Originally Posted By dlkozy >>>"Don't hate me now, people... My shopping is D-O-N-E... Already DONE! Woo hoo! I'll be sleeping in and wrapping gifts in my jammies on Black Friday! Neener, neener, nanner, nanner, nanner"<<< Gee, hate to burst your bubble there wonderingalice, but I am buying for NEXT year and birthdays in January and I have over 1/2 of my gifts wrapped and waiting to go under the tree tomorrow! It is a sickness.
Originally Posted By wonderingalice Whoa, dlkozy! You ARE a twisted pup! ;-) (And braver than I, for sure. There's a reason why I do most of my shopping online... Malls and stores drive me nuts! *LOL*)
Originally Posted By dlkozy Have there been any companies that you haven't liked dealing with online-maybe the service was not up to par, wonderingalice? I don't do too much of it on line yet. But last year I did enjoy buying up after Christmas deals at 12:01 am Christmas morning-(not as sick as that sounds as I was waiting for a teenager to come home from having to take a closing shift!)on line. :0)
Originally Posted By wonderingalice Actually, staying up like that sounds pretty neat... A nice beginning to Christmas for you and the late-night worker! I've been really fortunate in my online shopping. The only issue I ever ran into was when we first started using our PO Box as an address. The USPS location was very new and some of the online ordering systems showed it as non-existent. The gifts I've ordered have all been as promised and arrive in good shape. I use Amazon.com like crazy for books and DVDs. Their prices are competitive with stores such as Best Buy and Target, there's no tax to pay AND if you order at least $25 - no shipping charges. I've also ordered gifts for my mom and mom-in-law from Red Envelope and they were really lovely and nicely boxed - even included little slips of paper that gave the background story for the creation of the items. Perfume.com is great for the prices and they ship very fast. I've ordered personalized college alumni/frat gear for Mr. Alice from Greek Store.com and it was great, too. I use DrugStore.com a lot because I use Nutriderm lotion, which is impossible to find in stores here anymore. They run good sales on my herbal hot flash remedies, too. Their packing is a bit shakier - smashed boxes, etc., but it's not a big deal because of the nature of the stuff. With $100, it's free shipping, so I try and wait to order when I need a lot. They also give $$ back to use on future orders. And I love CafePress.com for creating T-shirts. They have a HUGE variety of graphics to choose from and you can put the stuff on just about any style or anything you want. The online version of Improvements Catalog is nice, too. We ordered a doggy gate with a little door in it, so our kitty can get in and out of her room without her rowdy brother following along and snacking from her "toilet." *LOL* It arrived FAST and was perfect... Heavy duty and easy to install. My favorite Internet shopping? Bridal and baby gift registries. Choosing from the bride/mom's selections... The stores gift box the items and ship 'em. Especially handy for weddings so the couple or their families aren't bogged down carrying stuff and packing it into a vehicle. The baby stuff I usually have shipped to me so I can handle the wrapping and bring the gift to the shower. That's probably way more info than you expected, but I do a LOT of online shopping. I've also never had a problem with fraudulent charges showing up on my credit card, or ordering without receiving my items. That goes for eBay, too, and I've made over 50 purchases out there. If I had a debit card (we only have our bank card set up for ATM use), I would not use it for online purchases. That would be my only caution to anyone making the shift to heavy online shopping.
Originally Posted By dlkozy Thank you for the info! I am going to print your post out so that I can use it for reference. I have a binder with just my Christmas organization stuff in it-like which Christmas boxes have what (I have over 30 Rubbermaid 18 gallon totes just Christmas) what I bought in previous years, ideas I have thought of during the year for presents, lists of what I have already bought, I have a list of over 100 ideas for stocking stuffers, etc. I will put your post there and start an on-line section in my notebook! Thanks again!
Originally Posted By wonderingalice My pleasure, dlkozy! And wow! You really have it all together! I rely so much on memory and new research every year. I'm lucky though... Our family is very small. Just me and Mr. Alice, my mom and dad, his mom and my brother's wife (he passed away in 2003) for gifts. Another really neat feature of Amazon.com is a Media Library that tells you every book, movie or music CD you've ever purchased. Because my mom and dad are book nuts, I've referred back to that list every year to make sure I don't duplicate past gifts. Happy Thanksgiving, m'dear... And enjoy your ENTIRE Christmas season!!
Originally Posted By fkurucz I saw a few ads for TVs that were in the ballpark, but most were "doorbusters" and the ads said that each store would have 3 or 5 sets at most. That means camping out to be first in line. I'll just wait for the after Christmas sales.
Originally Posted By fkurucz <<I've also never had a problem with fraudulent charges showing up on my credit card, or ordering without receiving my items.>> Just two months ago we had our first CC fraud. Someone charged about $2000 worth of hotel and resort expenses in the Dominican Republic on a card we have. What is interesting is that my daughter used this card in Europe earlier this summer, mostly to buy lunches, on a school trip. More interesting is that my son's soccer team went to Europe last April (we passed on that trip), and several families had fraudulent charges on cards they used on that trip as well.
Originally Posted By iamsally My very best to those of you getting up at the butt-crack of dawn to shop your little hearts out. (My dad used to do this.) I cannot imagine myself shopping on black Friday. After Christmas sales are much more my cup-o-tea.
Originally Posted By fkurucz ^^You just have to tell your kids that its the 3 Wise Men that bring gifts on Jan 6!
Originally Posted By amazedncal2 OK, so my sister and I who scoffed at our kids getting up so dang early are the ones awake. She, since 2:45 and me since 5:45. We could have been out there with the best of them. Guess who is still asleep? Yep. Our super shopper "kids"! I guess all that "toasting" yesterday has put a damper on the shopping day. Sheesh. Have fun shopping, wrapping, hanging out, or whatever today
Originally Posted By beamerdog Ed, hope you survived the day ok. I've worked retail, so I know that people can forget that you're to be kind to the people helping you. btw, I've always liked working the Christmas season. Other than the store floors seemed to always be dirty, which bothered me. I might go to the post office today, but that's it. I still think that they should have a "Jewish" lane on the highways during this time of year, lol. If I did shop for Christmas, I think it could be lots of fun. Kind of like viewing it as an individual sport. Trying to achieve a personal best in shopping!
Originally Posted By LVBelle Woo hoo, I scored the last Wii Fit in Walmart this morning! Totally wasn't planning on buying it and it wasn't quite in the budget but I got it anyway. And some other great stuff for my hubby and son! And only a couple of things for me this year!
Originally Posted By ecdc <a href="http://www.mycentraljersey.com/article/20081128/NEWS/81128005/-1/newsfront" target="_blank">http://www.mycentraljersey.com...ewsfront</a> People trampled a Wal-Mart worker to death in their rush to save a few bucks. I hope every single person is interviewed and investigated and if there's a case, prosecuted for manslaughter or worse. How disgusting.
Originally Posted By Autopia Deb I read the same thing and was completely repulsed. These people were so anxious to save a few bucks they couldn't even wait for the doors to open. Trampling a human being to death just for a good price on a TV or whatever... Proof that 21st Century man isn't above the same mob mentality that led to lynchings, stonings and witch burnings in previous centuries.
Originally Posted By TINK-MOBILE Very Sad news indeed ..our prayers go out to the families there and in the toys r us killings...just so darn sad ...: (
