Online or in person, the after-Christmas sales can be worth the trip – and not just for extra wrapping paper. This is your chance to replenish the gift closet and to find good deals on items for your home or yourself.
shopping
Holiday shopping and deal tips.
I just spent a few days in Chicago at the SaveUp 2010 conference, sponsored by Savings.com. All of us DealPros shared tips on holiday shopping and celebrations.
I took notes.
Discounted gift cards: The new coupon?
That’s how one guy described discounted gift cards — the subject of my current column, “Instant savings on holiday shopping,” over at MSN Money. (Edited to add: That column is no longer available on the MSN Money platform. Read on for the basics.)
These cards become available for various reasons, usually because their owners need the money or because the gift was unsuitable. Resellers like Plastic Jungle or Cardpool make them available to consumers at less than face value.
You can save 3% to 30% (or more) on cards for places you plan to shop for the holidays. There’s an aggregator site called Gift Card Granny that pulls up the best deals from eight different sources.
But these aren’t just for gift-shopping. You can use this “new coupon” to provide consistent discounts for your everyday purchases.
Don’t hate the payer, hate the game.
I’m the grocery store customer who challenges the scanner. Yes, it slows things up a little. But I’m not going to pay $2.89 a pound just because someone forgot to tell the computer that hams are on sale this week.
That’s me. And you? You might be the person behind me, grinding her teeth in frustration because I won’t accept anything other than the advertised price.
My apologies if your checkout is delayed by 60 seconds. But that $1.90-per-pound savings times eight pounds represents almost $16. My budget won’t let me back down.