Buying gifts online is the easiest way to be frugal: you can compare prices from stores and if you're smart with free shipping, it ends up being a lot less expensive. But if you're a slacker and forget, you'll be panicking in a depressingly-lit mall on Christmas Eve trying to fit a bunch of mediocre products into your holiday budget because you missed shipping deadlines. Don't be late.
This is the TL;DR: the sooner you order, the safer. Today you can probably buy things online with bare-minimum ground shipping and get them in time to put them under the tree. But by the end of the week it gets a little dicier. Below you'll find notable ground shipping deadlines, and we've also added our favorite deal of the day from those outlets. Also below: the three major logistics deadlines, in case you're shipping something yourself or you're buying from an outlet without clear deadlines. And of course, your daily Dealzmodo love.
Amazon Super Saver - Sunday, December 16 | Details
Amazon Prime - Thursday, December 20 | Details
Today from Amazon we like the 8.9-inch Kindle Fire HD for $250 with the code FIREHD89. This is the first discount we've ever seen on this tablet. It's usually $300 and as such this is your Deal of the Day. [Amazon]
Newegg - Monday, December 17 for Egg Saver Shipping | Details
From Newegg, we love this scratcher of a 32-inch 1080p HDTV by Sceptre. It's only $190 with coupon code EMCYTZT2630, which is at least $50 less than other outlets. [Newegg]
Thinkgeek - Friday, December 14 for US Economy Shipping | Details
For a recap of some great deals at ThinkGeek, check out last week's Dealzmodo. But today we like this 200-watt inverter that fits into your car's cupholder. It's 50% off, down to $17.50. [ThinkGeek]
Best Buy — Thursday, December 13 for Ground Shipping | Details
Today's best sale at Best Buy is the original Star Wars trilogy for $30. We featured these Blu-rays as a Dealzmodo from Amazon at the same price, but they're back up to ~40 and Best Buy keeps undercutting the price. If you want them today's a good day to buy them. [BestBuy]
Apple — Dates vary.
Wednesday, December 12 (for Engraved Orders + iPad Mini + iPhone 5) | Details
Tuesday, December 18 for everything else | Details
Discounts? Coupon codes? At Apple? Well, as Kyle Wagner has explained before, the best way to get Apple deals is to buy refurbished. Today they've got a 2011 13" Macbook Air with 256GB SSD for $1100 and they've also got 4th Generation iPod Touches for cheap too. [Apple]
USPS — Monday, December 10 for First Class shipping to Military
USPS — Friday, December 14th for Parcel Post service | Details
UPS — Monday, December 17 for UPS Ground | Details
FedEx Ground - Monday, December 17 for FedEx Ground | Details
Follow Dealzmodo for a curated stream of sales on things you want.Follow @dealzmodo
Top Deals
Accessories
• Monster Cable Management Kit/Wrap ($10) | Amazon via TechDealDigger | Originally $30
• iPhone 5 OtterBox Defender ($18) | Amazon via Brand Name Coupons | Originally $25
• Logitech Optical Gaming Mouse G400 ($28) | Amazon via Brand Name Coupons | Originally $50
• Wireless USB 3.0 500GB Seagate Portable HD ($100) | Amazon via Reddit | Originally $200
Miscellaneous
• Scalp Head Massager ($1.55) | Amazon via Reddit | Originally $5 | Ships from Hong Kong, you won't get it before Christmas
• Mini Brass Microscope ($2.38) | Amazon via Reddit | Originally $5
• 3 $10 Apple iTunes Gift Cards ($27) | Best Buy via Dealzon | Originally $30 | After tax this might not be the hottest deal
• Dungeons and Dragons: Castle Ravenloft ($30) | Amazon via Reddit | Originally $50
• Kershaw Black Blur Glassbreaker Knife ($41) | Amazon via Reddit | Originally $53 | Look for $10 off $50 promo
• $10 Gift Card with Purchase of $100 Gift Card ($100) | Walmart via Dealzon | Originally $110
• 20% off Mickey Mouse Memorabilia | Disney Store via Brand Name Coupons | Use coupon code MAGICAL
• 10% off High-End Grilling Stuff| BBQ Island via Reddit | Use coupon code ADMIN10, it's a bummer they only sell Big Green Eggs in store
Apple
• Apple TV ($89) | Amazon via Brand Name Coupons | Originally $99
Gaming
• World of Goo ($1.49) | Green Man Gaming via Reddit | Originally $5 | Use coupon code GMG25-CZPYL-D5MQ6
• Dead Island Game of the Year ($4.9) | Green Man Gaming via Reddit | Originally $20 | Use coupon code GMG25-CZPYL-D5MQ6 or try to take a survey for a 35% off code
• Mirror's Edge ($6) | Get Games via Reddit | Originally $20
• Fallout 3 GOTY Edition for Xbox and PS3 ($12.49) | Amazon via Reddit | Originally $30
• Mass Effect 3 ($15) | Amazon via Reddit | Originally $30
• NBA 2K13 for Xbox and PS3 ($50) | Amazon via Brand Name Coupons | Originally $60
• $40 Gift Card When You Buy Two Games ($120) | Best Buy via Dealzon | Originally $160
• Xbox 360 with Two Controllers and Skylanders ($180) | Walmart via Dealzon | Originally $200 | Cheap 4GB Xbox
Physical Media
• Beetlejuice on DVD ($4) | Amazon via Reddit | Originally $10
• Moonrise Kingdom ($13) | Amazon via Reddit | Originally $20
• Homeland Season 1 ($20) | Best Buy via Brand Name Coupons | Originally $40
• Pixar Short Film Collection ($21) | Amazon via Brand Name Coupons | Originally $40
• Downton Abbey Season 1 + 2 ($30) | Amazon via Brand Name Coupons | Originally $50
• Entourage: The Complete Series ($120) | Amazon via Brand Name Coupons | Originally $200 | Make this bro's Christmas complete
• 50% off Various Pixar Movies | Amazon via Reddit
• 10% Off Hipster Literary Detrius ($) | McSweeney's via Lisa Hanawalt | Originally $ | Use coupon code HANAWALT
Clothing
• 30% off $50 of Hats | Lids via Brand Name Coupons | Use coupon code GREEN30
• 30% off Cozy Fleeces | Columbia via Brand Name Coupons | Use coupon code COL30FF
• 30% off Hideous Shoes | Crocs via Brand Name Coupons | Use coupon code CROCS30, the shoe of the future
• 30% off Rockport Shoes | Rockport via Brand Name Coupons | Kick it with coupon code HOLIDAY30
• 20% off Macy's | Macy's via Brand Name Coupons | Use coupon code EXTRA
• 40% off Karmaloop | Karmaloop via Reddit | Use coupon code FREAK40, look at Ray-Ban sunglasses, Naked and Famous raw denim, and Red Wing boots
• 25% off J. Crew | J. Crew via Reddit | Use coupon code MERRY
• 30% off Bonobos Sale Items | Bonobos via Reddit | Use coupon code YULELOOKGREAT
• 40% off Nautica | via | Sale lasts 12 hours, use code MERRY40
Dumb TV → Smart TV
• Apple TV ($89) | Amazon via Brand Name Coupons | Originally $99
• Xbox 360 with Two Controllers and Skylanders ($180) | Walmart via Dealzon | Originally $200 | Cheap 4GB Xbox
Laptops
• 17" Used Samsung with Quad-Core i7 and Discrete Graphics ($730) | Cowboom via Hard Forum | Originally $1300 | It's like $1350 at Amazon, so…. Pretty hot deal
• HP Envy Spectre 13" Ultrabook with 128GB SSD ($850) | HP via Dealzon | Originally $1000 | Use coupon code NB6721
Desktops
• HP Envy Desktop with Quad-Core i7, Radeon 7570 ($650) | HP via Dealzon | Originally $950 | Use coupon code DT150
Tablets
• Samsung Galaxy Tab 10" 16GB ($250) | Walmart via Dealzon | Originally $300
Screens
• 23" 1080p Acer Monitor ($105) | Amazon via Reddit | Originally $140
• Viewsonic SVGA DLP Projector ($300) | Amazon via Reddit | Originally $500
Portables
Not today.
Camera
• Sony Cybershot DSC-TX20 ($179) | B&H Photo | Originally $320
SSDs
• 256GB Crucial M4 SSD ($160) | Tiger Direct via TechDealDigger | Originally $400 | MIR on page
• 256GB Intel 520 Series SSD ($210) | Amazon via Reddit | Originally $300
Apps
iOS
• Jar on a Bar ($0) | via Best App Sales | Originally $1
• Interlocked ($0) | iTunes via Best App Sales | Originally $1
• Prince of Persia Classic ($1) | iTunes via Best App Sales | Originally $2
iPad Only
• National Geographic Today ($0) | iTunes via Best App Sales | Originally $1 | Gizmodo's AppoDay once upon a time
• Prince of Persia Classic HD ($1) | via Best App Sales | Originally $2
• Robots for iPad ($1) | iTunes via Best App Sales | Originally $5
• Majong Artifacts HD ($3) | iTunes via Best App Sales | Originally $5
Android
• Grabatron ($0) | Google Play via Apps-aholic | Originally $1
Mac
• JPEGmini ($10) | Mac App Store via Best App Sales | Originally $20
Hobomodo
• Free iPhone 5 Screen Protector ($0) | Facebook via Reddit | Originally $1 | Semi-sketch Facebook like required
• 1 Year Zappos VIP (Free Overnight Shipping) ($0) | Zappos via Reddit | Originally $10 | If you order shoes before 4PM, you'll get 'em the next day
Do you make or sell cool gadgets and you have a hot deal you want to share with Gizmodo readers? Email me!
Amazing Santa photo courtesy of DVIDSHUB