Best Web Sites II

Ever since I wrote about my Best web sites article last year, I’ve been on the look out for even more interesting sites that I can pass onto the loyal cult of Beststuff.com readers. So, without wasting your time with anymore witty, quasi-humorous introductory banter, let’s dive in to the real reason you’re here:

The-Numbers.com - OK, so I have a math degree and actually find rows and rows of numerical values somewhat stimulating. Thus, I was very excited when I found this site. It offers a huge, comprehensive database of the box office earnings for almost every film made in the last 20 years. Everything from poor earning, very good films (I know I’m not the only one who liked Office Space) to box office smashes that should not be viewed while operating heavy machinery…or even viewed at all (Jumanji = $100 million? Please!!!). Not only can you search by film title but you can also sort it by individual actors/actresses. It’s an extremely interesting site that doubles as reference material. It’s also fun to just click around and see what your favorite film(s) earned in the theater. Finally, a King-sized chocolate chip Kudos goes out to whoever entered all that information. Bravo!!

Overstock.com - At first glance, this appears to be your basic e-commerce site that should have burned down (with all the others) during the past two years. However, this site sells products that are a bit different; Overstock doesn't offer the latest and greatest. At least, in today's market. What they sell is the latest and greatest…from six months ago. In other words, you can get some pretty nice deals on stuff that you just need something basic for. For example, let’s say you'd like to get into digital photography but don't want to spend a lot of dough. Overstock has some (slightly) older Fuji's starting at a mere $120. Worried about $50.00 shipping charges? Not here; it's a simple $2.95 no matter how much you buy. In addition, these guys had the guts to go public in this dot-bombed economy, so you know they’ve got something special!

Columbiahouse.com - Yes, they're the music/movie club and yes, I'm sure you get 30 mailings from them a week like I do, but have you ever actually looked at any of their offers? Especially for DVD's? They’re really good! One recent offer I've seen advertised is: Buy 4 for $0.49 cents each plus free shipping. Then, you only need to buy 4 more at regular prices (which start at $19.95) over the next few years. To improve this, you can purchase an additional disc at $14.95 with free shipping. Then, you only need to buy 3. Now let's do some math here. If you buy the required 4 plus the extra 1, the total is $17. If you add the other three at $20 + $3 shipping each, the total comes to $86 ($20 x 3 + $3 x 3 + $17). Divide this by the number of DVD's you're getting (8). The result is about $10.75 a disc. Not bad!

To make this offer even better, a very nice gentleman who goes by the name of "Todd B" has made an extensive list of all Columbia House DVD prices (among other information), which is highly useful for the discerning Columbia Houser. To find this information, visit www.dvdtalk.com, click on "DVD Talk Forums" and then "DVD Clubs". Here, you'll find the necessary info for acquiring the ultimate DVD collection from your new friends at Columbia House!