Shop Online With EBT, SNAP Or Food Stamps
Many families are enjoying the ease and convenience of online grocery shopping. Until now, this privilege was reserved for those in higher income brackets, with more money than time. One company is changing that, and making this option available for those in middle or lower income brackets – those who may be using public assistance, or food stamps to do their grocery shopping. The process is the same as if you were paying with a Credit Card.
You log on, start a customer account, browse the extensive selection of quality, name brand food items, choose your items in the sizes and quantities you prefer, and then proceed to the checkout screen. Once at the checkout screen, you enter the number on your EBT,SNAP, or food stamp card, and another credit or debit card to pay for the shipping charges.
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It’s just that easy.
Granted, shipping charges are usually around 40% of the total grocery bill, but if that seems like too much to pay, you can utilize the marketing plan of the company. And refer your friends to sign up as well. When they have spent 0 dollars, they become “active”, which means they are qualified as independent representatives. If you sign up 6 new customers or representatives, the company will ship your groceries to you for free, and give you a 0 dollar commission for doing so.
Free shipping, plus a commission on their grocery purchase, plus a commission, or referral income for signing up 6 people. You could use the commissions to pay for your groceries, and then the groceries AND the shipping would be free. How cool is that? Or, if you prefer, you can exchange the 0 in groceries that the company awards you with for signing up 6 people, and get a 0 Walmart gift card.
How’s that for Christmas savings?
Some people just stockpile all of their Walmart cards, and give them as Christmas gifts, or to make large purchases at Walmart. Others use the gift cards to purchase Walmart Visa Cards, which can be used the same as cash. Then, they can pay the light bill, or put gas in their car, and all they had to do was tell people how easy and convenient it is to buy their groceries online!
Shop Online With EBT, SNAP Or Food Stamps
The Posh Shop Showdown – Harvey Nichols vs Harrods
The shopping elite know that when out to bag the latest in fashion trends, Knightsbridge in London is the place to go. Famous department stores Harrods and Harvey Nichols are located in the area along with a huge choice of designer boutiques. The area is also a fantastic neighbourhood to wander around boasting some of the most attractive places in the city with plenty of shops and restaurants to satisfy any visitor’s retail or culinary desires.
The two most popular shopping venues are without doubt Harrods and Harvey Nichols. Harrods is world renowned and as a result is a huge tourist attraction in itself that many consider a must-see when coming to town. Its rich history began in 1849 when Harrods first opened its doors. Many famous celebrities and other noteworthy people have made their mark on the store by writing about Harrods, working there, or having a hand in the design of a building.
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Harrods has always prided itself on keeping up with the times and the latest trends while always offering top quality products to its customers. It is also known for its saying “Everything for Everybody Everywhere” and has lived up to this many times over by doing its best to deliver to the customer anything desired, no matter how eccentric. There are many wild stories of the enormous efforts that the store has made such as when Ronald Reagan received a baby elephant or when Noël Coward was bought an alligator from the pet shop.
Harrod’s rich and long history is known the world over and will remain a popular destination for visitors to London to shop or just to go and see. Harvey Nichols also has an intriguing history and has long been compared with the department store giant.
Started in 1813 as a linen shop in a terraced house by Benjamin Harvey in Knightsbridge, the business flourished and was passed on to Harvey’s daughter and then expanded into an outlet for Oriental carpets, silks and other luxury goods. Many changes have occurred since its inception and many more outlets have opened across the country.
Both stores have explored other areas of service outside of fashion, including opening restaurants, cafes and special services to their customers dedicated clientele. So when you’re sitting in your plush hotel in Knightsbridge how do you choose between Harvey Nichols and Harrods? It is certainly not an easy choice, the only solution being that both must be visited! In an area that also houses some of the highest end designer boutiques like Christian Dior, Chanel, Prada, Gucci and Armani, the number of chic shops are just too tempting for dedicated style hunters to pass up!
The Posh Shop Showdown – Harvey Nichols vs Harrods
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Leave a commentDon’t Get Robbed Blind Shopping for Window Blinds
If you are in the market for new window treatments or coverings, you may find yourself in the same place I was, overwhelmed and ignorant. First, there are so many choices: different types, manufacturers, colors, fabrics and materials; I needed a lot of hand-holding. And, to top it off, I had no idea if the prices were competitive. I live in a busy and crowded city and don’t particularly enjoy driving all over town doing price comparisons.
By reputation, I assumed that if I went to the Home Depot I would be getting good, competitive prices. And, in the end, once I learned how to comparison shop more efficiently and effectively, I found that they were competitive. But, I also found that the service was hit-and-miss, sometimes even non-existent.
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A friend of mine suggested that I try some of the shopping engines to do price comparisons. There are a bunch of these shopping comparison websites; I believe the top ones are Shopzilla, PriceGrabber and Shopping.com. You can just search for what you want and compare prices from one place to the next. It’s very easy and very efficient. What I found was that most of the lowest prices were online retailers of window treatments, a ton of them actually – who knew? The shopping engines really helped cut through the clutter. I found a bunch of retailers but was still left with a problem. I really needed good service; someone who could walk me through the different options and manufacturers. I am no interior decorator but I do know what I like when I see it.
I called one website and luckily got a sympathetic customer service person, turns out a lot of guys need hand-holding in this department. The woman I talked to asked me some basic questions and was able to really narrow down the right possible choices for me. She gave me way more personal attention then I received at the Home Depot and really won me over.
It turns out, at least in my case, that low prices aren’t the whole enchilada; service is really important when choosing something like window blinds. They are something you are going to have for a long time and will dramatically affect the looks of your home. There are even more considerations. Some window treatments offer good insulation (cellular shades), some shades (pleated shades) look like cellular shades, are cheaper but lack the insulation. If you want to cover big windows, like sliding doors, you need vertical blinds, panel tracks or even drapes. For areas of high heat and humidity, you need to consider faux wood or composite blinds. If you want mini blinds, vinyl is cheap but aluminum last a lot longer. The list goes on. I really learned a lot.
What I ended up receiving was a lot of service and good prices. Not to sound to pessimistic but I didn’t think that was possible anymore. In this day and age of giant, discount mega-store like Wal-Mart, and the Home Depot service the service-element of shopping has really suffered.
In the end, I purchased some very cool vertical blinds for my patio doors and cellular shades for my windows. I got my order quickly but then I was confronted with the daunting task of installing them myself. My order did come with installation instructions but, I still had questions. I thought I would put their customer service to the test and see if I would get the same service after the sale. I called the online retailer and asked for help. I spoke with a different customer service person that was just as helpful as the first. He walked me through the installation, I was pleasantly surprised.
Don’t Get Robbed Blind Shopping for Window Blinds
Posted in shop | Blinds, Robbed, Shopping, Shopping Robbed, Window, Window Shopping | Leave a commentShould You Use a Pawn Shop or a Website to Sell Your Gold?
It used to be that the only place you could sell gold was a pawnshop. While these were excellent places to for individuals to sell their gold, with the development of cash for gold websites, many are turning to the internet now to get rid of their old gold jewellery and make some quick cash. But which is better?
Advantages and Disadvantages of Pawn Shops
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Pawn shops can be a great place to sell your old gold for cash, but only if you want to simply pawn the gold. By pawning the gold, and not really selling it, you have the opportunity to get it back. This works like a loan. You will, of course, have to pay more for your gold when you buy it back. This is because pawn shops charge a certain amount of interest for holding your items.
While this advantage may keep you running back to the pawn shop, time after time, if you simply want to sell your gold and make the most money, the pawn shop might not be the best place to do so. Here are some of the disadvantages to selling gold at a pawn shop.
Commuting – Most pawn shops don’t have websites, where you can pawn your gold online, so you will most likely have to make the trek to your local pawn shop to sell your gold.
Face-to-Face Negotiations- Let’s face it, not everyone is great at negotiating face-to-face. You may be able to talk a mean talk in the car on the ride over, but once you are inside the store, you may find it difficult to hammer down a great price.
Long Lines – Unless you just happen to stop by at the right time, you will most likely end up waiting in line to sell gold.
Robberies – While it may seem far-fetched, pawn shops can be, and often are, the targets of thieves. You may go into town believing you will sell your gold, but your gold may instead be taken. Then you will be left with no money and no gold.
Conditions – Pawn shops resell all the gold items they buy. This means, if your gold jewellery isn’t in perfect condition, they may not pay you as much for it. If it is broken or badly damaged, they may not accept it at all.
Online Gold Buyers
Online gold buyers offer many advantages. Because they are interested in the actual weight of the gold and the gold itself, they don’t worry about whether your item is scratched or broken into pieces. They will simply give you the best price for the gold itself. They also provide you with a free packet to ship your gold to them. Once they have weighed the gold and determined its worth, they will let you know how much it is worth. If you don’t agree on the price, they will simply send it back to you. If you do like the price, however, they will send you a check immediately.
Often times, with broken or worn down jewellery, you can get the best prices by selling to an online gold buyer. You don’t have to wait in long lines or face hazardous conditions to get your check either. You can simply send the gold through the mail and sit at home while you wait for the money to roll in.
If you need to sell gold fast and want the best price, check the price you will get from your local pawn shop and from an online gold buyer. You may be surprised at the difference.
Should You Use a Pawn Shop or a Website to Sell Your Gold?
Write Mystery Shop Reports Faster
The most time-consuming part of most mystery shops is writing the reports. When you write mystery shop reports faster (while still doing a great job, of course) you make more money in less time. Here are seven things you can do to write great mystery shop reports faster.
Assemble everything you will need to do the report before you sit down at the computer. Get receipts, notes, business cards, guidelines, etc. together in one place so you do not have to keep running off to get something else you need.
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Eliminate any distractions. Turn off the television, don’t answer the phone, and tell the kids not to disturb you unless there is blood.
When you are doing several reports at once, group some tasks together. For example, scan all of your receipts and save them, instead of scanning each one as you start the report. (Do not try to write multiple reports at the same time, though. That will end up being a confusing mess.)
Do a quick review of the guidelines to make sure you include everything that is required in your report. You don’t necessarily have to read every word at this time. For example, I often go through the guidelines before the shop, highlighter in hand, and highlight anything especially important or unique about that shop. Scanning those highlighted portions before doing the report reminds me of what is needed.
Go through your notes from the shop and enter your yes/no answers, timings and other quick facts on your printout of the questionnaire. Highlighting any ‘no’ answers is also a good idea, as you are usually required to comment on those. Highlighting them means you will not forget.
Keep a list of the words you have trouble spelling next to your computer. Some commonly-confused words will not be caught by spell check (Is it ‘lose’ or ‘loose’?) and having a quick reference means you get it right without pulling out the dictionary or doing an online search. There are also terms that the report spell check will question, even if you spelled them right. Having the correct spelling on hand makes it easy to confirm. I keep lists of commonly misspelled words and restaurant mystery shop terms near my computer for easy access.
Save your work frequently. It is so frustrating to enter a long narrative, then accidentally move your hand across the touchpad and be taken to the next page without saving what you just wrote. I know. It has happened to me. Save your work often to avoid having to re-do big sections of your report.
And this bonus tip: Do your reports as soon as possible after the shop visit. When the details are fresh in your mind it is easier to write the report.
Write Mystery Shop Reports Faster
Ralph Lauren Polo Outlet – Why Shop at a Polo Outlet Store When You Have the Internet?
Ralph Lauren polo outlet is not the best find to find discount clothing. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but your days of hopping in the car and driving to a polo outlet are finished. Why would you waste the time of piling into your car and spending an insane amount of money, just to go and hit the outlet store.
The time has come for you to tap into the greatest resource you could ever find. Uhm, I am talking about the internet. You can make a few clicks and sit back on the couch and just wait for the mail man. Sure, you may have to wait a couple of days before your discount Ralph Lauren clothing arrives, but well worth it when you get them at a great price.
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You do not even have to go the department store websites. You know the price they offer is nowhere near your budget. So, what’s a man or women to do. First, stop wasting gas driving to your closest Ralph Lauren polo outlet. Secondly, begin searching the Internet, you will be able to find tons of drop shippers with quality RL Polo clothing ready to get you the best deal. Don’t worry, all the goods are the real thing, no knockoffs. Well, sometimes a stray pops up now and then, but it still beat the big store prices. I went to one of this weekend with my wife, I was appalled to see a vest jacket I wanted, I flipped over the price tag and laughed. They wanted 0.00 for a vest jacket, unreal.
Stop shopping at Ralph Lauren polo outlet and find the great prices online.
Ralph Lauren Polo Outlet – Why Shop at a Polo Outlet Store When You Have the Internet?
How to Shop for Treadmills for Small Spaces
Interested in buying a treadmill for your home or office, but think it is out of the question because you do not have enough space? Think again! There are many cost-effective, high-quality Compact Treadmill models on the market you can choose from now-a-days.
Compact treadmills offer the same workout benefits as full sized models, but they are designed to fit in small spaces. They are shorter, and extraneous bulk has been removed, but they function just as well as their larger counterparts.
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Additionally, many compact treadmills are designed to fold down and slide under a bed or into a corner, so that when you are not using them they are completely out of your way. They are lightweight, too, so you don’t have to worry about struggling to store them away.
Many compact models are so light they are easy to take with you. These models – often called “portable compact treadmills” – are perfect for people who travel a lot and do not like to miss their workout when they are on the road. These compact models are made of extremely lightweight materials and have very simple designs, so that folding and carrying them is easy.
Don’t let space limitations keep you from working out! Why pay gym fees and drive all over town when you don’t have to? Today’s technology has created wonderful compact treadmill models specifically designed for small spaces. Why not take advantage of all that compact treadmills have to offer?
How to Shop for Treadmills for Small Spaces
Coffee Shop Business Plan – The Basic Points You Must Cover
Many coffee shop owners do not realize the importance of having a good coffee shop business plan. A business plan is basically a document that list down your competitive strategy and execution during the operations. Having a compelling strategy will inspire you to great heights in business success and having a good execution business plan will ensure that your castle is not built on clouds. It forces you to dream big and at the same time to come out with operations to make this dream a reality.
Having a well thought out business plan will give you an advantage over your competitors. It give any your potential bankers and investors a big boost in confidence in your vision. They realized that most of the coffee shop owners cannot put down their strategy into paper; mush to execute them well.
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In general, the language in the coffee shop business plan should be factual and business like. You can use any prospectus of a listed company as a reference. You may say that you are not going for listing! You must realize that the investors are really looking for good deals and there is no better way to show them you mean business by having a world class business plan. Use graphs and government statistics to back up your research and this will give you instant credibility. A good business plan will basically cover two things, your business strategy and execution.
A. Strategy
A strategy is the goal you want to achieve in your business in the short run, which is the first one year and for the long run, which is 5 year. As this is a big topic by itself, I shall cover the few critical components briefly.
i) Target market
The first thing you must cover is your target market. This includes the demographics, where they eat and how affluent they are. Then you need to estimate the market size. This will depend on how big an area you think you can realistically cover.
ii) Competitions
No business exists by itself. If there really is none, that is a sign of no demand in the market. You must list down your nearest competitor in your chosen niche and their strengths and weaknesses. If you can, list down their revenue per month and estimated market share as well.
iii) Your Unique Selling Proposition (USP)
Your USP is how you position you business differently from other competitors. It answers the question of why your customers must be crazy not to do business with you compared with your competitors. It could be your quality food, your service, your cozy environments or your pricing. Give them a compelling reason why and they will flock to your coffee shop.
iv) Target location and rationale
The location you choose to start your business really depends on your USP. You may choose to do an upscale coffee shop and naturally, a nice and relaxed environment is important. The renovation costs and may skyrocket but you can charge more for your products. You may want to pick a shopping mall to cater for students or workers who wants to relax. If you choose to compete on speed and delivery, you are catering more on the morning crowd who wants a quick sip of coffee and quality food.
v) Management team/investors
In this section, you must list down who is in your management team or investors. An experienced manager or investors with more than twenty years running a coffee shop is more valuable than a new one. So, it makes sense to have someone who knows the operations well.
vi) Risk factors
All business carries some inherent risks. This may be the changing taste and demands, technology changes, legal and regulatory changes and new entrants. You must anticipate them and take the necessary actions to mitigate them.
vii) Exit strategy
You may provide some plan for exiting in two scenarios. First, you made a lot of money and plan to open more chains. Then, you need a lot of investor financing by selling some shares to them. Second, if the business fails, you may want to negotiate to shorten the lease on the shop and find ways to sell off the coffee equipments.
B. Operations
This part covers the detailed aspects of the day to day running of your coffee shop business. This is where the rubber meets the road and you must successfully execute to get your business off the ground.
i) Startup costs
These are the costs to get your business off the ground. These include renovation, coffee shop layout, cost of buying or leasing equipments and legal costs like license and permits. How much you need to spend depends on your USP you have targeted.
ii) Monthly revenue and expenses
After estimating the market size in your niche, you can estimate how many customers you can have as you monthly revenue. You can then estimate the monthly operating costs, which includes leasing, staff salaries and utilities. You must estimate how much cash you need to sustain for the slow months, especially in the early months of operations.
iii) Operations
This covers the day to day operations of you coffee shop such as operations hours, how many staffs are in the kitchen and serving customers as well as the type of furniture you need to buy. You may also detail down the types of kitchen utensils to buy and when the equipments need to be serviced.
iv) Marketing
You marketing methods will depend on your USP and the image you want to portray. If you plan to do an upscale type, you can send postcards or flyers to your local areas. You can also organize special events like birthday parties or meetings. You company logo and staff uniforms also must reflect this upscale image.
If your niche is speed and price, you may advertise in a billboard near any busses or transit railways. You may want to give out special discounts for regular customers.
v) Funding needs and sources of funds
You may start by using your own funds but as your business grows, you will need more financing. If the interest rate is favorable and you have been in business for over a year, you may approach banks for borrowings. If not, look for investors who are wiling to take some risks. Even if all else fails, you can still get your supplier to finance you in the form of discounts or longer repayments. See if you can qualify for any small business grants from the government.
Conclusion:
After finishing the first draft, you may want to get someone experienced such as a lawyer or accountant to give a second opinion. It may take you a few more draft before it is ready to be presentable to the investors. You are advised to revise this at least yearly to see if it is still applicable.
Coffee Shop Business Plan – The Basic Points You Must Cover
How to Shop for Efficient Electric Space Heaters
Buying electric space heaters requires planning to assure you get the most efficient electric space heaters for the rooms or areas where you want supplemental heating or to provide heat for areas that are not served by your residential heating system. While nobody should argue that the heater’s appearance or design is an important buying criterion the most important is a unit sized to heat the area most efficiently. Here are some points to consider when shopping for a space heater.
Electric Space Heater Size Matters
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In one instance “size” is defined by the amount of heat delivered measured in terms of British Thermal Units or BTUs the heater produces. This is one of the best ways to compare heaters within a specific price range. The higher the BTU number the more heat it produces. The number of BTUs you need can be estimated by where you live, the area you want to heat and whether or not it is served by a central heating system. As an example, you’ll need more BTUs to convert an unheated garage or basement to a comfortable workroom than you’ll need to provide supplemental heat for a well-insulated family or recreation room.
Size also relates to the watts of power also defined as energy conversion. Take a look at your electric bill and you will see you are charged in terms of kilowatt hours. A great way of explaining this is found on Wikipedia: A heater rated at 1000 watts (1 kilowatt) operating for one hour uses one kilowatt hour of energy.
Electric space heater specifications show wattage delivered and many models give you a choice such as 750 or 1500 watts. Frugal homeowners will not burn more watts than needed for comfort else the efficiency of these heaters will be reduced or nullified.
Although it might be a stretch to the perfectionist, amps are also a measure of size – denoting the amount of electrical energy flowing through the heater and converted to heat. Most portable heaters require 15 amps of power but they should not be plugged into a heavily used circuit, otherwise the circuit may trip when the heater’s thermostat clicks on. And it is never a good idea to use an extension cord to power these appliances.
A final thought on this segment: spending less money on an underpowered electric heater in terms of BTUs and watts is not a good idea. It will have to work harder to heat your space and burn more kilowatts. That will soon offset the difference in price for a properly sized unit.
Electric Space Heater Type Matters
The type of heat delivered by these units falls into two basic classifications: infrared (or radiant) and convection. This is a subject onto itself. The question you must answer is do you want to heat a room or people in the room. In the former case you will shop for convection heaters, in the latter infrared or radiant heaters. Online sources should be checked to get an idea of the wide choice of designs and capacities within the two classifications.
Getting Started
In this article we suggest that you need to first size the electric space heaters you need and then decide on the type of heating you want for these spaces. The former task is eased by using one or more of the online BTU calculators to estimate your heater size. A good spot to begin is a heater guide at the HeaterStoreOnline.com website to calculate your recommended heater size then shop for the many different types of infrared space heaters or convection space heaters, or any other they may offer.
How to Shop for Efficient Electric Space Heaters
A Message For Online Shop Owners
Although I run a web development and SEO company I’m still just a normal consumer. I still shop on-line like everybody else and I still suffer at the hands of ill thought out sites. Believe it or not I don’t always analyse the sites I’m visiting, at least not if they deliver what I’m looking for.
I play in a band and I’m a big fan of the Flix line of drum sticks (brushes to be precise). Having visited several shops who didn’t have the stick I wanted, I decided to buy on-line. This is an account of what happened.
Went to Google and searched for flix drum sticks.
Number 1 was the company’s own website so I visited it.
No joy, they don’t sell direct.
Back to Google.
PPC advert offering ‘Low Cost Drum Sticks’ caught my eye so I clicked it.
I clicked on to the site where there was an advert for Flix brushes so I clicked it.
Bingo, the full range.
Price was £12.99 delivered. I liked the delivered bit. That’s good, they are £16.00 in the shops.
I added the stick I wanted to my cart and clicked checkout.
I provided my details and selected next day delivery for an extra £1.99 (I’m impatient).
The sticks arrived the next day.
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To me this was a perfect on-line transaction. I didn’t have to create an account. I knew right up front what the delivered price was and was given the opportunity to pay a little more to get the sticks quickly.
There’s no real point to this post other than to relate exactly what happened. To me is was a text book transaction.
A Message For Online Shop Owners