Webkinz Deals Online

WebKinz Googles
WebKinz Deals Online
I don't usually go for fads or follow the crowd. However, my kids love stuffed animals and Ganz makes really soft cute ones. So, I gave in to Webkinz. I was concerned with 4 little kids wanting to go online and play in Webkinz world, but they really just love just playing with their Webkinz plush animals. We go online only occasionally, and I admit I love playing the games.

I won't pay full price for a toy, and certainly not when I need 4 of them just to get started. I went to my local Paperstore to get an idea of how much these little guys are going for. Webkinz, the 8.5 inch animals run $10.99 here in MA. The smaller Lil Kinz 6.5 inch go for $8.99. These are my baseline comparison prices for shopping online. The cost plus shipping should not exceed the local store price.

Once I started searching with Google (the search engine not the WebKin by the same name) online, I discovered the first benefit of finding these little WebKinz online: greater selection! There was a huge selection compared to my local store. There were also tons of websites. Everybody is in on it! I started getting lost in surfing for WebKinz.

I discovered there are lots of WebKinz cheat sites. Yeah, you can cheat in WebKinz World. How awful! Of course those sites caught my attention. I had to see what they were about. Geez, just as in real life people have discovered ways around earning money honestly, there are lots of folks out in cyberspace ready to help you cheat and get easy WebKinz money (Kinz cash). Some are legitimate hints on how to play the games better on WebKinz, and buy and sell your WebKinz possessions.

However, others site suggest cheats that looked too much like dark alley dealings for small plush pets! Here I thought these were just sweet innocent little pets and sweet innocent little kids behind them! WebKinz website of course will kick off you and your misbehavin WebKinz pet if you are caught cheating!

Back to shopping for WebKinz deals!

I went to the big toys stores online first, eToys and Toysrus. Toyrus isn't playing with WebKinz. They support Shining Stars where you not only get a plush animal and a magical online virtual world, you also get to register a REAL star in you name in the International Star Registry! Cool, huh? I checked out the Shining Stars, and still wanted a WebKinz (I mean for my kids, not me.)

eToys.com was overpriced, even with any sales they sometimes offered. When I checked the website, some were on sale for $14.99. I will use the white WebKinz Rabbit as an example, since that is one of the ones I eventually purchased (from eBay). eToys: $19.99 + $4.33 shipping! Yikes! Who are you guys kidding??? I can get 3 Rabbits on eBay!

eBay

Speaking of eBay, I looked there next. I purchased WebKinz Rabbit as well as Cheeky Monkey, Koala, Googles, Alley Cat and some Lil Kinz like the Lion, Penguin. Yeah, I got addicted quickly, even for a veteran eBayer. I even got caught up in a LOT auction of WebKinz and ended up with 4 duck-like platypus animals named Googles, which I promptly turned around and resold 3/4 on eBay.

On eBay, do a search for a particular Webkinz you would like. Check the auction description to ensure the tags are unused so you can register your WebKinz on the WebKinz website (otherwise you are purchasing just another plush pet). Also, check the seller's feedback to ensure you are buying from an excellent eBayer seller. ( see my post about smart shopping on eBay: How to Shop and Save on eBay)

Click on completed auctions to see the completed auction final sold prices and shipping costs. You can get some good deals. I don't have the patience for auctions, so usually I only bid if there are less than 10 minutes left. There are enough eBay sellers selling WebKinz that you have plenty of choices. I love the ones that have less than a 1 minute left. That's how I got Rabbit for $2.99 + $5.95 shipping.

Amazon.com
My next stop in search of WebKinz was Amazon.com. There, I also discovered there are more Webkinz than you can imagine. Retired or not these furry little guys are taking over the world like "Trouble with Tribbles" on Star Trek! Some animals are retired after a certain time. The retired Webkinz do command a higher price on eBay and Amazon.

For each WebKinz listing on Amazon, you will find about 10 or more sellers offering the same animal for a variety of prices and shipping rates. You can find a WebKinz for a reasonable price on Amazon.com.

I found another good deal at Costco.com wholesale club. You do need a wholesale club membership to shop at Costco. I would not recommend the membership fee just for some WebKinz but if you happen to have a membership, I found some 4-pack variety packs on Costco for $39.99, shipping included. They include the Black Cat which I found out is seasonal for Halloween.

The WebKinz have been around for a while now since Ganz introduced them in 2005. I think that means they are lasting longer than version 1.0 of TY Beanie Babies. They are going for less and less on eBay. I noticed some auctions end at a starting bid of 0.99 cents with $5-$6 shipping. Maybe the fad is nearing an end? Regardless, my kids are loving them, and I may get them one more each.

WebKinz List of Pets
If you are not sure who's who in the WebKinz world, start with Wikipedia.org under WebKinz:
Wikipedia WebKinz List of Pets

The above link is the list of all the WebKinz pets available. On the Webkinz website, once you register and adopt your pet, each pet has a special item and special food. Those items are identified in this list as well.

Stuffed Animal Donation Locations
So if you have allowed WebKinz into your home or are planning on letting some of these pets move in, you probably need to discard some other plush toys to make room. There are many places that accept clean, good condition stuff animals as donations. You don't have to take abandoned stuff animals to the landfill.

Clean small stuffed animals are always needed by EMTs, Fire and Police Departments to give to children who are involved in trauma and accidents.

This is one site I have used that is in MA.: Project Smile, "Help Bring Comfort to a Hurting Child." You can send your stuffed animals from anywhere to Project Smile, or do a search on Google for stuffed animal donation centers, near you. Maybe after the year free subscription runs out on some of your Webkinz, and your kids have moved on, your littl Webkinz can make another child smile.

Project Smile

You can probably gather all the retired TY Beanie Babies you may have previously accumulated and any other stuffed animals piled in the corners of your bedrooms, and donate them to a good cause.

By the way, TY Beanie Babies generation 2.0 are online now too in their very own virtual world. It is pretty much unanimous: all stuffed animals now live in a virtual reality! I don't think any child will ever be happy again with just a plain ol' cute stuffed if that animal does not come with a sewed on, tied on, virtually irremovable super secret access code to allow the stuffed animal a life of its own on the Internet!

I am at least happy my children still sleep with their plain ol' loveys (We have Bunny, Pinky Puppy, Beary, and Teddy) which only exist in our real world. Oh, the WebKinz do sleep with them too.

More Information about Webkinz
For general information about WebKinz, go to the source, the manufacturer, Ganz:
What are WebKinz?

WebKinz Deals Online

Talk to Anyone Anywhere over the Internet for FREE with Skype

Talk to Anyone Anywhere over the Internet for FREE with Skype

Here is a great way to save online while staying in touch with your family, friends, and business associates, with Skype.




Initially, when eBay! introduced Skype, as a method of making internet calls, chat, and video calls for free, I disregarded it.
In my previous life as an electrical engineer, I spent 6 years in the videoconferencing business. I left the industry just as internet videoconferencing was becoming common yet still bug-ridden.

All I can remember was the hours and hours I spent in labs testing calls, dropped calls, lost data, pixelated images, green screen of death, more testing, and the eventualy successful call! Yeah!

Hey, I met my husband while working at Picturetel so it wasn't all bad! Anyway, I digress. I disregarded Skype because I remembered all the difficulty I encountered in my audio, video and internet conferencing days of old.

Also, when eBay introduced Skype, I wasn't so sure I wanted my customers from my eBay store, A Modern Renaissance Furniture and Toys, to have instant access to me at all times of the day and night, especially since well, I do have 4 kids to take care of!

Well, one day, my dearest cousin in the whole world, Maria, called me from Greece, using Skype! (Internet to landline) She was so excited to now able to now call me every day for cents (well, tiny amounts of Euros) a day! International phone calls cost both of us at least $50 a call, so we didn't get a chance to talk very often.

Well, I was embarassed that I was the computer literate one, running online businesses and spending my entire career in high tech, and my cousin from our my Dad's little village in Greece was telling me to get Skype!!!

I did! It's free! We now talk via the internet whenever we want. We both purchased inexpensive Logictech webcam or video cameras, and we not only talk, we video call. My kids talk to their little cousin. I see my cousin's growing belly with her new baby on the way. I turned the camera out my window and showed her little boy, snow (lots of it!) and our snowman. I loved the excitement in his eyes!

My 6 yr old son put it best when he said, "It looks like we are really in Greece with little cousin Christo. I wish I could go through the computer and hug him!"

Now, if I have a stray thought or question for Maria, I hit the call button and she is there! It works pretty much every time. The only technical difficulties we have encountered is problems with setting up our video cameras, and they were minor.

Well, we got my Dad on Skype. Now I can see my parents whenever I want. They are only 20 minutes away, but through winter in New England, I still didn't get to see them often enough. Now I can "see" them anytime of day. My 6 yr old triplets will call Yiayia and Papou to show them their artwork, their first loose tooth, and new outfits.

Better yet, we conference together, My Dad from home, my cousin Maria in Greece. She call her Dad in the village on the landline puts him on speaker, and now my Dad can talk to his brother. On Christmas, we were able to be together, virtually, for the first time ever.

If only my Grandparents were alive. They would get such a thrill out of this! Heck, I do and I used to write the code to make videoconferencing work! It's just like The Jetsons!

Give it try! It is so easy to create an account. You don't need any equipment beyond your computer and its existing audio properties. If you can connect to the internet, you can Skype. Internet calls are free anywhere in the world. Internet to phone lines do cost a mininal amount per minute: 2.1 cents per minute to over 30 ountries. You can pre-purchase Skype credit to use for internet to phone calls. You can receive cell phone calls to your computer too.

For video calls, you need a webcam or video camera. Logictech is the leader in webcams. We have the following 3 cameras. We use the Logictech QuickCam Pro 9000 on our main computer, and the Logitech QuickCam Pro for Notebooks, on our notebook computer.



We also have the Logitech Quickcam Communicate STX by Logitech, and have given one of those to my Dad when we set him up on Skype.



We purchased all of out webcams on Amazon.com with free supersaver shipping.

Curious about how it all works? Here are some books you can try:




Once you install your camera, then you can go back into Skype, and edit the video settings to auto recognize your camera.

The only thing you can't do with Skype is 911 calls. Skype cannot replace your landline for emergencies. Otherwise, you can pretty much do what your phone does today and soooo much more!

Skype is an eBay company. Skype services are currently available in 28 languages. It is used in almost every country around the world! We can truly talk to anyone at anytime! How cool is that?

So how does Skype make money? Skype gets its revenue through its premium offerings such as internet to and from landline and mobile phones, voicemail, and call forwarding. Internet to internet calls are FREE!

Other features include document sharing, online chat features, and voicemail. Skype has a simple, user-friendly interface. Even a novice can quickly navigate their site, and start Skypeing!

The best part is the money you can save that you would be handing over to your phone company... you know, the monthly long distance fee, line fee, universal service charge (what is that????), , fees, fees, more fees, and oh, let's not forget taxes!

Getting started is simple:

1. Go to www.skype.com. Download the little wizard. It installs on your PC.
2. You select a cool username and password, and your are ready to go.
3. Skype helps you with a test call to make sure everything is ok with your microphone and speakers.
4. Now who to call? Find your friends through their email addresses, or call them up and get them online too! Add your friends to your address book.
5. Double-click on your friend's name from your Skype address book, and you are talking!

Have questions? Need help getting started? Just post a note and I will be happy to help you!




Talk to Anyone Anywhere over the Internet for FREE with Skype

Wholesale Club Shopping Online

Wholesale Club Shopping Online
OK! Before you read my entire article, I will tell you the summary. Costco and BJs are worth giving a one year membership a try. Costco will even refund you at anytime if you are unhappy.

Worst case, a wholesale club membership only costs you a couple of dollars a months. You spend more than that on a cup of coffee. Wholesale clubs become money drains only when you feel obligated to use your wholesale club for everything because you paid a membership fee. That is not necessary to get your money's worth out of a wholesale club membership. If you have a wholesale club membership, that does not mean you have to buy everything there!

I can only comment on Costco and BJs wholesale clubs. I have never used Sam's Club even though it is right across the straight from their owner, my favorite nemesis, Walmart. I, like most people, have a love hate relationship with Walmart. You usually can't beat the prices but hate what they stand for. The truth is for a savings point of view, Walmart offer many items in bulk now. I shop there enough to stock up on TP and paper towels without paying a wholesale club membership. (Walmart should be paying me a membership fee! or at least offer a frequent shopper club!)

I had been a member of BJs for 10 yrs, until I let my membership lapse last month. I realized my once weekly visits had lapsed into every couple of months, to longer than 3 months stretches. I do not need Bjs anymore because I have the time to comparison shop and can get out more easliy now that the kids are in school.

I have been a member of Costco for 2 yrs with a business professional membership. I use Costco for many of my business purchases so I switched to only using Costco instead of having both memberships. Bjs and Costco carry most of the same things. Costco has a more ofice supplies, toys, etcs I need for my online retail business.

I feel Costco and Bjs are equally professional and offer good customer service. BJs has the benefit of accepting MFR coupons and accepts all major credit cards! Costco only accepts checks and American Express in their warehouses (they do accept all major credit cards online though) BJs lines seem to move very quickly, and their aisles, at least at the ones I have been to, are better organized.

BJs was a lifesaver when my children were babies. With triplets plus one, I went through alot of diapers and baby wipes. OK, now I need toilet paper in bulk, but as I mentioned before, I can get bulk TP at Walmart and Target too. I do have the luxury of many shopping choices nearby.

When my kids were babies, I could not follow the sales for the best prices because getting out with 4 babies was tough! BJs also offered the huge double seater shopping carts. My membership fee was worth the ability to safely strap all 4 kids and do all of my shopping plus get a bunch of boxes I could use for packing and shipping on my eBay business! (How did I strap in 4 kids? Well, the shopping carts with the toy car in front fit 2 kids, and the shopping cart also had double seater in the carriage. So worth it!)

I could get my eyeglasses reasonably at BJs, tires for the minivan, coffee and even my copy of People magazine - two of my few vices. I also purchased alot of our clothes there. Quality clothes like Levi's jeans, Dockers Khakis, Polo Oxfords, and Carters clothes for the kids. We stocked up on socks and undies too.

So although the grocery prices were not great compared to what I could find at local supermarkets, the convenience more than made up for it for me.

With small kids, one stop shopping is best! Of course, I would always end buying stitckers, snacks... loved the crossiants I would eat two in the car while driving around with all 4 kids sound sleep surrounded by our BJs loot.

Of course, the crossiants would go stale in a day, and I actually ended up paying a fortune for the two I ate! Some things just aren't meant to be purchased in bulk. Cheerios, Huggies, wipes, and paper towels... yeah families with small kids need those in bulk!

I use Costco mostly for business purchases. I also find the same deals as BJ's on name brand clothes for my family. Their prices are good on toys and gift items. I am an authorized retailer for many of the same MFRs represented at Costco in the toy, furniture and gift departments. I can tell you the Costco markup over actual wholesale is only 10-12%. You are getting a great deal. I use them to supplement my stores when the MFR has a backorder on a certain item. AND there are also alot of eBay sellers making a nice profit off of dropshipping Costco items to customers! That is how good their prices can be!

I use Costco for seasonal and big purchases, like tires. We will eventually get that extra shed we need. I will make most of my big purchases and business purchases ONLINE and have them shipping to my front door. Now you can wholesale club comparison shop from your couch. Both BJs and Costco have great websites, and good deals online.

Costco and Bjs carry major name brand toys, bedding, baby, and electronics items online that may not be available in their warehouses near you. They even have exclusives with some MFRs on certain products. For example, if you want the most gigantic wooden Barbie Dollhouse by Kidkraft, you can only find the Grand Villa at Costco.com.

Costco also had the best and fastest photo processing for our holiday photo cards this year. I created and ordered our Christmas photo cards online on a Friday night, and picked them up at my local Costco Saturday morning.

When you are trying to decide if the $35-$50 is worth the membership, look beyond bulk purchasing rotten tomatoes! Look at what you can get and still be thirfty, online!

I never had success with fresh fruits and veggies at BJs. Nothing ever lasted long enough for me to get my money's worth. I prefer paying money for fresh produce. The only exception is that Costco does have some cool exotic foods, and ya gotta love their bakery!

Buying in bulk can save you money. You have more choices now than when wholesale clubs first started popping up. you have Target, Walmart and similiar stores. You also have wholesale clubs online on the internet. BJs and Costco are definitely worth a try!

Wholesale Club Shopping Online

How to Shop Smart and Safe on eBay

Safe and Smart Shopping on eBay

eBay can be overwhelming even for a veteran buyer and seller like me. I have experienced many of the negative aspects like hostile buyers, account take-over,
spamming emails, you name it. However, eBay has excellent customer service representatives that calmed me down and fixed my problems every time.

I find eBay to be a safe shopping experience if you understand a few rules!

1. Always price shop. eBay has great prices but not always! Search with Google to find your item online from other sellers. Look at the top ten. If the prices are all about the same or more than you would get through eBay. Then look at shipping cost and any discount coupons you may use to reduce the price. If that doesn't look good, go back to eBay!

2. Ready to buy? Check the seller feedback. Look at the negatives. Look at the withdrawn feedbacks.

Here is the truth about feedback... Buyers who are unhappy with a seller will often NOT leave feedback for fear of retaliatory negative feedback. Also look at the postive feedbacks. Sometimes buyers will provide some useful information about a transaction yet leave it as a positive feedback. Look at the detailed statistics. That information is left by buyers anonimously and is a better picture of the what kind of seller you are dealing with.



3. Read the listing carefully. Read the description carefully! If you ar enot sure about something, ask. Some sellers are offering items for sale from other suppliers. They are doing the legwork for you and are provding a valuable service for a price and acting as the "middleman". You can sometimes find their source by selecting a key part of their description,cutting and pasting that description into Google search with quotes, and seeing where else this is offered. Other sources may have a better price.

4. Another trick check the picture source within the description. Sometimes sellers don't always host their own pictures but use pictures from other websites. The secret is if you look at the properties of that picture you may find the source of the real supplier. Mouse over an image, right-click with your mouse, and then click on "properties" You will see where the image comes from. Most of the time it is on eBay or a picture hosting service. Sometimes, you will see the name of another store that sells the same item!

5. Does the seller have their own website? Check if the seller of the item you are considering has their website or web store. You can find this information on their About Me page. Usually, the same item will be cheaper directly from a seller's own website.

6. Ask questions about your item from the sellers you are considering. If the seller responds, you already know he is responsive.

7. Always check the closed listings for the item you are interested in. See what this item has sold for and from which sellers.

8. Protect yourself by paying through Paypal. Paypal offers the benefit of the doubt to buyers always! Trust me, I have been on the frustrating side as a seller, with buyers who file false claims of "Item not as described" Paypal always decided in the buyer's favor. Sigghhh but that's a topic for a
different article where I can vent about Paypal's unfair treatment of honest sellers!

9. Feel like taking a chance on an auction and bidding on a item? Always search online first as to the price for this item. You can get caught up in the excitement of bidding and overpay for your item!!! The fixed Price "Buy it Now" listings may offer a better price.

10. Shipping Fees. Shipping is very expensive and gets more expensive every year. eBay has really done a good job to force sellers to offer reasonable shipping fees.

However, if you feel a seller's shipping fees is extreme, ask the seller the weight and dimensions of the shipping box, and find the actual shipping fee estimate from UPS, FEDEX or USPS websites. Remember, the seller will add a nominal packaging and handling fee. That is expected. Also, if an item ships direct from a manufacturer, the shipping fee will also reflect a required manufacturer's dropship fee. So the shipping fee you are paying is: actual shipping + seller's handling fee + dropship fee (if any).

11. Insurance: UPS and FEDEX automatically insure any package under $100 dollars. You should never have to pay an insurance fee if your item is shipping UPS or FEDEX and is under $100 dollars.

12. Quick Tips on avoiding account hijacking and spam mail:

The biggest source of fraud on eBay is criminals who steal your account information. One day, you try to login into eBay and your password no longer works! First, double check you have not forgotten your password. I make myself panic every once in a while by typing in my password wrong!

How to avoid eBay and Paypal account theft:

Tip#1
If you get an email from eBay in your regular email account like "message from eBay member" or "account information needed" , "unpaid item dispute" , etc.
ALWAYS check that email is really from eBay. A real eBay email will also be in your eBay My Message Folder in My Ebay" Login into eBay from a NEW WINDOW, and double check that email is also in your email folder.
You can also double check from withint the email itself. eBay always uses your registered full name and eBay user name in any email sent from eBay:



In this example, this a real eBay email because the email is addressed to the user's full name, John R. Smith, and his eBay username, Propayer56
If the email say something generic liek "ebay user" or just a user name and not the full name, it is spam! Do not click through that email. You will go to a website that looks like eBay but is a fake website and someone is just stealing your login and email information.

Don't click through the email to response to the question. Always open a new window, and login into your eBay account separately. Answer the question through eBay My Messages center.

Tip #2
Always log-off when you are done with eBay. Don't just close the window. Log-off

13. Get and use a Paypal Security Key
Consider this cool little device available through Paypal, to add an extra layer of security when you log in with the PayPal Security Key. It’s easy, secure, and portable – so you can access your account from just about anywhere.

What is it?
It’s a little 1.5 inch long device that generates a temporary 6-digit security code every 30 seconds. Use it every time you log in to eBay or Paypal for added security.

The same security key works for Paypal and eBay! Everytime you login, you login in normally with username and password. Then you get prompted to enter your security code. Click the button on the Paypal security key, and enter the number who see on it!

14. Good Sources of eBay Secrets. Here are some books that I recommend about using eBay. Read their reviews and you will see they are trusted eBay resources from trusted authors.



So are you ready to go shopping?



If you have any questions or doubts, just ask me! I would be happy to help!

Safe and Smart Shopping on eBay