FReeper Canteen ~ Online Shopping 101 ~ November 22, 2005

Gummy Style!

gift

Newsflash: Gummy Hates to Shop
November 22, 2005

I hate to shop. I know. You are thinking, "She's not normal." Perhaps I should clarify. I hate to drive to a busy mall or store, get out, fight the crowds, look in umpteen stores for the best bargain, and come home with nothing but achy feet and head. When Al Gore invented the internet, he did it for me. Honest. (Psssst....He would have told you that, but he's afraid you wouldn't believe him.) OK, you've guessed it...I do all my shopping online. Below are my best tips for online shopping. Oh, there is ONE drawback, gentlemen...you can't wait until Christmas Eve to shop. It's a good thing I believe in Santa Claus! He brings me my present EVERY year.

(Hint: if the animated background bugs you, hit the "stop" button on your browser.)

We Support Our Troops!!!! Thank you for your service!!!

Shop Online Safely

Use credit cards. The big three credit card issuers, American Express, MasterCard and Visa, have a zero liability policy. You pay nothing for unauthorized transactions if you notify your financial institution.

For extra fraud protection, sign up for MasterCard's SecureCode or Visa's Verified by Visa. These are password challenge programs for online shopping.

Look for signs that online purchases are secure. At the point that you are providing your payment information, the beginning of the Web site address should change from http to shttp or https, indicating the information is being encrypted. Your browser may also signal that the information is secure with a symbol, such as a broken key that becomes whole or a padlock that closes.

Never enter your personal information in a pop-up screen. When you visit a company's Web site, an unauthorized pop-up screen created by an identity thief could appear with blanks for you to provide your personal information. Legitimate companies don't ask for personal information via pop-up screens.

Keep your computer secure for safe shopping and other online activities. Protect your computer with spam filters, anti-virus and anti-spyware software, pop-up blockers and a firewall, and keep them up to date. Go to http://www.staysafeonline.org and http://www.onguardonline.gov to learn more about how to keep your computer secure. Or use El Gran's wonderful site: Canteen Resource Center.

Disclaimer: Not suitable for Grinches or Scrooges. Santa reads this news, too!!

Tips for Saving Money and Sanity

Try online coupons. Many online stores provide regular customers with promotional codes. These codes are entered during the online checkout process. They save you money, just like a traditional coupon. Coupon Cabin, Current Codes and Naughty Codes are three websites that list promotional codes for online stores. (Google "promotional code" and the name of the store from which you are purchasing. Others may show up.)

Promotional codes usually offer free shipping or a reduced price. Often, online stores offer multiple codes, but you'll probably have to use one or the other.

Use disposable e-mail. You must register an e-mail address with stores when you purchase online. The store e-mails a confirmation of your purchase and, often, tracking information. Additionally, it may send you promotional codes. But it may also send you unwanted e-mail.There are a couple ways to handle this. You could create a new e-mail address. A number of sites offer free e-mail, including Hotmail (www.msn.com), Yahoo (mail.yahoo.com), Techemail (www.techemail.com) and Netscape (www.netscape.com).

Or, sign up for a disposable e-mail address. Free services such as spamgourmet and Sneakemail allow you to create a temporary e-mail address. They forward mail to your "real" one. Sign up for a temporary address before making a purchase. When you've received your purchases and are satisfied with them, you can eliminate the temporary address.

COMING NEXT WEEK:
All I want for Christmas is..........

Gummy News is produced as a service to our troops. Volume 1, Number 1.

grinch

Comparision Shopping 101

Yahoo, Inc., Shopzilla, Shopping.com, Google Inc.'s Froogle.com, PriceWatch, PriceGrabber, NexTag and ShopLocal are a few of the top contenders for online comparison shopping. Take the time to see how each one works. Most will sort by price, look for items within a price range, and look for specific brand items which you specify.

Many of the above sites have ratings for you to check the product. Other sites are cnet.com, zdnet.com, consumersearch.com, epinions.com, PCMagazine, BusinessWeekOnline, ConsumerGuide, and many others. Also, many of the consumer online sites offer customer reviews. Use those in conjunction with other reviews. For example, Amazon.com and Circuit City's online store are two sites with customer reviews.

Best viewed at 1024x768,
medium text size

To: Mrs.Nooseman

1,001 posted on 11/22/2005 3:57:40 PM PST by GodBlessUSA (US Troops, Past, Present and Future, God Bless You and Thank You! Prayers said for our Heroes!)

Dang it!!! WooHoo!!!!

GBUSA!!!

1,002 posted on 11/22/2005 3:58:47 PM PST by Mrs.Nooseman (Tony Snow and Mark Levin fan)

Thanks LUV W(((Hugs)))I got another one and this one is my youngest grandson Baby Jeff.He says"No-No" and shakes his finger at you.He is 14 months old and will not kiss me because I babysit him and take his mommy away.

1,003 posted on 11/22/2005 3:58:58 PM PST by fatima (Never do anything.)

You just convinced me back to having turkey. LOL!

1,004 posted on 11/22/2005 3:59:02 PM PST by GodBlessUSA (US Troops, Past, Present and Future, God Bless You and Thank You! Prayers said for our Heroes!)

To: Mrs.Nooseman

1,005 posted on 11/22/2005 4:01:07 PM PST by GodBlessUSA (US Troops, Past, Present and Future, God Bless You and Thank You! Prayers said for our Heroes!)

1,006 posted on 11/22/2005 4:02:43 PM PST by Mrs.Nooseman (Tony Snow and Mark Levin fan)

He sure is a handsome little guy :) I pray my kids are near me when they have children of their own, so I can be near my grandchildren. :)

1,007 posted on 11/22/2005 4:02:45 PM PST by GodBlessUSA (US Troops, Past, Present and Future, God Bless You and Thank You! Prayers said for our Heroes!)

Oh, that sounds hard. Good luck on your test! What does getting this certification mean in your work? I hope a great big raise! :o)

1,008 posted on 11/22/2005 4:03:11 PM PST by luvie (Our will is strong, our nation is united, and we will settle for nothing less than victory. GWB11-11)

Joe slept in a tent and responded to fires.He said it was not good there-very hard for the people.Everyone is stopping by but some for dinner-some for desert.I have the table set with china and it looks beautiful.The rest of the house is a mess but it's nice to look at the table.

1,009 posted on 11/22/2005 4:03:27 PM PST by fatima (Never do anything.)

Do the 15 minute rule.Draw a circle from where you live and let them move 15 minutes drive time from there.We all did the 15 minute rule except my son Ed.If you live close you can all help each other.

1,010 posted on 11/22/2005 4:06:05 PM PST by fatima (Never do anything.)

I want my husband to have a job for Christmas.

1,011 posted on 11/22/2005 4:07:08 PM PST by no more apples (Faith developes love of truth with the aid of the gifts of knowledge and understanding.)

You just have all kinds of little cuties around you! He's adorable! ((more hugs))

1,012 posted on 11/22/2005 4:07:24 PM PST by luvie (Our will is strong, our nation is united, and we will settle for nothing less than victory. GWB11-11)

We have one in the pot.He is due the middle of January -Baby Jeff and Elizabeth's little brother.We don't have a name for him yet.

1,013 posted on 11/22/2005 4:10:56 PM PST by fatima (Never do anything.)

You do the dinner. That's a lot of work. But work that pays off. :) I love seeing the table all set up also. :)

1,014 posted on 11/22/2005 4:13:21 PM PST by GodBlessUSA (US Troops, Past, Present and Future, God Bless You and Thank You! Prayers said for our Heroes!)

It's so expensive to live here now. I don't see them settling here. I'll have to move. :)

1,015 posted on 11/22/2005 4:14:02 PM PST by GodBlessUSA (US Troops, Past, Present and Future, God Bless You and Thank You! Prayers said for our Heroes!)

I like to do Thanksgiving dinner.That was the first meal I learned how to cook.My first turkey had all the innards inside-what did I know at 17:)Last year Ed and I did Thanksgiving down the shore with a turkey sandwich and a glass of wine:)Not for me so this year I am having dinner.

1,016 posted on 11/22/2005 4:19:05 PM PST by fatima (Never do anything.)

How wonderful! Congratulations to the young parents and to the grandparents! :o)

1,017 posted on 11/22/2005 4:19:14 PM PST by luvie (Our will is strong, our nation is united, and we will settle for nothing less than victory. GWB11-11)

Good move, turkey on Turkey Day.

1,018 posted on 11/22/2005 4:20:34 PM PST by Lady Jag (Honor - Dignity - Courage - Troll Consumption)

LOL! With inners and all. :) That's great you enjoy having the dinner. I'm sure everyone else loves coming to Grandma's :)

1,019 posted on 11/22/2005 4:22:22 PM PST by GodBlessUSA (US Troops, Past, Present and Future, God Bless You and Thank You! Prayers said for our Heroes!)

Give them a chance.Most start out with apartments and then take their time looking and it does depend on your job also.Will you relax:)

1,020 posted on 11/22/2005 4:22:36 PM PST by fatima (Never do anything.)

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794