It's a gas station, so lots of 5% CB opportunities to boot on this one as they are taking credit cards...
The Cheapskate Challenge - with a cash prize!
- Thread starter Matt
- Start date
TheAmericanTravelProject
Level 2 Member
Just something to keep in mind (and to be the Debbie Downer here)...I'm sure you have cc with good product protections. I used the gift card methods (can't remember the exact details and hoops I jumped through at the time) to buy a couple of Sears appliances. I was psyched about the deals at the time. Until the freakin things broke within minutes of the regular warranties expiring and I was kicking myself for not using my Amex Plat or equivalent to get extended warranties. The cost of replacing our dishwasher and fixing the fridge far outweighed the savings. On the other hand, we do have a Sears range that has lasted 12 years so far & I almost want it to break so I can get the one that you are looking at
Exactly. This is the subject that I really want to explore with this challenge (and hey, I am still open to hearing better ideas) but the micro/macro discussion is something we need to dig into in order to really optimize our work.
Here's something that merges both:
- If you MS'd atsay 5x and earned the full $1699 in an hour it would be worth spending about 6 minutes to find a place to print a 10% off coupon.
A very good point, and something I was considering when looking at the 'like new' models. Seems that barring Samsung they do have a manufacturers warranty on them though.Just something to keep in mind (and to be the Debbie Downer here)...I'm sure you have cc with good product protections. I used the gift card methods (can't remember the exact details and hoops I jumped through at the time) to buy a couple of Sears appliances. I was psyched about the deals at the time. Until the freakin things broke within minutes of the regular warranties expiring and I was kicking myself for not using my Amex Plat or equivalent to get extended warranties. The cost of replacing our dishwasher and fixing the fridge far outweighed the savings. On the other hand, we do have a Sears range that has lasted 12 years so far & I almost want it to break so I can get the one that you are looking at
deere1
Level 2 Member
You would have to pull the trigger quickly as follows:
-Go to GiftCertificates.com through the Upromise portal.
-Buy a $1700 Super Certificate using the "SANTA14" promo code to save 5% = $85.00 savings.
-Shipping by FedEx will be approximately $15.00 cost.
-Upromise cashback 5% of $1630 = $81.50 savings.
-Use Upromise CC or Amex OBC CC 5% of $1630 = $81.50 savings.
-Buy Sears GC at GiftCertificates.com on 11/28/14 using promo code "BF14FREE" ($25 back on purchase of $250 GC, unfortunately you can't get $250 Sears GC, have to use $500 GC). You will have to go through 3 times to get $75.00 savings.
-Shipping by FedEx will be approximately $49.50 cost (not sure if e-mailable GC qualifies, so might be less).
-Go to Sears through Fat Wallet portal 6% of $1700 = $102.00 savings.
-Use "SEARS300" promo code for $35.00 savings.
-Shop your way points = $17.00 savings.
Final cost = $1700 - 85 + 15 - 81.50 - 81.50 - 75 + 49.50 -102 - 35 -17 = $1,287.50.
-Go to GiftCertificates.com through the Upromise portal.
-Buy a $1700 Super Certificate using the "SANTA14" promo code to save 5% = $85.00 savings.
-Shipping by FedEx will be approximately $15.00 cost.
-Upromise cashback 5% of $1630 = $81.50 savings.
-Use Upromise CC or Amex OBC CC 5% of $1630 = $81.50 savings.
-Buy Sears GC at GiftCertificates.com on 11/28/14 using promo code "BF14FREE" ($25 back on purchase of $250 GC, unfortunately you can't get $250 Sears GC, have to use $500 GC). You will have to go through 3 times to get $75.00 savings.
-Shipping by FedEx will be approximately $49.50 cost (not sure if e-mailable GC qualifies, so might be less).
-Go to Sears through Fat Wallet portal 6% of $1700 = $102.00 savings.
-Use "SEARS300" promo code for $35.00 savings.
-Shop your way points = $17.00 savings.
Final cost = $1700 - 85 + 15 - 81.50 - 81.50 - 75 + 49.50 -102 - 35 -17 = $1,287.50.
Haley
I am not a robot
I don't understand how you double dip (the bolded steps) and educate me, please, is there a CC I need to get the Upromise deal? I used to know this but Discover card deals seemed to always match or beat Upromise on things I spend on, so I stopped paying attention.
OBC is not 5% everywhere, so I don't think you can use it in this senerio.
Can you use VGC's with the Upromise portal (I guess that might be the same question as is this a CC).
Haley
I am not a robot
I'm 100% with you on that.
Right up until I need to use my non-cash points/miles. Then I'm all, I'd rather just MS more than mess with learning all the booking rules/tricks/andstuff.
R
RamboAroundTheWorld
Guest
Is it too late to get you to switch to a comparable LG or Samsung model so we can use price matching as a weapon? The Kenmore Elite is made by LG anyway, plus it's not blue inside!
You can't price match this one?
AH... as @smittytabb pointed out Kenmore is a Sears brand - sorry, I wasn't aware. I actually swapped to this one after looking at a similar product that was available in other stores and therefore assumed the same... hence the price match seeming viable.
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No salesperson worth their salt (that's where we get the word "salary" btw) would not want to hear what a comparable one is selling for across town. This is another place where social engineering can work, not unlike car sales. Does anyone know if they work on commission at Sears? My town now has a small storefront called "Sears Hometown" that just sells home appliances. Don't you think I haven't already gone in there and gotten friendly with a saleswoman, looked at some things, asked questions, taken her card, etc.? I am not in the market for anything right now, but when I am, I will get a quote from her before I verify if ordering through a portal is better than F2F or not. And yes, I will have to figure out her work schedule to go in when she is there. Sounds familiar, no?
Of course, something to keep in mind also is that there are 13x and 15x offers for Sears for a limited time through portals like AAdvantage Shopping. For the purposes of this challenge, I am not sure we would count that, but there is a lot of value in those kind of offers, especially for larger purchases. I have never seen anyone chart the timing on this type of thing, but it could very possibly be seasonal and predictable.
I also have not seen anyone mention yet that Home Improvement gift cards are accepted at Sears.
I also have not seen anyone mention yet that Home Improvement gift cards are accepted at Sears.
I also haven't seen your solution
As Buzz would say, developing...I also haven't seen your solution
Not sure if you can reproduce or not, but I have it down to $1173.00 (approximately).
Buy $1700 worth of Sears gift cards at Thornton's gas station for 20% off saving $340. Pay for them with a credit card like OBC that gives you 5% cash back for another $85 savings. Then buy the thing through Ebates with the gift cards for another 6% cash back saving you another $102.
Is this my only answer allowed? I have never used Ebates so I am not sure if you can use gift cards on the site or not.
I would use ShopDiscover to get it down another $68, but you have ruled that out. Too bad!
Buy $1700 worth of Sears gift cards at Thornton's gas station for 20% off saving $340. Pay for them with a credit card like OBC that gives you 5% cash back for another $85 savings. Then buy the thing through Ebates with the gift cards for another 6% cash back saving you another $102.
Is this my only answer allowed? I have never used Ebates so I am not sure if you can use gift cards on the site or not.
I would use ShopDiscover to get it down another $68, but you have ruled that out. Too bad!
deere1
Level 2 Member
I did not know that about AMEX OBC. If you have the Upromise credit card, and you use it through the Upromise portal, you get an additional 5% cashback on top of the cashback for using the portal. So for Sears, you get 5% for the portal and 5% for using the credit card.
I don't know if you can use VGC's with the Upromise portal; I've never tried it (I'm sure you can use them, I don't know if you will get cashback).
Frequentmiler has reported that at Sears you can buy a gift card with a gift card, so I guess if you were worried about the multiples, you could go into Sears with your pile of gift cards and buy one big gift Sears gift card. Problem solved... Worst case scenario, surely you could bring them in to customer service and have them trade them out for one big one. Actually, now that I think about it, that would be best case scenario.
It's a trade off for sure, for being a cheapskate, I guess. But the challenge was just to drop the price. It is hard to put a price on the warranty and other protections that credit cards potentially could give you.
Products have manufacturers warranties, and if you trust it, likely sears warranty too. Certainly weaker coverage than the CC too, but how much are you paying for that?
Price protection? That's not something that makes sense to me- if you buy with a CC to protect the inflated price you pay against a drop vs using GC to control the drop.
MickiSue
Level 2 Member
Well, shoot, that didn't work. I was going to recommend that you think about a Whirlpool, in the same range. Because Sears appliances are made by Whirlpool. But none of their induction ranges look exactly the same. Although...they have a double oven one that only got a list price about $100 more...and two ovens are a boon when you are cooking a big meal, like, f'rinstance, heating two side dishes and trying to keep the turkey warm next Thursday.
The appliance I was looking at isn't made by Sears, people are just locked onto Sears being the vendor at the moment, it may be a by-product of group think.
You know Kenmore is Sears, right? I hate group think, but here in 'Merica Kenmore = Sears.
I did not - I must censor this thread immediately before anyone realizes I made a mistake!
Thanks for pointing that out
Wait, does K-Mart sell the same one to cheapskates for less? As Kenmore is also K-Mart. Bloody hell they do, for $999.99. So buy 1K in Sears Gift cards that takes off another $200 + 5% is another $40 and it's down to $760. Take another 6% off through Ebates and then it is down to $ $700.
http://www.kmart.com/kenmore-elite-6.1-cu-ft-electric-range-w/p-02295053000P?prdNo=5&blockNo=5&blockType=G5
http://www.kmart.com/kenmore-elite-6.1-cu-ft-electric-range-w/p-02295053000P?prdNo=5&blockNo=5&blockType=G5
Malvina
Level 2 Member
It is electric. Matt wants induction.
I was so excited I have no idea if it is the same range or if my math is correct or not. Please advise.
Nope, same price I believe. The first one is Electric as @Malvina pointed out, and this one is a cheaper version that retails at $1299 on sears (from memory)
Never mind, but at least you now know that Kenmore is Sears (and K-Mart). Cultural and local knowledge is always important
It raises a great point tying into Rambo's suggestion. Price match is an important factor and by picking Kenmore I am hampering myself. I had thought that I had seen it a HD or somewhere else, but must have mixed that up.Never mind, but at least you now know that Kenmore is Sears (and K-Mart). Cultural and local knowledge is always important
Haley
I am not a robot
You might have seen almost the same thing there.
Every brand is going to have something close.
Maybe start over with parameters.
That is how I search for appliances IRL.
Yep, for me I will start over - but for the Challenge - should we let it run with the original model (or is that almost done anyway) or evolve it into best product that can do the same thing, but is a different brand and as such we can drop the price further on?
Maybe, but not necessarily. Kenmore brand appliances are made by other companies. If you can find out who makes the range under the Kenmore brand, and find a comparable it could be argued as the same product.
From wikipedia: Kenmore (brand) Kenmore Appliances is a brand of household appliances sold by Sears since 1927. The products are currently produced by manufacturers such as Whirlpool Corp, GE, Panasonic, Sanyo, LG, Bosch, Electrolux, and Mabe Mexico.