Effective this Sunday, January 22nd, the price of Stamps will increase from 44¢ to 45¢ per stamp.
Additionally, according to the U.S.P.S. website, the following changes will take place:
Source: USPS Press Release
If you are a frequent purchaser of daily deals, you have likely had some sort of interaction with a company called Digital Doorstep. Digital Doorstep was a company used by sites like Plum District and Eversave (just to name a couple) to process purchases of gift cards and Fandango codes. As of yesterday morning, Digital Doorstep filed Chapter 7 Bankruptcy.
If you have current vouchers that direct you to Digital Doorstep, you’ll need to return to the website/daily deal site where you purchased your product and they will either issue you a full refund or deliver the product to you directly. If you prefer, you can also enter your code and information here and Digital Doorstep will forward your product request to the appropriate daily deal site from which you purchased.
On a side note, the CEO of Plum District (who recently used Digital Doorstep to fulfill their Starbucks gift card/Fandango code offer and their Target gift card offer) released this statement yesterday:
For any customers who haven’t received Target cards or been able to redeem Starbucks/Fandango promotion codes, we are issuing a full refund. Despite our efforts to resolve the issues, we’ve lost all confidence that you might receive your cards, and earlier this week we filed a lawsuit with Digital Doorstep for breach of contract. Additionally, Digital Doorstep filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy today, so to ensure we always put our customers first, we are refunding all of these unfulfilled purchases. Furthermore, we will not work again with any merchant that doesn’t meet our high standards. We truly appreciate your patience, support and business throughout what we know was an even more frustrating period for you than it was for us. We look forward to “Making Mom’s Day” — your day — each day in the future. If you need further assistance or do not receive your refund within 7 business days, please contact us at help@plumdistrict.com. – Megan Gardner, CEO Plum District.
Souce:Hip2Save
As you may have heard, Zappos.com was hacked. They gained access to customers' names, regular and email addresses, phone numbers, and the last four digits of credit cards.
Here are steps to take with your Zappos (or 6pm) account:
Source: MSN.com
Target is teaming with Apple to open 25 "store-within-store" outlets in locations that won't support a stand alone Apple store.
They are starting with 25 locations. It's also still unclear if the locations will expand the availability of Apple products. Target sells iPads, iPods and iPhones, but no Mac hardware. It's still unclear if the retailer will begin to sell that, as well, or how the "store-within-store" outlets will be laid out.
Source: Tech-ex.net
If you enter a lot of Facebook sweeps, this is a must-read:
From Consumerist:
Like so many other people, I never checked the 'other' tab for my Facebook messages. I assumed that if anything wound up in there I would see a number pop up notifying me, much like my normal inbox. Fortunately a friend alerted me to the fact that this ISN'T the case, and I went in to find hundreds of re-routed messages. About ten were relevant and not spam.
One of them was a notification that I had won second prize in a contest I entered online, relating to the Blu-Ray release of a major motion picture. This included a new flat screen TV, blu-ray player and a copy of the movie. Oh, and it was dated from August 2010.
I emailed back and of course was notified that since I hadn't responded it was awarded to the next runner up. Though I question why I received a Facebook message and not a call or email, they can run their contest however they want, and the bottom line is I lost out; all because Facebook can't be bothered to tell me when they've put a message in 'other'!
Source: Consumerist.com
Bufferin, Excedrin, Gas-X, and NoDoz products have been recalled because they may be mixed with one another, contain broken tablets, or contain prescription painkillers.
Drugmaker Novartis is voluntarily recalling 1,645 lots of the four products. All four of the recalled products -- as well as nine prescription opiate painkillers including Percocet and morphine -- were made at the same plant in Lincoln, Neb.
Novartis Consumer Health is recalling select bottles of Excedrin and NoDoz that are expiring December 20, 2012 or earlier. They are also recalling select Bufferin & Gas X Prevention that is expiring December 20, 2013 or earlier.
You can see all of the impacted products.
The products may contain stray tablets from other products or broken and chipped tablets.
If you have a product that is part of this recall discontinue use and return them to Novartis Consumer Health for a full refund.
You should contact the Novartis Consumer Relationship Center at 1-888-477-2403 (available Monday-Friday 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Eastern Time) for information on how to return the affected products and receive reimbursement.
You can also get a form to obtain a refund.
Source: Webmd.com
From ABC News, Starbucks, along with desktop computers, water, gasoline and more will cost more in 2012. See complete article.
Did you watch the new "Extreme Couponing: All Stars" show? I found it kind of entertaining. The most refreshing part of the show was ALL the items went to charity.
Here is what the Huffington Post said:
"The rules of "Extreme Couponing All-Stars" are simple: the shoppers are set loose in a grocery store on a mission to acquire $500 worth of merchandise in 30 minutes. The catch is that no items can be purchased at full price. The contestant who can use coupons to save the highest percentage of their total is declared the winner, and all of the purchased goods are donated to a local food bank."
Have the gifts? Now wrap them for cheap! These tips come from Stacy Johnson on MSN.com:
Free wrapping paper:
Great news for Amazon shoppers!
Amazon has come out with a new price check app for the iPhone and the Android. When you are shopping in a store (like Walmart, Target, etc), you can check Amazon’s prices instantly by scanning barcodes, using your camera, dictating the item or just typing it what you want.
To launch this app with a bang, on December 10th Amazon is offering a 5% discount (up to $5 in savings) on select items in electronics, toys, sports, music and DVDs when you check any price using the app. You can do this up to 3 times on December 10th and save up to $15.
Don't fall for these 12 scams, such as fake holiday help, fake check scams and more.
Fake holiday help. Getting a seasonal job can be a great idea. In fact, it is one of our 5 Best Ways to Make More Money. But there are people out there preying on those who need work. Common scams to look out for include all manner of work-from-home jobs. If the so-called employer asks for money up front or your Social Security number, you might be on the verge of becoming a victim rather than an employee.
Fake charities. Don’t ever, ever, ever give money to any charity – even spare change – without checking them out first. And that’s something you can’t do if someone’s on your porch, at an intersection, or on the sidewalk asking for money. Read 4 Tips to Find the Right Charity, then visit the FTC’s website for a charity checklist.
Fake check scams. If someone is giving you money, how can you be scammed? The answer involvesfake checks. In these instances, buyers want what you’re selling on sites like eBay or Craigslist. Their next step is to offer you a cashier’s check for more than your asking price, on the condition that you return the difference. Weeks later, you are informed by your bank that the check was a phony, and you’re now out your money and your goods. The American Bankers Association has some tips to avoid being a victim, but in short, avoid cashier’s checks in situations like this and never return any difference in cash.
Counterfeit merchandise. In New York and other major cities, it is common to see street vendors selling fake watches and purses that appear to be high-end, name-brand goods. The modern version of these scams is to sell the merchandise online where the buyer has even less opportunity to inspect it. As Stacy said, beware of items that are priced well below their competitors, and be sure to buy from an authorized retailer.
If you used Ticketmaster's website to buy tickets between October 21, 1999 and October 19, 2011, you're in for a windfall. Well, a $1.50 per ticket order windfall.
Because of a proposed class action settlement, Ticketmaster is being forced to credit $1.50 per ticket order (up to 17 orders) to customers due to the fact that they profited off of "processing fees" without declaring as much.
More info here.
If you went out on Black Friday and snagged a cheap e-reader, it's time to load it up with as many free e-books as it can hold. The amount of free stuff out there is astounding, ranging from public domain classics to new releases you can borrow from libraries.
Bible Money Matters names some of the numerous sources of free e-reading:
* Borrow from strangers. Sites such as Lendle.me allow users to lend and borrow books they've bought with other members of the site. When you lend out books, you receive credits that let you borrow.
* Download public domain works. Sites such as Project Gutenberg and FeedBooks will hook you up with books that are free because they're old enough to fall under public domain or are offered freely by authors.
* Hit the virtual library. Services such as Overdrive allow libraries to lend out wide selections of ebooks, letting you check them out for preset periods.
Source: Consumerist.com
You can now redeem exclusive holiday coupons right from your smartphone at Walgreens.
Once you have the app all set up, text COUPON to 21525 to get text alerts that let you know when new mobile coupons are available so you'll never miss out on the savings!
Disney Store has released their Black Friday sale. 150 stores will open at midnight for Magical Friday. Guests who shop between midnight and 10 am will receive 20% off their purchase.
Plus Disney Store will give free Muppet stickers and offer deals on Muppets plush to celebrate the opening of “The Muppets” movie on Nov. 23.
$10 Deals
$15 Deals
$20 Deals
Click below to get your deals online:
Source: The Examiner.com
Old Navy is offering a new $10 off $50 printable coupon, plus on Friday stop in and spend $40 and receive a FREE Kodak EasyShare Sport Waterproof camera.
Supplies are limited, so get there early!
See all the deals here.
According to Consumerist, 100,000 Target employees have signed a petition against Target opening at midnight on Thanksgiving.
I can see employees getting upset because they feel Target is infriging on their holiday. But I can also see it from the side of the retailer, that they are trying to remain competitive during this Black Friday season.
I worked in a candy store in college and during the holidays, employees had to stay late, work through lunch, etc. In my opinion, this comes with the territory of working in retail.
What are your thoughts? Do Target employees have a reason to be upset?
The Meijer Black Friday ad has just been released! See the deals here. Here are a few of my favorite deals:
Toys R Us will be opening at 9 pm on Thanksgiving day. Deal highlights include a free $50 gift card with the purchase of any Apple iPod touch, LeapFrog Leapsters for $24.99, marked down 50% from the regular price, 40% off Ultimate Optimus Prime Transformers, which are usually $79.99 and 10 Squinkies packs for $10, which are regularly $2.49 each.
Additional doorbuster deals will be available from 5 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Black Friday, Toys "R" Us said. Those deals will include a free $19.99 Imaginarium starter kit with the purchase of any Imaginarium or Crayola easel and 50% off the LeapFrog Alphabet Pal, which regularly costs $19.99.
Other discounts will run throughout the weekend, including a $10 gift card and $100 savings with the purchase of any Xbox 360 console and buy-one-get-one-half-off on all Moshi Monsters and Trash Pack collectible figures.
Source: CNNMoney.com
Curious what is going to be in the Target Black Friday ad? We have the answer here. Go take a look at the great deals!
