You’ve heard of Overstock.com, I’m sure, but have you shopped the discount site recently? It has expanded from clothing to all sorts of household items, like furniture, jewelry, and name brand shoes, such as Nine West.
Each item for sale on Overstock.com has reviews from buyers (1 to 5 stars), the original price, the Overstock.com price, and the percentage off. You can often get additional discounts if you sign up for the email list, which is how the site shares coupons. Or Google “Overstock coupon.”
In addition to these traditional retail items, Overstock.com sells – get this – cars, houses, and collectibles through auctions. The Community tab at the top of the homepage has links to the company’s Twitter feed, shares videos from their office, and has a forum for fans of the mega shopping site. Kinda cool. May just be time to give Overstock.com a second look – or a first if you’ve never visited!
This is paid content. Interested in an ad? Read my Advertise page.
A reader named Ellen emailed me this warning:
Hi Julia: I know you’ve addressed the subject of gift cards but I wanted to give you and your fans a warning: Watch out for gift cards to stores that have gone under! The other day I was in 7-11, which sells a variety of retail gift cards. Well, my eyes popped out when I saw a display for Circuit City! That retailer has been out of business for quite some time. I was going to alert the management but for some reason chickened out. However, next time I’m in there, I will definitely do so, if only as a duty to the customers.
jakerome/Flickr
As it turns out, Circuit City still operates an online electronics store under new ownership, so Ellen’s worry was unfounded. However, Ellen brings up a good point. In this ridiculously tough economy when market forces, natural disasters, and new spending habits are re-shaping the face of American and international businesses, it is wise to doublecheck that the company you want to do business with is still IN business.
The best thing to do is call the business and see if someone picks up the phone, especially if you are considering buying a gift card through a third party. If you are in a store and want to know if it is on the brink, look for these signs while shopping.
Another useful tool is a Wikipedia page of businesses that have failed. This list is not foolproof nor does it indicate that the company is not still operating in some form or fashion, like Circuit City. The list includes national and regional businesses, but not local ones. It is a good starting place if you are researching the solvency of a company you want to do business with.
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.
Get 50 free photos from CVS when you register on CVSPhoto.com.
Use this Piperlime coupon to get 20% off now through April 1, 2010 when you sign up for their email list.
Get 20-30% off at Coach Factory stores with this Coach coupon. Expires April 5, 2010.
Check out all the coupons and deals on my WalletPop blog.
Get a free one-week gym membership and a customized fitness plan to help you lose weight through Curves. Note, you’ll have to share your name and phone number to take advantage of this deal.
Emergen-C has new flavors of its vitamin-packed powder mixes, including some that suggest cocktails! Get a free sample here.
Coming later today to my WalletPop blog: a free sample of dog treats, and a tip on how to get 30 percent off Gap jeans.
cesarastudillo/Flickr
I was not the only one who regretted making a particular credit card purchase last month. Readers had plenty of regrets themselves. Post your own regret as a comment to be automatically entered to win a hot pink BargainBabe.com T-shirt. The contest ends Thursday at 11:59 p.m. PST so leave a comment today. The winner will be announced Friday!
Becki can’t say no to flowers:
I not only bought flowers I didn’t need, it is too cold to plant! I love pansies, and they were only 67 cents apiece, but now they will sit till it gets warmer, and then they will die when it’s hot…if only I had bought them last fall…It’s an addiction I have, I have to stay out of the nurseries!!!!! Someone please help!
ChrisM is kicking herself for paying shipping:
My 17 year old daughter wanted a pair of TOM’S shoes for her birthday in February, so I went on line, ordered them, paid for shipping. $17 for shipping–only to realize they came from Valencia and —we live in Sylmar.
Wish I’d looked into shipping fees first.
Tami regrets her hasty purchase:
Our microwave suddenly ceased to work after having it for about 6 years. We thought we couldn’t live without one, so we rushed out and bought a generic microwave oven at Target for $80. Fast forward to a week later and we noticed one for $20 at the local Goodwill shop. Goodwill stands behind their products and will refund purchases if you bring in the product/receipt, so by being hasty, we wasted $65. Next time we’ll comparison shop.
Blakely fell victim to a sale for something she doesn’t need:
I purchased a waffle iron at Kohl’s. It was only $25.00 with a $10.00 mail in rebate. I haven’t used it yet and I haven’t found anywhere to store it. It was something I wanted, but not something I needed.
Smashion.com is the answer to every woman who has a closet of clothes she never wears and doesn’t know how to sell. You can buy and sell clothes for free, which makes Smashion.com a lot more attractive financially than a traditional consignment store, eBay, or Etsy. Plus, the site leaves up listings indefinitely.
When I checked the site had 1,633 items for sale. Impressive considering they launched in October. There were 62 pairs of women’s jeans. All the clothes are new or lightly worn. Some items still have the tags!
One of the cool things about Smashion is that browsing the site feels like going over to your girlfriend’s house and trying on all her clothes. How awesome is that?! It’s fun to browse, and you never know what you’ll find, like this sparkly party dress that has got the seller doing her best moves, above. It’s going for $40.
Smashion is focused on fashion forward clothing. Most of the sellers are regular folks though there are also a few independent designers, too.
Clothing prices are set – no bidding – and payment is directly between buyer and seller through Paypal. Sellers agree to ship your new threads within two days.
In between searching for your next clothing purchase, you can chat with other frugal fashionistas about age appropriate clothes, fake handbags, and other trends. The forums page on Smashion.com has dozens of topics and is pretty active. The site also has a gallery section where people can share fashion inspirations with each other. And there is a blog that is updated daily with tips on how to dress for a specific situation, fashion trends, and reviews of up and coming designers.
Smashion.com comes at a great time. Who isn’t looking to save a few bucks these days – while still being able to afford new (to me) clothes?
This post is brought to you by CouponCactus.com, a great source of online coupon codes for taxes, groceries, and more.
My spending has gone crazy over the past few months. A new set of gears for my bike ($90), yards of brown suede for new curtains ($88), two new outfits for a trip to NYC ($152), and a pricey sushi lunch ($34).
Sure, I have reasons behind each purchase (I’m doing a race in May that requires additional gears, buying fabric is cheaper than buying curtains, I had a gift card and a rare coupon for the clothing store, and I hadn’t seen my friend in months), but this kind of spending is not sustainable.
My credit card bill, which I pay off in full each month, has risen on average by a few hundred dollars. Not good. Here are two things I’m doing to shift my habits downward.
1. I only buy groceries on Wednesday. I started this two weeks ago and it has made me more aware of how much money I’m spending on food because it is easier to remember my total purchases from one day. Two weeks ago I spent $92 at Trader Joe’s, which included many staple items, beer, and wine. Last week I spent $27 on groceries. My target weekly grocery spending is $25.
Toward the end of the cycle I challenge myself to create tasty meals with what is left and finish off the last vegetables before they go bad. There is a lot you can do with beans, onions, and garlic!
2. I single out an item on my credit card statement that I didn’t have to buy. This month the dubious honor goes to an $8.10 purchase at Stamps.com. I got sucked into their $100 offer for newbies: sign up and get a $5 supplies kit, $45 in free postage (which is strung out over four months), and a free $50 postage scale (which actually sells for about $20 and is useless after my 30-day trial period unless I join Stamps.com for $16 a month).
I don’t buy enough business postage to make it worthwhile to join Stamps.com for $16 a month. So when I read the fine print the $100 sign-up package evaporated into nothing. At that point, I had already spent $8.10 to get the “free” scale mailed to me. Blerg!
I wish I had been more skeptical of the $100 intro offer, which really was too good to be true. Being greedy cost me $8.10.
What do you wish you hadn’t bought in the past month? Leave a comment and the reader with the best story wins a hot pink BargainBabe.com T-shirt, above. There are only about a dozen left!
CVS.com is putting a bunch of CVS-brand products on sale by 20-30% off, including products for weight loss, dieting, hair loss, and smoking cessation. Plus, toothbrushes are as low as $.69 and vitamins are on sale.
A reader named Tami let me know about a fabulous sale + rebate offer that makes money and gets you free Olay Body Wash at Target. This week only!
Here’s another hot drugstore sale. All Rite Aid brand products are buy one get one 50% off Thursday through Saturday, Feb. 25-27, 2010.
Get a free sample of Tide Febreeze laundry detergent (not as pictured) when you sign up for the P&G email list. Already on it? You are still eligible.
See all the deals and coupons on my WalletPop blog.
My frugal friend and author Stacy Johnson (I reviewed his book Life or Debt not long ago) shared his five tips for negotiating a lower price, a better room, a free upgrade, and lots more. In his post Stacy links to a Consumer Reports video about when bargaining works best. He also shares these stunning statistics from the CR survey:
“These results came from interviewing more than 2,000 men and women who had tried negotiating for at least three years,” he writes. “The numbers below reflect how many achieved a discount at least once during that three year period, along with the greatest discount any of them achieved.”
- Furniture: 94% of those who asked got a better deal at least once.
- Medical Bills: 93% of people who tried negotiating a lower bill were successful at least once.
- Home Electronics: 92% were successful at least once.
- Appliances: 92% were successful at least once.
- Floor Models/demos: 91% were successful at least once.
- Credit Card/Bank Fees: 87% were successful at least once.
- Jewelry: 86% were successful at least once.
- Cell Phone Plans: 80% were successful at least once.
- Collectibles: 78% were successful at least once.
Those are pretty amazing statistics! Of course, they neglect to say how many attempts were made before success. I am successful about 25-50 percent of the time I ask for a discount or perk. But I don’t ask every time, and it’s taken me a lot of practice to get good at playing the customer service game. Here are the negotiating tips I live by.
Watch four movies for free with these Blockbuster Express coupons (similar to Redbox).
Clothes for children, babies, and moms-to-be are up to 40 percent off at Old Navy. Plus, you’ll get free shipping with this Old Navy coupon code.
If you like to go on cruises, sign up for a free subscription to Cruise Travel magazine.
The Bev Mo nickel wine sale is on! No coupons or codes needed.
Check out all the deals on my WalletPop blog.
Walgreens brand products are 20 percent off today only. Many other products are 15 percent off because of their friends and family sale. Some caveats.
Use my Amazon coupon code and get 50 percent off certain magzines, like Esquire ($4) and Maxim ($5).
I found a JC Penney coupon code for $10 off your purchase of $10. Gotta pay for shipping, however, which is $4.50 and up.
Get 25 percent off or more on in-flight WiFi using this GoGo coupon code next time you fly.
Check out all the deals on my WalletPop blog.
Corrinne at SearchByInseam, a site that lets you search for jeans by a particular fit, shared some awesome coupons with me today. Retailers are offering steep discounts tied to President’s Day, which is Monday.
Free shipping on all orders at American Eagle Outfitters through Monday. No code needed. You can get 30 percent off clearance items with code 49816637 through Sunday, Feb. 14, 2010. All jeans are also on sale, starting at $24.95.
Macys.com has 25 percent off clearance online only. Prices reflect extra savings. Free shipping with $99 purchase with code PRESIDENT.
Take 20 percent off all denim and dresses this weekend at CoutureCandy with the code FEB.
Save up to 40 percent on new markdowns at Nordstrom.
Blair.com has$1.99 flat rate shipping on ALL orders. Expires Feb. 15, 2010.
Take 20 percent off your first item at Avenue.com, and 25 percent off your second when you buy 3 or more items with code AV101005 through Feb. 28, 2010.
Get 20 percent off any adult OldNavy.com purchase of $100 or more with the coupon code ONSAVE20. Offer ends Feb. 18, 2010.
Zooopreme/Flickr
I’ve gushed before about how cool of a magazine ShopSmart is. The no-ad publication is put out by Consumer Reports so it’s trustworthy and it is geared towards savvy-spenders. When it arrives in my mailbox it’s a little bit of heaven.
The March 2010 issue has a cool story (p. 7) on making new jeans look worn-in. Did you know distressing jeans is a huge part of the cost of designer denim? I didn’t. ShopSmart has s number of tips to get a worn-in designer jean look, which I’ve summarized below:
1. Soften your new jeans by washing them several times with fabric softener and a clean pair of tennis shoes.
2. Don’t over do it. Wear your new jeans around the house to see where they naturally crease, then emphasize those lines with the tricks below. Seams on the side, back pockets, and knees are natural wear spots.
3. If you use bleach, put a layer of plastic wrap in the leg so you don’t get mirror bleach spots on the other side. Place a block of wood other other durable material inside the leg to protect the rest of the fabric.
4. Sandpaper will create a “fuzzy effect” when you rub it on the denim. A pumice stone is also a good tool to wear down spots. A cheese grater will do greater damage, creating rips and snags. Test a small patch, look at the effect, and work slowly.
5. Snip the hem and pocket edges with small scissors to create a frayed look.
6. Change the color of your jeans by lightening with small amounts of bleach (apply with a rag or sponge, ShopSmart says). Or you can darken for a “dirty” look with fabric dye, such as Rit or strong coffee.
7. If you’re not sure what distressed look you want, flip through magazines, fashion websites, or take pictures of jeans you see in stores.
This sounds like such a fun project! I can’t wait to try it on my next pair of jeans. On second thought, I may try some of these techniques on older pairs of jeans that I don’t care much about, then apply my new skills to a new pair.
This could also be a great project for a teen who wants jeans that are 100 percent unique.
Here are the latest and greatest deals from my WalletPop blog.
Get 25 percent off at Borders with a coupon that ends today, Feb. 8, 2010.
Snag this Old Navy coupon code and get 20 percent off your purchase online, with some caveats, through Feb. 18, 2010.
I’m sitting pretty with this Michaels 40 percent off coupon, good through Feb. 20, 2010.
Buying luggage, travel accessories, or leather products? Check out this $20 off $100 coupon code for Luggage Pros.
Scoops of ice cream are just 99-cents at Baskin Robbins when you buy one scoop to start.
