All About Ben
Ben is a fanatical online shopper and an online shopping expert. He has run BensBargains.net since the beginning of the year 2000, during the heydey of the internet boom and bubble.
If there was a prize for "extreme updating," Ben would probably be a top contender: He has updated the site continuously, without a missed day, for over six years. Back in "the day" that meant logging in via 56k dialup from wherever he happened to be, including crummy motels on I-80 on several cross-country road trips he took during his college years.
Ben now runs the site full-time (and more), and consults for numerous Fortune-500 companies in the area of online shopping.
[11/1/05] Well, it has been almost two years since the last update and I feel like I should let all you loyal readers know what's up. I am now the king of BaconBaconBacon Bacon Bacon Dog Bacon.
[1/15/04] Can you believe it? Four years have passed since I began updating this site. It has grown from a side hobby into one of the most popular bargain shopping destinations on the internet! I graduated in 2002 from the University of California at Berkeley with dual Bachelor of Science degrees in Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science. I have since continued with furthering my education, and I am now a full-time PhD student in Astrophysics at the Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand. Being in the southern hemisphere has placed unique demands on my schedule in order to accomodate a US time schedule, but I've worked it out and all is well.
[4/23/02] Did another year go by? If you're interested, I did a radio interview recently. It has a lot of useful info on the site, kinda like an audio FAQ. Enjoy!
[6/16/01] Another year has passed! This summer, I'm working at Bacon Product Development on some exciting new computer products (mechanical design). I'll be a senior at UC Berkeley this coming fall, and graduate school is on my mind. Perhaps a future update will reveal which grad school I got accepted to :P
The popularity of Ben's Bargains has soared over the past year. The access log looks just like a very steep hill. This shows no sign up stopping. Ok, talk to you all later!
[5/29/00] I'm currently on summer break, working full time at Compaq in the Mechanical Engineering department. With the new site design, I've removed all banners. Hopefully readers of my site will appreciate this, and opt to use my affiliate and referral links when making purchases. I will still strive to present both referral and non-referral links. I've told several people already that I don't consider affiliate links to be referral links. A short explanation is that it is very hard to profit much from affiliate links. Affiliates typically pay about 4% commission, which is chump change if your site can't generate lots of sales. To get lots of sales, you have to have a good site, which in turn equals hard time and effort - wholly different than the "spam and gain" notion that is typically associated with referral programs. See? Hehe.
[Early 2000] In short, I am currently a second year Mechanical Engineering & Materials Science undergraduate at UC Berkeley. I have taken a gigantic courseload of 20 units per semester, for the past four semesters.
Ben's DVD Bargain Center was created on January 6th, 2000, directly following the $400 free from Microsoft bonanza. That $400 got me hooked on deals. After checking out many bargain hunter sites, I realized that there was a niche for a new site. This site would be uncluttered, and the bargains should be "in your face" directly when the site loads. And while there are popular forums where great deals can be found, this site should present the deals without the spam inherent in public forums. Thus Ben's Bargain Center was conceived.
That said and done, I am always working on improving Ben's Bargain Center... so if you have any suggestions, feel free to drop me a line!
None of your links work!
This is mostly likely a problem on your end. Recent software such as spyware/anti-spyware and file sharing programs have underhandedly altered your hosts file, which controls where Internet Explorer looks for web sites. To fix this, you must edit the hosts file. Here's how:
Search your Windows directory for a file called "hosts" and open it in Notepad or Wordpad. You must comment out all instances of the servers that are failing for you by placing a pound symbol # before each line that restricts a server. Thus,
127.0.0.1 linksynergy.com
would become,
#127.0.0.1 linksynergy.com
Here's a list of most of the servers that I use: linksynergy, cj, commission-junction, bfast, bfree, linkshare, cc-dt, connectcommerce, qksrv, anrdoezrs. You can figure out more hosts on your own by seeing what server is failing
Search your Windows directory for a file called "hosts" and open it in Notepad or Wordpad. You must comment out all instances of the servers that are failing for you by placing a pound symbol # before each line that restricts a server. Thus,
127.0.0.1 linksynergy.com
would become,
#127.0.0.1 linksynergy.com
Here's a list of most of the servers that I use: linksynergy, cj, commission-junction, bfast, bfree, linkshare, cc-dt, connectcommerce, qksrv, anrdoezrs. You can figure out more hosts on your own by seeing what server is failing
How do I use coupon codes?
Coupon codes are usually entered during the checkout process of your purchase. This is often within a page or two (of the checkout sequence) of where your credit card information is requested. Most reputable vendors allow you to "update" your total, so that you can see the coupon code reflected in your total price. Beware of vendors that do not show you the discounted price before the "finalize order" button.
How come it says that the coupon is invalid?
After a while in the "bargains community," you will undoubtedly come across many bargains that have ended. Whether it be a natural expiration of a coupon, or the untimely end of a super-deal, one thing is certain: Be the first one to sign up for deals, or risk not getting them at all. Here are some examples of deals that did not last long:
Free $400 from Microsoft - A legal loophole that was around for a while, but pulled a day after the SJ Mercury wrote an article about it (and California shoppers ended up with free DVD players and other gadgets form Best Buy).
$75 off $100 at Ashford - This deal was good for an entire weekend. After initially nixing these orders, Ashford pulled through and decided to honor the discount. Later on they even voluntarily released several more $75 coupons!
$30 off, no minimum at FamilyWonder - This scam was good for almost an entire day. One wonders what the FamilyWonder people were doing all day, because they subsquently canned all of the orders. That is why they will be referred to as FamilyBlunder on this board.
$15 portable CD players with car kits from Buy.Com - This deal only lasted from 1-3 AM PST, and they sold almost 1000 of em.
Free $400 from Microsoft - A legal loophole that was around for a while, but pulled a day after the SJ Mercury wrote an article about it (and California shoppers ended up with free DVD players and other gadgets form Best Buy).
$75 off $100 at Ashford - This deal was good for an entire weekend. After initially nixing these orders, Ashford pulled through and decided to honor the discount. Later on they even voluntarily released several more $75 coupons!
$30 off, no minimum at FamilyWonder - This scam was good for almost an entire day. One wonders what the FamilyWonder people were doing all day, because they subsquently canned all of the orders. That is why they will be referred to as FamilyBlunder on this board.
$15 portable CD players with car kits from Buy.Com - This deal only lasted from 1-3 AM PST, and they sold almost 1000 of em.
The link says the promotion has expired!
Just like coupons in the offline world, online electronic coupons have expiration dates. Different promotions last for different amounts of time. Your best bet is to sign up as soon as you find out. If the promotion is over, you probably can't do anything about it.
I found a deal you might be interested in...
By all means, if you find a deal that might be useful to visitors of this site, then send it on over! I will evaluate the deal and personally respond to you. Please do not send me referral links to try and build your downline.
Dude, where's my stuff?
Most of the promos listed on this site (especially the free ones) usually take over a month to materialize on your doorstep. Sometimes, if too many people sign up for an offer, the vendor will have problems fulfilling all of the orders.
If you ordered an item and actually paid for it (make sure you were charged), then the vendor is obligated to send you the item, or refund your credit card. You should try calling them to see what's up. Usually it's just a case of items being out of stock.
If you ordered an item and actually paid for it (make sure you were charged), then the vendor is obligated to send you the item, or refund your credit card. You should try calling them to see what's up. Usually it's just a case of items being out of stock.
Wii
Zune
iPod