Our Sony Cybershot W-5, purchased less than two years ago, is giving us woes. Spent about $300 on this nice little 5 megapixel point and shoot digital. It gets used frequently but not weekly. Kids have their own camera, i'm the primary photographer in the family. Hubby likes his Panasonic video cam.
The damn Sony's lens stopped retracting when turning the power off. This happened during a two-day trip to Disney...and it wasn't even subjected to Space Mountain or the Tower of Terror. I contacted Sony to get it fixed, they want $181 (plus shipping, insurance etc) just to open the camera up and look at it.
I sat and fiddled with it last night and finally, in exasperation, pushed the lens back in while turning it off and on, as instructed: http://www.fixya.com/support/t120057-lens_retract Thank God for Google. I entered " Sony Cybershot "lens won't retract" " and got the www.fixya.com site. Bravo to the posters there.
Now, how long do I trust it to keep working? I can't live with a $300 camera planned for obsolescence in two years. That's just plain wrong.
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Sunday, May 6, 2007
I'm a sucker for discount codes and coupons
I love a good bargain and give me a coupon code any day of the week and I'm
on your website like white on rice.
How some of the big retailers on line can offer such measly discounts is beyond me. So I thought I'd do a little comparison shopping.
Some friends are going to Alaska and British Columbia this summer, so for their anniversary I decided I'd buy a couple of tourbooks.
I thought I'd look at the following three titles:
Frommer's Alaska 2007 List Price:$19.99
The Lonely Planet $21.99
Alaska for Dummies $19.99 (I love those "Dummies" books - always right to the point and comprehensive).
I went to Barnes and Noble's website first. I was already on the AAA website getting free (for us as members) tourbooks and I noticed that AAA members get an additional 5% discount if you go to BN.com from the AAA site. The Barnes & Noble average discount was a measly 10%. Even adding the 5% AAA discount and the free shipping, this was simply NO BARGAIN.
I went to good ol' Amazon.com next. The average discount was 30% plus free shipping for
orders over $25. And no sales tax. Good deal.
Next, I Googled "Borders." It turns out, Borders Books & Music sells through Amazon.com, however, you can get on their email list and have coupons delivered to your email box periodically. There is one for 20% right on the website. Some of the ones they send are 30% but have a short window of use - like just a specific three or four days.
I wound up ordering through Amazon.com because the party is a week away and
I know I'll have the books in time. Had I been in a crunch, I'd have used
the Borders coupon and went to the local bricks and mortar store and bought
them there (and paid the sales tax).
FYI - If you don't need the most current edition, try Half.com They are affiliated with eBay and you can get some great deals. I've bought books listed as "good" or "very good" and they looked nearly perfect.
on your website like white on rice.
How some of the big retailers on line can offer such measly discounts is beyond me. So I thought I'd do a little comparison shopping.
Some friends are going to Alaska and British Columbia this summer, so for their anniversary I decided I'd buy a couple of tourbooks.
I thought I'd look at the following three titles:
Frommer's Alaska 2007 List Price:$19.99
The Lonely Planet $21.99
Alaska for Dummies $19.99 (I love those "Dummies" books - always right to the point and comprehensive).
I went to Barnes and Noble's website first. I was already on the AAA website getting free (for us as members) tourbooks and I noticed that AAA members get an additional 5% discount if you go to BN.com from the AAA site. The Barnes & Noble average discount was a measly 10%. Even adding the 5% AAA discount and the free shipping, this was simply NO BARGAIN.
I went to good ol' Amazon.com next. The average discount was 30% plus free shipping for
orders over $25. And no sales tax. Good deal.
Next, I Googled "Borders." It turns out, Borders Books & Music sells through Amazon.com, however, you can get on their email list and have coupons delivered to your email box periodically. There is one for 20% right on the website. Some of the ones they send are 30% but have a short window of use - like just a specific three or four days.
I wound up ordering through Amazon.com because the party is a week away and
I know I'll have the books in time. Had I been in a crunch, I'd have used
the Borders coupon and went to the local bricks and mortar store and bought
them there (and paid the sales tax).
FYI - If you don't need the most current edition, try Half.com They are affiliated with eBay and you can get some great deals. I've bought books listed as "good" or "very good" and they looked nearly perfect.
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