August 30th, 2006
I went to Wal-Mart today. It’s been a while. If I were a true bargain hunter at all costs, I would always shop at Wal-Mart for the low prices. But Wally World’s just a disaster inside and out. The parking lot is inconvenient to get in, and especially out, of. Inside the store, it’s always gridlock in the aisles and at the registers.
I picked up a Kodak disposable waterproof camera, plus a few other items, and opted for the self-checkout. I had a $3 coupon for the camera (orig $8) and was pleased to find that Wal-Mart lets me scan my coupons myself. I like being self-sufficient. Kroger self-check clerks are often mysteriously MIA when I need them to enter my coupons.
Posted in About Me, Spending Habits | No Comments »
August 30th, 2006
Appendix to the Linens N Things story (I & II)- To be fair, I need to post that last week (Tuesday 8/15), I received this final email from Victoria @ LNT.com:
Dear Alison,
Thank you for contacting Vice President at www.LNT.com.
I apologize for the delay in the answer, I was waiting for the confirmation about this rebate for you. Please note that the Haier Refrigerator rebate has changed. There are two separate forms that need to filled out by you. The $10 LNT Rebate (this rebate can have a copy ofthe UPC sent along with all other requirements). The $20 Haier rebate(this rebate should contain the original UPC from the box). Thank you again and have a great day!
Please let us know if there is anything else we can do for you, and thank you again for contacting Vice President at www.LNT.com.
Sincerely,
Victoria A. - Assistant to the Online Vice PresidentVice President at www.LNT.com
Kudos to her for at least wrapping things up.
I’m not assuaged because it certainly didn’t happen in a timely matter. Linens N Things took well over a week from my first contact, and the window of time for buying the fridge with rebate closed three days before Victoria’s email was sent. It should only have taken a day, because a good customer service department would only need to look at the way the
fridge was advertised and reassure “We’ll make sure it’s right.” Not surprisingly, no offer was made to let me purchase the fridge at the lower price, even though their foot-dragging adversely affected me.
No one said bargain hunting was easy. Or fair. 
Posted in Rebate, Tirade | No Comments »
August 25th, 2006
Just wanted to post that I’m psyched I figured out how to avoid the default “unreadable gray” preview text color on the main page. No thanks to GoDaddy support for my QuickBlog account. They told me it couldn’t be done. They weren’t counting on my foxy resourcefulness and mad HTML skills.
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August 18th, 2006
Halloween last year was a bit disastrous because I tried to be
creative and have 3 kinds of candy so kids could choose. BIG MISTAKE.
Turned into a snatching free-for-all. I’ve learned my lesson, and this year I’m serving one variety at a time
and doling it out myself. The little masked maniacs are just gonna like it! Thanks to a deal alert post on SlickDeals.net about Target Web Coupons, they’ll at least be getting the good stuff (Snickers or Twix) instead of somthing lame like Smarties.
The Super Target Coupons and Specials page is deal central.
There are only regular Targets near me in Richmond, so some of the specials and coupons are no good, like $1 off fresh Green Giant asparagus. Towards the bottom of the page, however, are coupons on grocery products that all the Targets stock. Through 9/2, the $1 off on candy bar packs is a particularly good deal. The Snickers and Twix 12-pack fun bars are on sale in stores for $1.25 each, so only $.25 after coupon! If you click on a coupon from the Target page, it opens a new printable window with 1 of each of 6 of the coupons on the list.
TIP: Apparently, you can use an unlimited (?) number of coupons per transaction, as long as you stick to one coupon per item. If you want more than one of a particular coupon, SlickDeals has a Target Printable Coupons Generator where you choose a coupon and tell the program how many coupons you want. That number will show up on a page, all ready to print. I have small qualms about whether this is legit, but you could get the same result by printing the Target site pages over and over - you would just waste paper and ink on coupons you don’t want.
I decided to do a test case, using 6 Twix/Snickers coupons and 2 Pepperidge Farm Goldfish coupons ($1 off, orig $1.52 each). The Target cashier took the coupons without problem; the only problem was he missed scanning 2 of the 8 the first time through (they’re quite small).
Result is that I have my Halloween candy shopping done. 72 fun-sized bars for $1.50.
Posted in Bargain Tips, Free Advertising, Groceries | No Comments »
August 17th, 2006
I saved 36% on my grocery bill! (With coupons & Kroger card discounts) Usually my goal is 20% minimum, and 30% on a good day. The 36% doesn’t count my free chicken either.
The chicken came free because Kroger overcharged me for it initially. Whole Tyson chicken was on sale for $.59/lb, but the register rang up my 4.25 pounder at $5.48 instead of the $3.36 sale price. I happened to notice the error on the way to the parking lot. (I actually rarely check my receipt, although I really should start, because issues like this seem to happen quite frequently.) Anyway, I just went to Customer Service to ask them to credit me the difference, but found out Kroger has a policy that you receive the item free if it rings up at more than the stated price. Customer Service promptly handed me $5.75 cash and I went on my merry way.
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August 17th, 2006
It’s Woot Off time at Woot.com. Worth a look, especially if you’ve never witnessed one before. A long succession of random electronics and other items at a good discount. Once they’re gone, they’re gone. (A brief explanation of how everything works) Anyone need a GeCube X1600PRO Hypermemory 256MB Dual DVI PCI-E Video Card? Anyone know what that is?
Tip: If you see a Bag of Crap for sale, just trust me and buy it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (well, buy 3, actually) In reality, you won’t see it appear unless you’re glued to the website 24/7, and even then, it will probably be completely sold out before you can even complete the order form.
Posted in Bargain Tips, Free Advertising | No Comments »
August 15th, 2006
A woeful conclusion to my Linens N Things fridge entry from last week…
I didn’t get a fridge, because of aforementioned false advertising regarding the fridge rebate. After sending several email requests to LNT customer service, I finally received a response stating that indeed $20 is the maximum rebate amount. Here is the complete email:
Dear Alison,
Thank you for contacting Vice President at www.LNT.com.
The rebate that is listed for the Haier 1.8 CU.FT. Refrigerator with Freezer is limited to 1 rebate per household. Maximum rebate $20.00 per household.[emphasis added] I am still trying to get additional confirmation on this for you. I will send another email when I have more details.
Thank you for your patience in this matter. I apologize for any inconvenience this may cause you.
Please let us know if there is anything else we can do for you, and thank you again for contacting Vice President at www.LNT.com.
Sincerely,
Victoria A. - Assistant to the Online Vice PresidentVice President at www.LNT.com
I’m giving LNT the benefit of the doubt that they didn’t realize the UPC problem before printing the ad, but even then I’m disappointed that they refuse to make any effort to make it right and live up to their published price.
The saddest part is that, even without the extra $10, it was still probably the best deal I’m going to find. It’s not like my purchase or principled refusal to do so makes the slightest difference to Linens N Things. Still, since I’m aware of the problem, I feel that buying the fridge would implicitly condone the dishonest marketing that the company is willing to propagate. Enough big words yet? Yikes.
I emerge with intact conscience but fridge-less, and so the search continues….
Posted in Advertisements, Rebate, Tirade | No Comments »
August 11th, 2006
The school supplies are out of the house and on the next phase of their journey. My husband will be so pleased. Here’s what I had accumulated:
I think the grand total is $15 or $16 spent.
The bags weighed a TON when I dragged them into the Food Lion! I guess that was the 26 notebooks. (This was the first time I have set foot in Food Lion in at least a year - The stores tend to be so messy and the checkout lines so long that I have given up on them.) One of the local TV stations, CBS 6, is collecting supplies through boxes at Food Lions and will distribute them to kids this Saturday.
I also dropped off a bag of clothes at Goodwill on the same trip, so I’m on a roll reversing the flow of “stuff” into our house!
Posted in Spending Habits | No Comments »
August 9th, 2006
People don’t like rebates. Aside from the fact they are a hassle, the fine print will get you every time.
Excellent case in point about seriously sketchy rebate practices:
(We’re in the market for a compact fridge for my husband to put in his office. He buys a soda or two a day at work, and at $.65 ea, that adds up fast. If he can just bring them from home and keep them cool, we’ll recoup the cost of the mini fridge in 6 months or so….)
Linens-N-Things has a HAIER compact fridge advertised online and in this week’s print circular for $69.99, after a $30 rebate. Looks like a decent deal to me, especially since you can take an extra $20 off with a 20% coupon.
Being something of a rebate veteran from hard experience, I’ve learned to ALWAYS read the fine print before, if possible. In this case, the $30 savings is actually 2 separate rebates - one for $10 and one for $20. This is inconvenient since it means twice as much paperwork, 2 stamps, etc.
I can handle inconvenient, but the killer is that each rebate requires the orginal UPC. Huh? Assuming the fridge comes with only 1 UPC, this appears to be an insurmountable obstacle. So I call the Linens-N-Things rebate hotline to be enlightened (and have to try 3 times before I’m able to “pound out” and speak to a live person).
“You’ll have pick one rebate to submit,” Carrie The Rebate Guru informs me matter-of-factly. I don’t think so, Carrie. I’m not an advertising expert, but I’m pretty sure promoting a $30 rebate when the reality is only a maximum $20 rebate destroys the basic moral foundations of society. At the very least it shows a poor grasp of ethical business practices.
I’m in email negotiations with LNT customer service to see what solution they can offer. No progress thus far.
To reiterate (I sound like a kindergarten teacher), the moral of this long story is ALWAYS READ THE REBATE FINE PRINT.
Posted in Rebate, Tirade | No Comments »
August 7th, 2006
Credit cards ready? It’s holiday shopping season already! Not THE Holidays but Tax Holidays this weekend in AL, DC, GA, IA, MO, NM, NC, SC, TN, TX, and VA. (“Tax Breaks Return for Back-to-School Shoppers”) The basic idea is giving parents tax savings on their back-to-school shopping. Apparently, we have New York to thank for kicking off the trend in 1997.
This is actually the first year for Virginia to jump on the bandwagon, and the fine print is that state sales tax is waived on Sales of clothing and footwear costing $100 or less…, as well as school supplies valued under $20. As an additional gimmick, non-apparel/school retailers can choose to cover the sales tax themselves instead of passing it to the consumer.
As Tim Gunn would say, I’m underwhelmed.
It’s 5% folks. Sure, 5% is 5%, but it ain’t enough to drag me out of my nice air-conditioning to shop shop shop! Buy $400 in clothes, save $20. I spend my average $20, I save $1.
Obviously, a redeeming factor is that stores realize the marketability of the concept and will hopefully pile big sales of top of the tax liberty, making shopping worth my while and maybe even snowballing into a Black Friday type of situation…
Which begets the second problem: Shopping madness …. Visions of moms catfighting over the last box of Crayola pencils…. Quoting Bill Baxter, president of out local Retail Marchants Assoc. (Richmond.com article):
“In our dialogue with
some of our friends and counterparts in those other [states] that we
talked to before we even tackled this thing, in every case there has
been a huge buying spike. The consumers really respond to these sales
tax holidays.”
Music to his ears, I’m sure, but the phrase “huge buying spike” makes my stomach queasy. This is America, after all. We love nothing better than being swept up in hoopla and en masse spending more than we should on things we don’t need.
Enough cynicism. A great reason for tax-free shopping is that this is 5% of my money (already income-taxed, mind you) that the government doesn’t get to take and waste. I’ll shop to that!
Posted in Richmond, Spending Habits, Tirade | No Comments »