CheapTweet Blog

From time to time, we like to check in with our mailroom clerk, Andrew Ishak, and see what sorts of mail we’re getting at CheapTweet headquarters. Here, Andrew gets a letter from a reader with a big problem, sending him on an investigation of how to save money by buying spices in bulk.

Got a question for Andrew? He reads emails, too, so feel free to send him your questions. Maybe he’ll read it in the next CheapTweet mailroom video!

If you like this video, be sure to check out Andrew’s other work. He produces Yakademics, a hilarious video series about the field of communication, and created a film called Out of Egypt, a documentary about Coptic American culture. You can also find him on Twitter (@ishak).

Whether you still have holiday shopping to do or you’ve been done for weeks, Thursday, December 17 is a great day to do some online shopping. December 17 is Free Shipping Day, and it’s one of the best days of the year to stock up on things you need (and maybe even things you don’t). You already know you can avoid the crowds, the lines, and the stress of stores by shopping online, and on December 17 you can also avoid paying for shipping.

Hundreds of online retailers are participating in Free Shipping Day by offering free shipping at their sites. And most of them will guarantee delivery by Christmas. We’re keeping track of all the free shipping offers on CheapTweet. com. And we’ll be posting some of favorite free shipping deals to Twitter from @CheapTweet.

So stay tuned for the best Free Shipping Day deals. And as always, happy shopping and happy saving!

Thanks to our Twitter followers, here are some great inexpensive gift ideas, perfect for the holidays or any other gift-giving occasion. If you have other suggestions, please leave a comment.

• Fun eco-friendly products, plus a holiday promo & $2 shipping from @guffly
  
• Gifts under $25 from Gifts.com via @NatGold
• Gifts from bustedtees.com, 6dollarshirts.com, thinkgeek.com via @joelkodner
• Reusable water bottles (such as Camelbak and Platypus) are less than $10 via @DuhKeeks
• Pashmina scarves from @AsraiStyle would be perfect gifts for women
• Blue Avocado has bags under $25 for the stylish eco-shopper via @yarnmaven
• @CookiePie0402 has a dessert cookbook for less than $20
• Fireplace DVD, Digital Photo keyring, USB SD card reader, restaurant gift cert., manicure kit, makeup travel case via @NatGold
• Gifts with aloha, under $10 via @KrisBordessa
• @Shopping_List provided a list of inexpensive gift ideas
• @tangerinekitty sells handmade keyfobs, aprons, and pouches that are perfect for women
• iPod/iPhone accessories are available for less than $25, as are iTunes gift cards and DVDs via @saronoff
• Cute shopping bags from @niseema
• @pumpkinpetunias has free printable stationery, so you just need to add envelopes and a pen
• Tasty treats for under $20 via @princesskitten
• RedEnvelope.com via @niseema
• @robynsart says almost everything in her shop is under $25
• @theviolincase has Mini Violin or Cello is $19.50  and beautiful STRAD posters are only $16
• Gift cards to grocery stores, gas stations, salons, or a bottle of wine via @ItsThaTarheeLdy
• Jewelry and accessories from @FidesFashion

Today marks one week until Thanksgiving. This means Black Friday and its online companion, Cyber Monday, are not far behind. But, don’t worry! CheapTweet has you covered.

We have found thousands of Black Friday sales and Cyber Monday discounts already. And since we scour Twitter for all mentions of savings, we also have links to ads, articles and blog posts about Black Friday and Cyber Monday. CheapTweet.com can be your all-in-one holiday shopping stop – from planning and research to shopping and purchasing.

And if all that is too overwhelming for you, you might prefer to search for exactly the sales you’re looking for. We can do that, too! Just type what you’re looking for in our search page, and you’ll see only the deals you want.

To make it even easier, below are a few of our more popular Black Friday searches. Also, our sponsor DealTaker has done a terrific job rounding up some of the top Black Friday ads.

• Walmart
• Toys R Us (be sure to check out all their holiday deals here)
• Target
• Amazon
• Best Buy
• Sears
• JC Penney
• IKEA
• GameStop

Happy shopping!

Note: This post is part of our holiday sponsorship by Best Buy. Though this is part of an official sponsorship, the experience and this write-up are completely our own.

At CheapTweet, we only partner with brands we think will provide value to you, our users. We absolutely will not promote a retailer if we wouldn’t shop in their stores ourselves.

So, we thought we should check out Best Buy’s value proposition. Our goal was to see if we would feel comfortable encouraging you to do your holiday shopping at Best Buy. So on a recent rainy Sunday, I visited the nearest Best Buy retail store. Specifically, I wanted to learn more about Best Buy’s price match guarantee and their employees, otherwise known as the “Blue Shirts.” Here’s what I found out.

Price Match Guarantee

Best Buy offers a price match guarantee. I wanted to know how that price matching works and in what situations.

I spoke to several Best Buy employees. The way the price match guarantee works is simple: If you can find a lower price on the same item at a nearby store, Best Buy will match that price. That offer only extends to other physical stores and does not include websites like Amazon.com, unfortunately.

To see how the price match guarantee works, I talked to a Blue Shirt who helped confirm competitor prices (we called Fry’s and Conn’s) of a couple HDTV models I was looking at. Only in one case was the HDTV priced lower at another store, and the Blue Shirt said he could sell me the Best Buy HDTV for that price, eliminating my need to drive or even call around to other stores myself. It only took a couple minutes, and I was confident knowing I could save $40 on that TV. The other thing to watch out for is that the lower-priced item needs to be in stock at the other store for Best Buy to price match it. Some other limitations apply (more details here about the price match guarantee).

Blue Shirts

I also wanted to test out the customer service at Best Buy. The store was pretty crowded (it was a Sunday afternoon, and lots of people were out shopping). It took several minutes before I could get a Blue Shirt’s attention; they were all busy helping other customers, so at least I wasn’t being ignored. Once I got a free Blue Shirt, I started asking questions about HDTVs.

The Blue Shirt I talked to – Devin – was quite knowledgeable about the different kinds of HDTVs. For example, this Best Buy store had a big display with some of the new, ultra-thin LED HDTVs and I was curious what he thought about LEDs versus LCDs. He was honest – they’re a fairly new product line – and encouraging – they save more energy than other HDTVs and have great picture quality. He even told me about a customer who had come in that morning and saved $200 on the 46″ LED TV with a price match. He also shared his opinions on which TV brands he liked. He said Samsung is their best-selling TV brand, and he really likes Sony electronics. We discussed price and size, and what would work best for my needs and my home.

The store was packed, but Devin took the time to really explain my options. He did not pressure me at all (he said he does not work on commission) and he seemed honest and helpful.

Product Selection and Value

Best Buy certainly has a large selection of HDTVs. While I was browsing, I used my cell phone to check the prices at Amazon.com for certain models. Though they weren’t having an advertised sale at Best Buy, a number of models were marked down between $50 and $500, which made them competitively priced to Amazon. For example, a 32” Samsung LCD HDTV at Best Buy for $549.99 and at Amazon.com it was $534.00; that’s a difference of only $15. The 40” Samsung LED HDTV was the exact same price at Best Buy as it was on Amazon.com and in some other cases, Best Buy was even cheaper than Amazon.

Best Buy also offers a number of in-home setup options and warranty plans. Devin said that, for a fee, Best Buy technicians can even test the light in your home and adjust your TV’s setting for the optimal picture in your space.

So, after this exercise, how do I feel about Best Buy? I feel good. They offer a ton of different products at excellent prices, and their employees are courteous and helpful. I tested out the price match guarantee, and it works. So on that note, I feel confident we can recommend that you do your holiday shopping at Best Buy.

Shop.org published a report yesterday about their expectations for the holiday shopping season.

There’s good news for those of us looking for deals – it looks like we’ll see tons of free shipping deals this holiday season (more than 79% of retailers plan to offer free shipping at some point this season).

The report also says they expect shoppers will do more of their shopping online this year. And, shoppers will be using social sites like Twitter and Facebook more, to assist with their shopping. The reasons they cited for the increase in online shopping are interesting (emphasis mine):

Reasons behind why people will spend more online range from the ability to shop at all hours of the day (41.9%) to shoppers feeling it is easier to compare prices (34.0%) to Americans’ insatiable appetite for free shipping (33.1%). Others said they will spend more online because it’s simply more convenient for them (32.4%), they don’t want to fight crowds in stores (24.9%) or because it’s easier to find items (16.7%).

In addition, the reasons people don’t – won’t – shop online are interesting for other reasons:

The small percentage of people (5.7%) who plan to spend less of their holiday budget online said that they’ll pull back due to expensive shipping charges (22.8%), because they like to see or handle items before they buy (12.5%) or because they prefer a store experience (10.8%). A fraction of shoppers said they hesitated to shop online due to concerns about security (1.1%), credit card theft (0.6%), privacy (0.1%) or concerns about retailers tracking online activity (0.1%).

What do you think – will you do most of your shopping online or in stores? Why do you choose one or the other?

I know, it’s still August. But, it is almost September and as ridiculous as it always seems, that means we’re heading into the holiday shopping season. Summer has blown by, and fall probably will, too.  December will be here before we know it (and as of today, there are only 119 shopping days left before Christmas).

For shoppers, it probably is a bit early to be thinking about buying holiday gifts. Or is it? Bargain hunters know that to find the best deals, you need time. The longer you can spend looking for the right item at the lowest price, the more money you’ll save. Besides, wouldn’t it be nice not to have to rush around at the last minute? Between now and the end of the year, we’ll be posting all kinds of tips to help you with your holiday shopping, as well as sharing the best deals we can find. We know this will be a tough season for a lot of families struggling to find extra money to buy gifts, travel to see loved ones, and host holiday dinners and parties. So we’re going to do all we can to help you save some money this year.

For retailers and sellers, now is the time to be thinking about your holiday strategy.  What special discounts will you offer to attract customers? What kinds of promotions will you run to drive traffic? How will you use Twitter and other social media tools to make sure shoppers find you and your products? Throughout the fall and into the winter months, we’ll be sharing our thoughts on these topics to help sellers of all sizes make the most of this shopping season.

At CheapTweet, we want to help connect retailers and customers.  We do this in several ways:

• Our free service, where we find every deal, coupon, discount and special on Twitter and put them on CheapTweet.com for anyone to use, whether or not they have a Twitter account
• Affordable advertising on our site, based on an advertiser’s Twitter profile
• CheapTweet Stores, a customized portal for a brand’s e-commerce Twitter activity
• The CheapTweet blog, where we post on topics ranging from saving money, using Twitter to promote your small business, shopping ideas and specific products we like, and much more

We’re going to be working hard this holiday season to make sure shoppers find the best deals on the products they want. So stay tuned, and please let us know if you have any questions or if we can help you in any way. Finally, we’d like to be the first to wish you “Happy Holidays”.