Shopaholic? Me?

While in London, I saw an advert for WGU – Western Governors University which is a non profit online University. It made me think about how much I would love to study further but being honest with 3 kids under the age of 4… it is almost an impossibility. BUT with it being an online university, then it can be possible as it would mean that I can study in my own time. I need to look into it further to find out how much time I can take to do a course and if there is a course that appeals to me particularly (unless there is a shopping course which would win hands down… though I could probably teach that myself)!

Doesn’t the internet facilitate everything. I mean if it weren’t for the internet… I could not even consider any further study… but like this… I can.

I know this post is not strictly shopping… but I suppose deep down I am shopping around for an affordable option to further my studies to be able to get a better paid job when I return to work, so that I can shop more. Now you decide if it is a post that deserves its place on Shopaholic or not!

My brother is studying dentistry and is at the point of doing a hard exam. Well I guess any exam in dentistry must be hard but this might be harder than most. I was thinking of getting him a present but was not sure what to get him. Although he probably has lab coats galore, he could possibly do with another. Alternatively I suppose I could get him a book voucher because I am sure that his books cost a small fortune. I suppose though, as it is a gift of encouragement, perhaps a music store voucher might make better sense. Mind you, when I was at uni, I use to party away the stresses of it all!!

I am trying to work on a reward chart with my son. So far it seems to be working well. Everytime he does something good he gets a sticker for his reward chart. However when he disobeys he gets told that now he will not get his star (removing a sticker is not as easy as Super Nanny seems to imply as it results in a torn chart). He also knows that when his chart is finished, he can go with me to a toy store and pick out a toy of his choice. Needless to say, he is really excited about it all. My only fear is that he will want a whole bunch of toys and not just one!! Well I will keep my fingers crossed till then and maybe use the other toy wishes to encourage him to get more stickers for his next chart.

Has anyone had any success with Reward Charts?

ELC are really trying their best to capture as many toys sales as possible in the lead up to Christmas. Which is a good thing for you and I who probably have a list as long as Santa’s to fulfill!! So, this year ELC have severals products on offer (some may change until Christmas though) but they are also offering FREE delivery on purchases over £100. It would be nice if it were lower, but spending £100 at ELC is not hard to do especially not bearing Christmas in mind.

And here are some discounts you may be able to use at ELC.

• Enter the code 2021003622097 to claim 20% off your total order
• Enter the code STARX8M or BC1008 - 20% off all Early Learning Centre items not already on offer
• Enter the code BELLX8A or WISHX8P to get - 
                     £20 off £100 spend
                     £15 off £75 spend
                     £10 off £50 spend
                      £5 off £30 spend                 

All you have to do is click on the link which takes you straight through to ELC and then input the code at checkout. Bear in mind that you can only use 1 voucher at a time, and not all will work for everyone, but these codes should help most of you. So if one code does not work for you, try the others.

Vouchers are valid till Christmas Eve!

A friend of mine begged me to order some items from Fiesta Craft online. Now as you can imagine, I don’t need much of a push to hit the shops!

I went to the site to see what she was after and instantly had difficulties. To start with there is no search function. How can you not have a search function on a sales website?

I told her to place the order herself and have delivered to my house. Apparently she couldn’t as she needed a UK credit card as well as a UK address and they must match. She could not get the order to work.

I reluctantly agreed to place the order. I noticed they offer a search for stores facility. I thought, perhaps I can hit their shops rather than their site. This did not work. Not for the Isle of Man nor for England.

She told me what she wanted. I had to manually go and start each item from the beginning. You would think that you could pick and continue picking. Not the case. At least you could adjust the quantity from your order cart.

You had to pay via paypal. Still not sure if this is a positive thing or a negative. I currently have issues with paypal and would prefer to avoid using them. I think if they offered the option of using paypal or another method it would be positive but using only paypal is not a positive thing in my books. I also hate inputting my banking details in another sellers website. It does not feel safe at all. Perhaps it should open in a new window? On the plus side, the transaction was quick and easy. You did not have to log in or create an account. They take your email from your paypal account. This again might not be a good thing as I have different paypal accounts but predominantly use just 1 email! The email you get is also very basic. But I suppose basic is as good as any.

The worst of it, is there is no real contact facility (it is a noreply email address) and no ability to keep track of your order.

Over all, not a site I happily recommend. Now if they do improvements and want me to re-review it, I will gladly consider it. But reality I think they really need to improve it if they want to move from the amateur market to the professional! This is particularly bad as they try to hit both the wholesale and retail market on the same site!

I was also not able to find any affiliation, recommendations or discount codes. Says a lot doesn’t it?

Marks & Sparks as it is sometimes affectionately known is a well known huge department store. They are in my list of favourite shops.

You can say that Marksies is split into quite a few departments but mainly they do:-

• Clothing (Men, Women, Children & Babies) and Lingerie
• Footwear / Shoes (Men, Women & Children)
• School wear / uniforms
• Gifts & Flowers
• Books
• Toys
• Technology
• Garden, House & Home
• Furniture & Furnishings
• Wine
• Insurances
• Costume Jewellery
• Holiday Shop
• Technology

Both their quality and prices are really reasonable.

Their grocery section has a vast range of delicacies at reasonable prices. They also have ordinary food too. The biggest drawback is they generally tend to sell their own range only. For example they will only sell their own brand water, which is not particularly good. But over all the rest of the items are better than the average supermarket. However you cannot get groceries online presently. You have to go in store to buy them. Its well worth a visit. You can find an M&S on almost every high street.

They now offer Free delivery on orders over £30.00.

They have a loyalty scheme called the “& More”. It is credit card based. The more you spend, the more you earn in rewards to spend back at M&S. Its not a bad rewards scheme and you can use the card elsewhere to earn rewards for M&S.

 

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Everyone has heard of Woolworths or commonly known as Woolies!
 

Woolworths have recently released their Big Red Book. This is a catalogue of over 1000 products. You can order these in store or online. You do not actually need the book as everything is listed online and the online prices are more up to date including sale prices etc.

Generally Woolworths have great prices on all their products.

There is a delivery price per order for all orders, including those placed in store. So you might as well place the order online and have them delivered direct to your door.

I must say I do highly recommend them. Their prices are low and quality good. And if you get their offers, you are on to a winner.

They do everything including:-

• Party Goods
• Stationery
• Children’s Clothes
• TV’s
• PC’s
• CD’s
• DVD’s
• Games including board games
• Toys
• BBQ & Picnic Items
• Chocolates
• Housewares
• Mobiles
• Baby Goods
• Gift Items & Wrapping
• and tons more!

What are you waiting for? Just click on the link and start shopping!

  

 
 

Virgin Experience Days offer some amazing Days out. Give them as a gift or just treat yourself. I cannot decide which to choose. I bet nor will you. You can chose from:-

• Rally Driving
• Motor Racing
• 4×4 Driving
• Flying Lesson
• Balloon Flight
• Body Flying
• Rafting
• Sailing
• PowerBoating
• Relaxation Day
• Make Over
• Wines
• Books
• Bungee Jump
• Spy Games
• Sphereing
• Falconry
• Cookery Course
• Deli Hampers
• Magazine Subscriptions
• Archive Newspapers
• Name a Star
• Pole Dancing
• Spa Hamper
• Chocolate Making Hamper

And many many more experiences. They cover gifts for couples, for special occasions, for men, women or even kids! Prices start from only £25. They make great and unusual presents and they won’t be forgotten quickly.

Toys R Us is every kids dream store (and mine too!) Well yes I am still a kid at heart. Toys R Us is a major toy store stocking every type of toy imaginable. With designer names such as Little Tykes, Fisher Price, Disney Pixar, Bob the Builder, Action Man, Bratz, Barbie, Disney Princess, Winnie the Pooh, Tamagotchi and many many more!

They have all sorts of categories too. They cover:-

• Toys 
• Learning Toys
• Kids Room
• Outdoor & Sports
• Bikes & Ride ons
• Video Games
• Sound & Vision
• Computers
• Gadgets

They also have a Babies R Us section as well as a special offer section, plus some exclusives.

Delivery is Free over £150. But for smaller deliveries there is a charge. The maximum charge is £9.95. They will not deliver internationally, but if you live in the USA, Japan or Canada, there are links to the appropriate websites that will deliver. Sadly they do have some areas that they won’t deliver to.  They do include the following:-

Western Isles HS1 – HS9, Isle of Arran KA27, Isle of Cumbrae KA28, Kirkwall KW15 (not KW1-14), Orkney KW16 – KW17, Gigha PA41, Islay PA42-49, Isle of Jura PA60, Isle of Colonsay PA61, Mull PA62-75, Iona PA76, Tiree PA77, Isle of Coll PA78, Isle of Eigg/Muck PH42, Isle of Rhum PH43, Isle of Canna PH44, Shetland Isles ZE1 – ZE3, Guernsey GY1 – GY9, Jersey JE1 – JE4, Isles of Scilly TR21 – TR25, Isle of Man IM1 – IM9, British Forces PO BFPO1 – BFPO999

They also have a loyalty scheme. Read our piece on it in our loyalty section.

Early Learning Centre specialise in toys for young children. Their logo is helping children be all they can be! Not sure if they are encouraging them to join the army, but they do have a great educational section for young learners!

They divide their toys into 6 age brackets:-

• 0-6 Months
• 6-12 Months
• 1-2 Years
• 2-3 Years
• 3-4 Years
• 4+ Years

This makes it nice and easy to choose gifts or presents for your little one. Meanwhile, their toys fit into 11 categories:-

• Sport & Activity
• Baby & Toddler
• Character Toys
• ELC Classics
• Let’s Pretend
• Action & Adventure
• Art & Creativity
• Making Music
• Learning & Books
• Puzzles & Games
• Furniture & Storage

There toys are not cheap but they are reasonably priced. Their toys are well made and good quality. Besides their own brands they also sell a range of renouned toys such as HappyLand, Berchet, Mamas & Papas, Vtech, MegaBloks, LeapPad & Fisher Price. You can also find Thomas the Tank, Fairy, Winnie the Pooh, Disney’s Little Mermaid – Ariel & even Fifi toys.

Plus they also do a Birthday Club giving your little one a present for their Birthday and a 20% on presents you want to buy for them.

Teach you kids – shop at the Early Learning Centre .