samcasey

Toy R Us!

I just wish it had fax capability. Then I'll buy it for sure. But it's a good deal.

Here's my experience so far: Monitor arrived pretty quickly and everything looks good except for 1 dead pixel. For such a super low price, I decided to let it go and not to pursue any return/exchange. As far as the rebate, here's the latest status from wheresmyrebate.com: Product: PYXSCAPE 17 INCH LCD MONITOR REBATE Retailer: BUY.COM Purchase Date: Tuesday, November 30, 2004 Rebate Amount: $100.00 Type: Cash Rebate Status: Rebate Submission is Approved Waiting for the check to come in the mail......

I used a 12% off coupon and got this 1 for $170. Pretty decent machine, super quiet! http://www.staplescentral.com/customerAppreciation/images/04_CustomerAppCard.pdf It says no computers, but the cashier ran it through. I'm certainly not gonna complain.

It seems everybody here has a gripe against Staples. My experience with them has been pretty good. Their past rebates have been easy and fast, and this year they offered their BF stuff online and over the phone, while we had to brave the bitter cold and lose many hours of sleep for the other guys. Although far from glitch free, at least I got my shopping done AT HOME. They ran out of the $8.94 AR AT&T cordless phone with answering machine, and they called me the 2nd day to inform me. The next day they called again, telling me it was back in stock and if I still wanted it, I could have it for the same After Rebate price without going through any rebate process. Of course I agreed. Today I received the phone and it was a better model! The one they were BFing was a 900 MHz single handset phone, but I got a 2.4 GHz, double handset (1 corded, 1 cordless), caller/waiting ID, and 4 mailbox model! This is my best purchase of this BF, a $79.99 phone for $8.94 without any rebates!

Well, I'm sure they'll have one for that price before next BF. ;-) All kidding aside, why do you need one now? I mean it's over a week after BF and you just started asking?

I suspect that it's gonna be all talk and not much walk. If they really walk the walk, it is not going to be pretty on the bottom line. So they're pretty much screwed anyway.

Thanks, Gage's Mom! If anybody wants a better brand and has $60 more to spare, Buy.com has a Sharp 17" LCD (LL172AB) for sale today. Pretty much the same exercise: $299.99 - $15 -$100 = $184.99 with free shipping! This one has speakers.

RossMan, what made you say that? I didn't hear anything fishy, yet. Please!

I think the deal is gone now. You can't add the LCD to your cart/basket, although the price is still listed as $239.99. The rebate is gone from the rebate site as well. Sorry!

Buy.com Smart Modular SMART PyxScape SV3170 17" LCD Monitor - Black for $124.99 + Free Shipping (List Price: $499.38) New Customers Activate $15 off $200 coupon & then add to cart for $239.99 - $15 off coupon = $224.99 + Free Shipping (Choose the slowest!) There is $100 Rebate (Search offer# 21524) Available - Valid at Buy.com (Ends 01/31/05) - Try that & Get this Deal for $124.99 + Free Shipping $15 off $200 coupon: http://www.buy.com/retail/coupon.asp?prid=88301879&dcaid=1688 Link to 17" LCD: http://www.buy.com/retail/product.asp?sku=10356998&dcaid=1688 $100 rebate site: http://www.wheresmyrebate.com/(4udxbr55ahkz2055ni2nhta2)/Default.aspx

I think those check boxes mean what form of rebate you want. If the last one (GC Reload), you fill in your GC #, which starts with "60......" I chose "Check" and just sent them my receipt with the form. There's no mentioning of anything else needed.

Freesia, I own a unit of that Norcent 17" LCD. I bought it less than a year ago and spent about $275 during a regular sale from Staples. I later found out that Staples BF'd it last year for $200. My unit had a dead pixel on arrival, but I didn't return it since I just built a system and needed a monitor. Also, other aspects of this monitor seem OK. It's much brighter than a Samsung 17" LCD I have, and the colors seem rich. Other than that dead pixel, I don't like the uneven grayness of the black screen when a screensaver is on. The edges look birghter than the center. For $200, I think the quality is passable. If you are pickier about quality and don't mind spend a little more, I'd suggest you get a better name brand. The speakers are not worth anything.

Cactusmom, not to rain on your parade, but do you really believe you saved $400 on that eMachine? According to eMachine's own site, a better equiped T2894 only sells for $500 AR, and that's pretty much the regular price. And if you factor in the loss of sleep (those are not your regular working hours, are they?), the time spent driving to and from the store and waiting in line, and the cold and discomfort standing outdoor, and the extra hours the unlucky ones who can't rush out of BB in 15 minutes (some guys stayed till almost noon) had to suffer in the checkout line, the hourly rate would be a lot lower. And I'm sure you don't need anyone to remind you those are not easy money to make/save. I'd think twice before I venture out next year. If you're interested, here's a link to eMachines' T2894 page: http://www.emachines.com/products/products.html?prod=eMachines_T2984

Yeah, this is a great forum. I think the credit goes mainly to the moderators. But I'm really impressed with the people here. Normally people in public forums show their true colors sooner or later and become nasty one way or another. I hope the good days continue forever.

New York Times: "Early sales data from analyst ShopperTrak showed Black Friday sales rose 10.8 percent from a year ago to $8 billion, while Visa USA said spending on its cards rose 15.5 percent to $4.1 billion with sales up but plastic also more widely used...... ShopperTrak said sales on Black Friday were well above expectations, far exceeding last year's rise of 7 percent, with sales in the U.S. Midwest particularly good."

Didn't do much today. Just went to the Shack and got a 55-piece toolbox for $10. :-)

Man, it's quiet here! What happened to everybody? A couple days ago, the traffic had caused a server upgrade. Now there's hardly any new posts. Do we only live for Black Friday? When it's over, everyone either falls asleep or is totally done with holiday shopping. I guess we're all waiting for the before Xmas last minute dash again. Let's keep the good deals coming till New Year!

Staples has the I/O Magic and OfficeMax has the Digital Max. Both seem to have pretty much the same technical specs and both sell for $39.95 AR. Has anybody used them before? Which one is better, or are they both the same?

Natan, you must live in the very laid-back country! People near metro areas are much more aggressive on BF. The BB I went to, you will be lucky if your 3:00 wake-up can get you the 100th in line. Enjoy your BF good sleep all you want but it's an exception.

Sarah, I believe you've added another entry to the blonde joke encyclopedia!

Staples was probably the only store that had all of their BF hot deals available online and over the phone in addition to their B&M stores. I've tried the same thing with OM but was politely told to go to the store. Ain't gonna take a chance at 10 a.m. on BF. The 160GB HD was said to be Maxtor, probably in plain white box packaging. Jewel cases can be had anywhere, and OM often had 100-pack for free AR. So don't worry!

One of CompUSA's doorbuster deal yesterday was a 256MB PC2700 RAM for $9.99 and NewEgg had pretty much the same deal as well. Last year, the stores were giving out 256MB PC2100 RAM for free AR. Haven't seen anything free yet this year. Waiting...

Dream on, pal! Those people are hardwired to grab anything free, even if it's so crappy that the seller should have paid you to take it off of their hands.

Incidentally, it was a full moon last night. I noticed it on my way to the BF hunt. Maybe that's what got those werewolves going crazy! :-)