billcsho

It is hard to convince people to switch before Vista SP1 released early next year. It just has too many problems.

I did not know that. I actually have a return credit on a card from last BF purchase.

I always take an active role in tracking rebate. I would not submit a rebate if there is no online tracking or at least a toll free number on the form.

That was in California and they process Frys.com rebates.

I did not go to BB on BF for many years. Basically, it is not worth the effort. The money you may save is less than the hours standing in line x minimal wage.

Rebates can be tricky if you are not used to it. I filed 27 rebates for BF2005 and 28 for BF2006. All the rebate checks (total ~$400) for BF2005 came in within 8-12 weeks after submission. For BF2006, half of the rebate checks (total ~$745) took longer than 12 weeks. The longest one took almost 4 months (not my record in rebate processing time though). It also took 1 e-mail and 1 phone call to get two rebate problems solved. I did not have details record for 2004 and earlier, but the trend clearly shows: 1. The amount per rebate is getting bigger (i.e. more money out of pocket initially). 2. Longer processing time. 3. More excuses in denial. Anyway, I have been getting near 100% success rate (only a few failed in the past 10 years or so). The keys are: 1. Never buy products from manufacturers with bad rebate record. 2. Trust only good rebate processing centers (Rite-aid, Parago [symantex, McAfee, CA, Staples,..], Costco, etc). 3. Do it only if it really worths the effort (Deep discount, Free after rebate, or even make some money). Don't forget you need to pay the postage and spend time on it. Forget about it if it is only $5 or less. 4. Buy the items you really need not just because of the rebate (except for items that can make money after rebate from a source with good reputation). 5. File online submission (or at least pre-submission) whenever possible. This would reduce processing time and human error. Best of all, you'll get a tracking number immediately. 6. Do not consider rebates without any tracking options on the form (online or toll free number). By the way, I just submitted 11 rebates last month and I got 8 validated already. I am going to make ~$100, get 2 free softwares, 2 flash drives, plus a free printer from those rebates. So there is nothing wrong in MIR for me.

My last BF shopping experience was very good. I finished placing all the Staples online orders by 5am and then took my neighbor (a newbie in BF shopping) to CompUSA. We were around the 30th in line. I got the $20AR 160GB HD and FAR BT headset and walked out in 5 minutes after the store opened.

What I noticed in the past 12 years, when the economy started going down hill there were more good deals on BF. This was due to the large inventory and slow sales. When the economy remained weak for another year or two, there was much less good deals. Interestingly, when the economy started catching up, the good deals came again. So I think this year, it will not be as many good deals as in the last couple years.

This should be my 12th BF shopping and my 3rd year with GD.

Last year I spent around $1000 but I get $744 back in 28 rebates (including some make money offers).

No more CompUSA in my area. The BB line is always too long while most of the stuffs from Staples and CC can be ordered online before store open. I have to think hard where to go this year.

I've already ordered all 5 items I need online early this morning at CC.com including the $3.99AR Cruzer drive. I went to CompUSA this evening and scored a SATA300 HD for $20AR. I'll take a good sleep and then go to Meijer, Staples, and ACE early tomorrow. I stop shopping at BB on BF as it is almost impossible to get the good deal with less than 10hr waiting, while CC usually offers what I want online a day earlier.

I got the Dance Mania double pad for my daugthers (6 and 10) from Kohls with the $10 coupon I got last month. I paid ~$20 OTD since it was 50% off. It was originally a Christmas gift for them, but we decided to let them open early since my older daughter did well in a recent Math test. They love it very much. The only TV game console we have at home is a pretty old model and they do not play it more than twice a year, so there is nothing really for them to compare. It got 9 games for TV connection. The first time we tried, I hooked it up to a digital projector and we are all very happy with it. There are a couple problems with the dance pad. First, it runs only on 4 AA batteries. There is no power adapter option. When the battery runs a little low, you cannot use the TV-free mode. The second problem is the bottom side of the pad does not grip on any kind of surface, floor or carpet. It does come with double side foam pad got attachment, but I don't think that is a good idea. Basically, we have to re-position the pad after each game. For less than $20 it is a very good deal, but I would definitely not pay the full price.

Yeah, but setting 5+ as upper limit has missed a lot of information.

OfficeMax opened at 7am last year. Actually it was 10min late at my local store and it was very windy outside. If it starts at 5am this year, I probably won't go there at all.

I used to love their previous return policy. When my kids were small, I used to stock up diapers when they have a coupon deal. Then when the kid grew beyond that size of diaper, I could bring all the unopen package back and got credit at full price (when there was no sale in 90 days) for something else. That's like 20% off on everything. In addition, I had returned a toy that I got from another store at clearance and get credit for full price at TRUS. I guess those good old days are gone forever.

It seems the OP is pretty new to BF shopping and did not expect most people have 5+ year experience. I have over 10 years BF shopping experience myself.

Nothing is cheaper than the Black & Decker coffee maker that you may get it again on 10/27 and 10/28 for free and even make $10 with the double rebate (October & November). I got one last month with the same deal.

I have not been there for several years now. Perhaps I should go back this year. It is only 75min away for me and it is 15min away from a huge outlet center.

My Meijer posted a note on all entrance last year that they will PM everything on BF. I hope they will keep doing that.

I usually formed a shopping team with a few friends. Send people to different stores and one stays home ordering online. I have been getting almost everything on my list in the past couple years. By the way, I checked out the location and stock of stuffs before BF and mark down what can be PM at which store. It is a lot easier to go to the store not advertising the on sale item and have it PM there.

I believe RiteAid was actually the first one doing online rebate submission.

OM does not have rebate anymore. I wonder if there is any good deal on BF still.

I usually print out shopping list for each store and bring the ad in my backpack for PM purpose.

I have submitted 12 rebates from BF2005 purchases. The total amount is near $400. The last check was received on 2/10. No failure at all. This year I do not need to do any follow up after submission. For BF2004, I e-mailed a couple times and made a couple phone calls in order to get the last couple rebates that finally arrived in April and May last year. Anyway, I have 100% successful rate for the last couple years. The lesson I've learned over the past years is to stay away from some vendors/rebate processor. The best rebate experience are from Staples, Symantec, Rite-Aid, ACE Hardware, and Costco.