Walmart Offers Suggestions for Holiday Shoppers

As the holidays approach, many Americans find themselves wandering through shops or endlessly browsing websites to try to find something, anything to buy for friends and family. Walmart hopes to attract some new business by offering an easier solution to this dilemma, with the introduction of its new Shopycat app, according to PCWorld.

Shopycat, designed by Walmart’s new @WalmartLabs, integrates with Facebook and analyzes the interests and activities of users’ friends to provide suggestions for them based on inventories from Walmart and certain other stores, including Barnes & Noble and RedEnvelope.

The app offers specific gift ideas for individuals, but also offers an explanation of where the suggestions come from, allowing for some simple checks before committing to a gift.

Venky Harinarayan, senior vice president of Walmart global ecommerce and cofounder of @WalmartLabs, noted to Forbes that the question of how to determine an appropriate gift from social media interactions can prove difficult, since all product mentions do not necessarily make for gift suggestions, but that the technology is improving.

PCWorld notes that this follows the recent trend in this field set when eBay purchased recommendation engine Hunch.

Discounted and even FREE Gift Cards!

Now more than ever, retailers are offering gift cards at a discount. In this economy, I expect to see lots of discounted gift cards as we approach the holiday season. Retailers need an influx of cash, and need to bring shoppers into their doors into the new year as well. So this is a great way to do it.

You can bid on or buy gift cards on Ebay. There are plenty of people out there who have received a gift card, and just really need the cash. So you may be surprised at how many you can find. I’ve done it, and been happy with it. But there are things to look out for.

1. Check satisfaction rating of the seller. 

2. If the card has been carried around in someone’s wallet for a long time, and looks worn, it may not be so good for a gift. But works perfectly for you to use to purchase a gift.


When buying on ebay, Watch for ridiculous shipping fees. There’s a fewodd ones on there.


Another great way to find gift cards on the resale market is to check your local paper, or resale paper. This one eliminates the risk considerably. If you buy from a private seller locally, you can see if the card is in good condition. And bring your cell phone, and call the merchant on the back of the card, and check the balance before you buy. Plus you can haggle with the seller.

A quick and easy place to find lots of merchants offering discounted gift cards is through my sister site, www.TeriToday.com. In Teri’s Advantage, you can create a free log in to access all kinds of deals. After you’re logged in, type “gift cards” in the search field, and you’ll see lots of discounted or free cards to choose from. Most of the cards can be purchased on line at significant discounts, and with free shipping for the cards.


Unexpected bonuses… A few weeks ago, I bought two 8.99 razors on sale at Target for 6.99 each. I used 2 coupons for $4 each, and got  a $5 Target gift card that I can use to buy gifts. In essence, the razors cost 50 cents each by stacking the deals: sale + coupons +  $5 giftcard = great savings for holiday shopping.


Free gift cards! Yes, free! Keep an eye out for drugstores that periodically offer a $25 gift card for transferring a prescription. And you’ll be amazed at how many great gift options you can find at drugstores, especially during the holidays, toys, perfume, watches,and more!

Disposable Camera Favors vs. Professional Photographer – Wedding Photography

I know hiring a professional photographer will add a special budget for your wedding. But you have to think about the results you get if you use their services, at least you think that you want your wedding photos to be seen until your children and grandchildren.

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I read a tip about putting disposable cameras, around two, on each of the dinner tables in lieu of hiring a professional photographer and I have to say that’s a ridiculous way to save money. Putting disposable cameras on each of the tables and having your guests take action shots is a great way to augment professionally taken photographs but it certainly isn’t a replacement, unless you really don’t care about photos at the reception (then it’s a perfectly good idea!).

Here are several reasons why a disposable camera is a bad idea (when used to replace a professional photographer):

Camera Use Will Be Low

It’s likely no one has done any studies but the number of photos actually taken with the disposable camera probably won’t be particularly high. It certainly won’t be 100% and if photos of the reception are important to you then it certainly would be too big of a risk to take, don’t you think?

Photo Quality Will Be Low

Unless you discover super high quality digital disposable cameras (at which point you’re no longer really saving much money anyway), the photo quality will be low.

You Won’t Have Digital Copies Too

Chances are a professional photographer will take the photos digitally and your disposable cameras won’t.

Now, disposable cameras as a means of augmenting a professional photographer is a great idea because you can get so many more candid shots. A professional photographer can only take one photo at a time but an army of your closest friends, after they’ve been drinking heavily, can take a whole slew of photos!

Where should you go to buy disposable cameras? I personally would recommend eBay if you’re looking to save some money and willing to sacrifice on film quality.

How To Choose An Ebay Alternative Auction Site For Selling

Online Auctions: The Original Work At Home Business

Like so many other work at home moms and “mom and pop businesses,” I started my online business career as an eBay seller, very shortly after the online auction went on line. Selling in an online auction format was new, fun and gave an enormous number of people a way to make money selling collectibles, antiques, kid’s clothing, and accessories.

eBay was the first real online auction, almost single-handedly creating the industry and setting the trends for all online auction sites to come.

How To Know When It’s Time To Choose Another Online Auction

When eBay’s CEO’s changed, eBay’s entire atmosphere changed. Over time, the online auction attracted corporate sellers that competed with the small sellers, driving them out of business. eBay fees are most often cited as the reason for having to leave the online auction site. Selling fees and final value fees were raised to the point that the small work at home mom sellers could no longer afford them. eBay insisted that the future was in new products; that the flea market feel would have to go. It became impossible to compete against corporate sellers of new goods, who could afford the fees.

My last straw was when eBay removed the stores from the regular eBay search. I became a powerseller and lost everything within a few short weeks. That was 2005, the year I closed my eBay store, tried dozens of eBay alternative online auction sites and eventually built my own sites.

Treat your online auction business like a business. If you are paying more in listing and final value ebay fees than what you are getting in sales on eBay, it’s time to take a look at other online auction sites. If eBay’s policies interfere with your business, rather than work with it, it’s time to figure out how to make the move away from eBay.

Tips For Choosing An eBay Alternative Auction Site

  • If you are among some of today’s eBay sellers who want to know how to make a move to other online auction sites because of high eBay fees, hopefully you’ll find these tips helpful.
  • If you really are serious about making money with your online auction business, choose a larger, established site. Don’t try every brand new site that opens. Established sites have worked out the major kinks on their site, they’ve developed some traffic and have earned some experience as an online business. Brand new online auction sites may not have the experience in the industry to help them create the type of auction venue that will help YOU succeed.
  • Choose online auction sites that have a specific social media marketing plan. Do you see them promoting their online business on Twitter? Do you see them on Facebook? Are they active on Pinterest? These days, if you want to be successful, you have to establish a presence in social media. That means more than tweeting once or twice a year and creating a Facebook page, but never using it. It means ACTIVELY & consistently promoting their online auctions. Because if they are promoting their online auction site, then they are promoting YOUR online business.
  • Believe it or not, you really should choose online auctions that charge final value fees. Free listing sites are all well and good, but what will happen when the online auction goes out of business because they couldn’t pay their bills? In my opinion, the best way to get the revenue they need would be to charge final value fees, charge enhancement fees and NOT charge for listing the items. You’ll be pleasantly surprised at the difference between eBay fees and fees charged at some of the other online auctions.

Auctions Are A Fun Way To Sell Collectibles

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More suggestions for choosing an eBay alternative auction site

There are hundreds of online auctions these days, with more opening every day. It seems every new site believes it will beat eBay. Most don’t stay open more than a year.

  • Try to find an online auction that actually has traffic of its own already. Two places you can check are Quantcast. Don’t go to all the work of listing your items at a site no one’s ever heard of. If they already have people visiting, there’s a better chance that the online auction is already making sales.
  • Find online auctions that offer as many as possible of the features that you need and use. Is there a bulk lister (if you need one)? Can you add enhancements to your listings (like bold, underline, color, etc.)? Can you use various payment methods or are you limited to Paypal and Checks/Money Orders? These features are tools for conducting your online auctions in a professional manner.

Best Wishes For Your Success With Online Auctions

It’s easy to become emotionally connected to our business and to a site. I loved having my eBay business & everything it involved. There were several online auction sites where I made friends that I still have today. But if you start to lose money, then it’s time to disconnect those feelings from your business.

I hope these tips & suggestions are helpful to you in some way. If nothing else, perhaps something you see here will give you food for thought.