Websites For The Frugal? 523
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?
Frugal Living Tip File (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Frugal Living Tip File (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Frugal Living Tip File (Score:3, Informative)
do your research... (Score:5, Informative)
Yup, I'm cheap (Score:2, Interesting)
and while we're at it - international shipping! (Score:3, Interesting)
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.
Re:and while we're at it - international shipping! (Score:2, Informative)
1. Not all postal systems are equal - Yes, the Italian and Spainish postal systems are as bad as the rumours say.
2. Customs routinly hold items
3. Lack of shipping insurance available
4. Postal forms need to be filled out
5. If the customer wants to return the item, it would cost me much more than a domestic return
Re:and while we're at it - international shipping! (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:and while we're at it - international shipping! (Score:3, Informative)
The best way I have found to deal with this is either stop shipping international or use extra measures to make sure someone isn't trying to screw you.
1) Start using an extra service to get data on your orders. I use maxmind's [maxmind.com] service, they tell me many things that will set off a red flag. Did they come in through an anonymous proxy, are they using one of the many free email services, how far is their mapped IP from their bi
Re:and while we're at it - international shipping! (Score:5, Informative)
I order a fair number of things from eBay, and also AbeBooks.com [abebooks.com] (nice for buying used textbooks) so I don't really feel that I'm out of touch with international shipping rates. However, using BorderFree at Half.com results in absolutely outrageous shipping fees. If I spend $15US, once BorderFree's fees are added in I tend to end up with a bill of maybe $45US, versus somewhere in the neighborhood of $5 - $10 for shipping a similar item from other online retailers.
UK Computer Hardware (Score:5, Informative)
In no particular order:
Re:UK Computer Hardware (Score:3, Interesting)
http://www.pcindex.co.uk/ [pcindex.co.uk]
first and save yourself some time
Re:UK Computer Hardware (Score:2, Interesting)
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.
Re:UK Computer Hardware (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:UK Computer Hardware (Score:2)
http://www.aria.co.uk
http://www.kustompcs.co.
Re:UK Computer Hardware (Score:4, Informative)
http://www.priceguideuk.com/ [priceguideuk.com]
http://www.internet-buyer.co.uk/ [internet-buyer.co.uk]
http://www.kelkoo.co.uk/ [kelkoo.co.uk]
http://uk.pricerunner.com/ [pricerunner.com]
Oh, and buy with a Barclaycard [barclaycard.co.uk] to get a 60 day price promise [barclaycard.co.uk] on purchases over 50GBP and an extra years' warranty [barclaycard.co.uk] on purchases over 150GBP.
--
Hate to be a spoilsport but... (Score:5, Informative)
Books (Score:3, Informative)
Not the cheapest... (Score:4, Interesting)
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 [frimp.net]
Re:Hate to be a spoilsport but... (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Hate to be a spoilsport but... (Score:3, Informative)
Video games... (Score:5, Informative)
How does this matter? (Score:2, Insightful)
For us Europeans... (Score:5, Informative)
I think Yahoo bought a lemon when they acqured Kelkoo... Or maybe they just have a damn good buisness plan for them...
Re:For us Europeans... (Score:3, Interesting)
Kelkoo is deceitful and brazenly greedy. Not the characteristics of a company I want to do business with.
Here's one (Score:5, Funny)
You already have 12 places to find cheap things... (Score:5, Funny)
got apex? (Score:5, Informative)
superior. they update every day with new deals, coupon codes, and much more. i check up every day when i get home
Ebay! (Score:5, Interesting)
An added bonus for the environmentally-conscious: you're helping to save the planet by recycling
Ebay Sniping (Score:4, Interesting)
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" [slashdot.org]
Re:Ebay Sniping (Score:3, Interesting)
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
Re:Ebay Sniping (Score:3)
Using the proxy system correctly:
You enter as your bid, the maximum you are willing to pay for the item you are bidding on.
Using the proxy system incorrectly:
You enter the minimum bid. Someone outbids you. You enter the next minimum bid. Someone outbids you. Someone else outbids. You get in a bidding war with some other twit in Toledo. And you wonder why eBay sucks so much.
If you would simply use the proxy system correctly, ther
Re:Ebay Sniping (Score:3, Insightful)
I use another sniping service and I routinely win auctions which have tons of "human" sniping going on (easy to determine from the bid records).
Furthermore, sniping is GOOD for buyers because:
1) It lets you "retract" a bid with no penalty since all you are doing is cancellin
bensbargains.net (Score:5, Informative)
Re:bensbargains.net (Score:2)
Plus you get an idea of what good prices for good quality items are, as they will list high quality, more expensive brands at lower prices (but not the lowest in the category of device; just the lowest for that brand). Goo
consumer advice (Score:3, Informative)
Coupon Sites (Score:2)
Sites like 100bigcoupons.com [100bigcoupons.com] work pretty nice, offering up %off, free shipping, and other coupons for pretty much every retailer. Similar to others, but sorted by retailers, with new coupons posted daily.
[/Shameless plug]
SoftwareAndStuff (Score:4, Informative)
Old rack mount systems, SCSI drives, motherboards, and a lot of cheapo tools.
For Canadians, Red Flag Deals (Score:4, Informative)
For Canadians, Red Flag Deals [redflagdeals.com] is a great site. Coupons, links to online deals, freebies, and forums.
Re:For Canadians, Red Flag Deals (Score:3, Informative)
Rebates Canada [rebatecanada.com] - instant rebates as you shop
Visa Savings [visasavings.ca] - occasionally get tremendous price reductions (e.g. on IBM Thinkpads) using your Canadian Visa card.
PriceNetwork.ca [pricenetwork.ca] - not as good as RedFlagDeals, but there are some occasional bargains
Book coupon codes [bylo.org] - coupon codes for Amazon.ca
Save.ca [www.save.ca] - get grocery coupons online
And for buying Amazon stuff, Amazon.com doesn't always have the LOWEST prices
Bensbargains... (Score:2)
For British readers... (Score:4, Informative)
Ebuyer [ebuyer.com] for your computer kit.
Holborn Books [holbornbooks.co.uk] for your computer books.
Click Ink [clickink.co.uk] for your generic ink cartridges.
Cahoot [cahoot.com] for your banking.
Ebay [ebay.co.uk]. No explanation needed!
Netto [netto.co.uk] to check out what deals they've got on. Shortcut to Netto's offers. [netto.co.uk]
Re:For British readers... (Score:2)
www.play.com [play.com]
they seem to have reasonable prices and for once, show the final price inc shipping rather than one before VAT + Shipping + Additional costs
Homier (Score:2, Informative)
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 mon
The Big competitor is Google with Froogle BETA (Score:2)
At this point, it may be "beta" but that just means they are getting ready to open the can. Once they do, they can dig through the ranks to ensure they can find you the lowest price.
Interesting will be what happens when I am a sponsor and every link is lower than my price.
Visit our manufacturing division (Score:3, Insightful)
In the UK (Score:2)
suprnova.org is one (Score:2, Funny)
For Mac deals... (Score:4, Informative)
Try spoofee (Score:2)
The Motley Fool (Score:5, Insightful)
www.fool.com
Re:The Motley Fool (Score:2, Informative)
Re:The Motley Fool (Score:4, Insightful)
Basic advice is spend less then you make.
Don't get into too much debt.
Save a bit (even a little bit)
Slashdot going for a WADDoS? (Score:2)
I'd say spoofee sometimes. (Score:3, Funny)
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.
Harbor Frieght (Score:5, Informative)
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.
Re:Harbor Frieght (Score:3, Interesting)
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 deg
Re:Harbor Frieght (Score:3, Informative)
Pay plenty - but only pay once. It's cheaper in the long run. There is no better investment than quality tools, your grandchildren will bless you for it.
Re:Harbor Frieght (Score:3, Informative)
The Huskey brand tools are made with the same dies in the same factory as the Craftsman tools... and the Mastercraft are the same as another top-name brand, although I don't recall which one.
For the Canucks out there ... (Score:3, Informative)
DealHunting.CA for Canadians (Score:2, Informative)
Ohhh, now I get it (Score:2)
Duh!
As not to get modded down, I've always used pricewatch because it's been around for a while and it's been faithful. I also check ebay every time I want to buy something. One of the reasons for that is that it's, well, a good market place to see what people are paying for. It's become a sort of stock market for a lot of things, especially hardware. Another plus is that you have access to the feedback. Sometimes discount stores on the web can be shady and get away with it where
Deep Discount DVD (Score:4, Informative)
Re:Deep Discount DVD (Score:3, Insightful)
PC Surplus Is The Bomb (Score:4, Informative)
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.
For UK people (Score:2, Informative)
Clark Howard (Score:5, Informative)
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!
Time is money! (Score:3, Insightful)
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.
Is it always a deal? (Score:5, Insightful)
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.
Re:Is it always a deal? (Score:3, Insightful)
bargainshare.com (Score:3, Informative)
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.
DVD deals (Score:4, Informative)
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.
Clinko.com (Score:3, Informative)
I'd say this was a shameless promotion, but i make Jack and shit off of this, so enjoy it.
http://carbuyingtips.com/ (Score:5, Informative)
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.
Comment removed (Score:5, Informative)
ComputerLandCentral.com (Score:3, Informative)
Good Quote (Score:5, Interesting)
"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.
Re:Good Quote (Score:3, Interesting)
A few examples included a 30cm plastic ruler, no
Cool stuff for free (but with a little work) (Score:3, Interesting)
Newsgroups: alt.dumpster [alt.dumpster]
Bargain and surplus galore! (Score:5, Interesting)
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!" [bensbargains.net]
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.
most slashdotters have the wrong idea (Score:5, Insightful)
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).
frequent traveler resources (Score:3, Interesting)
http://www.flyertalk.com [flyertalk.com]
http://www.webflyer.com [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.
Cheaper stuff (Score:3, Interesting)
Computer Geeks [compgeeks.com]
Net Seller [netseller.com]
PC Onramp aka EPC [pconramp.com]
Directron [directron.com]
For comparison shopping:
Price Grabber [pricegrabber.com]
MySimon [mysimon.com]
Play Guitar Much? (Score:3, Interesting)
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.
Re:Dear God man (Score:4, Funny)
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.
Re:Dear God man (Score:5, Funny)
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?
Re:Dear God man (Score:3, Interesting)
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 beco
Re:Dear God man (Score:5, Informative)
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. :-)
Clothes can be an investment (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Clothes can be an investment (Score:4, Insightful)
From my perspective, its like this -- if you dress well, EVEN IF YOU'RE A DEVELOPER, when meeting with your business partners or clients, it sends many signals. #1, you're professional; #2 you respect your client well enough that you wish to impress them; #3 you clients business is valuable to you and so you emulate their behaviour; and #4 if you respect yourself this much, it probably extends to other facets of your life (including your code).
In keeping with this subject, you should dress in a suit, but it doesn't have to be a *name brand* suit or designer fashions.
Fuck Professionalism. (Score:3, Insightful)
I recognize #4 as something straight out of Aristotle's Poletics, but notice that
Re:Clothes can be an investment (Score:5, Insightful)
Proper hygene and a personal choice to wear more "casual" clothing are two completely different issues. There's no excuse for not washing one's hair, taking a shower, and so forth. That's just laziness and a lack of self-respect, and as you said - indicates a person you can't really trust to take care of important matters in the workplace.
With clothing, there are so many reasons someone opts to dress a particular way. I've worn the shirt, tie and dress slacks before, when employers required it. My opinion is, it's just not very comfortable or practical. I remember working as a computer technician for a store that required it, and I actually got my tie caught in a CPU fan once! Even where I work now, doing on-site service, I was originally told I couldn't wear jeans to work. Initially, I obeyed the rules, wearing kackis/dress slacks instead, but I had enough of that after shreding up a couple pairs while crawling around on the floor, stringing network cables for people, and helping remove old monitors and re-arrange systems. I just started wearing jeans (but always new-looking, clean ones), coupled with nice shirts - and nobody so much as commented once on my breaking the dress code.
Re:Dear God man (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Tiger Direct (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Tiger Direct (Score:5, Interesting)
These guys screw up big time, constantly have credit cards stolen, etc etc etc
Just google for night-mare like stores
Sunny Dubey
Re:Tiger Direct (Score:2, Informative)
The real problem with TigerDirect: rebates (Score:5, Informative)
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
Re:The real problem with TigerDirect: rebates (Score:2)
Re:Tiger Direct (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Tiger Direct (Score:4, Interesting)