For one, even though the items were listed at very low prices and the stuff got a lot of bidders, the item only brought me $5 and $10 more than my original low price. The bidders were achingly reluctant to bid very high, marking things up only about 25 cents every time. I wasn’t selling junk, either– I had a practically brand new Microsoft keyboard and two Apple aluminum keyboards among other things. Ouch.

Two, this will be the last time I every offer free shipping. Shipping costs have skyrocketed on par with gasoline prices! Holy cow, it cost me $10 to ship a 2-pound keyboard! So half of my profit — what little I got — was eaten my packaging and shipping costs! For one item, I LOST $2! Unbelievable. And then I have to pay the list fees and profit fees! So I lost even more money! GAH!

I really wonder if the online auction thing is over. It used to be a place where you could find out of print books, really neat collectibles, unique designer gametable chairs with arms and other stuff. Kind of like an online garage sale. But it’s become a place where Big Box stores and other stores hawk their wares, crowding out the little guy because they can sell stuff in bulk. I’m very disenchanted with these sites. Why the heck should I spend $50 more for a refurbished or used piece of junk at the auction site when I can get it brand new with warranty at a real online store?! And it’s kind of “iffy” buying things like electronics and healthcare products because of fraud. A real store will back up your .075% capsaicin cream purchase or at least offer a whole website of price comparison stuff and, for example, consumer chainsaw sharpener reviews before you buy. At the auction, it’s big prices and WYSISYG.

So I’m obviously disappointed. Have you had any good or bad experiences with online shopping? What do you think?

Oh wow, I have FINALLY found the jackpot, friends. It’s dealnews. It’s a website that collects all the latest and greatest deals online and organizes them all for easy viewing. This site is amazing! It’s especially good for  electronics deals, and nabbing good prices on apparel, toys, movies and travel deals. Sweet!

Take, for example, my recent quest for a good, reliable paper shredder at a good price. I couldn’t find anything, even with my browser plugin. But here it is, found easily at dealnews.

The price is a good $15 less than what I paid, too.

Well, I learned my lesson. I’m definitely checking out dealnews.com first. The sales are very good, it’s like Black Friday every day. :D The prices on electronics are especially good– dealnews.com has a huge, huge listing of laptops, computers, hard drives, TVs, and more.

If you are like me and tend to forget to check websites first, you can have dealnews.com email you deals in email alerts. You can tailor the emails to suit your deal, too– choose a particular category or a specific product or a particular store, and dealnews will email you when they know there’s a discount. That’s a very nice feature. You won’t get clobbered with unrelated emails. Nice! There’s another email feature where you can sign up to receive the “best of the best” deals, too. No more wasting money on exorbitant retail prices!

Definitely check out the site. It’s totally free to use and there are no hidden charges or sneaky sales maneuvers. This is a great site and has become my favorite “go to: site before I shop. Check out the site yourself and come back and tell me what great deals you found!

I got a smartphone a little over a year ago, and I have to say that I love it! It has made my busy life more organized, and I am finding that I am forgetting fewer things and am better able to manage all my activities. Before, I had sticky notes plastered all over my desk, refrigerator, and even my shirt! Now, I just get a little “ding.” lol

I use an iPhone and I love it… but the geek in me has been wanting to try other phones. i know, I know, I must be bananas! But have you heard about Sprint’s sale going on right now?! It’s almost too good to pass up. It’s only going on until February 8, 2012 and the sale is online ONLY. If you’ve been waiting in the wings for a great deal on a new smartphone, here’s your opportunity.

Spring is having a sale on the Nexus S™ 4G and HTC EVO™ 3D phones. Both are Android phones and so have a gazillion very cool apps at the Android Market Store.

The Nexus is perfect for the working mom or busy SAHM mom. It’s got a super-fast 4G connection and a speedy processor, perfect for Internet browsing, checking email, looking for that perfect restaurant, or whatever you need. This phone features Google Voice, Google Apps, and has a very thin contour (so it doesn’t bulk up the purse). It’s for FREE with any new Sprint account or line of service.

The other phone is the HTC. This phone is drop-dead gorgeous. It has an oversized screen, perfect for watching movies and social networking. It also is 4G and Android-based. This phone is only $49.99 with a new line or service or addition to your account. Sweet!

I personally prefer the HTC because it’s so pretty and because I like the large screen. Hmmm…. which one would you choose? If you want it, better grab it quickly- the sale ends soon!

My problem is this: I do not want to put my last name on my Google profile because I don’t want it showing up associated with my blog. Or anywhere else, for that matter, unless *I* choose to make my full name “public”. (For the sake of my own privacy I’d like to at least make a stalker WORK to figure out who I am!) But if you have a G+ account you are required to use your full name, and you have no option to show any other name but your full name across any service where your profile is displayed. (Actually, it looks like from a recent news article (linked below) that you may be able to display a nickname – BUT IT WILL STILL LINK TO YOUR REAL NAME.)

…In fact, with the recent well publicized Google privacy policy change, they can now link information across any of their services – so if you use your real name on Google+ it’s now going to be linked to everything that you do on any of their services (searches, posts, pictures, etc.)!

I always figured the Google+ service was just another social network service, akin to Facebook. I had no idea it is actually an “identity service.” Some people don’t seem to have a problem with that, but a lot of us do. I like my privacy and while I don’t mind sharing my real name or social events with some of you very dear readers, I DO Mind sharing them with Google, who keeps a dossier of everything about us and everything we do online. (According to the Forbes article, the government is too afraid to do it but they have no qualms about private businesses doing it).

All very scary.

Power corrupts. Absolute power corrupts absolutely.

Thermolactyl is very “cool” stuff. For many years, we had a Damart outlet factory nearby and we used to get the most AMAZING clothing. You could wear Damart thermal underwear with a flannel shirt and be as warm as toast on a cold New York day. It looks very nice, too, for both women and men. The ladies garments are in pretty colors and have nice trim. The men’s clothing is very attractive– masculine colors, ribbed designs, and even with turtleneck collars. My sons love stuff like that. This type of clothing keeps the body warm but still allows skin the breathe and perspiration to evaporate. So when the guys are shoveling in sub-zero temperatures, they still feel warm without that cold, clammy feel on their skin. Damart makes the best stuff. It’s the preferred type of winter clothing for sports enthusiasts up here, too. It’s been difficult to find in retail stores because the garments fly off the shelves.

I always wondered why they called it “thermolactyl.” Was it named for the winged dinosaur or something? Actually, Damart invented the fiber in the 1950s. It has a zillion little air pockets that trap warmth from the skin but allows perspiration to evaporate through the fibers. This is very important because when you are outside in the cold, because it’s the trapped perspiration that freezes onto the regular clothing and makes your body temperature drop. Damart makes thermolactyl clothing like cardigans, vests, jeans, and more. I like it because it doesn’t add that uncomfortable bulk common in other winter clothing. Ever try to wear jeans with flannel lining? VERY uncomfortable. And after a little while, it’s freezing cold because the flannel traps perspiration.

Still, I couldn’t find out why Damart calls its long underwear material “thermolactyl.” I understand the “thermo” part, but “lactyl”? Do you have any idea?

Well, Zenni Optical is joining the ranks of the high tech, and is now coating their eyeglasses lenses with the oleophobic coating. Pretty neat!!! I don’t know about you, but my eyeglasses get filthy, especially during the summer when it’s hot and humid. I am out in the garden under the hot sun, or ripping apart walls in the house and my glasses always seem spotted or speckled with fingerprints and dirt. I think having a coating that protects the lenses from dust and dirt is amazing. Zenni is offering the oleophobic coating on glasses with free shipping on orders over $50.

The oleophobic coating also helps reduce glare and reflections. My eyes are sensitive to such things, so the next pair of glasses I get from Zenni will have the new high-tech coating. It’s just another great reason to shop eyeglasses at Zennis– we all know that such a coating would cost $100 or more at the retail eyeglasses store.

I’ve had my Zenni Optical glasses for several months now. They are really terrific. I am looking forward to my next eye exam (can you believe it?! me looking forward to the exam?!) so I can get anew prescription and a new pair of fancy glasses. I’m very, very pleased with Zenni. Check them out if you need glasses.

The thought of tackling the store aisles and checkout lanes makes you want to wilt. Oh, this happens to me all the time. Even when I write a list, there is always something that I inevitably overlook. UGH.

Well, guess what– I’ve got a solution! And it’s a great one– order online!!!! Have flowers delivered or order a lavish gift card or book and order the fast shipping (which has saved my neck on many an occasion). Seriously, fast shipping is not at all expensive when you grab a coupon or discount code from Savings.com. The website also has loads and loads of discounts on goods and services. I always check out Savings.com first before hitting that “Buy Now” button. I have literally saved hundreds and hundreds of dollars from the website. And it costs you nothing to use! You can even get help for your own frugal needs, because Savings.com has a community of members who band together and discuss discounts and how to save money. It’s a very, very nice site.

So relax. Take a deep breath. Battle the traffic and go home. Order what you forgot online and MAKE SURE you use a coupon!

First, a little background:

Last year, I got a pair of the store-bought eyeglasses from a local retailer. The glasses cost $250 (*faint*), some of which was paid by my health insurance (a measly $40). But the new glasses started to corrode after NINE MONTHS of use. The finish was peeling off and the metal was turning green! The frames themselves had cost me $80 there, on SALE! When I went in to get replacement glasses, the eye doctor place told me I would have to fork out another $100, to replace the frames with the exact replica of the old (so that I could keep the existing lenses without having to pay in full for them again). I was flabbergasted. It hadn’t even been a year! There’s no guarantee? And why were such expensive glasses starting to fail?! And if I had to ordered the exact same frames, they’d just fail again! The eye doctor shrugged me off and told me that these frames were not made with stainless steel but some other “cheaper” metal (stainless steel doesn’t corrode). I asked why the eye doc never told me that when I ordered them?! She didn’t know what to say.

The Old Glasses. You can see the corrosion and tinges of green on the rims. They looked even worse on my face!

So I went to Zenni. I found that I could get brand new eyeglasses and lenses for under $75. I did a little fact-checking and sifted through Zenni’s frames. I ordered totally new glasses– lenses and frames– from Zenni.

Here’s my experience:

I got my prescription and my pupillary distance from my eye doctor (from an exam from last year. I scrupulously saved the tiny paper!). You have to have both measurements to order glasses– the pupillary distance is the measurement of the space between your two pupils. Zenni has some information on how to measure yours by yourself (and I received a small ruler when I got my glasses in the mail). I guess I am glad I got it from the “expert” doctor, because like I said, I am sensitive to the tiniest alteration in my glasses.

So after sifting through tons and tons of frames, I settled on a pair of plastic frames (I’ve had the metal frames for about 10 years now, and wanted a change). They were large, very wide circles. I wondered what Zenni would do. I guess I was testing them. You see, all my eye doctors had told me that I cannot buy large frames, because my lenses are so thick that my vision would be distorted. But I actually hate those teeny-tiny frames. I want big ones. So I ordered them, seeing what Zenni would do.

Zenni emailed me the next day. They said that because of my prescription, I could not have such large frames. They gave me some suggestions for smaller frames. I was very sad but I was pleased with Zenni for taking the time to inspect my order closely and give me advice. So…. I sifted through the frames again and ordered a smaller size. I waited three weeks for the glasses (I think they come from Hong Kong!). My total cost was $71 and some change. The frames were only $25 but the lenses were pricey and I had to get the “high index” feature or the glasses would be so heavy they’d squash my nose.

When I got them, they were in a simple bubble-wrap mailer envelope. Not a box. Hm. Well, I opened the envelope and the glasses were inside a super-thick plastic shell case. They were fine and survived the shipping. Zenni does allow you to return glasses if they are broken or are not the right prescription. But it would have been awful to wait another 3 weeks for glasses if they’d been broken….

The Zenni Optical Glasses.

Anyway, I unpacked them. When I first saw them, I thought …. OK, these are funky…. It’s difficult to tell what the frames look like online versus what you eventually get. The Zenni website has an “online” facial thing where you can virtually try on glasses. You can even upload your own photo, but I had a lot of trouble getting my profile picture the right size. The glasses looked either too large or too small on my photo.

Inspecting the new glasses, I thought the color would be lighter and the frames a little less thick. It was a radical change from the lightweight, gold-rimmed metal glasses I’d been wearing. Remember me ranting about the glasses fad toward Drew Carey goggles a while back? Yeah, these are Drew-Carey-ish. I put them on and immediately I thought “geek.” Which isn’t too bad… I AM a geek. (See my tech blog, TheOlderGeek.com about that). My husband liked them and thought they looked good. I was unsure, but I will say that I am ALWAYS unsure when I get a new pair of glasses. So I decided to just WEAR them and look radically different and see how they were for me.

Geeks R Us. lol

I am very pleasantly surprised with these glasses!!! Yeah, I look like a geek. But I can see clearly with them and I think I see better with these than the store-bought eyeglasses that cost me THREE TIMES more. I have been wearing these glasses for weeks (maybe months, by now) and I love the glasses. I think the quality is superior to the store-bought kind.

So there you have it. I am very impressed with Zenni and I will definitely be ordering from them when I need a new set. I was floored that Zenni so adeptly handled my high prescription.

Now, yeah, I’m getting small compensation to mention Zenni in this post. They did not ask me to write a review, just to mention them. They did not pay for my glasses nor did I get any discount. I paid full Zenni price for my glasses, just like you would. So know that my review and my opinions are completely mine and I am not influenced by any compensation. It was kind of scary at first, spending so much on a pair of VERY important glasses and not knowing what I’d get. I had read up on Zenni, reading some of the reviews and seeing what some people liked and disliked about their experience. You can imagine my delight that the glasses are great. I am just amazed that Zenni was able to do such a high prescription so well without ever seeing me. I am impressed. But next time, I’m not going with the Drew Carey geek glasses… I hope to choose something a bit more feminine, if I can.

Thanks for reading!

Hello, it was 11 IN THE MORNING on Thanksgiving Day!!!

I’ve done the “Black Friday” thing. I got up at 4am to stand in line for 2 hours in the freezing cold. Even though there was a loooong line ahead of me, I still waited. The doors opened at 6am and BANG people rushed to the doors. By the time I got inside, everything was gone. Never doing that again. What a waste.

But still, let’s say you have tons of time on your hands and, say, you REALLY REALLY need a new 50-inch plasma TV. I mean, the necessities of life, right?! Hey, if I REALLY REALLY needed a plasma TV, I guess I would wait in line, too. But I’ve never needed one, nor do I foresee EVER needing one.

Anyway, I was pretty surprised to see folks lining up in front of stores already. Wow. These folks have got a long wait, and in here in New York State, it can get pretty cold outside, after dark.

I don’t have anything against Black Friday, per se. It’s good to save money, and if it is worth your time to wait in line– hey, that’s cool. But I do not like Thanksgiving Day being marginalized. It’s supposed to be a holy day, a day when we publicly and personally give God thanks for the amazing blessings He’s given to us. No, Thanksgiving Day is not the day we give thanks for the Indians saving the Pilgrims’ skins, as nice as that was. It’s God’s day. He deserves it.

So as much as I think it’s great to save money, I greatly dislike the commercialization of yet another holiday. Marketers have already wrecked Christmas, blown Halloween WAY out of proportion, and now they want to scarf up my Thanksgiving holiday?! Must the money lovers encroach on our holiest national holiday of the year?! :hmph:

Anyway, YOU can. I know some of you guys are interested in learning more about hosting your own blog, especially after hearing about JB Bean‘s horror story– her entire Blogger blog, Gmail account and checkout profile were deleted by Google. Google deleted the site because it thought JB Bean’s blog was a spam site, spewing malicious attacks. Yikes! You can imagine that a whole lot of people ditched their Blogger blogs.

I like Blogger, I have been with them for over a decade. But I moved all my important blogs to my own web hosting space on Hostgator. When I found out that Google essentially owns the content and can erase your work with one swipe, I changed over. I have never looked back, even though it does cost me about $120 a year. I can’t praise Hostgator enough. My blogs are up almost 100% of the time (I use Pingdom to track downtime), and the customer service is superior to all.

Anyway, if you have been wanting to get your own blog pad, here’s your chance. The sale will begin just after midnight, Friday, November 25th CST. I am an affiliate of Hostgator, so I get a commission if you click this Hostgator link or the Hostgator graphic below and buy something. It costs you nothing but means everything to me! I also offer basic tech help when setting up your blog, so if you have questions, leave a comment here and I’ll send you an email response.

I’ll have more details coming up about the Black Friday sale. So far, Hostgator has not released any details but last year, the price of annual hosting was slashed in half! That’s an amazing deal!