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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???
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
...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?
I think Yahoo bought a lemon when they acqured Kelkoo... Or maybe they just have a damn good buisness plan for them...
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
...and you want MORE? I know you want the best for your money, but that's just greedy... :)
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 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"
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.
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.
For Canadians, Red Flag Deals is a great site. Coupons, links to online deals, freebies, and forums.
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!
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
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.
a link on the Homier site. I was expecting to see lovely fjords, but no, it was Global Outsourcing.
I do not like tigerdirect as they only offer UPS shipping (which is often broken). If you live in canada or dont mind a cross border shipment, check out ncix.com , no PST tax for us canadians! just GST. On expensive shipments, its often cheaper to pay shipping than the pst. Also, right now they have free shipping over 300 dollars Canadian and you can choose fedex, ups, purolator, canada post, whatever. Sign up for their weekly newsletter and save 5-40% on average on stuff youd normally buy at full price. It saved me 120 dollars on a recent system just last month! here is the newsletter link. http://ncix.com/newsletter/
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
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
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
Goto Dealmac.com for the best deals on Mac-related deals.
Stop spending your money and pay off debts and invest. Think of your (financial) future for once!
www.fool.com
I once got 17 12packs of mountain dew from office depot for $30 thanks to spoofee. Good if you're in a dorm.
:P
The UPS guy was not happy about delivering it, and asked me what it cost to ship. It was free.
Then my roommates and friends all found out and got the same deal. I think we burned through 2 or 3 UPS guys that year.
Introducing the new Occam Fusion! Now with sqrt(-1) fewer blades!
A great place to get a good pirce on power tools, but their handtools both mechanical and woodworking are of horrible quality.
:/
Cheap woodworking tools lead to serious injuries. And mechanical tools lead to broken knuckles. You get what you pay for and then you pay some more to Blue Cross Blue Sheild
Mack, Snapon and Craftsman really can't be beat, you get durability, quality and Sears will replace about any tool even if it's from doing something stupid with em.
Check out Red Flag Deals for a nice selection of rebates, coupons and specials from Canadian dealers. The site covers all sorts of merchandise, but seems to be predominantly geared towards geek-analia.
Talk about a blinding glimpse of the perfectly obvious
Forgot to mention DealHunting.CA since everyone is griping about the lack of international stuff :)
Yeah, pretty good prices, but they are also theiving criminals who have a horrible return policy (puts frys to shame) and tend to "lose" rebates.
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Deep Discount DVD is usually the least expensive place to buy DVDs from. I will say their customer service is really slow so hope your order goes through without any problems. They offer free shipping (US and everything so they're usually cheaper than Amazon too. I've placed several orders with them and have had good luck so far.
While their selection can be a tad on the small side when considering the great internet at large... their prices kick major woo-ha's.
I recently managed to get a replacement vid card for my laptop for 10$. 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
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!
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.
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
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.
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.
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
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
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 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.
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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"
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.
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
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.
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.vermontcountrystore.com
De sig boss de sig
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 only bought from tiger once in my lifetime. It took 2 months for them to ship the motherboard and CPU combo I purchased. When I got the motherboard in, it was DOA, I had to pay to ship it back. Pay for the replacement, and had to fight with them to get the credit back to my account. Since then I've used newegg.com and it has always been cheaper, I rarely and I mean VERY RARELY get a DOA part. And when I do, I call customer service and they get me a new one ASAP. I use them as my primary vendor here at work and probably have spent over $10,000 in the past 6 months (rough estimate). I've not once recieved a bad part. I honestly can't see how anyone would ever order from Tiger more than once, especially after reading that BBB report. Also trying to support Tiger by saying there are other merchants with crappy return policies is like trying to say that because one person is a rapist, it's ok for your neighbor to be one too. Many stores do not have crappy return policies, and all you have to do is check with the vendor on resellerratings.com to find out.
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
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
Have I got a Tiger Direct story...
They opened up a warehouse store locally a little while back. I was there one day poking around in the liquidation area and they had some boxes off to the side with returned machines in them. One was a 2.4GHz HT P4 system. So I asked the guy how much, since it had no price on it. After dragging it to the front of the store and asking the store manager, he said $625. Hmmmm, says I playing stoopid, another place has the same refurbished configuration for $425. Ok says he, it's yours for $450.
When I get it home, inside the box was a 3GHz HT P4 with 1GB of RAM, 120GB HD and a DVD-R drive. WOOHOO!!!
Disclaimer: This story may or may not be true...