August 14-20: Buy $50 Best Buy Gift Card Get $8 Back in Plenti Rewards

If you are participating in the Plenti Rewards program, for the week of August 14-20 in 2016, at Rite Aid brick and mortar stores, if you purchase a $50 plastic Best Buy Gift Card, you will receive 800 Plenti Rewards points, which are the equivalent of $8. The points load up on your account the next morning. Limit two per customer during that week (Sunday AM until Saturday PM). Assuming you can easily spend the Plenti rewards (Rite Aid, Macy’s, Exxon-Mobil gas stations, etc), it’s like getting a 16% off discount on the Best Buy gift cards.

Pay $88, Get $100 Sears Gift Card by email (limit 3)

The digital side of Sears is among the eBay Deals, where PayPal Digital Gifts is offering $100 Sears Gift Cards by email for $88 with free email delivery. Limit three per customer. Over 2600 sold so far. Sears sells cameras but they also have a number of well-known online dealers selling there (Cameta, Adorama, BuyDig/Beach, etc).

Coupon for up to 30% OFF on Leica-branded Gifts (not Cameras/Lenses)

On the camera brand loyalty gifts front (shirts, coffee mugs, notebooks, keychains), coupon code LEICAGEAR gets you up to 30% off on select Leica-branded gifts at Adorama. A total of 20 items are participating.

12oz Coffee Lens Mug for $9 w/free shipping

Daily deal style website Tanga.com has a free shipping promotion with 500+ items included, including this new condition 12oz Coffee Lens Mug by Whetstone offered for $9 with free shipping for all. No memberships, no minimum quantity purchases, the above items get free shipping. Limit six coffee lens mugs per customer.

(ENDED) Buy $50 Amazon Gift Card, Get $10 promotional credit with Coupon Code [PRIME]

This limited time Prime Day promotion expired…

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RiteAid: Buy $50 eBay Gift Card, get 800 Plenti Points

If you are an eBay shopper, good until the close of business on Saturday 6/25/16, at Rite Aid Brick and Mortar stores, if you buy a $50 eBay Gift Card, you will receive 800 Plenti Points, which is $8 spending power in future purchases. Assuming you can spend the Plenti points on something you need/want, that’s an effective 16% discount. Limit one per customer… In parallel, they have a buy $25 Google Play Gift Card (think camera/photo apps and e-books), get 500 Plenti Points. This is limit two per customer for the week…

Self-Stirring Lens-Shaped Coffee Mug for $13 w/free S&H

I suppose this falls squarely into the Dads and Grads gift season, it’s not just a Lens-Shaped Coffee Mug, BUT a Self-Stirring One! No, it does not use gravitational waves harvested from the soul of the universe, but two AAA batteries to power the self-stirring which is activated with a button on the side of this 11oz lens-shaped coffee mug going for $13 with free shipping with a limit of five per customer at Stacksocial. There is a short video demonstrating the stirring over there. Delivery estimate is two weeks from today.

PS: I have only used the non-powered ones, so I don’t know how well the stirring works on this one.

Instant Camera Shaped Post-It Dispenser for $6

For the week of June 19-25 in 2016, at Office Depot and Office Max, the Post-It Dispenser in the shape of an instant camera is going to be on sale for $6. This is mentioned in their Weekly Ad as you can see in the screenshot below:

postit_instant_camera_dispenser

I do not know if their website will also have the $6 sale starting on Sunday 6/19/16, but you can research it and see bigger pictures of it at the Office Depot website.

Pay $85, Get $100 Gift Card for Sears or iTunes

We forgot about Dre and also the eBay Trending Deals where they have two gift cards offers of the “Pay $85, Get $100 Gift Card” variety as follows:

+ Sears Plastic Gift Card (limit 3, from SVWGiftCards, free shipping by mail)
++ in addition to their own camera gear, Sears has an open marketplace where some of the well-known camera sellers participate (similar to Amazon, NewEgg, Best Buy, Rakuten, etc)

+ iTunes Electronic Gift Card (limit 4, from PayPal Digital Gifts, delivered by email)
++ think camera and photo apps, photography and camera ebooks ~ some of which are iTunes-exclusive)

B&H Photo branded 20oz Klean Kanteen Vacuum Insulated Classic Water Bottle for $30.50 with free shipping

Olympus recently launched a fan gift shop but they are not the only one. If you are a fan of B&H Photo, they have two B&H logo branded versions of the 20oz Klean Kanteen Vacuum Insulated Classic Water Bottle. The very outdoorsy looking Fresh Pine (Green) color scheme goes for $30.50 with free shipping, while the Shale Black goes for $31 + shipping (free shipping if your order total is $49+).

These are not isolated items, they are part of the recently launched B&H Outdoor Gear shop.

Pay $85, Get $100 plastic Sears Gift Card by mail

Back to the land of the eBay Deals, there is a physical gift card delivered by mail promotion, Pay $85, Get $100 Sears Gift Card. Free shipping of this plastic gift card, with a limit of three per customer. The seller is “svmgiftcards” (99.6%, ships from Illinois). Over 7300 got sold so far. Sears sells cameras but they also have an open marketplace like Amazon/eBay/Rakuten/etc, so a number of well-known third-party camera sellers sell on their website.

10% off official Olympus Fan Merchandise with Coupon

The official Olympus USA store is having a coupon sale on its official Fan Merchandise (hats, shirts, coffee cups, and of course the obligatory Swiss Army Knife). You get 10% off with coupon code GETGEAR until 5/22/16. They call it “Gear Shop” but that is rather be confusing since camera gear is more gear than t-shirts and hats 🙂

Pay $40, Get $50 iTunes Gift Card via email {limit 4}

The current headliner deal at the eBay Deals is an offer by PayPal Digital Gifts like this: Pay $40, Get $50 iTunes Gift card delivered by e-mail, with a limit of four per buyer. This is a 20% discount, not the lowest ever, but one you can get right now. This is good on anything at iTunes, including apps (many photo apps), e-books (various camera guides and photography books), videos, music, etc.

PayPal update: Gift Cards not eligible for PayPal Seller Protection after June 25

Good old PayPal, sending emails of Policy Changes on Saturday night, like politicians trying to keep a scandal under the radar. The new terms will take effect on June 25 in 2016. Of note, gift cards will not longer be covered by PayPal Seller protection. This could potentially affect the availability and prices of gift cards if sellers don’t have as much protection. The future will tell how this will impact things.

Two 12oz Lens-Shaped Coffee Mugs for $11

And now to lenses that dosn’t need a DxoMark test score. From the gifts and decorations department, a 2-pack of 12oz lens-shaped coffee mugs is on sale for $11 at the Staples website. They can hold up to 12oz of liquid and come with a screw-on lid, and stainless steel construction ~ per the specs there.

Free ship to store. Rewards members get free shipping with an order of $15+. For ideas on how to get to $15+, check their Daily Deals.

Amazon Prime now available for $11 per month (month to month option)

If you are mostly a seasonal Amazon shopper (eg Holidays, Back to School, Wedding Season, etc), Amazon is offering the option to sign up for a month to month Prime membership. The monthly fee is $11 with auto-renewal until you cancel it. This has the same benefits as the $99 annual membership.

You are paying a 33% premium ($132 – $99 divided by $99) [MATH CORRECTED 2x!], so basically if you are going to be on the month to month plan for nine months ($11 x 9 = $99) or more, you are better off with the annual plan. They also have a video-only plan for $9 per month. Details at the Amazon Prime page. Click on the “See more plans” to see the options (annotated screenshot crop below):

prime_monthly

PS: you will only see the above if you are not a Prime member. If you are a Prime member and logged on with your Prime account, that page will take you to your Prime membership page. I am not sure how you can switch from an Annual to a Month to Month subscription.

Olympus USA launches Branded Gift Shop (hats, tshirts, cups, etc)

If you are a fan of the Olympus brand, especially if you have enough Olympus Rewards points to get you a free item, you may be interested in the new Olympus Gift Shop, where you can buy Olympus-branded gift items, like hats, shirts, cups, totes, swiss army knives, and pocket journals. As of the time of writing they have 18 items available. The prices are typical “gift shop prices”, so you may want to wait for a coupon promotion or at least a free shipping promotion or to add them to a future purchase that would qualify for free shipping.

Lens-Shaped Coffee Mug for $10 [was $11]

And now to a lens of a different kind, a novelty gift with some semi-practical use, Groupon is offering this lens-shaped coffee mug for $10 (was $11) each, with a limit of five per customer. Free shipping with orders of $34.99 so you may want to add it to a future order if not planning to buy anything else now. Shipping is $4 for sub-$35 orders. The specs say this is 12oz but keep in mind, in general, most of the coffee cup listed measurements are usually fully full (which no one uses that way because you get spills all over).

Also of interest if you have any Groupon store credit or coupons or gift cards.

Pay $85, Get $100 Overstock Gift Card by e-mail

Overstock has some camera gear too, so if you are a fan of the Overstock, PayPal’s Digital Gifts is having an email Overstock gift card promotion: Pay $85, Get $100 Overstock.com Gift Card via email, with a limit of five per customer.

Speaking of gift cards, this one is a physical gift card delivered by mail by Gift Card Mall on eBay, Pay $90, Get $100 Lowe’s Gift Card with a limit of two per customer. Over 6000 cards got sold so far. Because the studio won’t fix itself 🙂

Heads Up (March 13-19): 16% Plenti Rewards on $50 eBay Gift Card

For the week of March 13-19 (2016), members of the Plenti Rewards program (Rite Aid and others, operated by American Express), can get 800 Plenti points ($8 future buying power) when you purchase a $50 eBay Gift Card at Rite Aid. Limit two per customer during this week. That’s 16% back in rewards. This offer will be available at Rite Aid B&M stores. I do not know if it will be available at the Rite Aid website as well.

Buy Best Buy Gift Cards, get 10% Bonus as an eBay Gift Card

To the eBay Deals where if you are a fan of both Best Buy and eBay shopping, there’s a gift card promotion you may find of interest:

+ Pay $100, Get $100 Best Buy Gift Card and $10 eBay Gift Card

+ this sold out: Pay $150, Get $150 Best Buy Gift Card and $15 eBay Gift Card

+ both are offered by “PayPal Digital Gifts” on eBay, with a limit of one of each per customer
+ these are electronic gift cards delivered by e-mail

YMMV Amazon Gift Card Reload Bonus: Get $5 Bonus on $100+ Load

This is a YMMV promotion since only some Amazon shoppers qualify. This may be a rotating promotion where it is offered to only a percentage of people at a time, or perhaps the offer is determined by their purchase history. I have no idea how they decide it. The current promotion is a $5 bonus if you load/reload $100 or more as an Amazon Gift Card Balance on your account. To find out if you are eligible, you have to be logged on to your Amazon account, and visit the Gift Card Balance reload page.

NOTE this sets up an on-going reload triggered by a specific account low balance. If you don’t want this to continue in the future, you have to turn it off manually (it is easy to do using your Amazon account page).

You can load this with credit and debit cards but also with prepaid gift cards. So if you have random leftovers of various gift cards you got from rebates, work, gifts, friends and family, you can just load them up to your Amazon account instead of trying to remember how much is left on each card.

Strategically a gift card balance is handy to use as a reserve for small purchases, eg mp3 songs, ebooks, TV episodes, apps, low priced items, movie rentals, etc ~ if you don’t want your credit card statement filled up with small amount transactions.

I am not eligible for this iteration of this promotion, so I get this message (annotated screenshot crop):

amzn_GC_reload_noteli

If you are not logged to an Amazon.com account when you visit that page, you will see this message (annotated screenshot crop):

amzn_GC_reload_notlog

(ENDED) Pay $95, Get $100 eBay Gift Card

As usual, this didn’t last long, but it returns every few days/weeks… For more action, check the eBay Deals

It is back again at the eBay Deals. It is not a glamorous deal but it’s a utilitarian 5% off! It is the return of Pay $95, Get $100 eBay Gift Card via email with a limit one of per customer. These don’t last long, but they return every few days/weeks.

Discounted Gift Cards for 12% off CVS and 5% off Target

To the eBay Deals we return, with a Post-Valentine’s Gift Card apocalypse. The following retailers sell camera and photo related gear (Target) or photo print services (CVS). Here they are:

+ Pay $88, Get $100 CVS Gift Card with free shipping (mail delivery; not email) from SVM Gift Cards [limit 3]

+ Pay $95, Get $100 Target Gift Card with free shipping (mail delivery; not email) from Gift Card Mall [limit 2]

Pay $55, Get 1-Year Costco Wholesale Membership and $20 Costco Cash Card

Costco has some camera gear, with inventory and offers varying between their stores and their website. They typically focus on items that match their bang for the buck and/or volume-buy philosophy. With that in mind, Living Social has a new promotion, Pay $55 and Get 1-Year Costco Wholesale Membership and $20 Costco Cash Card along with Costco coupons. Offer ends by 2/10/16.

If you are planning to make a big purchase, the savings on a single big ticket item can more than cover the 1-year membership fee, especially with the $20 cash card included.

Offer is good for NEW members only. Current members or members whose memberships expired on 10/1/15 or later are not eligible.

20% back in Plenti Rewards on $25 Google Play GiftCard

If you are part of the Google Play Android ecosystem and you want to stock up on Android camera and photo apps or in-app purchases, and if you are participating in the Plenti Rewards program, good until February 7 (2016) you earn 20% back in Plenti Rewards when you purchase a $25 Google Play Gift Card at Rite Aid brick and mortar stores. The offer is limit two during the week. You can use them on anything at Google Play, not just camera/photo. These rarely get discounted, so it’s a good opportunity… NOTE: you can’t use these to buy hardware or recurring subscriptions.

Jan 17-23: 20% off iTunes Gift Cards ($50 or $100 amounts)

If you want to get low-friction discounted iTunes Gift Cards, for the week of January 17-23 at Staples Brick and Mortar stores, you can get 20% off on the $50 and $100 iTunes Gift Cards. So you would be paying $40 and $80 respectively. There’s no coupon, no rebate, the gift cards will be discounted automatically by their system. This is not the lowest percentage (can find 25% or 30% if you can wait), but it’s fairly convenient if you happen to be nearby a Staples store.

itunes_gift_card_sale_at_staples

Of photography interest are the vast variety of camera and photography apps, along with camera and photography e-books and camera guides.

(ENDED) 1-Year of Amazon Prime for $73 for New Members (Ends Sun PM)

This Golden Globe weekend offer ended but there is a pattern that every few months Amazon will find some kind of an excuse to have a Prime subscription sale 🙂 But I have no clue when the next one will happen…

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(ENDED) Pay $95, Get $100 eBay eGift Card (limited time)

Just as expected, this sold out quickly, in contrast to the 195/200 that lasted for a few days before closing… For future deals, check the eBay Deals

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Pay $195, Get $200 eBay email Gift Card

eBay is getting a little stingier with their percentage, but if you are a regular eBay shopper, paying less is still better than paying full price… Among the latest eBay Deals, you Pay $195, Get $200 eBay Gift Card via email with a limit one of per customer. This may last longer than the $95/$100 offers since the percentage discount is 2.5% (instead of 5%) and the purchase amount is double. Still, already over 4300 e-gift cards got sold so far from this listing according to the statistics over there.