The Chronic Consumer

I just got another email from AldenGrace.com yesterday. This one said that customers can save 20% on any product in any product line (Stationery, Moving, Invitations, Baby, Wedding, or Coporate) for the next 10 days only. This 20% discount coupled with the free shipping that I told you about earlier means that it’s a great time to order new personalized stationery, wedding invitations, or whatever.

There’s no discount code to enter; the 20% is already reflected in the pricing you see on the site. This sale ends June 8, so hurry up if you want to take advantage of it!

I’m on the J.Crew.com mailing list and just received an announcement about a private 2-day sale. I’m not sure what the “private” part is all about; maybe that means they’re only sending the notice to mailing list members? Well, whatever — I can’t keep a secret!

The sale includes all merchandise, but the 20% discount only applies to purchases of $175 or more, so I guess this would be a good deal only if you need to stock up on a bunch of small-ticket items or maybe one or two expensive items.

Just enter the code PRIVSALE before checking out at J.Crew.com and you should receive the discount.

Happy shopping!

Okay, I think this has to be one of the most ridiculous things I’ve read in a long time. According to this Reuters article, the shoe department at the flagship Saks Fifth Avenue store in Manhattan will be so big that it needs its own zip code. The entire 8th floor of the store will be devoted entirely to shoes when it opens in September.

Let me get this straight: there will be a lot of shoes in the store and it will basically take up a whole floor in department store. And that requires a zip code because…?

Well, in case you’re wondering, the zip code will be 10022-SHOE.

I just read an article on Yahoo News today about a lawsuit filed against Best Buy. The lawsuit comes from the Connecticut Attorney General’s office and charges the nationwide electronics retailer with engaging in a so-called “bait-and-switch-plus” scheme.

Basically, the AG is saying that Best Buy lured customers into the store by advertising low prices on certain products, but then when the customer tried to purchase the product, they’d be told by employees that the actual price was higher. (Allegedly) the employees would check an “internal” website that looked very similar to the public Best Buy website. But the price on the internal website would be much higher. The employee would then show that price to the customer — a completely illegal practice.

Somehow this doesn’t surprise me. I hate dealing with Best Buy and have had lots of problems with them over the years regarding extended warranties and so forth. If it turns out that they’re guilty in this particular case, I’ll never buy anything from them again — no matter how low their prices are!!

The Amazon.com Gold Box has been around for quite some time. In it’s first incarnation, you clicked on the Gold Box at the upper right-hand corner of the Amazon.com page to view 10 different offers — one at a time. You could only accept one Gold Box offer per day, so if you passed on a particular deal, it was gone forever.

I’m not sure what happened to that version of the Gold Box. Maybe it wasn’t popular with users — or maybe it was so popular that Amazon.com decided to expand the offerings. At any rate, the Gold Box works differently now.

Instead of viewing offers one at a time, you get a featured Deal of the Day. This offer is not specifically geared towards you based on your past purchases (like the old Gold Box offers were), but are open to all Amazon.com users. Because there are limited quantities, you’re essentially “competing” with other shoppers to take advantage of the featured deal. This reminds me of Woot.com, actually.

Then there are also a bunch of other deals listed also. Unlike the Deal of the Day, these deals are ongoing, so you don’t necessarily have to make a purchase right then and there.

I like the new Gold Box setup better and have actually bought stuff from it, whereas I never bothered with the old Gold Box.

What did I buy? The complete Season Two DVD box set of Boston Legal for just $26.99. Pretty good deal!

There’s no reason to struggle with printing your own digital photos at home anymore, as many websites now offer professional-quality photo printing at reasonable prices. Snapfish.com, which is run by HP, is one of those sites. New customers receive their first 20 prints for free, and then each one is just $.12 after that. That’s a pretty good deal, especially when compared to Yahoo’s photo service, which offers just 12 free prints (I think) to new customers.

I’ve been meaning to try Snapfish myself, but haven’t had time to sit down and sort through all my photos to select ones to print out. Once I get around to it though, you can bet I’ll go and get my 20 free prints!

I was shopping on the EddieBauer.com site today and saw that they’re having a sale on duffel bags. You can save up to 25% on all the duffels they carry, so if you’ve been looking for some new gear, this would be a great time to buy. Eddie Bauer duffels come in a variety of styles and sizes, and can be used for work, school, and/or travel.

I have a huge Eddie Bauer duffel and backpack set that I’ve been using for travel for nearly 10 years now. They’re both roomy and extremely durable, and I’d definitely buy more from Eddie Bauer — if and when I ever need to replace my current products. But since my duffel and backpack have held up so well, I think I’m good for another few years at least!

I just received the following email from Alden Grace stationery. They’ve changed their shipping policy, and now all orders receive FREE ground shipping from UPS! This is an awesome development that can save you a nice bit of money since stationery is usually pretty bulky and heavy. Anyway, check out the email and be sure to take advantage of this free shipping the next time you order holiday cards or personalized stationery!

Greetings!

We have some news to share with you!.

We have changed our shipping policy and, effective immediately, UPS Ground SHIPPING is FREE on all orders…all the time!

Also as a reminder, NO SALES TAX is charged on any order (except for Maine residents).

We appreciate your previous business and look forward to supplying your fine stationery needs in the future.

We are proud to be the Best Value in Fine Stationery!

Also, we would appreciate you forwarding this to a friend!