a few things I bought broke later on (but doesn't most things today).. and that was only a month ago.
I've left to find myself. If you happen to see me, please, keep me there until I return.
The are preparing for this in their next phase at froogle
At this point, it may be "beta" but that just means they are getting ready to open the can. Once they do, they can dig through the ranks to ensure they can find you the lowest price.
Interesting will be what happens when I am a sponsor and every link is lower than my price.
a link on the Homier site. I was expecting to see lovely fjords, but no, it was Global Outsourcing.
I've also used tradepub.com for some free magizines subscriptions.
If you're careful eBay has some excellent deals. The challenge of course is not falling into an addiction.
For RAM I tend to use Ramseeker.com, while its mainly mac oriented I think they're added a PC section
Moneysavingexpert, covers lots of things, from cheap phone calls and mobiles to the best ISAs. UK Only of course.
it's not thriftiness, it's Money Optimization! The game is to maximize the amount of money still remaining in your wallet after each purchasing excercise.
$cat
Computer Surplus Outlet always looked good to me. I've never purchased from them, so I can't vouch for them as far as service and reliability goes, but they have newer and older hardware for pretty nice prices at times.
"Aye, and if my grandmother had wheels, she'd be a wagon!" -- Montgomery Scott, ST:III
Today must be a slow news day. First the keyboard review, then this? sheesh! /. is laxing it's front page standards (or timothy is bored).
DS vs.
The best sites I've found for coupon codes (that haven't been mentioned yet) are:
;-)
CurrentCodes.com
NaughtyCodes.com (NOT naughtycoeds.com
DealHunting.com
BestDealsMagazines.com (best magazine prices overall)
Enjoy!
If you ever find yourself paying too much for copyrighted music, movies, games, etc. I hear there's lots of great deals going on at suprnova.org.
I've purchased several item from TD with no problem and my rebates went through without a hitch. -However- they have a terrible reputation for denying rebates, hiding rebate information, and otherwise abusing rebates.
If you find something at TigerDirect and you can get it out the door at a bargain price by all means go for it, but it it requires a rebate be warned, you may have trouble.
-dameron
not *so* much the post, but the comments below are starting to ring with shameless plugs for everyone with a site and amazon or dealtime XML feeds on them. "Yay Slashdot! You just increased my pageranking by 1 point!"
DS vs.
It's taken a turn into the whole "Do it yourself" crowd who uses candlestubs to make scented candles... you can get soap kits to make herbal infused and scented soaps out of the scraps. It becomes less of a cost saver and more of a hobby at that point.
Of course, I swipe a new bar of soap every day I'm in a hotel for when I go camping. The tiny ones are great and you can toss them when you're done (since they usually are full of fluff from the washcloth they are wrapped in after every bath/shower).
--
Evan
"$30 for the One True Ring. $10 each additional ring!" -- JRR "Bob" Tolkien
http://www.hot-deals.org/
Goto Dealmac.com for the best deals on Mac-related deals.
I like zipzoomfly.com; free two day shipping on almost everything!
Try DVD Price Search for DVD's. They also have an excellent coupons section.
It is similar to fatwallet and I have found some good deals there, like a $5 motherboard with processor from tigerdirect posted. Unfortunately, most good bargains make you deal with rebates. This site will give you coupon codes for sites like Dell and Amazon, and let you search by catagory or store.
Sometimes Spoofee has a good find.
Home Automation & Linux -- now I know I'm a geek
Stop spending your money and pay off debts and invest. Think of your (financial) future for once!
www.fool.com
Is slashdot going for a Wide Area Distributed Denial of Service?
Casual Games/Downloads
I once got 17 12packs of mountain dew from office depot for $30 thanks to spoofee. Good if you're in a dorm.
:P
The UPS guy was not happy about delivering it, and asked me what it cost to ship. It was free.
Then my roommates and friends all found out and got the same deal. I think we burned through 2 or 3 UPS guys that year.
Introducing the new Occam Fusion! Now with sqrt(-1) fewer blades!
A great place to get a good pirce on power tools, but their handtools both mechanical and woodworking are of horrible quality.
:/
Cheap woodworking tools lead to serious injuries. And mechanical tools lead to broken knuckles. You get what you pay for and then you pay some more to Blue Cross Blue Sheild
Mack, Snapon and Craftsman really can't be beat, you get durability, quality and Sears will replace about any tool even if it's from doing something stupid with em.
Like posting a question on Slashdot with links to your websites, getting free advertizing in the process?
http://www.frugalsquirrels.com
Well it does have a section about fugal living but most of it is survivalist stuff. Still its a good site.
Learn lisp today!
Check out Red Flag Deals for a nice selection of rebates, coupons and specials from Canadian dealers. The site covers all sorts of merchandise, but seems to be predominantly geared towards geek-analia.
Talk about a blinding glimpse of the perfectly obvious
I've always used QIXO whenever I need to fly somewhere. They pull up most of the published fares a la expedia or travelocity, but they also have a bot that searches the discount lines that otherwise don't publish (Southwest, ATA, JetBlue, Northwest, etc).
--- Sigs are dumb.
Forgot to mention DealHunting.CA since everyone is griping about the lack of international stuff :)
Froogle--->Frugal!
Duh!
As not to get modded down, I've always used pricewatch because it's been around for a while and it's been faithful. I also check ebay every time I want to buy something. One of the reasons for that is that it's, well, a good market place to see what people are paying for. It's become a sort of stock market for a lot of things, especially hardware. Another plus is that you have access to the feedback. Sometimes discount stores on the web can be shady and get away with it whereas on ebay there is a little more accountability.
As with any bargain hunting, you've always got to watch out for the too good deals as many people have been burned on the internet
Deep Discount DVD is usually the least expensive place to buy DVDs from. I will say their customer service is really slow so hope your order goes through without any problems. They offer free shipping (US and everything so they're usually cheaper than Amazon too. I've placed several orders with them and have had good luck so far.
While their selection can be a tad on the small side when considering the great internet at large... their prices kick major woo-ha's.
I recently managed to get a replacement vid card for my laptop for 10$. It was a bit of a deal. Granted the part wasn't tested and sold as-is working pull.... but all in all it worked out well for me.
I check them often... I hope you guys don't drive up the prices. Oh wait... pc surplus bad.. don't shop there... ever... please dont!
Kidding, I hope they do well.
"You should always go to other people's funerals; otherwise, they won't come to yours." -- Yogi Berra
Directron is cheapest most of the time. I built a computer with the stuff I bought at Directron. It was relatively new stuff at the time, and it cost me about $900. Very nice price.
Martin Lewis' site has some good tips and interesting forums.
I would recommend Clark Howard's site. Clark Howard has a nationally syndicated radio show and has written several fantastic books on smart financial principles. He is very well known here in the Atlanta area and his life story is very interested. He made his first million on an average salary by saving and investing for the long term (of course he makes a lot more now on his radio gig and his books).
His site contains an abundance of information on anything subject you can think of. Hey, he's pretty cool technology-wise...he even uses Vonage!
I am a cheap college student, so I haven't bought books in over two years. However, when I did buy books, I found bestbookbuys.com to be an excellent place to get books since it searches other sites online and finds the best deals. I buy my $150 engineering books there for $50 in excellent condition. You can also buy non-school books there as well.
For my computer accessories, I use Tiger Direct, and subscribe so I get the email deals. I bought my Logitech wireless mouse for $5 there.
My family buys their desktop computers at ibuypower.com, although I prefer to buy my laptops on Tigerdirect. Ibuypower has some awesome desktop deals.
Occasionally, I like to check Dealtime, although I have never purchased anything there. It occasionally gives me an idea of the going market price for things.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
"We are Linux. Resistance is measured in Ohms."
Tweakers.net is a great (in Dutch) resource for those of us in the Low Countries. It's similar to Froogle, but limited to the Belelux area. (and some German results too!)
Excellent stuff
You know you're cheap when you buy tools from China Freight.
My dad's a frugal man and as a consequence doesn't care much about clothing. What sort of sucks is that it's spread to me and now I dress crappily to the horror of my mom. I don't care, though. Hell I'd run around naked if it weren't for silly laws.
this reeks of it
What I like the best is when something bogus is posted, you get a converstation about it, so you can spot the difficult deals or the flat out wrong ones.
Agile Artisans
Buy ALL of your tech books here, you will not find a cheaper place for tech books!
Dressing well can REALLY help your career, a well dressed idiot will make more money in the long run than a poorly dressed average man. I consider my clothes, hair, smell and all of that to be an investment, it's a good way to get an edge in the compeditive IT industry, and it works VERY well.
I often use PriceScan and PriceGrabber, among some of the others already mentioned by others. PriceGrabber even has a link under "Services" here on /.
Comparison shopping on-line is time consuming and generally irritating. Is the $5 you save on some item really worth the hour that you spend going from site to site, checking prices, checking shipping costs, adding and subtracting taxes, and then double checking that the company at hand actually is trustworthy enough to deal with?
Plus the added challenge of trying to find out if what you want is actually in stock.
With few exceptions you're just as well off just paying retail at a big outfit like Amazon.com and not worrying about it.
Of course, if you have no life, then spending five days shopping for deals on a $300 system is probably as good as anything.
Three Squirrels
You oughta check out DigitalKnowHow.com.
Those guys regularly find very nice deals, and they hate rebates too...
BTW: They're not connected with those spamming criminals at digitalknowhow.net
:wq
I use MorningDeals.
Some sites have rather onerous security policies.
Be careful first that your goods are not subsidized by the sale of your personal information.
Also be a little careful because you don't want your credit information in the hands of some yoho site. Good sites like Overstock.com don't keep credit information on their servers after the sale is final.
And of course make sure this place is somewhat reputable and not a front to sell a few thousands worth of goods on the cheap and then run off with your credit information after they've collected a nice handful. I try to deal with sites that are actually businesses, not some dude in his basement with a reseller license.
I've had alot of luck using Yahoo's shopping site, shopping.yahoo.com. There are tons of small shops out there that use Yahoo as their storefront and don't report to Pricewatch, etc. Occasionally, there are some good deals to be found. For example, one time I bought a car stereo off of there for about $10 less than anything I could find on the other price comparison engines (and yes, the shipping price was normal).
I haven't used it in a long time and I'm sure things have changed since then, but it's still worth a visit.
"People that quote themselves in their signatures bother me" - athakur999
Kinda like a MySimon for your neighborhood.
They don't list as much now as they did in the good old .com days, though.
Pricegrabber.com is great because there are seller ratings along with the low prices... I inevitably end up going to newegg.com for almost everything though. Between the free shipping and their great reputation its a great place to shop. I'll spend a few bucks more to go through them most times.
If its stupid but it works, its not stupid.
RedFlag Deals and Price Network
I prefer RedFlag Deals myself.
if you're looking for a deal when it comes to textbooks, addall.com is pretty good. For example, Americans and Canadians can save quite a lot of money by purchasing their new school textbooks from the UK, even with the shipping added. However, that's not always true: some books are cheaper in North America than the UK, so be sure you compare before you buy.
As an example, I had to buy "Partial Differential Equations and BVP" by Asmar for my class. Using the site, I see that Amazon UK is selling it for 110.94, Indigo.ca for 134.95 while the Internet Bookshop is selling it for 104.28 amongst others. These prices always fluctuate due to exchange rate irregularities.
You can also search for not in print and rare used books as well.
Are there any Australian bargain links?
I found this site that collects offers that are Free after rebate. It does a good job of finding the offers, and finding the best places to buy with cheap shipping.
There was a Seinfeld joke about this. If you take the leftover soap chips and you successfully "mind meld" each one into a new bar of soap, people will eventually recognize you as you walk down the street.
"Hey, I heard about that guy! He never runs out of soap!"
no one knows you're a horse :)
Yeah, its called "soap on a hair".
One thing I have found about frugality - it can be penny wise and pound foolish.
If I spend 2 hours comparing deals, checking competitors, and surfing sites to track down $50 savings on a gadget, did I gain anything? I could have spent that 2 hours with my family, working on consulting gigs, and doing other household chores. It is called the opportunity cost of time in economics. It didn't cost $0.00 to track down that $50 - there was a cost.
I guess it depends on where you are in life. As a college student, I clipped coupons, and comparison shopped to get the best deal. Now with 2 jobs, and 3 kids, I think a few bucks here and there is worth a little more time with my family.
Well, you know those soap chips that are left over when you're almost finished using a bar of soap? My father saves them, and then compresses them into a new bar of soap when he's saved up enough of them.
OK, I don't know if this marks me as cheap or just a geek, but my process for dealing with soap "slivers" is to stick them on the new bar. I really don't see what the point would be in saving a lot of slivers, but when you have one old one and one new one they stick together without much effort, since the wet soap kind of acts like its own glue. Future lathering wears down the old sliver, and eventually the new bar becomes a sliver and the process repeats. Hopefully your father finds this new algorithm useful. :-)
There are many places out there for cheap books, including the used book section of Amazon. Hamilton books is a great place for discount books. Some of their medical textbooks are 90% off. Also do a google search for "books" and you'll find many websites that find the lowest price for a particular book.
http://github.com/gbook/nidb
For the most part, the tools are kind of the "use once and throw away" type. They tend not to last - screwdrivers are made of soft metal, not hard. Plastic handles shatter when you apply pressure.
You also can find the exact same stuff in the local flea market, they truck the stuff in.
You *REALLY* need to touch it and hold it and ask your self the question - is it really worth it? Many times, it is not.
Power tools - forget it, some tool that requires hard metal parts, or precision? Forget it.
I can never find the tape measure - how about a 25ft tape for $1 - got 6 or 7. Same with 5 function calculators, or those big blue tarps. And an iron anvil... for $5, and a garden fork - $2.00, and a 2 wheel dolly for $10 - I use it once or twice a year.. and I'm very carefull with it I know it will break so I'm extra careful that when it does, those helping are *SAFE*.
Beyond that - I keep telling my wife I'm going to get the combination band-saw and meat grinder for my workshop. I joke with my wife - this way when I cut my hand off - I can grind it right up, less of a mess to clean up :-)
My wife thinks I am wierd :-)
Bargainshare.com is sort of a better version of fatwallet. Deals tend to be killed by the shear volume of abusers at FW, and posters are chastized for posting deals (and trying to help their fellow man) by trolls and flamers who are simply out to spoil other peoples experiences. People at Bargainshare tend to be much friendlier, and deals that hit there first last much longer than on FW, giving you more of a chance of actually getting in on them. It's a lot more technically sophisticated, with board software that allows you to filter by criteria that are important to you.
Also, BS has a protected deal area for hot deals that would be killed if posted to the general public restricted to only positive contributors for the hardcore deal followers out there.
The bargain forum on DVDTalk.com is the best for finding the best prices on new releases, price cuts on DVDs, and finding out the circular prices about 5 days ahead of the newspapers.
Amazon.ca is the best for newly released box sets and other deals. Even with the exchange rate, there have been some outstanding deals. Babylon 5 Season 3,4 and 5 for $USD40, Scarface Gift Set for $USD25 are some recent deals I've gotten. Even with international shipping, it still blows any other prices away.
Amazon.com sometimes has a temporary price cut, and DVDTalk.com is usually one of the first places to find out about it. Recently, they had the Dick Van Dyke Show Season One for $19.99, and it sold out within about 20 minutes after being posted to DVDTalk.
FatWallet is great for finding other deals. Friday Amazon sales are usually posted there Thursday night. And for those with the time to do grocery coupons, FW is THE place to find the best deals. My weekly grocery bills have dropped from $150 to less than $50.
No boom today. Boom tomorrow. There's always a boom tomorrow. - Cmdr. Susan Ivanova
Being an avid biker and very frugal about how much I spend on stuff I check the web a lot for bargains. I am also very big at 6'2" and 275# so finding bike clothes in non-European sizes is tuff. Some of the sites I buy from frequently are:w w.supergo.com. A carbon fiber bike for $1300.00
www.nashbar.com
www.performancebike.com
w
www.sierratradingpost.com I bought a northface winter jacket for $100.00 off.
www.campmor.com
I've been searchin for the chord I can't hear Ive been searchin for years Its somewhere inside But its well disguised
amagarea.com compares magazine deal sites... great for getting the cheapest subscription or renewal.
Clinko.com is just a module off of my full site Protista.com. But, it's the main attraction because it parses bensbargains and slickdeals so I can check them at work.
I'd say this was a shameless promotion, but i make Jack and shit off of this, so enjoy it.
I prefer Got|Apex? They have a pretty well balanced listing. They lean more towards the techie stuff, but have active Software, Hardware and Home Theater forums as well as their active Deals forum.
Try www.gotapex.com They've been around for over 5 years, have a pretty good readership and are updated daily. But along with the deals page the heart of the site is in the forums.
DVDPriceSearch.com is great for finding the best prices for DVDs.
I use phrases like "darn good" and "rootin' tootin'", but only when there's a darn good, rootin tootin' reason!
I like it.
Gives some good hints on how to avoid a scam.
Explains how the car dealers make money, and how you can save some.
If you don't understand how they make money off you, then you can't tell if they're ripping you off. If you know what is going on, you have a chance.
If your near Alberson they been running a lot of 10 for 10 dollars items lately. Fill up 1/2 of the freezer with those small microwave meals { hey Im a programmer! } each batch of 10 save me almost 7 dollars. And they are not half bad!
Also if nears a frys check every so many days for their flyers. Usualy have some strange mb/cpu deal that usualy is prety good. Latest item are deals on DVD+R for about 0.60 for 25.
Also CompUsless have black ad's some times listed only on there site. BestBut and others usualy post ther weekly ad's late saturday night on there web site.
instead of using deoderant, just take a shower (with soap, eh?). blocking your pores isn't the healthiest thing (they're there for a good reason).
i'll concede that some people have medical problems, but most can go without deoderant if they just shower every day.
I hear there's this website called DealMeIn.net that's really good!
Computerlandcentral breaks down the deals by date by store like many sites. However, they are also good about publishing coupon codes, where many sites (TechBargains, XPBargains, FatWallet, ...) make you click through the link to get the coupon discount. The code is really helpful if you want to start shopping some place like eBates or FatWallet, to get a small rebate on total purchase.
Sometimes I worry that I'll develop Alzheimer's disease, but no one will notice.
I heard a good quote a while back... don't remember who said it though.
"In America, its what you save, not how much you spend."
I find this to be very true, especially at warehouse discounters such as Costco, Sam's Club, etc. Many in this country are easily duped by clever marketing schemes and pricing.
100% Insightful
I order a product that comes with a big rebate, product arrives with no rebate. I call, am told they can't give me the rebate after all, but will give me equivalent $$ in credit toward future purchase. I grudgingly go along. Months later, I try to use this "credit." Strange, they have no record of it! I'm S.O.L.
Q: What does the "B." in Benoit B. Mandelbrot stand for? A: Benoit B. Mandelbrot
Got some real bargins here. Granted they are factory "do-overs" but they do replace stuff that is DOA.
redflagdeals.ca is a great site for canadians looking to know what the best deals out there are. Good source for coupons, and offers from various retailers.
Harder.. Better.. Faster.. Stronger
PriceScan is a price search engine with a difference: It lets you look for things that are "functionally equivalent" to your search terms. I often find results for stores that don't show up on PriceWatch, PriceGrabber, or MySimon.
Sometimes I worry that I'll develop Alzheimer's disease, but no one will notice.
Anyone know of any Canadian bargain sites? It seems all the good deals are for American customers only - even regular price items are more expensive here for some reason.
Go DUMPSTER DIVING! Find a store, go out back, check their dumpster (skip for our European friends). All kinds of stuff to be found. And it helps the environment by keeping usable items out of the landfill.
Newsgroups: alt.dumpster
B.G. Micro is sort of like All Electronics in that they carry a ton of surplus electronic junk, download both catalogs and enjoy! Also try American Science and Surplus for a wider variety of tech stuff, toys, labware, and millitary goods.
I've been using for a while now. When a site pulls a coupon code or something, Ben usually updates the listing, and the discussions following each posting are a helpful way to share results. "I had to put in a California ZIP code to view the item, but then I was able to order it shipped to my Michigan address." or "Make sure the CompUSA is within 4 miles of the Best Buy or they won't honor the pricematch. Get a friendly CSR and you should be golden!"
I've stopped using Pricewatch, their listings have become crammed with keyword spam and are all but useless. The "price including shipping" column was a good idea, but the quality of the listings has been terrible lately.
There are a great many sites online dedicated to providing quality stuff for cheap. Among the top are felloffatruck.com and fivefingerdiscount.com. Those have everything for over half off.
I'd suggest visiting the underground areas of your city too! Just remember, always ask to look at anything before you buy and never buy a box without opening it. Through careful examination of the equipment, you can get really good deals for really good equipment, even equipment that isn't completely legal such as cable tv descramblers.
Can I get an eye poke?
Dog House Forum
I just collect used vegetable oil from local restaraunts and process it with lye and methanol. I get all the soap I want, then give away that oily stuff left over before it catches on fire...
I feel better knowing I'm not the only one :)
I've been using Bookpool as one of my main sources for technical books for several years.
They have great prices, ship promptly, and have free shipping for orders over $40.
They routinely have sales for specific publishers. I've bought most of my O'Reilly books there during their sales. Right now they have Apress books for 50% off retail.
If you register with them, you can get email notification of these sales. When I can I try to queue up my book 'wish list' and buy them when they are on sale at Bookpool.
To be honest I find that all of the best deals come to me via e-mail; you should see the price I can get viagra for! If you guys really wnat to get the best deals you should start replying to some of these offers.
Pricewatch! its the best. pricewatch.
Froogle is pretty good too.
But never buy from tiger direct! they have done many bad things to people, myself included (overcharding, damaged merchendise, etc). Same with best buy, except if by damaged merchandise, you mean selling a geforce2 in a raedeon 8500 box (this happened to my friend a couple years ago).
Idle hands are the devil's workshop, but idle minds are much worse
I like www.bestbookbuys.com
Most slashdotters seem to hold an incorrect meaning for the word "frugal" true (and indeed, so does the majority of society).
Frugality isn't so much about only buying the cheapest thing, it's about not buying things in the first place. It's using the wisdom to know what you do and do not really need. Buying 2 liter bottles of cola because 20 oz bottles are more expensive isn't frugal, that's economics. Frugality would be not buying the soda in the first place, because you don't need it and water is freely available (and better for you, to boot).
~/ssh slashdot.org ssh: connect to host slashdot.org port 22: too many beers
However- they have a terrible reputation for denying rebates
Rebates are fscked everywhere. Even IBM has screwed me out of rebates. I just ignore rebates these days. I don't want the hassle.
Table-ized A.I.
You think these companies weren't DYING to be slashdotted? What benefit will subjective untargeted discussion bring to anyone truly interested in frugality? Wouldn't that best be found through the "searching your damn self" method? Who got paid off here to shill these websites?
Websites can provide an idea about reasonable prices for hardware you want to buy. But I haven't found an online-store that could beat my local computer stores yet. I get on my bike and pick up the dire needed RAM, CPUs or mainboards when I need them - no waiting, no payment-formalities, no delays with shipping going haywire. And when buying larger quantities (s/bike/car) there's always the art of haggling that can save you a lot. How do I haggle in a webshop?
With books it is much different. Its difficult to get a book if there're only a few thousand cpies printed. This is when online-stores are a friend.
One of the better places to find bargains is Bargainshare. It was started by a group of the better bargain hunters who got a little sick of how Fatwallet was being run.
And we're not talking about simple "save 10%" type stuff either. We're talking things like getting paid almost $200 after rebates to buy a brand-new color laser printer! You really need to check it out!
I'm a leaf on the wind. Watch how I soar.
http://www.myfreesoftware.com
It's older stuff, but you can grab all the titles you want and only pay for shipping & a 6 dollar "service fee"
soap chips that are left over when you're almost finished using a bar of soap? My father saves them, and then compresses them into a new bar of soap
I tried that, but whenever I bent over to pick them up, somebody else in the cell gives "it" to me.
-Michael Jackson-
OK. OK. Here's what the frugal on Slashdot REALLY want to see:
Here
Here
Here
ad nauseum...
There are a huge number of yeast infections in this county. Probably because we're downriver from the bread factory.
Quite frankly, when I buy something, I want to get the most out of the resources I consume. My mind doesn't just churn away about dollars and cents, I hate to waste resources. Yep, I recombine soaps, mulch banana peals, recycle like crazy and reuse a ton of strange things.
What gets me upset is the trailer park mantality that consumes vast quantities of garbage because it is cheap. I would rather buy fewer high quality items that last a long time...The things I do consume, I try to get the most out of them as possible.
I've found some sites which have really useful information for travel (air, car rental, hotels mainly):
http://www.flyertalk.com
http://www.webflyer.com
Basically, they compare flyer programs, current promotions, and often have discount codes, including ways to get elite tiers on various flyer programs without actually traveling much (such as discount codes offered by a car rental program for gold status, intended for elite-tier members of a partner airline, but which do not check applicants for membership in the airline program)
I've saved thousands of dollars on car rentals, airfare, and hotels, as well as had much more enjoyable trips (renting infinity g35 for $16/day, for insrance) thanks to these sites.
You're not alone. I do this too. ;-)
I'm a leaf on the wind. Watch how I soar.
What did I learn in my search for the Internet Bargain?I found the holy grail, or, grissle: Dumpster Diving.
Yes. A couple of years and thousands of dollars and untold hours later and I discover that all along I should have been digging around in the alley dumpster.
That's it. I've had enough of this crap. Good bye.
/quit
+++AT0h
NO CARRIER
-- @rjamestaylor on Ello
www.dealspree.com is good. The only problem is that they don't have a big community, so it's not updated that frequently.
Link.
Once, i saw a "2 free years of Maxim, click here". I was like, whatever. Clicked. Been getting maxim for ~18 months. Never paid cent 1.
~Will
sig?
For electronic components including discretes and logic: Jameco Electronics
for hard drives and all manner of equipment: Computer Giants
The latter saved me lots of $$ on my Cheetah 15K.3's
Buy from your neighbors - it's cheaper, there's no shipping, quicker service, and a lot less hassle.
We're building a website to help you connect with your neighbors and buy their stuff. It's basically a yard sale that is always going on. Our goal is to let you sign up and have stuff for sale in less than 5 minutes, without asking for intrusive personal information. You can also just browse around to see what your neighbors are giving away for free and/or selling.
Check us out at http://www.frimp.net
Well here's a project for all you out of work coders. Along the lines of the MAB (Amazon browser). Code up a Meta-shopper app, that works across all the Mozilla browsers. I guarentee your name will be a legend in shopping circles.
I bought a tool from Harbor Freight once. It broke the first time I tried to use it. With tools you get what you pay for. This also applies to a lot of other things. Don't waste so much time getting the best possible price. Look for the best possible deal (quality/price tradeoff).
after reading that i wanna go dumpster diving!!! hellsyeah!!!!
Agreed, we dress for others and not for ourselves. We neither see nor smell ourselves. Dressing well shows that we understand that others see us.
BTW, I was taught that the reason people wear suits and ties was to manipulate others, and that dressing well at work was a universal sign of incompetence. It took me years to realize that the people projecting this contempt toward professionalism were often much more manipulative than the professionals they despised.
It also took many many many more years to figure out that people dress nicely as a sign of respect for others. My training, of course, was that dress is a costume used for manipulation; so the costume you wore should show transcendental superiority. I am so good I can look like a slob. It is difficult training to break. I am just glad I missed the body piercing epidemic.
Sorry for the sales pitch, but it's not often I'm given an appropriate forum in which to evangelize about this:
Mary Hunt's site Cheapskate Monthly is a lot of what's wrong with the internet, & self-help She wants you to buy a subscription, buy her books, spend money you might not have, in order to learn how to save money. It reeks of spam, get-rich-quick schemes, do-nothing credit repair programs, and all that other worthless crap.
She's a shitty writer, she biblethumps, she spends chapters selling the reader on concepts she hasn't yet introduced.
Here's the thing though: Her advice? It works.
To be blunt, money used to flow through my fingers like water, and I had no idea where it went. I might be able to point to a few DVDs, and my computer was usually up to date, but on the whole? No idea where it went. Nothing in savings, Bills were paid late, rent was a scrounge, etc. etc. I was screwed if my job disappeared, and I'm in IT in the SF Bay, so it's not like that's a remote possibility.
Using the techniques in one of Hunt's books as a starting point, I managed to turn it around within a year. In the last year I paid down five grand in credit card debt, put that much again into savings, caught up on, eliminated, or cut all of my bills.
I still have an up-to-date computer and a big stack o' DVDs, too. I feel confident that if the transmission drops out of my car tomorrow, I won't be back in the poor house. It's a great feeling.
If debt is ruining your life, then this is the book for you.
Even Jesus hates listening to Creed.
Hot Deals Club is probably my favorite site. Low bandwidth, personally-selected deals. Gotten a lot of great deals from here...
Do you really need reason for beer? Wingman Brewers
streetprices.com
Boy there are some categories of goods that Internet shopping is just awful for. Auto parts are one. The major chains like Autozone's websites are okay, but try looking for used parts or things not normally carried by major chains like crash parts. Today I tried to find a inner taillight housing/lens for a 2000 Toyota Sienna and just gave up in frustration after no one seemed to have it and I went onto the same site 3 times which is listed under 3 different names. Even if you find your part you can't do a price comparison with anyone else without great difficulty. Appliance parts are a little better but still chaotic. I just wonder why for these categories the Internet is lousy?
-- IV
http://www.LinuxMedNews.com Revolutionizing Medical Education and Practice.
SierraTradingPost.com for shoes and socks.
what are u talking about? not the greatest looking site , but great coupon codes and such.
http://edealsinfo.com
**When you're swimming in the creek, **and an eel bites your cheek, **that's a moray!
Don't know where mom got them, but when I moved her stuff out of the assisted living facility she had several synthetic sponges with a slit in them. They were hollow for utilizing the soap slivers. Works great, & terrific lather. If anyone finds a source, please post for the rest of us skinflints.
I didn't desert Windows; Windows deserted me: BSOD
Sign up for Trip Advisor's travel deal advisor newsletter. It has five suggested locations every week along with the best price found by scouring big name booking sites such as Expedia, Orbitz, and Hotels.com.
(Tripadvisor is my current employer, I wrote a lot of the scouring software used to produce the newsletter, its good stuff.)
edealinfo.com is a pretty good site. All it does is catalog deals on other sites and list them daily. Check it out.
Don't know if this has been pointed out yet, but Fetchbook.info is good for checking prices on books.
I second carbuyingtips.com, and I further recommend carsdirect. I bought my car from there, PGE (pretty good experience) :)
If you are a really good negotiator you won't need this site, but otherwise it consistently offers lower prices that most people get. Funny thing is how people choose to pay more but not to use an online car sales site. I have seen this a couple of time already, and I just don't get it why people would choose to pay more given the option not to.
Another site similar to the one parent mentions. Site header says it's cheap computer deals, but I've gotten things from there like $9.99 oil change, $1 blockbuster rental coupons, weekly freebies at officemax, etc. Pretty sweet site overall :)
I check www.ableshoppers.com and www.slickdeals.net on a daily basis. I like the non-confusing and uncluttered interfaces of both these sites
Simple Living is a great resource for those interested in voluntary simplicity/general frugality.
You can compare inkjet cartridges and laser toner at www.comparecartridges.com. There are over 1000 printer cartridges listed there.
On a related but off topic note which shops/websites do fellow /.ers in UK prefer for general electronics shopping?
I usually prefer Richer Sounds for run of the mill electronics.
Wanted : A Signature.
http://www.frugalvillage.com
A women's community with emphasis on Frugality.
Computer Geeks
Net Seller
PC Onramp aka EPC
Directron
For comparison shopping:
Price Grabber
MySimon
Remember, Slashdot does not have a -1 disagree moderation, and no, troll, flamebait, and overrated are not substitutes.
http://www.sphosting.com/leadmagnet/
http://www.leadmagnet.50megs.com
..although I deliberatly alternate between contrasting colors of soap so I can see exactly when the original sliver is gone.
In the time your dad spends saving soap chips he could create your own coupon site, get it listed to slashdot, earn enough money to buy enough soap for the rest of his life and buy a new HDTV! How's that for frugal? Oh sorry I forgot frugal and actually making money have nothing to do with each other ;)
I think our missing the most underated of all the bunch. http://www.crazycooldeals.com For tech deals seems to be awesome. I know techbarains posted their stuff 4 hrs after them today so i think they may be a little over rated.
http://www.vermontcountrystore.com
De sig boss de sig
digitalKnowHow.com is mostly computer and consumer electronics that (mostly) don't require mail-in rebates. The site has occasional whimsical items thrown in like the recently-added "cigarette lighter for your PC" (wierd).
I like http://www.crazycooldealz.com for my tech deals. techbargains has been behind all day.
...and you want MORE? I know you want the best for your money, but that's just greedy... :)
Not to mention that he just unleashed the internet equivalent of "Shock and Awe". How many Slashdotted sites is that now?
You have to really watch it when you shop Amazon.com for deals. I have had times where I submitted my order and it was showing one price and then Amazon.com charges more than they said. When you email them about the problem, they try to explain the free shipping (even when that wasn't even your question) to you. You have to keep emailing them to finally get the overcharge resolved. If you are using one of the checkcards and your checking account is low on funds, I would suggest shopping someplace else that actually charges you what they say they will instead of Amazon.com otherwise you may end up having to eat overdraft fees...
hot-deals.org It's a clearinghouse for great deals, mostly on the net, but sometimes for in-store purchases. You may not know you needed it, but when it's near free after 2 rebates you won't be able to pass it up.
abuckamegayear.com
they also have 1 buck mail - which is real cheap pop mail.
Yes I am a customer - no I am not them
Of course... you could just use the pump based liquid soaps and avoid all of that hassle altogether! :-)
People that believe in their opinions don't post AC.
Edeal is aweful. Huge pictures, big mess.
Try
http://www.bargaincode.com/
Ahh...childhood memories.
Slashdot "libertarians": Small government for me, big government for those I disagree with. -1, I disagree with you
Can somebody tell me why the parent is modded "insightful?"
yoo dum kunt ds s thinktjhis is infoi>>>>>>>>>>>
Now, when I want to buy some piece of musical equipment for my playing the guitar, I really don't take the time to look around; I've got enough built up confidence in musiciansfriend that I know I can just go straight to them and get the best price (for now, at least). Also, they carry a variety of other instruments and equipment that on might find in mainstream music. (if you're in the market for rarer, more specialized instruments then I suggest larkinthemorning.com, though I can't vouch for how competetitive their pricing is).
Also, if you're in the market for a new guitar or amplifiers, recommending carvin.com goes without saying. Their instruments and equipment are generally known as having the highest quality as well as some of the lowest prices. You won't be disappointed.
had anyone know of a site where you can compare prices on ink?
Everybody denies I am a genius--but nobody ever called me one!
Check out froogle at http://froogle.google.com if you wanna be frugal. Cheers!
Strip clubbing is a necessity along with food, water and transportation. Any tips for the frugal strip clubber?
No one mentioned the obvious overstock.com. I have had good experiences with their customer service and their price on books is awesome. I bought refurbished electronics from them on the cheap and havent had any problems with the products.
dealnews and dealmac have been 2 of my favorites for many years now. They are pretty good about freguently updating their site with "sold out, expired, price change, etc notices.
OK , this looks like a good place for a localized israeli thread.
- plonter used to be a good site for computer hardware but the times have changed.
- american sites no longer offer free shipping (or do they?)
also
amazon.com vs amazon.co.uk?
RSVP
-- Avishalom is usually vish
Theres always http://www.stolenshit.com/
Good security is based upon reality and common sense. Common sense is a function of having common knowledge.
I save tons of money, and I don't have to spend time and money seaching the internet to do it. Wanna know my secret? I refuse to fall for every stupid gadget that some ass from Madison Avenue says I can't live without. You'd be surprised at how much money you can save by NOT SPENDING IT on useless disposable crud!
My peace of mind does not depend on
I routinely check Ben's Bargains at least once a day. It's a very good summary of all the good deals posted to message boards like Fat Wallet without the YMMV (Your Milage May Vary) or PM (PriceMatch) crap. Also, I'm sure most Slashdotters know this already but AnandTech Hot Deals Forums is a great place to get computer related deals.
Before I make any purchase online, I always send it through Pricegrabber to make sure I'm getting the lowest price, as well as check Funtasia for any coupon codes to sweeten the pot. Be sure to check the merchant ratings. It's sometimes wiser to spend a few more bucks to get it from a more reputable vendor rather than go through the headache of harassing a company to send you your stuff and later disputing a charge with the credit card company (take it from one who learned the hard way!).
Unless, of course, the hunt itself makes you happy. I'm a frugal person myself (and recommend Usenet's misc.consumers.frugal-living). But I've had a couple of friends who took frugality too far - to the point where they were valuing their personal time at an epsilon above zero.
apple.com/store
the best place to buy overinflated goods
---- Design. Invent. Cheese.
www.fatwallet.com
www.bensbargains.com
www.kingdeal.com
That last one is a bit of self promotion....but it happens to apply to this story.
Seriously, the whole concept is but lies, deciept and my-penis-is-bigger-than-yours applied to everything to make it bigger-faster-and more slick. We should NOT be encouraging professionalism. We should be encouraging pragmatism! We should be encouraging zenlike intuitive and resourceful intelligence not 'this guy is white^wlooks good in a suit so let's promote him instead of the other guy just like him without the suit.
I recognize #4 as something straight out of Aristotle's Poletics, but notice that not once in that tomb did Aristotle ever use the word 'professional'.
I do however realize that most of the rest of the world agrees less with me and more with you. However, it pisses me off, at least, to no end hearing anyone refer to professionalism in any sort of positive light. It's at best a distraction, and let's leave it at that.
GENERATION 26: The first time you see this, copy it into your sig on any forum and add 1 to the generation.
CheaperThanDirt.com has some outstanding prices on outdoor gear -- also good prices on ammo...
My favorite sites and forums:
anandtech.com
couponcraze.com
dvdtalk.com
fatwallet.com
What are yours? Usually with those and the price comparison engines such as:
pricegrabber.com
and
shopping.yahoo.com
I can get all the bases covered...
DVD Price Search is the pricewatch equivalent for DVDs, but my personal favorite of the bunch is DeepDiscountDVD. It can take two weeks to receive your order, but the prices and selection are generally unbeatable. Free shipping.
I always check pricewatch.com for computer parts. As always buyer beware.
Wow, what a great way to get free advertising on slashdot !
"There is always some madness in love. But there is also always some reason in madness."- Friedrich Nietzsche
You fat cats didn't eat your plankton. Now it's mine!
Cheap Than Dirt usually has good deals on ammo, mags, holsters, etc...
I suggest checking out WheresTheDeal.com; seems to updated like every time I check it out which is a few times a day. hehe God Bless Internet access at work. Great deals, and alotta free offers like magazine subscriptions and samples. Well worth the visit...
I usually check Yahoo! shopping before I buy, there are a ton of small shops there which offer low prices and free shipping. It's worth checking, very fast and convenient. It's not the place to get super deals, but worth the few minutes to check.
... when you finally figure out you need to get a LIFE?
Fucking waste of space.
Perhaps edealinfo should be aware that crazycooldealz is slamming them... Your post is obvious spam.
If you live in a US city, SalesCircular.com can also be a valuable resource. They scrounge the weekly sales circulars for all of the major retail outlets. Retail outlets can offer some advantages that online stores don't and can sometimes offer extermely low prices on products...
Run by basically one guy, it's a great no-frills bargain hunter site. The Hot Deals Maniac is honest in his appraisals of the "heat" of each deal he posts, warning especially against counting on rebates to be honored. Always has all the current coupon codes, plus lots of other random deals and discounts.
It pains me to suddenly see so many of our competitors get free advertising on the front page when our site PageComputers.com is very competitive with all, and better than most, on price and service. The fact is that there is usually very little difference in prices once you start looking at the top handful of resellers. The margins are razor thin and we all rely on selling huge volume. PageComputers knows that the only advantage a company can gain in this market is to have excellent customer service and an excellent website. Improving both of these is THE major focus of our company right now. We have been around since long before the dot com bust and boom. We survived by never going public and not buying into the hype. We focused on one thing and we did it well, and continue to do it well. We sell computers and related products, parts, and accessories for very low prices with excellent customer service. In the very least our prices are always competitive, and very often we have the best price, so please don't forget our site when shopping.
BTW, I am posting anonymously for two reasons. 1.) I typed this fast and it wasn't reviewed by the company. 2.) I lost my ID and password when I changed from MS to Fedora recently and I haven't recovered it yet.
These guys claim to be the best car buying service in the land, and my experience bears it out. You pay them $190, and they get the best offers from all dealers in your area. Since you paid that much, the dealers know you're serious, and give you a very competitive final offer.
Aside from the price, the convenience is hard to beat. You just tell them what you want, and a week later they email you the offers, and then you can go to the cheapest one and pick it up without any of the usual drama and haggling.
I know I got a $500 better deal than some who invested a lot of time and skill in negotiating.
http://www.checkbook.org/auto/carbarg.cfm
Redflagdeals.com is a lot like slickdeals.net (mentioned above) but for more aimed at Canadians (in Canadian dollars, tries to target Canadian retailers... etc). Handy site, I picked up a generic 4 port wireless router for $37CAD - $40USD mail in rebate a few weeks back!
Find Escorts, Strippers, Massage Parlours, Swingers
bensbargains.net one of the best.
Truth.
My sister used to remove the grapes from the stems in the store so she wouldn't have to pay for the weight of the stems.
Everytime you look at porn a devil gets their horns.
"I know techbargains has "saved" me money on some things I might not otherwise have bought."
Your buying gadgets and extra useless things on top and think you are frugal! Perverse American thinking.
A great site I've used for years is www.nextag.com Predates froogle...same idea.
Here are the ones I have bookmarked:
n e.com
e max.com
Travel
orbitz.com (favorite)
expedia.com
travelocity.com
priceli
allcheapfares.com
hotels.com
hostels.com
hiayh.org/hostels
aaa.com
Books
bigwords.com (Love it; compares multiple stores)
bookpool.com
Random good deals on electronics in the weekly ad, especially around Thanksgiving
bestbuy.com
circuitcity.com
offic
officedepot.com
staples.com
Misc
allposters.com (posters)
outpost.com (you name it)
www.secondwindpcs.com (used computer stuff)
and naturally, ebay, amazon, and buy.com
It's also fun to google for: buy [name of what you want].
When in doubt, check it out at bbb.org (Better Business Bureau) - you can search for businesses by website.
again, techbargains + dell or powerenotebooks.com sometimes its close to 50% alienware etc for the same gear (no paint job, but clevo is the actual maker of the laptops for alienwave and powernotebooks, and they sell the same models)
it's hard to beat good ol' AddAll.
Sometimes Amazon actually does have the cheapest price (once shipping is figured in) -- who knew? And those random quotes from Rabindranath Tagore are cool too.
Tyler
www.razorprices.com
www.msy.com.au
DVDs:
www.jbhifi.com.au (though they don't sell online)
www.ezydvd.com.au
www.devoteddvd.com.au
I've found KMart are often as cheap or cheaper though.
I'd welcome some more additions to these lists...
Why would anyone engrave "Elbereth"?
--
Use some of your savings to buy a copy of Duane Elgin's Voluntary Simplicity, follow his ideas, and make big savings.
Definately the site I follow religiously are http://dealsmaniac.com and ecoupons.com.. http://Dealsmaniac.com is updated everyday from what I can tell.. and their posts have more personality Also, I get to deal with big companies that are secure.. no BS dealing with a bad seller on eBay or any other auction site.
Being tall can also help your career. Try hanging from the bar in your closet while you sleep.
-Rich
I didn't realize Homier sold tools over the web now. They used to (maybe still do) run a traveling tool sale, setting up shop in the conference room of various Holiday Inns (and other hotels, no doubt). I bought an engine stand and a Dremel from them back in the 90s. Both tools are still in service.
-Rich
Ebuyer seem to have mixed reviews.
A really great company are Crucial - they basically sell memory products (sticks/card readers/gfx cards/cf cards). Service like no company I know. You can find them at www.crucial.com/uk.
The amount of energy wasted on recycling glass bottles is maddening.
I have several people that have found me through eBay and Yahoo auctions. I now do business with them directly.
Since I have a very trackable and reliable presence on the internet I'm able to have a solid enough reputation.
I have over 2000 positive feedbacks on eBay
Nearly 100 +'s on Yahoo
If one Google's my business name; adzoox it comes up with over 20 pages of links to my website, slashdot posts, forum posts, mac help articles, etc.
I do the same thing. I have 4 people that I regularly contact if I need something that I either want cheaper than I can find on eBay or just want a good deal on and don't want to hassle with an auction.
I think it's easy to find people like this in the tech/gadget/electronics purchase area locally as well. I have several people that have a "list" with me. I see something on their list I call them.
Yell & scream & rant & rave... it's no use... you need a shaaaave ~ Bugs Bunny
www.freeafterrebate.info
everything there is well... free after rebates
We have seen that living things are too improbable and too beautifully "designed" to have come into existence by chance.
www.Flamingoworld.com
http://www.ishopdaily.com/
r.
Funny... I've done the same thing with a Craftsman socket wrench (break frozen wheel lugs using an extension pipe) *many* times. NEVER broke.
Ditto with their pipe wrenches to free galvanized pipe.
Nice try.
If topic is bargains and frugality, DealsOfamerica.com is one of the best. Check it out. Updated throught the day. All 7 days a week. Includes bargains for tech and non-tech items. Also features free after rebates deals, freebies and coupons. Visit it at http://www.dealsofamerica.com.
Terrible customer service. They do not allow contact by telephone and only provide an email channel for contact. Which would be fine if they ever bothered to reply.
Anyway, don't just take my word for it; here are some reviews. Pricerunner is a great little site for doing quick cheapo checks, although it doesn't seem to index ebuyer which is probably the best around for service and price.
The lesson learned from Dabs... never trust a company that sounds like a womans sanitary wear. :(
Can somebody tell me why the parent is modded "insightful?"
Dunno. I'd have modded it 'funny' but I've used all my points.
This is one of the Best site for baragains and frugality. What I like about it is that it is update 7 days week throughout day. It includes bargains on tech and non-tech items. its URL is http://www.dealsofamerica.com
It looks like you are talking about http://www.dealsofamerica.com I visit it daily, Nice site.
http://dealcatcher.com/
Good stuff.
Check it out at http://www.dealsofamerica.com. I visit it daily. This is really a bargain warehouse that has everything - deals on all items,coupons,freebies, in-store coupons etc.
www.newegg.com
One of the cheapest, if not the, cheaptest resellers I've found. Shipping is incredibly fast, and service is great. Wouldn't go anywhere else for my hardware now.
Another one - http://www.dealsofamerica.com. This is good site specially they update even on saturday that too all day.
It seems Writer is not aware of this one. I do visit dealsofamerica.com and fatwallet.com. Not sure about other sites ? I dont see any deal at slickdeals. Fatwallet has very good forum and dealsofamerica.com has good readymade deals.
Crafstman is awesome and their return/replacement policy is great. During my undergrad years (those halcyion days of my youth...) I was helping to assemble a small (4MeV) particle accelerator (a High Voltage Corporation FN model, IIRC). We had secured the front of the accelerator to the cement base and were trying to level it, but just couldn't get the damn thing level -- every adjustment we would make to try to correct the leveling would throw things way out of whack. So eventually we threw up our hands, undid the screws, and lifted the accelerator of the base (with the help of an overhanging winch and (non-massless) pulley, of course).
Lo and behold, when we lifted the accelerator, we found a craftsmen screwdriver had fallen into the small cavity where the accelerator stands went, and that was what was screwing up the leveling.
Now even after having a particle accelerator on it, the only problem with the screwdrivers was that its handle was squished. It was still usable, but we still took it back and got a new one, no questions asked. Although I think that is probably one of the more unusual methods of tool destruction that I have heard of. I would imagine that not too many tools get munged from setting a particle accelerator on it...
-- The Genesis project? What's that?
For the Canadians in the crowd.. RedFlagDeals.com is a great resource for online AND offline deals specifically for Canadians (obvisouly many of the online deals can be taken advantage of by our US neighbours). the site is broken into: -current (by date) deals -formus (coupons, selling, buying, etc etc) -coupons (online and other) etc etc etc Check it out!
If anyone is looking for used musical gear, and computer equipment, I highly recommend Rogue Music -- with some prejudice because I worked there 10 years ago. ;) But they've always had good prices to start with and their prices are usually negotiable . They don't have website shopping carts (availability changes often, and they prefer to negotiate!) but they're quick to ship and ship internationally.
By the way; they buy AND sell stuff.
---- I'm out of your mind!
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http://01deals.com
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http://bargaindiary.com
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Free Web based FTP
Advanced Book Exchange (abebooks.com) provides searches of a worldwide network of used book dealers. It's great for finding bargains, and also for locating hard-to-find, out of print items.
Here's an extermly simple grocery shopping tip for people trying to save money. It doesnt require clipping coupons or anything.
Don't buy namebrand.
Go into the store, look at the cost of Chef Boyardee Ravoli, then look at the generic, store version. At my store I can get two generic versions for the price of one name brand. Check out ketchup, or BBQ sauce, frozen veggies, canned goods (soups).
I estimate I save about 10-20 dollars per trip just by putting "Shur Fine" products in my cart instead of Hunts, Campbell, Birds Eye, etc.
While it's not for everyone, there is a certain school of thought on 'frugal living' that shows in sites like the Dollar Stretcher. I've been reading them for a while. It doesn't really fit what I think the person who posted the story was asking for, but it's a good reference for basic lifestyle money-saving tips, some of which are more extreme than others. I always check it at the beginning of each week, even though most of the articles are things I pretty much already know.
-1, "1337" speak
These guys are sort of a consolidator of other sites. I use them for books - enter an ISBN and they'll tell you the price with and without shipping at several dozen online stores. Very handy. They also list prices on electronics, music, movies, and bikes(??).
I have hd good luck using material exchanges run by the local goverments that match up buyers with people who have materials they no longer need. I picked up over $2000 worth of building materials for less than $1000.
Those in Northern Ireland will know that the biggest problem for us is pp charges. To help with this i've compiled a wee list of shops and charges usually for something small and light like an ethernet card. Sorry if any of it is wrong - if so please contact the site and let them know that they need to make it clearer.
Harbor Freight is good for certain items, as long as you understand the quality of goods. I bought an engine hoist, a metal cart and some jackstands there and no problems with them. The $15 angle grinder quit working after less than 10 hours use, but I didnt expect more than what I got out of it and the $15 timing light only worked for about a minute. The machine shop tools look tempting, but I'd be a bit leery of them for accuracy. For things like grinding disks, shop rags, razor blades, wire brushes, and cheap tools you don't mind leaving around and abusing and losing them, I say HF is certainly acceptable.
As for Craftsman, those are tools I buy that I care about. I do abuse them and take those back for replacements. I've heard the tools are made in various places overseas and may not be made in USA. No problems with sockets, but did have a halfway new 1/2 ratchet handle with the button release strip out on me and I know it was not overstressed. Remember that some of the tools that Sears sells do not have the lifetime replacement guarantee. I think those cheaper tools will not have the Craftsman name on them.
-- After all is said and done, more is said than done.
No long time computer user can go shopping for RAM (or other parts) without a quick visit to The Computer Geeks.
I used to use PriceGrabber, but now I rely almost entirely on www.PriceScan.com, which I've used with good results and eBay. Any other sites with good deals on NEW electronics?
Check out American Music Supply.
Be careful what you wish for...
Where your treasure is there is your heart also...
Another one I visit is BargainBlog.com.
I've soured on them. Good prices, but zero quality control. They ship a lot of DOA stuff and the returns policy is a pain in the ass.
Fundamentalism is a crime against humanity
What? You use soap?
Discount Watcher is a probably the Frugal site for the /. crowd. Discount Watcher can best be described as a real-time discount shopping directory. The service constantly searches the Internet for the latest discounted items, organizes them by category, store and brand then lists them in reverse chronological order. The site is fully RSS enabled - you can subscribe to any category, store, brand or search.
Take a look at the Computer and Electronics categories.
A lot of these sites selling computer components dirt cheap (such as those found on pricewatch.com) are selling stuff of questionable origin. The easiest way to tell is by the warranty on the product. For example, motherboards from Intel or Asus come with 3 year warranties. I know that when you get them from a distributor like ASI, Ingram Micro, or Tech Data, you get that warranty (not that the general public can buy directly from a distributor...). But a lot of those resellers offer only 90 days to 1 year, through them only. I've been burned a couple of times from various pricewatch resellers, as have my friends. We simply go to the local computer shop and get what we need. Of course, I think a local shop selling legit stuff is the exception...but if this one does, I can't complain.
-K
How much did you get paid for this excellent advertisement?
I usually do a web search for coupons for any store I'm planning to buy from. Often I'll find something. There used to be more a couple of years ago, but it's still worth the effort.
I also find the information on gotapex very cool. They include codes, rebates, promotions, etc. for various sources and the exact instructions on how to get the best out of it.
/* TAANSTAFL */
If you won't play the game you'll live in your mom's basement forever
I've personally broken a 1/2" box wrench in half while working on a VW engine. I'm not some big, hulking brute of a man (but I do okay) and I wasn't using anything to amplify the torque, just leaning into it with my own strength.
I will say that Sears is very good about no-questions-asked returns on their hand tools, but it's true that their stuff just isn't as well made as Mack, Snap-On or Matco.
Quantum materiae materietur marmota monax si marmota monax materiam possit materiari?
I've been living on my own for two years now.
Course, most of that was spent starving and broke...
GENERATION 26: The first time you see this, copy it into your sig on any forum and add 1 to the generation.
It sounds like frimp.net is trying to do what Craigslist is doing... Regional FREE classifieds for just about anything... They charge for job want ads, but it is a great alternative for online paid classifieds and auctions...
Perspective is to Science what Interpretation is to Religion. Obama + Paul FTW
I use the following:
Tech deals: forums.anandtech.com, techbargains.com
General: fatwallet.com
Aviation: pilotresources.com
I also check Amazon.com, Buy.com, Dell.com, NewEgg.com
I even patented it at the US patent office, so I ownz you now
I've found some good deals on www.ubid.com. I picked up a 4 port KVM switch for $20 when they were going for $200+ at the time elsewhere. The bid-butler auctions are best. Set you max bid and let it re-bid for you up to the amount you set as others bid.
I've never had to return anything I bought from them and it arrived in perfect condition (well, as perfect as can be expected on a refurbed monitor I bought).
Overstock.com does advertise on TV, but rarely. Take the %savings with a grain of salt, it is not from FMV, but off of MSRP. For computer products, MSRP is never updated.
Still, things are cheap there, and they always beat Amazon on books and such, as long as they have it.
It's really miss-named. It may have started as overstock stuff, but they maintain a comprehensive inventory.
Slashdot's rate-of-post filter: Preventing you from posting too many great ideas at once.
www.pricenoia.com
If you buy mostly from Amazon, you may find a way to save some bucks ordering from abroad.. This site compares prices and shipping to your country. Give it a try..
bestwebbuys.com dominates for finding the cheapest book prices. I don't think they consolidate, I think they get affilliate, but that doesn't increase the price.
booksold.com for out of print books.
Lots of photographers are now buying their supplies from 7dayshop - good for film, paper, ink carts, memory cards, accessories and all kinds of interesting bits and bobs (e.g. LED conversion kit for Maglites).
Ade_
/
Big Bubbles (no troubles) - what sucks, who sucks and you suck
but when you have one old one and one new one they stick together without much effort, since the wet soap kind of acts like its own glue
Actually, I had trouble getting the sliver to stick, especially when I share the facilities with three kids and a wife who doesn't see the point. But I discovered that if I cut the surface of the new bar with my fingernails, I get clean fingernails *and* the sliver sticks better.
Though in truth, we got the liquid soap with the scrubby puff on a whim, and the bar soap keeps melting away unused these days.
Stressed? Me? Of course not. Stress is what a rubber band feels before it breaks, silly.
I strongly recommend Consumer Reports, both the print version (monthly) and the online searchable database. Neither are free, because they don't accept any advertising. They don't even accept free stuff from manufacturers to test. They go out and pay retail for everything that they rate. They're a non-profit organization and they do an excellent job. They not only tell you the best of a given category, but they also tell you the best value, which is not necessarily the best.
My only problem with Consumer Reports is that there are a lot of geeky things that I'm interested in that they don't touch, because they're geared towards the mainstream consumer. Understandable. All in all, some of the best money I've ever spent is on Consumer Reports.
RP
My wife and I used # 3. Just used a bar of Regular soap and ran it through the food processor using the cheese grater blade. Worked great. Did a few bars and stuck them in ziplocks so we don't have to do them for a while.
Found the recipe HERE
Anyway the stuff works! Clothes are clean and just a few cents a gallon. We did it just for fun but it works good so we are going to keep using it.
Recipe #1
3 Pints Water
1/3 Bar Fels Naptha Soap, Grated
1/2 Cup Washing Soda
1/2 Cup Borax
2 Gallon Bucket
1 Quart Hot Water
Hot Water
Mix Fels Naptha soap in a saucepan with 3 pints of water, and heat on low until dissolved. Stir in Washing Soda and Borax. Stir until thickened, and remove from heat. Add 1 Quart Hot Water to 2 Gallon Bucket. Add soap mixture, and mix well. Fill bucket with hot water, and mix well. Set aside for 24 hours, or until mixture thickens. Use 1/2 cup of mixture per load.
Recipe #2
1 Cup Grated Fels Naptha Soap 1/2 Cup Washing Soda 1/2 Cup Borax 2 Tablespoons Glycerin 2 Cups Water
Mix all three ingredients together. Add glycerin and water. Use 1/2 - 3/4 cup per load. Best when used with cold or warm water.
Recipe #3
Water 1 Bar Fels Naptha Soap, Grated 5 Gallon Bucket 1 Cup Washing Soda 4 1/2 Gallons Hot Water
Place grated soap in a small saucepan and cover with water. Heat on low until dissolved. Fill bucket with hot water, and add soap. Stir to combine. Add 1 cup washing soda and mix well. As it cools it will thicken. May be used immediately. Use 1-2 cups per load.
Powdered Laundry Detergent
1 Cup Grated Fels Naptha Soap 1/2 Cup Washing Soda 1/2 Cup Borax
For light load, use 1 tablespoon. For heavy or heavily soiled load, use 2 tablespoons
The box is open