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Dear Michael,
It's almost the 4th of July as I write this, and a lot has happened in the last year. I realize that this is
supposed to be a shopping newsletter, but I just want
to say that as a fellow American, I love the country
that we live in. If you live in the U.S.A., then we have
that in common, and things like money and the internet
mean nothing if strangers like us can't support each
other as Americans, especially in times of war. I mean
that sincerely.
The shopping tip for this issue of Shopping Around is
sort of a plug for Respond.com. It's an easy way to
make sellers come to you. We also continue with our
series on the benefits of cedar wood, sort of an
education on why we chose to sell cedar furniture.
This month's contest winner is revealed as well.
Finally, check out our sponsors, for high quality
products and affordable specials. We hope you enjoy!
| Shopping Tip of the Month - Let sellers come to you |
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Have you ever been in the market for a product,
and you weren't quite sure what to expect? For
example, suppose you were in the market for a
new snowboard, and you didn't have the time to
spend comparison shopping on the web. Instead
of you finding them, let them find you!
There's this really neat website called
Respond.com. The
way it works is you find the category for your
product, or type your product in. When you've
drilled down as far as you can, you fill out a
form describing what you want, what you want to
pay, etc. Respond.com will then forward your
request to 5 pre-screened venders who have up to
9 days to make you an offer. If you like one of
them, you've got your snowboard!
This is not a bidding service, and the different
venders don't know about each other. (You
can even remain anonymous yourself!) The service
is free to you, because the venders pay to
participate. It's a lead service for them, and
a shopping service for you.
To show how easy it is, I went to
Respond.com, and
typed "snowboard" into their search tool. That
took me right to this page. This works
for calling cards, furniture, etc.
Let them come to you... now
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| How do you buy flowers on line? |
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Do any of you order your relatives flowers online? It
sure is convenient when you live in California and your
grandmother lives in Florida. But, do you ever wonder
about the quality? I didn't until recently...
It was my wife's birthday last month, and I ordered
some roses for her online. When they came, they were
beautiful, except for one thing... they were propped up
with wires which were stuck into the blossom! Can you
believe that?
When I get her flowers, my wife usually cares for them
for as long as two weeks. But these flowers were dead
within days. I've had this happen with two different
flowers services, Just Flowers and 1-800-Flowers. Just
Flowers seems to be a little better in my experience,
but you don't seem to have much control. Next time,
I'm going to try filling in their "Special instructions"
section, and say "No wires please". We'll see where
that gets me.
My recommendation is to consider the following, when
it's an option: Either order a potted plant, or don't use
the web... track down a local flower shop in the yellow
pages local to your friend or relative, and order over
the phone! I love the internet, but I have to admit it's
not always the best solution!
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| Monthly Contest Update |
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Our winner for this month is Jennifer Scheulen. She's
looking forward to receiving her free birdhouse, "to
share the joy of nature with my two little girls. One is
9 and the other is 2. We have a big oak tree right off
of our deck and it would look great hanging in that old
tree. We love to spend time together and the girls
very much enjoy being outdoors. This would heighten
their outdoor experience."
Congratulations Jennifer. We hope your daughters will
enjoy the birdhouse for years to come!
Starting in August, winners will have a choice between
a birdhouse or a gift basket, so we hope you'll keep
coming back!
In the meantime, start emailing us now to get in
on July's contest! Just click on the link
below!
Click here to enter next month's contest
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| New Store Opening Soon |
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We're in the process of designing a website to sell gift
baskets and other gifts. We've got the suppliers and
the web space all set... now all we need is to add some
products! Stay tuned...
Have a great and safe 4th of July! If you have any
shopping tips to share with our other readers, send
them in!
If you want to keep track of our progress...
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| Why Use Cedar? (Part 2) |
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As you may know, one of the websites we run
sells outdoor
patio furniture made of cedar. In the last
issue of Shopping Around, we talked about some
of the benefits of cedar wood for outdoor use:
it's cool to the touch, doesn't need finishing,
remains moist in the heat, and resists rot and
decay in the humidity. But, suppose you're not
looking for furniture; you want to build
something yourself... is cedar easy to work
with? You bet!
Cedar wood is lightweight and dimensionally
stable, because it lies flat and stays straight.
As a result, whatever you build will resist the
natural tendency to crack and check, unlike
other woods that aren't as stable.
Also, because it's lightweight, Cedar is easy to
handle and craft for both the professional and
the amateur. The wood can be cut, shaped,
planed, sanded, nailed and glued easily. It is
free of pitch and resin and it finishes to a
richly glowing surface that can be enhanced with
semi-transparent or full-bodied stains. (We said
last issue that it doesn't need to be
finished and that's true, but don't let me
discourage you!)
If you're interesting in learning more about the
other unique qualities of cedar wood, read our
report, "Why Cedar?" You'll find it quite
enlightening!
Find out more about cedar
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Please visit our sponsors...
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Fabulous gifts from 223 Collectibles.com!
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Gardener's Supply Company
The Best Toys for High-Tech Junkies
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