Can you spot what's wrong with this convertible?

Something to do with the roof, maybe?

 

 

Here's a reminder for Avis of what convertibles used to look like.

 

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Is this kettle really half price?

Continuing my series of 'there is no such thing as a special offer any more' today I bring you the Russell Hobbs Belmont stainless steel kettle.

It's available at Argos for £19.99

At Amazon for £22.49

At Homebase for £19.99

Or, ta da, at Robert Dyas you can bag the boiler for but HALF PRICE!!!

So how much, then, does it cost at Robert Dyas?

Why, £19.99 of course.

Thanks Bob.

Related

Check out our Bargains and rip offs section

 

Kodak Zi8 HD video camera for around £120

It's been a while since I've had a 'fairly priced thing worth buying' to write about. Frankly, most recent offers have not been offers at all but cynical tricks to get the gullible to dispose what remains of their disposal income and credit card debt on crud.

Then this comes along: a pocket camcorder for not much more than the opportunity cost of trawling voucher sites all day for 10p off a tube of instant fish paste.

Ignoring the silly oxymoron that it boasts a 'large 2.5in screen' [in what world of augmented reality is six-point-three-five centimetres large?] the Kodak Zi8 is a real beauty. And it it's simple to use. The main criticism has been the fact that this is a basic camcorder. For normal people that should be a bonus.

Don't take my word for it.

Read these:

CNET Kodak Zi8 review

PC Advisor reivew

CNET UK review

UK Amazon customer reviews

US Amazon customer reviews

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Save 5% off stamps at Superdrug

As anyone buying anything at Superdrug can probably testify, the guys on the till will ask whether you want stamps with your toothpaste.

But now there's a reason to say 'yes'. A small one. The hair gloop to over-the-counter medicines store is offering 5% off stamps, which means you save a fiver for every £100 of stamps you buy, or in my case 24p off a 12-pack of first classes.

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Last shopping days for online deliveries

National Express coach seat sale

There's still a few days left to take advantage of the £5 coach tickets on offer from National Express. Check out:

National Express seat sale runs until the end of the month

The company also claims to be offering tickets from Portsmouth and Southampton in leather wi-fi enabled seats to London for 99p and £10 one-way fares to European cities. But as yet I've not found any at those prices.

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Cheapest dishwasher tablets?

 

So, in case you were wondering, it turns out that dishwashers can be sexy, as model Jodie Kidd (above) proves. And, for fans of the reprehensibly tenuous, it doubly turns out that the price of dishwasher tablets can also be rather sexy - if lowest prices can be considered to have hormonal overtones, that is. Check out this pack at Lidl:

Finish Powerball 45 pack is £3.49 at Lidl

But hang on a sec.

Because of marketing, it's impossible to compare these products like for like.

On the Mysupermarket comparison site you'll notice that not all supermarkets sell the same products and the price per tablet doesn't always take into account the best offer.

So you've got your

Finish Powerball Classic only available in Tesco (30 tablets) for £4.50 or 14.1p tablet

Then you've got the

Finish Max in 1 Power Ball (28 tablets) at £7.49 or 26.8p a pop

Not to be confused with the

Finish All in 1 30-pack that's not available in Asda for £7 or 23.3p a tablet

Obviously there's the

Finish Power Ball Quantum (20 tablets) on offer at £4 or 20p a wash

Or the same pack in 24 also at £4 or 16.7p each

And not to be outgunned you've got your

Tesco own brand 1 in 5 at £5.50 or 9.2p each.

which, improbably is available in Asda but not Sainsbury's.

And then there's Fairy's range at another range of prices (cheapest 13.4p)

But for my money that still makes the Lidl deal the cheapest:

45 Finish Powerballs 'All in 1 30 pack plus 15 extra free' for £3.49 or 7.8p each.

And that, I think you'll find, is enough about dishwasher tablets.

 

 

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Buy one get one free at Waterstone's

 
Dawn French

Now here's an offer and a half. Waterstone's, the bookshop with the questionable apostrophe, is knocking out two for one on 100 top titles. This, unlike the execrable 3 for 2 scams to get people buying more than they want, is a genuine offer. You buy something and they give you something (whether you want it or not).

Choose from a range of last year's biographies by the likes of national treasure Dawn French to fiction from the UK's most-borrowed-from-libraries author Dan Patterson and the man who can perform the alchemy of making lawyers look exciting, John Grisham.

It is worth a look:

Waterstone's's buy one get one free 

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Glasses Direct's four pairs at home trial

If you've ever thought about buying specs online but are put off by the idea that buying something unseen that's going to sit on your face every day for a couple of years is an absurd way to behave, help is at hand.

Glasses Direct the low-cost supplier of eyewear that comes without the overheads of high High Street rents now offers a 10-day at home trial on up to four pairs. That's worth taking a look at (if you'll forgive the limp play on words).

>> Glasses Direct home trial

Related

How to save money on specs and contact lenses

And now pics of famous people in similar glasses

 

The Crickets featuring well-known glasses wearer Buddy Holly.

 

TV fashion show presenter Gok Wan in a pair of glasses with model Olivia Inge.

And finally the greatest song about glasses ever written...

 

 

£900 transatlantic cruise

Here's your chance to join the maiden voyage of a new liner from Southampton. Now why does this sound so familiar? There's even an ice bar on board.  The deal includes 10 nights, including two in New York and flight home. But at £895, it's a deal worth checking out; the ship has 17 restaurants for heaven's sake.

>> Learn more about the £899 cruise to New York deal on Travelzoo

UPDATE: Apologies to people arriving at this post from our newsletter but it appears that the deal has now sold out. It's still worth a look because even at full price I think it's a fair price for crossing the Atlantic and back.

Also worth a look:

>> Cruise tips and deals from our sister site, Travel Mail

>> Hand-picked travel deals from Travel Mail

>> Caribbean cruise FROM £995

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HMV is doing £2.99 DVDs including free delivery

If you ever needed confirmation that the DVD as a format is on its last legs then check out the latest batch being dolled at by HMV for less than 3 quid. There's even a few decent ones in the selection. Best bit: delivery is included in the price.  

HMV £2.99 DVDs

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Can HMV survive vs illegal downloads?

 

Emma Thompson as Nanny McPhee, one of the films on offer at HMV.

 

Restaurant discounts for people who can't be bothered hunting down voucher codes

Now that online discount vouchers and voucher codes have completely removed the spontaneity and fun of going out for meals, buying stuff or doing anything that involves money, one positive from the phenomenon is the implied acknowledgement that if you don't have a voucher you're being ripped off.

So what to do.

Best is to relax, buy what you want, eat when and where you want and take the extra cost on the chin. Mostly the discounts seem derisory anyway.

If you really must chase discounts then here's a card worth checking out. While paying in advance for money-off is a backwards way of managing your finances, the Gourmet Society card is a way of knowing where you can save money in advance without having to trawl the plethora of voucher sites before deciding where to dine.

With 3,000 restaurants on its books, it's particularly useful for discovering new places that otherwise might be off your radar and if you're a regular at Pizza Express it's a no-brainer because you'll always get one main course thrown into the mix for free. And even better, you don't need to book in advance.

The card normally costs £53.50 a year but we have a special offer of £33.50 for 14 months. You'll also find discounts on hotels. Check out:

>> Gourmet Society special discount offer

 

Wembley ice rink tickets now on sale

I like the look of this. 

And tickets are now on sale - £36 for a family or £65 with a tour of Wembley on top, which may sound a lot because it is. But I think we should all try to encourage more large-scale fun stuff like this.

>> Find out more.

>> Tickets

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Wickes half-price bathroom sale

We all know that before becoming a popular DIY store, Wickes (then known as Wicksy) was a character in the London Mayor's propaganda vehicle  EastEnders played by an old-school village policeman who had a number one single. (Isn't it great with this internet how you can make facts true by simply linking some of the the words to pages of reference?)  

But did you know that Wickes, the shop, has just announced a 50% off its bathrooms promotion? You can 'bathe in Victorian elegance' for a mere £500, down from £1,000 among other offers.  

What I particularly like about Wickes, the shop, is that it offers an installation service that comes with a two-year guarantee on the workmanship.

>> Check out the Wickes autumn sale

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Chelsea FC VIP tickets more than half-price | Stranglers tour

One of the downsides of living in London, apart from public transport in rush hour, is Chelsea Football Club. You either love 'Chowseee!!!' or you hate them. And I don't feel the love.

But if you are a fan then you can watch your beloved club from one of the posh seats with a three-course meal, half-time snacks and a team list thrown in for £99 a pop. A hundred quid for a game of football?! you may ask. But normal price is more than £200.

>> Be quick: Chelsea ticket offer from Travelzoo

Now a non sequitur for non fans. Why not check out the Stranglers latest tour. And check out the Keith Floyd tribute by drummer Jet Black on the way. The telly chef was a big Stranglers fan and their music was the soundtrack to his TV shows.

>> Stranglers tickets on sale 10am today

'Many people tell you that they're your friends' - how prophetic all those pre-Facebook years ago (PS> Yeah, I know Hugh Cornwall hasn't been the frontman for near on 20 years.)

New flight comparison service, yeah I know another one, but this one's pretty good

I was in Belgium the other day and two things stick in my mind. One: Eurotunnel seemed quieter than I've ever seen any cross-Channel service in my years of hopping across to the Continent, and Two: until the prices come down, I don't think I'll bother again - 20 quid for moules frites in an Antwerp street caff and there wasn't even that many frites, or moules for that matter. Tsk.

So now that continental Europe is probably the most expensive place in the history of Earth, if you must go - and driving through the tunnel is not your thing - there's a new flights comparison service from the wonderful Travelzoo people. Here:

http://uk.fly.com/default.aspx

What I like it it's speed (even through our nuclear-proof proxy server) and the sliders on the lefthand side that allow you to filter time slots with moronic ease. It offers worldwide flights not just Europe.

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10 Philips Energy Saver Lightbulbs for £1 at Robert Dyas

Old lightbulbs are being phased out. Get over it! as an advertising slogan might put it. And where once they cost a fiver a pop, you can now pick them up for pence; 10 pence in fact at Robert Dyas. In store only.

Dyas store finder

Update: 10p bulbs now available online

Related

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The era of cheap energy is over

The end of cheap oil in pictures

Smokers! Get a pocket ashtray - they're really cheap

Oi smokers! Smoke. Smoke as much as you like. I really don't care. But quit it with the littering why don't you. Get a portable ashtray and keep your butts off the pavement.  Thank you for listening.

I noticed Hercule Poirot that famous Belgian sleuth off the telly uses a rather smart silver pocket ashtray for his cigar butts. So if it's good enough for him... besides they're really not very expensive. Try these:

>> Posh pocket ashtray with free engraving £5.99

>> Even posher silver-plated pocket ashtray £11.00

>> And another silvery one £6.99

>> This boodi ashtray is biodegradable and only costs £3 for five (plus VAT)

>> Or a brass one for four quid

>> Obviously there's billions of them on ebay

>> And these sqaure metal ones are quite nice at only £2.29

>> Some come on keyrings for £1.99

>> And there are multi-coloured ones for £3.49

That enough? Good. There's really no excuse.

Related

The cost of smoking calculator

 

British Airways low fare finder

Good grief, British Airways seems to be doing something right for a change - it's launched a helpful bit on its website for potential customers to find and book its lowest fares. European flights still look dearer than Easyjet but it's a start. Check out:

BA lowest fare finder

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>> Latest deals: Find a low-cost trravel insurance policy

Compare music download prices

Welcome to 'Stuff the music industry should have been doing 15 years ago, part 994'.

Finally, a site is here that compares legal music downloads.

Even if the prices can be pretty much the same across various sites, this one saves you the hours it can take to trawl through the myriad scammers before working out which site to trust with your 79p.

Find out more about comparedownload.com

It's great for more esoteric stuff. I got a Kathleen Battle spiritual I've been looking for ever since the version I had on cassette melted.

 

Buy props from West End flop Too Close To The Sun

 

If owning 1950s memorabilia as featured in unloved London West End musical theatre about fictional suicides of famous authors is your thing... quick! You only have three days left to snap this little lot up.

Too Close To The Sun hasn't been a success.

The Guardian called it unnecessary and implausible and gave it one star. It also earned but one star from the Independent. And The Times, and the Telegraph. And the Evening Standard.

Show-and-Stay recalls the audience clapping with relief when the lead character, one Ernest Hemingway (pictured above), blew his head off. The Daily Mail also mentions the audible 'Thank God for that' when he finally pulls the trigger.

As predicted, the show is closing early. But here's the thing.

You can now buy some of the props including chairs, tables, lights, glasses, fishing rods and resin bull skulls. Here:

http://shop.ebay.co.uk/merchant/alohastokey

Related

Can buying this kind of tat be a good investment?

 

Ryanair's £1 flight sale

 

Yawn. A low-cost airline is selling low-cost flights again. It's only a matter of time before they start paying us to travel - before adding on loads of hidden extras.

Funny enough, it looked like that time had come this morning when Ryanair was advertising a flight for -£1. But using, presumably a special money-making algorithm, that minus-a-pound flight turned into a £219.99 one further down the page.

There are none-the-less some deals to be had (book by close of play on 30 July).

>> Check out Ryanair's latest £1 offers

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>> Low-cost, high quality travel insurance

Cheapest sat nav, including European maps

 

If you can't read a map, a road sign or think for yourself then in-car satellite navigation could be for you. But it's expensive. Well, here's one for less than £50, including UK and European maps plus speed camera alerts. Worth a look:

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/161002/show_product_overview

 

Related

>> Check your broadband speed

>> Finally, the one-size-fits-all phone charger

Dine at top London restaurants for £10

 

Too often the establishments dishing out money-off vouchers are the kind of places the discerning diner wouldn't touch with a very long chopstick, or barge pole by another name.

This offer is different because it includes some of the big names in the world of posh nosh. Ideal for anyone visiting or living in London.  

You'll need the voucher, which you print out from the links below on the Evening Standard website.

Then choose and book from places such as Quaglino's, Meza, Cantina del Ponte (£10 for two courses), or Almeida, Avenue, Skylon Grill and Kensington Place (£15 for two courses), or Floridita, Sartoria (£25). This is just my selection, there are plenty of others to choose from.

>> Take a look at all the offers

OFFER VALID UNTIL SATURDAY 19 SEPTEMBER 2009

Terms and conditions:
Offer valid from 27 July until the 19 September 2009 inclusive. Table bookings are subject to availability. This offer is exclusive to Standard readers who have downloaded the D&D redemption voucher. You can take up the 'Dine at top London Restaurants from £10' offer as many times as you like and your voucher is valid for multiple use. One voucher is required per booking. Please mention London Evening Standard menu when booking. You must show your voucher on arrival at the restaurant.

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Eating in? Cut your fuel bills  

 

 

Cheapest sun tan lotion?

There a few things that evoke the feeling of being on holiday than the smell of freshly applied sun cream.

And there are few things that epitomise the stench of a rip-off than the way that sun creams are priced.

At Tesco, Garnier Ambre Solaire Kids Colour Control Sun Spray is £5 a bottle.

But Sainsbury's has a 2for1 offer on it. Price: £11.99 a bottle. But they'll graciously give you another 'free' one. Do the maths.

See the comparison at MySupermarket

 
Click pic to enlarge

 

 

Related

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70 winter veg plants for £15

Chinese cabbages cost about a quid at the supermarket. So if you have space to grow your own you might want to think about this offer: you can get 10 fast-growing plants for £14.95. Not bad already but you also get 10 purple sprouting broccoli plants, 10 pak chois, 10 white sprouting broccolis, 10 cabbages and 10 cauliflowers. That's 70 plants for £15 + £4p+p. 

The great thing is that this stuff grows over winter. 

Orders must be made by the end of July for delivery late August. Find out more.

http://www.suttons.co.uk/winterveg

Or call 0844 922 0606. Quote code: ABP9.

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Trampoline sale

 

I had no idea that these things were still so popular. So, jumpy people, here's a shop with its entire trampoline stock on sale:

UK sports imports .com trampoline sale

Related

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Polaroid inkless Pogo photo printer: £35 down from £99 (65% off)

Yep, inkless.

No ink.

Just special paper, which costs around £13 for 70-sheet packs.

This is a tempting offer for people who like an easy life.

Check this out.

Polaroid Pogo photo printer

Win Clash drummer Topper Headon's Mini Cooper (£10 entry)

As the world, well some of it, mourns the passing of the King of Pop lest we forget Joe Strummer, whose contribution to, and influence on, decent music far outweighs much of what sits in various halls of fame around the world.

And what better way to pay your respects than enter a raffle to try to win Clash drummer Topper Headon's Mini Cooper, which he has donated to Strummer's New Music Foundation charity.

Enter now, it's only a tenner. A car for a tenner! Rock 'n' roll.

http://www.strummerville.com/toppers-raffle/

Entry closes on 13 July.

And for some now pictures of The Clash.

 

NOW READ: Squeezebox - last year's best gadget?

NEW: Skyscanner hotels search tool

Skyscanner is one of the must-check comparison sites for flights and car hire. Now it has launched a hotel search. I found deals that weren't available on Tripadvisor or the likes of Expedia. There's a decent range of sites being searched and results appear in one page rather than separate windows. Add it to your list.

http://www.skyscanner.net/hotels/

 

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500GB external USB hard drive for just £44

If your into music, photography and video, I mean seriously ill into it and need to store 160,000 digital photos or 8,325 hours of MP3 music or 500 hours of video, then you need one of these. And this one is the cheapest I've seen, just £44 down from £55. It's moronically simple to operate.

Check it out here:

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/140807

NOW READ: Sub £10 Blu-ray