Shopping Online - Shipping Costs versus Gas &Time, and More...

Well, we said we'd try to add some value by sharing thoughts about shopping, especially Online Shopping, that we deemed DreamWorthy. Here are a few thoughts for today.

Stress Free Xmas Shopping
This blog entry is by XUP (exurbanpedestrian), a Canadian blogger from Ottawa, eh, who apparently shares our philosophy "aboot" Internet shopping. She was apparently having a curmudgeonly day when she wrote this blog [smile] -"All the gates of hell open up and we get sucked into the fiery vortex of Christmas shopping anguish, torment and lamentations…" which echoes my sentiments on holiday shopping - especially in the offline world. Her thoughts on the benefits of shopping online, though, are on-target, bless her. Based on the responses from XUP's followers, many agree. Check it out.

Smart Shoppers Will Shop Online
Well, Shirley McNeal agrees with XUP, at least. Her piece on articlebase.com offer 7 reasons for online shopping, including going green. Shirley writes: "In today's world we need to continually be aware of ways to protect our environment. Every time we travel to a shopping mall we are consuming energy and adding to the problem of air pollution. According to recent studies shopping online has shown a significant reduction of fuel consumption and air pollution." You go, girl! I'm not a Greenpeace member and I couldn't make it all the way through "An Inconvenient Truth," but I am tired of being robbed at nozzle-point for gas (Exxon's shameful profit record) and we need need to take care of Mom Earth, so our kids can have a place to shop when they grow up. ;-)

Sound Off! On Our Squidoo Lens
Have you been to Squidoo? It's a version of blogging, I guess, deftly formulated by the always-firing neurons of marketing guru Seth Godin. We just started a Squidoo Lens yesterday and created a Sound Off section to gather some opinions. As the old saying goes, "we gotta million of 'em," but we'd settle for a thousand (hundred? ten? Mom?) of yours. Here's the debate:

Paying Shipping Costs vs. Burning Time & Fuel
A. Why pay shipping costs if I can pick it up in a local store and save that expense?
B. Save that expense!? If I plan and shop smart online, I pay less shipping than what I'd waste in gas and time.

Which side do you fall on? Is your time worth something? Is the gas expense a big enough deal? Or are those outweighed by shipping costs? Or perhaps by product uncertainty ("a GIF not a product is," as Yoda might say)?

Weigh in here or check out our Squidoo Lens at: http://www.squidoo.com/DreamWorthyGifts

Gift Cards Gone Wild
Have you checked out these gift card sites yet?

• Cardavenue.com allows consumers to buy, sell or trade pre-owned gift cards.
• PlasticJungle.com gift is another card exchange, whether you want to buy gift cards at substantial savings, sell them for cash, or trade pre-owned gift cards with others.

Until recently, when we opened our store, I didn't know these sites existed. I ran a Google search for "gift card exchange" and these two have the best organic search results, but there certainly are others.

Black Friday Cometh
As a 2 a.m. nut-job who has been living for early-morning Black Friday shopping for years, I was ecstatic when these sites started up again. Some of my faves:

• http://www.blackfriday.info/
• http://bfads.net/
• http://blackfriday.gottadeal.com/
• http://www.black-friday.net/

Interestingly, and a sign of our online-shopping-times, Wally-World (Wal*Mart.com) is offering some Unbelievable Online Specials this year, that are online-only. I may never forgive them for killing their lay-a-away program, but this is a positive move, for sure.

Well, that's it for today. Thanks for stopping by. Until next time,

Your friends and Shopping Advisors at DreamWorthy Gifts.