Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with deals

Should I buy it filter: Flat Screen floor model.

Mastercheddaar — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 08:58:31 -0800

I am looking for a TV to put downstairs. I was shopping at bestbuy and I found a floor model for sale. It is an LG 37" 1080p 60hz. They are not carrying this model anymore so it was marked down to $499.00. I talked to the manager and she said the lowest she was willing to go was $435.00. This seems like a decent price but my hold ups are that it is a floor model with no in store warranty (all it has is a mfs 1 year warranty.) It has been on all the time and Lord only knows how long it has been there. They also told me that they would have to look for the remote. My question is: Is it a steal for the price? Or should I quit being cheap and spend another 100-200 bucks or so to get a new one in the box? Bonus question: Where could I get a 37-40 inch 1080p 60 hz flat screen for around $500.00 bucks brand new from a good manufacturer?

How to get cash-back on credit cards, and other sweet deals?

idyllhands — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 18:00:03 -0800

My first credit card..looking for cash-back (and other sweet deals) I have never had a credit card before, and have basically no credit. I recently got a well-paying job, and am seeking recommendations for cards that offer cash back perks. I don't want to pay more than a few bucks in yearly fees, and plan on paying back everything I purchase immediately. I am just a penny-pincer, looking to make the most of my money =)
It seems most banks these days aren't offering any savings interest (a few tenths of a percent), so I figure this is one way to make some money (by saving on purchases). As a sub-question, I would appreciate any other ways to make my money work for me; I can put a few grand away for a year, but a few tenths of a percent interest doesn't really appeal to me...
I recently found out about Bing cashback, so am looking for other sweet deals like that as well.

Help me make a deal: I do all the work, he has all the money.

Anonymous — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 16:46:31 -0800

NegotiationFilter: An old acquaintance who I trust is giving me the opportunity to invest in a business in which I would do all the work and he would provide all the financing. The amount of money he is talking about is in the mid six figures. I am quite familiar with the business but have never personally operated at that level (though I have a close friend who has), whereas he knows next to nothing.

He is curious enough about the details that I would have to explain to him more or less exactly what I'm doing and how I'm doing it, but his concern is (for now) more about the given risk and rate of return like any other investment. He would provide all of the starting capital, and I would be doing most or all of the actual work, at least initially.

How should I present myself and what should I offer in order to get the best deal?

(I am thinking along the lines of how hedge fund managers charge their clients, which can be anywhere from 20% to 50% of the profits before passing on the rest of the gains, but hedge fund managers are also heavily invested in their own funds, giving them risk exposure, whereas in this case there is essentially no potential loss to me except the time spent and the opportunity cost. In any case I want to push as much as possible for a percentage-based or commission-like income rather than a fixed payout or salary.)

Save or Spend??

saradarlin — Wed, 27 May 2009 15:53:03 -0800

Shopping Filter: When do I need the best of the best? What is the best of the best? And how do I know the difference? In the past (read:student) when I needed something I would usually chose the cheapest item knowing that I would replace it later if/when needed. Well, it is now LATER.

We are now buying some items for more than just right now. I can sometimes get hung up on price points - for example we needed a sofa, I couldn't decide what makes for a good quality sofa, like that beautiful leather one that your parents have that has been in the living room all your life (you know the one that I mean). I was worried about spending thousands on a sofa that might last for 15 years, but what if it doesn't? So I found an attractive one on a crazy sale that WILL not last, but I won't feel so bad when it wears out (and the cycle continues - curse you IKEA!!) .

Right now we need a garden hose (I know, it sounds silly). I bought one last year, on sale, for $40. It sucked, and leaked by summer's end. This year I bought a new hose for $70, so far so good. So if I had just bought the better hose in the first place, it'd have saved $40. Now I am wondering if I would be even happier with the $120 hose (but then no $ for garden tools)...

So here is the question:

What are your favourite things to splurge on? (ie: Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer)

What are the best things to save on? (ie: I have no idea, that's the problem!)

Eye glasses online?

BoldStepDesign — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 22:08:14 -0800

After reading this post: (http://3mew.wordpress.com/2006/11/10/eyeglasses-stores-are-for-suckers/) I'm thinking about buying new glasses online. What are some (online) places you'd recommend @ looking for glasses? Please include any tips and advice you may have.

Help us find a warm weather package destination!

raz5 — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 09:22:47 -0800

I'm trying to get a handle on the bets sites/deals for last minute travel packages...any thoughts? The lady and I are looking to go away for 3-4 days, and have been scouring websites out there for travel packages somewhere warm, where we can just lie on a beach (we live in nyc). the problem is that the site i thought would be most helpful (kayak) is pretty useless in this regard...they are great with airfare but the packages they have are nonexistent. that's left us looking on expedia, travelocity, etc. and it's just a very manual process that's left us frustrated.

we're ideally hoping to do something along the lines of 1/1-1/4, or less likely 12/28-12/31, and we want to go somewhere warm, which has basically left us looking in the caribbean (we want to leave the continental US). any thoughts/suggestions as to places/sites/etc. out there? any and every suggestion is appreciated!

Future Comcast Customer Looking For A Deal

shew — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 19:24:34 -0800

Looking for the best deal on Comcast! I'm moving into a new house in the Denver Metro area tomorrow and I'm looking to get Comcast service. I need television service and high speed internet. I'm willing to commit to up to a year of service. Where can I get the best deal/discounts/perks for signing up as a new customer? I don't -want- to get the voice service (home LAN line) but I'm willing to consider if it sweetens the deal. Mostly I use my cellphone and that works, so I'm open to ideas. I'm also ready to call -right now- and secure the service so any deals only applying to November are fair game.

Retails sales are down, so where are the bargains?

abdulf — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 18:06:34 -0800

If retailers are being hit hard with a recession, then why am I not finding bargains? If retail sales are falling, and businesses are posting losses or cutting forecasts, then why am I not finding great bargains?

I guess a "bargain" is a subjective term. But surely there are deals to be had in this economic environment for the people who can spend?

For example - I am looking to buy/rent the following:
1. winter coat, boots (anything suitable an icy/windy winter)
2. point and shoot digital camera (Canon SD 750 or similar)
3. blackberry/smartphone/new cell service (currently with Sprint)
4. new apartment (Amarillo, TX)
5. car maintenance (timing belt/waterpump for 2000 Camry)

None of these good or services seem significantly discounted compared to when I saw them years ago. I've casually looked through sites like slickdeals.net and Black Friday ads. It looks like the same kind of stuff I've seen before.

So maybe I'm not buying the right kinds of goods and services in this economy?

Perhaps the discounts I seek don't come from business cycles but from events like seasonal changes and clearing old inventory.

Or maybe the items I'm buying have prices built in from before the financial crisis?

Last-minute cheap travel tips?

pseudostrabismus — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 11:33:12 -0800

Me and my friends would like to go somewhere warm this February. We don't care where, and we would be fine with booking at the last minute. How do we get a great deal? February is coming and we're not getting caught off-guard. We're gonna need to get the heck out of Canada and give our S.A.D. some sun.

We don't care where we go as long as it's hot, sunny, and laid-back. A rented villa in a hot country, or an all-inclusive resort, or even a cruise would be fine.... we're not picky. Overall, we're looking for relaxation more than adventure (although local activities & food would be great).

Flying standby or getting a last-minute deal would be awesome. I've heard of people going all-inclusive (flight+room+food) from Canada to a Cuban resort for under $400/person, which would be a dream come true!

There are 4 of us- no couples, so we can all sleep in one room if need be.
Our outside dates are approx. Feb 14-22, 2009, for all or part of that time.
A rough budget might be around $600 per person, give & take.
We're all Canadian citizens with valid passports & no history of travel problems.
The catch: One person would fly out of Vancouver, the other 3 from Toronto.

Any resources, websites, stories of how you did this, or other advice would be much appreciated!

Looking for price drop alerts.

c:\awesome — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 08:07:45 -0800

Is there a website that will track a particular item and alert you when it's offered at discount? With all the Black Friday deals soon to come up, there's a particular item I want to purchase at a deep discount. I have no idea if this will be offered anywhere at a reduced rate, but what with the competition between stores and various online retailers offering sometimes rediculous rates for certain items, I'd like to be made aware of any drop in price across a wide spectrum of outlets.

Is there a particular website, or perhaps a group of websites, I can use to track the price of a particular item, and be notified when it drops?

Something along the lines of Kayak, but for products instead of airline tickets.

What can I buy on the internet for one dollar?

TheArpenter — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 19:24:39 -0800

What can I buy on the internet for a dollar? I am looking for sites like www.eyeslipsface.com, where (almost) everything costs one dollar. Are there any other sites out there that have products that only cost one dollar?

To buy or not to buy; apple forces consumer to make decisions

ageispolis — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 17:39:54 -0800

Looking to buy a MacBook through Apple's education store. I need it for the upcoming school year. I'm stoked on the free iPod-touch but heard an upgrade is coming very soon. Is it worth it to wait for the new line of laptops? Does anyone know when this is expected to happen? The idea of upgraded hardware / appearance is obviously appealing, and if I was certain the update was coming by some time in September, I do not mind waiting whatsoever. But what if it takes them to December to bring out the Macs? It may mean missing out on the iPod-touch deal (I need an iPod badly after mine was stolen). I wouldn't mind skipping the free iPod if it means buying the upgraded MacBook instead - insofar as I get it before the middle of Sept when classes really start to take off. Any chance it'll happen this summer and I could get the best of both worlds, the new build + the iPod touch deal? What would you do in my shoes?

How can I get a good deal with AT&T retention specialists?

gramcracker — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 11:53:06 -0800

What's a good way to get a good deal from AT&T retention folks if I'm off-contract but planning to get an iPhone? I'm off contract with AT&T, and am planning to get an iPhone once 3G comes out, but my current phone is on its last legs, so it'd be nice to get a freebie that could also be used as a backup if the iPhone needs repair in the future.

I'd like to:
Go into AT&T Store, sign up for a 2 year contract (which I will have to do anyway with the iPhone), get a free phone, and then later get the iPhone which is going to be given to me as a gift. Will this work?

Any experience with talking to the retention specialists at AT&T to get a good deal on a service plan... ie, free text message package, etc? Then when I get the iPhone, I can just pay for the additional data plan, but keep my extra service plan.

Looking for a good cheap QWERTY phone.

spacefire — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 18:38:19 -0800

What is the best value QWERTY phone that one can buy used (unlocked or At&T/Cingular), and where from? EBay didn't yield any crazy deals.

How can I be more frugal?

scottreynen — Fri, 07 Sep 2007 09:35:53 -0800

I'm on a (self-imposed) tight budget, but I don't want to compromise my quality of life. So I'm looking for the best strategies to get great deals on everything from computers to clothing to books. What are your recommendations? I've always saved money with somewhat obvious deals, e.g. clipping coupons or taking advantage of student discounts, but I feel there's a higher level of cheapskating I could achieve with your help.

Good deal on a smart phone?

stuart_s — Sat, 31 Mar 2007 16:57:44 -0800

Are there any deals in the smart phone world? Someone told me she had some voice plan plus unlimited internet for ~$40. She had a sidekick. Did I misunderstand? I'd like to use it to surf. I could deal with limited minutes or with limited transfers or with limited text messages. I'd like to be able to use it for navigation - not just looking at maps but location aware instructions. I'd like to be able to use it to get a laptop online but not often or for long. I'm also willing to agree to a 2-year commitment. Does such a deal exist?

Amazon has a T-Mobile dash for free after rebate but the plan is $70-80 with low minutes, limited texts and unlimited internet. They also have a Treo ??? for -$55 after rebate The lowest plan is $50 but nowhere on the site do they mention internet access. Would I add that on after I commit? Could it possibly be included? According to Amazon both these deals expire today but I think I'll pass unless I'm more confident. How often is this type of phone available for free with a 2-year contract? Is there somewhere I can follow deals on cell phones and wireless plans?

Or, ignore all of that and just tell me: what's the best bargain phone-plan combo that does a minimal amount of neat stuff?

Coffee Is For Closers

gfrobe — Tue, 20 Feb 2007 07:11:58 -0800

I'm currently doing some consulting in the business development area and could use some tips on closing deals. My pitch is good and my potential clients continue to tell me they are interested but I'm struggling to get clients who seem content to sit on the fence forever to actually commit and sign on the dotted line.

I know that closing deals is a skill set and I'd like to learn how to get better at it. I've given deadlines to a few and that has helped move things along but would like to know if any seasoned deal makers out there have some advice on what works and what doesn't. How do you walk that fine line between pressuring (and ultimately turning off) a client and not letting it drag on too long?

Where to find ski travel deals?

flummox — Wed, 10 Jan 2007 17:50:50 -0800

What do you do when you are tired of the blank facades presented by Expida, Orbitz or Cheap seats? Where do you go to get the low down on travel deals, alpine skiing specifically? The when and where to get the best prices, the how and why when it comes to finding package deals on deep discount?

Deals and Free Stuff in the UK?

srboisvert — Mon, 08 Jan 2007 03:48:34 -0800

Deals and Free Stuff in the UK? The Guardian recently had a free stuff supplement that mentioned freebeirsclub.co.uk, freebiehuntersblog.co.uk, freestuffjunction.co.uk, free-stuff.co.uk, freebiesbank.co.uk, and freebievillage.co.uk. Are there any other good sites for UK deals?

What's good this Black Friday?

pinksoftsoap — Mon, 20 Nov 2006 19:39:41 -0800

The mass consumer whorism that will be going on this Black Friday makes me somewhat ill. On the other hand, I wouldn't mind getting an LCD TV.. any tips? I will be spending Thanksgiving in Bethlehem, PA with relatives. Is Black Friday all that worth it? Which stores are giving out the best deals for the best stuff this year? Any other helpful advice?

Black Friday deals available online?

althanis — Thu, 16 Nov 2006 07:04:59 -0800

Black Friday question - Are any of these numerous deals I'm seeing all over the Internet available online? Recently on digg and elsewhere I have been seeing a lot of online lists of deals to be had on Black Friday.
I know from watching news that people just go crazy and stampede into stores to get these deals, but can I clock in on any of them online?
(Im not American, so I don't really get this entire Black Friday thing).
Oh and the most comprehensive list Ive seen is here.

I did a search but couldn't come up with anything recent.

Savings in international flight taxes from Australia

mule — Wed, 18 Oct 2006 05:36:41 -0800

Get me off this hemisphere! Help me find cheap(er) flights out of Australia to Europe. Price are reasonable until taxes come into play (+25%). Is there a way around this? Help me beat the taxes and get a better deal! I'm trying to get return flights from ADL to somewhere in Western Europe (Paris, Amsterdam, London wherever). I can find reasonable prices for flights in April/May 2007. Cheapest is Singapore airlines $1650 ret. but the taxes are over $400 extra. That's an extra 25%. Is there a way around this? Some secret place/airline I should be using?

FYI. I generally check webjet.com.au and STA travel as a baseline price and then direct with airlines to see if there's a better deal. Often bricks and motar travel agents have better prices still. It seems Australia's a bit behind the US when it comes to online travel. What's the secret?

Cheapskate seeks Ericsson phones!

stuckie — Wed, 27 Sep 2006 14:38:58 -0800

I'm a big fan of the Ericsson interface, though my current phone (T637) is on its last legs. Sony has come out with a ton of great phones recently, all vast improvements on what I have, and almost none of which I afford. A few years ago, major wireless carriers could be counted on to heavily discount the newest latest freshest phones, especially Ericssons, and now only ONE carrier (Cingular) sells ANY of them, and they only have the two bottom-of-the-line models. Anyone have any advice or inside information before I bite the bullet and get the cheapo model? The types of phones I've been lusting after:
k790a/k800i, w850i, k510i, etc.

The full story (including tangental rant):

Been "sitting on" my upgrade status with Cingular, not wanting to blow it on something unworthy and getting stuck with it for 2 years.

Yesterday, they release the "alright" w300i, a great price at $94 (+mail-in $75 Cingular bill-credit =$19) w/2-year contract. So I jump on it. And the online store is screwed up and won't take my order. And the customer-service folks tell me the online discount is not available by phone and I should try again tomorrow. Which I do, and find out that they've upped the price $20 during that time. And that they've removed a lot of the "stock" features from the phone for their sale version like the built-in memory card and headphones. Bleh.
(FYI: I called customer-service back and they won't honor yesterday's price)

Free of a contract, I checked other carriers, only to find out (as I stated above) that NO other US carrier sells ANY other Ericsson phones at all. Craigslist isn't quite doing it for me. Low-rent etailers or possibly-sketchy eBay vendors abound for some of my more-desired models, but they're still the difference between paying $19-$149 and $449-549. One I can currently afford, the other, I can't.

It's technically possible that Cingular or other carriers might start selling other SE models at some point (though customer service reps obviously don't have this information), but I've been waiting 2 years already and my phone is starting to fade.

So I guess the main question is: Do I go ahead and drop $114 (+fees & taxes, -mail-in rebate) on the so-so phone, or wait, or find some other way to get a better one?

Or, does anyone have any inside scoop as to whether any carriers are going to show Sony some love for the holidays, or whether they've been blackballed?

Shopping the sales -- how does it work, when does it happen, where do I go??

croutonsupafreak — Wed, 30 Aug 2006 07:06:18 -0800

Over the next few months, I need to buy a lot of new clothes to bulk up my professional (woman's) wardrobe. I want everything I buy to fit well. Slacks, skirts, blazers need to be lined. I will not buy anything without trying it on first, so web and catalog shopping is out. I don't have the budget to buy this all at full price. What kinds of strategies can I employ to get the best deals possible? Are there specific stores I should be shopping in? Are there sales I should watch for? Are there specific dates, weekends or times of year when I can get the best deals? How can I find out about and obtain about great coupons and upcoming sales? Those are the questions, here's a little background.

I am normally a cheapo shopper, and I'm pretty clueless about nice business wear.

My boss and the most respected senior women in my work place tend to wear suits about half the time, and nice skirts or slacks with sweaters or blazers the rest of the time. I've also become that my boss notices what people where when -- "Didn't she wear that earlier this week?" etc.

So I want a classy and robust wardrobe.

I hope to gradually acquire:
* 2 summer work skirts
* 2 summer work dresses
* 2 winter work dresses
* 2 fitted pullovers (1 v-neck, one crew neck)
* 2 cardigans
* 1 black turtleneck (fitted, black, thin)
* 2 pairs winter work pants (tropical wool, lined, not black)
* 1 classic pant suit in a light color
* 3 wool blazers (varied neutral colors)
* 1 light summer blazer
* nude stretchy camisole
* 2 belts -- dark brown and a lighter color
* more socks and pantyhose
* Light colored summer office shoes (pumps)
* 1 pair of knee boots
* 1 pair of ankle boots.

I can't afford it all at once, and I want to get the most bang for my buck while still going after high quality stuff. Hence my obsession with sales and deals.

How should I approach this?

And behind door number two...

LittleMissCranky — Wed, 14 Jun 2006 20:16:13 -0800

Which websites offer the best/most interesting deals on merchandise? I'm a sucker for a deal, and an even bigger sucker for grab-bag or other interesting deals. One of my favorites is the three bags/fifteen bucks at yakpak.com. What are your favorite web-based deals?