bargain

How to Negotiate With Confidence and Strike the Best Deal

Kentin Waits — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 10:36:33 +0000

I'm always surprised when I see otherwise confident, capable, and brilliant people cower at the prospect of a little friendly negotiating. When it comes time to buy a car, hire a service, or pick up a second-hand coffee table, we shy away from haggling. I think it's largely due to being unprepared and not knowing the protocols that can help ensure success. The result? We're paying more than we need to for much of what we buy. (See also: Negotiating 101: The 5 Buyers You Meet in Hell)

If you'd like to become a better negotiator, here are a few tips that can vastly improve your chances of landing a sweet deal on your terms.

Come With Cash

I've said it before, but it bears repeating — cash is king.

Nothing positions you for success like coming to the negotiating table with cash in-hand. First, in the Age of the Craigslist Scam, cash speaks volumes about your seriousness as a buyer. Second, it motivates sellers to be more flexible on price, especially if they just want a quick sale so they can move on to other things. Third, it's quick and clean — no waiting for ATM runs, for the bank to open, for checks to clear, etc.

Be the First to Respond

When negotiating, there's no such thing as being fashionably late. Responding promptly and making a commitment to see an item before others have a chance to seize the deal isn't just smart shopping. Sellers will often honor a "first come, first served" rule, even if another buyer offers a better deal later.

Show Up

It's true — sometimes the difference between success and failure lies in just showing up. Anyone who advertises something for sale expects a few flakes, but that doesn't mean it's OK to be one. If you're interested in an item and want to prepare yourself for a successful deal, show up, don't be late, and try not to reschedule half-a-dozen times.

Communicate

Successful negotiating is built on clear communication.

Buyers should ask questions, discuss their concerns about an item, and backup their offers with sound reasoning. Silent sellers and stoic buyers don't make for easy deals. Open up, chat, try to create an authentic rapport with a seller, and let the negotiating process ebb and flow naturally.

Tell Your Story

Sometimes it doesn't hurt to share a little bit about yourself and how you'll use what you're buying. No need for elaborate stories or embellished tales of woe. Just help the buyer to understand and appreciate your situation.

Maybe that used bike will be your kid's first mode of independent transportation. Maybe that riding lawnmower will help your aging father maintain his own lawn for a few more years. Beyond being purely transactional, negotiation is a human-to-human activity, and its gears are greased by sharing.

Be Fair

Scoring a bargain is great, but there's no need to cut a seller's margin to the bone. The best deals leave both buyers and sellers feeling satisfied. Understand the real value of what you're negotiating over, estimate what the buyer has put into it, and shoot for a figure that will respect both parties.

Beyond all these suggestions, the one overriding piece of advice that should guide your negotiating is this — relax and enjoy the human-to-human exchange that's part of the process. Within your own predetermined limits about price, be flexible and view the seller not as an adversary, but as a collaborator. Before you know it, you'll be an expert negotiator scoring bigger and better bargains than ever before.

Are you a negotiator? What was your most recent haggling bargain? How much did you save and what was the process like?

This article is from Kentin Waits of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

Get a Deal Every Time You Shop with These Tools

Paul Michael — Thu, 16 Dec 2010 18:30:58 +0000

I have a few handy skills. Certainly not a plethora, but a handful that serve me well. And one of them is the ability to track down a bargain. Over the years I have become something of a go-to person amongst my friends and relatives. When they’re looking to buy a product or service, they often call me first to see if I know of any deals or special offers. If they can’t find an item, they ask me if I can. Even if something is sold out in 99% of the stores, I can usually track down that 1% that have it.

Do I have secrets? Am I super-lucky? Not really. I have just amassed a set of tools, almost all of them online, that help me find the deals quickly and easily. And now, I’m sharing them with you. They can be a real help when you’re shopping for a last minute item, have a very tight budget, or just hate paying sticker price for anything. (See also: Deep Discounts on Schedule: The Best Days to Shop)

1. Search every Craigslist at the same time

Craigslist revolutionized the way we all shop classified ads (as the newspaper industry quickly found out to its detriment). You post ads for free, search ads for free, contact the seller or buyer directly and do the deal without any hassle. But most people search their local Craigslist, which limits the bargains you can find and the net you can cast when trying to track something very particular down.

A site called allofcraigs.com does away with the local search and puts your query out there across every Craigslist site. I recently purchased something from someone in Los Angeles. No one in my state had what I was looking for. He shipped it quickly to me and was happy to do business out of state. Not everyone is, but most just want to make the sale. Check it out, bookmark it, and use it often.

2. Search every eBay site at the same time

Although eBay has a much broader reach than your local Craigslist site, it still confines searches to the eBay in your country. But why? I have bought many, many items from the UK eBay, especially music and movies, and who knows what else is lurking out there on other eBay sites. So, why not search them all? You may find a better deal, better prices or faster shipping options.

To search every eBay, you first need to have an eBay account. When you are logged in, go to the Advanced Search page. Enter the usual search keywords and other requirements as you normally would in a regular eBay search. But, when you scroll down to the Location field, select "Items available to", then choose "All Countries/Regions" from the drop-down list. When you do your search, you can see items matching your search from every eBay site out there. Nice.

3. Find products locally that are in stock

During peak shopping seasons, like Christmas or Halloween, stores will quickly sell out of the items you want to buy. This happens every year with the “must have toys” and gadgets that people have on their wish lists. I spent months tracking down a Wii for my wife a few years ago, and this tool would have come in handy. It’s a site called Milo.com. You may have heard of it in the news recently because eBay just purchased it for a cool $75 million. Hopefully, the service remains just as good under the new management. All you do is type in the name of the item you’re looking for and you’ll get a list of results showing stores in your area that have it in stock! Saves a lot of calling around and emailing.

4. Use an auction sniper service

There are quite a few of these around, including Bidnip.com, Auctionsniper.com, EZsniper.com and Bidnapper.com. They all work in basically the same way, and it can save you a ton of time and money. Simply input the item number of the auction you’d like to win, the maximum amount you’d like to pay and, the cool part, when you’d like your bid to post. I usually go for 3 seconds. Instead of seeing a bidding war ensue, you can sit back and get on with your life, while the service puts in a last-minute bid for you.

Of course, this is not a guaranteed win. Sometimes, there can be communication issues and the service cannot place the bid in time. Sometimes someone else is using an auction sniper as well. And it you absolutely have to have the item, no questions asked, then relying on an auction sniper is not your best bet. But if you want to grab an item without seeing the price skyrocket over the days (or weeks) then this is for you. It also helps to avoid fake bidding, when people will actually try and inflate the price of the product they’re selling by bidding against you as someone else.

5. Always do an online price comparison

These were all the rage a few years ago, but with the popularity of the Google Shopping tab, and some of the sites mentioned above, people don’t often use the price comparison shoppers any more. That’s a big mistake in my book. Sites like bizrate.com, mysimon.com, nextag.com, and pricegrabber.com have taken a lot of the hard work out of finding great deals. Just put the item in that you want and you’ll see who’s selling it for less. Remember though, always do a total price comparison, quite often shipping and handling can turn a good deal into a bad one, or an average deal into a great one.

6. If you have the technology, compare prices in store

How so? Well, if you have a smart phone you can use it to your advantage. Apps like Redlaser and Shop Savvy allow you to scan the barcodes of products using the built-in camera. They then search the web for that product and return the results, so that you can find the best deal. If that’s not for you, you can always use the internet on your cell phone to do a quick product search on the sites mentioned in part 5. Several stores have computers inside the store that will enable you to search the web and compare prices. And if all else fails and you’re still not sure, call someone who does have access to the web and won’t mind helping you out. Remember, if in doubt, walk out.

7. If there’s a coupon code box, there’s usually a code out there

The coupon box is a double-edged sword to be honest. On the one hand, its presence means that the site accepts coupons. But that also means you an burn a lot of hours trying to find them, when there may not be any valid coupons available at the time. I usually try retailmenot.com whenever I see a coupon box. There is usually a discount code on there for the site I’m buying from. If not, I’ll do a quick hunt online. But if I haven’t found one after five minutes, I drop it and buy without using a coupon. I have learned the hard way, after obsessively searching for hours to find a coupon that gets me a 2% discount, that it’s just not worth the effort if you don’t find a coupon quite quickly. Also, remember to look for printable coupons to use when you shop in store.

8. Always check the daily deals sites

There are way too many to list here, but some of my personal favorites are slickdeals, buxr, dealhack, dealnews, freestufftimes, and our very own Wise Bread deals section. Some of the deals are awesome, but stay focused. Sometimes the deals are so tempting that you buy stuff you really weren’t looking for, and that can get expensive. Keep your eyes on the prize.

Those are my favorites, and they work wonders for me. Do you have any tips to add to the list? Let us know.

This article is from Paul Michael of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

The 1-Cent Cell Phone Protector, and Other Hacks.

Paul Michael — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 13:00:03 +0000

When you're forking out several hundred dollars for a cell phone, the thought of spending even more money to keep it scratch-free seems a no-brainer. But I'm cheap. And I don't like spending a few bucks on a piece of clear tape when, well, a free piece of clear tape will do. Or in this case, almost free.

The DIY screen protector is great for so many frugal folks like myself. First, it's (almost) free. Most of us have a roll of clear packing tape lying around, and you usually get about 55 yards for around $5. And that equates to less than one cent for a piece of tape big enough to cover your average smart phone. But hold on, don't just go sticking it to your phone and calling it a day. There's a method to this, which you will see in the

Howcast video below.

Great stuff, and way cheaper than those screen protectors you'll find in your local cell phone store. But why stop there? I did some hunting around for other great cell phone hacks, tips, and tricks to save you some money that you can put towards your enormous phone bill. In no particular order, here are five more excellent phone hacks worth checking out.

1. The Duct Tape Cell Phone/iPod Case

It's a bit rough and ready, but hey, it's almost free as well. Maybe it will catch on and become cool to have, at which point you'll be able to buy a pre-made Duct Tape case at Target for $19.99.

2. The Plastic Bottle Cell Phone Outlet Mount

If you're tired of having your cell phone just lying around taking up space on the counter, or worse, the floor, this is a handy little gadget made from an old shampoo bottle. Can you say free? Nice.

3. Make A Car Cell Phone Holder From an Old CD

The video is without sound (it's not needed by the way) and it shows you in about 30 seconds how to turn an old CD into a nifty holder for your car. Another super cheap option.

4. USB Charger From an Old Cassette Tape Box

You'll need a $2 part from a local Radio Shack, and some soldering experience. But it does create a handy and portable charger for very little money.

5. Use Your Cell Phone as a Wireless Mouse!

No kidding. If you have a bluetooth-enabled cell phone, this is possible. But only useful if you've lost track of your mouse, or have a laptop and don't have your mouse with you.

This article is from Paul Michael of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

Buy. Sell. Make a Profit. Thanks Office Depot.

Paul Michael — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 13:00:03 +0000

I've finally found a store that, regular as clockwork, puts great items on sale. And when I say sale, I don't mean 20% off, or even 50% off. I'm talking about 75%–90% off. The store is Office Depot, and it's a terrific source of resalable items.

Now some people may snub their noses at the idea of buying items on sale and then selling them for a profit. To those people I say, why? That's the entrepreneurial spirit that makes this country great, and the foundation for millions of businesses. So, with that small hurdle out of the way, let me just say that if you're looking for cheap gifts, bargain office supplies, or simply a steal that you can resell and make some extra cash, Office Depot is an oasis even more reliable than Target, Ross or TJ Maxx.

I pop down to my local Office Depot once a week for office supplies, and I never fail to find incredible bargains when I'm there. Recent purchases have included two Olympus Voice Recorders for less than $4 each (they retail at $35), several hole punches for $1.84 (retail price $19.99), combination padlocks for 94 cents ($10 retail) and most recently, a few handheld 3.5" TVs for $19.99 (Amazon has them for over $100 right now).

As these are all brand new, flawless, and still in their boxes, it's no hassle to sell them for a sizable profit. The voice recorders sold for a very nice profit. The TVs will sell for $50 easily, which is $30 profit on each. I'll get $10 for the hole punches, and $5 for the locks. With eBay and Craigslist at my disposal, I don't have to do much to make my sales. I just post the ads, sit back, and wait for a buyer.

I've done this before in the past, but Office Depot continues to surprise me with these huge discounts every single week. And it's not on poor quality goods, these are products that are still retailing for full price, and selling well, in other stores. But, as long as Office Depot continues to do this heavy-handed discounting, I'll be there every week to pick up some bargains and sell them for a little extra cash. And trust me, it can easily add up to a few hundred dollars profit every month.

So, pop down to your local Office Depot when you get the chance, and try your hand at some "buy low, sell high" wheeling and dealing.

This article is from Paul Michael of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

I Challenge You To Beat My Price.

Paul Michael — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 21:15:31 +0000

Stateless Systems are at it again. I’m a huge fan of their two biggest sites, BugMeNot (a way to bypass compulsory website registrations) and RetailMeNot (a vast coupon codes site). Now with BeatMyPrice, they’re turning competitive shopping and price comparison searches into a game. And we’re all winners.

BeatMyPrice has a fantastically simple home page. You just plug in the name of the product, the web address where you found it and the price it’s selling for. Seconds later, you receive results that are pulled not just from other search engines, but that users have submitted. And a “target price” sliding scale lets you adjust for the ideal amount you’d like to pay. Then, you click on the link and go shopping.

Sites like Google Shopping, Bizrate and MySimon are good, and Kaboodle is fun, too, but there are people out there who are the Einsteins of bargain shopping. They are the bloodhounds of the internet, and when they find a stellar deal, they can now pass it on quickly and effectively with a search-engine comparison site like BeatMyPrice.

Big question; does it work? Well, I’ve been trying it out for a month now and so far, it’s definitely had the best prices for products WHEN it was listed on the site. Right now, as it is in its infancy, you may not find a price for the item you’re looking for. It seems to be a lot of electronics and gadgets at the moment. But as the site grows in popularity, the product database will grow, too.

I did a search for a D-Link DGL-4300 wireless router. Using my usual fallback, Google Shopping, the cheapest price I found was at Walmart for $138.77. As I hate giving money to WalMart anyway, I was happy to use BeatMyPrice to find a better deal. And it found one. Big time. Amazon had the same router for $105.78, plus a $25 rebate and free shipping. Grand total - $80.78, some $57.99 cheaper than the best I could find on Google Shopping. I was impressed.

Give it a try. And if you actually find that you have the cheapest price, it will become the price to beat on the site and you can be happy knowing you have saved future shoppers a bunch of cash. OR even a little cash. Either way, this is a service I’ll be using a lot.

(Prices listed above correct at time of article publication)

This article is from Paul Michael of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

Sears goes a little crazy - sweaters starting at 99 cents!

Paul Michael — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 20:25:28 +0000

Very quick and super deal for you folks, to follow my vent on mortgages. And considering what I was saying, we need to save every penny we can. Anyway, Sears is going a little gaga and selling off a whole bunch of decent clothes for 90% off, sometimes more! How much more? Well, when you click on the link you'll be greeted by items that have been reduced from $20-$30 to just 99 cents. I'm not even sure you could find a deal like that for a used sweater at a charity store.

As usual, these deals will go quickly and sizes will start to disappear fast. So, get over to Sears and get yourself some great deals (if you need them of course). If not for yourself, you could certainly fill up on gifts just in time for the holidays. I could find no indication of the sale expiration date, so take advantage of it while you can.

This article is from Paul Michael of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

What clearance price is your Achilles Heel?

Paul Michael — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 15:51:44 +0000

Some people are suckers for bargains of any kind. Others, well, even a genuine FREE offer is difficult for them to take up. But most of us, myself included, have a magic number. It’s in the form of a percentage printed on wonderful clearance sticker, and it is scary how many times it has pulled me in like a tractor beam.

Now, I’m not including sale prices on items you were actually going to buy anyway. If you see a 10% off sticker on a bottle of juice or box of cereal, fair enough. Even if it’s a big box item like a washing machine, if you were already out shopping for one, that doesn’t count either.

No, what I’m talking about here is the magic number that draws you away from what you were doing, and before you know it has you holding the sale item in your hand like the golden idol in Raiders Of The Lost Ark. You’re mesmerized, because man, it’s so cheap.

So what’s your number? For me, it’s 75% off (or more). Some people will take any discount, even those measly 15% offerings. Nah, not for me. Others get sucked in by the 40% of 50% clearance stickers. Personally, that’s a sale but it’s no clearance. But when I see 75% off, I’m there. It is my Achilles Heel. And by the time it’s hit 90% off, I’m almost always a lost cause. I’ll find myself searching through the deepest recesses in my brain, looking for a reason, any reason, to buy it.

It’s really worrying to me to look back and reflect upon how much completely unnecessary crap I will consider buying when that price tag is on it. After Halloween, I’ll try and avoid Target. See, all of the costumes and funky accessories get slammed down to silly prices. First 50% off, then a week later that magic 75% off sign is displayed. Last November I had to go to Target for a wiper blade and walked past the Halloween clearance. Before I knew what had hit me, I was walking out with adult-sized Spiderman and Davy Jones costumes. And no wiper blade! They were 90% off, and $5 for either of those costumes is a bargain.

Fortunately, I found a use for Spiderman. It was my nephew’s birthday a few months later and Spiderman was there to make a surprise visit. $5 well spent in that case (although I ended up forking out an extra $20 online for gloves and feet covers). Davy Jones is still gathering dust in my garage. Will I use him this year? Doubtful, that movie is not quite flavor of the month any more…but we’ll see.

The 75% off sticker has got me in other ways. Online, if I see a sale advertised for 75% off or more, I’m at that website in a flash. One time I spent half an hour at the Hot Topic site searching for something to buy in their 75% off sale. I couldn't find anything, and believe me, I was trying. Then I had a moment of clarity, shut up my laptop and picked up a good book. It almost got to me. Almost.

What I’m saying here folks is that whatever your magic number is, think twice before you get to the checkout (in person or online), with a vastly reduced but pointless “thing.” Do you really need that complete set of walrus polishing brushes? Is the glow in the dark eye-mask necessary? Remember too that the reason a lot of these items have such big clearance stickers is that they weren’t selling. Probably because they’re outdated, broken or just plain crap!

Frasier Crane once said, in my all-time favorite Frasier episode, “it may be an unwise man who doesn't learn from his own mistakes, but it's an absolute idiot that doesn't learn from other people's.” Learn from my mistakes and my Achilles Heel. Don’t be taken in by the magic clearance price.

This article is from Paul Michael of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

"Stapler. Stapler." - FREE $20 Swingline Stapler

Paul Michael — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:28:50 +0000

If you're a fan of Office Space (shame on you if you're not) you will know of Milton's obsession with his Swingline stapler. Well, in exchange for about 2 minutes of your time, Swingline.com will give you a $20 stapler for free. Now that's a deal that would make Milton drool all over his TPS reports.

Just visit Swingline.com via this link and complete a very brief point 'n' click survey about a new tool kit they're developing. Then enter your name and address. They will ship you a Swingline Optima Desk Stapler, worth about $20, absolutely free.

I couldn't find any details of when this offer expires, so jump on it soon. (Color may vary from the image shown...if you're lucky, you may get a red one).

NOTE: Due to many people clearly interested in getting Milton's red stapler, you can find the exact model right here at Amazon, a trusted site.

Swingline Collectors Edition 747® Business Stapler in Rio Red - The Red Stapler (S7074736E)

This article is from Paul Michael of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

Free movie rental from Hollywood Video

Paul Michael — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 16:54:49 +0000

This deal is about as simple as they get. So grab a bag or two of your favorite popcorn, browse through the aisles of your local Hollywood Video and pick up a video rental on the house.

So, what's the catch? Well, there is one but it's a tiny one. All you have to do is sign up for the Hollywood Video newsletter, no big deal, and you get your coupon.

Any restrictions? None that I can see. This was on my coupon:

This coupon is a one-time offer and is good for one free New Release DVD or Hollywood Film Library® movie rental.

The only slight niggle I had was installing the coupon printer, I'm no big fan of extra software. But it's a small gripe for a free movie. Enjoy.

This deal is about as simple as they get. So grab a bag or two of your favorite popcorn, browse through the aisles of your local Hollywood Video and pick up a video rental on the house.

So, what's the catch? Well, there is one but it's a tiny one. All you have to do is sign up for the Hollywood Video newsletter, no big deal, and you get your coupon.

Any restrictions? None that I can see. This was on my coupon:

This coupon is a one-time offer and is good for one free New Release DVD or Hollywood Film Library® movie rental.

The only slight niggle I had was installing the coupon printer, I'm no big fan of extra software. But it's a small gripe for a free movie. Enjoy.

This article is from Paul Michael of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

Chuck Taylor Converse shoes under $10

Paul Michael — Sun, 02 Dec 2007 18:18:13 +0000

I'm not entirely sure why this stellar deal is on a music site, but I don't care. Right now you can get several different styles of the classic Chuck Taylor Converse shoes, including these great high-tops, for under $10.

Just click here to visit Musician's Friend (a site I trust for great deals on music) and grab yourself or your lucky friends and relatives a pair or two of classic Americana starting at the silly price of just $8.99 per pair. That's down significantly from the retail price of $44.99, an amazing saving. I don't think I've a seen a shoe deal to match this one in a long time, but they will sell out very quickly so get them fast.

Shipping starts at around $5.95, there are over 20 styles to choose from and most sizes are available (at the time of this article). On an interesting side note, I never thought that learning to play the guitar would get me great deals on shoes. Ahh, the sweet circle of life. Enjoy.

P.S. I wonder, have you ever discovered a sweet deal in an unexpected place? My most unusual find was a cheap graphic design book in store that sold organic fruit and vegetables. They had a little shelf at the back of the store full of new books for sale. Quite an odd combo, but it worked for me.

This article is from Paul Michael of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

Friday deal - Sweet dreams for a real bargain -DEAL OVER

Paul Michael — Fri, 07 Sep 2007 15:18:24 +0000

I couldn't resist this deal, and just had to share it. We've had our King Size bed for almost 7 years now, and although it's holding up well it's not as great as it used to be. But Amazon is almost giving away these expensive 2 INCH thick memory foam toppers, which means my sleep is about to get a whole lot better again.

The actual product is called the Complete Comfort DreamCoil 2-inch memory foam topper. Phew. And the savings are major. Whatever size you choose, you get it for just $34.99 with FREE shipping. That means a saving of around $85 on the twin size, and a whopping $165 on the California King.

NOTE: As a guest has very aptly pointed out, the reviews seem to point out an issue with size (possibly the reason for the stellar deal). I simply ordered one size larger, but please keep that in mind.

Just click the link below to get yours. But get your skates on, I know this deal will end quickly.

Complete Comfort Dreamcoil 2-Inch Memory Foam Toppers

This article is from Paul Michael of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

FREE copy of "What To Expect The First Year" book.

Paul Michael — Mon, 27 Aug 2007 17:58:38 +0000

A quick 'deal of the day' for you, and it's a great one. When my wife and I were expecting out first child we read "What To Expect When You're Expecting" from cover to cover. When the baby arrived, we quickly turned to this book. It's wonderful, it's well written and you can get it absolutely FREE.

The book is being given away in a promotion by WHATTOEXPECT.COM and Balmex. The book has an R.R.P. of $15.95 (although you'll find it in most book stores for around $10). But this is a deal you just can't beat. Click here to get yours, or get it for a friend with a new baby.

This article is from Paul Michael of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

FREE 18" Cultured Freshwater Pearl Necklace

Paul Michael — Sat, 25 Aug 2007 05:48:51 +0000

This is no joke. This is not a scam, I've checked it out. Right now Overstock.com is giving away 18" pearl necklaces. Why I have no idea. Clearly it was the accountant's day off. All you pay is just $2.95 for shipping, but they have limited you to just 1 per customer. Makes sense.

As you can see, it really is free. No coupon needed, they apply the $19.99 for you. Just pay the paltry shipping. To grab your deal just click here . But at this price (what price?) I'd hurry, they aren't going to last long.

This article is from Paul Michael of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

Coupon of the month! $30 off a $30 purchase at ShopNBC.

Paul Michael — Sat, 28 Jul 2007 22:45:06 +0000

It's not often a deal of this magnitude comes along, so grab it while you can folks. Right now (for a limited time, but I don't know how long...sorry) ShopNBC accepts a coupon that takes $30 off a minmium purchase of $30. Basically, it's $30 for free. Gratis. Nada.

The only stipulation I can find is that the $30 has to be spent on one item, not a bunch of items that add up to $30. No problem for me though, there's plenty on ShopNBC that I can pick up for just a little more than that price, making the item almost free.

I just did a little test run on a very nice purse for my wife (it won't be what I actually buy, she reads my blog and I want to surprise her). But as you can see, the $39.99 purse comes out at just $9.99 with FREE shipping! Items in jewelry, apparrel and watches are all FREE shipping for a limited time, too. Logically, this means a $31.99 item could cost you just $1.99 all in. Not bad eh?

Just click here , find something you want and enter the code W89089103. The site was running very slow for me when I did my test run, probably due to this amazing deal. But keep trying, you'll get a very nice deal for the weekend. Cheers!

This article is from Paul Michael of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

A $25 meal for just $3. Updated.

Paul Michael — Tue, 24 Jul 2007 15:32:30 +0000

How many of you are familiar with Restaurant.com ? It's a terrfic site that slashes the price of meals by using a coupon system. You usually get great deals on hundreds of local restaurant by paying $10 for a $25 certificate. But with the following coupon I'm about to give you, you can take a further 70% off that price. That makes two $25 certificates to a great restaurant cost just $6 total!

As with many sites like this, there are stipulations for each certificate and they vary from restaurant to restaurant. Some insist that you buy two entrees (not a problem when it's a meal for two). Some say you must order wine with dinner, or you can only use the coupon at a certain time. Be sure to check all of these out to ensure you get the dining experience right for you.

ALSO, as several people have pointed out, you can only use one coupon per visit, per month. I have managed to get around this as I know some restaurant owners pretty well, but if we're going by the rules you should expect to use these on a monthly basis. Still, even if you buy a whole bunch, that's one great meal every month for super cheap. And that's groovy.

To order, just click the link above and make your selections. Then type in the code PRESENT to take a whopping 70% off the already reduced price. Voila, one $25 = $3. Now that's what I call living large on a small budget. The coupon code expires July 31st, so get moving.

You must also make a minimum purchase of $35, so plan your nights out accordingly. But at these prices, you'll be eating well on bare bones budget over several evenings. Have fun, and remember to save room for dessert.

Oh, and due to the popularity of this offer, the site can sometimes run a little slow. Stick with it, you will get your amazing deal.

This article is from Paul Michael of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread: