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.

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Anyone who is looking for the real news out of Iraq.. look no further than our own freeper Gucho. His threads are outstanding, IMO>

The Real News out of Iraq-here

BTW- great job, as always Gucho. HUGS.

1,021 posted on 11/22/2005 4:23:41 PM PST by Diva Betsy Ross (Code pink stinks)

Hoping for a raise; but, it makes me a very marketable commodity in the Software Industry, strengthens my hand to negotiate things like raises, move up in the corporate structure, and widens my options overall.

1,022 posted on 11/22/2005 4:24:42 PM PST by SandRat (Duty, Honor, Country. What else needs to be said?)

Thanks LUV W,So Kathy will have a newborn-16 month old and a 3 year old .We are all helping out .

1,023 posted on 11/22/2005 4:26:06 PM PST by fatima (Never do anything.)

Good for you! We must always make ourselves more attractive for getting ahead in this fast-paced world. Sounds like you are doing what it takes to get 'er done!

1,024 posted on 11/22/2005 4:26:53 PM PST by luvie (Our will is strong, our nation is united, and we will settle for nothing less than victory. GWB11-11)

To: Diva Betsy Ross

Thank you Diva Betsy Ross

1,025 posted on 11/22/2005 4:28:44 PM PST by Gucho

Well we have 6 children and 5 are married.We have 14 grandchildren and 1 in the pot.We all like each other-the teens are hard but we have 6 grandchildren that are 7 years and under.

1,026 posted on 11/22/2005 4:31:19 PM PST by fatima (Never do anything.)

LOL! I know. :) I always worry ahead of time. It's my nature. I'm worried how much I will miss my son in college now and he won't be leaving till August. LOL!!

What your son did is awesome. Tell him a Freeper said thanks. God Bless Him. Besides hard work, It must have been a very sad place to be.

1,027 posted on 11/22/2005 4:31:30 PM PST by GodBlessUSA (US Troops, Past, Present and Future, God Bless You and Thank You! Prayers said for our Heroes!)

To: no more apples

Prayers for your husband to find a job! God bless you all!

1,028 posted on 11/22/2005 4:38:51 PM PST by luvie (Our will is strong, our nation is united, and we will settle for nothing less than victory. GWB11-11)

Wow, Mom of 6! That's a major job!:) I know, I watched, My mom who had 6 of us. Only 7 Grandkids so far. I have two.

1,029 posted on 11/22/2005 4:40:13 PM PST by GodBlessUSA (US Troops, Past, Present and Future, God Bless You and Thank You! Prayers said for our Heroes!)

To: no more apples; trussell

Dearheart...I not only told Santa....I've passed the word on to our prayer warriors. Hugs!

1,030 posted on 11/22/2005 4:40:44 PM PST by GummyIII (If you have the ability, it's your responsibility." Marine Sgt. John Place, Silver Star recipient)

Don't worry it changes from day to day.Joe volunteered-many did-he was one of the few that were chosen.He was also chosen for 911.He is like Karen and doesn't talk much about it .He did get his orders and left in a day and a half and they drove down.

1,031 posted on 11/22/2005 4:42:37 PM PST by fatima (Never do anything.)

To: La Enchiladita; jmpmstr4u2

Good evening jmpmstr4u2
Thank you for your Service. God Bless you! I hope you come visit the Canteen. :)

1,032 posted on 11/22/2005 4:45:00 PM PST by GodBlessUSA (US Troops, Past, Present and Future, God Bless You and Thank You! Prayers said for our Heroes!)

1,033 posted on 11/22/2005 4:45:18 PM PST by no more apples (Faith developes love of truth with the aid of the gifts of knowledge and understanding.)

That's nice GodBlessUSA,you have 2 granchildren.I met 3 sisters on Sunday at Mass.They are all listeners and in their 70's-they never married and regret that now but they have each other.

1,034 posted on 11/22/2005 4:46:53 PM PST by fatima (Never do anything.)

To: Diva Betsy Ross; Gucho

Gucho's thread is awesome. Thank you! :)

1,035 posted on 11/22/2005 4:48:00 PM PST by GodBlessUSA (US Troops, Past, Present and Future, God Bless You and Thank You! Prayers said for our Heroes!)

Oops, Sorry Fatima. I write confusing. I have two children. :) Grandkids to someday follow, I hope :)

1,036 posted on 11/22/2005 4:50:30 PM PST by GodBlessUSA (US Troops, Past, Present and Future, God Bless You and Thank You! Prayers said for our Heroes!)

How do you like the song, Es?

1,037 posted on 11/22/2005 4:53:43 PM PST by Colonel_Flagg (Inertia: It's not just for breakfast anymore.)

911, He must of had an experience. You raised a brave hero of a son. :)

1,038 posted on 11/22/2005 4:54:03 PM PST by GodBlessUSA (US Troops, Past, Present and Future, God Bless You and Thank You! Prayers said for our Heroes!)

To: Colonel_Flagg

It is playful. I like it.

I don't remember never listened to it before.

1,039 posted on 11/22/2005 4:59:15 PM PST by EsmeraldaA

To: Colonel_Flagg

Thank you lovely one!

1,040 posted on 11/22/2005 5:00:29 PM PST by EsmeraldaA

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