News-Record.com

Be sure to double-check your store receipt during the busy holiday shopping season. That's because price scanning errors may be more common than you think.

In North Carolina, The N.C. Department of Agriculture recently collected thousands of dollars in fines from stores in Winston-Salem, Hickory, Lenior, Gastonia and Charlotte for excessive price-scanning errors.

In Winston-Salem, the Wal-Mart Supercenter at 1330 West Clemonsville Road paid $5,000 for price scanning errors following two inspections. The first inspection in September found an error rate of five overcharges per 100 items.

In November during a follow-up inspection, the error rate was 10 overcharges per 300 items.

Living room furniture set for $299. A refurbished side-by-side fridge for $200. These are a few samplings of what's in store at the Bargain Hunter off High Point Road in Greensboro, featured in today's Savvy Shopper column.

It's a flea market mall featuring about 30 businesses including a dollar store, electronics repair shop, hair salon, appliance store and sports wear store.

Good bargain hunting.

Stores put games that aren't selling very well on sale all the time. But a game that's relatively new - released at the end of October - that's getting rave reviews?

Progress Energy is trying to determine people's interest in energy efficiency by discounting compact fluorescent light bulbs by $1 each.

The bulbs, by the way, use 75 percent less energy than regular bulbs and last up to 10 times longer. But they cost more. The mark down can cut the cost of a compact fluorescent by more than half.

So is this a bright idea or will it be met with shrugs?

A sampling of grocery store deals in the Triad this week:

Food Lion: Two-for-one deals on stuff including: Carolina fried turkey breast (per pound, regular $5.99), Cheez-It, Planters peanuts, Doritos, Food Lion medium cooked shrimp (16-ounce bags).

Harris Teeter: Two-for-one deals on stuff including: Pepsi, boneless chicken breast (per pound), EZ peel white shrimp (2-pound package), Progresso soup, 24-packs of Dannon spring water, Nestle cookies.

CompUSA, which has a store in Greensboro, is closing its doors after the holidays after it was sold to Gordon Brothers Group LLC.

That hopefully means some kickin' store closing deals.

Savvy Shopper extraordinaire Lanita Withers passed along this deal:

Bring this coupon and a box of CVS brand tissue (120-count) with your next purchase to the register and get it free with your ExtraCare card.

Handy little graphic in today's News & Record by artist Tim Rickard that simplifies the resolution confusion surrounding HDTVs.

My advice, for what it's worth: If you're a fellow gamer on a budget but want to use your TV to also watch hi-def. movies and cable shows including NFL games and golf and are looking for something in the 30- to 40-inch range, go with 720p.

I shopped around and settled on an Olevia 32-inch 720p HDTV, which has received pretty good reviews. I bought it at Circuit City on Aug. 30 for $550 (here's the user's manual). No regrets.

The kicker was my wife's reaction when I brought it home and we started surfing the channels. I clicked on the Discovery Channel in HD and my wife gasped, the quality was so good.

But what a difference a few months make price-wise. You can now get that very same TV at Sears for $477.

Click to see larger, .pdf version

A sampling of grocery store deals in the Triad this week:

Food Lion:Two-for-one deals on stuff including: 5-pound bags of white potatoes, 16-ounce bags of raw jumbo shrimp, Nabisco wafers, Zesta crackers, Pepperidge Farm toast, Smithfield bacon, 2.5-pound bags of Food Lion boneless chicken breasts.

Harris Teeter: Two-for-one deals on stuff including: 6-packs of Coke, 2-liter Canada Dry, Campbell's Chunky soup, boneless N.Y. strip steak, Tostitos, pork tenderloin, Mayfield ice cream.

$5 off coupon at CVS featured in today's News & Record (A5), which is still a bargain at 50 cents.

Few limitations: can't use it on stuff including booze, smokes, lottery tickets or stamps.

Expires Saturday.

Ever wished they would make an ice cream flavor that tastes like beer and donuts?

Me neither. In any event, Ben & Jerry's is creating an ice cream flavor for one day only that tastes like beer and donuts to coincide with the Simpsons Movie going on DVD.

All proceeds will benefit local animal rescue efforts.

The ice cream shop's PR folks describe the flavor as a malted, sweet stout ice cream with a cake donut swirl (sorry, it's not made with real beer).

Dum-diddly-licious?

In the Triad, Ben & Jerry's at The Shops at Friendly Center in Greensboro and at the Palladium at Deep River in High Point will hold tasting and free Simpsons movie screening parties Monday. Film starts at 8 p.m.

Those shops will donate all sales from the special flavor to the Guilford County Animal Shelter.

H. Scott Hoffmann/News & Record
Ben & Jerry's co-founder Jerry Greenfield greets customer Marsha Cohen during a visit to the Greensboro shop Dec. 2.

I know there's some pretty hard-core Apple lovers out there. But when they announced Apple was opening a store in Greensboro, the way some in our news room reacted reminded me of 10-year-old girls learning daddy scored tickets to a Hannah Montana concert.

Fortunately, no one fainted.

Yes, I know, Apple makes some pretty cool stuff. They definitely build better electronics mouse traps. But guess what? Other gadget makers out there are catching up, building better, faster and cheaper gizmos.

Take MP3 players, for example. In a story in today's Life section of the News & Record ("Gifts for your favorite techie"), Staff Writer Joe Killian touts the Sandisk Sansa E260 4 GB MP3 player as a cheaper alternative to Apple with more bells and whistles to boot.

Joe writes: "Sure, the new iPod Nano has video, but this Sandisk player beats it out on price and features. Give them this, and they can expand the memory with SD memory cards, listen to digital FM radio, use the digital voice recorder and remove the battery for charging while their iPod-toting friends go green with envy."

When it comes to good running shoes, price doesn't necessarily matter.

British researchers tested numerous models from different manufacturers and prices and found no obvious difference in plantar pressure - the amount of shock to the foot from striking the ground, according to the latest issue of Men's Health .

"The shoes' comfort ratings varied widely, but again, price wasn't an indicator," the magazine says.

Big Lots has a Kingston 1-GB SD card on sale for $8.

A sampling of grocery store deals in the Triad this week:

Food Lion: Two-for-one deals on stuff including: oranges, cooked shrimp, Mrs. Smith's fruit pies, Ritz crackers, Breyers Ice cream and Canadian maple ham.

Harris Teeter: Two-for-one deals on stuff including: Ocean spray cranberry juice, 12-packs of Coke, Cheez-it, Purina Dog Chow and 2-liter Canada Dry or 7UP.

Dealnews.com rounds up bargains on shipping with guaranteed Christmas delivery.

Those coupons in that "Attractions Dining and Value Guide" book you may have bought a while back are about to expire.

Next stop for us on the coupon expiration express is Red Oak Brew Pub in Greensboro. (Coupon is $10 off the price of two house specialties.)