Saturday Mail Bag 10/31

It's Saturday! Time to talk about what I received in the mail this week!
Here are the great things that I received:

Better than Ears dog treat ~ don't remember signing up for this but my dog likes it
$90 Staples Reward check ~ hurray! this is my refund on my son's backpack for school
L'Oreal Revitalift Deep Set Wrinkle Repair from BzzAgent
Curel sample

Happy Halloween!!

Happy Halloween! I hope that everyone has a great night with their trick or treaters. I can't wait to see the little kids who come to our door. They are always so adorable!

My daughter is very excited about her Halloween party. Fourteen teenage girls in my house! That is very scary!

I am so happy that we set the clocks back an hour tonight. Aah, an extra hour to sleep in. I will need that after the Halloween party.

Follow PrettyCity on Twitter & Receive a Treat

Beauty freebie? Follow PrettyCity on Twitter (twitter.com/prettycity) and then tweet about @prettycity by November 2nd and they will treat you to a gratis goodie from their ever growing beauty closet.

After you follow PrettyCity and tweet then you have to wait for Pretty City to follow you back. Then you can direct message your address to them to get your treat. A direct message means that it is private.

Free Heavenly Sis Bath Gift Set to Facebook Fans

Hurry! This is another great Facebook deal. The first 5,000 people to become fans on Facebook of Heavenly Sis by December 1st will receive a customized Heavenly Sis Bath and Body Gift set! Click on become a fan. Once they reach 5,000 fans, they will send a status update with the link to get your freebie. Get the word out!

I just signed up and they are only at 2,419 fans. Go now!

Kum & Go Coupons ~ Free Cherry Coke & Gas Discount

Do have a Kum & Go Convenience store near you? I know that it is a strange name! Kum & Go has some new great coupons for a free Coke Zero or Cherry Coke and another coupon for .05 off per gallon of gas. Coupons expire 11/01. Click here to print your coupons.

Friday Giveaways Blog Hop 10/30

Got a minute, then enter a blog contest! Lots of great prizes. Remember to enter my new giveaway for the MyClyns personal germ spray!

Winner of $10 iTunes Gif t Card

The winner of the Itunes gift card is #50 Post Grad. I will email the winner and they will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be drawn.

Random Integer Generator
Here are your random numbers:

50
Timestamp: 2009-10-30 16:33:36 UTC

I want to thank everyone who participated in my giveaway! I loved reading all the comments! .Also thanks to all who have become followers or have subscribed to my feed. I will continue to post about family fun, money saving tips, and whatever else is exciting!

Free $10 Filene's Basement Gift Card to 1st 100 on 10/31

Free $10 Filene's Basement gift card to the first 100 people at the store on Saturday October 31st. This promotion is good at all Filene's Basement stores. Click here to find store locations.

Free Lost Highway Music Downloads on Amazon

More free music! This is for the country music lovers. You can download the Lost Highway TX artists Sampler CD for free on Amazon. Songs included are from Willie Nelson, Hayes Carll, Robert Earl Keen, Ryan Bingham, Black Joe Lewis and Lyle Lovett.

You do need to install the Amazon music downloader software. Each song is downloaded seperately.

MyClyns Germ Protection Review & Giveaway

Have you ever been at the grocery store and there is someone coughing all over the place? You try to avoid that person but their germs are floating in the air. Now there is MyClyns which can be sprayed directly on your face. MyClyns is a brand new alcohol-free, germ protection spray that you can immediately use on your face when exposed to harmful, disease-causing pathogens.

Here are some details about MyClyns:

• the only germ defense for use on the face – offering protection where you need it most – common entry points for most germs.
  
• MyClyns is safe to spray directly onto the face and even into open wounds.
  
• It’s safe for people of all ages – even those who wear contact lenses.
  
• MyClyns is trusted and used by hospitals and first responders such as firemen, policemen, and EMS.
  
• Independent laboratory tests have shown that the solution in MyClyns demonstrates a 99.99% reduction in more than 60 potentially dangerous pathogens
  

Being a small compact non-aerosol pump shaped like a pen, it fit easily into my purse. I have used it several times when people around me have coughed or sneezed. Extremely easy to use! The first time that I used it, I felt a little weird. But I was protecting myself! The spray on your face actually feels really good. I know that with the flu going around that this is going to be a very popular product. MyClyns is a new "must have" product for my family.

MyClyns will be available in stores such as CVS starting in November. Starting in early November, you will be able to get more information about the product at the newly redesigned Web site www.mygermspray.com where there will be a “store locator” to see where the product is being sold in your area. Also you can check out the MyClyns Facebook page where you can get the latest on MyClyns availability.
**I received a free MyClyns spray for this review. The opinion expressed in this review is my own **

Giveaway :
I know that you really want a MyClyns spray for yourself! One reader will win a MyClyns spray!

To enter: leave a comment saying how you would use the MyClyns spray

Additional entries: You can do any or all of the following to earn extra entries. Please leave a separate comment for each that you have done.

Follow my blog (see the left side bar to sign up) Already a follower, just leave a comment saying that you are a follower.

Follow me on Twitter ~ smartcentsmom

Stumble or Digg this giveaway or any other recent post on my blog. One entry for each different Stumble or Digg. (Limit 2 total)

Subscribe to my blog ( see the left side bar to sign up). Current subscribers are eligible too.

Blog about this giveaway and leave a link to your post.

Post my button on your blog and leave a link to your blog. Have my button already, that counts!

Giveaway is open to US residents only and ends on Friday November 6th at 11:59 pm CST. Winner will be chosen using a random number generator. Winner will be posted on this blog and notified by email. Please make sure that you leave your email address in your comment or on your profile so I can contact you if you win. Winner has 48 hours to respond by email or a new winner will be chosen.

Book Review ~ Morning Sunshine by Robin Meade

I am sure that you have seen Robin Meade on TV. She is the bubbly host of HLN's show, Morning Express with Robin Meade. Thanks to the Product Review Place and Hachette Book Group, I was offered the opportunity to review Morning Sunshine! How to Radiate Confidence and Feel It Too by Robin Meade.

I must admit that I could use some more confidence in my life. I am not a shy wallflower. But sometimes in a room with a bunch of people that I don't know, I can feel a little awkward. Robin Meade once struggled with self confidence too.

The book is so down to earth. I found myself saying "Yes, I do that!". With chapters such as "Begin the Breakthrough" and "Stop Judging Yourself", Robin starts you on your journey to being a more self-confident person. I love how she includes her personal stories throughout the book. I really enjoyed the book and I hope to use some of things that I learned!

Free YOYO Lip Gloss Mini for Twitter Followers

This looks really cute! All you have to do is follow YoYo Lip Gloss on Twitter at twitter.com/yoyolipgloss and post a Tweet that contains the word YOYO Lip Gloss in it. Then include the link to your twitter account on this page . They will send you the hidden link to get your totally freeYoYo.

Free $10 Macy's Gift Card to First 100 People 10/31

Every Macy's store is giving out $10 gift cards to the first 100 people at the stores on Saturday, October 31st. No purchase necessary! Just be one of the first 100 people at the door on Saturday. Nice Halloween freebie! You can view the details here.

Free Victoria's Secret Lip Gloss with Free Bra Fitting

Through November 15th, you can receive a free lip gloss at Victoria's Secret when you have a free bra fitting. No purchase necessary. Free lip gloss with free bra fitting. Print this coupon.

Free Wedding Music Downloads at Amazon

Looking for some wedding music? You can download 10 complete songs from The O'Neil Brothers Wedding Music Sampler on Amazon. Click here to see the music. Really beautiful songs!

In To Win Wednesday Giveaway Round-up 10/28

I love giveaways! So let's all share the Linky love.Do you have a giveaway on your blog or website? Please leave the link for it below. Only family friendly links please! The link should go directly to your giveaway page.

Tuesday Blog Hop: Family Fun

It's Blog Hop Tuesday! This week's theme is family fun. My family's favorite activity is playing games. Here is a look in our game closet:


We love to play games. Games are great way to spend time with your family.

Guys Are Waffles, Girls Are Spaghetti Book Review

Another great book review! I was thrilled to be asked by Thomas Nelson and Mama Buzz to review this book.

Guys are Waffles, Girls are Spaghetti
by
Chad Eastham
and Bill and Pam Farrel

Retails for $12.99
For Ages 12- 17

Book Synopsis from the back of the book
In this hilarious, yet amazingly insightful book, discover the secrets behind why guys and girls think and act so differently. Guys' brains have little compartments like a waffle, and there they keep most aspects of their lives separated. Girls brains are like spaghetti, because they tend to keep everything in their lives connected. Learn how to talk so a "waffle" will listen, and how to understand the "spaghetti-ish" conversations that you will encounter your entire life. Learning about waffles and spaghetti will make a difference in real-life issues like dating, sex, friendships, body language, and communication skills of every kind. So dig in for the insights you've been craving.

Buy		Read

I must say this very loudly "I Loved This Book!" When I first heard the title, I was curious how guys were like waffles and girls were like spaghetti. The book engaged me from Chapter One. It shows the differences between guys and girls with humor. I had quite a few laughs through the book.

The book is geared towards teenagers but adults could learn some things from this book too. It helps teenagers decode the messages from the opposite sex. The book does talk about dating and sex. I think that these chapters should be discussed with your teen. The book lead to some interesting and fun conversations with my daughter. She could relate things in the book to some of the boys in her class at school. I would recommend this book to teenagers and their parents. I think that the humorous approach will make it easier to get your teen to read the book.




*Disclosure: This book was provided to the Mama Buzz site and Mama Buzz reviewers, free of charge, in exchange for today's blog tour*

"Honest Scrap" Blog Award

Another blog award! I received the "Honest Scrap" blog award from Money Saving Secrets Blog. Thanks so much for this great award!

Here are the rules of this award:

1) Present this award to 7 others whose blogs I find brilliant in content and/or design, or those who have encouraged me.

2) Tell those 7 people that they have been awarded HONEST SCRAP and inform them of these guidelines in receiving the award.

3) Share “10 Honest Things” about myself.

I am passing on this award to the following blogs:

Coupon Teacher
Sincerely, Jenni
Sheilacakes
The Mom Union
Two Peas in a Pie
I Am A Money Magnet
The Thrifty Mama

My ten Honest things are:
1. I am a huge fan of "Lost".
2. I am have been to Disneyland/Disney World more than 25 times!
3. I would rather save my money for something I really want instead of buying a bunch of junk.
4. My family is job #1 and I love them.
5. Pizza is my favorite food.
6. I love to read mystery books.
7. Laundry is my least favorite chore because there is always more laundry.
8. I love to travel and I have been to 48 states. Never been to Louisiana and Mississippi.
9. I drive my car like my mom does. This is not a good thing!
10. I love meeting new people but I am awful at remembering names. Name tags are wonderful.

$1 Meals at Boston Market Restaurants

Super great deal! Boston Market wants you to celebrate with them. You can use this coupon to get a $1 chicken meal with mashed potatoes and cornbread. Coupon is good through November 1st. If you have problems with loading the page with the coupons, then here is an alternative pdf file.

You have a choice of 1/4 White with mashed potatoes and corn bread OR 3 pc. dark meat mashed potatoes and corn bread.

Monday New Week Reminders 10/26

Hey, it is Monday again! Wow, it looks like restaurants and stores are having great promotions for Halloween!

Oct 26 ~ Free piece of grilled chicken at KFC

Oct 30 ~ Halloween actvities at Bass Pro Shops - details here

Oct 31 ~ Free Black Jack Taco at Taco Bell ~ details here

Oct 31 ~ Dress like a burrito, get free burrito at Chipolte Restaurants 6pm to close

Oct 31 ~ Free Mattel Toy for Kids in Costumes at Sears ~ details here

Oct 31 ~ Michaels's Free Halloween Event - details here

Oct 31 ~ More Halloween activities at Bass Pro Shop ~ details here

Meal Planning Monday October 26th

Happy Monday! This week I have the opportunity to try something different. I was offered a free month at Relish.com which is a meal planning service. You choose five recipes from a weekly menu list. Then you get the recipes and grocery list. So this week the Monday through Friday meals are from Relish.com . Also I have a couple of great slow cooker recipes!

Monday
Crispy Baked Fish

Tuesday
Sizzling Sirloin Chili / Jack Quesadillas ~ this sounds really good!

Wednesday
Szechwan Shrimp ~ my son loves shrimp so I am sure that this will be his favorite.

Thursday
Flat Tire Chicken Thighs

Friday
Orange Chicken with Squash and new potatoes

Saturday
Apricot Glazed Pork Roast ~ Slow Cooker recipe that my friend recommended to me.

Sunday
Southwestern Chicken & white Bean Soup ~ a new slow cooker recipe

Looking for more menu plans then please visit Org Junkie.

Wow! Best Blog Award

I must say that I am thrilled whenever I receive a blog award. I just get a warm fuzzy feeling inside! I would like to thank A Fist Full of Dandelions and "Deal"ightfully Frugal for giving me the "Best Blog" Award !

The Best Blog Award rules are:
1) To accept the award, post it on your blog together with the name of the person who has granted the award and his/her blog link.
2) Pass the award to 15 other blogs that you have recently discovered and think are great! Remember to contact the bloggers to let them know they have been chosen for this award.

These are some wonderful blogs that deserve this award:

Surviving My Tween Girls

The Bewitchin' Kitchen

Tip Junkie

Living Rich With Coupons

Couponing to Disney

Three Peas in a Pod

The Sewing Mom

Big Fat Piggy Bank

JAM's Own Reality

Diana Rambles

A Hen's Nest

Home School Mom to 3 Boyz

Nickle Pickle Mom

Three Different Directions

Free Food ~ KFC and Taco Bell

More free food opportunities!
KFC is offering a free piece of grilled chicken on October 26th. Limit one per customer.

Taco Bell will be giving out a Free Black Jack Taco on October 31st from 6pm to Midnight. Limit one per customer.

Saturday Mail Bag 10/24

It's Saturday! Time to talk about what I received in the mail this week!

I participated in the Halloween Trick or Treat at Mommy-Files.com . You might have seen this button on my blog.

I wish to send a huge thank you to Andrea at Moody Mama Says for the great Halloween surprises. Here is what I received in my Halloween Trick or Treat box.

Everything is just wonderful. The candy was delicious too!

Other than my great Halloween box, it was a slow week. The only other item I received was a $16 Menard's check.

Hope you got great stuff in your mail too!

Yoplait Fiber One Yogurt Giveaway ~ 50 Winners !!

My daughter and I are huge yogurt lovers! I depend on Yoplait Fiber One to help me in my weight loss efforts and in my quest to eat healthier. So why do I love Yoplait Fiber One yogurt?

• Yoplait Fiber One comes in 4 great flavors: Strawberry, Peach, Vanilla, and Key Lime Pie. My favorite is Peach.
  
• Yoplait Fiber One 50-calorie yogurt is the only leading nonfat yogurt with 50 calories and 5 grams of fiber. That is 20% of the recommended daily value of fiber !
  
• Fiber One 50-calorie yogurt features a ‘Hungry Girl Seal of Approval’, the first nationally distributed yogurt to receive this endorsement.
  
• One serving of Yoplait Fiber One yogurt has 0 Weight Watcher points!

So would you like to try Yoplait Fiber One yogurt? The first 50 people to click on the banner below and submit their information will receive a coupon for a FREE 4-pack of Yoplait Fiber One 50-calorie Yogurt! If you're not one of the 50 you can still get a $1 coupon!



A big thank you to Yoplait Yogurt for providing me with free coupons and the wonderful opportunity to host this giveaway for my readers. All opinions expressed above are my own.

Aerie Private Shopping Night Oct. 25th ~ Goodies!

Aerie stores are having a special shopping event on October 25th from 6 - 9pm. There will be giveaways, refreshments, and discounts. I have heard that the discount will 15% off. Some stores are giving out a free lip gloss to each person. Also there will be drawings for gift cards.

The email says to print the invitation but I am not sure if you need the printout. You can print the invitation here.

The promotions may vary from store to store so I would call and verify the details.

New Target Coupons = Ocean Spray, Bread Deals

Target has new coupons on their website. Click here to see all coupons and print them. Here are the deals that I am doing:

$1.00 off Ocean Spray Target coupon~ is on sale for $1.98 = .98 a bottle

$1.00 off a Bakery Item ~ use on Artisan mini loaf for free bread

$1.00 off 11.2 oz or larger Kellogg's cereal ~ price match Walgreen's ad (limit 3) good through tomorrow for $1.75 a box - $1.00 target coupon = .75 a box

Baby Einstein DVD's Refund or Exchange

This is a nice deal if you have some Baby Einstein DVDs. You can return up to 4 Baby Einstein DVDs purchased between June 4,2004 and Sept 2009. When you return them you have a choice of a refund of $15.99 each or a Baby Einstein book or music CD. Click here for all the info and the return form.

Free Music Download from Trans-Siberian Orchestra

I love free music and Trans-Siberian Orchestra is a favorite of mine. You can download the song "Child Of The Night" by Trans-Siberian Orchestra for free. Click here to download the song.

Friday Giveaways Blog Hop 10/23

Got a minute, then enter a blog contest! Lots of great prizes. Remember to enter my giveaway for a $10 iTunes gift card.

**Update 10/27: I had to remove the MckLinky because it is causing my site to not load. I think that MckLinky is having problems this morning. I will add it back in when the problems are solved.Thanks!**

What to do with a teenager on Halloween?

So it is official, my kids are no longer Trick or Treaters on Halloween. My son has not Trick or Treated for several years but this year my daughter is not going either. Sigh.. another milestone! It seems like just yesterday , they were little kids!

So what can you do with a teenager on Halloween? Well my son thinks he might go to a Halloween party. My daughter is having a Halloween party at our house. She is having over some friends for games and a movie.

Teenagers still want to have fun on Halloween but realize that they are too old to Trick or Treat. So here are some ideas for your teenager on Halloween:

1. Murder Mystery party ~ My daughter is having a murder mystery game at her Halloween party. Easy to do and fun for the kids to try to figure out.

2. Watch a scary or not so scary Halloween flick. This can be done with friends or you can make it a family event. Some movies to consider are Ghostbusters, Psycho, The Birds, Nightmare Before Christmas, or Young Frankenstein. Of course, you can find scarier movies but my teens don;'t like really scary movies.

3. Hand out candy the teenager way! This is great for teenage kids. Have your teen dress up as a scarecrow/stuffed dummy. Put some straw sticking out of sleeves and pants. They need to wear a mask. They sit slouched in a chair like they are stuffed dummy. The whole idea is to convince kids that it is just a dummy and not a real person. Put the bowl of candy on the dummies lap (your teen). Then tell the Trick or Treaters that they can take a piece of candy from the bowl. When the kid takes a piece, the dummy grabs at them.

This is really a fun gag. Your teen will love it. Of course, we never scare the really little kids. We had a neighbor who would dress up as a Gorilla. Then he would just stand by the sidewalk and not move. People would think he was a statue so when he did move he scared everyone.

4. Make your garage into a haunted house. You can hang some large dark colored sheets in your garage. Try to make it a walk through with sheets for walls. Your teens can come up with ideas for the scary rooms. They can get friends to help. Also some teens can jump out and scare the kids. I am sure that your teen could come up with some great ideas for this!

Teenagers can have fun on Halloween too! My teens are excited about their Halloween plans.

FREE Yoplait Fiber One to First 50 Readers Tommorrow

I am so excited about this promotion! Tommorrow, I will be posting a review and giveaway for Yoplait Fiber One. This is a different sort of giveaway! The first 50 readers who click on the Yoplait widget (in the post) will receive a Free coupon for a 4 pack of Yoplait Fiber One. What a great deal !

So when is this super duper event happening? Tommorrow at 10 am Central Time. Be there or be square! Or you will miss out on your free coupon.

Winner: Business Cards from UPrinting

The winner of the Business Cards from UPrinting is #19 Over Thirty Mommy. I will be emailing the winner with details.
Here are your random numbers:
19
Timestamp: 2009-10-22 18:55:14 UTC

Thanks to all who participated in the giveaway!

Free Cookie & Hot Chocolate at Barnes & Noble 10/24

Oooh! I love hot chocolate and cookies! Barnes and Noble bookstores cafe is offering a free small cookie and kid's size hot chocolate to all customers on October 24th. Click here to print your coupon. You need to scroll to the bottom of the page. Limit one per customer while supplies last.

FREE Holiday Music Downloads from Glade

I love Glade scents and they have out a new holiday collection! Glade is offering free holiday music downloads from their holiday collection. . To receive your free holiday music, go here and then enter the UPC for the Glade fragrance in the correct box. Each fragrance has a different selection of songs to choose from. The featured artists are Diana Krall, George Strait, Julianne Hough, and Mannheim Steamroller.

You can download one song per fragrance per day. Offer valid until 01/10/10.

The scents are:

Bayberry Spice 046500708633
Homemade Gingerbread 046500709715
Peppermint Crush 046500708466

Hollyberry Wreath ~ available only at Walmart

It's Ebay Time !! Listing Your Item on Ebay

So you are ready to list an item on Ebay. I am going to talk you through a listing for a Lego toy. Depending on what you are listing some item specifics could be different. Don't worry, it is actually really pretty simple! Here are some easy step by step directions


Page 1
1.The first screen asks for the category. If you did your research then you should already have an idea of which category to use . You can use the Browse Category button or enter keywords.

Page 2 has a lot of details.
1. Title: This is important. Remember to use your Keywords and try to use all the space allowed.
2. Subtitle: The cost is .50 extra. I only use this great items that I really want noticed.

3. Next is Item Specifics: (these can be different for different categories)
Condition: make a choice
Age: if your item has an age range
Type: usually there are some choices or you can enter or your own

4. Pictures: the first photo is free. Extra photos cost .15 or you can buy a package. I usually include several photos.

5. Description: describe your item here. If you were the buyer, what things would you want to know about the item?

6. Listing Designer: here you can choose a background for your listing. It costs .10 for designer listing. I really think that this makes listings look better. I always buy this for .10 .

7. Auction vs Fixed Price: here you make a choice between Auction and Fixed Price. Remember that the first 5 auctions each 30 days are free.

8. Choose your starting price and if you want a Buy It Now price or for Fixed Price just list your price.

9. Choose the duration that you want your item listed for.

10. Now you can choose when you want the auction/fixed price to start. If you start immediately then there is no charge. I prefer my items to end at night so I pay the extra .10 to choose the day and time for the item to be listed.

11. Electronic Payment: you need to have a Paypal account. Ebay made this rule change about 1 year ago.

12. Shipping details: use the Shipping Wizard link to help you choose your shipping option. You need to also decide if you are going to ship internationally.

13. Return Policy: you must specify your return policy.

Page 3: Review your listing
This last page offers upgrades to you listings. More importantly it shows how your listing will appear and the total cost of listing the item.

When everything looks good then hit List your Item. Congratulations, you have listed your item on Ebay.

Free Movie Sceening for Gentlemen Broncos

Do you want to see a free movie? There are free Gentlemen Broncos movie screening tickets available for the cities of Denver, Salt Lake City, and Washington, DC. Click here to get your free tickets. You can find the movie profile here. The movie is rated PG-13.

Free Mattel Toy at Sears for Kids in Costume 10/31

Really nice! Sears is having a great Halloween event. On October 31, bring your child in their Halloween costume to the new Sears Toy Shop and receive a free Mattel toy. While supplies last. There is also a coupon for $5 off a $25 toy purchase. Click here for details and to print the coupon.

I Am Going to the I_Blog Conference

I am so excited to be attending my first blog conference, I_Blog. It is going to be a small conference of great bloggers! The I_Blog conference is going to be held on November 14 -15, 2009 in Perry, Iowa. There are still tickets available here for a mere $75.

The conference is going to be a lot of fun. Creative Memories has signed up to be a sponsor for the event. Every attendee will receive a copy of Creative Memories Storybook Creator ($65 value). Also there are some great speakers lined up! I am looking forward to getting some great ideas on how to market my blog.

The best part is being able to meet and socialize with other bloggers! I get to gab with my friend Heather from My Red Apron. (Big wave to Heather out there in Bloggyland). Being a smaller conference, it will be easier to meet people. Plus there won't be any pushing and shoving! So check out the conference here and I hope to see you there!

Free Glo minerals eyeshadow for Facebook Fans

Another nice freebie! Sign up here to be a Facebook fan of glominerals. If they double their fans in two weeks then every fan will receive a free gloLoose eye shadow.

In To Win Wednesday Giveaway Round-up 10/21

I love giveaways! So let's all share the Linky love.Do you have a giveaway on your blog or website? Please leave the link for it below. Only family friendly links please! The link should go directly to your giveaway page.

It's Ebay Time! Auction vs Fixed Price

When you are ready to list an item on Ebay, you need to decide if you are going to list it in a auction or at a fixed price.

First let's talk about a couple of terms:
Insertion fee : this is the fee that Ebay charges to list your item
Final Value fee : if you item sells then Ebay charges this fee

Ebay fees can be confusing. You can see a list of Ebay fees here. Ebay lets you have 5 free Auction listings within a 30 day period. That is Ebay does not charge the insertion fee for the first 5 auctions. You are still charged the Final Value fee.

Here are some things to consider when deciding Auction vs Fixed Price:
1. Is your item selling well? If the sell through rate is high then you will probably be ok with an auction listing. Remember with an auction listing, you are never guaranteed a higher price.

2. Think about how much you want to sell you item for. If you list an auction item for 9.99, then will you be happy if you only receive one bid for $9.99?

3. A large lot of a popular item or extremely rare items seem to do better with auction listings.

4. Remember as we get closer to the holidays, people just want to buy their gifts now. they don't want to wait for an auction to end. You can offer a Buy It Now with an auction listing BUT if someone bids the minimum price then the Buy It Now goes away. You may lose potential customers who missed the Buy It Now and don't want to wait for the auction to end.

Ebay has changed in the last few years. More people want their items now. During the holiday season, I list 90% of my items as fixed price. By doing research, I can tell what the price should be in order to sell. With auctions, I never am sure what price I will get.

Tuesday Blog Hop: Fantabulous Foto Free For All

It's Blog Hop Tuesday! This week's theme is Fantabulous Foto Free For All. Here are some photos from my family's trip tp Switzerland in 2007.




All expenses except airfare were paid with money from selling on Ebay and coupon savings. We had frequent flier miles so the flight was free. Worth every penny !!

Check out other blogger's photos on the links below.

Tuesday Hopping Around the Blogosphere

Here are some interesting posts that I found while blog hopping this morning!

Money Saving Tips for a Keeper at Home has a great article about parents who seek fame by sacrificing their children

She Scribes has an intriguing post about job hunting on Craigslist.

More Than Cents has a bargain hunters tip on how to get free full size bags of Chex Mix at Target

Jolly Mom has timely tips on how to keep your pet safe on Halloween.

Free Music Downloads From Country Weekly

More free music! Country Weekly is offering another set of free country music tunes. They are offering new free tracks every week. Click here to get yours.

The free songs are:
I Can't Make it Rain byHouston Country
Somebody Like Me by Jason Crabb
Caroline by Michelle Turley
Cry Memphis by Herrick
B.E.E.R. by Michael David
Chocolate is a Vitamin by Summer Schappell

Free Edible Arrangements Dipped Fruit Sampler Box

Hurry! Available to the first 100,000 people. Click here to become a fan of Edible Arrangements on Facebook. Then you can sign up for the free Sampler box of Dipped Fruit. It is listed as a $15 value.

When you receive the coupon in your email, you can order online by calling the Call Center (877-DO-FRUIT) or take it to any store. If you pick up your box there is no charge but some areas may charge tax. If you choose to have it delivered there is a delivery fee of $12.

It's Ebay Time! What to sell ~ Part 2

This a continuing series of posts about how to sell on Ebay. You can see the entire list of posts here.

Today is Part 2 of "What to Sell" on Ebay. Let's say that you don't have anything in your house that you can sell. You can look for items at garage sales, thrift stores, or local stores. My main focus is going to be buying items at your local store to resell on Ebay.

First, though, I want to say a little about garage sales and thrift stores.
Garage Sales: I love garage sales! Unfortunately if you live in the northern half of the U.S. , the garage sale season is over. If you are lucky to have garage sales now then do some research on Ebay for items that you might find. Try to pick a niche such as girls toys or infant clothing. That way when you see something at a garage sale, you can have an idea of the selling price on Ebay.

Thrift Stores: Thrift stores can be a great place to find items. Some thrift stores are better than others. Also I see a lot of people buying for resell at thrift stores so you have increased competition. Try to find out when your thrift store puts out new items. My Goodwill puts out their items around 9:30 am and again around 2 pm. Make sure that you find out if you can return items. You don't want to be stuck with something that won't sell.

So now let's talk about buying items at your local store for resell on Ebay. I have had great success with this method and you can too! Buying from the store has 1 major advantage: You can return the item and get your money back. This is a huge advantage!

You need to be organized and keep your receipts. Also find out the return policy of the store. If you don't sell the item then you can return it and get your money back. Beware: some stores such as Target have a different return policy for seasonal items. Know the return policy!

So where can you find goodies to sell? Here are a few ideas:

1. Walmart : Yes, Walmart! They have a clearance aisle where you can find some awesome deals. Here is an example. I was in Walmart yesterday and they had Girl Gourmet Ice Cream Sandwich refills for a $1.00 a box. Here is a listing on Ebay where they just sold three packages for $13.99. Your three boxes would have cost $3.

2. Dollar General, Family Dollar, Big Lots, & Dollar Stores: these stores carry some discontinued items that can be resold on Ebay for a profit. Also they are a great place to buy if you are selling gift baskets. Look for discontinued cosmetics or make-up. People like certain brands and will pay more if they can no longer find them at their store. Look through the entire store and think of making gift baskets. Today I saw several possible gift basket ideas such a Spiderman gift basket or a girls basket with iCarly/Hannah Montana items. Check out some gift basket ideas here on Ebay.

3. Hallmark stores: My Hallmark has a great mark down section. Take a look and then check the prices on Ebay. Remember to think if you can get more by grouping items together in a set or gift basket.

4. Bath & Body Works: Use some of the free coupons to get items and then sell the items on Ebay. Again group items together or make a basket. When making a basket or group, try to put in one large item then add the smaller free items that you got. Check out baskets here. Click here to get the latest free Bath & Body Works coupon.

5. Look for the "Hot" toys of the season: pay attention to the "new" hot toys of the season. This year people are saying that the Zhu Zhu hamster pets will do well.

6. Think outside the box. I have a friend whose family was involved with making custom model horses. People like to display the horses in a diorama setting. She found some Palm Trees at the Dollar store. Set up a diorama showing how to use the trees. Took photos and sold the palm trees on Ebay for $9.99 a set.

Tommorrow I will be talking about setting your price on Ebay. Auction vs Fixed vs Store - which option is best for you. How should you pricing change as you get closer to the holiday?

Then on Wednesday, I will be go through a Ebay listing step by step for you.

Monday New Week Reminders 10/19

Hey, it is Monday again! Here are some of the great free offers or discounts for the next couple of weeks. Enjoy!

Oct 20 ~ Free grilled sandwich wth drink purchase at Jack in the Box

Oct 20 ~ Mary Kay Giveaway at Seventeen.com ~ click here for details

Oct 24 ~ Lowes Build & Grow Kids ~ Frankenstring Magic Trick ~ register here

Oct 24 ~ Build, decorate, & race a Lego Car at Toys R Us from 12 to 2

Oct 24 ~ Free family activities at Bass Pro Shops ~ details here

Oct 30 ~ Halloween actvities at Bass Pro Shops - details here

Oct 31 ~ Michaels's Free Halloween Event - details here

Oct 31 ~ More Halloween activities at Bass Pro Shop ~ details here

Jack in the Box Free Sandwich w/drink purchase 10/20

Calling all Jack in the Box lovers! Here is your chance to get a free grilled sandwich. On Tuesday, October 20th, you can receive a free Jack in the Box grilled sandwich with the purchase of a large drink. Limit one per person. Click here for details.

Meal Planning Monday October 19th

My daughter is appearing in the High School play this week. It really throws a wrench in my meal planning. We may end up eating out several nights.

Monday
Chicken Thai Lettuce Wraps

Tuesday
Marinated Pork Loin ~ my new recipe to try this week

Wednesday
Chili in the slow cooker

Thursday
Awesome Slow Cooker Pot Roast ~ easy dinner for the first night of the play

Friday
Eating out

Saturday
Tacos or possible eating out again

Sunday
Leftovers

Looking for more menu plans then please visit Org Junkie.

Menards Deals 10/28 - 10/24

Menards has more good rebate sales this week. Remember to roll your Menards checks into new free items. Only completely free items need a $10 purchase of non-rebate items.

Free After Rebate items for this week
Hex L Key 7 piece $2.50
Free after $2.50 rebate
limit 4

Smart Caulk Tool $5
Free after $5 rebate
Limit 3

Other good deals:
Jumbo bag of Hershey's Snack size candy
$1.50 rebate
= $2.49 per bag

Free after Reabte items from last week ~ still good
Dry Cleaners Secret 6 pk $5.00
Free after $5 mail in rebate
Limit 2

All Purpose Paint Brushes $4
Free after $4 mail in rebate
Limit 4

Turtle Wax Cleaning Cloth, Shop Towels and/or Wash Pads $2
Free after $2 mail in rebate
Limit 2

Pro Wash Detergent $5
Free after $5 rebate
Limit 2

16' Tape Measure $2
Free after $2 rebate,
Limit 3.

It's Ebay Time! What to sell ~ Part 1

So you want to make some money on Ebay. Now you need something to sell. First let's talk about two Myths of Ebay:

Myth #1 ~ My item is old therefore it is worth money. False! Sure some older items are worth money but a lot of items are not.
Myth #2 ~ My item is newer so therefore it is not worth anything. False! Some newer items sell better than old items. This applies to newer items in used condition also.

That is why it is so important to research the selling price of your items on Ebay. Having trouble finding your item on Ebay? I will be posting about that later this week.

So you might wonder what I am selling this holiday season.

Here are some of the things that I plan to sell:
1. Legos : Legos are very popular toys. You can sell complete sets, partial sets, boxes of pieces, or just one Lego minifig. Research what you have to decide how to sell you Legos. Look for cross over Legos such as SpongeBob or Star Wars. Also some older discontinued sets do well even for special pieces.

2. Star Wars : I purchased 19 new in the box Star War sets for $20 at a garage sale. That is just a little over $1 a piece. I will definitely make money on these sets.

3. Polly Pockets ~ I have some older small Polly Pockets that I will be selling. Again crossover items do well such as Wizard of Oz or Disney sets.

4. American Girl & Bitty Baby ~ I found some American Girl and Bitty Baby items at garage sales. These items usually do very well during the Holiday season.

5. Disney pins ~ I found some cheap Disney pins that I plan to resell. Plus I might look through my collection and sell a few.

6. Christmas decorations ~ I am hoping sell some Christmas decorations that I no longer want.

I have more items to sell but you get the idea. So great for me but what about you? Start gathering items that you are no longer using or new items that you don't plan to use. Collect your items in a box and start researching them on Ebay. Remember that you can sell your items individually or as a group. For example, you can sell one place setting of a china pattern or you could sell the entire set together.

If an item is selling well then put a Post-it note on the item with the following information:
Category that the item is listed under
Selling price range
Any specific terms about the item (pattern etc)

Have items that are not selling well on Ebay? If the price is low and the item is not selling then don't bother listing that item. Those items could be sold on Craigslist, garage sale, thrift store, or taken to Goodwill for a tax deduction.

Ok, what if you looked up your items and they are not selling? Or what if you do not have excess stuff around your house to sell? Never fear! You can still make money on Ebay. Tommorrow I will be talking about how to buy items at your local stores and resell them on Ebay for a profit.