A lot of us stayed home this season and did most of our Christmas shopping without ever leaving our chairs. Online shopping was more popular this year than ever with Amazon recording its biggest day ever with $4 million in sales on December 11.

The season was disappointing for retailers though, so many are slashing post-holiday prices in an effort to make up the lost sales.

And as retailers further discount high-ticket items consumers will be out looking for presents for themselves. And, why not? There’s no better time to get a great deal on that luxury item you have wanted all year but resisted the urge to purchase. Post-season savings could even make it affordable.

Christmas is over. ‘Tis the season to be selfish.

I hope you liked all your Christmas gifts this year, because retailers are determined to keep you from returning them.

You can’t blame them. Every year retailers lose part of their holiday profit on returned items. Electronics that are returned in opened boxes often cost them most, as they may have to discount the items for resale. To combat this, many retailers are imposing a “restocking fee” on certain returned items, to cover the cost of repackaging and any loss they may suffer on the resale of the item.

Other retailers are keeping track of just who returns what and how often. Wal-Mart, for instance keeps track of the number of returns for any one person and if a shopper exceeds the limit they are disqualified from any further returns.

Receipts will definitely be required. Easy refunds and store credits are a thing of the past. Retailers have been burned once too often. If you have your receipt you shouldn’t encounter any difficulty, but be prepared for long lines.

Hope you had a Merry Christmas.

When buying an expensive item like a computer, especially when it is to be a gift, you want to be sure that you’re getting your money’s worth. As with most markets, the computer sales world is a minefield of traps and deals that look good but do not deliver. Before making your purchase, know what you want (and need) and the options for buying it.

The big companies are not necessarily the way to go with computers. They may have the muscle to force suppliers’ prices down but they also became big by making sure that their profit remains healthy. Often your local computer store can offer you a better deal; plus you have the benefit of the personal touch – usually a small store is owned and run by someone who knows computers inside out and is happy to share that knowledge.

The best advice I can give you, however, is to know exactly how much you are prepared to spend and then do the research on the net to find the best deal for that price. Don’t worry too much about obscure technical descriptions; generally the higher the figures attached to a component, the better it will perform. Make sure that the price quoted includes a monitor. Very often computer prices are made to seem low by separating out the monitor and making it an extra purchase.

I could write pages of details on the various things to look for but that is not really my intent here. It is enough that you are aware that the purchase of a computer is not something to be done in a hurry.

Marketwatch dot com has a good article on the basics of computer buying. It’s well worth a read.

Wal-Mart started early this year, slashing prices on electronics and other big-ticket items well before the traditional day-after-Thanksgiving Christmas season shopping kickoff.

And they continue. Wal-Mart has cut prices four times since mid-October and promises more savings and discounts for holiday shoppers. If you are a competitor, what are you going to do?

That’s right, you are going to try to keep up and that is exactly what Target is doing. Just as Target tried to follow in Wal-Mart’s footsteps over the $4 generic drug prices, so they follow in the discounting of popular electronics and other items that are high on Christmas shopping lists.

All of this can only be good news for consumers. Price wars ultimately will benefit all shoppers at both stores this season. Best advice for Christmas shopping? Before you buy, check the competitor’s price, it may have just gone down.