So here is my process on how I find deals on stuff that want. This works for me, but if you find better ways, let me know!!! I use this to buy random things I want, from games to household items.
*Obligatory saying!! - If you don't have the cash for it... don't buy it!!!
THE DEALS
My primary source of deals come from:
http://slickdeals.net/
The site can be a little overwhelming, but it has TONS of deals. You can literally spend hours looking through stuff.
I like looking at the hot deals for general browsing:
http://slickdeals.net/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=9
I save time by making an account and creating deal alerts to notify me of keywords of things I'm interested in:
I do general broad keywords for some and specifics for others. I'm interested in alot of different PS3 games but only interested in a specific adidas shoe. Everytime somebody posts about ps3 (console, games, online,etc) I get a notification, but I don't want notifications for every adidas product.
I don't like sitting at my computer like a sucker waiting for deals to come in.... so yes there is an app!!! Two actually.
http://slickdeals.net/mobile/ official app (iphone)
http://islickapp.com/ Saviry app - I like the interface and category search better. (You have create a different account for this and setup keywords here as well)
So how do you know if is a good deal or not?
Nothing frustrated me more than looking something up on Amazon and wondering if would go on sale or that was really the best price for the item. Then I discovered this:
http://camelcamelcamel.com/ I could copy and paste the amazon website and it would give me a breakdown of the highest and lowest price there was for that item and WHEN. Some things are seasonal so you will notice a trend of when certain items go on sale.
I found that it took too long to copy and paste each site and I found that they had a Google Chrome Extension addon.
It gave me a little camel on my top right corner and when I clicked on it while searching amazon it gave me my stats right there. Really quick and easy.
First: You need to have Google Chrome to use this extension. Get google chrome here:
Then get the extension while using chrome
Camel3 Chrome Extension
I searched for Grand theft auto IV and then I clicked the Camel on the top right. The chart came up giving me the lowest price and when.
So now you found your deal, so you just buy it right?
WRONG!!!
Unless there is a better price paying cash for the item, I always buy online through ebates.
(If you click this link, it is a referal from me. I get credits, so hook a brotha up!!)
I get CASH BACK for buying stuff through their site.
Let's say I found a deal at BestBuy. What I do, is I go to ebates.com
I type in best buy. Best buy has 1.5% cashback for what I purchase
Every store has different cashback and during the holiday season it usually doubles.
Macys can get crazy with 15% cash back.
So I found best buy, I just click shop now and it will redirect me
Letting me know I'm redirected to best buy
I'm at the best buy website, like normal... but instead of just bestbuy.com it has extra stuff on it to let me know that my shopping will credit me to my ebates account if I actually buy something.
I usually do instore pickups and sign up for rewards for different retailers. I'll use best buy as an example:
Best Buy has a rewards program for every dollar I spend I get 1 point.
250 points = 5 dollars credit to whatever I want to purchase. I usually bank the points and buy something nice. I ultimately bought Liam's iPad with points.
I also pay with my american express, for every dollar I spend I get a least 1 point.
Points build up with Amex, for every purchase I do... I use it at the end of the year for gifts or whatever.
On top of that, after the season... I get 1.5% cash back on the stuff I purchased.
If I walked into Best buy, picked up the item and paid cash.... I get nothing back. What a sucker!
So hopefully this helps some of you on your though process of buying stuff. Sometimes the things you want don't go on sale for a long time. I've had stuff go on sale in a day and other stuff go on sale after a few months. Alot of stuff just doesn't go on sale, usually it's niche items... Like Jiu Jitsu stuff or Crossfit stuff. It's so new and it's a small market that deals don't happen too often. It does happen sometimes.
I like reading community post about bjj and crossfit, so I find that I see coupon deals for events, races and/or random gear.
I'm usually at:
They are not DEAL Finders but more of a forum of community and funny pics/vids. From time to time, inside people post a deal or so. I just like reading the posts.
Best thing I found for MMA gear or bjj gear is bjjhq.com and http://www.fighterdeals.com/
Both are pretty random, but worth mentioning.
So in short:
I get a deal notification.
Because I did my research with camel3, I know it's a good deal.
I open my phone browser that has ebates favorited. Log in and search the store, get redirected, find my item and buy it.
Usually takes me a few minutes.
PROFIT!!!
