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Dish welcomes digital TV transition with $9.99 deal

January 9th, 2009, 10:43 am by

A chunk of Dish Network’s press conference at the Consumer Electronics Show focused on the February broadcast TV transition to all digital, which is slightly odd since Dish Network subscribers don’t have to worry about a thing. 

However, said Charles Ergen, the company’s CEO, “We think it’s the friends and families of our customers who will be affected.”

Hence, the company announced the $9.99 deal for new customers that starts Feb. 1. The offer, good for six months at this price, includes 100 channels with at least 50 HD channels. 

After that, it looks like the 100-channel package is really Dish’s “America’s Top 100” package, which is $32.99/month, plus an extra $5.99/month to access local broadcast channels. The $9.99 deal is even cheaper than Dish’s cheapest package, the 40-channel DishFamily plan for $19.99.

Interestingly, Dish Networks is probably the only TV service company that sells digital converter boxes. Its cheapest is the TR-40 CRA at $40. If consumers have applied for the government-issued $40 coupon, the converter is free plus $8.95 shipping. 

Earlier reports from CES 2009:

Posted in: Video & TV • • • • • • • • | Comments Off

Is today Cyber Monday, part 2? Shipping deadlines start today

December 15th, 2008, 6:47 am by

Don’t look now but today, a bunch of online stores are having blowout sales that some are even calling ‘Cyber Monday.’ This seems to dilute the recently invented holiday — the Monday after Thanksgiving when consumers supposedly turn to the web for deals after suffering at malls and other shops over the holiday weekend.

Why today? My guess is that it’s all about shipping deadlines. The first ones are set to go off this week. Amazon, Buy.com, TigerDirect.com, etc. still promise Christmas delivery for ground shipping — if you order by Thursday or Friday this week.

Sears.com plastered its site today with ‘Cyber Monday’ images. Over at Ebags.com, which has a nice selection of laptop bags, today is the last day for ground shipping. Plus, shoppers get an extra 20 percent off their purchase. At iRobot.com, the iRobot Roomba 580 semi-autonomous vacuum cleaner is discounted $75, plus free shipping, today only. 

Over at NewEgg.com, there are some interesting Monday-only deals that are good ”while funds last.” A really nice bonus: If you pay with PayPal, you’ll get 15 percent cash back on certain items.

Lenovo.com is having a 48-hour sale, offering computers starting at $299 with the coupon code “USP48HOURSDEC15.”

Lots of deals at non-electronics stores too. At ShoeBuy.com, you can get $10 off $50 today if you use the coupon code “Holiday08.” 

Anyway, today is no ordinary day online — it’s the first of many countdowns I’m sure we’ll be seeing before Christmas. Hopefully, the deals are better than the original Cyber Monday were.   

For a list of shipping deadlines, keep reading: Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in: Uncategorized • • • | 2 Comments »

11 sites that pay for your old iPod, PC, other electronics

December 2nd, 2008, 5:56 am by

UPDATE: Make that 12 sites. (When I find more sites, I’ll add them.)

Beyond digging for deals and finding the lowest price, there is another way to fund your next electronic purchase without opening up that wallet.

Several companies will pay you money for your old computer, iPod or other gadget. Some pay cash, others gift cards. Another company lets you lock in how much money you can get for a gadget after six months to two years of use. 

As you may or may not know, such recycling efforts are part of the whole green tech trend. In California, it’s been illegal to dump a monitor or computer into the trash can for years. More recently, consumers here pay an ‘e-recycling’ fee when buying a new monitor, PC or other device with a screen.

While many computer sites now offer free recycling, I’ve honed in on the sites that give you a little something extra for your junk. Pretty much all offer free shipping — you just print out a label on your computer and ship the gadget.

Using my old 40 GB iPod Photo (in good condition, with minor scratches) as an example, here’s what I can get for it (from high to low): 

$60 = Toshiba America - Uses eztradein.com to run its program. Gives gift cards and cash for old electronics. Read my past story on the program, “Toshiba’s PC recycling program now accepts all e-junk.”

$60 = BestBuy.com uses the same service as Toshiba. But instead of cash, you’ll get a gift card to Best Buy.

$60 = PayPal.com uses the same service as Toshiba. Pays with PayPal credit.

$56.70 = Amazon.com uses several companies including Gazelle (mentioned below). All pay with Amazon gift cards. In this case, NextWorth accepts old iPods and iPhones. Using FlipSwap.com, my iPod got me $35.29 in Amazon gift cards.

$56 =  Costco.com uses GreenSight Technologies for its recycling program. Program pays in Costco gift cards.

$56 = SamsClub.com uses EcoNEWonline.com for its recycling program. Program pays in Sams Club gift cards.

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in: news • • • • • • • • • • | 1 Comment »

Online shopping tips … from a vacuum cleaner?

November 26th, 2008, 3:47 pm by

Black Friday sales — or should we just rename the whole late November shopping extraganza? — have begun. I’ve mentioned the sneaky Black Friday Web sites before, but those are now moot since the ads have been published. I expect to see a lot of deals online, especially after Buy.com’s Jeff Wisot told me that it is getting especially good deals this year:

“What we’re seeing is that many of the big brick and mortar and discounts stores have canceled their purchase orders because they’re not anticipating the sales anymore. So manufacuters are coming to us and giving us better deals to choose from,” he said. “Last year, e-tail and retail didn’t have to discount as much as they are now. They didn’t have to fight as much as they have before.”

Still, from the poll I offered to readers on who’s planning to shop before Black Friday, the huge majority of votes said “I have no money.” 

But I’m sure some people will be shopping over the next several days. I thought about compiling a tip sheet to online shopping and then I heard from reader “SingingBingoLady,” who stumbled upon a handy guide from, of all sources, Dirt Devil (yes, the vacuum cleaner)!

In between ads for vacuum cleaners, it mentions not only the Black Friday Web sites, but the Cyber Monday sites (bestcybermondaysales.com, cybermonday.com, cybermonday.fm). 

It also offers tips on getting a better deal (if an expired coupon code has a number like “11″ in it, try replacing it with “12″ if you’re shopping in December). Of course, it lists about a dozen sites to hunt for coupon code discounts, like FatWallet.com, RetailMeNot.com and DealCatcher.com.

But perhaps most useful are niche sites to help consumers find exactly what they want. Sites are broken down into categories, including cigars, sporting goods, pets, automotive memorialbilia, vinyl albums, etc. 

With all that effort, I figured, why should I bother? Check out the Dirt Devil guide to online shopping HERE. (Thanks SingingBingoLady!)

A few more notable Black Friday sites, stories:

From the Register’s OC Retail blog: 

Past Gadgetress deals stories:

  • Paypal ’sponsoring’ Buy.com’s pre-Black Friday sale
  • Eat cheaper: Sale on Restaurant.com vouchers
  • Whoa! Another reason buy electronics at Costco
  • Cell phones aren’t cheap, how to save money
  • How to get cheaper cable TV in O.C., part 2
  • How to get cheaper cable TV from Time Warner Cable
  • 1 PC, multiple users, plus headlines that will save you money
  • Blu-ray DVD players drop below $300, even $200
  • eMachines finally comes out with sub-$300 computer
  • D-Link’s free update lets users share a printer, more

    • Posted in: news • • • • • • • | 1 Comment »

    Vizio announces Black Friday TV discounts

    November 26th, 2008, 2:33 pm by

    Vizio has come a long way from the small upstart it was a few years ago. The Irvine-based TV seller is now one of the biggest names in TVs, plus it can afford San Diego Charger LaDainian Tomlinson as its spokesman.

    So it’s good to see that Vizio continues to drop prices on its TVs. The company just announced its Black Friday sales:     

    Just got Vizio’s price list for its Black Friday specials.  

    But before your mouth starts frothing, I looked at the specs more closely and the best deals involve some high-definition sacrifice.

    The 37-inch TV seems like an outrageous deal but it’s just 720p, not full 1080p resolution (although newbies may not notice the difference). And there are the minimal 2 HDMI ports to hook up a high-definition DVD player, cable box, game console or other HD device.

    The 32-inch plasma and the 19-inch LCD also aren’t 1080p. The 32-inch, however, does have 3 HDMI ports.

    Nevertheless, the prices are decent and are about the same as other brands that I’ve spotted going on sale this Friday. 

    What is not on sale — and not yet available – is Vizio’s 55-inch LCD TV with speedy 120 Hertz so there’s no lag when viewing sports or other fast-paced action. That TV is supposed to go on sale in January for $1,999.99.

    A few more notable Black Friday sites, stories:

    From the Register’s OC Retail blog: 

    Past Gadgetress deals stories:

  • Eat cheaper: Sale on Restaurant.com vouchers
  • Whoa! Another reason buy electronics at Costco
  • Cell phones aren’t cheap, how to save money
  • How to get cheaper cable TV in O.C., part 2
  • How to get cheaper cable TV from Time Warner Cable
  • 1 PC, multiple users, plus headlines that will save you money
  • Blu-ray DVD players drop below $300, even $200
  • eMachines finally comes out with sub-$300 computer
  • D-Link’s free update lets users share a printer, more

    • Posted in: Video & TV • • • • • | 2 Comments »

    Paypal ‘sponsoring’ Buy.com’s pre-Black Friday sale

    November 24th, 2008, 12:01 am by

    Buy.com will have its usual Black Friday sale on the day after Thanksgiving. But the Aliso Viejo Internet retailer is also prepping for what it expects to be its biggest day of the quarter so far: the day before Thanksgiving. It’s teamed up with online payment company PayPal to provide additional discounts.

    Are the dot-com deals coming back? 

    “To get to those prices at 85 percent off, we’re having partners come in and help,” said Jeff Wisot, Buy.com’s vice president of marketing.  ”On the day before Thanksgiving, PayPal is sponsoring that sale.”

    Now… don’t get too excited. The only PayPal-sponsored deal Wisot shared with me was a $20 MP3 player that will include a $10 instant rebate if you use PayPal’s online payment service. Fifty percent is a nice discount, but I can’t imagine how good a $20 MP3 player can be in the first place. Let’s hope the PayPal savings goes beyond cheap electronic trinkets.

    But back up. The Wednesday before Black Friday is a big shopping day?

    “It’s an enormous day for us,” Wisot said. “It’s the biggest day of the quarter to date.”

    __________________________________________

    Are you planning to shop online BBF (Before Black Friday)?
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    That is, it’s the biggest day of the quarter before Black Friday. Because of competitive reasons, Wisot won’t say if Wednesday sales have trumped Black Friday’s or the following Monday’s in prior years. And he’s not completely sure why people shop before Black Friday sales are available. But he has a few theories. Read the rest of this entry »

    Posted in: news • • • • • • • • | 1 Comment »

    Eat cheaper: Sale on Restaurant.com vouchers

    November 20th, 2008, 3:06 pm by

    Deal spotting: I’m in the midst of trying Restaurant.com for the first time because of this incredible deal posted on FatWallet offering an 80 percent discount on the company’s gift certificates. Use FatWallet’s link to get to the site and then type the code “SURPRISE” to get 80 percent off your purchase. The special deal ends today.

    I just tried it and the code works. As for Restaurant.com, we’ll have to see. The  Arlington, Ill., company has a strange business model. It sells discount coupons to local eateries. Restrictions vary based on the restaurant.

    Example, at Cask ‘n’ Cleaver in Orange, you would pay $10 for a $20 coupon off $35 purchase. Restrictions are the coupon can only be used Sunday to Thursday and dine-in only. Alcohol and beverage are extra. Also, for all restaurants, you’re supposed to use a coupon only once a month per restaurant. I bought one for Cask ‘n’ Cleaver, and paid $2. (My co-worker, Fast Food Maven, wrote about the site last year.)

    While I’d often perused Restaurant.com for information — they offer menus to many restaurants — I never bothered to buy a coupon. It just felt odd to pay for a coupon. But the FatWallet deal did me in. I got a $100 coupon for a local steakhouse for $8 (instead of $40). Now, hopefully I’ll bother to go to see if it really works out.

    For those wondering, the issues with the company vary. In FatWallet’s forums, comments mention the unreliability of the site when trying to order and that restaurant owners don’t get a cut of the money (!!).  Over at XPBargains, commenters remind users to read the fine print. But for the most part, people do say Restaurant.com works. I’ll post an udpate after I’ve actually experienced the whole process.

    I know this isn’t a typical Gadgetress post, but in keeping with the Alt+Save theme, plus it’s an online site, I figured, why not share the bargain with readers?

    More on deals:

    Posted in: Uncategorized • • • • • • • | Comments Off

    Whoa! Another reason buy electronics at Costco

    November 19th, 2008, 2:30 pm by

    **Update, 11/20: One reader spotted a deal. See below in bold**

    I’m already well aware of Costco’s generous 90-day return policy for computers and other electronic equipment, but I didn’t realize its online prices may be cheaper than they appear. 

    I just spotted this page, which says: 

    Electronics manufacturers sometimes ask that retailers not display a price if it drops below the manufacturers’ minimum advertised price. At Costco, we never sell anything at the manufacturers minimum advertised price. 

    Because of this, we may show you a price on the item page but when you add it to your cart, the price may be lower. Be sure to always add the item to your cart to see costco.com’s lowest price. 

    I never add an item to my cart just to double check the price unless the darn product says it won’t show me the price otherwise. However, this will definitely change the way I shop online for electronics at Costco.  

    By the way, I just tried adding several items to my cart  but had no luck finding a lower price. If anyone finds one, let me know.

    If you’re a Costco deal hunter, don’t forget to check out the upcoming Black Friday deals at BlackFriday.info.

    **UPDATE, 11/20** Thanks to Jose in Anaheim who discoverd this unadvertised deal on the Nikon D300 camera. While the item does say “Add to cart for price,” down below the item, the price is listed as $2,539.99 plus an instant $300 off. That brings it to $2,239.99. But add it to your cart and the price drops to $1,999.99 — another $240 off. Here’s a screenshot (click to enlarge):

    One other addendum, I agree with the second sentence of this reader’s comment.

    More deals:

    Posted in: Uncategorized • • • • | 3 Comments »

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