Hackszine.com: Shopping Archives

Archive: Shopping

October 6, 2008

HOWTO get Microsoft to subsidize that netbook purchase you've been putting off

Things I learned today:

Microsoft is encouraging people to use Live Search by running a generous rebate program. At times (such as this morning when I bought an MSI Wind), the rebate can reach 30% or higher.
eBay sellers techtreasure and multiwavevideo are also known as Mwave.com, a reputable seller of computers, such as the MSI Wind I bought from them this morning.

To be clear: yes, Microsoft is paying you to search. Here's how it worked for me this morning:

I started my search at Live.com and searched for "cheap" along with some product name; I tried a few variations such as "cheap wii" and "cheap laptop" and both worked. (Nick pointed out in the comments that you should sign into Live before you search; I'd forgotten that I was signed into Live when I started. Thanks, Nick!)
Looked for the link titled "Buy A Cheap Laptop. You may get XX% off with PayPal if eligible." (This morning, it was 30%. As I type this, it's 20%)
Searched for the MSI Wind (Buy it Now items only), and purchased it using Paypal.
Made sure that at every step of the way, I saw the icon for "Microsoft cashback" at the top of the screen.

eBay has a page with terms and conditions, and Microsoft has a FAQ about the program. See a list of other stores that participate in this cashback program.

So, how did I make out? I paid $479 for the laptop, and qualified for $144 cash back. On top of that, there's a $50 manufacturer's rebate on the MSI Wind, so all told, $285. Get while the getting's good, and let us know how you fared!

FatWallet.com: eeePC 1000H for $330 shipped with live.com and ebay
FatWallet.com: *EDITED again* 20% off at eBay through MSFT cashback program

March 1, 2007

Browse Craigslist Photos with Listpic

Listpic

Over at Parent Hacks, Asha Dornfest points to Listpic, a "visual Craigslist browser" that lets you search your city's Craigslist listings by keyword or category and display the results as image thumbnails. Price and location are included with the photo, mousing over reveals some details on the item, and clicking the image opens a pop-up of the detailed listing. This view helps weed out the listings with generic promotional photos, getting right to items that appear to be real, and becomes a big help for those of us who have a "no photo, no interest" policy for online bargain hunting.

February 28, 2007

Hacking Sale Prices

The Consumerist had an interesting article last month about certain retailers using a price coding scheme to indicate different discount classes. For instance, if you are at Sears and see something priced ending with .95, it means it's an out of production, clearance product. At Office Depot, prices not ending with 0,9, or 5 are final markdowns, and supposedly the same holds true at Target for prices ending in 4.

This got me to thinking about other stores which do not use a price coding scheme. Is there a way to tell how much an item has been discounted if it's not quoted on the tag? Many places will price their products at *.99 initially and then discount items at 10, 15, 30, 50 or 75 percent. How far they go depends on the initial markup and how badly the item needs to move.

If you take a look at the possible prices at those typical discounts, you can see a few patterns. I've included a third decimal digit where it could affect the outcome when the number is rounded up instead of chopped at 2 digits.

10% 99(1) 09(1) 19(1) 29(1) 39(1) 49(1) 59(1) 69(1) 79(1) 89(1)
15% 99(1) 14(1) 29(1) 44(1) 59(1) 74(1) 89(1) 04(1) 19(1) 34(1)
30% 99(1) 29(1) 59(1) 89(1) 19(1) 49(1) 79(1) 09(1) 39(1) 69(1)
50% 995(5) 495(5)
75% 497(3) 747(3) 247(2) 997(2)

Assuming the prices would be rounded to the nearest cent (instead of floored), you get something like this:

Number after decimal Likely percentage off

00 or 50 75% or 50%

75 or 25 75%

99 or 19 10%, 15%, 30%

other *9 10% or 30%

*4 15%

So while a Target price ending in 4 might be clearance, chances are good that at a non price-coded store, this would only represent a 15% discount. Furthermore, assuming there is no price coding, if you find something that seems discounted and its price ends with 00, 50, 75 or 25, it's likely been priced at %50 or 75% off!

References:

January 25, 2007

Shopping Sniper: Score a PS3 or Wii Online

Xbox 360_Tracker.jpg

Posted before the holidays, Sean Alexander's article on how-to snipe a PS3 or Wii online (or, originally, an Xbox 360) should still be valuable for gamers who have yet to get their hands on the out-of-stock console of their choice:

Here's a fool-proof way to get notified when PS3/Wii/etc are available for online ordering--no online auctions required. I've tested it personally--and received my premium system in time for Christmas.

His method relies on configuring URLyWarning to notify you of status changes with retailer-tracking sites specific to the console you're still drooling over.