Where can I get the best deals online?

2008 is definitely ending on an economic down note but the upside is that it’s truly a buyer’s market when it comes to this year’s holiday shopping. The savvy shopper can still give great gifts while saving money – if they know where to look.

With expectations of some major retailer chains filing for bankruptcy, others will try to survive by offering low prices before and after the Holiday shopping season. Even stable retailers are offering great deals to entice shoppers.

If you’re a technical person like myself, you may enjoy the Dell Days of Deals. They only arrive about once a month so it’s best to check in every once in awhile. Another Canadian website that offers great deals and coupons is redflagdeals.com. Many online retailers put up their door crashers here and it’s a great way to save on a wide variety of things. If you are a book lover Amazon.com or Amazon.ca are great sites to order from, especially if you buy enough books to add up to $39 or more. This qualifies you for Free Shipping. If you know of any sites that have great deals before and after the Holidays post them here and spread holiday cheer!

Holiday shopping frenzy

It’s getting close to that time of year and if you don’t act now you’ll probably find yourself in an overcrowded mall trying to find that perfect gift – a gift that was probably sold out 3 weeks ago. Is this really how you want to spend your Saturday? Yeah, I didn’t think so.

Online shopping continues to gain popularity (according to Statistics Canada, it rose 61% between 2005 and 2007) and it’s easy to see why: great deals, huge selection, and the ability to shop while wearing your house coat and drinking some coffee.

Want to make holiday shopping even easier? Use KinekPoint!

Haven’t used it yet? It’s simple:

1) Sign up for a free account at www.kinekpoint.com (do it by December 16th and you’ll have a chance at winning a free Wii & Wii Fit*)

2) Log In and find a KinekPoint Depot that’s close to your home or work – maybe even one along your daily commute.

3) After selecting the Depot, copy the address into the shipping form when you order online (don’t forget to include your KN number)

If you often shop from the same retailers, you can usually save the address on their site. That’ll keep you from having to type in the information every time.

I’ve been using KinekPoint and it’s already saved me loads of time (I’m never home when couriers try to drop off packages so I usually have to drive across town to get them). There’s a depot located just a block from my office and it only takes a minute to pick up my deliveries. If there’s not yet a KinekPoint near you, suggest a location – we really do want to know what locations would work for you.

Happy shopping!

Not sure what to get them this holiday season? Did you check their wish list?

Wish Lists are becoming a common sight on some of our favourite online stores and people are using them in increasing numbers.

Think no one you know has one? You might be surprised. We randomly typed in the names of our friends and family as a test. The result? More people than we thought were using wish lists at sites like amazon.com and chapters.indigo.ca (great guys, but next time maybe you could tell us – it would take some of the guesswork out of shopping).

Most sites with wish lists allow you to search by name or email address. If you’re searching by an email address, there’s a good chance that any result that comes back will be the right one. If, however, you’re searching by name (especially a common name like John Smith), check the items on the list and ask yourself if they match up with what you’d expect that person to like – if they don’t, you may have the wrong list.

Happy shopping and don’t forget to use KinekPoint – it’ll help you keep whatever gift you find a surprise.

Dropping hints on social networks

Not sure what to get them this Christmas? Have you checked their blog?
Think I’m joking? Not quite. Though it may sound brazen, more and more people are becoming comfortable with openly talking about their wish lists online. At first, I thought it was a bit obnoxious when I saw friends blogging about what they wanted under the tree or including their “must haves” in their Facebook status updates. The more I think about it, though, the more it makes sense.
People are increasingly spread out from friends and family and have less time to sit down and have real conversations – that’s the reason sites like Facebook, FriendFeed, and Twitter are so popular; they provide easy ways for you to stay in touch.

Application developers are even getting into the act. A quick search of “wish list” on Facebook brings up pages of applications. Our advice? Check the profile pages of your friends and keep an eye on their tweets and status updates – just make sure you have a pen handy.

What was your most frustrating delivery experience?

Have you ever gone through a delivery experience which made you want to scream? Almost everyone I know has, at some point, experienced the frustrating hassle of getting their online purchase into their hands. I once received a delivery notice on a Friday evening after work directing me to a courier depot that was closed all weekend. Needless to say, I needed that parcel ASAP. I waited all weekend and had to rush out to the courier depot (which was located 15 minutes away) on Monday morning. Why on earth did they put my parcel at a depot so far away when there were closer ones? I found out that it all depends on the courier’s route, so it doesn’t necessarily go to the closest one. I got my parcel but not without hassle and frustration. KinekPoint solves this very problem, as I now simply send my online purchases directly to a KinekPoint Depot. I will never go back to the old conventional frustrating method again.

Have you had a bad delivery experience? Leave a comment and tell your story.

How much is your time worth?

No matter what you do with your days, your time is valuable. If you work, you may think of your time in terms of an hourly wage or yearly salary. If you’re a stay at home partner or parent, you may think of your time in terms of how much you can get done in an hour. No matter how you value it, time is something you can always use more of.

Missed deliveries can take up a lot of your time. I’ll give you an example:
A friend of mine once had a missed delivery go to a depot 20 minutes from where he worked which closed at 4:30 PM and wasn’t open on Saturdays. Of course, he only found that out after he had driven there and was faced with a locked door. He ended up having to leave early from work the next day to make a second trip. He lost a half an hour of time at work and spent an hour and twenty minutes in the car. No wonder he was excited when I told him about KinekPoint.

With KinekPoint, he could have sent the package to a Depot near his office, picked it up on his lunch break, and paid just a couple of dollars. Any way you slice it, that’s a bargain.

Wii + Wii Fit Contest

For those of you who have been calling the department stores to try and get your hands on a Wii Fit and Wii Entertainment System for Christmas but haven’t had any success, this may be your lucky day!

We are running a Wii + Wii Fit prize package contest on the KinekPoint website (kinekpoint.com). All you have to do to enter is sign up for the service (which is free!). This promotion will last until December 16th - just in time for Christmas.

The Wii Fit is one of the hardest gifts to get your hands on this Holiday season and units are flying off the shelves (most stores run out hours after getting a new shipment). If you aren’t having any luck with local stores you can try the Wii Fit Tracker, after you sign up for your chance to win one on our website of course.

In most stores, the Wii Fit retails for $89.99-99.99; online you will see a pretty big hike since the demand is extremely high. You will see prices from $159.99-$199.99. The closer Christmas gets, the more you can expect to pay! In years past, the hot holiday item has been sold for unbelievable prices. We all remember the tickle-me-elmo fiasco. People were getting hurt from the slew of people rushing into the department stores to get their hands on the "it" holiday item.

With online shopping and our Wii & Wii Fit giveaway, you won't have to duke it out in the department store.

Need more info on the Wii Fit? Click here to visit Nintendo's website.