Showing posts with label online shopping. Show all posts
Showing posts with label online shopping. Show all posts

Sunday, November 16

A few holiday tips to keep in mind

Before you yell "BUT IT'S NOT EVEN HALLOWEEN/THANKSGIVING/MORTENS AFTEN/BONFIRE NIGHT/OTHER EVENT BETWEEN NOW AND CHRISTMAS", hear me out!


Christmas can be very stressing if you're not prepared. You miss out on the calm and lovely time Christmas is all about, because you're busy trying to find presents and shopping for Christmas parties and dinners and what not. So I'm here to help you!


Photo credit (X)

Basically, write down everything. What you're going to buy for Christmas parties, Christmas dinner, presents for people and whatever else you have going in December. Last minute planning can make the experience even more stressful, especially with presents. Things can be sold out fast, or not on offer any more or won't come back in stock until the 20th December.

With presents, have back up plans too. Want to give your mum a necklace you remember her drooling over a few months ago? That's great, but IN CASE they're sold out, write down a few other things that would do too.

You can even buy presents a month before if you're sure that's what they REALLY want. Then there's no fuss with being able to return items. I've already bought most of Sean's presents, and when I'm writing this it's the 22nd October.

Photo credit (X)

Positives about online Christmas shopping:
  • You can often find really good deals online
  • Saves you the fuss of stressing times at the shopping centre
  • No long queues to pay and get your items wrapped
  • Some websites actually offers to wrap your items
  • Items that are sold out in shops can sometimes be found online
  • Some online shops might do free shipping because of Christmas time (WOO FREE SHIPPING)
  • No rude people shouting at the poor shop staff that ruins your good Christmas mood

Negatives about online Christmas shopping:

  • Shipping might be delayed if you order too late
  • Items might break in transaction
  • Items might not be what you thought it would be
  • Not easy to return if the receiver isn't happy with the item
  • Order mix ups in general (it is Christmas times and even online shop people get confused)
  • Insane shipping prices

Other tips, check the online shops you're going to buy from (unless it's things like Amazon or Matas/Superdrug/Boots/Ulta/other big name shops you KNOW are fine because millions of people use them every day) I don't know if TrustPilot is an international thing, but you can always Google "Reviews on *name of online shop*" and see what people say about the sites. Christmas is also the time for idiots to be scamming, so watch out for your bank and yourself!

Photo credit (x)

Christmas can be a stressing time because you feel like there's 100 things to do in the span of a few days. But don't worry, re-fucking-lax. Plan out your days. When you've bought all the presents you need, take a day to find the wrapping paper and put on some good music and just wrap away. Need to bake? Devote a Saturday to baking, call your friends or family for a nice baking day together. It doesn't need to be stressing. So think wisely, breathe, plan and it'll be perfectly fine!

Photo credit (x)
No one can deny it. Christmas is bloody expensive. But it doesn't have to be that way!
  • Set a price limit for presents for people. I could be 200 kr (£20, $40, whatever currency you use) for each person you need to buy for. And remember - it's not the price of items that matters, it's the thought
  • Stop with the impulse buys. "IT LOOKS SO CUTE!", yes it does, but do you really NEED it? No? Put it down! 
  • Stick to your lists as much as possible. It's okay to go away from them if things are sold out or are not as expected, but sticking to it will also save you from going all over the place with your buys
  • Check catalogues and online catalogues to see what's on offer. Sometimes it's worth going to certain shops if things are on a discounted price.
Photo credit (x)
I'm a bit crafty myself. I can sew, cross stitch, glue things together. And I personally love to receive things I know others have taken the time and thought to make me. Not that buying someone a present is a bad thing, but we are some souls out there who cannot help but adore the charm of home made presents. It can be anything from pillows for their new sofa, a blanket for the bed, a painting of someone/something they love, jewellery, a scarf, anything your heart desires!

I hope these few tips could be a bit helpful for the coming holiday season! And please don't kill me for this ;-)



Thursday, March 7

Ebay shopping and my experience so far.

So, I recently found myself gravitating towards shopping online. Being the cheap I am, I refuse to pay crazy amounts of money for things like a plastic bracelet or a little ring. Unless I know it's not going to stain my skin green or has to be specially made and I know I won't get tired of in a month. So one night after watching a Youtube video with a girl talking about finding a bracelet on Bracelet for only $1, I thought I would give it a go. And I must say, I was hooked. So I thought I would give you my thoughts on my experience so far.


To shop on eBay you need an account, which is safe and easy to do. When you're in, this is what it looks like:


From here you can search whatever your heart desire. To even more specific and precise searching, there's the "Advanced" page, which gives you more options to make your searching easier and faster.
The absolute safest way to shop online, is using PayPal. It's a service - which is completely free - where you sign up and add your card information, and it saves it and keeps it there. If is completely private, no one else will be able to see it - of course since it's probably the safest way to shop online - and you don't risk having it leaked on unreliable websites. You can even transfer money to your PayPal account, but that I'm not too familiar with. But I promise you, it is safe. Else I wouldn't talk about it.

Before into going what I bought, I want to go over pro and cons.

  • Most of the things are pretty cheap
  • Shipping is most often the same day
  • Shipping is often free (or very very low priced)
  • Payment is safe
  • Searching can get so specific you find the item you want in a few seconds
  • Most sellers are really nice
  • You can see what other people think of some sellers by clicking on their "Feedback". It shows positive, neutral and negative feedback from customers, and can help you get an overall view of the sellers and decide if you trust them
  • Shipping can take a long time. We're talking about 20+ days. It depends on the seller and how fast shipping is. But I have got items waaaay before estimated time.
  • You can risk not receiving the item (I will go about that in my list of things I bought)
  • Some things can look different from what you see.




So now to the fun part. I will list sellers, details, how long shipping took, my overall impression of the shop, quality and is it worth it?
Disclaimer, all pictures shown are taken by me.
And all links open a new tab!







Spike bracelets.
Price: $1.20
Shipping price: Free
Material(s): Plastic, but the spikes are pretty tough. Elastic bands.
Seller: Click here
Item link: Click here
Colours shown: "Bronze" and "Gun Black"
Date bought: 01/02/13
Date shipped: 01/02/13
Date received: 21/02/12
Shipping took (work days): 18
Is it worth it?: Yes! I absolutely love these. They feel great, they have yet to break on me. The elastic used inside is sturdy and since the material is plastic it feels light.






Skull bracelets.
Price: $0.99
Shipping price: Free
Material(s): Metal
Seller: Click here
Item link: Click here
Colours shown: "Bronze" and "Antique Silver"
Date bought: 3/2/13
Date shipping: 3/2/13
Date received: 20/2/13
Shipping took (work days): 15
Is it worth it?: I love these. They are pretty small, but the metal is soft so it's easy to gently bend them open a bit wider so they fit around larger wrists, can even be made smaller for smaller wrists. Still have yet to break on me, I wear them pretty often and bend them open, and no damage so far. Really pleased with these.






Skeleton Bones Bracelet(s)
Price: $1.24
Shipping price: Free
Material(s): Metal
Seller: Click here
Item link: Click here
Colours shown: "Antique Silver" and "Bronze"
Date bought: 22/2/13
Date shipping: 22/2/13
Date received: 4/3/13
Shipping took (work days): 9
Is it worth it?: These feel and look cheap. But I like the bones and they make a good stacking piece.






Music Note Ring
Price: $0.99
Shipping price: Free
Material(s): Metal
Seller: Click here
Item link: Click here
Colours shown: Gold
Date bought: 4/2/13
Date shipping: 4/2/13
Date received: 20/2/13
Shipping took (work days): 15
Is it worth it?: Meh, could have lived without it. It's cute, but nothing to hurry up and buy. It looks pretty cheap and the way the band is made can make it a bit uncomfortable, but I'll wear it. But overall not my favourite purchase. 








Skeleton Spine Earcuff
Price: $0.99
Shipping price: Free
Material(s): Metal
Seller: Click here
Item link: Click here
Colours shown: "Silver"
Date bought: 16/2/13
Date shipping: 16/2/13
Date received: 22/2/13
Shipping took (work days): 6
Is it worth it?: YES! The ear cuff feels very sturdy and good material. It takes a bit of getting used to with wearing it, but it's very comfortable to wear throughout the day. The shipping was AMAZING! I was pleasantly surprised when I found this in my mail box. I did not expect them to come so fast. I adore this.






Frog Ear Cuff
Price: $2.99
Shipping price: Free
Material(s): Thin metal
Seller: Click here
Item link: Click here
Colours shown: "Silver"
Date bought: 21/2/13
Date shipping: 22/2/13
Date received: 28/2/13
Shipping took (work days): 6
Is it worth it?: I bought this for my mum. Personally I wouldn't bother with it. It's very thin, very flimsy. She loves it though. But I wouldn't get it.




Engraved Ear Cuff
Price: $2.55
Shipping price: Free
Material(s): Metal
Seller: Click here
Item link: Click here
Colours shown: "Silver"
Date bought: 21/2/13
Date shipping: 22/2/13
Date received: 2/3/13
Shipping took (work days): 8
Is it worth it?: It's a bit big. But I ordered it for my mum and she absolutely loves it. She wears it a lot and really enjoys it. So for her it's a YAY.




Wrapping Snake Earcuff
Price: $2.55
Shipping price: Free
Material(s): Metal
Seller: Click here
Item link: Click here
Colours shown: "Silver"
Date bought: 21/2/13
Date shipping: 22/2/13
Date received: 2/3/13
Shipping took (work days): 8
Is it worth it?: Again, for my mum. She find it a bit hard to put on, but it's comfortable and sturdy once it's on. She loves it.







Cat/Lizard Earcuff.
Price: $2.55
Shipping price: Free
Material(s): Metal
Seller: Click here
Item link: Click here
Colours shown: "Silver"
Date bought: 21/2/13
Date shipping: 22/2/13
Date received: 2/3/13
Shipping took (work days): 8
Is it worth it?: Again, for my mum. She said it's hard to put on and very fragile. It's cute, but she's not keen on putting it on because it feels like it's going to break. So probably not worth it unless you LOVE how it looks.




BONUS! 


Came in this cute box along with the earrings I'll talk about further down in this post.
(Because it came from the same seller)



Man Hug Earcuff
Price: $2.77
Shipping price: Free
Material(s): Metal
Seller: Click here
Item link: Click here
Colours shown: "Bronze"
Date bought: 16/2/13
Date shipping: 18/2/13
Date received: 4/3/13
Shipping took (work days): 13
Is it worth it?: On the pictures you see some white stuff on one of his arms. I tried to make his arms open a bit more so it could grab around my ear, but accidentally snapped it off. If you have tiny ears, go for it, else, do not try and expand it, it will break. I would not recommend this for everyone.







BONUS! 


Came in this cute box along with the ear cuff .
(Because it came from the same seller)

Claw Earring
Price: $2.99
Shipping price: Free
Material(s): Metal
Seller: Click here
Item link: Click here
Colours shown: "Gold"
Date bought: 16/2/13
Date shipping: 18/2/13
Date received: 4/3/13
Shipping took (work days): 13
Is it worth it?: Because I have larger "ear flaps" (very technical, Malle, very technical.) this doesn't look as good as I wanted. If you go to the item link and see the "model" wearing them, they look awesome. I love these, but I wish my "flaps" were smaller or my piercing put lower. If you have smaller "flaps" or a lower piercing, go for it, it's freaking awesome. But else.. I will say it's a pass. Sadly :-(





Skeleton Hand Earrings
Price: $1.25
Shipping price: Free
Material(s): Metal
Seller: Click here
Item link: Click here
Colours shown: "Antique Bronze"
Date bought: 22/2/13
Date shipping: 22/2/13
Date received: 4/3/13
Shipping took (work days): 9
Is it worth it?: I love these. I've always been a "pretty girl" with my jewellery, but lately I've been into skulls, claws and bones. And these are AWESOME. I would recommend them to anyone who loves this style.








Leaf Necklace.
Price: $2.50
Shipping price: Free
Material(s): Think metal
Seller: Click here
Item link: Click here
Colours shown: "Golden"
Date bought: 1/2/13
Date shipping: 1/2/13
Date received: 20/2/13
Shipping took (work days): 17
Is it worth it?: Again a meh. I mean, it looks nice. I hoped it looked nicer. The hoops between the leaves are annoyingly big for me, so I'll have to find some smaller ones to replace it. But it's a nice statement.










Blush Palette
Price: $6.99
Shipping price: Free
Material(s): Plastic case and then.. make up..material. Haha.
Seller: Click here
Item link: Click here
Colours shown: -
Date bought: 7/2/13
Date shipping: 10/2/13
Date received: 23/2/13
Shipping took (work days): 12
Is it worth it?: I love this. The colours are fairly pigmented and not too powdery. Applies easy, can be build up. If you're not too into make up, but want to have some options, this is awesome. And nothing broke during shipping!










Neutral Warm Eyeshadow Palette
Price: $6.95
Shipping price: Free
Material(s): Case is made out of plastic and the make up is made by.. Make up stuff.
Seller: Click here
Item link: Click here
Colours shown: -
Date bought: 7/2/13
Date shipping: 10/2/13
Date received: 23/2/13
Shipping took (work days): 12
Is it worth it?: This depends on what you are into. For the price, it's fine. Some colours are sheer, some insanely pigmented. I don't own much make up because I don't use much, so this is fine for me. But if you want a bit better quality, this is probably not for you.





Over all experience:
I really enjoy shopping on eBay. It's quick, it's safe and you safe a lot of money and can find unique pieces. Only thing is the waiting time which often puts people off, including myself. But I grow to love some of the items I buy.

I hope you enjoyed this post, it took a long time to put together, but I hope it was somehow helpful. Thank you for reading. Please share or even follow for more, I would appreciate it greatly!