Shhh… don’t tell, but I bought 2 more things on eBay last night.  This brings the total to 5 separate eBay purchases in the past 4 days.  I probably made a total of two purchases all last year!

It’s the holidays, right? I’m supposed to be shopping, helping the economy, and going broke, right right? Who’s with me?

I doubt I’d be buying as much if it weren’t for the Microsoft Live.com 30% Cashback promotion.  My first two purchases, which includes my Asus EEE PC netbook, I got with 30% cashback PLUS a 10% instant PayPal coupon.  I mean c’mon, 40% off an already unbeatable eBay price, how could I resist?

The other three weren’t big ticket items, so the discount wasn’t as large but it’s still. I don’t think Microsoft realized how big this would get. Forums everywhere are talking about the Live.com Cashback, especially the eBay deal (Live.com offers smaller cashback with other merchants). People are providing clear and detailed step-by-step instructions on how to take advantage of this in a way I don’t think Microsoft expected. In fact, the 30% offer is now gone. Last night, I was able to find only links for 20% cashback and 25% cashback on eBay and the PayPal coupons are gone. Still, it’s a good deal and was just what I needed to take the plunge and click the “Buy it now” button.

Earlier, I was complaining about how a lot of merchants are based in California. What this meant for me was an additional 8.25% tax on purchases. For something like my Asus EEE PC 904HA, this added on an extra $28.50, but for smaller purchases, it’s only a few bucks. eBay’s prices are already way lower than at other out-of-state merchants, so I’m still getting a deal, and I’m now realizing I’m also getting something extra: super-fast shipping!

My eBay sellers have been very good about shipping right away, usually within 24 - 48 hours of my purchase. Three of my shipments are within the state and close enough to Los Angeles that standard 5 - 7 day shipping turns out to be overnight! Woohoo! You know what, for that, I am definitely willing to pay a few extra hours, which brings me to…

Asus EEE PC 904HA

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! My netbook is here! It was delivered earlier to my mailbox place and is awaiting pickup! WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! I am dying to get out of here and pick it up. Me love, love, love new gadgets and I can’t wait to check it out. WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

A few other items should also be arriving either today or tomorrow, but since they are Christmas gifts, I’m gonna have to stay mum on those for now.

Now, I sure hope that cashback promotion is done and over with… no more eBaying!

It’s lunch time at work and I will be doing what many Americans are doing this Monday after Thanksgiving: shopping online!

There are a lot of Cyber Monday deals now, especially at BestBuy, NewEgg, TigerDirect, and Overstock.  Though some merchants simply extend their Black Friday deals, others have put up new discounts or items today.  Last night around midnight PDT, Overstock put up the much coveted Nintendo Wii for the normal retail price of $249.  It’s impossible to find the Wii by itself (merchants usually see it bundled with tons of extra accessories for more money), and it’s amazing finding it new at this price. I would have been all over it, but I already have a Wii. It’s come as no surprise that it’s already sold out.

In my quest for a netbook, I was flipping through TV channels and to my surprise HSN was selling the Acer Aspire One!  It was a 120 GB/1 GB RAM model for $499!  I checked NewEgg and they had the same model for $399, free shipping.  I decided it was time for me to make a decision and get one. I once again Googled netbook reviews and read lists of the best models out there, and then I came upon a discussion in the FatWallet forums about how you can get 40% off at eBay… FORTY PERCENT!

Seems that if you make an eBay purchase through Live.com’s cashback program, you can get 30% cashback, and eBay sent out a 10% off instant coupon for PayPal purchases.

So I got the new Asus EEE PC 904HA.  Newegg has it for $399, free shipping, but with tax my final cost would have been $432.  I found it new on eBay for $345.99, free shipping, but a California seller so with tax it would be $374.53, still $57 less than Newegg.  But with the 10% PayPal coupon (-$37.45) and the 30% cashback (-$103.80), my new Asus EEE PC 904HA is just $233.28!! That’s nearly a $200 savings off Newegg! Me so happy.

I don’t know how long the 30% cashback promotion lasts. It’s only good on some purchases (they’ll let you know before you confirm your order) and you have to use Buy It Now and PayPal.  I bought from a reputable power seller with over 24,000 feedback comments and a 99% positive ratings.  I already see the $103.80 applied to my Live.com Cashback account.  Click here for details about the 30% Microsoft and eBay cashback promotion.

I’m not doing much shopping this Christmas (actually, I never do except on the dogs); let’s see if I can get it all done today!

So I’ve decided what I’m getting myself for Christmas: a netbook!  Also known as a subnotebook or ultra-portable notebook, a netbook is a small, light and compact laptop computer. They usually have a diagonal screen measurement from 7″ to 10″, no optical (DVD/CD) drive, and 3 - 6 hours of battery life.  About the size and feel of a thin hardcover book, they’re ideal for travel and surfing the net plus less intensive activities such as word processing, blogging, and instant messaging.

My behemoth of a laptop, a 15.4″ Dell Inspiron 6400, is old and finicky and quite heavy to haul around.  I’ve been using it as more of a desktop replacement and want something else that I can take out with me while enjoying the great SoCal weather.  I spent hours yesterday reading netbook reviews, scanning top 10 lists and watching netbook review videos.  I’ve come to realize that YouTube is a great resource for product reviews. It really helps to see a video of the product with a person handling to get a better handle on the actual scale.  After all this, I narrowed down my selection to 4 choices:

• Dell Inspiron Mini 9
• Acer Aspire One
• MSI Wind
• Asus EEE PC

Besides the Dell, the other 3 have been a bit confusing because there’s so many different models of them out there with only slight changes from one model to the next.  The major difference seems to be hard drive size.  Most netbooks come with a small solid-state-drive (no moving parts) of only about 4 GB - 16 GB. A few models have an additional hard drive of up to 160 GB!  For my purposes, I don’t need a big drive. I’ll still be using my laptop and my PC for most things.

Another issue among the four was screen size.  The Dell and Acer Aspire One have the standard 8.9″, the MSI Wind is 10″, and the Asus EEE comes in different sizes ranging from 7″ to (I think) 10″.  I saw a video review of the Acer and the 8.9″ size looked very compact and easy to handle, but at the same time the 10″ doesn’t look all that much bigger.  It also seems that keyboard size was a big issue among the reviews. Within such a compacted space, compromises must be made on the keyboard size and layout; some felt that this made it difficult to type on certain models. However, I have very small hands and fingers so I’m not worried about that.

For me, the major issue is price. I don’t want to spend more than $350, and that’s with shipping and tax which really can be a lot.  I liked the Dell, which had a Black Friday special of $299. However, this is just the starting price. After customizing and adding on features that came standard on the other brands (webcam, bluetooth, larger drive) the price went up to nearly $400.

The Acer Aspire One, Asus EEE PC, and MSI Wind can be found for around $299 to $349, depending on the specific model, but what I’m finding is that most of these online retailers are based in California, meaning I have to pay an 8.25% tax on top of it.  That’s about an extra $30, plus $15 for shipping usually, so I’m adding $45 to the price of anything I find… argh!

NewEgg had a blue model of the Acer for $249 with free shipping, but it was an early Black Friday deal and is now sold out. Anger! More research is needed and Top10Netbooks.com has a pretty good netbook buying guide and netbook reviews.

Despite the price and lack of features, I have been leaning towards the Dell Inspiron Mini 9 because, for an extra $25 more, I can get it in red.  “Cuteness” shouldn’t be a factor in my final desicion, but I can’t help it!  I am a girl after all.

Alright, the quest continues…