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Websites For The Frugal?

Posted by timothy on from the spend-thrifty dept.

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?

34 of 523 comments (clear)

  1. Yup, I'm cheap by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

    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???

  2. and while we're at it - international shipping! by Audent · · Score: 3, Interesting

    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
    1. Re:and while we're at it - international shipping! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

      What kind of gear are you looking for? Perhaps my links collection can be helpful.

      Marketing teams have no trouble at all converting to Australian or NZ. Just take the US$ price, then triple it!

      You have to look but there are many stores that will ship. In Australia there's just a 10% GST now, so importing is very attractive. Pity the poor bricks&mortar store owner who is sitting on $100k of stock was imported when our dollar was worth 50c, but I'm no philanthropist when it comes to buying stuff.

  3. Re:UK Computer Hardware by gnalre · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Yeah, try

    http://www.pcindex.co.uk/

    first and save yourself some time

    --
    Choose your allies carefully, it is highly unlikely you will be held accountable for the actions of your enemies
  4. Ebay! by JaredOfEuropa · · Score: 4, Interesting

    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...
  5. Ebay Sniping by Rhett · · Score: 4, Interesting

    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"

    1. Re:Ebay Sniping by Overzeetop · · Score: 2, Interesting

      I've always thought, with the advent of sniping that ebay would/shoud change the rules. I hate losing to a snipe, and hate it more when an auction on which I'm a seller gets sniped. (A snip bid usually reduces the potential final value by not allowing the auction to contiue until only one bidder is willing to bid higher)

      I've alsways though a "going, going, gone" period should be instituted, whereby an auction would not close until there had been no bids for, say, 30 or 60 seconds, rather than a fixed end time. I suppose that would be less buyer-friendly for those who snipe bids, but would be more friendly for the casual ebayer (my mother would never understand sniping, and if it happened to her she'd probably just give up and not use ebay). It would certainly make ebay better for sellers.

      --
      Is it just my observation, or are there way too many stupid people in the world?
  6. Re:Tiger Direct by skogs · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Must agree. Tigerdirect is my shopping place of choice when I build new units. Unfortunately I've also dealt with their returns process several times. I can't complain about it. Their sales, support and return staff are all good and implement good policy. Better than most. Fair prices on almost everything too.

    --
    Who is this that even the wind and the waves obey Him? Surely this computer must submit also!
  7. Re:Tiger Direct by phoxix · · Score: 5, Interesting

    NEVER EVER BUY FROM TIGERDIRECT

    These guys screw up big time, constantly have credit cards stolen, etc etc etc

    Just google for night-mare like stores

    Sunny Dubey

  8. Re:UK Computer Hardware by swordfishBob · · Score: 2, Interesting

    What do you call a "big" hardware item?

    And what hourly rate do you use to evaluate the time spent looking for a better price?

    Some people have more time than money, but some waste incredible amounts of time trying to save a couple of dollars.

    --
    -- All your bass are below two Hz
  9. Re:Dear God man by JabberWokky · · Score: 2, Interesting
    That's a pretty common thing in certain cultures. The American South and rural communities have a whole slew of items made specifically for doing that. Special soap jars, glycerine (I think) to add to it to make liquid soap, and sponges with pockets to put the slivers into so that they infuse the sponge with soap.

    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
  10. Re:Tiger Direct by mog007 · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Don't forget geeks.com The website isn't that pretty, but sometimes you can find a pretty sweet deal on computer stuff.

    --
    Learn something new.
  11. Re:Harbor Frieght by dfranks · · Score: 2, Interesting
    I have also had poor luck with Harbor Freight (we have one about 8 blocks from here now), but my experience is the opposite. Here is what I have found:

    Name brand power tools: Good deal, low prices
    House brand power hand tools (chicago electric, etc): utter crap
    House brand major power tools: mixed bag - drill presses seem ok, jointer was POS
    House brand mechanics tools (socket sets, etc): pretty good quality, excellent prices
    House brand, anothing sharp: total crap, I have HF drill bits with a 160 degree bend in them, they never saw any hardening, and my pinky is sharper

    I started shopping Grizzly instead. They carry many of the same tools, but I have yet to get a poor quality tool of any kind from Grizzly. Their prices are a little higher than HF, but well worth it.

  12. Re:Hate to be a spoilsport but... by Jah-Wren+Ryel · · Score: 1, Interesting

    Maybe once upon an internet time that was generally true. But nowadays, Amazon is rarely ever the cheapest online source for anything and their customer service has gone down the toilet too (try finding a phone number listed on their website, good luck).

    Occasionally, they will have an outstanding price on a particular item, but the chances are more than even that they will declare it a misprice, cancel all the orders for the item and if you had purchased additonal items in order to get the free shipping, they will immediatey ship the additional items and charge you shipping since the total is now below the $25 threshold. Many people won't even notice and of those that do, many won't even bother to fight it because, in the grand scheme of things, Amazon skimming/scammig you for a couple of bucks just isn't worth the fight.

    Tactics like the above, plus listing artificially inflated "retail" prices to make their pricing look like impressive discounting have rightly earned them the moniker Scamazon. Although, in all fairness, they are nowhere near as bad as a place like Tiger Direct which doesn't have such an easy name to mutate.

    --
    When information is power, privacy is freedom.
  13. Good Quote by Shant3030 · · Score: 4, Interesting

    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
    1. Re:Good Quote by tooth · · Score: 2, Interesting
      Interesting point that really hit it home for me on the weekend. Was in sydneys "china town" wondering around, saw a shop that had massive "up to 70% off!" signs in the window.. wandered in (The SO was attracted by a 50cm pooh bear (The only on in the shop mind you, and it had a "sold" sticker on it)). After about 20 seconds my SO whispers "look at the markup on this junk". I checked out a few items and they had marked up everything by about +200% or more.

      A few examples included a 30cm plastic ruler, no decorations, just plain clear plastic with markings down one side (to measure with, i.e a 30 cent - 50 cent ruler) - $6.95. They had heaps of plastic garfield, snoopy etc. clocks that are about the size of (well the only thing I can see to compare it with at the moment) a 35 mm SLR body - $49.95. There were heaps more examples like that, just really junky plastic rubbish. Bump the prices up higher than your markdown and sucker people in thinking they're saving the big bucks.

      Needless to say this quickly re-comfirm my supicious of "bargin" shops, and if I'm going out to look for something specific, do a 5 minute google/ebay etc to get an idea of the price range. I've found sunday computer markets are great for this, it's easy to compare prices as they're all near each other. Bring a pad to jot prices down on and remember to get a reciept for your purchases.

      Oh, another one that's similar are floor rugs, need one for our lounge room, man, every where you look "50% off!!!" etc. If it's continually 50% off, then i'm not saving anything, no matter what your marketing BS is trying to tell me.

      My wife did teach me one trick that works pretty well though. If you're like me and can't hagle to save yourself and feel really uncomfortable about doing anything like that, just ask the sales person "Is that the best price you can do?" or "Is that your best price?". Often you will get the price knocked down with that one simple question.

  14. Cool stuff for free (but with a little work) by Peale · · Score: 2, Interesting

    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

  15. Bargain and surplus galore! by Myself · · Score: 4, Interesting

    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.

  16. frugal source for tech. books by rhild · · Score: 2, Interesting

    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.

  17. Rebates major PITA by Tablizer · · Score: 2, Interesting

    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.
  18. Websites are nice but local stores are better by dwave · · Score: 2, Interesting

    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.

  19. DIdn't see this one yet:... by Jonny+Royale · · Score: 2, Interesting

    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"

  20. frequent traveler resources by rdl · · Score: 2, Interesting

    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.

  21. Not the cheapest... by wurp · · Score: 3, Interesting

    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

  22. Super-Jumbo-Mega-Meta-Shopping Search Engine. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

    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.

  23. Re:UK Computer Hardware by swordfishBob · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Valid point - the balance is different for personal than for business.
    It also depends whether you have variable hours. If I can work another hour and earn another $X..

    In some workplaces, it even goes the other way. Hours of work are buried untraceably, while capital expenditure is examined by many levels of management. Not saying that's good, but it certainly happens.

    --
    -- All your bass are below two Hz
  24. Ink Cartridges and Laser Toner by x0dus · · Score: 2, Interesting

    You can compare inkjet cartridges and laser toner at www.comparecartridges.com. There are over 1000 printer cartridges listed there.

  25. Cheaper stuff by Orion+Blastar · · Score: 2, Interesting
    For Computer stuff, consider:

    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.
  26. Me too! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

    ..although I deliberatly alternate between contrasting colors of soap so I can see exactly when the original sliver is gone.

  27. Play Guitar Much? by vga_init · · Score: 2, Interesting
    When I first started playing the guitar, my first musical endeavor, I did quite a bit of shopping around. I compared prices from various vendors, and after a while I started finding that musiciansfriend.com/Guitar Center always had the lowest prices on the item I was looking for.

    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.

  28. my favorite sites! by pez005 · · Score: 2, Interesting

    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.

  29. Re:For us Europeans... by instarx · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Kelkoo really irritates me and I don;t even live in Europe. Whenever I google for "review of Whatever" I get tens of links to Kelkoo sites that are all incestuous. And then there are the Kelkoo pages that show up in the search as "Review of Whatever" only to find the site just says "No review of Whatever available. Be the first to post a review of Whatever"

    Kelkoo is deceitful and brazenly greedy. Not the characteristics of a company I want to do business with.

  30. Re:Hate to be a spoilsport but... by widderslainte · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Unless overstock.com has it. Their prices are better (and show the difference from the price at Amazon for each item), though the selection ain't always great.

  31. Re:For us Europeans... by benjyfrank · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I manage a german-language ecommerce site for used notebooks and (recently) branching into new hardware as well.

    We advertise through kelkoo and ciao.

    Agree with previous poster that kelkoo is a disaster -- only reason we use them at all is kelkoo often comes in high on google searches for our products, not sure why. But kelkoo is bad for media buyers, and I would add, bad for searchers as well.

    Try searching kelkoo for "maxdata vision 4200" (a late-model maxdata laptop).

    Kelkoo result:
    http://www.kelkoo.de/sitesearch/search.js p?siteSea rchQuery=maxdata+vision+4200x&x=56&y=6

    It's nearly all monitors! Try filtering out monitors with "NOT monitor" or google-style "-monitor". No dice.

    This is a 500 million dollar search site. What's up with no filtering?

    Probably yahoo is going to throw a lot of money at the programmers to turn this around, but I would say they really have to get their act together fast.

    My experience is that ciao search is often better than kelkoo, but this is not consistent. For instance, for the above search ciao had the exact same problems as kelkoo.

    http://www.ciao.de/search.php?SearchString=maxda ta +and+vision+and+4200x+-4000x&submit_basic_search=S uchen

    False positives and no filtering.

    I think price comparison is a promising area, but it's definitely pretty buggy as of now.

    Shameless plug -- you can buy a Powerbook for 79 Euros at our story. Okay, it's pretty ancient.

    Second tier german language comparison sites I'm evaluating include idealo.de (berlin), guenstiger.de, and geizhals.de.

    Hope this helps. :)

    Thomas.

    --
    Karani -- Gebrauchte Notebooks am Checkpoint Charlie.