The Kindle Fire is one hot gift at $199!
Today is the first day of the Bargain Babe Hot Holiday Gift Guide! We’re kicking it off with electronics gifts. Over the next two weeks, we will suggest gifts for kids, teens, men, and women. There will also be a day devoted to unique and quirky gifts, and we’ll finish the gift guide on Dec. 9 with a roundup of the best overall gifts.
If your budget is tight, don’t forget to enter our final five Win Giveaways for a chance to win $619 in Christmas and holiday presents, ENDING NOV. 29!
Now onto electronics gifts. An * means the gift is top rated!
Netbooks are soooo last year. This year’s hot holiday gift for people who crave being connected to the Internet is…a tablet! You have plenty of choices.
How early will you wake up on Black Friday? Credit: Warren Noronha/Flickr
When are stores opening on Black Friday? We have answers, provided by CouponSherpa.com. The earliest is Kmart, which opens at 6 a.m. on Turkey Day!
Doorbusters are listed under store openings.
Go straight to all the Black Friday 2011 deals and ads.
Ace Hardware – Midnight Friday
A.C. Moore – 5 a.m. Friday
Free $10 gift card to the first 50 customers.
Bealls – Midnight Friday
First 100 customers per store have a chance to win an iPad2, $250 gift card or $5 Bealls Bucks.
Best Buy – Midnight Friday
Best Buy will distribute entry tickets up to two hours before midnight.
Black Friday deals and buying guides are here!
This post is brought to you by Cricket Wireless, a leading provider of innovative and value-driven wireless services with nationwide talk, text and data plus unlimited music downloads with Muve Music.
You would not believe how many pre-Black Friday sales are going on! Amazon, Best Buy, Toys R Us, Target, and are all getting in on the action. Last night I scored a huge deal at Michael’s!
Get all the pre-Black Friday and regular Black Friday 2011 deals and sales info. There are now 60 stores listed. Yowza!
Overwhelmed by so many sales? Check out the Hot Deals page or go straight to the Top 5 Deals page.
Buying Guides for Black Friday (courtesy of BFAds.net)
More Black Friday guides
Price matching tips and policies
Amazon Black Friday Deals Guide
Check out all the NEW! Black Friday 2011 deals and sales now!
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Win this $99 HD webcam from HP!
Video chatting – when you have a phone conversation through your computer with a live image of the person you are talking to – probably saved my long distance relationship. It’s just so much easier to bond and connect when you can SEE the person you’re talking to.
Now that I’m preggers, I installed Skype (a free program to make free video calls) on my Mom’s computer so when the baby comes, she can regularly see the kid for herself! The high definition (HD) webcam from HP that I’m giving away takes this to the next level. She’ll be able to see every baby pore!
Today we are launching a giving away for a $99 HD webcam by HP
This post contains:
- Buying Guides for TVs, Video Games, Laptops, and more
- Details on all the pre-Black Friday sales going on RIGHT NOW (listed by store)
- The FULL Black Friday ads for more than 59 stores
Overwhelmed by so many sales? Check out the Hot Deals page or go straight to the Top 5 Deals page.
Buying Guides for Black Friday (courtesy of BFAds.net)
tcoffey / Flickr
This is a post by BargainBabe.com writer Yazmin Cruz.
Despite the denial of many kids and grown ups, back to school season is upon us. With school budgets shrinking, student supply lists are getting longer as teachers rely on families to equip the classroom. Can you believe some schools are requiring students to bring their own electronics?
Don’t fear, we’ve got a list of gadgets you’ll most likely need and tips on how to get a discount.
USB flash drives – There’s going to be a lot of typing in middle school and flash drives (aka thumb drives) are a cinch to use on different computers to allow your student to save his or her work and plug it into another computer later. You can now find thumb drives with cute designs like
This monitor is similar to the one I scored a deal on. Credit: Mecookie/Flickr
Remember how I wrote about how to get a Black Friday deal in six steps? I followed these steps and scored big yesterday!
I narrowed down what I wanted to buy, set a budget, saved the money, and monitored Black Friday 2010 ads. Last week I found what I was looking for. A brand name 23″ LCD computer monitor with top resolution that had a 3-year warranty and was sold by a trusted retailer (Staples) that has a return policy. (more…)
It's funny how quickly things get outdated. ellie/Flickr
I have never shopped on Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving that kicks off the holiday spending spree, but this year I plan to break that tradition.
I’ve been considering replacing my 14-inch computer monitor for more than a year. My tiny screen is constantly crowded with windows and tabs and apps, making me inefficient at work. I want a bigger monitor.
Black Friday is a great time to buy consumer electronics, if past sales are any indication. Here’s how I plan to get a great deal this Black Friday. (more…)
Computers are wonderful things when they work. When they don’t, the world comes crashing down. A lot of crashes are because of bugs. We’ve innocently downloaded malicious software, spy ware, or other nasty files onto our machine. Then minutes, days, or months later we realize our mistake and the pain kicks in.
If you don’t have anti-virus software, or aren’t happy with yours, check out the AVG Free anti-virus program. They also have an AVG LinkScanner for Mac. The free software has free 24/7 technical support, the capability to make sure your downloads are safe and it can detect rootkits hidden deep inside your operating system.
The Pro version of the AVG software is $35 or free when you buy a product through one of their partner sponsors. The idea is you buy something you want, like a Netflix subscription or a pair of Gap jeans, then get the software for free.
Want to know more? Virus expert Steve Armstrong, who is not affiliated with AVG, talks about how the mean people who write virus’ are getting more clever and better at spreading bugs. Armstrong says going forward there are going to be more virus’ aimed at collecting sensitive data (like your credit card number) through social media sites.
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Remember how I was going to rush over to Macys to buy a food processor? Well I just used the online price comparison site PriceTrace.com and realized the current sale price is actually $35 higher than it has been in the past! I’m going to use PriceTrace’s simple, three-step process to make sure I buy a food processor at the lowest possible price. Here’s how it works.
First, plug in basic information about the product you are looking for (such as the item’s name, UPC code, SKU, or product url from a retailer) into the PriceTrace.com search box and click “Go.” Select the specific item you want to buy among the results and click “Trace it.”
Next, compare prices for your item. PriceTrace.com draws prices from all the major retailers, like Amazon, WalMart, Macys, Best Buy, and lots of smaller ones, too. PriceTrace.com shows you how the current price compares over the past year in a Price History Chart to the right of your results. The chart highlights the date when the item was at its lowest price, which is a super cool feature.
Lastly, if the current price is not near the lowest price, you can plug in your email with your target price and set up an alert when the product drops to your target price. (I’m doing this for my food processor.) This feature is called the Price Drop Alert and it helps you buy at the right time.
PriceTrace.com also has a one-click toolbar for Firefox and Chrome (IE coming soon) so you can compare prices with one click. If you need more guidance, editors at the site pick the top price drops each day so you don’t have to search for the best deals. Check out PriceTrace.com next time you are shopping online.
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The next time you are in the market for a computer, camera, GPS, DVD player, or other electronic item, check out CheapStingyBargains.com. The site is a mondo deal aggregator that pulls the best prices from Amazon, Newegg, Best Buy, Lenovo, Dell, Sears, Walmart, Buy.com, Overstock, and TigerDirect.
After finding great deals, CheapStingyBargains.com combines them with an HP coupon code, Dell coupon code or another coupon code for the particular product you are looking for.
A few recent deals I found on CheapStingyBargains.com:
- $20 off $100 sitewide at HP with a stackable coupon code
- Dexter: The Complete Fourth Season Blu-Ray or DVD (2009) $46 Blu-Ray or $35 DVD w/ Free Shipping!
- A Swiss Legend 60002-02 Endeavor Collection Mens Watch $131 Shipped
- $259 off an Inspiron 15 Laptop with instant discount
- $408 off a Studio XPS 8100 Desktop with instant discount
- $302 off a Dell Vostro 220 Desktop w/ 21.5″ Monitor for only $429
CheapStingyBargains.com also has giveaways you can enter just by leaving a comment! The forums page is extremely active, with discussions on everything from iPad envy to hot deals and freebies. You can also go straight to their Coupons tab for coupons by retailer, listed alphabetically. With so many coupon codes and hot deals, it’s hard not to find what you are looking for at a great price on CheapStingyBargains.com.
This is paid content. Want to take out an ad? Read my advertise page.
Shward/Flickr
Consumer Reports put out a sales calender showing when is the best time to buy cars, clothes, furniture, and dozens of other consumer goods. The monthly list is based on data from industry surveys and publications, and consultations with CR’s in-house experts. Here is what’s on tap for best deals in April:
- Computers
- Digital cameras
- Lawn mowers
- Spring clothing
And here’s a sneak peak for May:
- Athletic apparel and shoes (good thing, I need a bike helmet, a yoga bra, and bike gloves!)
- Camping and outdoor gear
- Cordless phones
- Lawn mowers
- Small consumer electronics
This list doesn’t mean you should rush out and buy the items in these categories. You’ll still have to compare prices and think about which specific product meets your needs. But be on the lookout for sales on these items.
My frugal friends at Savings.com shared these coupons.
Get $20 off $100 or more at HP. Expires April 30, 2010.
Get 20% off entire order at The Limited. Expires July 21, 2010.
Get 20% off $50 or more at Harry & David. Expires April 5, 2010.
Get 10% off at Modcloth. Unknown expiration date.
Get $5 off at TOMS Shoes. Unknown expiration date.
Consumer Reports recently updated their sales calender showing when is the best time to buy some 55 items like cars, clothes, and furniture throughout the year. Here is what’s on the list for March:
- Digital cameras and small consumer electronics like MP3 players, DVD and Blu-ray players (electronics sales surge leading up to Christmas then trail off)
- Humidifiers (winter is almost over so demand is dropping)
- TVs (now that Christmas and the Superbowl are over demand has fallen)
- Winter coats (retailers need to make room for summer swimsuits!)
- Winter sports gear (so there is room to stock summer sports gear)
And here’s a sneak peak for April:
- Computers
- Digital cameras
- Lawn mowers
- Spring clothing
One of the gadgets in the spotlight this holiday season is the netbook. Bargain Hubby was kind enough to write a guest post to explaining the products and deals so you can find the right mini-computer for you!
Last year was the year of the netbooks for early adopters. This is the year where they’ll get pushed on normal folks. Then next year they’ll be merged in with the rest of the laptops.
Even more so than with a normal computer or multipurpose laptop, the buyer and user of a netbook needs to know what they want to use the computer for so they can pick the correct optimization. Trade-offs are more obvious with netbooks than laptops.
Example: The netbook I had at the end of the summer turned out to have too slow of a video card and bad video drivers. This was worse under linux, but noticeable on windows. That particular netbook used a video card that was different from what the previous netbooks were using. That was a bad choice. On the plus side it was super quiet, very light, and had a monster of a huge 11.6-inch screen.
Factors to consider when buying a netbook:
0) Ergonomics
1) Manufacturer
2) Screen size
3) CPU speed
4) Battery life
5) Ram
6) Hard drive storage
Here are the trade offs:
Ergonomics: The different manufacturers have different ideas about what to do to make keyboards fit on tiny laptops. Scrunch some keys but make others big? Shrink the between-key space? It’s important to go type on one at the store or buy from a place with a good return policy. If you can’t type on it, you can’t do much with it.
Manufacturer: The big names in netbooks are Asus, Acer, Dell, Gateway, and HP. Gateway is owned by Acer, and they make machines with similar (identical?) cases, but with different computers inside based on different trade-offs. Asus was the first, with their EEEpc line. They still make nice machines. Dell had a really nice 9″ machine, but they stopped making it. All of these companies are in the 10-inch space. There are fewer in the 11.6-inch space. Mainly Acer and Gateway at this point. HP has announced a new machine that is in the same ballpark.
Screen size: The range of sizes for netbook screens started with 8- 9-inch screens, then manufacturers added the 10.1 and recently the 11.6. The 10.1 seems to be the popular sweet spot for most of the netbooks. The 8 and 9 have disappeared as too small. The 11.6 is almost too big think some people, that it isn’t as portable. Personally I wanted the extra screen display, the resolution on the 11.6 is higher than on the 10.1, 1366×768 v. 1024×600.basically a choice between 10.1 and 11.6, and video system.
CPU speed: there are a lot of strange names and acronyms for the special processors they put in these things.
Battery life: Typically “3 cell” vs “6 cell” battery. Bigger battery = more time between charges, but more battery to carry. About $50 or $100 between a 3 cell and 6 cell version of the same netbook. So consider how much time you want to spend away from an outlet. For me, that’s a big part of the netbook charm. Four or five hours of usage without plugging in is awesome, but it also add a good chunk of weight.
Ram: I’ve seen 2, 3, and 4Gig machines. If you get the 2 or 3, and want to upgrade, you’ll have to throw away some ram because there are only two slots and they are filled via (1+1, 1+2 and 2+2). That’s $20-$50 difference when buying the machine. Some of these machines use a “shared video memory” system, so the video system uses some of the main ram, and modern video cards use like 256-512M of ram. That’s a big chunk of a 2G machine. The atom machines max out at 2Gig of ram. The dual core cpu in the acer I bought maxes out at 4G.
Hard drive: Some of the early machines came with solid-state drives (SSD) that were silent and had no moving parts. But to save money they were slow SSDs. Seems that most of the larger netbooks (>9-inch screen) have switched back to mini hard drives. It’s common to see 100 or 200+ gig hard drives in the new netbooks. Whatever it comes with will seriously be more than enough. You shouldn’t be using a netbook for long term storage. Back it up at home and carry what you need.
Discounts: The previous generation of netbooks is still pretty solid, and some of them should be nicely discounted now that the new ones are out for win7. The win7 capable models are a bit pricier, so maybe the older ones won’t get super cheap? I have seen some good 10.1 deals at TigerDirect.com and other closeout resellers.
A good deal on a popular machine is the Acer 1410. This was an 11.6-inch model originally made for Europe and then imported to the states. Goes for $399 and comes in a variety of colors and is in stock to ship now.
This holiday season you should be able to find some deals on 10.1-inch models that have a 6 cell battery for under $300. Here’s a 10.1 deal I just saw:
Here’s a nice looking gateway from TigerDirect.com: Gateway EC1803u Notebook PC. You pay more to have such a small light body with a small screen so make sure that’s what you want before you pay a premium for it.
If you want the top of the line, get the Acer AS1810T. It is the first netbook to come out with an updated 11.6-inch screen (the largest size that is still in the netbook realm). It is updated with a “regular” cpu (chip/brain) instead of the traditional “Atom” cpu that was popular in last year’s netbooks. The atom is really low power, which is why it is popular in netbooks, but it is a bit *too* low of power to keep the wider audience of users happy. Surf the web, write in MS Word, sure. But heavy flash sites and flash games won’t fly. Neither will editing a movie. And definitely no Hulu.
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