⌦ Point-and-Shoot – Nikon Coolpix S550 in a nice plum color for $100. Pick up in-store or ship for $7. About $45 off. [Slickdeals]
⌦ Pocket Printer – The Polaroid Pogo Instant Mobile Photo Printer is at Best Buy for $80, or $20 off. I know these things had really poor reviews, but I still sort of want one. [Dealhack]
⌦ 1080p Projector – The InFocus X10 DLP 1080p projector has dropped to $1,300 at a couple of stores, about $700-900 off most other prices. For a budget 1080p projector, it has reviewed well. [Dealnews]
⌦ Monitor – Acer 23-inch 1080p monitor for $170, shipped. [Dealnews]
⌦ Headphones – Grado SR-60 headphones for $65, shipped. Not a huge discount, but it’s rare to see any price break on Grado headphones. [Dealnews]
⌦ Power Tools – A refurbished set of Ryobi tools, including a drill, flashlight, circular saw, and reciprocating saw is available for $112, shipped. A nice starter set. [Amazon]
I have those exact Ryobi tools, and can say that they’re easily worth that price. (I have everything listed, plus a sander and skill saw.)
The set has held up wonderfully in the three years that I’ve had it – they got me through rebuilding a deck, and constructing overhead garage shelving, plus many minor projects.
The reciprocating saw just eats up battery charge, though, so make sure to have an extra (as far as I know, Ryobi is only going to be found at Home Depot locally, so if there’s not one in your area, replacement batteries may be hard to come by.)
To offer an opposing POV, may I suggest that anyone in the market for power tools avoid the Ryobi brand at all costs.
I have (embarrassingly) owned too many of their tools, and not one of them has met any quality standards. The running theme seems to be the tools having issues being square… my miter saw will not cut at exactly 0 degrees because the back fence, molded to the saw base, is slightly skewed. My biscuit joiner was returned to the store twice because the blade was misaligned compared to the guard. My friend bought a Ryobi jigsaw and we had to tape over the laser guidelight, as it was a good 3-5 degrees off the actual cutline.
I always seemed to be tempted back by the lower price that Ryobi offers, but it’s worse than “you get what you pay for” – you often don’t get a functional tool for what you pay for.
If you have any regular need for the tool you plan to buy, it’s worth spending a little more to get a brand name with a little more dependability. I would sooner buy a used Dewalt from a pawn shop than a brand new Ryobi.
Tool bundles often include useless items to make it feel like you’re getting a deal – but who really needs a radio or a flashlight for the price? I would also highly recommend avoiding all reciprocating saws that run on batteries… it’s just not a tool meant to run on a limited power source.
I’ll offer a counter-counter-point. I’ve had a similar set for five years, putting them through hell and back, and had a great experience with them. With the following caveats:
1) As TJ S says, the recip say just chews through batteries like nothing else. Use it to cut a few branches or a single bolt here or there, maybe a single fixture’s worth of drain pipe, but don’t plan to use it for a solid day’s worth of plumbing unless you have a pile of batteries and several chargers.
2) I cannot attest to the accuracy of the circular saw because I haven’t tried to use it to do any serious carpentry – and don’t think a small cordless circular saw is fit for that anyway.
3) I had to replace the batteries after four years or so, but that happens with any cordless tools, including Dewalt. But a pair of the 18v batteries was only about $40 at Home Depot.
The drill is excellent, and I’ve actually used the flashlight more than any of the tools. It’s a lot handier than a corded trouble light when you’re moving around under a car, for example. It’s free standing, aimable, and very, very bright.
I also want to add, the radio gets probably more use than any other item in the set. Since it’s got a line-in 3.5mm jack, and a battery will last 6+ hours (at low-medium volume), you can get nearly a full day of cordless mp3 player goodness. Pretty decent sound quality, too.
I do agree with Brad S, though, that Ryobi is definitely NOT a professional-quality brand. From what I gather, they’re a consumer-oriented spin off of RIGID, contracted at the request of The Home Depot. I’m actually surprised that Amazon is selling the set, I always thought Home Depot had an exclusivity contract.