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Canton, MA (May 28, 2009) – Dunkin' Donuts, America's all-day, everyday stop for coffee and baked goods, is marking National Donut Day with a sweet nationwide offer to help Americans celebrate the joy and fun of donuts. On June 5, 2009, participating Dunkin' Donuts restaurants throughout the country will give every customer a free donut of their choice, with the purchase of any beverage, limit one per customer.
Also on National Donut Day, Dunkin' Donuts will announce the winner of its first-ever "Create Dunkin's Next Donut" contest. From nearly 130,000 donut contest creations submitted online, one of 12 finalists will win a $12,000 grand prize and have their winning donuts sold in Dunkin' Donuts locations throughout the country. Americans can vote for their favorite finalist online at www.dunkindonuts.com/donut.
National Donut Day, held the first Friday of June each year, was started by the Chicago Salvation Army more than 70 years ago. According to Dunkin' Donuts' Brand Marketing Officer Frances Allen, the day holds particular relevance in 2009. "From office meetings to Sunday get-togethers, donuts are one of those foods that lift people's spirits and bring genuine delight to any situation. And now more than ever, Americans are seeking those small moments of happiness," she said. "We hope our free donut offer will create an opportunity for people to celebrate donuts and bring some extra happiness to their day."
Dunkin' Donuts has led the donut category for nearly 60 years, selling 2.5 million donuts and Munchkin™ donut hole treats every day.
About Dunkin' Donuts
Founded in 1950, Dunkin' Donuts is America's favorite every day, all-day stop for coffee and baked goods. Dunkin' Donuts is a market leader in the regular/decaf coffee, iced coffee, hot flavored coffee, donut, bagel and muffin categories, and the largest coffee and baked goods chain in the world. Dunkin' Donuts has earned the No. 1 ranking for customer loyalty in the coffee category by Brand Keys for three years running. The company has more than 8,800 restaurants in 31 countries worldwide. In 2008, Dunkin' Donuts' global system-wide sales were $5.5 billion. Based in Canton, Massachusetts, Dunkin' Donuts is a subsidiary of Dunkin' Brands, Inc. For more information, visit www.DunkinDonuts.com.
As you can see, we went back to Best Buy and exchanged the Dynex webcam for an HP webcam. I am pretty satisfied with it. I am by no means a movie producer and would not need all the fancy/technical things that come with some of them. I wanted one that was easy to use and had some flexibility as far as features go and of course, a good price. It turned out that this HP webcam was actually $10 cheaper than the Best Buy Dynex generic one...so again, Discount Diva does it again! :O)
Although, I noticed that their website says the Dynex webcam is $39.99, which is what we paid in the store, but the HP webcam on their website says $83.99. I would set myself into a coma if we paid that...
We paid $30.00!! How Fanatically Frugal is that!
And now introducing our first video starring my TooheyBugs; Daniela, mostly and Jacob!
Daniela singing to her new Kid's Bop cd that came with her Happy Meal at McDonald's; Delilah and Girls Just Want To Have Fun.
Circuit City Liquidation: What You Need to Know |
| After going into bankruptcy, Circuit City was unable to find a buyer and is going out of business. This means that all of its stores must be shut down. There's a massive liquidation underway of all of its products. So what does this mean for you, the consumer? We poked around the web to see what we could learn and have compiled a list of information below. First Off, the Numbers. Consider the following: Four firms that specialize in liquidation events purchased Circuit City's assets (the products it sells) at a discount to their retail and wholesale values with the hope of selling the items for more than what they paid for them. Here's how it breaks down: $1.8 billion -- the full estimated retail price of all of the goods acquired by the liquidation firms $1.2 billion -- the full estiamted wholesale price of all of the goods acquired by the liquidation firms $846 million -- the price the liquidation firms paid for all of the assets (70.5% of the wholesale value) Okay, so what does this tell us? Well, for one thing, we know that the liquidators paid just 47% of the retail value ($846 million/$1.8 billion). So the liquidators stand to make a decent amount of money. For example, even if they sell all of the items at the wholesale price, they would make over $354 million and get a nice, handsome return of over 40% on their money (and in less than one year -- a pretty amazing annualized return, no matter what the economic environment!). But to be fair, the liquidators do have expenses, both their own operating expenses as well as the costs to operate the Circuit City stores while they liquidate (they are on the hook for all of the store operating costs). And in some cases, liquidators have arrangements to give some of the profits to the bankrupt company. Still, they should do reasonably well if they can move all of their merchandise. What the Numbers Mean for You For the consumer, this is good to know, because you can see that the liquidators have a fair amount of wiggle room to lower prices and still get a hefty return on their investment. The liquidators have an incentive to sell these items as quickly as possible, too. They incur costs when the stores are open, and they have their own operating costs, all of which eat into their margins. So at some point, it's more cost-effective for them to lower the prices of the items and get them sold than to hold out hope that all of their products will sell at the current prices. You can't ever be sure how supply and demand will work together. If consumers are afraid that the products will be gone tomorrow and thus feel compelled to buy today, then demand trumps supply and prices won't fall further. But in a slowing economy like the one we're in now, this is probably less likely than at other times. A lot of people just can't afford to buy the goods at the current prices. Period. Be Knowledgeable About Prices The website Consumerist.com posted an article about Circuit City recently that quotes a reader who says he is a current employee. Among the interesting things he has to say is this quote: "All of what you have seen is correct, not much is actually on sale. Looking at items I remember from a couple weeks before, most everything is more expensive. Especially things like blank CDs, flash drives, and anything in the computer area. Cables are less expensive than usual, but still way more than online. Game systems are not a bad deal either." So one tip is: Don't assume that just because you're walking into a store that is in liquidation and must sell their entire inventory, everything is a "deal". Some items may not be discounted at all, or their discount may be less than a discount that was offered weeks ago -- particularly around the holidays when big sales were in place. Shop around online before you hit Circuit City and make sure you know the price ranges for items of interest, and make sure that you don't get caught up in the excitement of a going out of business sale and overpay. Discounts Vary Also keep in mind that products are discounted differently. Apparently, big-ticket items like TVs haven't been discounted much so far -- maybe 10% at most. Other items, like game systems, as the employee cited above notes, might be discounted as much as 30%-40%. As a recent Business Week article noted, "liquidation sales trim the price of items that normally don't go on sale, such as the game accessories ... or leftover iPods, which are rarely discounted." An iPod that is discounted at 10% might be a great bargain, because iPods are rarely discounted and will probably be scooped up quickly. So it might be worth it to pick up an item like this at a small discount, just because there will be more demand than supply and you might not see the discount go below 10%. As the Business Week article notes, the "psychology, typical of going-out-of-business sales, is heightened by the recession that has consumers paring back. Liquidators acknowledge that they'll sweeten the deals as the sale goes on, but they also warn that items in demand will move before then. Still, liquidators worry they may have paid too much for inventory that newly thrifty shoppers may not buy." When to Buy Okay, so nobody has a crystal ball and it's tough to know with certainty when to buy a product and when to wait. A discount of any kind is tempting, particularly large ones. But what if prices drop further? It's really a roll of the dice, and at some point you have to take in all of the facts and then go with your gut. Time magazine notedthat the liquidation "will likely take eight weeks". So if that's true, it might be worth swinging through the store a month from now to see what's left, as it might be massively discounted by that point. And the liquidators are ready to drop prices should they get the sense that items aren't moving as hoped. Again, according to Time magazine (referring to a liquidator involved with a Circuit City store), "in a stockroom, he's got hundreds of additional discount stickers piled up — 40%, 50%, all the way through 80% off. Electronics are rarely discounted as desperately as, say, clothes, so 10-20% deals alone could move the merchandise. According to the liquidation firms, Circuit City sales are beating projections thus far. But with consumer spending so dismal, and so many stores desperate for dollars, Fried [the liquidator being referenced] might need to shift those stickers to the sales floor. 'It used to be that if you were doing a liquidation, you were the only one out there,' Fried says. 'Now, there's much more competition. You have to be sharper.' And ready to sell a 40-inch plasma for chump change." Buyer Beware One final note: In most -- if not all -- cases, once you purchase an item from Circuit City, you cannot return it. So make sure that you really want the item, and understand that if you run into a problem, you're stuck with it. |
Ebay Auction to benefit Camp Kindle
DANNIELYNN'S DUDS
Larry Birkhead is auctioning off clothes owned by Dannielynn to benefit our camping program, Camp Kindle. Both Larry and Anna Nicole Smith attended Camp Kindle in 2004.
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| What do you get for that person who has everything? A Dunkin' Donuts Card, of course. Get DD Cards at your nearest Dunkin' Donuts shop and your friends and family will thank you for mornings to come. With no expiration date and no fees, it's the best way to keep them on the go all year long. And don't forget to pick up some pounds of coffee at a special Holiday price through 12/30/08. As a gift or to brew at your own festive gathering, Dunkin' Coffee will warm up any celebration. Reward yourself this holiday season. Receive a $2 bonus on your Dunkin' Donuts Card when you register your Card and recharge it for $15 or more between December 26, 2008 and January 23, 2009.* Price and participation may vary. |
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| * Offer good for the first 4,000 respondents who respond before 12/31/2008. One Gift Card per transaction. The Gift Card is an electronic code that can be redeemed at Amazon.com, subject to the conditions below. If you choose to print your Season Pass voucher(s) yourself, the gift code will be printed on an additional page with the rest of your order. If you choose to have your voucher(s) shipped to you, you will receive the gift code in the mailer with your order. ** Amazon.com is not a sponsor of this promotion. Amazon, Amazon.com, and the Amazon.com logo are registered trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates. Amazon.com Gift Cards ("GCs") may be used only for purchases of eligible goods on Amazon.com. GCs cannot be redeemed for purchases of gift certificates or cards; from some third party sellers; or at Amazon.com auctions. GCs cannot be reloaded, resold, transferred for value, redeemed for cash or applied to any account. Amazon.com is not responsible if a GC is lost, stolen, destroyed or used without permission. See www.amazon.com/gc-legal for complete terms, restrictions and exceptions. GCs are issued and © 2008 by ACI Gift Cards, Inc., a Washington corporation. |
Black Friday Sale at StarWarsShop starts November 28 and continues through to CyberMonday, December 1!
Starting November 28, make sure you're in front of a computer to take advantage of StarWarsShop's huge Black Friday Sale, which knocks 10% off every item in stock for regular shoppers, and 20% off for Hyperspace members! That's one dollar off every five spent!
And just in case you're sleeping off a tryptophan haze the day after Thanksgiving, StarWarsShop is extending the sale through the weekend and into Monday, so that's four whole days to reap big savings on Star Wars, Clone Wars, and Indy merch!
StarWarsShop is also giving away a free exclusive "Star Wars Holiday Special" Topps trading card with every order while supplies last, so you'll not want to miss this sale!
Be sure to mark your calendars and be camped out in front of StarWarsShop's virtual doors on November 28 to get the best deals of the year!
Hyperspace members -- be sure you're signed in to StarWarsShop to get the extra 10% discount on top of the 10%-off sale prices! Not a Hyperspace member? What are you waiting for -- Join today!
With the economy tanking and the holidays looming, Microsoft is hoping to salvage some Zune sales by chopping prices.
(Credit: Microsoft)The software maker plans to announce on Wednesday a price cut for its flash-based models. The 4GB version will drop to $99, the 8GB model will drop by $10 to $139, and the 16GB model will sell for $179, down from $199.
Microsoft is also cutting prices for several of its Zune accessories. The cuts take effect on Wednesday in the U.S. and on Friday in Canada.
Zune marketing director Adam Sohn said in an interview on Tuesday that the moves were being made to "ensure hopefully we have a good holiday season." The prices put Zune's flash players cheaper than a similar capacity iPod Nano, though Sohn said that wasn't the explicit goal of the price cuts.
"We're trying to take into consideration what the realities of the market are," Sohn said.
The company introduced the latest Zune models, as well as the version 3.0 update to its software in September. Microsoft introduced a few new games and other device features on Tuesday as part of a version 3.1 firmware update.
Microsoft also kicked off a new wave of TV ads on Monday that aim to get more people to download the free Zune software, even if they haven't yet decided to plunk down for a Zune player or Zune Pass subscription.
"We think we need to attack it from both sides," Sohn said. The ads will run in prime time as well as on national cable and online, he said.
Crowded, cramped and congested stores, just one of the signs the holiday season is on its way. Savvy shoppers hoping to find the big ticket item for a smaller price believe the last minute deals are the only way to save.
"You can get 50 percent off on Christmas Eve if you want to tackle it with all the people," says Debra Lane.
"When I was single I was the day before Christmas," says Evelyn Radowicz. "I would get everything and I loved it."
But can you skip the rush and stick to your budget? Shoppers we spoke to say it's not only easy, it's sometimes a necessity.
"We have a little one now so we don't think we could last with the mob scene," says Holly Viola.
"I have to start so early because the kids patience level is over," says Radowicz. "So I got two gifts today."
"I start really early because I have to make sure I have enough money to spread it all out," says Savannah Ward.
The key to keeping your wallet stuffed as you stuff the stocking is organization.
"Keep it organized and then you won't overspend," says Viola. "We made a list of who we're buying for and what we're looking to get them. Hopefully that way we can track our savings as well."
Knowing what you want and where you plan to get it can help you avoid impulse buys when the sale signs are flashing. Another benefit to pre-season shopping, the hottest items are still in stock.
"You get to get everything before somebody else does," says Ward.
Whether you're an early or late shopper, shoppers we spoke to say to avoid the lines all together, just skip the stores and head to your computer.
"It's easier to shop on-line when the kids are napping, and I found better prices," says Radowicz.
If you can't resist the rush at the register, you can still use the internet to prepare for the biggest shopping day of the year. Web sites like blackfriday.info and theblackfriday.com release sale information weeks in advance, so you'll know where to get discounts on the items on your list.
You may not know it, but at the grocery store, you're now paying more for less as manufacturers shrink the package but not the price.
There's a surprise underneath the jar of Skippy. It just developed a dimple---a curve in the jar that cuts out 10% of the peanut butter. Less product for the same price.
During the past year, a lot of your favorite products have been on some heavy-duty diets. Dial soap is still $2.99, but it's 5-ounces lighter.
There's less ice cream in the cartons, and the Cheerios box is smaller. From the front, the boxes look the same as always. Kellogg's is just making them less deep.
We contacted these companies to find out why. Kellogg's pointed to a dramatic rise in the cost of grains. Dreyer's says, "our ingredient costs have risen by 30-60%." Skippy's parent company Unilever says, "manufacturing and transportation costs have also increased significantly."
It has some wondering why companies don't just raise prices, by 10-20 cents?
"Consumers tend to have these psychological price thresholds in their head. so they say, 'I don't want to pay more than a dollar for a bar of chocolate," says, pricing consultant Drew Conrad.
He says when products break that threshold, sales suffer. so the old 8-ounce Hershey bar slims down, as more companies keep the price the same, and cut the quantity.
So here's the way around it. When you're at the aisle, look at the price tag. Next to the price, most times it reads how much you're paying per ounce. From there, you can determine exactly how much you're really paying compared to how much you're getting.
