Flip Swap

Are you getting ready to buy the new Apple iPhone tomorrow? If you are one of the millions wondering what you are going to do with your old cellphone, then check out Flip Swap. At Flip Swap you can get instant store credit for your old phone at their network of stores, cash it online, donate it to charity, or recycle it.

A friend of mine recently told me that he sold a bunch of his cell phones to Flip Swamp. The process was easy. They instantly gave him a fair price for his phone and paid for shipping. It was simple.

http://www.flipswap.com/

Ebay Ratings

I don’t know how often you make purchases on eBay, but I did notice they recently made big changes to their feedback policy. In the past you had three boxes to choose, negative, positive or neutral. You would choose one and then leave a detailed message about the transaction. However, now eBay has removed these settings and added what they call detailed seller ratings (DSRs). This new system is more or less the NetFlix or 5 star rating system.

eBay states, “Now, buyers can leave sellers an overall positive, neutral, or negative Feedback and ratings on four aspects of their transaction: accuracy of item description, communication, shipping time, and shipping and handling charges. The rating system is based on a one- to five-star scale, with one star being the lowest rating and five stars being the highest.”

Furthermore, “The average of each DSR is displayed on the seller’s Feedback Profile page. DSRs do not impact the overall Feedback Score, but provide a more complete picture of the member’s performance as a seller. DSRs are also a factor for eligibility for key seller benefits, including advantage in listing exposure, membership in the PowerSeller program, and eligibility for PowerSeller discounts on final value fees”

I think this eBay’s DSR feedback system is more granular, but I am not sure it is as clear for the consumer as the old system. Now instead of just looking for good or bad feedback, you have to look at a myriad of rating variables.

Half Off Deals

With gas prices barreling out of control, the quest to stretch the almighty dollar has become top priority. Before you purchase a gift certificate check out Half Off Deals. Here you can buy gift certificates at half their face value! The website is limited to only a handful of states, however the deals they provide in these states is worth its weight in gold. Check out a large variety gift certificate deals in Chicago, Cleveland, Reno, Richmond, Pittsburgh, Louisville, Rockford, St. Louis, Erie, Seattle, Milwaukee, Springfield, Wilmington, New Orleans, Minneapolis, Wichita!

http://www.halfoffdeals.com/

Epinions

At epinions, you can read and write reviews on millions of products and services. Before you buy, why not discover what everyone else thinks about what you’re buying? Whether you are looking to purchase a new car, book, movie, music, computer, software, electronics, office supplies, sports-related item, trip or something for your home, read a review first. Get involved! If you have an opinion about that new matress you bought or that Xbox that has been giving you issues, post a comment.

http://www.epinions.com

Master the possibilities

Are you tired of entering in your credit card every time you have to shop online? If you are, then consider using one of the new payment systems such as checkout.google.com or BillMeLater.com which allows you to pre-register your credit card. The service will prevent you from having to enter your credit card numbers on many different websites.

For more information on Google Check-out, read Stephen’s review.

Has anyone tried one of these services? Are they worth using?

Flight Arrival

There are many websites that offer you the ability to compare and purchase airline tickets such as Expedia and Orbitz. However once you get your flight plan, in order to verify if the schedule is running on time, you need to check multiple websites. I have traditionally just ended up calling the airline and confirming the schedule. However, what if you are busy traveler and just don’t have the time to drill down deep into a website to find the information. Now with Flight Arrival you can find the most up-to-date information on flight arrivals, departures, delays, and schedule changes. Now the website just launched a new featured called airport status that displays general delays and current weather at 71 major US airports!

If you want to check an arrival or departure, all you do is follow three easy steps. First choose an Airline, then type in the flight number and finally select the date of the flight. The only drawback of the website is you are immediately hit with a large pop-up ad on the homepage and then as you move through the website you are hit with these ads repeatedly.

Has anyone tried Flight Arrival or are there any others worth looking at?

http://www.flightarrival.com

DealNews.com

Looking to save money? Who isn’t?

Check out Deal News for great tips for saving while you shop online. The website also offers up-to-date promotional codes for big name retailers. I just saved 25% with a recent online order.

http://dealnews.com

Gifts.com

Triad Advertising sent out their recent newsletter and had this entry on Gifts.com. “Having a hard time finding the perfect gift for that impossible to buy for person? Tired of battling the crowds at the malls? Try gifts.com, a personal shopping site, which allows users to find gifts based on certain criteria such as personality, recipient, occasion or price. The site also offers blogs, videos and other helpful gift guides.”

gifts.com