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.

That Kirkland brand 2 ply TP is a wonderful product and very economical. It is the equivalent of 180 grit sandpaper ! It won't scratch glass but it's murder on your ... well you know ... Sams has the hot dog or kielbasa deal too. Complete with sauerkraut if you so choose that culinary atrocity. Costco has the less-artery-clogging Chicken Bake.

We belong to Sams and Costco. BJ's is about 40 miles away and thus not worth the drive. We buy "bulk" items at Sams such as paper products, laundry detergent, bleach, tires, and batteries to name a few. Gasoline too, if we are passing by. Costco is much more up-scale and has a much wider selection of food and clothing items. We buy a lot of our groceries and meat there. Costco's wine selection and prices are very good. Costco seems to be much more oriented to the average consumer while Sams caters more to businesses. If at all possible, we buy all of our TV's, appliances, and other big-ticket items at Costco as well. The Costco return policy is hard to beat -- as long as you are a member and still have the receipt for the item, you can return it with no time limit and no hassles. The only exception are computers which have a 6 month limit. Sams sells extended warranties and Costco gives you much better coverage at NO extra cost.

I have been watching the Dell outlet site for a while too and there are some real deals to be had there, but you have to be quick. I read on another site that many re-sellers are running software "robots" that continuously poll the outlet site and automatically buy the items that are popular in the re-sale market.

Has anyone else experienced this pattern with WalMart clearance deals? I have been following a long thread/rant on another forum about WalMart clearance sales. Other than the obvious Christmas clearance deals, it seems that WalMart clearance sales are VERY much store specific. Even stores that are in close proximity to one another do not seem to have the same clearance prices. Items on clearance in one store are still at full price at the one 5 miles down the road. I was in a nearby WalMart one morning last Fall when the hardware/tool guy was marking down a huge cartload of stuff. He said that a "district manager" had just paid them a surprise visit and was very unhappy with stock levels on those items. He was ordered to "mark them down to $.25 and get rid of them now". I loaded up my cart with the stuff in a hurry. Most of the items were originally $4-$7 each. So... when I see the WalMart clearance deals posted on the web, I wonder if it's a similar situation. I chased one supposed "clearance deal" yesterday and was told that the item was brand new and had just been received this week. They couldn't understand why another WalMart store was selling a brand new $118 item for $50.

www.bargainoutfitters has the toilet monsters as well as the famous, high demand "BullyBag" desk accessory. Guaranteed to be a real conversation starter at the office ! http://www.bargainoutfitters.com/cb/cb.asp?a=206141

If it says "Philips" on the label, I run. And, refurbished too ? Two strikes !

There was at least 2 versions of the singing fish --- and they both were extremely annoying. I got one from a subordinate as a Christmas gift one year and it quickly was re-gifted complete with some fresh hi-capacity batteries. I also wired around the on/off switch so that the motion sensor was always active and the thing couldn't be shut off.

Give me a generic e-mail address and I'll send you a generic $45 off $400 coupon ! They expire soon. I played the elf game 3 times this morning and got coupons each time ($25 or $45).

If you need a Dell coupon ... go to: www.dell.com/holiday and play their "elf stocking" game. You have to register an e-mail and probably answer a few marketing questions each time you play. You will almost certainly get a $45 off $400 coupon or a $10 off $100 coupon each time. Depending on how you answer the questions, you may get coupons for specific Dell electronic items, so stay generic to get the generic coupons ! YMMV, however. Register multiple e-mail addresses and play until you get the coupon you want. Dell e-mails the coupon back to the address you registered. That takes from a few minutes to several hours to happen.

As of about 1:50 pm, Saturday Dec 17th, the BB in Brandon FL has 30-40 people in line outside ... in the rain ... in chairs ... some with umbrellas ... some just shivering in the damp ... That store is supposed to get about 45 of the 360's. What do you call this phenomenon? I predict major trouble there by morning !