FReeper Canteen ~ Online Shopping 101 ~ November 22, 2005

22-NOV-05 | Gummy News

[GummyIII]

Gummy Style!

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.

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

[luvie]

Thanks for you wonderful Canteen Blessing for our wonderful troops who are doing the hard work of keeping us safe!

[MoJo2001]

Awesome thread Gummy. Thank you for stepping up to entertain our Troops, Veterans, and their families!

DBR--thank you for making it happen!
*HUGS*

[EsmeraldaA]

Thank you for todays excellent thread.

[68-69TonkinGulfYachtClub]

From the men in the Military and the Canteen

[luvie]

Yummers! That looks sooooo good, and I am sooooo hungry! Thanks...and thanks for the hot tea!

[68-69TonkinGulfYachtClub]

To every service man or woman reading this thread.
Thank You for your service to our country.
No matter where you are stationed,
No matter what your job description
Know that we are are proud of each and everyone of you.

To our military readers, we remain steadfast in keeping the Canteen doors open.
The FR Canteen is Free Republics longest running daily thread specifically designed
to provide entertainment and morale support for the military.
The doors have been open since Oct 7 2001,
the day of the start of the war in Afghanistan.
We are indebted to you for your sacrifices for our Freedom.

FR CANTEEN MISSION STATEMENT
Showing support and boosting the morale of
our military and our allies military
and the family members of the above.
Honoring those who have served before.
CLICK HERE TO FIND LATEST THREAD.

[Severa]

Quick check in:

Hubby leaves for deployment here in the next few weeks. (YIKES) So gearing up for that. Kids are doing great. My 29th birthday is Thanksgiving Day (YIKES again) Not going home for Thanksgiving but I've already got Christmas break lined up Dec 20th-Dec 30th we'll be home. Other than tending to house, kiddos, and my Avon orders, all is well here. Hope all is well with everyone here at the Canteen!

[Lady Jag]

Gummers, great thread idea!

[GummyIII]

Did you see the cartoon with "you" in it? LOL! Seriously, I was thinking about our troops overseas and how shopping can be difficult in the best of circumstances...and hard in their circumstances. Hopefully, they have access to the internet and this will help them a little bit.

[Lady Jag]

I overheard Lady Jag at the computer the other day.

The problem might be solved. First, I do all my shopping online, then I go out and beat the crap out of innocent shoppers.

[GodBlessUSA]

Gummy!
Excellent thread!! I'm with you. I'll shop the internet way too. :)

[Lady Jag]

I was thinking about our troops overseas and how shopping can be difficult in the best of circumstances...

Once I discovered how satisfying online shopping is, I prefer it. Going out shopping can be fun, but not for all of it.

[not2worry]

Thanks Gummy! You just made my Christmas E-Shopping a little more reassuring. The hubby would like to know if there is any way to get the credit card bills sent directly to Santa for reimbursement?

[GummyIII]

The hubby would like to know if there is any way to get the credit card bills sent directly to Santa for reimbursement?

Uh...well, I'll ask Santa...ahem. (Is it ok if I wait 'til AFTER Christmas to ask him?)

[luvie]

(((hugs))) Evenin' ES! How're ya!?

[EsmeraldaA]

I'm doing okay for a Moonday.LOL!

Be sure and not to miss CSI tonight. It is great.

[GodBlessUSA]

Was that you last year? Lady Jag!

[luvie]

Evenin' GB! How are you doing tonight? What did ya have for supper? Hubby just brought us in a pizza...I didn't want to go out...too close to time for CSI Miami! :o)

[luvie]

I'm already there in front of the TV, ES! Thanks for the heads up! Just shhhhhhh till it's over! *giggle*

[GodBlessUSA]

Hi Luv
I'm so tired tonight. I'm here but being quiet. :)