The Frugal Artisan

My husband has asked for this item a couple of holidays (ie birthday, Father's Day, etc.) but he has not had time to research the topic.

Anyone out there with progams?

What pros and cons? What to look for? Price Range? Vendors?

He is not a total beginner, ie has added sound and edited taped home movies in the past (not digital).

I don't have the video camera brand off the top of my head (it's probably a Sony).

He has a pretty good DELL computer and disc burner software already.

Thanks for your help.

I've been featured by a fun site of artisan crafters for the day!

Those are my 'Recycled Guitar String Bangles - Teal and Plum' top right.



(see them also in the product mosaic here on the blog left column)

So pleased and flattered! Anxiously awaiting my stats on the shop page for the day!

Got an offer to do biz together lately, hmmmm. A very popular lady frugalist on Twitter suggested she model some of my items (a la Oscar style) at conferences/meetings as a partnership. After we hammer out some details, ie time frame, commission, etc. I think I will go for it. Am willing to part with some of my older pieces such as:

Dragonfly Necklace


She is a completely trustworthy person, as much as possible I suppose via internet. And of course, I have to take the risk of never seeing these things again in case she isn't. That's why I will do this with items I can live without. However, this is a method that small biz advisors advocate, ie form creative partnerships.

The car is sold! Craig's list is amazing.

My 2001 Toyota Camry; 135,000+ miles, needs frequent oil and engine noises (disclosed), clean and good mileage though; gone to a guy who was completely comfortable with the engine noise.

We sold it for $500 under blue book. Would not have increased the price because of the known faults.

But that didn't stop 6 people contacting us the first day, and something like a call an hour today.

The guy paid cash. Green cash. (kinda scary actually)

Soooooooo....DH using the pick up truck as 2nd car (gas guzzler) for a short while and I get the Corrolla.

He is very keen on a hybrid, wish there were hydrogen cars ready!! The cash is going straight toward the down payment for a new one. We're not strapped, it means tho less going to saving until Sept when the last vehicle payment is made on our tractor.

And my spouse is completely thrilled with the hunt.

He's an expert, ask me how he got the last one (it has manual windows and un-power locks!!)

it's been doing this for a number of months and I happened to see a family friend who is a mechanic last night. I asked him to listen and he took it for a short test drive.

His diagnosis: this is a baaaaad noise.

Probably the engine rods. Likely due to a couple of times in recent past years I waited too long to have the oil changed (the oil light came on for a couple days).

Not worth working on the engine unless it's a Bentley. Ummmm, this is a 2001 Toyota Camry. With 130,000+ miles.

Alternative plans of action (some pillow talk, eh?):

A. Sell it sooner to capture as much resale value as possible, For Sale By Owner type of thing.

B. Drive it gently until Sept when the last payment for our small tractor is made. Use for park n ride, around town, for example. Then trade in with new car purchase, and meanwhile watch the local dealers on how strong they want to make a sale as well as watch the Feds on what they might do to stimulate auto sales.

C. Drive it till it dies. Donate it to charity, but don't want to have to tow it to do so. Least safe of the options especially since I carpool 2 of the neighbor's kids to school (and would mess up their life for a day or so possibly).

Want to Vote?

But by experience.

What am I talking about? Last week my grandma died, s'ok, folks the important thing about this post is not personal.

What I want to explain is how I've learned over the past few years how to handle major hurdles of convalescence and end of life finances being her primary contact.

First and foremost, she supremely thought-through arrangements for almost all coming needs. Her choice was to have savings in a trust fund which I used to pay for assisted living, and then nursing home fees. She certainly gave myself, and an alternate person, financial power of attorney while being of sound mind.

When the trust was almost depleted I had to switch to Medicare of course. Yes, I'm sorry that happened, but she stayed with us much longer than she would have wanted.

She also had a fully paid burial policy in place with her specific wishes written in. That policy has been upheld by a mortuary and given me more relief than imagined. They met with me and took care of every last thing. Without any unexpected expense, without any decision needed by me under stress, without an inkling of pressure for 'flowers', 'service', nothing.

It's all good, and I hope some of you out there make it as easy for your family as mine has so far.

in a place that doesn't need a bailout."

That title was a sign inside my credit union yesterday.

"NOT going out of business SALE" ~
That sign was seen by a person in New York who posted it to Twitter.

I notice how much exaggerations are used in the news, because I have kids. Words such as 'crisis', 'emergency', 'worst', etc. Count how many times you hear/see these. Think about that absorbing into a kid.

But hey! Mine are doing fine. We just got through both kids birthdays this month. Each had a grip on the costs because I limited size and scope of the parties and discussed with them why. (They got to invite 3 kids each). They went to the bank and saved 1/2 of total gift card/checks. Try telling a kid they can spend all the $20 ToysRUs card but none of the $25 check from Grandpa. They get it I'm sure.

More good news! We had a very good long weekend mini vacation. Four days in the snow. Who says it doesn't rain in Southern California?



Using one free Holiday Inn night (my husband's frequent stay points), and paying for a second, the four of us had a cross country ski afternoon in winter wonderland. The cost is reasonable; the experience many times over in value to my kids. I love HI, the breakfast buffet is included, the kids swam and jacuzzi'ed.

The next day we went on a treasure hunt for quartz crystals and obsidian, free to the adventurer! The family memories are worth more than any price.

Even non frugal people keep those bits of yarn, twist ties, foreign coins, and old postcards just in case the need arises some day. Right?

I am certainly the anti pack rat but here's some of the things in my home office drawer:

... a harmonica (I always wanted to learn)
... a part used box of reinforcements for three ring binder paper (antique?!)
... a plug-in thingy which expands any electrical outlet into 3 more outlets
... a couple partly used AAA batteries
... a partly used roll of 2-sided tape
... an extra coin pouch
... another coin pouch filled with a variety of key chains
... a small container of thumbtacks
... a very small pink pocket knife

What brings this to mind is a good use I put to some jewelry supplies this past week.

As is not uncommon to many of us crafters, I bought some supplies which were not used completely or did not work out for their original intent.

In this case, it was some very thin, part-silver wire. I bought 2 rolls of silver wire, one thin and one thicker, and have found the heavier weight to be more suitable for much of my work. But the thin wire was just too good to waste.

Rather than sell, give away, or throw it out, there it lay in wait in my studio.

Then, I was invited to enter an upcoming exhibit themed 'Healing Arts'. Faster than a speeding bullet I retrieved a raw quartz point which I had made into a rough pendant a couple years ago. This, I thought, might fit the theme if I made it into a necklace. (Organic folks of past and present feel quartz crystal has healing properties).

Now for a chain. I have a few mass produced oval links and wanted to connect them and weave a strand of small beads in and out of them as a chain. But it needed intermediate links, so I decided to handform straight links with -- SILVER WIRE WRAP!.

Here's the technique I mean (these are earrings I made to practice):

GEOMETRIC DIAMOND SHAPE SILVER WIRE WRAPPED EARRINGS




So, there you have it. From waste not to want not. Another frugal success story.

And by the way, what's in YOUR junk drawer?

Seven or eight more of a big handful of discards given to me by a lampworker hobbyist friend have been made into a punk-meets-grandma necklace.

WEB-LIKE BLACK & WHITE LOCKET NECKLACE


Starting with the beads in the upper right, I added a few onyx stones, a bit of silverplated chain, and some black leather.

Not for sale (yet).

This just might be my first $50 item, except I hesitate to put it in the art gallery shop because the salt air (we are in a harbor right off the beach) wreaks havoc on the goldplate:

TROPICAL MIX NECKLACE & EARRING SET


Desc: Many strands of freshwater pearl, glass, stone and metal gathered by gold(plated) cones hang on 18" fine link gold(plated) chain. Exotic tropical peaches, moss greens, creams, lavendar and golds. Matching earrings on 14K GF hooks.

I volunteer down there this weekend for a couple hours and will see how things are moving (or not) and how many visitors lately (usually January-March is very slow cause it's COLD down there).

A decision to put up or wait until summer, our high season, can be made after then.

btw, SA'ers, I autofeed these blog posts to twitter now, therefore the emphasis on and plethora of merchandise photos.

A friend gave me a bag of glass bead cast offs last December. Just those he made in the process of learning. Gratis.

Creative design, ingenuity and some copper wire later and VOILA -

SPIRAL COPPER LAMPWORK NECKLACE


(...dang, I shoulda took some before and after pictures...)

Hard to let this one go, but it's destined for the art gallery shop, priced at about $40.

Once again, just going to show 'I AM the Frugal Artisan'.

Silly other facts and truisms about Pretty Cheap Jewelry.

...why you should not start cross stitching EVER NEVER

...why I'm a carrot

...and see the cross between Leonardo daVinci and a flip flop

http://dzfantasy.blogspot.com

it's a rich site, give it a minute to load. Thanks for lookin'.

It never rains in Southern California? Well it did on this past Saturday on a planned 'semi-private' home boutique I helped organize.

About 20 sellers of my internet craft club set up shop under a grand carport instead of the circular driveway of our gracious generous host.

We held workshops and demonstrations in the garage. We chatted and enjoyed each other's company immensely. (How often do you meet up with so many of your online buddies??)

And although the major numbers of visitors were deterred by the rain, most of us sold a few items anyway. Just the icing on the cake!

I sold a set of 6 of these embellished wine glasses I crafted:


And speaking of cake, the hostess fed us sweets and teas and cakes and lasagne and more!

Not bad for a rainy day!

Havin' fun over on Twitter finding celebrities, politicians, and other smarty pants to follow. For example:

- Cesar Millan (the dog whisperer)

- Yoko Ono

- my ABC evening news co-anchor (he followed me back, maybe they will notice my work?!)

- Barack O'Bama (ok, he has 164,000 followers, so I'm a little speck in the crowd, but he followed me back! Or at least some staffie did).

Found these folks using

http://www.oddtwits.com

And just figured out how to autofeed my blog posts to twitter. Lessee if this one works.....

A short series of photos I took 1.19.09 from my weekend property -

(lots of memory, hope they don't take too long to load...)

My internet craft club used 'Weebly.com' (free website host) last fall to promote gifts for the holidays. The site manager is a tech savvy whiz, a graphic designer by trade, and an angel in disguise.

This spring is the 2nd edition of the website and I am joining in the fray. We are contributing a nominal $8 for a 12 week period. The money will actually be used for small internet ads for the site, not toward any club member's pocket!

Only the front page is ready (I am in the 5th row at the moment, but the items change frequently). Have a look if you want:

http://www.handmadeincalifornia.net/

Note the 'Chatterbox' (in the header for now but a tab at the top) - there will be announcements of special deals.

I already have a special deal to add (see it in my shop announcment also Pretty Cheap Jewelry

----------------------------------

In other small biz news-

Sales from a small town show I participated in Dec 2008 came yesterday, $140. NICE. It was for a 2-weekend show which I did not have to be present (very very convenient). I believe they collected sales tax and that is part of the check so actual goods sold were worth about $127. ALL of this check has been applied to fees for 3 shows in 2009.

Soooooo, that just means I am sticking to my Resolution #2 - Make a Profit in 2009. (read: raise prices).

First big show is in April, the city sponsored Art Walk. Thousands stroll the downtown area and I have a table right smack in the thick of things. Wish me much luck, to be sure I will be blogging my preparations, hopes, dreams and results.

-----------------------------------

Just one last note: Google analytics giving me lots of good data! Folks using keywords 'guitar jewelry' clicking on these items consistently, so guess what I'm going to add to my webstore?

Pearly White Guitar Pick Earrings



Teal and Plum Guitar String Bracelets, Set of 3

I maintain a private google group for my mailing list, ie no one can post or see your email address. It is simply for me to send 1ce or 2wc a month offers to fans.

Today I noticed google offers a widget for me to use on my blog for sign ups.

See it there in the lower left sidebar?

Maybe a visitor or two will be interested. I use this blog for more than SA'ers, such as announcements to craft members, features of artists, etc.

I try to make my email offers full of zany trivia, fun facts, and above-all really rock bottom specials and freebies. For example, I had a Gorham crystal sleigh frame to give away with any December order (click on the 'visit' part of the widget to have a look at some of my offers.)

So, once again, Google comes through! Maybe I'm just slow?.....

The host of my website (etsy.com) allowed us to connect visits to Google Analytics starting last Friday.

WOW! First off, in the first 24 hours I had something like 29 visits to my site, half of them new visitors and half of those from google search alone. I even can see the search terms used !! Whee!

Folks are using 'cheap jewelry', and more. I am very impressed to be getting so much traffic with so little effort.

And am dumbfounded with surprise how good Google Analytics is, how easy, and how much info they are giving (FREE!).

Now for the million dollar Q!
How can I turn these visits into sales!?

I need a good, short, sweet to the point, consultation with an expert! A tech savvy marketer! Without spending anything or as little as possible.

Am going to contact the Small Biz Development Center (SBDC) here in town in coming days. They have advisors who will meet with you free (I used upon start up a few years ago). At least to see if there is an internet guru over there.

BTW am working very hard getting ready for a very exclusive home show a week from Saturday. It's in a gated community full of high income folks. I'm helping organize the show and suggested that vendors provide free workshops/demonstrations as an attraction (that doesn't cost sellers extra money).

Not only will the demos be fun and educational (who doesn't want to do a little card making or whatnot?), they should bring in some customers.

I volunteered to run a beaded wine glass workshop, and have finally perfected the technique which most beginner types should be able to accomplish. We'll see! It's harder than it looks - here's an example of what I'll be teaching:



Of course, the person will take home the one they make. And if they want a pair, more will be for sale at my table. What would you pay for one? I set the price at $10 ea.

charge $50 for something this year (and make the sale)?

......New Year's Res Status.......

RESOLVED
1. Refrain from reading/posting in the weekly Etsy team forum.
Why? Because:
a. huge time sink
b. return on the investment is poor
c. stressful to compare to others regarding their sales, new items, traffic to their shop, etc.
STATUS AOK so far, trying to re-use the time to twitter and spread out posts in other places more as a low cost promotion.

2. MAKE A PROFIT IN 2009
Yes, some of my prices are going up.
a. Items online remain reasonably priced. However, nothing can be listed so low as to undercut my in person sales.
b. Items sold in the art gallery lose 1/3 (they keep) and must be priced accordingly.
c. I keep all income from weekend fairs and specialty shows except for a few percent on credit sales. And need to make enough sales to cover the event fees!
STATUS GOING FOR IT with this new item!

Squiggle Doodle Scribble Chain Necklace
Pure imagination anchored with a heart locket. Fun to look at, inside and out.
A true original $48.00


3. Wear mascara most weekdays. OK, this one is just cause I am such a dolt when it comes to looks. Gotta do something easy! You would think it's a no brainer, but you don't know me!!
STATUS so far so good

The numbers are crunched, the bottom line is in, and....

Pretty Cheap Jewelry finished the year in the black for the 3rd year in a row. And I promise there is very little creative (read 'crooked') book keeping involved.

The expenses? $2,000 for a long, but simple total of supplies, postage, some office items, event fees, and a very little bit of miscellaneous.

The income? $2,300 steady, sometimes small, sometimes moderate monthly sales in a good variety of venues including shops, weekend markets, internet site and specialty shows.

I'm happy with the results, but am committed to *increasing profit* in 2009.

Comments welcome, especially other home biz readers ....and of course, here is the other black book the title refers to!

BIG LITTLE BLACK BOOK
Hand bound, hard back slim journal filled with 24 pp of reclaimed office graph paper. Covered with faux suede, sexy to the touch. Ready for those important numbers, emails, appointments, and dates.

Just thought I'd pass along this offer, posted by a crafter on another forum.

Fairly high priced but powerful home accounting software.

Here is the Staples link for details:

http://www.staples.com/office/supplies/StaplesProductDisplay...

Guitar lessons are over. (see my last entry called 'Discouraged').

Just before going to the 'delayed' lesson my kid said quietly he didn't want to go. He wanted to quit, he didn't like lessons.

Without much drama (again) I asked him if it was him, me or just why. He said him and me. That the music was becoming a chore (dreaded chore!), that I was too stressed in getting him to practice, and so forth.

We taked a little more, ie remembering whey he started lesson in June, summer vacation, to try it out when there were fewer demands on time. And that the goal was met in giving it a try, seeing if he liked it, learning to read the music. Success!

So happy and proud that both of us were calm and rational, that we spoke honestly and from the heart. Believe me, we are both fairly high strung and sparks fly.

So sorry to make that call to the teacher, but I was candid and he was great. One of his messages was 'If it isn't fun for a kid, time to re evaluate.' Even the guitar teacher is going to have reduced income in this economy, sad.

OK. This wasn't about money at all. But it is all a big relief to me now.

A couple hours ago getting the kids off to school. It is 37 out, sunny but cold. My kid refuses to wear a coat. Without much drama, I gave him the choice, the coat or no guitar lesson today after school.

He picked no guitar lesson. Unfortunately wearing a winter coat regularly brings out his stubbornness. He really likes the lessons, but is a typical kid in practicing too little, too fast, and trying to wear me out getting around the house rules (believe me, I'm am tired).

Over the many past months it has taken alot of will power (and I am a disciplined person) to resist picking up the phone and just ending the music lessons. The making him practice ... the using lessons as a reward for what should be helpful work around the house, etc.

It costs $100/mo, not more than we can pay, but I'm constantly discouraged with the present situation struggling wills with him.

What a relief it would be to just remove this source of conflict.

Yes, to the detriment of his future. A music education is very important, I know, I had one as a kid too.

Anyway...
I had a good idea just writing this entry. Am going to call the guitar teacher and ask him to change our lesson to tomorrow or the next day, instead of cancelling. I hope the delay is enough to make my son make a better decision next time.

Want to judge? Here is the best spot of the house decorated.

The bannister is covered with fresh juniper branches (harvested from the country). Alternate post openings show off satin covered balls on gold and red metallic thread. More finery include loops of gold colored and pearl strands. The finishing touch are red velvet bows spaced evenly up the steps.



Our stockings are hung on the wall next to the steps, and on the landing is a collection of snow men, (a wooden deer is on the floor not visible).

We have no mantel so this is where I make it prettiest. We also have an artificial tree therefore, here originates the pine scent.

Joy!

I 'got rid' of 2 cumbersome items from home by posting to my local

www.freecycle.com

1. A queen mattress. Used only a couple dozen times, no box springs, no frame. These are hard to get rid of (or so I thought!). A fee for disposing at refuse facility and the thrifts won't even take them. NOT A PROBLEM, I had a waiting list of 3 that wanted it.

2. A 13" black and white TV. Hoarded this in the closet for several years thinking it could be used by a kid/relation for a dorm room or some starter location. Husband laughs and then reminds me it will be completely obsolete in early 2009 when digital signal only arrives. Oops! Also would cost a fee to dispose at refuse facility.
But someone wants it for those last few months for a little happy surprise gift this year!

The feeling of joy to me is more 'giving material goods extended useful purpose' and 'helping someone in need' and less clutter-freeing my house.

Am I nuts? It cost me nothing but I feel happy and like I contributed 'goodwill toward man'.

If only all my gift giving could be transformed into this kind situation.

the temptation to just complete the TO DO list barring all costs!

Mostly the TO DO list involves completing gift shopping. When time becomes short, I start feeling desperate and blinded!

Daughter-getting interested in American Girl dolls. Is there any way possible to get involved with these at an affordable cost??? Peeked at Ebay, not a pretty sight.

Should I or shouldn't I? that is the question! Spend another $25 (approx) on small starter 14K gold pierced earrings? She is allowed to get her ears pierced this year. Or maybe give her a jewelry box (nice one with drawers)? They are inexpensive at JC Penney. Or wait on the whole thing cause her birthday is in February????

Son. His watch went in the washing machine. Died. It was my old watch and he loved it. Finally wore it everyday to school (5th grade). Go to Target and get him a watch to stuff his stocking???

Husband-haven't stepped in the Patagonia outlet yet (they have an 'unknown' store about 4 blocks from their factory that most folks are unaware). Was thinking to look for a UV protection shirt for him cause he works outside alot at our weekend property. Or maybe a protective hat. Just not time.

Neighbors-YaY! I brought back lots and lots of juniper greens from our ranch! SMELL GOOD! Will craft into swags and wreaths for the good friends on our street (2 or 3 families). Add nice generous ribbon, and few sparkly or rustic touches (already have). Cost?? TIME.

Work-My boss is taking her birthday off! I had bought her a small $10 gift, but won't see her for 3 days later (my day off, then the weekend). Soooooooo, I am going to use the gift instead for the office Christmas party exchange. It is a small artwork nicely framed and good for any person.

Gotta run, anyone with time to sell?

One of my cards was featured in this website today

http://cuteable.com/

Nice to have a little no-cost attention.

The rush is over for craft shows for me. How were sales?

Spotty but profitable. As usual, started off slow and ended in the black. Not enough black to brag about unfortunately, but black enough to continue the schedule next year.

Stronger sales were seen by tchotchke booths (y'know, little pins and decorations, not my style) as well as a soap maker. Larger value items sold slower, ie quilts, glassware, but enough that seemed all of the vendors made enough to cover their fees.

I have one more nice 2-weekend event in December which is an easy set up/take down and don't have to be there to sell. And one more 1/2 day show in December which is a private club boutique.

And DRAT! These were stored in a box and missed the November shows, but will make it into the December events.

3 Cross Stitch Ornament or Gift Tag Set

My in-law family has decided this year to forgo a gift exchange! WHEE! I have always wanted to go this route because they are a fairly big family, and getting bigger every year.

Starting with my husband's parents (there actually are 2 households already: his mom, and his dad and spouse) the count was

- 1st Brother/Wife and 3 Grown Up Kids
- 2nd Brother/Wife and 4 Kids

For an immediate family count of 11 recipients. For the past 6-8 years we all went to my husbands mother's house for a big Christmas Eve family night.

Additional folks would visit including, an aunt on the dad's side (no spouse or kids), a cousin on the mom's side (one spouse and 2 more kids), assorted girlfriends of the brother's teen boys.

Ummmm, I usually tried to bring a few little things for these extended family folks, just happy inexpensive gifts like small bag with hair stuff for the girls, candles for the women, etc.

I was able to be creative and provide for all without straining the bank. But the older folks on retirement were being stressed undoubtedly.

Now most of these kids are all grown up, out of college and a few are married themselves, with little kids!

In fact, the gathering has greatly reduced, only a couple of the grown kids are in state anymore, and (sadly) one of my husbands brother passed away from cancer two years ago.

The party has moved to the oldest brother's house (he is fairly well off and goes all out usually on expenses). He and his wife want to shift the emphasis on a dinner/song singing/boating (he lives on the water) and nix the gifts. YAY! (did I say that already?).

Except for the kids. Now you think, what kids? Well funny, but my kids are the only ones left under age 18 (except the little baby ones not in state).

I'm excited but feel funny that my kids are the only ones going to receive gifts from all these adults! HaHa! Oh well, it's what I've always dreamed of

Who was it lately that mentioned in their blog about the teacher/accountant mentality (of doing things methodically, well planned ahead)?

Add me to that group, though not a teacher nor accountant. It's just a Type A trait.

So my gift list is ready and awaiting...
Now I just need the time to tick things off. Drat the day job.

A page from my purse blank Journal

Shopping To Do:

-ToysRUs; Use $10 gift card for small boy item

-Best Buy; Investigate, compare and snag stereo system for husband's gift if the price is right especially if further coupons/deals are available

-Sports Store; purchase Heely's for daughter, pingpong paddles/balls for family gift

-Dollar Store; purchase 3 bath sponges for teacher gifts (already have goats milk handmade soap)

-LinensThings; Check current percent off due to store closing, if high enough and price is right, purchase one or two sets of full size sheets for new mattress at weekend home

Cannot do any of this Tues (work), Wed (volunteer at art gallery), Thurs/Fri/Sat (devote 90% of time to craft show I'm in).

So do you think I can do it all on Sunday? A perfect time as all the family will be away (except me) to the weekend property. MUST take advantage to hide the gifts then!

Tune in another day for the ... Next page in the Journal

My hubby is a kid at heart, very positive and open minded. Not to mention happily receives birthday and Christmas gifts.

Every so often I splurge on him (like the year he got a fishing trip to Alaska, ok he already had airfare from frequent flier miles, all I added was the room and the guide). Or the year he got an electric guitar (and he remarked, 'if it wasn't for you I wouldn't get any big gifts anymore in my life').

But most years I keep things practical, it's my nature. And this year he was going to get socks!

Except he gave me some ideas:
- a couple area rugs for our new weekend house. I like this idea cause I was going to get something anyway, and now I have authority to go pick them out myself

- a stereo system which the TV can eventually be plugged into.

OK folks, that one is the question. It's been 20+ years since I bought stereo components -- flash back to college when the more watts the BETTER. I still have that system Yamaha amp, tape decks, turntable, and all.

But I assume people don't do this anymore!

So need: A compact system, not really a portable boombox type thing, w/
-receiver
-speakers
-CD/DVD player

I guess I will go to Best Buy? (although Circuit City is closing but then nix on the exchanges or returns if I do it wrong).

Someone educate me in the 21st century!