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The Almighty Buck

Websites For The Frugal? 523

Posted by timothy from the spend-thrifty dept.
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?
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Websites For The Frugal? More

Websites For The Frugal?

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  • Frugal Living Tip File (Score:5, Informative)

    by Bobdoer ( 727516 ) on Sunday May 02, 2004 @05:35PM (#9035849) Homepage Journal
    The Frugal Living Tip File [archive.org] has some top notch advice. It disappeared from the net awhile back, but archive.org has a copy.

  • do your research... (Score:5, Informative)

    by Helix150 ( 177049 ) * on Sunday May 02, 2004 @05:36PM (#9035850)
    always check Reseller Ratings [resellerratings.com] before buying...

  • Yup, I'm cheap (Score:2, Interesting)

    by Anonymous Coward
    I usually check most of these and end up saving a decent amount of cash. The only thing I really dislike is that most of the "ceap deals" are rebated products, so you end up laying out a bunch of cash, then waiting 6-10 weeks to get it back. Are these really deals???
  • Come on guys, we're not all dirty rotten foreigners in need of a good invasion to teach us the worth of Yankee Imperialist Running Dog consumer products. We already buy all your shit so why not tell the guys in the online side of your companies to let us order from you lot directly?

    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)

      by Anonymous Coward
      As an eBay seller, I find that in most cases shipping outside the continental US is a pain in the ass (Excluding Canada)

      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

    • I think it's that we need to wait for that credit card to clear, and find out that it's not actually a stolen number out of Eastern Europe. ;)
    • No you aren't all rotten, but there is a lot more fraud with international orders.

      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)

      by Dave114 ( 168228 ) on Sunday May 02, 2004 @07:21PM (#9036537)
      That reminds me of the several times that I've attempted to place an order at Half.com [half.com]. They do actually ship to where I live (Canada), but do so using a service called BorderFree.com [borderfree.com].

      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)

    by Rexz ( 724700 ) on Sunday May 02, 2004 @05:38PM (#9035865)
    I search all of these UK sites whenever I buy a big hardware item. It would be great if fellow Brits could reply with any reputable sites I'm missing.

    In no particular order:

    • www.cclcomputers.biz
    • www.dabs.com
    • uk.insight.com
    • www.microwarehouse.co.uk
    • www.savastore.com
    • www.scan.co.uk
    • www.simply.co.uk
    • www.overclockers.co.uk
    • www.ebuyer.com (current favourite)
    • komplett.co.uk

  • Hate to be a spoilsport but... (Score:5, Informative)

    by heldlikesound ( 132717 ) on Sunday May 02, 2004 @05:38PM (#9035867) Homepage
    In my experience, Amazon is almost ALWAYS the cheapest place to buy something, not because of their prices on items, but because of their free shipping on orders over $25.

  • Video games... (Score:5, Informative)

    by syrion ( 744778 ) on Sunday May 02, 2004 @05:39PM (#9035872)
    ...can be bought cheap, too. Go to Cheap Ass Gamer [cheapassgamer.com]; it relies on different users posting the deals they have found, but it seems to be a very effective system. The availability of some deals depends on your area (and the brick & mortar stores you have access to).

  • How does this matter? (Score:2, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward
    How is this usefull or relevant to anyone outside US?

  • For us Europeans... (Score:5, Informative)

    by nordicfrost ( 118437 ) * on Sunday May 02, 2004 @05:40PM (#9035877)
    STAY AWAY from Kelkoo! I bleieved for a long time that Kelkoo was a "deal-finder", where products were ranged fair and square with the cheapest one first. Not so. A friend of mine has his products advertised on Kelkoo, and pays 385 USD each month. He has most of the products priced well below the large sites, in addidtion to CC payment and free shipping. But Kelkoo said that the system is click-based! And advised him to "click as much as you can on your own products to increase their rank".

    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)

      by instarx ( 615765 )
      Kelkoo really irritates me and I don;t even live in Europe. Whenever I google for "review of Whatever" I get tens of links to Kelkoo sites that are all incestuous. And then there are the Kelkoo pages that show up in the search as "Review of Whatever" only to find the site just says "No review of Whatever available. Be the first to post a review of Whatever"

      Kelkoo is deceitful and brazenly greedy. Not the characteristics of a company I want to do business with.

  • Here's one (Score:5, Funny)

    by Rosco P. Coltrane ( 209368 ) on Sunday May 02, 2004 @05:41PM (#9035884)
    Here's a site that'll give you advices on how to save big: clickey [shoplifter.org]
  • ...and you want MORE? I know you want the best for your money, but that's just greedy... :)

  • got apex? (Score:5, Informative)

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday May 02, 2004 @05:44PM (#9035906)
    http://www.gotapex.com/

    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)

    by JaredOfEuropa ( 526365 ) on Sunday May 02, 2004 @05:44PM (#9035907) Journal
    Ebay can be a good source for cheap stuff if you don't mind buying second-hand goods. I've bought a few things dirt-cheap on Ebay... sometimes you have to take a little gamble, but generally I haven't been disappointed often, not even with items sensitive to wear and improper handling such as model airplane engines.

    An added bonus for the environmentally-conscious: you're helping to save the planet by recycling ;)

  • Ebay Sniping (Score:4, Interesting)

    by Rhett ( 141440 ) on Sunday May 02, 2004 @05:44PM (#9035910) Homepage
    I co-founded the ebay sniping website snipeswipe.com [snipeswipe.com] and I can say that our users routinely win ebay items very cheaply.

    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)

      by Overzeetop ( 214511 )
      I've always thought, with the advent of sniping that ebay would/shoud change the rules. I hate losing to a snipe, and hate it more when an auction on which I'm a seller gets sniped. (A snip bid usually reduces the potential final value by not allowing the auction to contiue until only one bidder is willing to bid higher)

      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
      • If you use the proxy system correctly, then sniping does not affect you.

        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

  • bensbargains.net (Score:5, Informative)

    by Elvisisdead ( 450946 ) on Sunday May 02, 2004 @05:45PM (#9035915) Homepage Journal
    He posts a ton of stuff daily, and seems to aggregate what's on some of the other sites and combines it with coupon codes, etc. link [bensbargains.net]
    • Seconded... Ben's is a good site to browse daily to watch for really good deals. I will often realize "in the next six months, I need a new printer", and start watching. Inside a month, I'll find one for free after rebates (or a third of the price it normally is). Really useful site.

      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)

    by olscratch69 ( 697288 ) on Sunday May 02, 2004 @05:45PM (#9035916) Homepage
    There is a local am radio talk show host that is nationally sydicated that you might have hear of. His name is Clark Howard http://www.clarkhoward.com/. He has pretty good advice and some links to some sites that might not already be added to the posts.
  • [Shameless plug]
    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)

    by Micro$will ( 592938 ) on Sunday May 02, 2004 @05:46PM (#9035920) Homepage Journal
    A.K.A. SurplusComputers [surpluscomputers.com]

    Old rack mount systems, SCSI drives, motherboards, and a lot of cheapo tools.

  • For Canadians, Red Flag Deals (Score:4, Informative)

    by miguel_at_menino.com ( 89271 ) on Sunday May 02, 2004 @05:46PM (#9035925)

    For Canadians, Red Flag Deals [redflagdeals.com] is a great site. Coupons, links to online deals, freebies, and forums.
    • RedFlagDeals is pretty good, especially their Freebies and Hot deals Forums. Other Canadian deal sites:

      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 [bensbargains.net] pretty much does it for me. Ben parses a lot of other deal websites, then compiles it together. Overall, pretty good.

  • For British readers... (Score:4, Informative)

    by amembleton ( 411990 ) <aembleton@bigf[ ].com ['oot' in gap]> on Sunday May 02, 2004 @05:50PM (#9035949) Homepage
    CD-Wow [cd-wow.com] for your CDs.
    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]

  • Homier (Score:2, Informative)

    by DaLiNKz ( 557579 ) *
    I had a dealing with Homier. They came through town and was offering a door, a specific door, that normally would sell for.. at least $500.. and was only $100. We stood in line, assured we had a door to find out the guy in front of us changed his mind and talked them into selling him two -- his door and ours. Then when we spoke up they told us we could basically fuck off.

    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 are preparing for this in their next phase at froogle [google.com]

    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)

    by xyote ( 598794 ) on Sunday May 02, 2004 @05:50PM (#9035957)
    a link on the Homier [homier.com] site. I was expecting to see lovely fjords, but no, it was Global Outsourcing [hdcgo.com].
  • Moneysavingexpert [moneysavingexpert.com], covers lots of things, from cheap phone calls and mobiles to the best ISAs. UK Only of course.

  • suprnova.org is one (Score:2, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward
    If you ever find yourself paying too much for copyrighted music, movies, games, etc. I hear there's lots of great deals going on at suprnova.org.

  • For Mac deals... (Score:4, Informative)

    by Fuzzle ( 590327 ) on Sunday May 02, 2004 @05:59PM (#9036017) Homepage Journal
    Goto Dealmac.com [dealmac.com] for the best deals on Mac-related deals.
  • Sometimes Spoofee [spoofee.com] has a good find.

  • The Motley Fool (Score:5, Insightful)

    by acshelp ( 460137 ) on Sunday May 02, 2004 @06:01PM (#9036029)
    Stop spending your money and pay off debts and invest. Think of your (financial) future for once!

    www.fool.com
  • Is slashdot going for a Wide Area Distributed Denial of Service?

  • I'd say spoofee sometimes. (Score:3, Funny)

    by Gldm ( 600518 ) on Sunday May 02, 2004 @06:03PM (#9036040)
    I once got 17 12packs of mountain dew from office depot for $30 thanks to spoofee. Good if you're in a dorm.

    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. :P

  • Harbor Frieght (Score:5, Informative)

    by almaon ( 252555 ) on Sunday May 02, 2004 @06:03PM (#9036044)
    A great place to get a good pirce on power tools, but their handtools both mechanical and woodworking are of horrible quality.

    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)

      by dfranks ( 180507 )
      I have also had poor luck with Harbor Freight (we have one about 8 blocks from here now), but my experience is the opposite. Here is what I have found:

      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)

        by Bilestoad ( 60385 )
        http://www.penntoolco.com/

        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)

      by tgd ( 2822 )
      Actually for tools, Home Depot and the warehouse stores like Costco are great places, too.

      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)

    by pimephalis ( 60034 ) on Sunday May 02, 2004 @06:08PM (#9036069)
    Check out Red Flag Deals [redflagdeals.com] for a nice selection of rebates, coupons and specials from Canadian dealers. The site covers all sorts of merchandise, but seems to be predominantly geared towards geek-analia.
  • Forgot to mention DealHunting.CA [dealhunting.ca] since everyone is griping about the lack of international stuff :)
  • Froogle--->Frugal!

    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)

    by BenFranske ( 646563 ) on Sunday May 02, 2004 @06:11PM (#9036088) Homepage
    Deep Discount DVD [deepdiscountdvd.com] is usually the least expensive place to buy DVDs from. I will say their customer service is really slow so hope your order goes through without any problems. They offer free shipping (US and everything so they're usually cheaper than Amazon too. I've placed several orders with them and have had good luck so far.

  • PC Surplus Is The Bomb (Score:4, Informative)

    by Cylix ( 55374 ) on Sunday May 02, 2004 @06:12PM (#9036091) Homepage Journal
    While their selection can be a tad on the small side when considering the great internet at large... their prices kick major woo-ha's.

    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)

    by tdvaughan ( 582870 )
    Martin Lewis' site [moneysavingexpert.com] has some good tips and interesting forums.

  • Clark Howard (Score:5, Informative)

    by mirio ( 225059 ) on Sunday May 02, 2004 @06:16PM (#9036111)
    I would recommend Clark Howard's site [clarkhoward.com]. Clark Howard has a nationally syndicated radio show and has written several fantastic books on smart financial principles. He is very well known here in the Atlanta area and his life story is very interested. He made his first million on an average salary by saving and investing for the long term (of course he makes a lot more now on his radio gig and his books).

    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)

    by rueger ( 210566 ) on Sunday May 02, 2004 @06:25PM (#9036165) Homepage
    Comparison shopping on-line is time consuming and generally irritating. Is the $5 you save on some item really worth the hour that you spend going from site to site, checking prices, checking shipping costs, adding and subtracting taxes, and then double checking that the company at hand actually is trustworthy enough to deal with?

    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)

    by howlinmonkey ( 548055 ) on Sunday May 02, 2004 @06:39PM (#9036233)
    One thing I have found about frugality - it can be penny wise and pound foolish.

    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.

  • bargainshare.com (Score:3, Informative)

    by mliu ( 85608 ) on Sunday May 02, 2004 @06:45PM (#9036273) Homepage
    Bargainshare.com is sort of a better version of fatwallet. Deals tend to be killed by the shear volume of abusers at FW, and posters are chastized for posting deals (and trying to help their fellow man) by trolls and flamers who are simply out to spoil other peoples experiences. People at Bargainshare tend to be much friendlier, and deals that hit there first last much longer than on FW, giving you more of a chance of actually getting in on them. It's a lot more technically sophisticated, with board software that allows you to filter by criteria that are important to you.

    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)

    by Flounder ( 42112 ) * on Sunday May 02, 2004 @06:46PM (#9036289)
    The bargain forum on DVDTalk.com is the best for finding the best prices on new releases, price cuts on DVDs, and finding out the circular prices about 5 days ahead of the newspapers.

    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)

    by clinko ( 232501 ) on Sunday May 02, 2004 @06:53PM (#9036344) Journal
    Clinko.com [clinko.com] is just a module off of my full site Protista.com [protista.com]. But, it's the main attraction because it parses bensbargains [bensbargains.net] and slickdeals [slickdeals.net] so I can check them at work.

    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)

    by nuggz ( 69912 ) on Sunday May 02, 2004 @06:58PM (#9036383) Homepage
    I like it.

    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)

    by account_deleted ( 4530225 ) on Sunday May 02, 2004 @07:00PM (#9036395)
    Comment removed based on user account deletion

  • ComputerLandCentral.com (Score:3, Informative)

    by Uninvited Guest ( 237316 ) on Sunday May 02, 2004 @07:01PM (#9036408)
    Computerlandcentral [computerlandcentral.com] breaks down the deals by date by store like many sites. However, they are also good about publishing coupon codes, where many sites (TechBargains, XPBargains, FatWallet, ...) make you click through the link to get the coupon discount. The code is really helpful if you want to start shopping some place like eBates [ebates.com] or FatWallet [fatwallet.com], to get a small rebate on total purchase.

  • Good Quote (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Shant3030 ( 414048 ) * on Sunday May 02, 2004 @07:01PM (#9036410)
    I heard a good quote a while back... don't remember who said it though.

    "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)

      by tooth ( 111958 )
      Interesting point that really hit it home for me on the weekend. Was in sydneys "china town" wondering around, saw a shop that had massive "up to 70% off!" signs in the window.. wandered in (The SO was attracted by a 50cm pooh bear (The only on in the shop mind you, and it had a "sold" sticker on it)). After about 20 seconds my SO whispers "look at the markup on this junk". I checked out a few items and they had marked up everything by about +200% or more.

      A few examples included a 30cm plastic ruler, no

  • Cool stuff for free (but with a little work) (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Peale ( 9155 ) on Sunday May 02, 2004 @07:08PM (#9036461) Homepage Journal
    Go DUMPSTER DIVING! [dumpsterworld.com] Find a store, go out back, check their dumpster (skip for our European friends). All kinds of stuff to be found. And it helps the environment by keeping usable items out of the landfill.

    Newsgroups: alt.dumpster [alt.dumpster]

  • Bargain and surplus galore! (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Myself ( 57572 ) on Sunday May 02, 2004 @07:08PM (#9036464) Journal
    B.G. Micro [bgmicro.com] is sort of like All Electronics [allelectronics.com] in that they carry a ton of surplus electronic junk, download both catalogs and enjoy! Also try American Science and Surplus [sciplus.com] for a wider variety of tech stuff, toys, labware, and millitary goods.

    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)

    by CAIMLAS ( 41445 ) on Sunday May 02, 2004 @07:32PM (#9036605)
    Most slashdotters seem to hold an incorrect meaning for the word "frugal" true (and indeed, so does the majority of society).

    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)

    by rdl ( 4744 ) <`ryan' `at' `venona.com'> on Sunday May 02, 2004 @07:45PM (#9036687) Homepage
    I've found some sites which have really useful information for travel (air, car rental, hotels mainly):

    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)

    by Orion Blastar ( 457579 ) <orionblastar AT gmail DOT com> on Sunday May 02, 2004 @09:06PM (#9037069) Homepage Journal
    For Computer stuff, consider:

    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)

    by vga_init ( 589198 ) on Sunday May 02, 2004 @09:55PM (#9037357) Journal
    When I first started playing the guitar, my first musical endeavor, I did quite a bit of shopping around. I compared prices from various vendors, and after a while I started finding that musiciansfriend.com/Guitar Center always had the lowest prices on the item I was looking for.

    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.

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