BigBob

CF's (compact fluorescents) bulbs have improved greatly over the years. They are far from perfect, however. They don't work well in the cold -- they won't start up. They don't always work well in a horizontal position -- they overheat badly. I have had 2 of them catch on fire, mounted vertically, in well ventilated light sockets. Another one literally melted the light fixture due to some failure in the base of the CF bulb. They are very energy efficient. The last a REALLY long time -- some of mine have been working for 3-4 years now. They are also notorious noise generators --- noise in the radio frequency spectrum that just trashes local radio reception and sometimes messes up TV reception as well. The color of the light on most of the CF's I've seen is not spectrally balanced. It seems to be a very blue light --- makes some other colors look very strange. I have now seen some advertised as cool white, daylight, etc. About 1/2 of my lights are now using CF's but, due to the experience with them catching on fire, the other 1/2 of my fixtures will stay with old fashioned incandescent lightbulbs.

Same story here in Tampa area. None of the Home Depots have the rebate forms and their district office says they don't know about any rebate either. Nothing on their web site and nothing that their customer service desk folks could find on their systems. Hmmm ... but they do have a pallet full of the 60W 10 pack of bulbs. Actually a pretty decent deal at $2.50 even without the rebate. UPDATE 4/19 : Stopped in to HD for some ant killer gel and cruised by the lightbulb display ... the rebate forms were there tonite. And, they got in the bent tip decorator bulb 10 packs as well. So, if your HD didn't have the forms or the bulbs before, they may have them now or very soon.

Be sure to get the original rebate form at Home Depot. Apparently they will reject rebates submitted on photocopied forms or the copies that are being scanned and posted on other deal sites. Originals only ! That's the scuttlebutt anyway. Thanks for the post C.A.

Just as I said ... It's a one time use coupon... we tried to use it and it was rejected... someone else had already used it. The key is the bar code "serial number". Staples does the same thing with many of their high $ coupons.

Krissy, Many credit card banks now provide a web-based "virtual card" service where you generate a single-use credit card number that you can put time and dollar limits on. The virtual card maps back to your main card and it all rolls up to one bill at the end. This is a great feature for on-line purchases and certainly reduces the exposure to credit card fraud.

There are a few MP3 players on the market that accept SD cards. The Rosewill is one. MPI also has a very small-size one that used to be 128MB base memory that they bumped up to 256MB base. They clearanced out the 128's for $30. It accepts 1GB SD cards too. With 1GB cards down around $20 now, it gets real attractive to use this type of MP3 player. And, to the OP, the term "stacked rebates" holds true, but maybe I should have said "multiple rebates". The deal you posted requires multiple rebates to achieve the bottom line price you stated and that is the rub. I agree that CompUSSR really is the master of stacking rebates on individual items. They are on my 'bad guys' list as far as rebate horror stories.

I liked the sounds of it ... at first... It does seem like a really good deal. But, with the way rebates have been denied, lost, delayed, hassled, and generally turning into scam-a-ramas lately ... well ... all the stacked rebates on this deal isn't making me run for the Mastercard. But, thanks for posting it anyway.

That is a "one time use coupon" assigned to one person. As soon as someone uses this coupon, it will be not work for anyone else.

We've had 3 of these over about the past 4-5 years. They are great for a while and then they start rattling and making a lot of noise as the pump wears out. There are no decent bearings in the pump. They wear out fast and that's the end of the road for it. The cats sure do like the waterfall, however. We've returned all but the first one for replacement or a refund. Save the box and your receipt ! WalMart has the charcoal cartridges in the aquarium supplies area for way less than the ones in PetSmart too.

: Nope ! Nyet ! Nein ! No Go ! The free shipping code applies ONLY to specific items ... i.e. AMD PROCESSORS. It is NO GOOD for any other purchases. There has been a lot of very angry discussion on this topic on another board and several people have called Newegg to voice their displeasure with the fine print on this deal. It apparently originated in "PC Gamer" magazine. So ... sorry to say, this is a BOGUS deal.

Brad -- do you have a link or some other source on your rumor of rate increases? And, some more info on how/why XM's hardware is "much better"? Delphi is making a lot of the XM hardware and they are in serious financial trouble (maybe bankruptcy by now ?) From strictly a consumer perspective, the decision of XM or Sirius is pretty easy. Look at both of their channel lineups and go with the one you like best. Personally, I have both Sirius and XM. XM is in the house and Sirius in the car. I like both of them, but have to say that Sirius is my favorite with less "DJ chatter". Another thing that might help you decide. If you have a good friend/relative with a subscription to either one ... you can add on additional receivers linked to their account for about a 50% discount. I'm tag-teaming on with my daughter's Sirius account for $7 a month. Both Sirius and XM are losing money like mad. I wouldn't sign up for a 1 year, or longer term, deal with either one right now.

Mara, Suffice it to say that I didn't do my normal research on a new internet merchant before placing an order. Now I am sorry that I didn't. I would not have ordered from them if I had read the reviews first. The time, stress, and hassle involved in getting a $40 internet purchase-gone-wrong straightened out with the seller and/or my credit card company just isn't worth it. As they say in cyber space ... YMMV. Or, as the Romans used to say, Caveat Emptor!

Some very good deals indeed ! But ... I would highly recommend you check this company out on resellerratings.com or another of the many web sites that rate internet retailers. They are one company operating under many names, apparently depending on their targetted customer base. One of their other incarnations is www.bargainoutfitters.com. Read up on them too. I made the mistake of ordering without checking them out first.

RS used to be a fairly decent place to get common electronic parts and other gadgets for the electronics hobbyist. The staff in the stores was fairly knowledgeable about basic electronics. That was in the 1970's on into the early 1980's. Then RS started drifting away from the hobbyist market and focussed on the computer, cell phone, telephone, and electronic "appliance" markets. The staff went downhill quickly. They seldom had answers to even my simplest questions or requests. Lots of blank stares is what I usually got. I asked them to find a fuse holder for me a few weeks ago and they got out a box of automotive fuses and said that they came with a free fuse holder -- the box they came in! The stories are endless. There used to be a web site that collected RS horror stories but I haven't looked at it lately ... it was a mix of funny stories, overselling attempts, and stories of RS clerks endangering customer safety with their faulty advice. I use RS as a "supplier of last resort" and only when I absolutely have to have something that actually might be in stock. Their prices are always 2-5 times higher than other suppliers for even the simplest components. And the quality is often questionable. So ... why are we shocked and amazed that RS is closing stores? It's been coming on for a long time and most of us in the electronics world knew it was inevitable. I'm betting that this batch of closures is only the beginning of the slide into oblivion.

I agree with what labgeek says. There is no way to tell what the condition is of the used equipment and it will take time to get it re-authorized to see if it even works. Most of the satellite companies have some form of "free" equipment (and installation) deals going on all the time. Yes, there may be a 1 year service contract commitment tied to the "free" deal. I see used dishes, LNB's, and receivers at the electronics flea markets all the time. Most of the receivers have been tinkered with and/or do not have the all-important access card included. My advice is not to buy used satellite gear from anyone except perhaps a local dealer who is going to install it and make it work. Otherwise it's a real risky transaction.