Shopping Maniac

Great products, Bargains and gift ideas


You are here: Home / 2008 / Archives for August 2008

Archives for August 2008

My First Experience with an Anthropologie Clothes Store

by






Urban Outfitters seems to be a hot name in retailing, but it wasn’t until recently that I discovered Anthropologie. If you haven’t heard, seen, or visited an Anthropologie store, you are missing an experience, I kid you not.

After returning from the store, I dug up some statistics that surprised me. Here’s one that had a significant impact on me: the average Anthropologie shopper spends eighty minutes in the store per visit. Eighty — that’s 1 hour, 20 minutes on each visit. How much time do you think the average shopper spends with other retailers? Fifteen minutes. That’s an amazing number that should convey loads about the feel of the stores.

Anthropologie was founded to profit from patrons of the Urban Outfitters chain who outgrew UA’s fashions. As such, the target consumer for Anthropologie clothing is a 30 to 40’ish sophisticated woman with high disposable income. Not a bad market to target!

Ask ten women how they feel about Anthropologie and you’ll likely get . . . one opinion! Almost unanimously, people love the store, but aren’t crazy about the prices. Granted, they are steep, but for good reason. Anthropologie is very selective and exclusive with their fashion lines, and just about all of the clothing you find in a retail location is limited edition. Heck, they even have some one-of-a-kind pieces!

These items tend to fly off of the shelves, leaving mismatched items here and there, but that leads to an opportunity for shoppers: namely, sales racks. There are a bunch of discounted items if you don’t mind digging, which I’m sure is partly responsible the average length of stay.

What impresses me the most about Anthropologie clothes is the distinctive styling. Their clothes include a lot of floral prints, laces, and velvets, but look classy and sophisticated at the same time. The feeling that I get is that it’s a clothing line for confident women who don’t want to reveal half of their bodies to look sexy. Home run, I’d say.

If you’re really looking for a bargain, you can find discount Anthropologie clothing online – not through the Anthropologie store, but through other retailers. I can’t imagine that these items are wholesale, and with the high turnover in clothing, I don’t think it’s made up of last season’s items either, but the price is right!

Here’s the bottom line: if you haven’t yet shopped in an Anthropologie store, find out if there’s one in the vicinity. It really is a great shopping experience. But beware of the prices!






Is Earth4Energy Any Good ?

by

It’s becoming costly to use traditional energy resources as a main source of energy in the home. This bottom line cost is making people reflect on practical alternatives to fossil fuels. If you add this to the probable environmental problems that may be caused by using carbon based, fossil fuels, it seems that people are getting the bigger picture and determined to act on this information.

The first option to consider is renewable energy for your residence. Renewable energy systems are generally safer than burn carbon based resources for the environment. It is also plentiful and will not be depleted the more humans use it.

This means it is an ideal source of energy given that our needs for energy will increase with population increases. So the Earth4Energy guide is about creating 2 renewable energy systems for your home. And with this in mind, it does what it says on the sales page. It details how to build these systems from scratch, including finding the parts for free or very cheaply. It also includes clear diagrams, photographs and instructions on how to put them together.

However, there is another reason why this manual is a much needed product in the renewable energy field. It is useful right now because people are looking at renewable energy systems but are put off by the cost. The EarthForEnergy guide shows you how to install two systems at a fraction of the commercial options.

Indeed, the cost of a professionally installed renewable energy system could be as high as $20000 depending on the requirements of the home. This kind of money is either not available or hard to justify using on something that isn’t essential when a solution is already in place. It also means that even though you will save on energy bills with such a system, it will take a number of years to get the initial investment back from these savings.

In the case of the systems you will be creating based on the Earth4Energy manual, the cost is small enough that you will have made the initial investment back within a couple of months (6 months maximum). After that, all the energy you create will supplement your energy needs and help to reduce your energy bills. So the entry barrier for getting into renewable energy is greatly reduced, as is the financial risk, even if these systems do not have the same capacity as an expensive system.

So the major innovation of this manual is that it can help even the most cash strapped person set up a renewable energy system, thus popularizing the use of renewable energy.This can not only help the  individual, but can help everyone collectively, as environmental issues become more of an issue.

Get more details on solar power appliances as a renewable resource for the home, including residential solar hot water .

Who Wants Walmart Gift Cards?

by

Despite many of the negative press lately about the de-valuation of gift cards there is still one place where people can find full-valued Walmart Gift Cards. Aside from the fact that they are free there are many reasons to go check it out? No kidding, free.  If you look around a bit you can find a lowest unique bid auction site where you can get said gift cards absolutely free.

Auctions4acause has a lot of different auctions going on now where bidders pay a small fee for a chance to win some cool stuff. Most of the time they run some special auctions where it’s free to bid and win. Anyone can bid on a $75 value gift card for no cost and possibly be the winner at the end of the auction. While there anyone can check out any of their other auctions that benefit some very well-known charities all the while exploiting opportunities to get some cool tech items for pennies on the dollar. From IPOD auctions to macbookair and cheap Nintendo Wii’s the selection is sufficient.

Mac genes aside the macbookair is one of the hottest mobile computing devices available. Considered a tool for graphics designers and a toy for kids the Macbook air is proving to be much more versatile these days. It gets it’s thin build thanks to a backlit LED display and combined with other feature enables it to outpace the competition.

The idea of the lowest unique bid gives this website a leg-up on the other auctions sites on the net. The unique idea results in a pre-determined number of bids while not restricting the number of bids you can make. The idea here is to make 2 or 3 bids for less than $30 and win the item. You’ll want to think through various outcomes before you put any money into it.

You surely could spend an hour or two looking over the site but the real freebie is on the $75 Walmart Gift Card!

Unique Gift Ideas to Surprise Your Loved Ones

by

It’s your birthday and you are showered with T-shirts or chocolate boxes; comes Valentine’s day and there are at least five rose bouquets waiting for your kind attention; perhaps it’s your parents’ wedding anniversary and your house becomes a dumping ground of cookware and bedspreads and like and  you can not find a place to fit them.

Just think a little, don’t make the same mistake when it comes to shopping for gifts for a special person and end up buying the most boring gift, while your intention all along has been to make a unique statement of love and appreciation with your gift.

If you need some help to stir up your imagination, here are some off-beat ideas to make your gift stand out in the crowd.

Seasonal produce
If you have a garden, the produces thereof can make beautiful gift for the person you care for. Suppose it is your best friend’s wedding anniversary –  pluck roses from your garden and then arrange them artistically in a basket and then send them to her with your best wishes scribbled on a piece of paper.

The same way, a basketful of garden fresh seasonal fruits or vegetables from your garden can add to your dad’s delight on the father’s day or perhaps on someones birthday.

Herbal beauty products
This is an age when organic products score over their chemical counterparts. As such, a range of herbal skin care products including bath soap, bath salts, moisturizers or facial packs can make an interesting gift for not only women, but for men as well.

Japanese Bonsai
Who doesn’t love greenery? So a green present is bound to be a hit with everybody. Make a green statement by presenting your loved one a bonsai plant. For a more attractive statement, look for a specimen that bears tiny fruits in it.  This of course is not a gift to give someone with no interest in gardening or Bonsai as the plant will die off quickly if not cared for properly. For those without green thumbs and easy to care for plant might be ideal.

Stunning picture frame
Picture frames often make boring gifts. But not anymore when you tuck a beautiful picture inside it. When father’s day is near you could  rummage through your mother’s drawer or the attic in search of an old photograph that features your dad as a dotting father. Present it to him on father’s day, but be prepared for some emotional outburst.  You could also give a Digital Photo Frame as a gift. Load it up with a range of pictures that suit the occasion and the gift recipient will be sure to appreciate such a lovely gift.

Pursuit for knowledge
Books no longer interest most young people these days. Make a gift of annual subscription of the Encarta series of digital multimedia encyclopedia to the studious girl and see her brighten up instantly.

Charm bracelets
To mark any special event, gift your loved ones with a charm bracelet. Make it personal by adding a charm that bear the date of that special event or occasion. Depending on your budget, choose between sterling silver white gold or yellow gold. For added glitter, choose one with Swarovski crystals.

Wine set
Personalized wine glass sets make very stylish gift ideas. It makes a romantic statement if you present a pair of wine glasses to a couple with the couple’s name engraved in it. Be sure to include a nice bottle of wine for the couple to sample.

Create the balance of negative and positive chi
Fengshui items could spark off the imagination of any person. Fengshui items like crystals, chimes, laughing Buddha – all make ideal gifts for house warming parties.

Toolbox for the passionate cook
If you know someone to be an avid cook, you can please her/him by a making a gift of such items as an assortment of exotic spices. A set of knives or skillets or a set comprising such tools as kitchen thermometer, weighing scale etc. A person who loves cooking or baking would enjoy a gift such as this.

Use your imagination, try to find gifts that suit a persons interests and passions.  Your gift will be all the more cherished if you put some thought in to it.

Meta

Pages