CyberCJH's Blog

In March of 2008, I bought a Canon PowerShot SD750 from Staples for $133. Take a stroll down that memory lane here.

In March of 2009, my manufacturer’s warranty ended. Then, in March of 2010, my extended warranty offered through American Express ended.

Then, just a few days ago, the lens on my camera stopped retracting back into the camera’s housing. And, I kept getting error messages about the lens. I fiddled with it and got it to the point where the lens would retract and extend, but the little door that protected the shutter when the camera was off would no longer close.

Great.

The Canon website gave me an estimated repair cost of $116. Incredible. This repair would cost 87% of what I paid for the camera just two years ago.

So, I ended up buying a new camera … a Canon PowerShot … from Staples. And, history repeats itself. But this time, I also bought a 3 year warranty from SquareTrade.

Canon SD1300IS Camera                :   $ 199.99
Sale                                 : – $  10.00
Instant Savings                      : – $  10.00
Coupon Purchase from e-junkie.com    : + $    .99
$25 off $100 coupon                  : – $  25.00
Sales tax                            : + $  10.07
5% cash back (from American Express) : – $   8.25
Staples EasyRebate for Camera        : – $  25.00
Subtotal : = $ 132.80
SquareTrade 3 Year Warranty          : + $  26.08
Total : = $ 158.88

So, for $43 more versus the repair, I ended up getting a brand new camera with a 3 year warranty. Incredible. Still, I’m going to try to sell the old camera on eBay to recover some of the money I spent on the new camera.

Here’s a comparison of features:

FEATURE : SD750 / SD1300 IS
Mega Pixels : 7.1 /12.1
Optical Zoom : 3x / 4x
LCD Screen : 3.0″ / 2.7″
Image Stabilizer : No / Yes
Low Light Mode : No / Yes
Dimensions : 3.61×2.24×0.77 / 3.61×2.240.77
Weight : 4.59 oz. / 4.94 oz.

written by cybercjh

Recently, I was able to get just over $100 worth of Duracell batteries for free from Staples. Stop drooling, HL…

In the month of December, Staples was offering a 20 pack of AA or AAA batteries for $12.99, but you’d get $12.99 back in Staples rewards. You could purchase up to 10 packs and get the $12.99 back. I ended up getting 8 packs of batteries.

So, I spent $103.92 on the batteries and I recently got my Staples Rewards voucher in the mail for that amount.

Then, I used that $103.92 voucher plus a coupon to buy items that were nearly free after rebate. This will allow me to turn the Staples Rewards voucher into a series of actual rebates checks that I will be able to take to the bank and deposit.

Here’s how I did it.

160 AA & AAA Duracell Batteries : $103.92
American Express 5% Cash Back : -$5.19
Brother 575 Fax Machine : $59.99
Rebate : -$50.00
Brother PT1090 Label Maker: $34.99
Rebate : -$25.00
Brother PT1090 Label Maker: $34.99
Rebate : -$25.00
$25 off $100 Coupon (purchased from ejunkie.com) : $0.93
Coupon : -$25.00
Staples Reward Voucher : -$103.92
TOTAL: 71¢

And, if I can make a few dollars selling the fax machine and label makers on eBay, I will have actually made money by purchasing those batteries.

written by cybercjh

Got some stuff almost free after rebate & coupon savings at staples.com that I will end up selling on eBay.

written by cybercjh

Since we’re traveling soon with the Baby, we’ve been on the hunt for a small, light and collapsible stroller frame that the car seat will snap into.

Our current stroller, which I call the SUV, is just too big to take on the airplanes.

We found one we liked at Babies R Us for $70.

Then, we found it on amazon.com for $60. So, I ordered it.

But, the last night, Target had it on clearance for $49. So, I called Amazon from my cell phone and canceled the order I had with them and bought it from Target instead.

written by cybercjh

Target.com recently had a pretty sweet deal on baby products.

If you bought three items, you’d get 20% off. And, if you spent over $50, you’d get free shipping. But, I also had a link through AAA which provided an additional 10% off.

Check this out:

• 6 boxes of Pampers Swaddlers
  Regular Price : $41.99/ea
  Sale Price : $29.40/ea
  $251.94 – $50.38 (Target 20%) - $25.19 (AAA 10%) = $176.37
• 3 boxes of 512 count Pampers Sensitive Wipes
  Regular Price : $12.99/ea
  Sale Price : $9.09/ea
  $38.97 – $7.79 (Target 20%) - $3.90 (AAA 10%) = $27.28
• 3 containers of Similac Sensitive Infant Formula
  Regular Price : $23.79/ea
  Sale Price : $16.65/ea This is crazy cheap for formula.
  $71.37 – $14.27 (Target 20%) - $7.14 (AAA 10%) = $49.96

I also attempted to combine these purchases with the 10% cash back offer from bing.com. If that proves successful (I’m doubtful), that will bring down the prices even further …

• 6 boxes of Pampers Swaddlers : $25.20/ea
• 3 boxes of 512 count Pampers Sensitive Wipes : $7.79/ea
• 3 containers of Similac Sensitive Infant Formula : $14.27/ea

written by cybercjh