Each Friday, I used to highlight items that I found interesting at Amazon Friday Sale. Today, I’m on a flight to Chicago, so you will have to fill in your pithy phrases. I thought I’d substitute that concept with a few items that I purchased recently that I believe were great value.
Before I get to those items, I have a little Amazon housekeeping to clean up. I went to a Google event and as happenstance would have it met Fanny from Living Richly on a Budget there. When I checked out her site the article, 5 Ways to Get Free Amazon Gift Cards caught my eye. It was good timing because the idea to write this article was fresh in my mind. It’s a great website and I think you should check it out.
The very next day, Amazon came out with news of their Amazon Kindle Fire tablet and everyone seemed to be excited. I’m curious to see their browser Silk, in action. I run this website on many of the same cloud services that Amazon uses. The one question that I have is that I wonder if Amazon is going to disclose the potential privacy concerns of running the traffic through such services. In a world where Chrome, Firefox and IE have started to create private browsing options Amazon has gone in the other direction.
Onto the items that I think are tremendous buys (even if you don’t have an Amazon coupon):
- Sharpie Super Twin Tip Fine Point and Chisel Tip Permanent Markers, 12 Black Markers – I feel a little bad putting this first because it is currently priced at $10. They were $5 and change when I bought them. Still, you can spend a couple of dollars for a single Sharpie in CVS and each marker in this 12 pack serves double duty. I think even at $10 dollars it is worth the money.
- Flexi Freeze Refreezable Ice Sheets 3 pack – My laptop has reached the stage where it is overheating extremely easily. Perhaps it just has too much dust inside and I need to open it out and spray some compressed air in to clean it up. I’m not that adventurous right now, so instead I bought these ice sheets. Almost everyone loves them with their perfect rating. I wasn’t the only person to think of putting them under the computer to keep it cool. One review was smart to point out a potential condensation issue. It’s advice worth considering, but I haven’t had any issues with it.
- Toro Ultra 12 amp Variable-Speed Electric Blower/Vacuum with Metal Impeller – We have a pine tree outside and it leads to a ton of pine needles. We’ve been sweeping them up, but a friend pointed out that a leaf-blower would make much quicker work of it. I don’t know why we didn’t think of it. I went on Amazon and this has nearly 1000 reviews with a majority of them being 5 stars. Toro, you had me at metal impeller.
- 3M Extra-Wide Adjustable Monitor Stand – I suspect this would be a great monitor stand, but that’s not why I got it. I got for a TV Stand, so I can put a DVD player underneath it. It’s the perfect size for our 32 inch TV in our bedroom. The extra legs give a better viewing angle in bed since our TV stand is a little on the short side. It’s a big win for the Lazy household.
- No One Would Listen: A True Financial Thriller – The Bernie Madoff story from the guy who was telling the SEC about it for years. The hardcover book is $2.72 cents. That’s not a typo. You can save an extra 14 cents if you get it via Kindle, but for that money it is worth getting for kindling in the fireplace.
- AmazonBasics High-Speed HDMI Cable (6.5 Feet/2.0 Meters) – Supports Ethernet, 3D, and Audio Return – I’m a pretty technical guy, but I don’t know any devices that combine Ethernet or 3D in an HDMI cable. Nonetheless, I needed a spare HDMI cable and I feel like I future-proofed by spending an extra buck here. The ratings are also off the charts.
Do you have a favorite Amazon purchase recently? If so share it below….
. Usually, I pray that the Amazon gods send me one utterly ridiculous item to highlight. I must have been good because the gods are smiling down on me.
– I don’t know how I’ve lived my life without having a digital photos on my coffee mug. Act now to upgrade your life for only $19 (free shipping on orders over $25). It’s a savings of $11. The biggest surprise, it’s dishwasher safe! Half of the non-photo mugs we have in this house aren’t dishwasher safe.
– I don’t follow brand names of cookware so I can’t tell you if this is good. However, it used to cost $1000 and you can now get it for $225, 78% off! As I wrote recently, the 
– You can pay $259 for the cushion only. I’ve been in the market for a pair of cushions since Jake, our puppy, decided it would be a good snack.
– It’s rare to find a discount on thing Weber. I know, I’ve been looking for a cheaper rotisserie attachment for a long time now. My friend upgraded his grates to the premium porcelain and says it makes a huge difference. Maybe there would be good improvement with these as well.
– I never got into canning. I like Foodsaver better, probably because it seems easier to me.
– Isn’t the enemy of your enemy supposed to be your friend? 
– I could use one of these to trim the new goatee I’ve been sporting lately. I don’t know if it’s midlife crisis or thirdlife crisis. Let’s hope for third…
– These double-walled beer glasses are putting fear of obsolescence into my Red Sox coasters.
– We use of these to store dog food in the kitchen. The big bag stays in the garage in a larger air proof container. No more stale meals for Jake.
– I haven’t been to the house where this really matches the decor. Maybe Barbie’s Dream House? It would be cool if on sale in another color.
– I thought this would be a good alternative to the pink cordless hand vacuum above, but it’s ratings are horrible. I really could use a nice hand vacuum too – perhaps next week.
and 
– I’ve got some cheap cookware, but if I was going to step it up a level, I know of no better deal than the Amazon Friday Sale. It seems like they always have the stuff you find in Williams-Sonoma at 60%+ off.
– For some reason, roughly 1/6 of the items Amazon offers for sale on Friday fall into the footwear category. I usually don’t even look here, but I thought I’d go through and see if I could find something vaguely interesting. I’m going to go out on a limb and say that ladies, your man might not be upset if you bought these boots.
– I had lusted after this for some time. However, at nearly $200 it wasn’t worth it. At $115 it’s getting closer, but you are better off going with this 
also on sale today. Almost the same price and more functionality. We love our Foodsaver and I suggest you read my 
– I’ve got this sunscreen and try to remember to use it everyday – even if I’m not going outside. I’m going to look 25 when I’m 80 – or at least that’s my theory :-).
– It’s a bug zapper! It’s a tennis racket! For years, I’ve had to kill bugs the old fashioned way. Now I can work on my serve at the same time. I’m sorry to all the bug lovers out there, but what kind of distance do you think you can get with this? If only it helped me in