Wishing You Many Happy Returns

In my cousins’ household the day after Christmas was more exciting than the actual day. That’s when they all rushed around returning the gifts they had just received from each other. It was a strange dynamic. Even when they were opening gifts they would smile and proclaim, “You know this one is going back!” I never understood it and looking back I understand it even less. Returning items is always a hassle and over time this tradition has become more and more frowned upon by retailers. But, if you must return you’ll need to follow some guidelines.

You may have to pay to return. Many retailers have initiated restocking fees, especially for large or pricey items like electronics and special orders. Restocking fees can run anywhere from 10% to 15% of the original price. Restocking fees are often charged to open items. So, if you don’t want it, don’t open it.

Return time might be limited. Don’t let that gift linger in your closet while you decide whether or not you want it. More retailers are tighten return times. Here are a few:
Best Buy—14 days
Amazon—Return by Jan. 31, 2010 for purchases between Nov. 1 and Dec. 31.
Target—90 days
Walmart—15 to 30 days for electronics, general merchandise 90 days

Stricter receipt policies. You might only get store credit if you don’t have a receipt and usually you’ll only get the current price value, which after the holiday rush is often much lower. When giving gifts, it’s always a good idea to include a gift receipt.

Retailers are making a list, and you might be on it. Return fraud is a real problem for retailers. That’s why some have gotten wise and are tracking returns. If you exceed the store’s return limit, your return could be rejected. Returns without a receipt are especially suspect. Some stores are beginning to swipe I.D. such as driver’s licenses for no-receipt returns to help them track.

The Cost of Cool

The other day I was shopping for shoes--much needed since my dog has eaten all of my shoes. Anyway I was in a discount store which shall remain unnamed because it's not relevant. Got some shoes for a good deal. The only mistake I made was bringing along my clothes crazy 5-year-old daughter. That was a mistake because this store has cute but, expensive kids' clothes even at the discount price.

Searching through the kids racks I found a Jim Morrison t-shirt. My first thought was that my daughter would look so cute wearing a shirt this cool. Of course my second thought was, "Why would I want my 5-year-old sporting Jim Morrison?" Then I looked at the price tag. Thirty dollars! Discounted! Fortunately she thought the shirt was only for boys and therefore not pretty.

Then I remembered hearing that Bob Marley's family has signed a deal with a marketing firm to license his name and image. It's not all that surprising since there are zillions of unlicensed Marley t-shirts and posters distributed without the Marley family's blessing. But do we really need Marley sunglasses and salad dressing (yes, they are actually considering salad dressing). Isn't this just gross capitalization of a man who stood for the complete opposite?

Of course it is. But the fact is that we will buy Bob Marley salad dressing and Jim Morrison t-shirts for tots, or at least someone will.

Let's Go Shopping: Got Coupons?

This is an Encore Post that originally ran May 13, 2009 as part of Let's Go Shopping week.

It used to be that newspapers could sell subscriptions by just asking, "Would you like to receive Sunday coupons?" But printed papers are struggling and not even the Sunday coupons are saving them. Why is that? A gallon of milk costs more than a gallon of gas. Cheese costs more than it weighs. Rice is rationed. And flour out prices the cookies we bake it with. Well, the answer is simple--coupons rarely cover the stuff we really buy.

Still we've all heard stories about coupon clipping queens who claim to rack up savings at the price of a few hours of cutting up paper. One clipper, Teri Gault, has turned the hobby into the savvy Internet business, GroceryGame.com. The Grocery Game gives you a list of items that are on sale at the stores you shop. You then buy the newspapers, clip and take them to the store. The premise is that you might not have been able to locate all of the coupons without the Grocery Game list. Well, maybe you could but it might be harder. The Grocery Game list will alert you to what the best deals are and when to use those coupons to get the best savings. Users have said that they can sometimes even get items for free. The cost for this service is $10/month for the first store you signup for and $5/month for additional stores.

Have I tried it? No. You can try out the service for 4 weeks for just $1. But I don't like any service that asks for credit card information upfront and then automatically bills if I forget to cancel--The Grocery Game does just that. It's just a principal that I have. Instead I hunt around for reviews on the Internet. I found a lot of users who suspiciously love the Grocery Game. They were mostly bloggers who ask that you mention them as a referral when you signup with The Grocery Game--read kick back.

I also found one honest blogger who said that the time and money spent clipping, buying papers, and driving to different stores was more of an investment then she was willing to give. That would be my thought as well. But I won't knock The Grocery Game since it may be just what you need to make grocery shopping more fun as many users claim.

Here's a thing to remember and it's what the whole Grocery Game concept is built on. It's also the secret that all successful clippers know. Manufacturer coupons are enticements to try products. You knew that right? They are often for items that you wouldn't normally buy. Store coupons might be for items that the store is trying to move. Either way the coupon is the first indicator that a price cut is coming. The secret strategy is to clip coupons and then save them--for about 4 weeks. The items will then typically go on sale. That's when to use the coupon and that's how Grocery Gamers get free and nearly free stuff.

photo by ninjapoodles

Serious clippers organize their coupons in categories like "produce" or "meats" and then save them for weeks until the items are on sale.

Do any stores double coupons any more? I've been hearing this, but haven't seen it locally. Have you?

Friday Encore: Don't lose out on Gift Cards

Friday Encore features a past blog posting that I thought you might not want to miss. Okay, call it a repeat if you want. When necessary the post may be updated with new information or data to keep it relevant. The following was originally posted February 29th, 2008.



So, I got some gift cards for Christmas. Not a lot of cards, just a couple. But I haven’t used them yet. I do this all the time. I stick them in my wallet or in the drawer by my bed. There they sit waiting for that special day when I finally decide on that special purchase. I haven’t forgotten them, I just don’t want to use them without care. Yep, I’m the kid who savored Halloween candy until Easter.

Photo by Harris Graber

But gift cards aren’t candy. And maybe they don’t get hard and stale, but there are advantages to using them soon after received. Like the time I got stuck when the local sporting goods store was sold to some big chain. Stuck! My 20 bucks worth of free stuff now gone (or so I assumed).

Okay this next bit is from 2007, but the advice still holds....Shopping year 2007 left many retailers in a bad way when the holiday season didn’t give them the lift they hoped. Some big names are closing their doors such as CompUSA, Bombay Company and can you believe it the Sharper Image. So what do you do if your gifter was trying to help the struggling retailers and got you a card from a now Chapter 11 shop? Have no fear. All hope is not lost.

Here’s what you do if you’ve got a gift card from a retailer who is closing up:

1. Check the website. Dig around they may have info about gift cards.
2. Are they closing all stores? Or can you use your gift card online. Visit CompUSA’s website and you’d never know there was trouble in the balance sheets.
3. File a claim. Personally, I probably wouldn’t pursue $20, but if you’ve got a large amount in a gift card you can file a claim. You usually have 90 days from the bankruptcy filing date to file. It's best to file your claim as soon as you've confirmed that claims are being accepted. You’ll need to contact the clerk of the bankruptcy court to get the name and number of the bankruptcy case.

Better yet, don’t let those cards sit unused. Use them as the giver intended and go out and get some stuff. This year more than ever..Get out and use your gift cards pronto. Q1 2009 is likely to see many more store closings.

Now, I guess I outta use all those free coupons I stuffed in my wallet and posted on the fridge.

Darwinism and Business

The other day as I was pulling in to the Whole Foods parking lot to pick up less than $20 worth of stuff something on the radio caught my ear. I can't even remember what station it was. But since I typically only listen to XMU or NPR it was likely NPR. The piece was about how many retailers were scrambling price slashes in order to make up for a year's worth of losses. The questions were that with less than a week (I think this story ran on Monday) 'Could retailers pull it off?' and 'Would consumers help them out, while taking advantage of screaming deals?'

Well I love a bargain just as much as anybody and sometimes even more but my answer to both of the questions would have to be a quick "no". And I have no remorse.

Just a day before this parking lot moment a friend of mine was saying how she was going to be doing some heavy shopping this week. Her plan was to use up gift cards and grab some deals, because as she (probably correctly predicts) businesses are going to start dropping like flies.

It does sadden me that businesses will go down in the last bit of 2008. Consumer life as we've known it for the last 20 years is like to change dramatically during the next 1 year. But we all knew this was coming and I'm not simply referring to the serial spending and lending issues.

Look around at all the retail, particularly large corporate retail, building that's been going on. Who really thought we could sustain this much shopping? Didn't developers ever think this was too much? Doesn't one major pastime get boring after awhile and don't all stores seem to homogenize and look alike eventually?

So no I don't feel guilty about not rushing out to spend a little money that I have or a lot that don't have in effort to save retailers. The fittest will survive. Those that have been innovative, respondent to customers and resilient to economic craziness will survive. I'm just keeping my fingers crossed that we'll see a return to small local business. In the meantime, let's also hope for good will to those people behind the companies that don't make it. Let's seem some real innovation come from all of this.

I dare you to buy nothing!

Have you scoured the paper this weekend? Did you visit the Black Friday websites? Have you made your list, checked it twice and planned your route for the biggest shopping day?

Or are you celebrating Buy Nothing Day?

Buy Nothing Day is an informal day of protest against consumerism. It's typically promoted for the Friday (a.k.a Black Friday) after Thanksgiving in North America and the next day internationally. The day was founded by Vancouver artist, Ted Dave and has been subsequently promoted by the Canadian Adbusters magazine.

In this year of financial crisis when many high profile retail corporations are counting on Black Friday to start and carry them through the season critics say that all that buying won't help one bit. Instead they claim that consumption is what got us into this mess in the first place. They may be right--too much credit, too much "I want it now" and must haves make us crazy consumer world.

Could you really buy nothing on any day? Set aside mall and big box Black Friday shopping--it's not that hard to refrain from crowded overly glittery stores. But, what about today? Or tomorrow? Could you buy absolutely nothing? That means no coffee, no picking up something for dinner, no Itunes. It means nothing. I dare you to try.

Get Ready, Get Set for Black Friday

The big day is just about a week away. Of course I'm talking about Black Friday. The day shopper officially mark the beginning of the holiday season and retailers cross their fingers that the books turn from red to black. It's the great American tradition of sales.

Get a jump on your shopping plans by previewing the leaked Black Friday ads. Before you peak keep in mind that these are not always the published sale fliers and may not be completely accurate or may differ in your area. That said, the web publishers claim that their info is reliable.

• BlackFriday.info


• BlackFriday


• Black Friday Online


• Black Friday.GottaDeal.com


• bfads.net


• TheBlackFriday.com


• BlackFriday.fm


• BlackFridayAds.com


• TGI Black Friday


• BlackFridayCentral


• BeatTheCrowd.net


• BlackFDay.com


• iBlackFriday.com


• ProBargains.com


• DealTaker.com

You don't have mingle with the mall crowd to get many of the Black Friday deals. Many stores are offering the same or additional savings online. So be sure to check out the web. You can also get a jump start on Thursday since many retailers are starting their Black Friday sales early online only. However, some retailers are holding off on posting online deals until stores open on Friday. So check before you checkout online.

Recycle technology items for free on America Recycles Day

I have an old computer that's been sitting in our basement for about 2-3 years. Partly because we forget about it, partly because we always think we resurrect it and partly because it's such a pain to get rid of. In the past we've gotten rid of them by donating, but not many places will take old computers anymore. Our recycling center takes them for a small fee, but I'm cheap and lazy and always believe that we could make better use out of the old beast. Honestly, though, no one in our household is savvy enough to make it useful again.

So imagine my excitement when I learned about Staples participation in America Recycles Day. Staples is offering to take old desktop computers, laptops, monitors, printers and fax machines this Saturday (11/15) for America Recycles Day. To sweeten the deal for each item you recycle the store will also give you a $30 off coupon to use in their store or online.

Staples is also running their Mountains of Technology program which donates $5 per recycled item to local high schools. The only stores participating in the Mountains of Technology are Littleton and Boulder. They'll divide their donations between three high schools in each area.

So don't forget America Recycles Day-Saturday, Nov. 15. Even if you don't have an old computer to take to Staples you can step up your recycling efforts.

Friday Encore: Can I interest you in an extended service agreement?

Welcome to the Friday Encore where you'll get to read a past blog posting that I thought you might not want to miss. Okay, call it a repeat if you want. When necessary the post may be updated with new information or data to keep it relevant. The following was originally posted March 3, 2008.

Can I interest you in an extended service agreement?

Whenever I shop at a certain electronics mega store near my home I dread my turn at the register. “Why” you ask. Do I not get fabulous new toys at inhumane prices? Well sure I love that part of it—except the guilty inhumane prices. But it’s the pressure at the end of the sale that I can’t stand. You know the “would you like the extended warranty” question.

Even if I say “no” with confidence they keep pushing the point till I finally lose it and scream “Yes, I’m sure I don’t want the extended warranty on an alarm clock!” And sometimes they continue, “but what if it doesn’t wake you up someday?” Scenarios run through my head of missed busses, unbrewed coffee and mismatched shoes. But then my logical side calming clicks and says “Stop. This clerk is just trying to reach some sales goal. It’s just his job, nothing personal. The alarm clock will be fine.” I smile, shake my head and politely say “No, thank you.” Then I pay and am out the door. Whew!


But I have to wonder if my alarm clock or my electric toothbrush stop working what will an extended warranty do? There isn’t a repair room at the back of the store, is there? No in this day of disposable everything your broken electronics cost much more to fix than replace. So what’s with all these extended warranties anyway? Is it ever a good idea to purchase them?


Repairs might be expensive, but they are also not likely. Most products are built to last for at least three years. Anything that breaks within the first year or less is usually 100% covered for repair or replaced under the manufacturers sales warranty. (And you don’t have to fill out those warranty cards—they are mainly for marketing data collection purposes. Trust me I’m a direct marketing data junkie.) Extended warranties yield 40 to 80 percent profit, according to Consumer Reports. And so we can conclude that purchases extended warranties on most electronic are a waste of money.

Will this void my warranty?
Photo by Josh Bancroft

But there are exceptions. Large, complex items such as Plasma TVs, home fitness machines and computers might need more consideration. Personally, I still think that TVs will break quickly if they plan to break at all. I’ve read that warranties on fitness machines may be worth the cost and repairs may come down the road. I always buy the warranty on my laptops after having a horrid experience with a malfunction machine shortly after purchase (crazy story for another time, I finally had to call the VP of marketing at HP to get it fixed.)

But here’s a tip: Before you say yes to an extended warranty on any product, see whether your credit card provides similar coverage. Such plans, most often found on gold and platinum cards, typically lengthen the original manufacturer’s warranty by up to one year. If you use a MasterCard, look in the fine print for the words “extended warranty.” Visa calls its program Warranty Manager Service.

And another: Conumer Reports often investigates warranties and repair/fail records of products. Before you buy check them out.

And finally for more on warranties check out PC World’s article on the subject. It’s full of good info on warranties of all equipment including public surveys on warranty satisfaction.

Pssst, Ikea is coming to Denver

Normally I don't like to spread rumors, but I've confirmed this one from two sources so I'm hoping it's true. Yep, Ikea in Denver. I've been hearing this rumor for about 3 years.

We're originally from Philadelphia where Ikea was a big player in our lives. Now my husband works in Sweden and we feel like we're roughing it without Ikea in Denver--not really, but well sort of. So when we got off the plane for our vacation in Portland, OR the entire family screamed, "They have Ikea here!" Kinda sad I know that Ikea got more whoops than Mt. Hood, but we see mountains everyday.

Anyway, the plans for a Denver store haven't made it to the Ikea website, so no date has been set. The 400,000-square-foot store would be located just to the west of Interstate 25 between Dry Creek and County Line Roads, not far from Park Meadows Mall. There is still a long approval process for the store to happen such as public hearings. It could be a year before ground is broken. Once that happens it will take 18 months to build the facility. So we're probably looking at 2.5-3 years before a grand opening.

Ikea's presence in Denver will be a boon to the economy. Trust me, when the first Philadelphia store opened people came from miles away to shop. The store was so crowded everyday for years that another was finally opened. I'd expect that people from Wyoming, southern Colorado, Kansas and Nebraska will be trekking for the cheap Swedish style. Yep, if we build it they will come shopping.

Plus the store will create jobs. Ikea will hire 400 employees and employ 500 workers for construction. And contribute to retail sales tax. The only downer is that Ikea stores are behemith boxes that sport giant yellow and blue signs.

And if you are looking to start your own small business take a tip from the Swedes. Next to every Ikea are one or two assembly shops. If you've ever tried to put together furniture with picture instructions and allen wrenches you know how frustrating this is. I don't know anyone who thinks this if fun, do you? So these assembly shops are just as busy as the Ikea stores.

For now I'll have to sit patiently and give my husband a break--He won't have to smuggle chairs into his luggage anymore.

Shopping Poll

So another poll has closed and the results are in.

The question was:

When grocery shopping do you mostly use coupons, look for store sales, or just stick to what you usually buy?

And the results out of 230 poll participants were:

coupons--13%

look for store sales--60%

just stick to what you usually buy--27%

There are so many tips out there on how to save money at the grocery store. We covered a few during Shopping Week (May 13-16) . But maybe you've got a tip or two to share. We'd like to hear it. You can send through the comments or email the Coors Blog at coorscu@gmail.com.

Let's Go Shopping: At the Warehouse

I think we can all agree that grocery shopping is a drag. But we've all got to eat. So this week we'll examine some ways to save money at the grocery store.

A few years ago my husband and I got a membership to one of those warehouse stores. We didn't really research it, we just went with it. Probably because we heard it was supposed to be such a good deal. But it didn't take long before we were caught up in the abundance and spending too much money there. Plus, I grew increasingly suspicious of the quality of meats and other items. So we let our membership go and didn't really look back--until recently.

About nine months ago I started paying more attention to how much we spent at the grocery store on standard items like toilet paper, paper towels, etc. So I decided to conduct an experiment to see if shopping at the warehouse store would really save us money.

So here's what I did. I made a specific list and stuck to it. I didn't even look around to see what other items were there. The first visit felt successful, but I needed more guidelines. In the past I treated the warehouse store like a grocery store and went every week. This go around I made new rules. I would only go to the warehouse if I had a list of at least 10 items. Of course they had to be valid needs and not wants. I have to admit coming up with a list of 10 needs was tough, but that's the whole point. Doing so reduced my visits to once every three months.

After my first visit I created a spreadsheet to track my purchases against what I would have paid at the grocery store. I also wanted to be sure that I recovered my $50 membership fee. Here are the results:

Happily I recovered the membership fee just in this visit. For comparison I used King Soopers and tried to match up brands. Often I calculated price based on quantity and I used King Soopers' sale price whenever possible. Notice that toothpaste was not a big bargain.

Usually stuff like toilet paper and paper towels do run out just around 3 months. For the things that we go through more quickly like Cliff bars and Vitamin water our house rule is "when it's gone, it's gone until the next scheduled trip."

Of course this is all just an estimate and I should track this over time, but I still think it shows that the Costco savings are worth it. However, I could easily slip back in to overspending if I didn't stick to my essential list (with a few exceptions like the delicious large container of blackberries I purchased last time for just $4.99).

Well that does it for Let's Go Shopping week. I hope I've passed on some good information, but I'd love to hear any shopping tips you might have.

Let's Go Shopping: At the Dollar Store!

I think we can all agree that grocery shopping is a drag. But we've all got to eat. So this week we'll examine some ways to save money at the grocery store.

Okay you've probably visited a dollar store at some point, but have you thought of grocery shopping there? My mother swears by it. She picks up a bunch of frozen meals there almost every week. I was surprised when she first told me about her meal bargains, but it turns out she's not the only one.

I recently saw this video on MSN.com featuring Jeff Yeagar, The Ultimate Cheapskate. He brags that he's not afraid of off-brands and loves the dollar store.

But even the Ultimate Cheapskate will tell you to be careful at dollar stores. For one thing I'm not sure what brands of frozen food my mom finds and I definitely question their nutritional content. I wouldn't serve that stuff to my family even at full price. So if the nutrition isn't there it's not worth the buck--at least not for me.

You can find canned goods at dollar stores too. But you'll need to carefully check for damage and past expiration dates.

I accompany my mom on trips the the "dollar parlor" as she calls it. I've found that even items such as ziplock bags, food storage containers, paper towels and toilet paper are not worth the savings. If the quality isn't poor then the quantity is small. I do much better buying in bulk (a subject I'll cover later this week) for these items.

But if you're looking for party supplies like paper plates, decorative napkins, wrapping paper, cards or even helium filled balloons this is the store. You can also find bargains on brand name soaps and shampoos.

I'll repeat the helium balloons thing. We were invited to a party with the request to just bring a balloon and no present. I was shocked to find a single balloon costs around $5 at Safeway and the fancy ones are more than double that. Hellooo dollar store. One balloon=$1.

Let's Go Shopping: Got Coupons?

I think we can all agree that grocery shopping is a drag. And with prices gone wild it can get downright depressing. But we've all got to eat. So this week we'll examine some ways to save money at the grocery store.

It used to be that newspapers could sell subscriptions by just asking, "Would you like to receive Sunday coupons?" But printed papers are struggling and not even the Sunday coupons are saving them. Why is that? A gallon of milk costs more than a gallon of gas. Cheese costs more than it weighs. Rice is rationed. And flour outprices the cookies we bake it with. Well, the answer is simple--coupons rarely cover the stuff we really buy.

Still we've all heard stories about coupon clipping queens who claim to rack up savings at the price of a few hours of cutting up paper. One clipper, Teri Gault, has turned the hobby into the savvy Internet business, GroceryGame.com. The Grocery Game gives you a list of items that are on sale at the stores you shop. You then buy the newspapers, clip and take them to the store. The premise is that you might not have been able to locate all of the coupons without the Grocery Game list. Well, maybe you could but it might be harder. The Grocery Game list will alert you to what the best deals are and when to use those coupons to get the best savings. Users have said that they can sometimes even get items for free. The cost for this service is $10/month for the first store you signup for and $5/month for additional stores.

Have I tried it? No. You can try out the service for 4 weeks for just $1. But I don't like any service that asks for credit card information upfront and then automatically bills if I forget to cancel--The Grocery Game does just that. It's just a principal that I have. Instead I hunt around for reviews on the Internet. I found a lot of users who suspiciously love the Grocery Game. They were mostly bloggers who ask that you mention them as a referral when you signup with The Grocery Game--read kick back.

I also found one honest blogger who said that the time and money spent clipping, buying papers, and driving to different stores was more of an investment then she was willing to give. That would be my thought as well. But I won't knock The Grocery Game since it may be just what you need to make grocery shopping more fun as many users claim.

Here's a thing to remember and it's what the whole Grocery Game concept is built on. It's also the secret that all successful clippers know. Manufacturer coupons are enticements to try products. You knew that right? They are often for items that you wouldn't normally buy. Store coupons might be for items that the store is trying to move. Either way the coupon is the first indicator that a price cut is coming. The secret strategy is to clip coupons and then save them--for about 4 weeks. The items will then typically go on sale. That's when to use the coupon and that's how Grocery Gamers get free and nearly free stuff.
Serious clippers organize their coupons in categories like "produce" or "meats" and then save them for weeks until the items are on sale. photo by ninjapoodles

Do any stores double coupons any more? I've been hearing this, but haven't seen it locally. Have you?