6 Rules Every Smart Shopper Needs to Know

You need Best Buy Coupons 20% OFF Entire Purchase:  Enter this Best Buy 20% OFF Coupon Code  during checkout to get 20% 50%  Promo Code Off  for activity trackers & pedometers. Check Best Buy 20% OFF Promo Code now!

The Better Business Bureau reported that nearly 1 million consumers filed complaints in 2009, so it's clear that a lot of people are getting the run-around. But the unfortunate truth is that many of these problems arise because consumers aren't following these six rules:

1. Know who you're dealing with.
You wouldn't buy a watch from the sketchy guy on the corner — why entrust your credit card to a questionable website? The same goes for a flyer you get in the mail for a discount service, or an unsolicited e-mail offer.

Before you're wooed by a low price:

• Google the name of the company or site plus the word "complaint" or "scam" and see what you get.
• Look up the company's standing on the Better Business Bureau Website.
• If an online store is unfamiliar, check that the site offers a way to reach customer service by phone (not just by e-mail) — and check that you can actually speak to a person. Read the Website privacy policy, so you know how they may use any information you give them.
• Carefully scrutinize any "free introductory offer" you receive. (Tip: If it requires a credit card number, you should be wary of how "free" it really is.)

2. Save receipts.
No receipt means no proof of purchase. Without one, at best you'll be able to return unused, still-sealed, and still-tagged items for store credit.

Keep receipts for minor purchases in a file for at least one month, particularly if you used a credit card (so you can compare them to your monthly statement).

If an item comes with a warranty, staple the receipt to the owner's manual or keep it in a separate "warranty" file. If you're sending the receipt off to claim a rebate, make a copy of it first for your records.

3. Use a product as soon as you buy it.
Return policies and warranties start from the date of purchase. Even if it's July and you bought a snow blower on clearance, plug it in to be sure it starts and seems to run well. It's also wise to check out gifts you plan to give at a later date — do they work properly, and are all the parts in the box?

4. Read contracts carefully.
When you sign up for a cell phone plan, cable or satellite TV service, gym membership, or diet program, you are most likely agreeing to pay a monthly fee for a specified length of time — and to owe a cancellation fee if you decide not to fulfill the terms of your contract.

• Read all the fine print before signing anything (yes, really), and make sure anything the salesperson tells you is also listed in writing.
• Ask plenty of questions. Are any additional charges such as taxes or "service fees" above the quoted price? Can you freeze your plan if you go on vacation? Is there a pay-per-month plan at a slightly higher rate? It may be worth considering, if you're not sure you're in for the long haul.

5. Keep track of contract dates.
Some services, such as cable TV and phone companies, offer "introductory" deals of a flat rate for the first year or two — and then jack up the price when the term is over.

Make a note of when these contracts are up in your calendar, and be proactive. Call the company and ask to speak to the Retention Department. Tell them you've been offered an enticing price from a competitor, and you'll likely be reoffered your old deal — or one that's even better.

6. Examine warranty policies.
Right after you make a purchase, check the length of time of the warranty and what it covers: Parts only? Repairs? Replacement?

If you save your receipt, you usually don't need to send in the warranty card (companies typically just use these to collect customer data); the main consumer benefit is that you'll be alerted if the item is recalled.

When making a warranty claim:

• Gather all paperwork before you call or e-mail, including your sales receipt, the model number of the malfunctioning item, and a detailed description of what went wrong.
• Take careful notes on your phone call, including date, time, and full name or customer-service ID number of anyone you speak with (or print out any e-mail correspondence).
• Get concrete instructions, including expected dates or time frames, and follow up if they don't follow through.

7 Great Father’s Day Gifts for 7 Different Kinds of Dads

Best Buy Coupons 20% OFF Entire Purchase:  Enter this Best Buy 20% OFF Coupon Code  during checkout to get 20% 50%  Promo Code Off  for activity trackers & pedometers. Check Best Buy 20% OFF Promo Code now!

Show the old man how to be a kid again by giving him a new toy

What do you get a father who has a kid as great as you? If your answer is “another tie,” then you’re not as great as you think you are. Instead, you should give your father something he’s never even thought about before, because the man works hard, and can probably buy anything he wants, anyhow. What he really wants is to be appreciated for putting up with your hijinks for all these years.

The best way to do that is to recognize him as more than just the guy who changed your diapers, coached your soccer team and taught you to drive, and instead as someone with interests all his own. For a little inspiration, here are seven dad stereotypes with a gift idea to match. Some of them are expensive, but hey, it’s not my job to tell you how much you should love your old man.

The Drinker: Every old fella loves a cold beverage on a hot day — whether it’s a macro beer, micro brew, or just a can of soda. No mere koozie, Arctican is a $19 drink-cooling extraordinaire that keeps beverages three times colder using a double layer of vacuum-insulated steel and an ice-cooled base. It’s some pretty chill technology for a 21st century pop to be hauling around, whether it’s by the barbecue or on the riding mower.

CorkcicleArtican

The Duffer: Mark Twain reportedly said “Golf is a good walk spoiled,” but your dad is only a humorist when he claims to have finished a round under par. Arccos Golf might just make an honest man out of him. A GPS-enabled iOS app, Apple Watch app, and collection of club grip sensors, this $399 learning tool will improve his game or… or… or his game stinks. No pressing of buttons or tapping on screens, you just play your round and the app collects data like stroke count, shot distance, and and club average.

ArccosArccos Golf Apps

The Lawn Mower Man: For all the money you’d spend on a Robomowrobotic lawnmower, you could probably get your dad a very good landscaping service for your dad. But no man worth his grass stains derives joy from seeing another guy tending to his lawn when he can have a machine do it instead. Starting at $1,199, Robomow’s RC line connects to dad’s smartphone via Bluetooth, has steel blades, an edging mode that actually reaches beyond the wheels, can conquer 20-degree slopes, and has a rain sensor so it knows the most crucial part of lawn care: when not to mow. Speaking of that, it can also be locked via PIN-code. So no, you can’t take his new wheels for a spin.

RobowMowRoboMow

The Retro Gamer: We’ve heard it all before. “When I was a your age, I had a paper route, and I had to dodge dogs, bees, jack-hammering road workers, Model T cars, hearses, and the grim reaper to make some spending money.” Give him the gift of video game nostalgia with NES30, an authentic-feeling game controller that can connect to everything from mobile devices to game consoles via Bluetooth and USB. Programmable to work with touchscreen games, the controller can be paired with a second NES30 to play multi-player games on iOS, and it can even step in for Wiimotes on Nintendo’s gaming system. With four buttons on the top and two shoulder triggers, the $45 accessory is not a perfect imitation of the original Nintendo Entertainment System gamepad — it’s actually better than before.

feiji—8bitdoNES30

The Music Man: At some point in your life — probably around the time you start changing the words to your favorite songs so as not to scandalize your own child — you realize that your dad’s taste in music isn’t all that bad. When you reach that stage, get dad a JBL Charge 2+. This rugged, rubbery, $149 Bluetooth speaker is splash-proof, making it great for all sorts of uses, from washing the car to working in the yard to fixing a leak under the sink. With excellent bass and a 12-hour battery, it rocks hard and long. Just be sure to wipe it down when you’re done with all those chores. There’s no reason to make a mess of his things when you borrow them.

JBLCharge 2+

The Lazy Boy: If you want to do something special for dad this year, take his lineup of old, tired remote controls and lay them to rest in the back of his entertainment center. Swapping these broken-buttoned clickers with a universal remote like the Logitech Harmony Smart Control is not only more humane, it’s also better for your home in the long run. That’s because Logitech just announced a free software upgrade that makes all its hub-based remotes compatible with its home control software. Translation: This $129 universal television remote just gained the ability to connect your smartphone to more than 270,000 home and entertainment devices, like the Nest Learning Thermostat and Philips Hue LED bulbs. (And as a bonus, now you have a whole other category of gifts to buy on future Father’s Days.)

LogitechLogitech Harmony

The Numbers Guy: One thing every Dad can go for is a little more organization. If your old man is strapped with the newest tech from Apple, that means he’s aching for a quality Apple Watch dock. The only problem with that is there aren’t many out there, yet. Moxiware Apple Watch Dock Duo outdoes most others on the market because it provides a home for both the Apple Watch and an iPhone. (Question for product developers: Every Apple Watch requires an iPhone, so why are you bothering with making standalone watch docks?) Fitting Lightning-connector iPhones with and without cases, the stand can adjust to make sure any backing thickness can be accommodated. And if your Father’s Apple Watch is on back order, fear not: Moxiware’s dock can hold a regular watch in the meantime, and will ship in time for Father’s Day.

5 Best Wireless IP Camera System in 2016 Reviews

Best Buy promo code 10% OFF: Enter this Best Buy 10% OFF Coupon Code  during checkout to get 20% 50%  Promo Code Off Clearance Mobile Phone Cases. Check Best Buy 10% OFF Promo Code now!

Starting from the first practical photographic breakthrough by Louis Daguerre, way back in 1837, cameras have undergone magnificent changes over the two centuries. Let’s fast forward to today, wireless IP cameras are digital cameras often used for surveillance and are capable of sending and receiving data through the internet or computer network.

The beauty with these digital cameras is the wireless aspect of it, this means that when you hook your camera to a power source, there are no more worries of finding a cable that will essentially reach into your computer.

So how do you determine which wireless IP camera suits your needs?

Firstly, establish what you need. Many buyers often don’t really know which type of wireless IP camera suites and would satisfy their needs. As a result, they get sucked into buying wireless IP cameras that are beyond what they need.

Before clicking or picking on that item to buy, always ask yourself: what conditions will the camera be located in? (Hallway, outdoor, low light or bright); what precision of data do you want to capture? (HD images with or without audio) and most importantly, what is your budget?

Secondly, another essential feature to consider before getting yourself a wireless IP camera is the pan and tilt range. Of course, this feature will depend on the environment where you intend to use the camera. A wide pan and tilt range is never a bad thing.

Thirdly, zooming capability of the wireless IP camera is also vital. Ensure that you check the type of zooming capability, whether its optical or digital. Most of the IP cameras in the market are digital, but you’ll never fail to find one with optical zoom.

This feature becomes crucial depending on the environment you want the camera to focus on. If the distance between the camera’s location and environment is far apart, you better opt for one with optical zoom capability.

Fourth, test the equipment before purchase. This is vital, especially when you are buying from your local electronic store. Always request for a test setup as this will enable you to determine the picture quality of the camera. In addition, it will give you an opportunity to learn how to set up the equipment in a proper manner to ensure that you get the best image and audio quality.

BEST BUY PROMO CODE OCTOBER 2015: 9 Tips for Longer Laptop Battery Life

>>>BEST BUY PROMO CODE OCTOBER 2015: Take BEST BUY PROMO CODE OCTOBER 2015 OFF laptop and battery with using this Best Buy promo code during checkout! Limited time offer!

If you're in a tough spot right now, there are things you can do to extend the battery life immediately. None of these actions will actually increase the amount of power left in the battery, but instead will reduce the amount of power the laptop is using, letting you squeeze in a few more precious minutes before the battery goes kaput. The name of the game in these instances is power consumption, and you need to reduce yours to as little as possible.

1. Activate Your Laptop's Battery Saver Mode or Eco Mode
Designed with these sorts of circumstances in mind, most Battery-Saver or Eco modes will engage a number of automatic changes to lengthen usable battery life—many of the same changes we'll be making here. This saved profile will adjust your laptop's settings and shift components into low-power states to help you ration your remaining juice a bit longer.

Once you've turned on the automatic battery-saver tool, there are still plenty of steps to take to eke out even better efficiency. This is done by turning off unnecessary devices, adjusting settings to reduce power consumption, shutting down unwanted apps and processes, and adjusting your activities to use less power.

2. Disable Unused Devices and Ports
The easiest way to reduce power consumption is to simply turn stuff off. Every component in your laptop needs power to function, but that doesn't mean you need to power all of those components all the time. Start by disconnecting any unneeded peripherals (like a USB mouse or external drive) and turning off the biggest power hogs, like Wi-Fi and Bluetooth radios, graphics processors, and unused optical drives.

WARNING: Before disabling any component or device, stop and make sure that this device is not in use, and that it is not essential to continuing operation of the laptop. For example, you DO NOT want to disable the hard drive that houses the operating system, or the processor the runs the entire laptop. Only disable those devices you are comfortable turning off.

To disable unused devices on a Windows system, open up your system's Control Panel and find the Device Manager. In the Device Manager, individual components are grouped by category. For example, Network Adapters will often include both the LAN adapter, which provides Ethernet connectivity, and Wi-Fi, for wireless networking.

The four standard candidates for saving power are the graphics card (found under Display Adapters), the optical drive (found under DVD/CD-ROM Drives), and the Ethernet and Wi-Fi adapters (under Network Adapters). Find the device you want to shut down within the relevant category. Right click on the device name, and select "Disable" from the drop down menu.

While you're in the Device Manager, you can also turn off any unused ports. Just like an extension cord left plugged into an outlet, these unused plugs still have power going through them, and losing some in the process. The actual impact on battery life will be minimal, but if you need to eke out another minute or two of life, this will help. Take a quick glance at your ports, and turn off anything that's not being used, like USB ports with nothing connected to them.

While you can disable USB ports on a Mac using the terminal program, it's something that IT administrators would use to lock down Macs for security purposes. We don't recommend doing it as an end user because it may make your system act up. You can, however, disable Bluetooth and Wi-Fi from the Menu bar at the top of the screen.

3. Adjust Your Settings
While you'll still have to use the display and the keyboard, you can adjust the settings for each to reduce power consumption. One often overlooked power drain is keyboard backlighting. Unless you're in the dark, and need the backlight just to make out each key, turn the backlight off entirely. You can typically assign a hotkey for this function.

The next power drain is your screen. While you need to keep the up and running to use the laptop, you don't necessarily need it running at 100-percent brightness or full resolution. Many laptops will have hotkeys for increasing and decreasing the screen brightness, but if not, it can be adjusted in the control panel. Reducing the display to 50 percent when you're running on battery power can add a significant amount of time.

Additionally, if you're simply typing up a document, you don't need all of the detail offered by a 1080p or higher display. Dialing down the screen resolution to a basic 1,366-by-768 resolution or lower reduces the amount of power used in graphics processing without negatively impacting your ability to work, letting your laptop a bit longer than at full resolution.

Finally, turn off or turn down the sound. If you need to hear, drop the sound down as low as you can, and consider switching from the laptop's larger speakers to a set of tiny earbuds to get the audio piped right to your ears. Whenever possible, just mute the laptop altogether. That way, the speakers won't be getting any power, and you'll buy yourself some more precious time.

4. Turn Off Apps and Processes
It's not just the hardware that's stealing your battery juice. Multiple apps and processes running on your system will also chew through battery life more quickly. As with the hardware, start by turning off anything that isn't being used.

In Windows, start by taking a look in your System Tray, the collection of icons in the lower right corner of the desktop, next to the clock. On the left end of the System Tray, select the icon to display hidden icons. Take note of which apps are running in the background.

Open up the Task Manager by pressing Ctrl+Shift+Esc, or use Ctrl+Alt+Del and select Task Manager from the menu. Once in the Task Manager, look at the open apps—you may find that a program or two have been left running simply because you forgot to close a window instead of minimizing it.

Next, go to the Processes tab. This shows you what processes are currently running on your machine. While some of these are needed, some, like those associated with music and video players or cloud storage services (like Dropbox or Google Drive) can be disabled without causing any problems.

For MacBooks, the process is a little different. Take a look at System Preferences > Users&Groups for a menu called Login Items. Delete any power-hungry programs that you don't need anymore, or disable things like Google Chrome's automatic launch at startup. You can also see programs that are using a lot of power at any given moment by holding down the Option key, then clicking on the battery indicator in the Menu bar. Alternately, you can open the Activity Monitor utility to see a list of all the programs and processes you currently have open , and which of these are using the most power. You can stop these processes by selecting the program and then clicking the Stop icon. Power Nap is an Apple OS X feature that checks your email and twitter feeds for activity while the system is asleep. If you are trying to maximize battery life, it would be wise to turn that feature off.

5. Simplify
You can also stretch your battery life by simplifying your own activities. Multitasking is nice when you have full power, but running several programs at once puts a greater load on the processor and draws more power. Adjust your computer use by sticking to one application at a time and avoiding resource-intensive programs.

Start by single-tasking—if you need to type up a document, close any additional programs. You'll get longer battery life by not running Spotify in the background. If you need to keep some tunes going, switch from streaming media to locally stored songs—you'll still be using some extra power to play them, but streaming media over Wi-Fi also uses the laptop's wireless radio.

You might also benefit from switching to simpler tools for the same tasks, like opting for a simple text file instead of a Word document. With fewer features and none of Word's automatic actions (like Spell Check and Autosave), you can do all the writing you need without using quite so much power. Some activities you'll want to avoid entirely, like photo and video editing tools, which place a significant load on the processor and graphics card, and are real power hogs.

By eliminating unnecessary power uses, you should be able to extend the life of your battery in those moments that you find yourself high and dry.