10/21/2009

AVOID THE CROWDS...

and buying the same pair of striped trousers as a bunch of other frenzied & thrifty shoppers... 

Here are some hot online shopping tips from me to you:

Groupon
This is the link for the Denver site (for my Colorado peeps, holla!) you can click on "visit more cities" to find other cities.  Here is the link for Los Angeles.  Anyway, this site harnesses the power of group purchasing.  Every day a new deal is posted from a local company offering a deeply discounted service.  Once enough people have committed to buying, the deal "tips" and it's on!  This is a great way to have a more affordable night out.  I was able to score $40 worth of food for $20 at a favorite yummy restaurant in my neighborhood.  I took a friend to lunch and picked up the tab.  A deal lovers dream fantasy, I got to look rich while actually being thrifty.  Nice.  Thanks Kristy for sharing this with me.  :   )

Rue La La
I can't believe I am even sharing this one, the more people join the more competitive it becomes...but here goes.  I am getting a little dizzy...  Rue La La is the destination for 2-day-only Boutiques, filled with the designers of all kinds of goods we love at private sale prices. It's free, fabulous, and invitation-only. Here's your invitation!  The boutiques range from designer bag makers, to clothes of all price ranges, jewelry, bedding, appliances, luggage and sometimes even spas and vacation destinations.  When they had their Lucky Brand sale earlier this year I snagged several of those puppies for $35 a pair, more than half off.  A girl has to take it where she can get it, those jeans actually fit the booty AND the waist.  Huzzah!  I can be found here every day at 8am when it opens.  Thanks Chelsey for sharing this with me.  :  )

Ebates
This is a shopping portal that offers online coupons and rebates from a wide range of online retailers (1200 of them!).  They even have ebay.  Before I buy anything online I do a search here first to see if I can find a free shipping coupon or a 2% or more rebate from that vendor.  All you do is click through and start shopping as if you had gone directly to the site.  Every quarter they send my rebate in the form of  a "big fat check".  I have been a member since 2007 and been rebated over $86!  And it's free!!!  When we have to buy things for work and can get it online, we use my account and when the big fat check comes I buy a treat for the office.  Look rich - be thrifty!  Thanks Bonnie for sharing this with me.  :  )

I am sure the pattern here is obvious 1) I like to shop  2) I love the thrill of knowing I got a great deal on a great item and am maximizing my dollar  3) I am too lazy to drive all around LA in pursuit of the aforementioned  4)  My friends know me well and are of a similar ilk.  Birds of a feather...   If you have a site you love, help a sister out and leave the link in the comments.

Enjoy!

2 comments:

Brecken said...

Love your thrifty-ness. I just found that groupon site as well. Unfortunately, Haven't used it....instead I've been busy on couponmom.com. Not nearly as cool, but I did buy 10 boxes of cereal for $9.

Mom said...

I finally signed up for Rue-la-la. Interesting marketing strategy - having the time left to purchase the item tick away at the bottom of each picture. I found myself thinking, "AACK! I HAVE TO HURRY AND BUY THIS BECAUSE TIME IS RUNNING OUT", and I didn't even WANT the item. I'll have to keep myself in check here.

My newest internet shopping find is Zappos for shoes. Not necessarily couture, but I can find shoes that actually FIT my size 10 1/2 wide feet and don't give me great pain to wear. It's all about comfort for me. Plus there is a huge selection, and the prices are reasonable.

I hope your jeans come up again!

XOXO Mom