Thursday, November 12, 2009

Keep In Touch With SafeLink

"SafeLink is a Government supported program"

For many years having a phone in your home is standard, if not nessearry. Would you be able to live without a phone?

This prompted the FCC to create the LifeLine Program more then twenty years ago. If you have ever applied for any kind of assistants (TANAF/SSI/etc..) you may have heard of the program. The version for Land-lines may have a variety of names (depending on where you live) but now there is one for cell phone service.

You only get about 68 minutes each month, which isn't much.  You get the phone free, but I am unsure if you have to give the phone back when you stop using the service.  From what I read on their website, soon people on the program will be able to buy air-time cards at many nation wide retail chains so they can use the phone for more then just an hour a month.

However, for some people that may be enough.  I think I read that any unused mintues will rollover.  It is worth looking into!

http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/consumerfacts/lllu.html

Saturday, August 15, 2009

Magic Bullet, Small in Size But Big In Fun.

 When companies make infomercials, they make them for me, lol.  I am always watching new infomercials.  When I'd seen the one for the Magic Bullet my first thought was "these actors are terrible", lol. But I liked the product.   Some of my Family members had also seen the infomercial and wanted to try it.   

When you buy from their website you get 2 Magic Bullets (sets) for the price of one. Just about everyone on my dad's side of the family got a Magic Bullet System.  

To start my review of this product I must first say this; with all the attachment (blender, juicer,etc..) it takes up about the same amount of space as a stand alone blender (or juicer).   However, at least you can separate it and only leave the base on the counter.  Learning how it works and getting used to it is fun.  It can be scary though, you can pulse it or push and turn to lock it "on". I do not like locking it "on". I am dyslexic and always turn it the wrong way to stop it.  I realy don't understand why they have the "locking" option because the book says not to run the machine longer then 1 minute (or thirty seconds, cannot really remember) at a time or you can burn up the motor. 


When we got it, we tried to do the stuff on the infomercial, like make salsa etc...  It comes with a recipe book that has the infomercial recipes and more.   


I like being able to grid my own coffee beans. Nothing is better then fresh ground Kona Coffee.  


You MUST learn how to shake and hold at the same time, especially when you are trying to blend (mix,etc.) something thick. It makes the job go a lot faster. If you don't you will have to stop and open it up to get stuff from around the blades. 


 When blending ice or something frozen you have to put some liquid or the blades will jam. 

The juicer is not as powerful as a stand alone juicer but does the job. The biggest plus it the easy clean up. 



The only thing I would recommend they add to the bullet is a cover for the base. Because you do not really leave anything in it (small or large mixing container with blade) so it is open and dust gets in there. 


I also had a ?why? moment when I'd seen a bottom for the Blender. How can you put it on? if you have used it, it would be full so you cannot take the blade off until it is empty. The only way to use it is to put it on while empty and pour stuff in it. Which does not make any sense.


They say you can microwave the small and big mixing containers (REMEMBER TO TAKE OFF THE BLADE OR SPARKS WILL FLY, lol), I have not tried it yet even though I have had it for a long time now.



All-in-all it is worth buying. You can cut the cost of it down by selling the second Magic Bullet Systems (or just keep it for when you break the first one, lol).

Thursday, July 30, 2009

Kudos For eBay.com

 Years ago I tried to sell some stuff on eBay.com, and didn't not have much success.  The main thing that irritated me was having to pay for your listing upfront.   If you didn't watch out you could end up paying $4+ to list an item, and there was no guarantee that it was going to sell. Bottom-line you would be out the listing fee and still have the item taking up space in your home. 

Read Details Here!
Now, you can list up-to 5 items a month without paying the listing fee upfront.  The best part is you do not have to start your auction at 9.99 or lower to avoid an outrageous listing fee. The Starting price of the item does not matter.  *Excludes items with a Start/Buy It Now/Reserve price of $18 million and above. You still have to pay the "Final Value Fee" if the item sells.  The link above takes you right to the page that explains what the "Final Value Fee" will be.


I can see this tactic bringing eBayer's like me back, I had all but given up on trying to sell stuff on eBay.com. However now that I am using my 5 free listings a month (or 30days) I have a new view on eBay.  This month three of the five things I listed sold, that is a good average (you may have different results).  

Happy Selling!

Friday, January 16, 2009

Do you get what your gold is worth with Cash4Gold.com?



I, like many, have thought about selling my old jewelry. Particularly the gold stuff, since the price of gold is high (now dropping, so sell now or wait until the next spike) people expect to get a few hundred bucks for a handful of gold jewelry. Cash4Gold.com has TV commercials playing many times a day. I do not have a local jeweler that I would go to, to sell my gold so something like Cash4Gold.com appealed to me. However after watching an episode of Inside Edition (Don't quote me on the shows name, I am pretty sure that is the one them) I am glad I never sent my gold away to them.

The TV show had two jewelers verify the amount of gold that was in their decoy jewelry. It was over $1000.00 bucks worth. An Undercover reporter went into many jewelry stores to "get offers" for their gold. The stores offered from $700 to $1200. The best store offer was only a few hundred dollars below the actual value.

However, the shocker was the LOW offer made by Cash4Gold.com. It was around $300. When the reporter refused the offer (which is something you can do when you send your gold to them), they doubled the offer. It was still the lowest in the bunch. Cash4Gold.com's reasoning was their "gold measuring machines" could more accurately measure the amount of gold in the jewelry.

I have now abandoned my plans on sending anything there. Of course, I do not trust jewelers either. I wish I could measure it myself before sending away/attempting to sell gold jewelry. That way I would know if the offer was good or not. Not knowing if I would be ripped off is the main reason I did not send away for my "postage-paid envelope" from Cash4Gold.com.

I wonder how much stolen jewelry gets sent to Cash4Gold.com.


If you still want to give Cash4Gold.com a try there is a few things you should know.

First, you have to be 21(+). Read the paragraph in quotations below, this is from Cash4Gold.com. It explains that they do not pay you for gemstones other then small diamonds.

“Cash4Gold purchases second hand jewelry for refining, not for resale. Prices are based solely on the weight and karat grade contained in the jewelry, not on its potential value if resold intact. For this reason, the company cannot pay for gemstones in the jewelry other than small diamonds. If you wish to sell your fine jewelry, such as estate pieces, diamonds over 1 carat and fine time pieces, you can obtain a quote on possible value by contacting our affiliated website, theestatebuyer.com.”

If you have a piece of jewelry that has gemstones and the other options for selling it are not for you, you can still send them. Just take out the gemstones first. You may be able to sell those loose gemstones to a local jeweler or online.


Another part of Cash4Gold.com’s terms and conditions you should acquaint yourself with is the “Limitation of Liability”. In their TV commercials they talk about how the envelope they send you to send in the jewelry is insured. This section gives you the details.

“Cash4Gold's liability is and shall be expressly and specifically limited to the LEAST of the following sums:
1. The liquidation value placed on the total contents by Cash4Gold in Cash4Gold's sole discretion.
2. One-third (1/3) of the appraised value of the contents according to an appraisal submitted by a customer/seller to Cash4Gold, which appraisal was issued prior to the shipment of the item to Cash4Gold; and,
3. The sum of One Hundred ($100.00) Dollars.”

That is not good insurance. And, there is no way around it. If you know your items are worth more then $100 you be S.O.L if your Pak gets “lost”. Cash4Gold.com recommends that you insure your Pak with the Carrier at your expense. I doubt if many people do that, or even know that should. You can get an appraisal before sending the items, however if you want the amount of the appraisal to be used in the event of your Pak being lost/stolen/etc… you must send the appraisal to Cash4Gold.com before retuning the Pak. Without an prior appraisal your are limited to $100. The way the “Limitation of Liability” is worded it seems you would have a hard time getting anymore then $100 even if you have a prior appraisal.

You have ten days from the date on the “offer check” to contact Cash4Gold.com if you do not want to accept their offer or have changed your mind.
When you ship you Pak to Cash4Gold.com you are agreeing to ALL Terms and Conditions set forth by Cash4Gold.com (read all on Cash4Gold.com)



Company Address:
1701 Blount Rd | Pompano Beach, FL 33069
Customer Service - 1-800-241-1811
Hours Monday - Friday
9am - 5pm EST




If you have used Cash4Gold.com, let us know what you thought about it. Was your offer good? Do you think you got ripped off?