Shopaholic? Me?

Neat Ideas is a great place to get stationary from. First of all it is cheap. One of the cheapest I found anyway. I have been using them for around 5 years now and have never been able to complain. And that is pretty impressive from someone who likes to complain especially when things go wrong. Anyway, besides having great prices on ink, paper, stationary, stickers, pens, office furniture, printers, faxes etc they also often have special offers and free gifts.

Last but definately not least, when you spend £30 (which is easy enough) you also get free delivery. And by free delivery, I mean, you find the items on your doorstep the very next day! I am impressed with how quick they deliver.

Plus if you order the wrong thing accidentally, they will take it back too (don’t ask how I know!!)

Neat Ideas is definately a place I recommend for your stationary and office supplies.

Littlewoods have a sale of up to 70% off. I cannot resist sales and I do like littlewoods. I wonder if they deliver to IOM?

Did you hear, Tesco has released a new and updated catalogue. And currently, you can get triple points on every order. Yippee!!

I can never seem to find exactly what I want in a bed. Oak Beds are nice and solid but a shame to paint white. Our bedroom is white. I need storage space, so it has to have storage space such as drawers underneath. Ideally it must be nice and bouncy (for obvious reasons! – I have a 1 year old son in case you are wondering…lol!). And perhaps ideally not too expensive!

Am I asking too much?

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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I found this really interesting site selling a wide range of furniture. They furniture includes:- 

• bedroom furniture
• children’s furniture
• baby furniture
• kitchen furniture
• living room furniture
• dining room furniture 
• home office furniture

They also have a budget section for furniture which is great if you have a flat that you rent out or are on a shoe-string budget. 

They have some really unusual and interesting furniture. The pieces seem really authentic and would fit really beautifully in a stately home or an old house of character.

My biggest problem is that they are based in the USA and I am based in the UK This is a real pity as they have gorgeous furniture.

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 . 

Sharon Kitchens is a Kitchen Manufacturer in Rhyl. They were founded in 1973 by Bernard Burke. It is a family run business and serves the North Wales region including Llandudno, Conwy, Colwyn Bay, Rhos on Sea, Caernarfon, Rhyl and the surrounding areas.

Sharon Kitchens design, manufacture and produce a kitchen specially made for you. You can select from high gloss high tech to modern or traditional wood doors, laminated to granite or solid wood worktops. You can choose different styles, colours, handles and accessories. And you can complete your kitchen with branded appliances such as Dishwashers, Cookers, Fridges, Microwaves from Belling and Hotpoint to Bosch or Neff.

The one thing I do advise, is that if you are going for that kitchen, think all appliances for your convenience and have them. My favourites include my dishwasher which can wash crystal and my American Style Fridge Freezer (very spacey!). And don’t forget to include lots of drawers. You need them for your cutlery, dishcloths, utensils and bits & bobs obviously!

As the kitchen is being made specifically for you, you can think of what you like in your current kitchen and let them know what you like and don’t like in your current kitchen so that they can fix it. I do recommend that you look at other people’s kitchens for some ideas. You can also see some of their work on their website. Great to look at if you need inspiration. Though just contact them and ask for advice if you just want a new kitchen whether you know what you want or need help!

The John Lewis Department stores probably need no introduction to you. But in case you do…. John Lewis is a department store whose motto is “Never Knowingly Undersold”. Bear in mind that they do not apply this motto to their online store. They do however sell things online at the same prices as their stores, unless they have online promotions, which means lower prices than in store. John Lewis sell a whole range of goodies such as:-

• Audio & TV
• Computing
• Electrical
• Furniture
• Fashion
• Gifts & Flowers
• Home & Garden
• Nursery
• Sports & Leisure
• Toys
• Seasonal Items
• Wines *

One of the best things about John Lewis Online, is that besides being able to buy vouchers, you can also use your vouchers online, unlike most online retailers.

They also offer free delivery on orders over £100. It might seem like a lot, but sadly you quickly build up to more than £100! On the plus side, you do get yourself a whole bunch of goodies for £100!

*Although they sell wine. Their wine is supplier by Waitrose Wine Direct. Just for you to know.

EBay is an online auction website. It is probably the most well known auction site of them all. You can choose to buy stuff from your neighbour next door or direct from a wholesaler in Hong kong, you can grab a bargain from the US or something from as remote a place as Timbuktu!

What I love best is that you can really grab a bargain or two or erm…. plenty more. You can get new stuff at cost price or less sometimes! Obviously you can also buy unwanted second hand stuff for next to nothing also. And you can sell all your unwanted stuff to pay for it too! And all your unwanted stuff. Honestly everything sells. Ipods, Dancewear, PC’s, Accessories, Games, Books, Baby Stuff, Mobiles, TV’s, Fireplaces, Toys, Beds & Sheets, Sofas, Clothes, Costumes, Nursery Products, Coupons, Photography Stuff, Gadgets, Travel items, Gifts and all sorts of stuff. You name it, you can Buy It or Sell It on EBay.

EBay – Buy It, Sell It, Love It! Confusing logo but its true enough!

Bet you heard about eBay before today. Bet you heard some bad things and good. As always … you get good sides and bad. For your protection eBay has worked on safety systems. The first is FEEDBACK. Everyone who signs up has feedback. You start off with a Nil Feedback rating and as you buy and sell, you build up feedback. Feedback is very important. This is especially important for you to look into the Seller’s Feedback when buying anything of substantial value. As a base rule most people have well over 90% positive feedback. Less than that should set warning bells ringing. Read their feedback before bidding. Remember that by bidding you re committing to buy if you win the auction. I recommend you build your first few feedback by purchasing a few small items as people are obviously hesitant to buy from sellers with less than 10 feedback ratings.

The other is Paypal. People who work with Paypal tend to be safer sellers and more frequent too. They also have a feedback system, but read our Paypal opinion for more information.

Some recommendations when buying:-

• Read the auction well. Make sure you understand what is being sold. Ask questions if you are unsure. Most people will respond very quickly. A quick response tends to be a good sign.
• Read Peoples Feedback before bidding. See how happy other people were with their purchases.
• Take P&P into consideration as the costs can build up.
• Avoid paying money directly into bank accounts. You have NO safety net. You lose all right to your money and eBay can do nothing more than close down their account. You will not see your money again. Pay by cheque, credit card, postal order or Paypal. You will be protected.
• Decide on a price and place that bid. It will only increase as high as the other person who also wants it is ready to go or your maximum. Do not get caught up in a last minute bidding war as you may ed up paying more than you bargained for!

If you are selling: -

• Respond fast to questions.
• Once the item closes and you have received payment, send out items as soon as possible.
• Have reasonable P&P rates.
• List a picture and list in the gallery. This increases sales and prices.
• Be honest in your write up and be very detailed.
• Start your auction low and if necessary put a reserve price. Low starting prices attract more people and sell for better prices!

Good Luck and Happy Selling, Bidding and Buying!