dealnews

Memorial Day weekend is here, so what type of sales can consumers find? Well, the folks at dealnews are here to help.

At dealnews, we're sometimes jaded about holiday weekend sales. They always receive increased marketing pushes that aim to convince shoppers that this is a once-in-a-blue-moon opportunity. But many times, when we compare the discounts to everyday dealnews bargains, these holiday sales are actually just average.

Memorial Day is a bit different though, for a few product categories. For the past two years, we've seen numerous retailers offer respectable sales that feature sizable stacking coupons. In many cases, these extra discounts were the best we'd seen so far that year. In fact, 50% of Memorial Day branded discounts from 2010 and 2011 were the best we'd seen since that February, if not earlier.Read more

It's easy to know that you're getting the best deal around when shopping through dealnews, but sometimes you want to plan for purchases in advance. So to help you out, we've mined our archives of product prices, sales, and coupons to see what consumer goods are best buys throughout the month of May.

While every month features its own unique deal fluctuations, we often see overlap across months, especially when they fall within the same season. As such, some of the advice for May might sound familiar if you've diligently followed the April guide. That said, May has some unique shopping characteristics to take note of, like stellar Memorial Day sales later this month. So dive in and brush up on the best and worst things to buy in May.Read more

Earth Day turns 43 on April 22, and the event started by U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson in 1970 continues to grow in popularity and impact. In fact, Earth Day has gained such widespread acceptance that major retailers and beloved brands now get in on the act. That's not just good news for the environment, but for all of us as consumers, too. Freebies and sales abound, and we've gathered the best of the lot here.

Free Reusable Bag from Target
In what's becoming an annual rite of spring passage for Target, the company is giving away one reusable Target bag per shopper on April 22. Head to your nearest store and visit the Guest Service desk to claim yours. We love Target bargains, and their freebies are even more on point!

Free Reusable Bags from Kellog's
If you can't make it to Target on Sunday, April 22, consider earning yourself a series of reusable shopping bags from Kellogg's. While you'll need to have purchased any two Kellogg's cereals or Kellogg’s Pop-Tarts (10 oz. or larger) to earn a freebie, toting around a '60s-inspired Kellog's print is almost priceless. Just fill out a short form and you can start collecting all four. Think of all the plastic bags you won't ever need!Read more

Even if you're expecting a hefty refund for 2011, the tax season can still be a stressful time for consumers. All that paperwork, filing, forms, and numbers can make your head spin. And if you owe the government money, then April 17 is certainly not your favorite day of the year. To help soothe your nerves and troubled purse strings, why not indulge in our favorite perks for Tax Day: freebies, deals, and discounts!

From massages to free food, you'll find the right freebie to make your day a little brighter. Note that not all these promotions are advertised as Tax Day offers, but when it comes to free food, does it really matter? Also note that, unless otherwise specified, these freebies expire on April 17.Read more

The average U.S. citizen will receive an estimated tax refund of about $2,900, and there's quite a lot you can do with that kind of cash. dealnews polled their readers to see what they plan on doing with their refund and discovered that this year, more people are feeling the pressure to save instead of spend.

It shouldn't be too surprising to learn that dealnews readers are extremely savvy with their money, as nearly 80% of refund-receiving respondents said they will save their refund cash or use it to pay down debt. And of those users, about a third intend to put their entire refund check of $3,000 or more directly into savings or pay off debt.

But not everyone can exercise such financial discipline, and about a quarter of those receiving a refund expect to spend it. The number one planned purchase? Electronics, naturally. That was followed closely by travel and vacation deals, as well as home and garden items.

Considering the top two categories — which account for 69% of of those looking to spend — we can infer that many of you hope to use the refund as a way to treat yourself or your family. We just hope you remember to shop wisely and spring for budget-friendly deals.Read more

A few months ago, the increasingly popular Shopkick app announced that it had recently reached 3 million active users. These millions of consumers cash in on in-store savings from the shopping rewards application by earning points, as well as unlocking special discounts redeemable at the cash register. This obviously excites anyone invested in brick-and-mortar retail, but is the app really providing a sizable advantage over online shopping?

As a site that focuses mainly on defined, immediate discounts, we were most curious about the coupon codes users can unlock while out and about. To the best of our knowledge, we could only obtain these codes by making a store a "favorite," then viewing the "faves" tab and looking for current promotions. We found that, typically, these offers were only ads indicating the store's current sales promotion. Depending on the day and the stores deemed favorites, about a third feature an in-store coupon.

The goal here is likely to make in-store shopping — and specifically, in-store buying — more appealing by offering customers an incentive to shop at the brick-and-mortar location. But we at dealnews know how frequently many of these stores offer coupons online, which makes us question if these in-store offers actually provide any additional savings.Read more

Winter is thawing out, and spring is upon us. So what's a good buy in April, and what should you hold off on buying?

Cruises
Typically, April is a good month for cruises. But we discovered last month that cruise prices in general have been dropping when compared to last year, likely due to the industry's tumultuous string of recent public disasters. In fact, when compared to similar cruise deals from this time last year, 2012's offers are as much as 11 percent less. And we have continued to see an increase in the sheer number of cruise deals as well, making it still a good time (price-wise) to look into a vacation on the seas.

Spring Apparel… Almost
The general rule of thumb is to wait about two months after a new line of apparel hits stores to start seeing some of the better discounts. Many retailers began to debut their spring merchandise in late January and February, so that places April at about the two-month mark for some. Look closely at the discounts though: a spring sale that takes 30 to 40 percent off is still a mid-season promotion; you'll want a sale that takes at least 50 percent off or more, and if you can hold steady for a stacking coupon code, all the better. If you truly want the lowest prices — which of course comes with reduced selection — you'll likely want to wait until May.Read more

It's been roughly six months since the devastating floods in Thailand, and the storage industry is still struggling in the wake of the destruction. Analysts predicted hard drive prices would jump in the months following, and unfortunately, that's precisely what we've seen.

But where do we stand now, and how long will it take for prices to stabilize once production is back to normal? We looked at price trends in our dealnews archives to get a better picture.

Today's External Hard Drive Deals Feature 2010 Prices
Prior to the September floods in Thailand, 1TB external hard drive deals had plateaued at about $48 to $50, with $48 being the all-time low. However, by the end of October 2011 prices on 1TB drives had jumped by as much as 16% from the previous month's low. And come November (a month where we typically see the best prices on electronics) 1TB hard drive prices had reached $90, the highest price we'd see all year for them. Prices began to decline in the months that followed, but the deals were short lived and quickly crept up again to around $73.Read more

The new year hasn't been kind to the cruise industry. In the past two months we've seen one ship capsize, three separate norovirus outbreaks, a horrible engine room fire, and a ship excursion robbed at gunpoint in Mexico. Images of the helpless ships and passengers captivated viewers on TV and spread across the Internet like a brush fire, creating a public relations nightmare for the cruise industry.

But tough times for the public image of cruise companies mean good times for a customer's wallet — assuming you still want to step aboard a cruise ship at all. After all these ugly mishaps, the industry is not only combating a bad reputation, but also hesitation from travelers. Thus, to coax them from their indecision, numerous cruise lines have offered decreasing prices on their vacations.Read more

There will always be a deluge of people who immediately buy the latest and greatest from Apple. In fact, dealnews conducted a reader survey and discovered that 55% of current iPad owners said they would update to the third generation — even though it's only been a year since the second generation was released, and just two years since the first generation.

But what about consumers who are currently tablet-free and finally ready to jump aboard the slate train? The still-beating iPad 2 is now priced to sell at $399 retail, and we've already seen a deal spring up for $360, making it an extremely enticing option. There are also quite a few Android tablets making waves after CES. So how many of said tablet-less consumers will still opt for the new iPad?

Well, according to the survey, a whopping 78% of non-tablet owners who are planning on buying their first device within the next year said they'll spring for the newest offering from Apple. And, of the people who aren't buying the new iPad (the remaining 22%), almost half will buy a previous generation — specifically, 60% plan on buying the iPad 2 within the next six months. Why? Because the iPad 2 is now cheaper.Read more