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FReeper Canteen ~ Online Shopping 101 ~ November 22, 2005
22-NOV-05 | Gummy News

Posted on 11/21/2005 5:59:15 PM PST by GummyIII

Christmas Shopping
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.comGoogle 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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TOPICS: Culture/Society; Extended News; Free Republic; Technical
KEYWORDS: bath; computer; ecommerce; heroes; ma; online; shopping; troops; troopsupport; trouble; woohoo
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To: Jet Jaguar

But such pleasant work. d:o)


381 posted on 11/22/2005 1:01:44 AM PST by Kathy in Alaska (~ www.ProudPatriots.org ~ Operation Season's Greeting~)
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To: Old Sarge

Happy lunchtime (or is it sleepy time now), Sarge. ((HUGS)) Can't wait to see your new trophy in place. LOL!


382 posted on 11/22/2005 1:06:57 AM PST by Kathy in Alaska (~ www.ProudPatriots.org ~ Operation Season's Greeting~)
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To: txradioguy

Standing by. So how do you like this Moderator gig?


383 posted on 11/22/2005 1:08:40 AM PST by Kathy in Alaska (~ www.ProudPatriots.org ~ Operation Season's Greeting~)
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To: 68-69TonkinGulfYachtClub

Good morning everyone.


384 posted on 11/22/2005 1:17:57 AM PST by Pusterfuss (Proud member: Minnesotans for Global Warming)
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To: Calpernia; Tijeras_Slim; FireTrack; Pukin Dog; citabria; B Knotts; kilowhskey; cyphergirl; ...
Click the link on post number 155!

Thanks Calpernia.

385 posted on 11/22/2005 1:26:43 AM PST by Aeronaut (It is deeply irresponsible to rewrite the history of how the war began.)
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To: Pusterfuss; All

Good morning Pusterfuss.
How are you?
27 degrees here and fog to the ground.

I guess it's going to be like that all week
and then it snows.

===
===

FYI Everybody:

http://www.fbi.gov/pressrel/pressrel05/emailscheme112105.htm

November 21 , 2005
Washington D.C.
FBI National Press Office
(202) 324-3691
"FBI ALERTS PUBLIC TO RECENT E-MAIL SCHEME
E-mails purporting to come from FBI are phony"

Washington , D.C.


386 posted on 11/22/2005 1:28:55 AM PST by Cindy
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To: Cindy

Good morning Cindy.


387 posted on 11/22/2005 1:30:09 AM PST by Pusterfuss (Proud member: Minnesotans for Global Warming)
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To: Pusterfuss

I just read your tag line.

LOL!

No global whining from me when it
comes to global warming.


388 posted on 11/22/2005 1:32:07 AM PST by Cindy
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To: Kathy in Alaska

It was pretty cool. It was the first time I've ever done it.

I had fun.


389 posted on 11/22/2005 1:36:49 AM PST by txradioguy (In Memory Of My Friend 1SG Tim Millsap A Co. 70th Eng. K.I.A. 25 April 2005)
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To: Pusterfuss

Good morning Pusterfuss.


390 posted on 11/22/2005 1:37:23 AM PST by txradioguy (In Memory Of My Friend 1SG Tim Millsap A Co. 70th Eng. K.I.A. 25 April 2005)
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To: txradioguy

Good afternoon Tx.


391 posted on 11/22/2005 1:39:05 AM PST by Pusterfuss (Proud member: Minnesotans for Global Warming)
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To: Pusterfuss
Good morning, Pusterfuss.....


392 posted on 11/22/2005 1:42:01 AM PST by Kathy in Alaska (~ www.ProudPatriots.org ~ Operation Season's Greeting~)
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To: Kathy in Alaska
Hi Kathy. Does that voodoo doll mean the local squad won?

I am not an American football fan.

393 posted on 11/22/2005 1:44:33 AM PST by Pusterfuss (Proud member: Minnesotans for Global Warming)
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To: txradioguy

I'll try to catch your video on pentagonchannel.mil in about 13 hours. I'm really missing the Pentagon Channel and my tivo.


394 posted on 11/22/2005 1:50:18 AM PST by Kathy in Alaska (~ www.ProudPatriots.org ~ Operation Season's Greeting~)
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To: Pusterfuss

LOL! Yes.....I knew I forgot someone earlier and it was you, but now I know.


395 posted on 11/22/2005 1:54:30 AM PST by Kathy in Alaska (~ www.ProudPatriots.org ~ Operation Season's Greeting~)
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To: txradioguy

Glad you had fun, AND you get to do it again. I suspect you make a good moderator.


396 posted on 11/22/2005 2:00:40 AM PST by Kathy in Alaska (~ www.ProudPatriots.org ~ Operation Season's Greeting~)
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To: HiJinx; mylife; NRA1995; SandRat; SouthernHawk
Good morning fellow cubevillians! I'm on vacation.


397 posted on 11/22/2005 2:06:07 AM PST by Kathy in Alaska (~ www.ProudPatriots.org ~ Operation Season's Greeting~)
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To: txradioguy; Jet Jaguar; Laurita; Old Sarge; AbnSarge; CMS; OneLoyalAmerican; The Sailor; ...
God bless and keep safe our troops worldwide.

Good night.


Statler Brothers ~ How Great Thou Art


398 posted on 11/22/2005 2:07:18 AM PST by Kathy in Alaska (~ www.ProudPatriots.org ~ Operation Season's Greeting~)
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To: Aeronaut

any video to yesterday emergency landing in west coast?


399 posted on 11/22/2005 2:08:06 AM PST by F14 Pilot (Democracy is a process not a product)
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To: F14 Pilot
any video to yesterday emergency landing in west coast?

I haven't seen it.

400 posted on 11/22/2005 2:11:01 AM PST by Aeronaut (It is deeply irresponsible to rewrite the history of how the war began.)
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