Your retail winners and losers this year

[kaytieeldr]

Winners:
Amazon
Amazon (so good, it's worth mentioning twice)
QVC and HSN
Target.com
Walmart.com - buying an e-mailed GC counts toward $45 minimum for free shipping of 'hard' items
CVS - the only actual store I entered all season (for Christmas shopping; supermarket doesn't count ). Not necessarily cheaper, but soooooo convenient

Losers: Haband - catalog/website, and I can blame only myself since I ordered another pair of boots even after last year's aggravation. Not shipped. Not shipped, not shipped. This time it only took one call and no threats to go to the main office (surprisingly local) to resolve: the out of stock color the site let me order were replaced by a stocked color and took 'merely' three weeks to arrive.

 

[nunzia]

How could I forget Disney Store! Actually had many boxes arriving from them and orders were all correct, prices good (I shop the SALE) area and all had some soert of discount and free shipping.
I have really not had bad luck with Kohl's quality..everything has seemed fine and held up well

 

[dr&momto2boys]

We spent a lot at Kohl's online. With $15 Kohls Cash on every $50 and 30% and free shipping and more cash back through ebates!

We got a $199 XBox with Kinect from Meijer Thanksgiving morning. So that was a winner for us!

We bought a few things from Best Buy and received all of our stuff. If you didn't want to try your chances at the limited great XBox deals, it was nice they had $100 free GC with $299 XBox Kinect

Didn't get JCPenney ads/coupons. Macy's lured me in for a great deal on a new bedding set. We used the coupon for free $10 GC at Target...twice.

We shopped the Disney Store online with some good sales and free shipping too. I also always get good clothes deals for clothes for next year for the kids at Children's Place and Gymboree at holiday time. Gotta love ebates too. I got at least $50 cash back from all my holiday shopping--for no extra work.

I spent a lot at Amazon too. The lightening deals were nothing special for the most part and didn't keep me looking, but I always search their prices when I'm looking for anything online and they generally do well and have free shipping.

All of my shopping was online this year and DH went to the stores because he thinks it's fun.

 

[Zandy595]

Love Amazon! I ordered a lot of stuff from them this year. I got free shipping (I'm NOT a prime member) and no tax on everything. The last 3 things I ordered late and didn't mind if they came after Christmas. Everything arrived by the 22nd even though it said they wouldn't come until after the 1st.

The only problem I've ever had with them was a book I ordered one year and the egde of the pages were all uneven. Sent it back and got another one in the same condition. Sent that back for a refund.

 

[kim929]

Amazon , QVC and overstock


Toys r us. I went there with a friend looked at the prices of somethings I purchased online and they were almost double the price. I can see a little higher but double...

I went to Target once for the xbox get a 50 gc that was a good deal.

Didn't shop any other store. I couldn't bring myself to go in to Walmart, its always a mob scene.

 

[GAGirlInVA]

Target was a fail. They sold us a MoBiGo that had apparently been a return-- no big deal right?

Well.. if they would have checked it before they accepted it or put it back out for sale, they would have seen it has no game cartridge, no instruction and no USB cord.

Just the MoBiGo unit itself was in the package!

Not happy.

 

[Planogirl]

Target
Best Buy
Wal-Mart
Barnes & Noble
World Market
Hallmark
Lowe's

These all got business from me and probably in that order. I didn't really have any losers thankfully.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Winner:
Costco--my son and baby got their two big gifts from there (so 4 total) and they lOved them!

American Girl Place: now local...shopping was much easier without having to figuring out a covert way to accept shipments

Target--excellent black Friday deals and no line when we checked out.

Kohls--good deals

Walmart--unimpressed, but not terrible

Losers:

Best Buy for different reasons. It always
Seems I figure out my gifts before I get them. He told
Them specifically to call his cell phone. No idea why he provided the home phone as well. So that number was
Called and I learned that my install would be scheduled
And then a reminder call for the installation. We only discussed
One appliance purchase and I was bummed to not
Be surprised. (it was supposed to just be there one day. I hate when surprises are spoiled.)

 

[Minnie]

Winners:

Amazon - Prime membership saved the day
Best Buy - Silver rewards member (pre-black friday sale) and free shipping = great deals
Target - Fantastic deals on video games

Looser:
Kmart - Refused to honor price on shelf

 

[RachelsMommie]

Winner for this year: Best Buy for the video game deals...loved getting games for under $10.

 

[wisconsinmom]

Winners-
Best Buy-lots of online video game deals
American Girl-always a winner in this house
Amazon
Lego online

So so-
Target

Loser-
Walmart-didn't get any business from me

 

[jiminy14]

Winners:

Nordstrom Rack - Ugg boots for $75 on Black Friday, $200 Tracey Reese shoes for $20, Sperry Top Siders for $20

Anthropologie - Additional 50% off sale items on Black Friday and all last week. Got $200 coats for $25, $100 leather flats for $15, $200 leather boots for $50 and a $400 leather overnight bag for $75.

Losers:

Disneystore.com - A canceled order and a electronic giftcard received for a problem with a past order that came up as "invalid" when I tried to use it.

Bloomingdale's - A $5 charge for a gift box for a handbag and a canceled order that I was never notified about. Only found out about the cancellation when I checked my account to see why it was taking so long for my item to ship.

 

[MsLeFever]

Winners:
Amazon
SnapFish (especially for their partnership with mycokerewards!)
Bath and Body Works (always a coupon to find somewhere!)

Losers:
Walmart - crowded and no help to be found. Any deals just not worth it.

 

[tessa67]

Winner:

Etsy: I love getting and giving things from Etsy

Loser:

Pottery Barn: offered guaranteed Christmas Eve delivery with order by 12/21. I ordered in the morning of 12/20, item was delivered 12/27 (today). UPS didn't scan it at origin until 12/22 and Pottery Barn didn't instruct for Saturday delivery. Recipients of gift have already driven back home to Florida.

 

[Sagginit]

winners... drumroll please

target - i continually get great deals with sales, online target coupons, manufacturer coupons, and clearance. i have been trying to stock my apt since i moved out a year ago and i have gotten amazing deals on their clearance racks.

trader joes - as someone who eats GF they have saved me a lot of money on their store brand GF food. they also make it a breeze to shop with clear labels.

bed bath & beyond - they have made my year of weddings/showers so much easier thanks to really kind staff and easy to shop registries. plus gotta love they take expired coupons.

losers (boo, hiss, throw tomatoes)

american eagle/ aerie - awful service from the time i ordered online during a holiday sale and the order arrived two weeks late with the only explanation of well, you did buy during a BIG sale....to a few weeks ago when the manager lied and said they $10 off coupon was only valid with a $30 purchase (im glad i did not fall for it.

tjmaxx/marshalls/homegoods - i noticed prices have gone up over the year but the store is filled with more junk, like fake designer stuff and things falling apart on the shelf.

VS - lots of rude staff and even at the start of the sale online i can not find anything in my size anymore

CVS - they never have anything on sale in stock when i go. i mean i have gotten rainchecks and needed the stuff, sale or no sale, and they were out for a month at a time.

 

[DisneyLoverUSA]

I bought everything for Christmas this year off Amazon. From 3 Kindle Fires I bought to Crayola Crayon makers and UGG style boots for DD. I even bought their stocking stuffers off Amazon. I did buy 2 items (ventriloquist dolls) off of Ebay but that's the only 2 things I didn't get on Amazon.

 

[limace]

Winners were Amazon, though I was really disappointed in their lightning deals this year, after buying a ton of 'em last year.

Target-rolled a couple of gift card offers and combined with sale prices to get a great deal on a Kindle for my husband's folks.

Toys R Us was a mixed bag-they cancelled an online order I made with no explanation or apology-but I did get a decent deal (sale plus a $20 gift card) on Skylanders. I dislike shopping there-the store is always trashed and crowded, service is mediocre.

Walmart is hell. Went there once (I am only there once a year at most); had to wait forever in the customer service line to find out where their Toys for Tots barrel was to drop my donations (bought elsewhere) off. They were listed as a Toys for Tots site but no one knew what was going on. As above, the store is always messy and everyone seems unhappy there (I'd be unhappy if I worked there, too).

My favorite places were local-our local skate shop beat Zumiez' price on the longboard my teen desperately wanted, plus were really, really helpful. Found some beautiful things for my mom at a pop-up art shop and prices were really reasonable.

Can't forget the great deals I got on Woot, though! 3 monkey face print snuggies for two bucks each, for my two best friends and I to wear on our lazy days of champagne and snacks!

 

[pigletto]

Amazon got most of my business.

The big loser.. Toys R Us. NEVER AGAIN after the completely frustrating and ridiculous experience I had with their gift cards and website. I won't go into all the details because it's long and boring. But the icing on the completely incompetent cake was that when all was said and done the item purchased after the fiasco was opened on Christmas morning and doesn't work. At this point it's so bad it's funny

 

[superme80]

Winners:
Best Buy-Video game for DH at a great price
Barnes and Noble-I have a Nook so the rock. They also had a cd set DH wanted that was hard to find.
Target- They saved me from having to step foot into Kohls
Big Winners:
Local art and frame shop- Beaitful picture for my parents at an amazing price
Local Chocolate Shop- great gifts and chocolate for me!

Losers:
Wal-Mart- Bought 3 gifts there and that was it. Trying to not do Wal-Mart anymore.
Family Christian Store- they did not have the cd set.

 

[patsal]

Amazon
Kohl's
JCPenney
Barnes and Noble
Victoria's Secret
Old Navy

Didn't bother with Sears, Kmart or Walmart. Macy's and Bon-ton were overpriced, understocked and even the day before Christmas Eve very sparcely populated.