Author: Mike Flacy

    Editor-in-Chief for The CheckOut. During my free time, I love to write about pop culture, home theater, digital photography, social media, mobile technology and cool gadgets!

    If you are interested in having The CheckOut crew review one of your products, send me an email to reviews at bensbargains dot net. (Of course, replace at for @ and dot for .)


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    Check out my most recent posts:

  • nerf-wookie-bowcaster
    Shoot like a Stormtrooper: 5 Best Star Wars NERF Toys

    This first generation of NERF Star Wars toys will likely lay the groundwork for more advanced toys modeled after large blasters in all future Star Wars films. However, there’s plenty to appreciate in this group of toys, ideal for killing...

    • Posted 11 years ago
    • 0
  • darth-vader-showerhead
    11 Unique Star Wars Gifts for the Fan Who has Everything

    You may know someone like this. They can amazingly recite lines or remember character names from all seven movies with no less than a second of hesitation. They can talk to you at length about Who Shot First...

    • Posted 11 years ago
    • 0
  • star-wars-lego-darth-vader
    Build It, You Must: The 10 Best Star Wars LEGO Sets

    Making for some seriously awesome shelf decorations for any Star Wars fan, these LEGO sets are awesome to look at as well as build. It’s likely that we will have to wait until after The Force Awakens comes...

    • Posted 11 years ago
    • 0
  • Android-bens-bargains
    Introducing the new Ben’s Bargains mobile app

    Launching on Google Play for Android users recently (LINK) and iOS today (LINK), the new Ben’s Bargains mobile app incorporates all the account functionality found on the main site in a compact, speedy package with more features than our mobile Web...

    • Posted 11 years ago
    • 1
  • roku-4-top-shot
    Upgrade That Home Theater: Eight Great Gift Ideas for 2015

    Looking to help someone upgrade their personal home theater this year? One of the nice things about having a personal home theater is getting the surround sound benefits of a real theater without having to put up with...

    • Posted 11 years ago
    • 2
  • nerd-rage
    25 Hilarious Images That Will Definitely Trigger Nerd Rage

    You can call them misquotes or troll quotes or perhaps the greatest images ever made. There’s something distinctly wonderful about purposely misquoting a character in a movie and watching all your nerdy friends Hulk out in sheer rage...

    • Posted 11 years ago
    • 3
  • roku-4-top-shot
    Roku 4 vs. Fire TV vs. Apple TV: 2015 Streaming Showdown

    Every time one of these media boxes is announced, I’m always reminded of that little Irving Berlin ditty Anything You Can Do. First, the Apple TV was announced in early September, Apple’s first revision of the hardware...

    • Posted 11 years ago
    • 4
  • chromecast-2015-vs-original-standing
    Google Chromecast 2015 Review: A Need for Speed

    Announced just yesterday, the 2015 version of the Google Chromecast offers up both a revision in design as well as upgraded internal hardware for a faster generation of mobile devices. Specifically, Google has upgraded the original’s 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi to 802.11ac Wi-Fi....

    • Posted 11 years ago
    • 8
  • chromecast-line
    Shut Up and Take My Money: The New Chromecast Devices

    Announced today at Google’s Nexus press conference, the new Chromecast is a revision of the original model that offers up a faster Wi-Fi connection (5GHz 802.11ac) as well as data pre-fetching (basically loading content about movies / TV shows as soon as you...

    • Posted 11 years ago
    • 1
  • LootCrate
    20 Awesome Subscription Boxes like Loot Crate

    It’s no surprise that Loot Crate is one of the most popular monthly subscription boxes for gear related to superheroes, super-villains, popular movies, geeky television shows and the most iconic video games. Of course, a subscription box is...

    • Posted 11 years ago
    • 16
  • Shooting as Iron Man
    Superhero Kids: The Power of a Little Imagination

    Created by digital artist Andy Fairhurst, this collection of silhouette illustrations captures how imaginative kids can be with the help of a few household items and the great outdoors. Dressing up as their favorite superheroes (and villains), these illustrated...

    • Posted 11 years ago
    • 0
  • amazon-prime-box
    Want Amazon Prime for $67? Existing subscribers are out of luck

    09/25/15 EDIT: Sadly, Amazon has blocked the gift subscription method as detailed below this year. It did work previously when Amazon raised the price of Prime last year. However, gift subscriptions are now locked into a $99...

    • Posted 11 years ago
    • 1