!!!!!!!!!!!! WISE BUYS !!!!!!!!!!!!
Now is the time to shop for the hottest Holiday gift items! Don't Miss Out! Here's the best prices we could find on...
Great new books: Sarah Palin's Going Rogue, and Dan Brown's Lost Symbol, in stock at Amazon! Click above to go direct.
Amazon announced recently that they were lowering the price of a new Kindle Wireless Reading Device (6e-reader to under $260 with free shipping, the lowest price ever. You can also pre-order the next generation Kindle, launched on October 19, or, if you're shopping for yourself, there is a limited number of refurbished models for $219.
DIGITALLY REMASTERED BEATLES BOXED SET
Amazon has the lowest price, free shipping and reliability. In stock.-
WHAT BARGAIN LOVER CLUB MEMBERS ARE SAYING:
lilly on We Blog. We Barter. We’re Baaaaaaaaaack!
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Nov
6
Cruisin’ for Discount Jewelry
Filed Under Saving Money, Shopping, Travel | Comments Off
It’s day five of my free cruise, and outside of an adventure excursion and a few trinkets, I’ve spent very little money. I am clear, though, that it’s my disinclination to drinking and shopping that’s saving me. These are the two things that cost extra on a ship. My fascination continues as I explore others’ fascination with the the latter.
Are the savings really so great? What drives people into the shopping frenzy?
I first pose the question to Therese, a Canadian ex-pat working at Diamonds International (the ubiquitous port of call jewelry retailers) in Costa Maya, Mexico. “Let’s put it this way,” she says. “Would you wake up on a Tuesday morning at home and go shopping for a diamond? It’s part of the cruise experience, and there is a great selection…but no, the prices are really not the best you can ever find. But people enjoy it, and it gives them something to show when the trip is over.”
I next approached Phil, our charmingly English cruise shopping guide. “Oh yes,” he said, “the prices really are so much lower, since everything is duty and tax free.” He recounts the tale of many couples, newly engaged or honeymooning, who are dismayed to find that the rings they just purchased stateside are far less expensive in the islands. But, he added, it’s hard to compare when your’e dealing with stones. The proof, he continued, is in the prices of the branded items. For example, if someone wanted to buy a Breitling watch, they could instead take a cruise, buy the watch in a port, and essentially get the watch for free, based on the list price compared to the actual island price. I will, when I return home, do a little research on the validity of that statement, and will report back on my findings.
Diane, a frequent cruiser and former jeweler, loves to buy jewelry when she travels, although she is clear that the savings are not all they’re said to be. But she buys anyway, citing unique designs and uncommon stones as her reason for purchasing. Anna, another frequent cruiser, agrees. But for every Diane, Anna and Therese, there continue to be dozens, maybe hundreds, of uneducated, free-spending travelers who believe that they could never find such bargains anywhere else.
Besides, they say, it’s fun to tell people, when they admire the new pieces, that they bought them in Mexico, St. Maarten, or the duty-free shop on the cruise ship.
Me, I’ll buy a t-shirt.
Back to civilization this weekend, back to the search for Health Insurance on Monday. For now, though, the jacuzzi awaits.
Meanwhile, for more on discount cruising, click here.
Oct
22
Living the 20-Per-Cent-Off Life
Filed Under Cash Back Programs, Cosmetics, Electronics, Food, Saving Money, Shopping | Comments Off
Hey, this is even more than 20%!
You can thank (if you’re a consumer; blame if you’re a retailer) Bed Bath & Beyond and Linens ‘n Things (RIP) for the fabulous trend of stores selling everything they own for a 20% or more discount off the suggested retail prices. They’ve started something that has cut stores’ profit margins and added value to almost every consumer shopping trip forever!
(Kudos too, while we’re at it, to Macys, which many years ago started the pre-Christmas sale, and the constant one-day sales, effectively training their customers to never, ever pay full retail.)
I was personally thrilled to find that BB&B had started carrying drugstore items, too. (See my post Drugstore Junkie for more on this.) Hey, 20% off generally beats the best discounts at the pharmacy chains, and saves a trip. And now, going into the Holiday Shopping season, lots of other stores have jumped on the bandwagon. Just this week, not even Halloween yet, my local paper carried 20 % or greater discounts from Old Navy, Michaels crafts, and a local decorator. If this year is anything like last, you should soon be seeing more and better discounts, right off the top of any purchase, from such varied retailers as Toys R Us, Sports Authority, Party City, Best Buy, Macys, Walmart (They stole my quote: Save Money. Live Better), Ulta Beauty, GNC, Vitamin World, Firestone Tires, Sears and others. Many of these will accept multiple, expired and competitors’ coupons, too.
While getting my fingers all inky on the Sunday paper is my favorite way of finding coupons, you can now go online to do the same. These are some of the better sites for coupons and coupon codes:
www.Big Crumbs.com This one also gives you cash back at many retailers!
Wanna be a savvy couponer? Check out The Couponizer, for a new way to organize your coupons and maximize your savings.
Getting into the holiday spirit, we’ll be looking at the best and cheapest ways to party, shop, decorate and save on all. Starting with, of course, Halloween — click here for lots of great ideas for cheap or free costumes.
