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Thursday, May 17, 2007

More thoughts and Sites

Don't forget to do some price checking on some comparison sites as well...
www.pricegrabber.com
www.shopping.com
www.bizrate.com
www.shopzilla.com
www.walmart.com
www.samsclub.com

I will be examining more high-end content and jewelry/diamond sites as well moving forward, such as....
www.marthastewart.com
www.worldwidegemsource.com
www.ross-simons.com
www.tiffany.com
www.top100diamonds.com
www.bluenile.com

Talk to you soon.
Confirmation Code: GDCCMXX25266799

Wednesday, April 4, 2007

The Internet Retailer

Here is a really great site for media and internet professionals to learn about the top retailers online, their current developments and even some sales data/charts to review. Really great resource. Sign up for their HTML newsletter alerts.
Take care.

Internet Retailer
http://www.internetretailer.com/default.asp

Monday, April 2, 2007

ComUSA Closing Half Its Stores - Savings!

CompUSA closing over half of its stores**

CompUSA today announced plans to close 126 stores in the United States, leaving the computer retailer with 103 stores spread across 39 states and Puerto Rico. The process began last week with the closing of four stores and the rest will be shuttered in between 60 and 90 days.

The store closings come as part of CompUSA's retrenchment strategy, and the company will be getting a massive cash infusion to the tune of $440 million once the closings have been completed. "Based on changing conditions in the consumer retail electronics market, the company identified the need to close and sell stores with low performance or nonstrategic, old store layouts, and locations faced with market saturation," said CompUSA CEO Roman Ross.

CompUSA has been around for a long time and as recently as 1999 was the number three electronics retailer in the US, trailing only Best Buy and Circuit City (which is also in the process of shuttering stores). 1999 also saw the purchase of the chain by Mexican retail management company Grupo Sanborns, which took the company private.

As Ross noted, the chain has faced stiff challenges in the consumer electronics market over the past several years. System builders, enthusiasts, and others in the know have long since migrated to NewEgg, M-Wave, Tiger Direct, and other well-known and less-expensive online retailers. In addition, big box retailers like Best Buy have taken an increasingly large chunk of the PC and peripherals market while Fry's has grabbed massive amounts of mindshare—if not market share—in the markets it has entered. Even Target and Wal-Mart are diverting shoppers away from CompUSA.

CompUSA has responded by remodeling stores and carrying big-ticket consumer electronics items like flat-panel televisions. Once upon a time, the chain was also responsible for the majority of Apple's retail presence after launching the Apple "store-within-a-store" sections often staffed by specially trained CompUSA employees. Since Apple began opening its own retail stores—now at 171 and counting—CompUSA is no longer a destination of choice for those shopping for Macs and iPods.

One of the first four stores to close is in the Chicago suburb of Skokie, less than three miles from my house. To give you an idea of what the local competition looks like, the store is in the same shopping center as a Best Buy and a GameStop, and there's a Circuit City, Target, and Wal-Mart less than a half-mile down the street. I stopped by on Saturday and found that the store closing was already in full swing. The story was buzzing with shoppers looking for bargains, and prices on most items were marked down 20 to 40 percent. I cast a quick glance over at the Apple department in hopes of scoring some bargain hardware and saw that the entire section had been stripped down to the shelves, with the merchandise likely returned to Apple or sent to other locations. The best bargains appeared to be in the video game aisles, with prices of Xbox 360 and PlayStation 2 titles and peripherals slashed. Peripherals such as printers had already been picked over fairly well, and I suspect that by the end of the week, shoppers will have little to choose from other than dusty ATI Rage Pro video cards and parallel port cables.

I had been an infrequent customer of CompUSA—not-so-affectionately known by some of its customers as CompUSSR—over the years. I prefer to buy my hardware online, or make a 30-minute pilgrimage to Fry's when it offers something like a $169 500GB hard drive. As I suspect is the case for many others like me, CompUSA has become the store of last resort, the place you go when you need a new router RIGHT NOW. That's not a good niche, especially when consumers are fickle and the competition is cutthroat.

** Source-
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20070228-8940.html

Tuesday, March 27, 2007

Luxury Goods

Top Ten Jewerly/Luxury Goods/Accessories Sites By Unique VisitorsNovember 2005
Jewelry/Luxury Goods/Accessories


ComparisonShoppingOnline.com (NEW)
COACH.COM
ZALES.COM
REDENVELOPE.COM
BLUENILE.COM
ICE.COM
JEWELRYTELEVISION.COM
Kay Jewelers
DIAMOND.COM
FOSSIL.COM
ELUXURY.COM

-Source: comScore Media Metrix

Also check out these "best in brand" luxury goods and food sites -
RossSimons.com
WineEnthusiast.com
Wine.com
Concierge.com
CigarAfficionado.com
BonAppetit.com
Epicurious.com
Starbucks.com
Amazon.com
Ebay.com
Tiffany.com

Friday, March 23, 2007

Online Rebates here

Short List of Really Great sites to review for and receive Online Rebates at major Retail Outlet, online stores and products. Sign-up now for your own newsletter alerts as well. Good luck!

Rebate Sites
checkout.google.com
onlinerebates.com
morerebates.com
rebates.com
rebatesdirectory.com
best8sites.com/b4s2/Online/online+rebates.html

Online Coupon Sites

Short List of Really Great sites to review for and receive Coupons and Discounts for all Brand Names and products. Sign-up now for your own newsletter alerts as well. Good luck!

Coupon Sites
ultimatecoupons.com
flamingoworld.com
currentcodes.com
checkout.google.com
mypoints.com
couponcabin.com
ebates.com

Monday, March 19, 2007

Shop & Save Now!

Please find below a trove of articles, product reviews and links to resources where you can learn how to save on shopping online, find coupons and discounts on most of the products you seek online and for any occasion.

We hope that this enhances your shopping experience and welcome any feedback and site suggestions that can help others find what they need and save some money online.

Have Fun Shopping and Save!


More to Follow - Will update as often as we can!


Shopping and Comparison Sites
www.shopping.com
www.amazon.com
www.nextag.com
www.shopzilla.com
www.become.com
www.mysimon.com
www.dealtime.com
www.pricescan.com
www.pricegrabber.com
www.pricerunner.com
www.shopper.com
www.pricespider.com
www.newegg.com

Coupon Sites
www.fatwallet.com
www.dealsea.com
www.couponalbum.com

Product Reviews
www.epinions.com
www.resellerratings.com
www.ratingparadise.com
www.cnet.com


Video Games

MP3 & Media Players under $200

Televisions under $1500

Electronics