Shopaholic? Me?

With the Credit Crunch hitting everywhere shops are really doing their best to sell. The government also contributed to helping sales by reducing VAT to 15%. And this has resulted in amazing prices all over the place. What has really impressed me was the low prices on TV’s. And I am not talking just about regular TV’s, I am also talking about Flat Screens and Plasma TV’s. Mind you, not that I know the difference between them but my hubby can talk the back legs off pixels per square inch and HD and Blu Ray and who knows what else.

Anyway, if you manage to grab hold of a bargain TV, then you really ought to consider upgrading your TV Stand to match your swanky new TV. You can actually go to online shops that sell Just TV stands, which means you can get exactly the stand you want. Bearing in mind that TV stands can actually be heavy (after all they do need to be sturdy to be able take the weight of a tv), which means that delivery can be expensive. Some places actually offer free delivery which makes it ideal.

My only issue… is that I have yet to buy a new TV. Perhaps in the January Sales!

Finally a store that specialises in TV Stands. Just TV stands is a new store that sells all sorts of TV stands. Considering the range of TV’s around… this is no mean feat. I mean what with flat screens, LCD’s, traditional tellies etc. Finding the right stand is not easy to say the least. Most annoying of all is often unless you buy the stand with the TV you cannot end up buying a separate stand. At least, now there is a choice. You are also not confined to the boring manufacturers stand!

Here is their press release….

“New UK online Just TV Stands store launched this week specialising in the latest designs of TV Stands.

Just TV Stands offer a full range of quality TV stands and TV accessories. All our TV stands include cable management systems that hide all the cables and wires from your audio visual equipment. This makes sure that the look of your new TV stand isn’t ruined by messy cables poking out everywhere.
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We offer TV stands from a range of leading TV stand designers. We currently offer Origin TV stands, Ateca TV stands and GT TV stands. All of these stands are designed and manufactured using the very highest quality materials.

Just TV stands are based in the UK and all our TV stands and TV accessories are delivered FREE OF CHARGE from the Just TV stands offices in West Yorkshire. This ensures that your new TV stand will be delivered quickly and minimises the chances of any problems.

The Just TV stands website offers a full range of payment options including Google checkout and protx. Just TV stands also accepts all major credit cards and offer a fully secure payment system. So you can be sure that when you pay for your new TV stand you can rest assured that your bank details are in safe hands.”

There are all sorts of shopping. You can shop for necessity (grocery shopping), you can shop for pleasure (my favourite type – clothes, jewellery etc) and you can shop for business (stationery, wholesale, and businesses themselves). As a shopaholic, I have practically experienced all types of shopping. I have obviously bought groceries, and obviously shopped indulgently (otherwise I would not be a shopaholic) and I have shopped for my business. I have even shopped for property. I have however never actually gone through with a franchise purchase before.

You see, the thing about franchises is they have many negatives and many positives. Weighing them all up takes time and effort. It is not like buying a £10 top and if you then decide you don’t like it, you just stick it into the back of your wardrobe or give it to charity. We are talking multi thousand pound purchases.

If you ever get the franchise opportunity, do look into seriously. You need to remember that even if it is a successful business it might not work for you. McDonalds might be a well known franchise but opening another McDonalds right next door to someone else’s McDonalds would be counter productive. You would be sharing your revenue at best!

My issues with Franchises is that they have to be run the way the mother company decides. This is probably a good thing as it sets out parameters which have proved to be successful. However this limits your choices. For example you cannot have a Burger King Franchise and sell 7-UP because they have a multi billion deal with their own soft drinks company for exclusivity.

They can also be expensive versus setting it up yourself. For example buying a Subways franchise would cost you lots because it is Subways, where as setting up your own sandwich shop will be a negligible cost in comparison. However, the upside to the spending the money upfront is that everyone has heard of Subways. And if you have a choice of Subways or that new shop on the corner that no one has ever heard of before… where will you buy from?

Do you see my point?

So essentially do consider franchises seriously but do also consider the ties they come with. My current thoughts are for owning a Burger King or Pizza Hut Franchise in the Isle of Man. Neither are available in the Isle of Man. A winner surely? I had to give up on trying to Franchise my business… it was really hard work and I wasn’t a multi million dollar business!

I would love it if I could change our kitchen but with the horrible current economic situation, well you have to be a bit careful. The truth is I do not need to change my kitchen as it is pretty functional, but it would be nice to have a change.

So I need a nice happy medium to update it without it costing an arm and a leg. So I was thinking, well if I leave the kitchen as is and update the tiles with perhaps some marble mosaics or a couple of pretty tiles, it would make a world of difference. It could be a face lift or botox to my kitchen!! I saw some pretty nice tiles at the Glass Tile Store.

I wonder if I can convince hubby to go with it!

I am trying to decoration a house which will be rented out. There is so much to take into consideration such as Window Treatments, Drapes, Valances, Swags, etc. The list goes on. I could hire a professional but then where would that leave me. I would lose out on all that shopping, which for me as a shopaholic is simply not an option. Besides which, there is pleasure to be had in saying I designed it all and chose everything. That is as long as it turns out well!!

Someone recently pointed me in the direction of a website called Big Ass Fans! Now where were they when I lived in Malta? I could have done with such a Big Ass Fan! Ok admittedly they are industrial fans but have you got any idea how hot Malta can be?

I found a place that sell really cheap specs. If like me you use specs (and have a toddler) it is always good to know where you can get a cheap pair of specs from. Zenni Optical: Sell Rx Glasses $8 with case! I mean eight dollars? Makes you wonder why mosts specs cost well over £100 in the UK! And they are not ugly either!

I am looking at Bathroom Suites, as I need one for our house in Staines. I need to fit the bathroom in a smallish room. I want to put in a bath but perhaps a shower would be more practical. Though having one person come over to give me a quote he said it was not possible. But then I think he just did not want to give me a quote as he walked away refusing to do the job! Talk about wasting time.

I really like this shower as it feels luxurious without taking up the amount of space that a bath would take. I just wish that installation were as simple as choosing the suite!

I am trying to do up one of our houses. Hence all the house shopping posts you may be reading recently. One of the things I am doing is changing the bathroom. So I am looking for things like shower heads, taps, and obviously a bathroom suite! The bits themselves are reasonably priced. The problem is the labour to install them!

Video Conferencing is most often used for companies who do business across states, countries and even continents. Now can you imagine what video conferencing can do for shopping? You can get sales service from the comfort of home. You can check things out and get sales people to demonstrate the products or try them on so that you can see what they look like on a real person rather than a hanger or model! Hmmm.