New Free Service Makes Getting Price-Drop Refunds Automatic

I have yet to meet a geek that doesn't like to save money! Of course we all know sometimes that can be easier said than done. You have to make that concerted effort to watch your favorite deal sites for the best deals, use price match policies or search out refunds. Then once you do get the best deal you get annoyed because the price drops even lower.

These days many stores have policies that offer to refund shoppers when this happens, but as most good deal seeking geeks know it can be a major hassle trying to keep track of all of your recent purchases and sale prices from those retailers in order to take advantage of price-drop refunds.

We now have a solution, a service called Paribus. The concept here is a simple one, maybe a little intrusive, but still simple nonetheless and even better it is free, well until they get you a refund and then it only cost you 25%.

Here are the basics that you need to know: When getting started you sign up to Paribus and link your email accounts that you typically do your shopping from. The service then watches for receipts that come in as you shop online, or in stores that offer receipts by email. When a new purchase is made and an invoice is emailed to you, Paribus records it in your account and monitors the price of the items you purchased. If there is a coupon you missed, or if the price of any items drops, Paribus will automatically file a claim with the store at which you purchased the items and get you a refund.

Sounds pretty simple too me! The great part is, again that there is no charge for the service. If they don't get you a refund they don't get paid! The one downside I see if any, would be allowing an outside service access to your email and invoices which might be a deal breaker for some...but hey
I like to save money so I might be willing to give it a shot.

We should note that at this time the Paribus service only works with 18 different merchants, but they’re all large retailers that are very popular especially amongst use geeks and include sites, such as Newegg, Amazon, Walmart and Best Buy.

Here’s the full list of supported merchants:

• Amazon.com
• Bloomingdale’s
• Macy’s
• Best Buy
• Sephora.com
• Newegg
• Staples
• Target
• Bonobos
• J. Crew
• Zappos.com
• Nordstrom
• Banana Republic
• Gap
• Old Navy
• Athleta
• Piperlime
• Walmart

The company says it is constantly working to add additional merchants. There’s one more important thing to note with Paribus: every merchant has different policies where price-drop refunds are concerned. That shouldn't be any issue here, in fact it should be a major plus as now you won't need to remember those policies or have to deal with anything related to customer service. Paribus should handle all that for you!

Walmart Launches New Online Gaming HUB 'GameCenter'

Walmart has launched their new online gaming hub aptly called GameCenter. Gamecenter will be the mega store's new one-stop online destination for the latest video game previews, first-look exclusives and special Walmart only savings for gamers.

To celebrate the launch, Walmart is offering a $50 eGift Card to customers that preorder a total of three or more of the year’s most anticipated titles including Medal of Honor, Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood, Fallout: New Vegas and more.

“Walmart Gamecenter combines incredible savings with exclusive gaming content all in a compelling and interactive experience online,” says Kelly Thompson, vice president of merchandising for Walmart.com. “Gaming enthusiasts will be drawn in by the exclusive content and developer interviews, while moms will appreciate the special savings only Walmart can offer on the hottest video game titles.”

Each month, Walmart Gamecenter will feature new video games, exclusive content, special offers and more for each featured title. In addition to the new features the site will also offer customers easy access to Walmart’s online Trade-In program, which allows customers to trade in their used video games and earn Walmart prepaid Visa cards in return at http://walmart.gazelle.com.

Used gaming consoles as well as video games are eligible for trade-in. Walmart Gamecenter is co-sponsored through a media partnership with Unilever. More information is available at http://www.walmart.com/gamecenter.

Source: Walmart Press Release

Walmart To Offer $50 Walmart Gift Card With Wii Purchase

In an attempt at getting more gamers through the door Walmart and many more of the nation's largest retailers are using deals to lure customer to their stores.

Reuters reports that beginning December 5th Walmart will be offering a $50 Walmart Gift Card with the purchase of the Nintendo Wii for $199. Walmart has also cut prices on several popular video games by as much $10 each.

Now through December 24, Walmart will sell "Rock Band: Beatles" for the Wii for $40, down from $50, and it will offer "Left 4 Dead 2" for Microsoft's Xbox 360 for $50, compared with its previous price of $60.

Nintendo reported that they sold more than 550,000 Wii consoles during the week of Thanksgiving, so far topping the console sales charts. The down side being sales dropped some 30 percent from the estimated 800,000 or so the company sold during the same period in 2008. Trends suggest more consumers are buying frugally this holiday season and are so far are shunning the big ticket items.

Offical Walmart Black Friday 2009 Ads Now Online

The speculation is over and no longer do you need to look through ads scans or unofficial leaks. Walmart has officially posted their Black Friday Ads online for your viewing pleasure you can find you local circular by entering your zip code on this page.

Listed below are some of the hotter deals I've found at my local Walmart, not all items will be available at all stores and quantities will be limited so make sure you get out there early!

Walmart Local Ad

Doorbusters from 5am -11am 11/27 include

• Sony Bravia KDL46S504 46" LCD TV $798
• Emerson PL-P42W-10A 42" Plasma 720p HDTV $448
• Sansui HDLCD1909 19" LCD HDTV $128
• Magnavox NB500MG1F Blu-ray Disc Player $78
• Nintendo DS Lite $98
• Kodak CD82 Digital Camera $68
• Samsung MX20 Red Camcorder $149

Laptops and PCs

eMachines eME627 Laptop Computer $198

• AMD Athlon 64 Processor TF-20
  Offers 1.6GHz speed, a 667MHz system bus, and 512KB L2 cache
• 2GB of PC2 @667MHz DDR2 Memory, expandable to 4GB
  Handles multimedia and multitasking
• 160GB SATA hard drive, rated at 5400rpm speed
  Stores up to 45,000 photos, or up to 39,000 songs, or up to 19 hours of HD video and more
• SuperMulti Double-Layer DVD burner
  Plays and creates CDs and DVDs in a variety of different formats
• 15.6" HD Widescreen WXGA High-Brightness Display
  1366x768 resolution; 16:9 aspect ratio
  ATI Radeon HD 3200 Graphics with up to 1919MB of HyperMemory supporting Shader Model 4.0, Microsoft DirectX 10
• Wireless WiFI & Wired 10/100 Ethernet port
  Connects to a broadband modem (cable or DSL) or a network
  802.11 b/g wireless LAN, connects wirelessly to a network, hotpost or broadband router.

HP G60-519wm Laptop Computer $298

• Intel Celeron Processor 900
  Provides 2.2GHz speed, an 800MB frontside bus, and 1MB L2 cache
• 3GB of DDR2 system memory
  Furnishes enough memory for today's demanding applications and can be expanded to 4GB
• 250GB SATA hard drive, 5200 rpm
  Stores up to 71,000 photos, or up to 62,000 songs, or up to 30 hours of HD video, and more
• LightScribe SuperMulti DVD optical drive with double-layer support
  Plays and creates CDs and DVDs with support for 11 different formats
  LightScribe technology etches custom labels right onto LightScribe-ready discs
• Wireless Wi-Fi and wired Ethernet
  Connect to a broadband modem (cable or DSL) wirelessly or using the wired 10/100 Ethernet port
  Also wirelessly connects to a Wi-Fi signal/hotspot with 802.11b/g wireless LAN
• 15.6" diagonal BrightView widescreen display
  Presents 1366 x 768 resolution (WXGA)
• Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 4500M (shared) with up to 1309MB of total available graphics memory

HP G71-329wm Laptop Computer $398

• Intel Celeron Processor 900
  Provides 2.2GHz speed, an 800MB frontside bus, and 1MB L2 cache
• 4GB of DDR2 system memory
  Furnishes enough memory for today's demanding applications and can be expanded to 4GB
• 320GB SATA hard drive, 5400 rpm
  Stores up to 90,000 photos, or up to 79,000songs, or up to 38 hours of HD video, and more
• LightScribe SuperMulti DVD optical drive with double-layer support
  Plays and creates CDs and DVDs with support for 11 different formats
• LightScribe technology etches custom labels right onto LightScribe-ready discs
• 17.3" diagonal BrightView widescreen display
  Presents 1600 x 900 resolution (WXGA)
  Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 4500M (shared) with up to 1695MB of total available graphics memory
• Wireless Wi-Fi and wired Ethernet
  Connect to a broadband modem (cable or DSL) wirelessly or using the wired 10/100 Ethernet port
  Also wirelessly connects to a Wi-Fi signal/hotspot with 802.11b/g wireless LAN

Gaming
X Rocker Turbo Sound Gaming Chair, Black and Silver $35

• Backlit speakers in headrest
• Subwoofer for rich bass and vibration
• Input for MP3 player
• Units folds in half
• Side control panel, vloume, base, power, input/output jacks, headphone jack
• Connection capability - Xbox, Playstations, Wii, Gameboy, MP3/Ipod/CD/DVD, Home Theatre

Rock Band Special Edition for Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3 $50

Features Include:

• Rock out your way! Players can beat on drums, sing along, groove as a bassist and shred riffs as guitarists (using a licensed replica of the legendary Fender™ Stratocaster™) - either in single player career mode leading a band, in multiplayer as part of the band, or against each other - in person or online!
• Unrivaled song library! Major record labels and leading music publishers have signed on to provide unrivaled access to master recordings and legendary rock artists ? from punk, metal and alternative to classic and southern rock of the 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s and 2000s.
• Fully customizable! Form your own band, create and customize your own rocker, and then travel on a fast rise to fame around the world in a quest for rock `n? roll glory!
• Rock `n Roll Never Dies! Supports downloadable content for never-ending challenges.

Xbox 360 Arcade Console with Bonus $199

Xbox 360 Bundle includes:

• Xbox 360 Arcade Console w/ Wireless Controller
• Madagascar 2: Escape 2 Africa game for Xbox 360
• Madagascar DVD
• Madagascar 2: Escape 2 Africa DVD

120 GB PlayStation 3 Console with Bonus $299

PlayStation 3 bundle includes:

• PlayStation 3 120GB Console
• inFAMOUS game for PS3
• Batman Arkham Asylum game for PS3
• Dark Knight Blu-ray disc movie

Cameras

Sony Cyber-shot DSCS930 Silver Digital Camera $79

• 10.1 Megapixels
• 3x Optical zoom
• 2.4" LCD screen
• Face detection and Steadyshot Image Stabilization
• Includes carrying case

Nikon CoolPix S230 Black Digital Camera $139

• 10 Megapixels
• 3x Optical zoom
• 3" LCD touch screen
• High-resolution touchscreen LCD
• Automatic Scene Selector Mode; Smart Portrait System

GPS Systems

TomTom One 125-SE GPS $59

• 3.5" color touchscreen
• Maps of the U.S. and Puerto Rico
• Spoken directions and street names

TomTom XL325-SE GPS $89

• 4.3" color touchscreen
• Maps of the U.S. and Puerto Rico
• Spoken directions and street names

Walmart Is Not Getting Into The Used Game Arena

Following several reports of sightings of e-Play game trade kiosks at several Walmart locations the speculation machine revved up and began running with the story that Walmart may be getting into the used game business. According to Alan Rudy, the CEO of e-Play that is not the case.

Rudy tell Ars Technica "Walmart is [only] providing vestibule space to e-Play at 77 of its Northeast region stores. Some stores have Video Game Buy Back only kiosks and some kiosks are full-functioning, but e-Play manages all aspects of kiosk operations for both types. While we have over 200 other retail locations, this is currently a pilot program with Walmart, but we are optimistic of its success and future expansion."

So it would seem that at least for now Walmart has no plans of directly being involved in the used gaming arena.

Wal-Mart To Offer "Thousands" Of Wii's Starting Monday

Looking to buy a Nintendo Wii this holiday but having a hard time finding one Wal-Mart has you covered.

According to Reuters "Wal-Mart Stores will offer "tens of thousands" of the hard-to-get video game consoles on its website starting on Monday." Walmart.com said it will offer the Nintendo Wii console for $249.24, and a "value bundle," which includes the console and other items like an extra set of controllers, for $329, while supplies last.

As of Sunday afternoon, the Wii console was sold out on most of the webistes we visited including Walmart.com, BestBuy.com, CircuitCity.com, Newegg, Amazon and Buy.com.

Walmart.com also said that it will offer certain Wii video games at a price of two for $30, and certain accessories, like the Nintendo Wii Racing Wheel, starting under $10.

The Reuters article doesn't mention exactly how many Wii's will be offered nor does it mention if Wal-Mart will be offering them instore. My suggestion for anyone wanting to get their hands on one is to shop early

Rumor: iPhone 3G Coming to Walmart

The Boy Genius Report is reporting that select Walmart stores will start carrying the iPhone 3G, on December 28. About 2,500 Walmart locations will offer the device, according to the site, as will 69 Sam's Club locations.

The site claims to have "confirmation" in the form of leaked internal Walmart correspondence. Here are the details as they have posted them:

We are pleased to announce that Wal-Mart has reached agreement with Apple to offer iPhone 3G in Wal-Mart and Wal-Mart-managed Sam’s Club* Connection Centers nationwide beginning December 28, 2008. AT&T will support Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club with the activation process for iPhone 3G, and we need all National Retail employees engaged to ensure a successful launch.

*NOTE: This product launch DOES NOT apply to SC Kiosks within Sam’s Club managed by Radio Shack.

Wal-Mart has communicated the following launch plans and execution timeline to their employees:

• iPhone 3G will be available in-store only beginning 12/28/08
• New and existing customers in good standing can purchase iPhone 3G with a 2 year contract
• iPhone 3G transactions only will be processed through POS.com, not the kiosk

Execution Timeline:

• 12/2 – 12/5: AT&T / Wal-Mart MEM Classroom Training for Store Leads
• 12/3 – 12/19: AT&T In-Store Training
• 12/26 – 12/27: AT&T In-Store Refresher Training
• 12/28: Nationwide Launch
• 12/28 – 12/30: Wal-Mart and AT&T War Room Support

No mention of pricing or any potential drop in cost is mentioned in the alleged leak. If the rumor is true we might see a price drop similar to that of the discounted G-1.

Walmart would neither directly confirm nor deny the report. A spokesperson told PC World that "Walmart has not made an official announcement about offering the iPhone."

BlackBerry Bold Free At Walmart

Just a few short days after new BlackBerry Bold from Research In Motion was released nationwide, the phone is available for free after rebates at Walmart.com.

The BlackBerry Bold, currently exclusive to the AT&T network, hit stores on Nov. 4 and is listed on the AT&T site with a price tag of $399 with a two-year contract ($299 after $100 Mail in rebate).

Walmart, in a move that one ups AT&T, is offering the the phone at $199 on their letstalk site. And for a short time they are offering a 100% rebate on the phone with a two year contract on a service plan of $79.99 per month or more, with the addition of unlimited text messaging, and a Blackberry data plan.

That is a pretty "bold" price tag to say the least. One that is significantly higher than competitors such as the 3G iPhone at $200 and the latest T-Mobile G1 phone based on Google's Android operating system at $180.

Walmart Selling Discounted Android Powered T-Mobile G1 Cell Phones

Starting today 550 Walmart stores will begin selling T-Mobile's Android-powered G1 cell phone for the discounted price of $148.88 to new customers who sign up for a two-year contract. HTC, and T-Mobile launched the G1 last week, and customers paid $179.99 for the handset, so Walmart customers are get a savings of just under $32.

Walmart has more than 2,000 stores in the United States, and the company did not say which stores would be selling the G1, so you'll need to check for local availability. It's possible that the stores that sell the G1 will be in or near the 21 markets where T-Mobile has already rolled out its 3G service.

"They will launch in top markets where consumer interest is expected to be very high and where the T-Mobile 3G coverage area is available," says Walmart spokesperson Melissa O'Brien.

Those markets could include: Austin, Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, Minneapolis, New York (including northern New Jersey and Long Island), Orlando, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Portland, Sacramento, San Antonio, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle.

Amazon, Walmart Add HD DVD Rebate Program

Taking cues from Circuit City's HD DVD Exchange Amazon and Walmart have decided to jump on the bandwagon.

Amazon is "rewarding" all customers who bought an HD DVD player before February 23 with a $50 Amazon.com credit, no strings attached. The deal isn't mentioned at Amazon.com, but the company has reportedly e-mailed all qualifying customers with details on the rebate.

According to the Wall Street Journal Walmart has also launched its own program, though again, details aren't being advertised on the company's web site. Any Walmart customer who bought an HD DVD player on or before November 1 is eligible for a refund for the full purchase price. Original packaging is not required, but you must have a receipt for the purchase, and the offer expires April 30.