Herding Cats: Amazon Price Check App, NBA Lockout News and Million Dollar Blogs

^{Image courtesy of ICanHasCheezburger}

This week we have controversy at Amazon, million-dollar blogs, gifts that save money, products that skimp on the product, and the Chris Paul trade situation.

Plus, a pumpkin-loving porcupine.

Publishers Weekly: Booksellers Unhappy With Amazon's Latest Moves - This is a pretty interesting ethical situation. The story is that Amazon is offering $5 if you don't shop at a brick and mortar store and make that sale at Amazon. How much is that $5 worth it to you? Amazon is great and efficient, but it's not a great thing to see the mom and pops fading away--the way Walmart has done with some communities. As a PR move, it doesn't seem like that great an idea for Amazon.  For consumers, it doesn't seem worth the extra legwork for $5.

WAFB: Gifts that help save money - There's so much talk about saving money on gifts that another issue is left out: giving the gift of saving money. Some of these are good ideas--a water purifier could seem Christmas-y.  An AAA membership, not so much. Truth be told, most of the ideas are pretty un-festive, so perhaps putting a few of these together as a "savings kit" could be an idea.

Doughroller: List of Personal Finance Blogs that have Sold for $1 Million or More - This is a little inside baseball, or inside finance blog, but it's a pretty interesting look at just how lucrative some blogs can be.  Popular personal finance blogs like Bargaineering or Consumerism Commentary have sold for a $1 million or more. Finance blogs tend to sell for the most because they're about, well, money, but fashion/celebrity blogs also pull in these kinds of numbers. In short, if it's a mainstream issue with good traffic, a big sale could come.

MoneyTalksNews: Looking for Inflation? It's Hiding in Smaller Package Sizes - This is pretty eye-opening.  You were probably aware that chip packages really skimp on the amount of chips compared to the package--but now it's worse: 20% less. Same goes for a bunch of other convenience foods.  So you're not always saving money on a cheaper price if you're getting less.  It's not like they advertise: "New! Smaller Size!," so be on the lookout for this.

SB Nation: Chris Paul Trade Veto Shows Who Won The NBA Lockout: No One - Weird week for sports. First, Albert Pujols suddenly goes to Anaheim for $260 million. People are angry that he went for the money, but it makes sense that he goes to the American League where he can DH. The Chris Paul situation is pretty complicated. SB Nation writes,"Try as the owners did to fight it, it's clearer than ever: players run this league, and there's not a damn thing anyone can do about it." Well, yeah, but the owners did shut down the deal, so they do have some power.  I don't really want to see a Heat situation in L.A. -- it's not good for any sport.

Any insight into the trade situation? I feel like I may be missing something.

Video of the Week: Teddy Bear, the web's most popular talking porcupine.