I know they say nothing in life is free but that's not always true. I always try to take advantage of free offers. The trick is not to fall into the marketing ploys.
For example, I received an e-mail last week from Fruits and Passion (my favourite bubble bath) that they had free shipping for one day only. My stock pile of bubble bath is almost gone and I definitely needed more. Bubble baths are one of my big indulgences but I'm allergic to most brands so I can't buy something cheap at the buck store. Their website is beautiful and I could easily get carried away and order all kinds of things but that defeats the free shipping. By the way, the closest store to me is an hour drive away so I try to stock up for a year at a time. Instead of ordering all the lovely gifty things, I ordered the industrial size refill litre bottles and they were on sale too (yahoo). So my bubble bath is about $6.50 a month instead of $15.
I recently had Ikea offer free shipping so I ordered some drapes I wanted. It's a couple hours drive from here and we are going next week but I wanted to try them out. If I needed to return something, I could take it back to the store next week. Luckily, both sets of drapes are great. Will give you a sneak peek of them on the weekend.
One of the tricks I've learned about ordering on-line is to place your order but not hit the final submit button. Fill in all the info on your cart, including your name, address, e-mail but don't complete the transaction...then wait. I have often had the site contact me within 2 weeks and offer free shipping or a discount if I complete the order.
Give your e-mail address to stores when they ask. You will have to spend a few minutes each day deleting things you are not interested in but you will get offers coming to you. Bath & Body Works just sent me a coupon for $7.50 free gift. No strings attached but I needed to use it this week. The e-mail came with the title "Please Say It's Not Over!" because I haven't bought anything there in over a year. I got some lovely lemon scented soap for the kitchen - gratis!
I make a point of looking, especially on-line, for coupons or free offers on things I regularly use. I haven't bought a razor in years. I just got another free one with a box of cosmetic and personal care goodies from Elle magazine. The catch - I had to write a review for the things I was given. No problem as I'm always ready to give my opinion.
So while you need to be cautious about con artists on the phone offering free holidays, sometimes you can get something for free. I once got some good advice from my boss. John said Always ask for what you want. The worst that can happen is you are told NO. Then you are in the same boat as you are now but people can't read your mind. If you don't ask, you may never get what you want.
Sometimes it works when you aren't even trying. I was calling around for insurance quotes to see if I could save money. I didn't end up changing companies but I did receive a $10 gas gift card as a thank you for asking for a quote....Bonus! Off for my bath now,
For example, I received an e-mail last week from Fruits and Passion (my favourite bubble bath) that they had free shipping for one day only. My stock pile of bubble bath is almost gone and I definitely needed more. Bubble baths are one of my big indulgences but I'm allergic to most brands so I can't buy something cheap at the buck store. Their website is beautiful and I could easily get carried away and order all kinds of things but that defeats the free shipping. By the way, the closest store to me is an hour drive away so I try to stock up for a year at a time. Instead of ordering all the lovely gifty things, I ordered the industrial size refill litre bottles and they were on sale too (yahoo). So my bubble bath is about $6.50 a month instead of $15.
I recently had Ikea offer free shipping so I ordered some drapes I wanted. It's a couple hours drive from here and we are going next week but I wanted to try them out. If I needed to return something, I could take it back to the store next week. Luckily, both sets of drapes are great. Will give you a sneak peek of them on the weekend.
One of the tricks I've learned about ordering on-line is to place your order but not hit the final submit button. Fill in all the info on your cart, including your name, address, e-mail but don't complete the transaction...then wait. I have often had the site contact me within 2 weeks and offer free shipping or a discount if I complete the order.
Give your e-mail address to stores when they ask. You will have to spend a few minutes each day deleting things you are not interested in but you will get offers coming to you. Bath & Body Works just sent me a coupon for $7.50 free gift. No strings attached but I needed to use it this week. The e-mail came with the title "Please Say It's Not Over!" because I haven't bought anything there in over a year. I got some lovely lemon scented soap for the kitchen - gratis!
I make a point of looking, especially on-line, for coupons or free offers on things I regularly use. I haven't bought a razor in years. I just got another free one with a box of cosmetic and personal care goodies from Elle magazine. The catch - I had to write a review for the things I was given. No problem as I'm always ready to give my opinion.
So while you need to be cautious about con artists on the phone offering free holidays, sometimes you can get something for free. I once got some good advice from my boss. John said Always ask for what you want. The worst that can happen is you are told NO. Then you are in the same boat as you are now but people can't read your mind. If you don't ask, you may never get what you want.
Sometimes it works when you aren't even trying. I was calling around for insurance quotes to see if I could save money. I didn't end up changing companies but I did receive a $10 gas gift card as a thank you for asking for a quote....Bonus! Off for my bath now,
xo Julie
Excellent tips. Enjoy your bubble bath.
ReplyDeleteGood information Julie! Its a great day for a bubble bath and some down time. --Sandy
ReplyDeleteGreat suggestions! Thanks.
ReplyDeleteJudy