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Check out Neiman Marcus - www.neimanmarcus.com

Check out New Balance - www.joesnewbalanceoutlet.com

Check out JC Penney Swim Sale - www.jcpenney.com

Well here’s some stellar news for all of my couponing friends! Lowes Foods spokeswoman Dianne Blancato confirmed this morning that the chain will stop requiring a $35 minimum purchase before doubling coupons at its stores next week. More than that, Lowes is now going to double coupons up to 99 cents, rather than its previous 60-cent limit. That means a couple of things. First, the no minimum requirement will now mean that you can run into Lowes, grab a few items, use coupons on those items that will now double and get out of the store without having to buy anything else. And second, the increase in the value of coupons Lowes will double means that all your 75-cent coupons will now double to $1.50, just like they do at Harris Teeter. I LOVE competition. It always benefits the consumer! Anyway, the changes take effect July 11.

[via newsobserver.com]

Even if you aren’t a Best Buy customer, these tips will give you some ideas for how to get the best possible deals at any of your favorite stores.

1. Watch the register ring up your sale items to be sure that they ring up at the sale price, because they often don’t. If you’re not paying attention, you might end up overpaying.

2. Sign up for RewardZone and use the card not just for your purchases, but for the purchases of anyone else who is with you as well (who doesn’t have their own RewardZone card, of course). RewardZone is Best Buy’s customer loyalty program which tracks the amount of money you’ve spent at their store. Each time you reach $250 in purchases, you get a gift certificate for $5. That’s only 2% back, but I’m a firm believer that every little bit counts, and this is easy free money, so you might as well take it. RewardZone is particularly useful if you buy often or buy expensive items. If you don’t shop at Best Buy very frequently, it’s unlikely to do you any good. You can get even more cash back by signing up for a RewardZone credit card, which is not a bad card. It gives you 4% back on Best Buy purchases and 1% back on everything else. If you spend enough money at Best Buy and always pay your credit card balances off in full each month, this card might be worth having.

3. Get even more cash back on your purchases by using Ebates to purchase your items through BestBuy.com. Even if you want to purchase your items in the store, just choose Best Buy’s store pickup option. This way, you’ll get another 1% cash back on your purchases.

4. Another good use of the store pickup option to hold low priced items for you so they don’t sell out before you make it to the store.

5. Take the current week’s Circuit City advertisement to Best Buy with you to get price match discounts. You don’t NEED the paper to get the price match—they’ll actually call the store for you and confirm the lower advertised sale price. Obviously, this takes a LOT longer, though. Bring the ad if you can, but if you forget it, remember that you can still get the lower price.

6. I often find that the non-new sale items listed in Circuit City’s weekly ad will be hard-to-find at Best Buy, as if they pull them from the shelves intentionally when Circuit City’s paper comes out to avoid having to price match. My ideas to combat this: if you can anticipate what items will be on sale (sometimes you can, by watching what goes on sale at Amazon), you can hide items in the store (you will have to search your own ethical standards on whether this is appropriate or not) and go back for them when they’re on sale; if you can’t anticipate, then you can buy via the Best Buy website using the store pickup option, and pick up your item on Sunday (the day the paper comes out). Then when you pick up your item, get them to price match.

7. When a new release movie has a really large inventory, it might be better to wait a few weeks to buy it—often it will wind up being a part of a 2-for-$20 sale or other deal later on, which will save you a few bucks. It takes some practice to figure out which movies will do this, though, and you won’t always be right.

8. Check Amazon, DeepDiscountDVD, Circuit City, Target, and any other retailer that you like before buying at Best Buy. Despite their name, they don’t always offer the best deals.

9. If the prices at Amazon and Best Buy are the same, buy from Amazon (as long as you get free shipping) because they won’t charge you sales tax. Of course, you’ll have to wait a while to receive your order. Best Buy usually has a better price than Amazon the first week an item is released (during the sale), but after that the price will often be the same at the two stores.

10. Don’t try to run the scam of buying something cheaper someplace else and then exchanging it at Best Buy for a higher amount of store credit/exchange value. They won’t take the item if you can’t prove it was bought at their store. Save your receipts!

11. Another reason to hold on to all your receipts for a while is that Best Buy will retroactively price match for a couple of weeks if the price goes down at Best Buy (or other places that advertise it) on something you bought. Also, sometimes DVD companies will offer a deal where if you buy multiple discs, you get a special rebate or free DVD—and you need the receipts for that.

12. If you can’t find that sale item you were hoping to get at Best Buy, ask an employee to see what nearest store does have it in stock. You can also do this on your own using Best Buy’s website. Simply act like you’re buying something with the store pickup option, and you’ll be able to see what stores have it in stock.

Store loyalty cards, store credit cards, price matching, and shopping through Ebates or Fatwallet will help you save money at many stores. What additional tricks do you use to save money on your retail purchases?

via [marcheboursier]

“The holiday season no longer starts in Q4, with consumers beginning their shopping earlier and earlier,” said Lynda Clarizio, president of Advertising.com. “To fully capitalize on this lengthy shopping season, advertisers should look to leverage marketing tactics for each stage of the consumer purchase cycle - such as online video to build awareness, search marketing to drive traffic, and behavioral retargeting and late-season incentives to close conversions.”

According to the report, 84% of consumers will use the Internet to make purchases this holiday season, and most will begin shopping in October. The October shopping will be browsing, for the most part, as users try to find the best online deals. Most purchases will begin in November. During the pre-shopping time of October, users will visit between two and five websites to comparison shop. Most of those looking for deals will utilize search engines, making paid search campaigns a good investment for the holiday season.

Whether pre-shopping or actually purchasing, online shopping hubs need to be prepared sooner than ever. Shopping deals such as free shipping, coupons and discounts should be advertised clearly on the website and shopping cart software should be tested for ease of use.

[via Biz Report]

Soak in The Blue Lagoon, Attend the Iceland Airwaves Music Festival

Bet you didn’t know it was Iceland’s 63rd birthday. To celebrate, Reyka Vodka and Iceland Naturally have partnered to produce a contest allowing 1 lucky winner and 9 friends to fly to Iceland for three days and 2 nights of partying, soaking in the Blue Lagoon, sight seeing and to attend the Iceland Airwaves Music Festival. Any US or Canadian resident over 21 can enter to win.

The Wayfarers Introduces their New “Burgundy & The Loire Walk” With $200 Discount

Walking Europe used to be for folks who didn’t mind slinging on a backpack and heading for the woods, stopping at a one-star hotel every once in a while to scrape off the road grime and rinse out a few pairs of underwear in the sink. The Wayfarers wouldn’t hear of such nonsense.. According to the literature, “the Wayfarers commits to crafting a new walking experience, it abounds with well-researched details that allow travelers to connect most meaningfully with their destination.”

Which means a night bedding down at the Château de Marçay, a “stunning 15th-century fortress” while thoughtfully sipping a goblet of Montrachet. Not too shabby for a walking tour.

And you’ll get a $200 discount its 8-day/7-night itineraries scheduled for August 26 – Sept. 2 and Sept. 23 – 30.. Signing up for the walk is no sweat. For the details, see: Burgundy & The Loire - Nectar of the Gods, River of the Kings.

[via About]

Seattle

Expedia.com is currently offering their largest sale ever for summer travel May 1 - September 4. Packages must be booked by July 10th.
As part of the sale, Expedia is offering a vacation steal for a city getaway to Seattle. For $714/person, enjoy roundtrip airfare from Chicago’s O’Hare airport to Seattle on American Airlines and 3- night accommodations at the 4-Star W Seattle Hotel. Travel June 21- June 24.
This stylish hotel is located in Seattle’s prime downtown setting just three blocks from the Seattle Art Museum and seven blocks from the Pike Place Market and Pacific Place shopping.
Seattle is a great place to visit during the summer. With its vibrant scenery and oceanside setting, there are endless things to do. For a relaxing day trip, I recommend taking the ferry to Bainbridge Island (about a half hour trip). There you can check out the many breweries, wineries, vineyards and quaint shops and cafes. Or I recommend checking out the Experience Music Project Museum to get a taste of Seattle’s great music scene.
To book this package, visit www.expedia.com

Amusement Park Getaways

Cedar Point - Sandusky, Ohio

Cedar Point is a 5-hour drive from Chicago (one hour west of Cleveland). The park has the world’s largest collection of roller coasters and was voted “America’s Favorite Amusement Park”
Stay at the family-friendly Cedar Point’s Castaway Bay Resort, which offers it’s own waterpark within the resort and is located within a few-minutes of the Cedar Point, Soak City and Challenge Park entrance gates. Summer rates start at $184/night.
Reserve hotel room at www.resorts.cedarpoint.com . Daily admission to park: $11.95 - $41.95 based on age.
Cedar Point’s brand new “Maverick” coaster marks the 17th roller coaster for the park - a new world record. This train-like new thriller offers one of the steepest first drops and soars at 70 mph through Wild West scenery.

Wisconsin Dells

For a closer-to-home amusement park getaway, I recommend visiting Wisconsin Dells - the waterpark capital of the world, which is about a 3 hour drive from Chicago (located in Central Wisconsin).
Stay at the Wyndham Tamarak Hotel, which is conveniently located three miles from the Mt. Olympus Theme Park and Noah’s Ark Water Park. Rates start at $165/night for travel June 28 - July 1.
For a day of fun, I recommend visiting Mount Olympus Water & Theme Park - Rates starting at $33/person over 2 years old - This summer check out the grand opening of “Poseidon’s Rage - one of the world’s largest surf pools. Or, visit Noah’s Ark Water Park, America’s largest water park that features 45 waterslides, 2 huge wave pools, 2 endless rivers, 4 childrens water play areas and much more. Daily admission range from $25.99 - $31.99.
To reserve a hotel room, go to www.wisdells.com.

[via abc 7 Chicago]

DALLAS - Dallas police are searching for six masked gunmen who ransacked a home on Leon Street early Monday morning. Officials said the thieves busted into the home at about 5:30 a.m., tied up several of the residents and then began collecting the family’s belongings.

The thieves stole jewelry, three plasma televisions, a video game system and even two puppies.

Investigators said the family was not able to provide detailed descriptions of the thieves because they were all wearing ski masks. The victims also did not see the getaway car.

via [KXAS-TV Dallas]

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