Visa and MasterCard have very clear rules with regard to requiring a certain minimum amount before accepting credit card as payment. They can’t. MasterCard will fine the merchant up to $20,000 for the first offense of this type. They take it seriously. (Side tip: If a merchant is obstinate about enforcing a minimum charge, the … Read more
The Amazon Kindle is getting a whole lot smaller, faster, and cheaper: $139 with free Super Saver shipping. That’s quite a bit less than what it began at. Money Beagle, though, isn’t moved at all by the ongoing e-book reader price war: His library is right around the corner and well-stocked. Most of the time, … Read more
I don’t remember what prompted me to poke around on eBay to check for gift cards. I do remember that there had been some restrictions placed on gift card sales on eBay because of rising occurrence of fraudulent activity. However, I did find a new practice that I found a little hard to believe. It … Read more
Update July 9, 2014: Good employees can turn things around. Check here. Update May 24, 2025: Updating some links. I recently purchased a keyboard at Guitar Center: an open-box Yamaha DGX-230 Portable Grand. (Update: this was similar to a Yahama PSRE-473.) I’ve been working with a trumpet player who has a need for a keyboard player that … Read more
This article on MSN MoneyCentral puts the (usually) tried-and-true advice of buying in bulk on the chopping block, and lists fifteen things that are probably better not bought in bulk. A few of them surprised me because they were items that I thought were great to buy in bulk. I’ll reorganize the list a little … Read more
Lowe’s puts out scratch-and-dent appliances regularly. These are display models, appliances that got slightly damaged by a forklift, or customer returns. They’ll knock down the price for someone who doesn’t mind a little blemish on the appliance, or one that’s slightly used. We’ve gotten a few good deals with scratch and dent appliances, but for … Read more
(This guest post is by Ann Smarty, a search engine geek, social media enthusiast and a passionate blogger. She has recently started a community of guest bloggers, so if you have a blog and want to promote it for absolutely free, go help Ann build the valuable tool for that by joining and participating.) Bargain … Read more
After giving myself a giant environmentally-friendly pat on the back for how green it was for me to buy a used washer and dryer, a big hole was pointed out in my argument. I had considered the costs of electricity and manufacturing, but neglected to consider water costs. Commenter “First Step” points this out: I … Read more