Valentine’s Day is about love and is the day to celebrate the spirit of love. Valentine’s Day is not only for adults and teenagers, it is also for young kids in daycare and elementary school. It is not about how much money you spend on the gift cards, but to show your appreciations to the ones you love and care.

Beginning of the year is a good time to shop winter boots, or winter jackets and parka as we blogged a few days ago. But please expect to get deep discounts for Valentine’s Day gifts. Besides, V-Day is not about shopping like a Christmas, although retailers do want to sell you as many as possible for the holiday. For parents with kids at daycare or elementary schools, they need to shop for gifts for teachers and students. You don’t have to spend a lot of money to make everyone feel special. Here are some ideas:

1. Take your time make a card for everyone. Here are some ready-to-print cards ideas. Then decorate the cards with crafts such as pink hearts, shining beads, etc.
2. Write Valentine’s cards by hands. Write your own words, or copy a poem from internet. Make each card unique so everyone feels special.
3. Attach lollipop to each Valentine’s Day card.

4. Write down you name on each card. Or attach a photo.

5. If you have extra budget, prepare a goody bag for everyone, filled with pencil, heart-shape eraser, stickers, bouning balls, or sticky hand, etc.

And last, don’t forget to decorate a shoebox. Your kids will be asked to put all the valentines into the shoebox and bring it to school on Valentine’s Day.

Orientaltrading.com and BirthdayInAbox.com are the two websites I would shop for goody bags. We have many coupons for Orientaltrading, such as $15 off with $85 purchase or more, or free shipping with $49 purchase. BirthdayInAbox.com never offers coupons, but their prices are very competitive. I can’t tell you which one offers better prices, because they have totally different products. I like Orientaltrading’s toy assortments very much, and they are good for all occasions.

For teachers, gift cards are the best. A $10 one is good, while some people may spend $15 or $25. GC for Target, Walmart, and Barnes & Noble are the most popular ones. Barnes & Noble had an offer in the past holiday season: receive an $10 e-giftcard for free with $100 gift card purchase online. If this offer come back again next year, you should use it and get your Valentine’s cards ready in advance.

Almost every Americans shop at Costco, Samsclub or BJ’s wholesale club. The reason is simple, good quality and low price, although sometimes you have to buy products in large quantities. But do you know there are more and more online-only wholesale retailers nowadays? For small business owners they are good sources of products. But some of them are good for household use too. You probably don’t need buy electronics in bulk, but it is a good idea to buy gifts, toys, baby items, pet supplies, home decorative items, underwear and pajamas in bulk, especially if you have a big family. Today I want to introduce some of the top whole retailers to you.

Smilemakers, part of STAPLES company, started business over 35 years ago. It sells toys, stickers, crafts, pencils and bags for schools and clinics. But now they are open to buyers like you and me at their website smilemakers.com. You can buy stickers or small toys which you used to see at your doctor’s office. Or mix the gifts to fill your own goody bags. Smilemakers offers coupons very often, a 10% off coupon and a free shipping coupon are available all the time.

Speaking of goody bags, OrientalTrading.com is the best place to buy. This is another party city, – everything you may found at Party City, you can find is here at lower price. If you have 3 or more kids at home and need to host birthday parties often, their toy assortment is your choice. You don’t know what will be in your box, a variety of toys for girls and boys will be randomly filled. Today there are 99 assortments for you to choose from for different needs, such as Sticky Assortment, Mini Fingers Assortment, Glider Assortment… We do not have active Orientaltrading coupons today, but we used to offer $15 off coupon quite often. So you should expect they will come back at any time.

Super Toy Assortment, 50 pcs, $12.00 at OrientalTrading.com. This is my favorite toy assortment for kids 3-5 years old.

Potpourri Gift started as a mail-order catalog business, while more and more buyers have turned to their website Potpourrigift.com to shop online instead of reading the catalog. Potpourri focus on gifts for home, fashion, collectible, pets, jewelry, or just for fun. The company also operates many other catalogs/websites, such as Country Store, Catalog Favorites, North Style, Pyramid Collection, and more. Technically speaking Potpourri Gift is not a wholesale retailer, because you can buy one item if you want. But their prices for gifts are from a few dollars to $20, perfect if you need to buy a large quantity. The company never offer coupons or coupon codes, but we do list some special deals from time to time.

The above websites are for gifts shopping only. There are some wholesale retailers who sells everything at wholesale prices, such as Dollardays.com, AliExpress.com, LightInTheBox.com. Small house hold items at extremely discounted prices are the most popular at Dollardays.com, while AliExpress.com and LightInTheBox.com have more selections on electronics and accessories. See what’s hot at Dollardays.com:

17″ Assorted Color Backpacks only $3.75 each;

Silicone Sports Watch $2.50 each;

Swan Boy’s Briefs $1.14 each!

DollarDays offer 10% off and free shipping coupon every few days, while a $5 off coupon is valid everyday. AliExpress is China-based wholesale company, and they offer $5 off, $10 off, $20 off, and $30 off coupon from time to time.  LightInTheBox offers $10 and $20 off coupon everyday. Their prices are usually higher than the other two sites. But their dresses, especially wedding dresses are very competitive.

When was the last time I visited Sears in the mall? A year, two years, or maybe three years? I don’t even remember. I used to visit Sears almost every week. I knew they had the best price on Levi’s jeans, best quality and services on appliances, and best products for fitness equipments and garden tools. The online shopping hits Sears big time, and I have almost forgot about Sears.

Sears is actually still attracting people by offering good quality at affordable prices. Its stock price went up almost 50% in the past few weeks, while Best Buy was the biggest loser in 2011 and not getting any better in the new year. Sear brands, including Kenmore, Craftsman, DieHard and Lands End, are still ranked most trust-worhty brands in USA.

Sears offers coupons on certain categories very often. It had 15% off shoes, 20% off Craftsman power lawn tools, 15-20% off fine jewelry and more offers in the past few months. But this is the first time comes to my attention that it is offering a sitewide discount coupon. Use coupon code BONUS to save 5 to 15% on everything! It is valid for two days, Friday and Saturday only! 5% off saving is good on tools, grills, small kitchen appliances, and furniture. 10% off saving is good onfitness & sporting goods, patio furniture, mattresses, bed & bath, luggage, window coverings, home decor. 15% off saving is good on clothing, intimates, accessories, shoes, fine jewelry, cosmetics & fragrances, automotive accessories. I hope it is not too late when you read this post.

Sears has clothing for both men and women, for both young and old. See this Men’s T-shirt, it is only $9.99!

Sears.com offers deal of the day. See this Cobra 12 Digital Radar/Laser Detector is only $69.99 today, a $100 saving! NordicTrack T5.5 Treadmill now $579.99, saved $320! Bladez Fitness SXPro Exercise Bike now $449.99, saved $350! Simply Outdoors Roscoe 5 Pc. Firepit Chat Set now $899.99, saved $300!

Sears has the larget selection of kitchen appliances, and offers hot appliance deals everyday. Today it is running a sale on all Electrolux ICON Appliances, with savings up to $500! Kenmore and Kenmore Elite are loved by millions of Americans including me. Shop today you will receive 5% off with the coupon. But that’s not all. Sears.com is also offering buy more and save more deal with appliances $399 or higher: buy 2 save 15%, buy 3 save 20%, buy 4 or more save 25%! Some brands are not included in the deal, but Kenmore is! You don’t get this deal at your local Sears. If you are thinking to buy refrigerator, cooking top, washer/dryer, or dishwasher. Don’t miss the deal!

For people shopping bras only at Victoria’s Secrets, I have to tell you that there are more options online now. There are more selecitons, more colors, more sizes, and more discounts at online stores. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t hate Victoria’s Secrets. There is just no need to waste time on trying bras, since I know exactly what sizes or styles I need. If you are not sure, here is a guide on how to measure the right bra size.

BraSmyth.com is my number one place to shop bras. It is running a “2 For Deal” sale, 36 styles are included. It does not offer coupon codes. But price drops or free shipping deals are available all the time.

Le Mystere Signature Y-Back Underwire Bra Buy 2 and Save.

Chantelle Arteforme 3-Part Cup Underwire Bra Buy 2 and Save.

Grenier Dream Comfort Buy 2 and Save.

Soma.com is running a “Buy 1 Get 2nd 50% off” sale, 22 styles included. Receive free shipping with $100 order if you place the order before Feb. 6. See Vintage Satin Bra($48.00), Minimizing Susana Bra($49.00), Ravishing Push Up Holly Bra($42.00), Ravishing Plunge Push Up Bra($45.00) in the picture. With 50% off the 2nd item, prices are unbeatable! Soma is also running a “70% off Semi Annual Sale”, many bras, panties and sleepwear to choose from. Coupons do not come very often for Soma.com. Try to use code 11178 at checkout. It will save you $20!

EssentialApparel.com is running a 20% to 25% off all bras sale. It offers bras for your essential needs at a very affordable price. See price below, they are only $25 each! And it offers 10% off coupon quite often, however there is active one as of today.

FreshPair.com is offering $10 off sports bras today. There is no active coupon code as of today. Freshpair has the largest selections of bras, and many of them are 20% to 30% off the original prices.

Winter will be gone within a month or two. People who can’t wait for the summer are looking for shoes for spring/summer already. But do you know now is the best time of the year to buy boots, especially winter boots? Let me show what boots are sale and how to save you big money at different online retailers.

6pm.com: Designer boots on sale this week, all boots are 70% to 80% off MSRP. Look at these boots, Lisa for Donald Pliner only $59.99! 6pm also carries boots by Joan & David, Michael Kors, Cole Haan, and many more. Most of the prices now are from $50 to $200, compared to the original prices from $300 to $500!

My favorite brand is Stuart Weitzman. See this glamorous boot, made in Spain, now only $161, was $535! 6pm.com only offers 10% coupon for Black Friday and a few days during the Christmas season. Otherwise do not expect any other valid coupons for 6pm.

Endless.com is part of Amazon.com, offers largest selection of shoes, from low prices to designers’ brands, from active shoes to dress shoes. It is running a boot sale lately, all boots are up to 45% sale. And it is also running a sale on select athletic shoes: 20% off with order of $75. See these 7 for All Mankind boots, one of my favorite brands. Endless.com only offer coupons duing the holiday season. I had never shopped at Endless, because of its prices are always a little bit higher than other stores.

Bloomingdales is also running a boot sale, with prices 30% to 65% dropped. There are 350 items in sale, way less than 6pm and Endless.com. But you can assure the quality of Bloomingdales. Bloomingdales.com offers coupons very often, including coupons for $25 off $100 order, or 20% to 30% off family and friends sale.

Macy’s is another store to shop boots. Boots are 20% to 65% off the original prices. And best of all, Maycs.com has coupon for 15% off, enter promo code BEHOME to redeem the coupon. Valid through 2/6.

Sears offers low prices boots. See these boots, only $24.99 to $39.99! Plus, you can an extra 15% and receive free shipping by using coupon code SEARSJAN. Valid on all shoes. Sears has coupons very often, usually 10% to 15% off on select products.

ShoeMall.com has 982 boots to choose from. And currently it has a coupon for 25% off all boots, when you enter promotion code: BOOTS25 on checkout page. After applying the coupon, boots here are certanly the best deals. See these Aerosoles women’s boots.

Bluefly.com: Designer’s boots 40% off sale! We have coupons for Bluefly.com for discount of $30 off or $40 about once a month. The coupons will be valid only for a few days. But if you are new to Bluefly, enter code AFF30 to save $30, valid all time. See these most wanted boots at Bluefly.com.

Before the Internet age, Walmart and Target are my favorite places to buy toys. Walmart always has the lowest prices on toys, while Target offers better toys, especially real wood toys which Walmart never sell. Toys R us has the most selecitons of toys for all ages, but their prices are always highest. I bought my children to the tore for fun, but I rarely buy anything, unless something I couldn’t find at Walmart or Target. A few years back, most of the toys are bought from Amazon. Amazon isn’t that cheap, but it is convenient to search toys I need, or research top sell toys others recommended.

Last week I wrote a blog post on Barnes and Noble, because I just realized that Barnes and Noble are now very price competetive on books, comapred to Amazon. And now I just found that it offers very good prices on toys too. Yesterday there is a 40% sale on all Melissa & Doug toys, one of my favorite brands. I bought a princess doll house at only $57. Today its price went back to $95! Too bad I didn’t write a post in time to recommend it to you guys.

Today it is running a 25% sale on all Fisher Price toys. Visit the Barnes and Noble toys page, in the middle of the page you will see “Today’s Deals”. I want to recommend to you some all-time favorite toys from Fisher Price before the prices go back again.

$10.46, was %13.95. Fisher-Price Little Superstar Classical Stacker is for 1 year old kids. But my son play it from 6 months till he is 4 years old. It is a simple toy, but kids just love it. The same piece is $13.62 at Amazon.

$13.46, was $17.95. Laugh & Learn Say Please Tea Set are little girls’ favorite, for ages 6 months and up. It is not only a play set, but a learning toy, – it teaches baby about numbers, and shapes. Girls never had enough of this kind of toys, and they can play it forever, even into teenage. It is $17.75 at Amazon, $17.88 at Walmart, $19.99 at Target.

$23.96, was $31.95. Fisher Price Learning DJ is another all time favorite. I saw this toy over 10 years ago. And it is still one of the top-selling toys. With 16 song, kids can sing along and learn along with numbers and letters. Its price at Amazon is $40.19!

$33.71, was $44.95. Fisher Price Laugh & Learn Fun With Friends Musical Table is for ages 6 to 36 months. It will keep your babies busy for hours. It is an interactive learning center, which plays songs and teaches letters, numbers, counting, first words, colors, shapes, opposites and animals. It is $44.97 at Amazon and Walmart, $45.99 at Target.

By the way, if you are new to barnesandnoble.com, you can save 10% on one item order with coupon code: F7C8V8N.

Before the internet era, the only way to get window blinds or shades is go to Home Depot or Lowes. They don’t display all the blinds, but they do have sample blinds about 1 foot by 1 foot. Now you can do your shopping online, and most of online retailer offer free samples too. For example, at Justblinds.com, you can request up to 10 samples for free, and at SelectBlinds.com, you can request 15 free samples at a time! And the best about online shopping is the price. The prices are only fractions of that of Home Depot or Lowes. Today we want to show you where to shop, and how to get the lowest prices with use of coupons.

Buying blinds online are very easy. Step 1: Select a style. If you are not sure, read their reviews, or watch their videos, or consult their sales rep. Step 2: Select size.Step 3: Select color. If not sure, request free samples first.Step 4: Select features, such as mount type (inside or outside), tiler location (left or right), tilter control (cord or wand).

Following are the most popular online blinds and shades retailers. We compare their prices based on a similar wood products at the same size and color.

StevesBlindsAndWallpaper.com:Steve’s Blinds offers lots of coupons. See their “Extreme Price Drop” on top. All their coupons are listed here. But we offer some special coupons they don’t have. For example, 20% off sidewide coupon with code: WP20. Their prices are the best amony all the stores we compared today, even without a coupon. For example: Wood Blinds 2″ Slat2″ Paints and Stains, width: 24″, height: 48″, only $39.06!

JustBlinds.com: It doesn’t offer coupons very often. But now it has a $10 off coupon, with minimum order of $150 with code: Save102006Z12. Just Blinds’ prices are very competetive too. For example, 2″ Premium Wood Blinds, width: 24″, height: 48″, only $44.

At Selectblinds.com, a 2″ wood blinds with same size(24″x48″) starts from $65.97. It has 30% off coupon very often. Enter Upgrade30 as discount code on checkout page the price drops to $46.18. And another offer it is ruuning now is buy 3 get 1 free. You can mix match any 3 blinds or shades, and get the 4th one free! If you combine it with the 30% off coupon, SelecBlinds.com is your best choice!

Blindsgalore.com does not offer sidewide coupons in my experience. But somehow today it has a 10% off coupon with code: GETGALORE. They have coupons for certain products very often though. Their prices are ok after 10% off coupon, for example, Hardwood Blind: 2″ Slats, width: 24″, height: 48″, $46. But they charge processing fees, which is unacceptable. It has a lot more selections than Just Blinds, which is the only good thing about it.

Smith & Noble offers high end blinds, so their prices are also the highest, for example, 2″ Wood Blinds, width: 24″, height: 48″, $102. If price is sensitive to you, don’t choose Smith and Noble. It offers 10% to 20% off coupon very often. But there is no coupon available today. And their prices are very high. I wouldn’t consider it at all.

If real wood blinds are too expensive to you, I would suggest faux wood blinds. The prices above are all for real wood. The faux blinds would be 20% to 30% cheaper, while it is hard to tell the difference any way.

If you ask me when is the best time to a winter jacket, I would say whenever you need it. Most people will start shopping for winter jacket before winter start, say October or November, while some people wait for the Black Friday. People thought they will get big discounts on Black Friday. But believe me, most likely you won’t get what you really wanted. New items and popular items are always excluded from the sale list, and very few retailers will offer site-wide discount on Black Friday.
Winter jackets’ price will start to fall in January. Why? Because retailers want to empty their winter stocks before the spring/summer starts. You probably don’t need a new jacket for this winter any more. But shop for the next winter would be a good idea, especially for kids, who will need a new one every year, or for men, when jacket styles don’t matter too much to them.

I wouldn’t buy winter jackets at a super market such as K-Mart, or Target. Their prices may be low, but you don’t get the quality you deserve. You only need one or two winter jackets anyway, so it is better to get a good one. You can also find cheap ones online at Amazon or Overstock.com. Buying clothes from them are not a good idea, because there is no guarantee on the goods. These big online retailers are not specialized on clothing.

EMS.com, Altrec.com, Backcountry.com Sierratradingpost.com, Rei.com are ones I will recommend for you to shop winter jackets or parka.

EMS.com is the official web site for Eastern Montain Sports, one of the nation’s leading outdoor gear retailers. It started business in Colorado in 1967, now has 65 retail stores in 12 states. It carrys brands like Columbia, Isis, Marmot, Montbell, Mountain Hardwear, Outdoor Research, Rab, The North Face, Western Mountaineering, etc. EMS does not offer general coupons. But it offers sales on certain categories every week and free shipping when your order is over $48. Now EMS is a running a 50% off sale on winter items, which includes all the winter jacks and vests.

See this THE NORTH FACE Women’s Metropolis Down Parka at EMS.com, was $289, now on sale at $231!

Altrec is a online only store, which means you will never need to pay sales tax no matter which state you live in. It offers free shipping to all states on any order. And best of all, it offers lifetime return. Read the detail here. Altrec.com offers a large selection of winter jackets, – 113 men’s styles, 158 women’s styles, 17 boys’ styles, and 25 girls’ styles, including brands of The North Face, Columbia, Marmot, Patagonia, Mountain Hardwear, and Canada Goose etc. Altrec will have a $10 off $100 coupon once in while. 10% off coupons also available on certain products or categories.

Backcountry.com started in 1998, a fast-growing internet only retailers specialized in outdoor clothing, ski, hiking, climbing, and camping gears. It carrys a largest selection of winter down jackets: 129 men’s styles, 160 women’s styles, 17 boys’ styles, and 29 girls’ styles. And it is running a “Save Big On This Year’s Gear -Up to 50% off” sale till the end of the month. An iPad application can be downloaded for your easy shopping. Each product comes with lots of pictures, or even a video. The best part about Backcountry is that you can select a few items and compare them side by side. Free 2-day shipping on orders over $50. No general coupons available for Backcountry.com. But they have sales very often on select categories. Signup their newsletter to receive the promotions in time.

Sierratradingpost.com is running a 50% off sale on down jackets today, valid through the end of the month. Shipping in not free, but it offers coupons very often. 20% off to 35% off coupons are available all the time. They even post coupons on their own homepage. But you better check out our Sierra trading post’s coupon page, because we sometimes have a coupon with bigger discount. For winter jackets, it has less selection than that of Altrec and Backcountry, but more than EMS.
REI has the least selection of winter jackets with the highest prices. The only reason you might want to try REI.com is that you want to return items to their local stores. It has 110 retail stores in 30 states. With the sales tax, the price would be higher. Not recommended! And they never offer coupons, not even during holidays.

Did you get a HDTV in the holiday season? If not, now it is another good time to buy a HDTV. Walmart, Newegg and Circuit City are running HDTV sales recently. You may get a better deal than in the holiday season.

The first question of buying a HDTV is: What size is right for my room? Read this article. If you are too lazy to read it, get a 55inch for your living room, and a 42inch for your bedroom. It is that simple.

Then you will need to decide which type of TV you should buy. You have heard enough of LED TV, or 3D TV, or super slim TV. Do you really need one of those? Probably not. LED televisions are really just LCD televisions that use LED lights for back lighting. LED TV can have a very thin depth, and will reduce the power consumption greatly. If you really care about energy conservation, or you need to hang it on the wall, probably you should get a LED HDTV. 3D TV is totally uncessary. First, there ain’t enough 3D movies, second, you will get dizzy or headache by watching them. It is a better idea to watch a 3D movie in the theater, and enjoy the family time as well. Read this article Plasma vs. LCD vs. LED: Which HDTV Type is Best?
The cheapest 55 inch LCD HDTV at Walmart is RCA 55″ 120Hz HDTV, 55LA55R120Q, $749. And it is also the cheapest 55 inch LCD TV across the entire internet. Read the reviews from the happy customers at Walmart. If all you need is to watch cable TV (or dish network/directv), this is best choice. Picture qulaity is good enough, it would be hard to tell a difference from a $2000 HDTV.

Another good choice is VIZIO 55″ 120Hz HDTV, E552VL, $998. Its contrast ratio is double of that of the RCA 55-in HDTV, which means you will get a more crispy picture. But I tell you, if you are not a pro, it is hard to tell the difference.

A high end 55-in TV is Samsung UN55D6000 55-Inch LED HDTV. We compare the prices from the major retailers.

Amazon: $1649

Walmart: $1499

Sears: $1699

Dell: $1697

BHPhotoVideo: $1699

Tiger Direct: $1599

Again Walmart has the lowest price. Its contrast ratio are exceptionally higher than the above two TVs. I have used many Samsung TVs in the life. They do deliver a more vivid picture. Especially when you connect it to computer or blu-ray DVD players, you will see the picture quality is better. But again, if watching TV only, the RCV and Vizio are good enough.

For your bed room, the most common TV size is 42 inch. The cheapest 42″ LCD TV at Walmart is Sceptre 42″ 60Hz HDTV, X425BV-FHD, only $359! You won’t be able to find a better deal than this. And these deals will be gone fast, some of these HDTVs are already out of stock at the moment when I am writing this post!

Comp USA and Tiger Direct are offering many coupons for LCD HDTVs. They are valid for select models, such as Vizio E470VA 47in, Vizio E260VA 26 inch, Vizio M420VT-B 42in, Samsung UN55D6400 55″ HDTV & Samsung BD-D5500. Comp USA’s prices are not competitive at all, even after coupons. But Tiger Direct are definitely worth to try.

Spring is approaching. Now it is good time to replace your old golf equipment with the new ones. Read this article about before you buy golf clubs. There are plenty of other articles about how to pick right golf clubs and other equipment. I am no expert on this topic. But I am sure a shopping guru. Let me tell you a few tips on how to save money on golf equipment.

First, don’t expect to get good golf clubs at extremely low prices. That’s never going to happen. Golf clubs will cost you from a few hundred dollars to thousand of dollars. You should know exactly what you are looking for and what you need for the near future. Once you’ve identified what types of clubs you are going to buy, set your budget first.

Read reviews, get opinions from your friends, consult with your coach or any expert you know. Good reviews can be found at Amazon.com. You don’t have to buy from Amazon, but it is sure a good source for quality reviews. They are from real players. If you want ask questions, you can post them at golfforum.com, or twitter your questions. If you want to chat, go to TGW.com, click on the “Live Chat” green button, agents are available 24/7, and they are free to help.

Don’t hurry. You are going to spend a lot money, and you better get your money’s worth. I suggest you to sign up newsletters from major online golf retailers. They will send you promotions and sale items from time to time. As I said before, don’t expect to get extremely low prices. But you should be able to save some dollars.

Compare prices.

TGW.com, Golfsmith.com, Rockbottomgolf.com, and Globalgolf.com are the most popular online golf retailers. They sell everything you need on golfing, including clubs, bags, balls, apparel, shoes, and all kinds of accessories. Dickssportinggoods.com is another good one, and better yet, you can return items to their local stores if you are not satisfied. Sometimes you can find good deals at Overstock.com. If you knew what to buy, don’t forget to search it at Overstock. But keep in mind, you may not be able to return it if it ias marked as final sale.

Get coupons.

TGW.com: You won’t see 15% or 20% sitewide coupons very often, they are mostly offered during the holiday season. 15% off shoes or balls or apparel coupons come very often, though. Coupons like “$20 off $100, $50 off $250, $80 off $400” will come once a month.

Golfsmith.com: 15% off coupon is very common, as well as $15, $20, or $50 off coupon.

RockBottomGolf.com: 5% off coupon available, and coupons for a free bag or a free hat, etc.

Globalgolf.com: No dollar off or percentage off coupon availble. Free Shipping coupon sometimes.

Dickssportinggoods.com: $10 or $20 off coupon avaialble.

Now let’s compare prices of a popular driver, TaylorMade Mens Burner Superfast 2.0, at these 5 stores. When comparing prices, don’t forget to include shipping and ta into consideration.

TGW.com: $199, shipping $6.99.

Golfsmith.com: $199,shipping $6.99, may need to pay tax.

RockBottomGolf.com: $179, free shipping.

Globalgolf.com: $199, free shipping.

Dickssportinggoods.com: $199. Free shipping, but most likely you need to pay tax.

You see, prices are all same except RockBottomGolf.com. But after applying coupons, TGW is as cheap as Rock Bottom Golf.

Recently I realized there is a brand new Barnes and Noble. Barnes and Noble did not redecorated their local stores, nor did they have a new website. But Barnes and Noble is becoming more and more attractive to me and thousand of others. In my impression, it only sells books and CDs at their original prices. It is more like a library to me than a bookstore, since I never bought any book from Barnes and Noble ever since online bookstore are becoming popular.

Things got changed after I recevied a 40% printable coupon in my email in the past holiday season. I thought it could be good to buy a gift for the Christmas. I went to a Barnes and Noble located in a shopping mall. I haven’t been for years. The first thing shocked me is that they have lots of good toys, which I had never seen in Toys R Us or Walmart. Most of them are educational toys. New books are still priced as MSRP. But there are a few rows of bargain books to choose from, and many kids books are marked at discounted prices. And the best news is that the 40% off coupon is accepted. The next day, I printed another 40% coupon!

Let’s compare the price at Amazon and B&N. I randomly picked two best sellers of 2011.
1. The Psychology of Wealth: Understand Your Relationship with Money and Achieve Prosperity [Hardcover]

List Price: $26
Amazon: $15.60. Amazon never offers coupon for books.
BN: $17.33, If you are a member of Barnes & Noble and buy it in store, you will get 10% off, which brings the prices down to $15.60. If you buy it onlne, be sure to use online coupons. You can find plenty of 15% off Barnes & Noble coupons. After applying 15% off coupon code (eg., R9V9D8K), it is $14.73!

2. Catching Fire (The Second Book of the Hunger Games) [Hardcover]

List Price: $17.99
Amazon: $8.99. No coupons ever.
BN: $9.98. After 10% off member discount, it is $8.98, – price when you buy in store. If you buy it online, after 15% off coupon, it is $ $8.48!

You see, prices at Barnes and Noble are actually cheaper! But wait, you need to pay tax at Barnes & Noble. And what about shipping? Let’s do the math again. If you are BN member, shipping is free. Even if you are not a member, shipping is free if your order is ovre $25. So we can ignore shipping when you online at BN.com. And remember shipping at Amazon ain’t always free. The two books above happens qualify for free shipping if order is over $25. Depending on the tax rate of your state and after applying the 15% off coupon, the final prices at Barnesandnoble.com are slightly cheaper than that of Amazon.

Conclusion: I have been used to ordering books from Amazon. I assume that the prices at online only book starts are cheaper. I am wrong, you see. Let’s go back to Barnes and Noble!

Editor’s Words: the 40% off Barnes and Noble in the holiday season is for Black Friday weekend only. The most common printable coupons you will receive from emails are 15% off. But they also send 20% or 25% off coupons from time to time. These coupons are valid both online and in store. When you receive them you knnow you should not waste your chance.

If you are still buying contact lens from a local eyewear store or from your optometrist, you should switch to online contact lens stores. Buying contact lens online are very easy:

Step 1: Select your most trusted brand. All online stores will carry these popular brands: Acuvue, Air Optix, Avaira, Biofinity, Biomedics (Aqualite), Bausch & Lomb, Boston, CIBA Vision, Clearsight, Coopervision, Dailies, Focus, Frequency, FreshLook, Proclear, PureVision, Soflens.

Step 2: Enter your lens options from your prescription. Power/Sphere: Strength of lenses, a number between –20.00 and +20.00; BC: Base Curve (back curvature of lens), a number between 8.0 and 10.0; DIA: Diameter (diameter of lens), a number between 13.0 and 15.0. Don’t worry. If you are not sure, you can get help via online chat.

Step 3: When you are ready to checkout, you will be asked to enter your doctor’s name and phone number. Actually you can enter anything here. They don’t verify at all.

ACLens.com, DiscountContactLenses.com, Lens.com, 1800GetLens.com, VisionDirect.com are the most well-known online contact lens resellers. They all provide good services, but their prices are different. A price comparison engine will not tell you who is cheaper, because these retailers provide different coupons from time to time. A good coupon will save you big. If you don’t see one today, better come back later.
Today we did a price compare on these five stores. We pretended to order 20 boxes of 1-DAY ACUVUE (10 boxes right eyes, and 10 box of left eyes). See our results below.

ACLens.com: $21.95/box, final price $395.10 after 10% off coupon code “CHILL”.

Discount Contact Lenses: $21.95/box, final price $395.10 after 10% off coupon code “NY2012”.

Lens.com: $20.99/box, final price $430.03 after $25 off coupon code “FIRST-12DK”.

1800GetLens:$20.99/box, final price $430.03 after $25 off coupon code “FIRST-12DK”. Same company as Lens.com?

VisionDirect: $23.99/box, final price $359 after 25% off coupon Code “25NEW”. This is coupon for first time customers. For returned customers, use code “20NEW” for 20% off.

Today’s winner is Vision Direct!

Using coupon code at ACLens.com or DiscountContactLenses.com is tricky. You need to enter the code into “Special Comments or Instructions” on the checkout page. We created a video to show you where to enter coupon code at ACLens.com and DiscountContactLenses.com.

Remember the old days when you want to buy a TV or a dish washer, you’d walk into a Best Buy or Circuit City and a sale clerk will help you to make a decision, or recommend you something you don’t need? Now with Circuit City stores all closed, did you visit Best Buy more often? I bet you did not. You would do a product research online first, then do a price comparison, then serach for available coupons, and finally you would make a purchase online. Accoding to the recent stats by The New York Times, more than 55% off Americans buy electronics and computers online (exclude large appliances such as dide-by-side refrigerators) at least once in 2011. And apparently the number will grow fast with time. Best Buy’s stock (BBY) lost 40% of its value in 2011, and it closed all its stores in China and UK. Did that tell you something?

There are a few hundred of online electronics retailers listed in Google price comparison. Most of them are rated 4-5 stars. But the ones I would recommend are: B&H Photo Video, JR.com, Abt Electronics, Abes of Maine, and Onecall. They all offers digital cameras, camcorders, HDTV, audios. B&H and JR also offer large selection of desktop computers and notebooks. They are in business for more than 10 years, they are large companies, they have very detail product dscriptions, they have many product reviews for your reference, they have easy return policy, they don’t try to sell you extra stuff you don’t need, they offer white glove dilivery. In one word, you can trust them and their prices are always lowest. Sometimes you will find extremely low prices. Please read carefully, the product could be: open-box, refurbished, dented, or scratched. If you find none of them, their sale person will call you once you placed the order and ask you to buy “necessary accessories”, such as a TV stand, lenes, filters, cables, protection plans, bags, etc.

Today we did some comparison at these 5 retailers. Products are randomly picked by our staff.
1. Samsung UN55D6500, a popular HDTV, 55″ LED-backlit LCD TV, 1080p, FullHD

B&H Photo-Video: $1899.99

J&R: $2024.00

Abt: $1897.00

Onecall: $1897.00

Abes of Maine: $1698.18. Free Flat Wall Mount, Value $149.95, with purchase. Plus, use promotion code “LOYALTY15” for an extra $15 off. It brings the price down to $1683.18!

Winner: Abes of Maine!

2. Canon PowerShot ELPH 510, a popular Point & Shoot digital camera with 12.1 megapixel and 12x optical zoom

B&H Photo-Video: $289.95

J&R: $301.69Abt: $349.99

Onecall: $299.00

Abes of Maine: $276.95

Winner: It is Abes of Maine again!

3. Large Appliance: Whirlpool WFC7500VW Washing machine

B&H Photo-Video, J&R, Onecall: N/A

Abes of Maine: $823

Abt: $777

Winner: Abt Electronics.

We did another thoroughly price compare. The cheaptest is Appliances Connection, $727. Plus, use coupon code “SAVE10” to save an extra $10, which brought the price to $717! Appliances Connection focus its business on appliances, expecially large appliances. They have a price match policy. If you find the price is lower at other stores, call them to match the price. Another good place is AJ Madison, price for Whirlpool WFC7500VW is $791.

Every time my little girl went to the mall, her eyes will not leave the window where there are cute little dresses. She always wants new clothing, no matter how many we just bought last week. Retailers knew that very well, that’s why they change the window every week, or maybe everyday to attract girls.
Well, I can’t afford hundred dollar clothes at Saks or Neimen. But there are many well-designed clothes at very deep discounted prices at JC Penney, Gap and Macys. For clearance items, I wouldn’t go to the local stores. They don’t have as many selections as the their online stores.

1.JC Penney: $4.99+$17.49

You won’t believe your eyes. This Arizona Girls Cover Up, Terry Hoodie, is only $4.99, was $24.99. It can pair with any jeans. White color is also available.

Levi’s Jeans, Girls 517 Flare now $17.49, was $34.99. Or Levi’s Skinny Flare Girls Jeans 7-16 now $21, was $38; Levi’s Girls 7-16 Straight Leg Jeans now $21, was $38. She’ll love pairing these jeans with all the tops in her closet.

If your order is over 69, free shipping is available with promo code “SHIP69”. Ship to store is always free with no minimum purchase required, promo code “FREESHIP”. Both promo codes are valid all time.

2. Gap: $9.99+$19.99

Gap has many long sleeve shirts like this one on sale now at $9.99 each. They are simple and good for everyday wear.

Denim mini skirt (indigo wash) was $24.95, now $19.99. Available at regular or slim cut.

With orders of $100 or more, free shipping is available if you check out with a Gap card, or a Banana Republic card, or a Old Navy card. Different coupon codes are needed for different cards. See our Gap coupons page to find out.

3. Macys: $15.99 or $34.99

Nautica Kids Dress, Girls Uniform Pique Polo Dress now $15.99, was $30.00.

Ralph Lauren Kids Dress, Girls Polo Dress now $34.99, was $45. White and red also available. This one is a little expensive. But it worth the money with Ralph Lauren’s brand.

Free shipping with $99 order. $8 shipping if order under $99. There is an extra 15% off sale will start tomorrow (1/12) till 1/17. Enjoy it.

1. Some jeans are only perfect when they are in the shopwindow. Try them before you buy. Or you will most likely regret it afterwards.

2. One size smaller is more than enough, two size smaller will kill you. What is the fun when you cannot breathe or move your legs?

3. Wear seamless panties to better show off your curves. Or don’t wear underwear at all when you are wearing a low rise jeans.

4. Dark wash denim makes you look thinner. See the left photo. You can easily tell.

5. If you think it will fit after one month of diet, then come back in a month.

6. No pair of jeans are exactly same, even with same brand, same style and same size.

7. Standard size is no standard. You have to try them.

8. Shorter jeans will make you look shorter too. And remember, jeans will shrink after machine wash. A few inches longer is a must when you buy.

9. Wear shoes while trying on new jeans.

10. Walk at least 10 minutes while trying on new jeans. Try to lift your legs high, bend your knees, sit down, etc. You will see they are comfortable or not.

11. Take a closer look at the rear pockets from a three-sided mirror. Try to select those with smaller pockets. It will better show off your hip curve.

12. If there are lots of wrinkles when you sit down, try to get one size smaller.

Here are some good places to shop.

Jeans for Casual:

For casual wears, I will recommend Levis jeans and Gap jeans.

Fashion Jeans:

For high end jeans, I will recommend 7 for all mankind and True Religion Brand.

Large Size Jeans:

For large figures, I will recommend Ulla popken, Just My Size, and Avenue.com.

While the Mayan prophecy said on December 21, 2012, the world will be destroyed, fashion designers brought us the bright designs like it would be the last summer full of color. Mary Katrantzou, the digital-print master, or D&G with the colorful patterns made of lavish silk print, all tells us that spring and summer of 2012 are you going to be beautiful, colorful, and blooming.

1. Dolce & Gabbana 2012 New Collection

Check out this D&G short dress. It is a light-weight knit, with 88% Silk and 12% Viscose. Yoox.com also carrys Dolce & Gabbana, but only the classic styles. The new collections are only available at D&G’s official website here. Was $1505, now on sale at $903.

2. Max Azria’s Colorful Geometric Prints

These designed are first presented in New York Fashion Week in September 2011. But they are not available at Max Azria’s official website BCBG.com yet. You can find many other Max Azria’s designs at Nordstrom and Bloomingdales.com at discounted prices though.

3. MARY KATRANTZOU

Available at Yoox, Barneys New York, and Net-a-porter. Personally I don’t like them at all. It is more a runway dress which is suitable to wear in the real life. See this one at Yoox. Was $820, now 580.

4. Custo Barcelona

You can find Custo Barcelona’s collection at 6pm.com at very low prices. Not all sizes are available though. Custo Barcelona’s designs are very popular, you can find them at many online fashion retailers such as Singer22, Stylebop, Yoox, Shopstyle, and many more.

This season, 70s style wide leg pants brought good news for ladies who does not have confidence on their legs. In a cold winter, with a wide and comfortable pant you no longer have to worry about the leg shape, and it makes you look more elegant. You are probably not as skinny as runway girls, but these tips will help you look your best in them.

1. If legs not thin enough and long enough, wide leg pants will make your legs look shorter. The simplest way is to enhance the waist line, visually elongated legs. In predominantly dark colors in winter, some bright color accessories will improve the femininity of your body shape.

2. To wear wide leg pants especially high waist wide leg pants, you must first make sure you have a flat stomach, and a smooth waist and hips lines. If not, then choose a coat to cover it.

3. Dark color wide leg pant matched with same color little suit is one of the most classic office lady dress. Simpler is better. Don’t wear too much jewelry, a ring or a neat design necklace is sufficient.

4. Tired of black and white? Get a shining silk wide leg pant!

I am not going to talk about fashion chain stores like Banana Republic, Bebe, Gap, or Lord and Taylor, because they are well-known enough. They are good places to shop both online and at local stores. But there are many other smaller and niche retailers online who attract female buyers for different reasons.

1. Shopbop.com is my favorite store to buy designer’s apparel. If you knew which designer fits you best, simply click into the designer’s page. About 500 designers are listed from A-Z. You can find names like Alexander Wang, Maison Martin Margiela, Marc by Marc Jacobs, Kelly Bergin, etc. Designer’s fashion no cheap, prices range from $100 Tshirt, $300 jeans, to a $1000 fine dress. Brands like these are also available at local Saks 5th Avenue, or Neimen Marcus. But at Shopbop you pay lower prices, at least 20% cheaper than that of local stores, and you don’t pay taxes. And better yet, both shipping and return are free, which means you can try it and return it at no cost. Read the product reviews before you buy, they are very helpful.

2. Yoox.com is another place to shop designer’s apparel. They carry many Europian’s brands which you can not find elsewhere, such as Martin Margiela, Jacques Fath, Pierre Cardin. And in total they have more than 1000 desingers listed! Sometimes your ordered are shipped from overseas, which may take a long time to get you. But the worst thing about Yoox is that they don’t offer free shipping nor free returned.

3. Bluefly.com have apparel from a few hundred of designers. Their prices are often higher than that of Shopbop. But they offer coupons very often. If you are able to use a coupon, the prices are sometimes lower. They do not have free shipping nor free return. Standard shipping is $7.95, which is not too bad though. Bluefly attracted many buyer because its luxury bags at very discounted prices.

If you are not comfortable with online only stores, Nordstrom.com and NeimenMarcus.com are your choices. They are the only brand name stores who offers free shipping and free return. You can either return items to their local stores with no questions asked, or return to any UPS stores at no cost.

4. 7ForAllMankind.com: Nice jeans!

5. 80sPurple.com: The name says it all.

6. AlternativeApparel: Handcrafted apparel made of extra soft fabrics.

7. Appleseeds.com: Classic and formal.

8. BabyPhat: More black people wear them than white.

9. BeallsFlorida.com: Low price apparel.

10. Boden.com: Boden kids are my favorite.

11. Chadwicks.com: Fashion for office lady.

12. Christopherandbanks.com: Comfortable and casual wear for older ladies.

13. Couturecandy.com: Another fashionable clothes site, similar to Shopbop. Free shipping with $150 order.

14. DJPremium.com: Another trendy designer’s clothing site. Less items listed, but prices are competitive.

15. DrJays.com: Urban clothes mostly for blacks.

16. Editorscloset.com: Members only, private sale for designers’ brands.

17. FrenchConnection.com: Classic Europian styles.

18. GoJane.com: Trendy shoes and clothing for teens.

19. HauteLook.com: Similar to Editors closet, deep discount for members only.

20. HotTopic.com: Funky styles.

21. JimmyJazz.com: Urban clothes mostly for blacks.

22. metrostyle: Classic wear with real steal price.

23. MidnightVelvet.com: Formal wear at very affordable price.

24. ModCloth.com: Indie, Retro, Vintage Dresses.

25. Monroeandmain.com: Casual wear and office wear at low prices.

26. PeruvianConnection.com: Luxury alpaca sweaters.

27. PinkMascara.com: Many complaints about their customer service.

28. PinkIce.com: For young chicks who want to catch the fashion trend but don’t want to spend a lot, this is the one for you.

29. Rocawear.com: Urban clothes mostly for blacks.

30. Shabbyapple.com: Vintage style dresses and skirts.

31. Spiegel.com: Classic apparel.

32. Splendid.com: Country styles at affordable price.

33. TheOrchidBoutique.com: Top quality swimwear from top designers. Can’t find at any local stores.

34. ToryBurch.com: Brand also available at other designer’s store. Here you will find more selections and on sale items.

35. UrbanOutfitters.com: Urabn styles at affordable price

If it is a printable coupon, you should read the fine print carefully. If it is a online coupon, all you have to do is try it online. Here I listed 11 common reasons that coupons may be rejected by retailers.

1. The coupon expired.

You need to read the fine print carefully, expecially the expiration date.

Retailer: It expired.

You: But it said expiration is 12/31.

Retailer: Yes, 12/31 of 1998.

2. Minimum purchase required.

Some coupons are only valid your order exceeds the minimum requirement. For example, a $10 off $100 coupon means you need to spend at least $100 to get the $10 discount.

3. Need to buy more items, or together with other items.

For example, buy 3 and get 20% off. Please don’t buy more items just because you want to use the coupon. You end up spending more.

You: Did I get 1 free?

Retailer: Sorry, no.

You: Why?

Retailer: You need to buy 100 donuts to get one free.

You: OK, give me 100.

4.Only apply to select items.

For example, coupon for extra 20% of sale items. Retailers published these kinds of coupons trying to get rid of some of their stocks.

5.Only valid in select locations.

You: Can I use this coupon?

Retailer: Sorry, no.

You: Why?

Retailer: Because it is only valid in Alaska.

6.Invalid coupon code.

This is for online coupons only. Some websites posted non-authorized or expired coupon codes on their websites, just trying to trick people to visit their sites.

7.Retailers reject it for no reason.

Bottom line is they have the right to qualify or disqualify the coupon. Some retails may change their mind for no reason. Of course they will tell you at least 10 reasons.

8.Some coupons are one-time coupons.

It means someone has used this coupon before you did, and it has become invalid.

9.Some coupons are for new customers.

Retailers have this type of coupon because they want to attract new buyers to their store. If you are a returned customer, you are not eligible to use it.

10.Some coupons are for returned customers.

Retailers have this type of coupon because they want to reward their loyal buyers. If you are a first time customer, you are not eligible to use it.

11.Some coupons are for next purchase.

Well, they want you to come back next time. Very smart coupon. You are not eligible to use it this time.

Can you imagine that 25% of Americans saids their number 1 must-have in their lives is facebook. If you have one th following sings, you definitely spending too much time facebook. C’mon, there is a real life out there. You need a real friend, a real girlfriend or boyfriend, face to face. You need play games on a real field.

1. When you see a captial letter F, you want to change it “f”.

2. When you saw a blue square box, you want to add a “f” in it.

3. When one of your facebook friends told you you can make money on facebook, you believed it.

4. When you said “I like you” to a girl, you literally means you liked her on the facebook.

5. When your parents ask you to go out and make more friends, you proudly told them you have 3518 friends.

6. You don’t print phots any more. All your photos are in Facebook.

7. You want to “Check in”, even when you are in bathroom.

8. Before you buy something, you want opinions from all your facebook friends.

9. Your facebook friends know exactly what you are doing now, and everything you did in the past few years.

10. If you are reading this article via a facebook link.

College textbooks are very expensive. I want to write some tips for those freshman on how to save on textbooks, in case you haven’t learned that from your classmates or roommates. Don’t be shocked that you might spend over $1000 on books if you bought them with the original prices. Follow the 10 tips in this article, I am sure you can at least save half of the cost.
1.Get the list of required books as soon as you can.

Summer break or winter break is a good time to get started. Don’t wait for the school starts. Check your school’s website, ask your professors, call the department, there are many ways you can find out.

2.Don’t go to your campus bookstore.

It is the most expensive bookstore, and they don’t give you any discount. You can find all your books somewhere else. I don’t see there is any reason you should go to the campus bookstore, unless you use it as a library.

3.Compare prices online.

Get the ISBN number, compare the book prices can’t be easier. There are plenty of websites can do so. All of them are pretty much the same. Just search book price comparison, you will find many good websites. Among them addall.com is my favorite. It has no or minimum advertiement, and has very simple user interface.

4.Buy books online.

Amazon used to be my favorite bookstore. But nowadays, Amazon didn’t provide competitive prices. Buy.com and Walmart.com always give me the lowest prices if available. Beside, Buy.com offers price gurantee, which means if you find a better price anywhere on the web, tell them and they will offer you the same price.

5.Use coupons.

There are online coupons for many bookstores, such as Half.com, Alibris, Barnes & Noble, etc. Write down the coupon code and use it during checkout to get the discount. I have to mention Barnes & Noble’s printable coupons, such as 40% off any one item. It will be delivered to your email account if you are their member, which is a very sweat deal to use at local stores.

6.Buy used books online.

This is the most cost-effective way to have your textbooks. Many bookstores also sell used books, the prices sometimes are 90% off the original prices. But a 50% off is a fair price.

7.Rent books online.

This is another cost-effective way to have your textbooks. For example, renting a book at Chegg is about 60% less than the listed price. Which means you are only paying around $40 for a book that would cost you around $100 to buy. Coupons are available for Chegg too. CampusBookRentals.com is another good rental site. If you are not sure where to rent, try textbookrentals.com to see which site offers the lowest price.

8.Go digital.

Try CourseSmart.com, which claims they have 90% of college textbooks available. Amazon and Barnes & Noble also provide eBooks. Prices are normal around 50% of printed version. But as a textbook, ebook is not as convenient as a conventional printed book in my opinion.

9.Get chapters you need.

Some professors only uses a few chapters of the textbook. You can photocopy them from your classmates. Or buy the chapters at cengagebrain.com for as low as $1.99 per chapter.

10.Borrow books.

If you can borrow, this is the ultimate money saving way to have your textbooks. Try borrow books from library or from your friends.