Introducing the Premium SST Cocktail Shaker Set

The Premium SST Cocktail Shaker Set Bundle sold on Amazon by G&Z Online Marketing comes with a double jigger, two bottle pourers, and over 50 recipes. This 24oz martini bar kit is a nice holiday gift item made from high-quality, dishwasher-safe stainless steel and guaranteed to stay rust-free.

I talked with one of the partners who created the product, and he's offering a special coupon to readers of this blog. The coupon code for 10% off: just use the Code "BLOGSP10" (Blog Special 10%). The coupon has a limit for one usage per customer, and it can be used for multiple units in the same purchase.

1. I like that your product comes with accessories and recipes. Would you tell us a little more about everything that comes with the cocktail shaker?

Our Premium Cocktail Shaker comes with all you need to make drinks at home. First is the actual shaker: it's a three-piece shaker, with a body/cup, lid and cap. The lid has a built-in strainer to keep everything you don't need away from your drink. Also, we have a double jigger, which is a measuring cup for drinks, 1/2 oz and 1oz, and two bottle pourers to fit on the bottle to avoid dripping all over the kitchen.

With every purchase, we also give an eBook with tips, tricks, and over 50 recipes.

2. As for the shaker itself, how did you choose materials and test the product to make sure it met your specifications before having a factory produce it for you?

Well, it was not as easy as I expected. We hired three material engineers, went over many, many reviews and complaints on other products, and did deep market research for materials best for use in the kitchen, until we decided to go with stainless steel 18/8 (aka Grade 304), as it's food safe, rust-free, dishwasher safe and on top has a nice, shiny look.

3. How did your earlier work experience as a bartender influence your design of your product?

As both myself and my wife worked as bartenders, we know what we want: size, shake, grip, weight, and so it took some time to find the right partner and factory to product it according to our needs, but where there is a will, there is a way....

4. What do you like about Amazon as a platform for selling your product?

I like that customers are coming to buy, and they have a very big variety to choose from. They can feel safe when purchasing as Amazon and we as sellers provide an excellent return policy and 100% satisfaction guarantee.

I appreciate the great customer service and amazingly fast delivery that our customers receive as we use Fulfillment by Amazon. I myself have been a loyal Amazon Customer for over eight years.

5. What has been the response from customers so far?

Customers love the product. We get many emails which tell us, "Thanks, this is an amazing product, best shaker ever." Even though we knew we'd come up with a good product, the love we get from the customers is more than we could ever have expected. I do believe when you make quality products and back them with value for the money and great customer service, customers get a good deal and appreciate it.

Introducing a Holiday Gift Guide for Feng Shui Art Gifts

It's already time to start thinking about the holiday season and cool Christmas gifts. If you don't have any ideas for gifts yet, don't worry because there are helpful holiday gift guides to get you thinking. One example is The Best Holiday Gift Guide For 2015-2016: Feng Shui Art Gifts.

Created by Explosionluck.com, this guide includes some unique ideas for Feng Shui gifts. Based on the principles of Feng Shui art, these gifts include Feng Shui paintings and jewelry. Not only are there a variety of beautiful gift items, but they are also designed with the intention to help create prosperity and abundance.

Popular gifts include Tibetan Buddhist tapestries and moving sand art pictures. There is a really nice array of pictures with different subjects such as mountains, water, and wildlife. Really there is something for everyone who wants a painting that inspires rest and meditative thought.

Many of the gifts are especially good for people who are looking for find items that help create a relaxing environment. If your family and friends are interested in yoga and Buddhist philosophy, this gift guide is a great place to start browsing for creative, artistic gifts.

Introducing TheSavingsMart on Amazon

When people think of Amazon, sometimes they just lump everything on the site together and forget that there are a lot of uniquely individual storefronts on the site. For me as an Amazon shopper, I like when I find a particular storefront that carries products that I like, and I tend to return again and again.

If you want to check out an interesting storefront on Amazon, check out TheSavingsMart. A self-described one-stop shop, TheSavingsMart carries familiar brand names at discounted prices.

When I browsed the shop, I found great products for kids from brands like Disney and Fisher Price. For example, there are Frozen figures and backpacks. If you need gifts for a child's birthday or other occasion, you'll find lots of inspiration here--plus ideas for party supplies, too.

Another brand carried by TheSavingsMart is the MEDca brand. MEDca has an extensive range of useful products, from health to household to toys. They have a lot of hard to find gadgets, like shoe stretchers and hearing amplifiers. My favorite of their toys is their supermarket playset which comes will all sorts of fun stuff for kids to pretend that they're shopping, cooking, and more.

If you haven't browsed TheSavingsMart storefront on Amazon before, give it a look and see the latest products for kids as well as adults.

Introducing ZyShopper, an App for iOS and Android

Do you like window shopping? Is it hard to find the time to actually walk down the street or through the shopping mall and browse for items to buy? Well, the idea behind the ZyShopper app is to give you a browsing/shopping experience from your smartphone.

The way the app works is that when you click to open it, you're taken to a selection of ten items from one of the stores that partners with ZyShopper. You can browse through the items and, if you're interested, you can buy them and/or click to view similar items from that store. You can also choose to look at a new set of ten items from a different store.

The idea of the app is to create a fast and fun way to shop online--from anywhere. Whenever you have a few minutes, you can open the app and find new fashions. So far, over 100 of the world's largest brands are represented in the app.

For the best idea of how ZyShopper works, check out this YouTube demo:

The app is available in the iTunes store and through Google Play.

Introducing a Cash Back Shopping Portal

There are a lot of affiliate programs where the consumer gets to share the wealth by clicking through on a special link when shopping and then getting coupons, points, or cash back. Here's a program which offers a cash back toolbar, so that instead of always going to a particular website to click through the appropriate links, you can just install the toolbar, and you will get cash back automatically when you shop at participating sites.

The program is called DubLi, and the link above takes you to a video which explains how it works. It's pretty easy! Just search, shop, and get cash back. There are really quite a lot of well-known stores which participate. In addition to shopping at websites like Target and Macy's, you can also get travel deals on sites like Hotwire and Priceline. You'll find exclusive deals and coupons, too.

Personally, I've used discount programs in the past and enjoyed them, but I've never tried one with a toolbar before, and the simplicity of using this type of shopping portal seems like it would be worth a try.

TrueGether, A Free Online Marketplace for Buyers and Sellers

Last November I learned about a site called TrueGether and posted an introduction to the site.

Over the last six months, the site has continued to grow. There is a useful feature for sellers which allows you to use TrueGether to manage multiple marketplaces. You just select one marketplace as your primary marketplace, and when you make adjustments to product quantities and other info, it gets updated in your other marketplaces. This feature currently works with eBay, Facebook, and Google Shopping.

TrueGether also uses social media and SEO techniques to get the word out about your products. When someone makes a purchase from you, their friends hear about that purchase on social media. TrueGether also makes it easier to get social endorsements for your products.

If you want to buy and sell items directly on the TrueGether marketplace, you pay no fees to list, sell, or buy. So there's no risk in trying out the marketplace as a new venue for your products. Buyers can trust the site because they are able to buy products using PayPal or Amazon Payments.

If you're a buyer and/or a seller looking for a free online marketplace, check out TrueGether and see what you think.

Introducing Thingsfolio, a Social Product Review Site

A group of entrepreneurs is just launching a new site called Thingsfolio. The tagline of the site is "The Fun and Easy Way to Shop Socially." The idea is that you can visit Thingsfolio to get friend-sourced product advice; it's a social product review site where you can view recommendations and solicit advice when you are shopping for something.

I've spent a lot of time Googling and scrolling through reviews on sites like Amazon. I've also posted on Facebook to ask friends when I want to make a purchase and am not sure where to start (like when I finally decided to replace my 10+ year-old digital camera!). Thingsfolio allows you to connect to their site with Facebook, and you can easily share information with your Facebook friends through the site. It's pretty cool because basically it allows you and your friends to self-select; if you like sharing information about products, you can use Thingsfolio to connect and share with other friends who like to do the same thing. When you're shopping and want to gather info from your friends, you don't have to use your status updates to ask questions because you can browse, ask, and learn through Thingsfolio instead.

Other features of Thingsfolio include being able to view your Facebook friends' favorites or wishlists, which can be great for birthdays, baby showers, and more. The site has a user-friendly interface with a nice-looking visual component which lets you set up "folios" according to your interests (groups of products you like, stuff you want, etc).

We have seen social product reviews become more and more influential (Amazon, Goodreads, Yelp, and the list goes on), so I think Thingsfolio could be poised for a busy future. Learn more by checking out this video from the company.

Introducing Yugster, a Site Featuring Daily Deals

Who doesn't like a website which passes along deals to online shoppers? Yugster Daily Deals is a daily deals website whose name comes from the words, "Yours Until Gone." They post a new product every morning at 6:00am eastern standard time, and it's available until it sells out.

When you register with the site, they'll send you an email to give you a heads-up about the deal of the day. A cool thing about the site is that when browsing, I found several items available, in addition to today's deal. The site has special offers and other promos to keep visitors interested.

Some of the Yugster deals are members-only, and there are other features for members, too, such as the YugPoints you earn with each purchase and can apply to future purchases. In other words, they make it worth your while to sign up!

The site will appeal to shoppers who like Woot and other tech-friendly daily deal websites. They regularly feature tech products, so it's a good site to check out if you're checking for tech deals on the net.

Introducing SmartMobilePhones.net, a Source for Phones and Accessories

Personally, I find choosing a mobile phone to be one of the bigger shopping challenges of modern life. How do you know which phone is best for your personal needs? Where can you easily compare the prices and features of different phones? I'm appreciative for sites like Smart Mobile Phones which put all the popular phones and accessories into one easy-to-browse place.

The owners of Smart Mobile Phones created their site to offer a "customer-friendly" experience for people looking for smart phones, specifically iPhones and Android phones. You can contact the site owners if you have questions, comments, etc. This is a newer site, and I get the impression that the owners are going to be responsive to customer feedback as they continue to grow the site, so if you have input, let them know!

The site gives you a lot of good prices on smart phones, and you can compare prices and features to find the deal that works best for you. When it comes to iPhones especially, prices can vary depending on the cell service provider, so it's useful to see the different options brought together on a single page. And with Android phones, different manufacturers have created phones that offer a variety of looks, capabilities, and more. It really does help when a site like this presents your options all together.

Smart Mobile Phones is seamlessly integrated with Amazon to offer easy ordering as well as access to additional information like customer reviews. It's a smooth and simple way to shop for phones and phone accessories!

Introducing Cartrell General Merchandising

I'm always interested in seeing how different entrepreneurs reach out to customers in different ways online. Cartrell General is a unique site which offers a variety of items in limited quantities. It's a great site to find creative gift items, and every time you visit, you're going to find something new.

The store was founded by a married mother of one who works full time in higher education. The founder also enjoys travel, shopping, history, nature, and antiques. Her diverse interests are a big plus to building a site with an interesting repertoire of products!

Here are a few examples of products I noticed on a recent visit to the site. First of all, there are customized towel cakes, made to the specifications of each individual buyer.

These are creative and colorful and would be a one of a kind addition to a party. Personally, I like the idea of taking a "cake" and turning it into a lasting gift item, especially for recipients who might not want to indulge in all the calories in a traditional cake!

Cartrell General also offers clothing items for men, women, and juniors, including a nice line of plus-sized items. A couple of standout items are the ladies' sandal and jacket pictured below.

To see more of the shoes currently featured on Cartrell General, click here.

And click here to see all the different collections of products on the site.

One other refreshing feature of this business is that Cartrell General offers layaway payments. I remember my mom buying our winter coats on layaway when I was a child, and I'm glad to see a retailer reviving this helpful practice.

In short, Cartrell General Merchandising is a start-up business with a lot of heart, so I hope you'll stop by the site and browse the selection of hand-picked products.

Meet Dana of Penny Bid Index

The people behind Penny Bid Index pride themselves on making online shopping fun, affordable, and entertaining. They offer customers a fun way to purchase the items they want at a price they can afford, by purchasing bid packs to bid on auctions. Even if you don't win the auction, you have a "Buy Now" option so that you can still receive that item at a discounted price. Customers can also earn more bids with contests, games, and referrals. Click here for more information about registering at Penny Bid Index.

1. How does Penny Bid Index work?

First you must sign up and create a user name. Then go to the Bid Mart and purchase a Bid Pack of your choice. Once your purchase process is complete, you can then use your bids and start bidding in the auction! Bids cost just $0.60 and can be purchased in Bid Packs at the Bid Mart or on the Cent Spot. These bids are pre-paid and stored in the Credit History section of My Penny Bid Index. Each time you place a bid, it will be deducted from your remaining bids, and will increase the price of the auction by 1 cent. 

No more than 20 seconds is added to the timer whenever a bid is placed. This allows another user the opportunity to bid if interested. It is just like the auctioneer shouting "Going once... Going twice... SOLD!" at a traditional auction. You win by being the last to bid. Once you pay the final auction price, the shipping costs is free, and the item is yours!

Here is the part that is not like a traditional auction: if you do not win, you cannot reclaim the bids you place. BUT, because we never want anyone to walk away with nothing, we offer a Buy Now feature on auctions! When you use our "Buy Now" feature, we subtract the cash value of the bids you have placed (excluding bid saver bids) from the value price of the item, and you pay the difference. 

It is just like buying the item at retail price! So at least you had a chance at getting it at a discount. Say you spend 30 bids trying to win a $30 valued product, but you do not win. Your 30 bids are worth $18 (30 x $0.60), so if you choose to use the Buy Now, you will pay $12 for the product. Please note that this offer applies to Real Bids only; Bid Savers do not apply with the Buy Now option.

2. Do people really buy things for well below retail price on your site?

Yes up to a 95% off savings. I know it's hard to believe; you will have to go to our site and see for yourself. One of our customers won a $25.00 forever 21 gift card for 45 cents and a Apple Ipad Air with WIFI for $16.97 cents. A Mobi Cam digital monitoring system went for $3.33, and there is so much more! These hot items are flying off the shelves, and you still have time to get your items shipped to you before Christmas!

3. How can sellers afford to sell things for low prices on your site?

Every day Penny Bid Index sells products at 60-90% below their retail price. We are able to auction products cheaply for the same reason you are able to purchase them...cheaply. It is because of the unique auction model that’s built into the core of Penny Bid Index business.

In a traditional auction, people bid, driving the price higher and higher, until only one person is left, right? Well, also in a traditional auction, the item often sells for a price that is usually pretty close to the actual market value. 

However, the Penny Bid Index auction model ensures that almost every auction will end with the winner paying far below the retail value of the product. We are able to accommodate this by charging .60 cents to place a bid.

For example, Penny Bid Index auctions a product that costs $159.00 when ordered from a traditional ecommerce site, but it recently sold in a Penny Bid Index auction for only $3.35. Let's break out the old calculator:

Penny Bid Index purchases the product for $159.00. We turn around and set it on the auction block and bids begin to be placed by users who are competing for a chance to win. Eventually, the bidding ends at the price of $3.35. Because each bid raised the price by $0.01, there were a total of 335 bids placed during the course of the auction.

335 bids x $.60 bid = $201.00

Cost for Penny Bid Index to purchase the product = $159.00

Cost for the auction winner to Purchase the product = $3.35

In this auction, Penny Bid Index made just enough to cover the cost of the product, and thus, the lucky auction winner claimed an incredible product for 98% off the retail price. Plus whatever they spent on bids. But what about the users who don't win? 

In order to make our auction model as fair as possible, Penny Bid Index offers each participating user the chance to redeem what they spent bidding toward the "Buy Now" feature. "Buy Now" applies the value of all the bids placed in that auction toward the cost of purchasing the product. The user pays the remainder of what it costs Penny Bid Index to purchase the second item. No bid is ever wasted on Penny Bid Index!

4. Are there some bidding strategies which tend to be successful for buyers on your site?

This is a question we routinely hear. Honestly, there is NO guaranteed strategy to win; however, we will share some common tips:

15 Second and under rule: If you begin bidding in the last few seconds, the time will reset, and you will become the highest bidder. When someone else bids, time is added to the clock and you'll get another chance to bid.

Select lower priced items: The expensive auctions tend to be more popular. They generate the more competitive bidders on the site. Fewer people bid on the smaller auctions, which mean your chances to succeed are greater. 

The Penny Pilot: Let the Penny Pilot assist you when bidding. It is a very useful instrument that will increase your odds of winning. Its true effect will deter other bidders.

Turn your opponents' Penny Pilots against each other: Customers set their Penny Pilot and walk away. When they do this, it is easy to capitalize on this. We have noticed that users tend to set the "Bid From" value of their Penny Pilot to a round number, so use this to your advantage. Wait for a round number and place a single bid after it on the off-chance that the Penny Pilot has reached its limit.



Watch other bidders: View the details of the last ten bids placed and try to figure out: Who is bidding? and When do they place their bids?.

5. What advice do you have for shoppers who are interested in your site, but have never used a bidding site before and are hesitant to give it a try?

1. Watch several auctions before you play.

Don't get caught up in the excitement. Instead, figure out what's going on so you can approach each auction strategically.

2. When you're ready to play, start by bidding on low value items.

Winning expensive items (TVs, iPads, iPods, etc) takes skill and patience, so you get your feet wet with smaller auctions first (low value gift cards, etc). For your beginner auctions, look at the end prices of past auctions to figure out the best times of day and most logical items to bid on.

3. Only play on a websites with a Buy it Now option.

This means that even if you don't win the auction, you can apply the value of bids toward purchasing the item at retail price. Look for good beginner sites like Penny Bid Index, since we offer a Buy it Now option and some other great features that make bidding risk-free. 

Thanks, Dana!

An Introduction to The Periodic Table Shop, a Creative Online Store

One of the pleasures of the internet is that you can find niche websites that feature very specific information, products, and the like. One such site is The Periodic Table Shop, an online store selling products which feature the periodic table of elements.

The products on The Periodic Table Shop include clothing like t-shirts, hoodies, and pajama bottoms. Some of the items show the entire periodic table, while others playfully spell out words using specific elements, such as products which spell out "BACON" using the symbols BA (barium), CO (cobalt), and N (nitrogen).

You can take a periodic table towel to the beach, and sip coffee from a mug which transforms to reveal the periodic table when filled with hot liquid.

One of the more popular items is the periodic table shower curtain, which is available with different color backgrounds to match the decor of your bathroom. For the scientist (or science geek!) who has everything, I think this shower curtain is a pretty cool gift.

As a new e-store, I expect to see The Periodic Table Shop add new and interesting items as it continues to grow. There are already plenty of unique items to check out if you are looking for a clever, science-themed item for your wardrobe, home, or office.

Meet May Blair, Author

May Blair, a humorist and screenwriter who loves to find the fun in human psychology, is the author of Black Friday Insanity, a holiday-themed novelette. She describes the book as part biography and part fiction--which parts she won't tell.

May is a teacher, poet, cook, and wife, as well as a mom to three cats (Cinny, Rosy, and Tina). You can find her on Twitter, and find her book on Amazon. May lives in Orlando, Florida.

1. What inspired you to write Black Friday Insanity?

I was inspired by my relatives, personal Black Friday experiences, and ridiculous news stories. Black Friday Insanity is a comedic expression of shopping and sibling rivalry.

2. As an author, what does shopping represent to you both literally and metaphorically?

In this story, shopping represents many things for the main character, Jane. Her anger is being released and defining her. Her self-esteem issues are being exposed because they allowed her to be triggered into a rage. Shopping is not about acquiring stuff to Jane--she knows she doesn't need the stuff. Shopping is about getting back at people: her sisters.

3. Why do you think the holidays are so stressful for so many people--and what makes the holidays a rich topic for an author?

The holidays are what we choose to make of them. People who are running around feeling stressed have chosen to take on a myriad of rituals (shopping, baking, cooking, traveling, hosting).

Most people take on these activities without deep reflection as to why they "have to" do these things. It is in the "have to" that the stress becomes negative (and creates resentment). I want to make some cupcakes for dessert, or I have to make cupcakes for dessert can make a huge difference in the person's emotions.

I believe that the holidays are such a rich topic because fall and winter have brought people inside to nest. They are not as distracted with the outside environment as they were in the warmer months. Since they are nesting or hibernating, they are in the mood for indoor entertainment and stories. Holiday stories have a little extra excitement because there are a few extra events taking place that don't happen on routine days (work, drive, clean, etc.).

4. What do you think about the trend among some people to reframe Black Friday as "Buy Nothing Day"?

I hadn't heard about "Buy Nothing Day," but I assume people are revolting against the insanity of Black Friday. Black Friday can bring out the worst in people. Since Black Friday brings people out in multitudes, the worst of human expression is multiplied.

5. In writing a short novel, how do you maintain a balance between writing about events and feelings drawn from your own life and creating a work of fiction?

This particular story was a pleasure to write. Much of it was taken straight from memory of incidents with people I've known. I added a little comedic exaggeration, and the same stories that had brought mental anguish then became funny perceptions.

Thanks, May!

Meet Adam Green of Macirculaire.com

Adam Green loves saving money and goes hunting for bargains every week on websites such like Macirculaire.com. As a citizen of Canada, he feels an obligation to save the planet as Canada is the number one resource for water in the world. That's the main reason why he created www.macirculaire.com to help avoid unnecessary paper use.

The content on Macirculaire is available in French and in English.

1. When did you start Macirculaire, and how did you choose the name for the site?

Macirculaire was launched back in November 2011, so we'll soon have occasion to celebrate our second birthday with some new features which will be revealed by end of October. The name is pretty simple as "circulaire" means in French--especially in Quebec, Canada--the flyer every store releases on weekly basis in order to let their customers be aware of the latest discounts and offers. "Ma" is for "My," so the website could be named in English "Myflyer," but as far as our target is speaking more French in Quebec, we preferred to name it "Macirculaire.com."

2. What will visitors find at Macirculaire?

Visitors typically are looking for discounts and offers from their preferred stores for shopping offline. They can find the addresses of stores in their neighborhood and the store flyers online, while browsing all flyers and stores available on Macirculaire.

3. What are some suggestions you have for people to reduce their use of paper?

Fortunately we have an organization here in Quebec, REQ, which is doing a great job that way by sensitizing the citizens to the big loss of paper and difficulty/cost to recycle it. For instance they offer a sticker that you can pick up at their locations or print online in order to unsubscribe from all this lot of useless circulars printed and other unsolicited advertising. The latest stats show that more than 30% of citizens do browse their flyers only online, but this is not sufficient. We encourage people to use websites online and even keep their preferred flyers on mobile phones or devices while shopping.

4. Do you have plans to expand Macirculaire to reach other areas beyond the Quebec area?

Right now there's lot of work that needs to be done right here in Quebec, as illustrated in an article in a local news highlighting the flyers problem in Montreal. Ideally Macirculaire should address the same problem met in France where also people browse flyers whether they are called catalogs or brochures. To be concrete there's no plan in the near future to expand the offer to other countries. We'll continue rather to adapt our offerings and user experience to Quebec citizens.

5. What response have you received so far about your site from consumers and from businesses?

As you know, with actual website usage tracking we can have all these responses directly on our analytics dashboard. Actually, we have the bounce rate decreasing significantly as people have more confidence in the website. In the mean time, we have noticed more subscribers to our newsletter and more people who create accounts in order to keep track of specific flyers they're interested in. On the other hand, we can also monitor users sentiment over social media, and we're proud to see that it's more than positive.

Thanks, Adam!

More Biodegradable Goodness from Global 1 Packaging

In my previous post about biodegradable and compostable bags for dog waste, I was interested to learn about some environmentally friendly options from a Canadian company to help pet owners reduce their impact on landfills. Now I've learned about another Canadian company producing biodegradable bags for a different market: printed poly bags for a variety of business needs.

These bags are made near Toronto, and there are designs for a range of purposes, such as garment bags, garbage bags, and custom-printed bags for both retail sales and shipping. I've noticed that customers like biodegradable bags so much that they will often reuse them, which is an extra bonus for the business owners who have their business names printed on the bags as this results in lots of free advertising as people carry the bags around town.

Global 1 Packaging has a nice array of customizable shopping bags and other reusable bags that make excellent giveaways, too. With many cities enacting plastic bag bans, who doesn't like a free shopping bag? If I were a retailer, I'd definitely give the idea some thought!

Meet Marc Chili of CouponChili.com

Marc Chili is the CEO of CouponChili.com which is rapidly becoming one of the web's fastest growing coupon code, discounts, and promotion code websites.

1. What inspired you to start Coupon Chili?

A few years ago I was buying a new CD player from the Best Buy website and noticed that there was an option in the shopping cart to enter in a Best Buy coupon. I'd never used online coupon codes before so searched Google to try to find a valid one to enter. I must have spent 30 minutes trying to find a valid and working coupon code before I gave up. As I already knew how to build websites, I thought to myself that there was probably an opportunity to build a coupons website that had valid content on it, instead of the sites I was visiting which always had out of date offers. The next day I started researching the market and spent a number of weeks developing the website and then launched in 2012--although it's only been this year that I've started to dedicate the majority of my time to the website and have expanded CouponChili.com to include many varied retailers.

2. What does the day to day running of the Coupon Chili website involve?

I've got a large checklist of future developments for the site which I try to work through with my programmers which is taking up a lot of the time at the moment. The pure basics of running a coupon code site, through, are what take the majority of hours in a typical day. This involves talking with the online retailers to get access to any new codes, adding them to the website, testing them, responding to customer feedback, and also reaching out to other websites online to find advertising opportunities.

3. How often do you update the deals on your site, including checking on the coupons and promo codes to make sure they still work?

This generally depends on the retailer. Most of them tend to release new coupon codes each month, so I tend to be at the busiest updating the promotions during week one of any given month. However, I am constantly looking to develop new partnerships with new websites, so on a daily basis I am adding new coupons and promo codes to the website to make sure that it's as up to date as possible with the latest offers.

4. When it comes to shopping, are there certain items that you particularly recommend as online purchases, rather than in-store buys?

Definitely. Obviously it goes without saying that any form of digital purchase will always need to be fulfilled online, but outside of that there are some items which tend to be best bought over the web. From my experience any form of computing equipment. There are simply no bricks and mortar stores that can compete with online retailers in this space. As an example, Coupon Chili works with Dell and has a range of offers on their XPS Ultrabooks and laptops. If you were to buy one of these in a physical shop versus buying online at Dell (with a Coupon Chili promotion) then the savings can be anything between $300 and $500. It simply makes sense.

5. What are the current best deals and coupons that are available on Coupon Chili that might appeal to our readers? 

From my perspective the Best Buy offers are great value for money at the moment, which is kind of cool considering it was because of them that I first got into this business! Other ones worth mentioning are RingCentral, Overstock, Tire Rack, BH Cosmetics, and Karmaloop--so a nice broad spectrum of retailer types there which should mean most people can find a bargain on the Coupon Chili website.

Thanks, Marc!

Meet Mohammed Shaker, Entrepreneur

Mohammed Shaker is an entrepreneur who launched Panda CashBack LLC last year. PandaCashBack.com is a rebate website that rewards shoppers with cash back for shopping online when they shop with affiliate partners. Panda Cash Back currently partners with over 2000 online retailers. Members can also get the latest coupons and offers for these stores as well as locate the best local deals in their city.

1. What inspired you to start Panda Cash Back?

I was always interested in helping people save money. When I was a student, I enjoyed the idea of student discounts, and I ended blogging about them, but I always felt I wanted to do more. I wanted to help people everywhere save money on their shopping without going through a lot of trouble (it sometimes takes hours for a user to find a legitimate coupon on a coupon website). I knew that rebates are a great way to save money, and so we established our website to help shoppers get rebates. We were also able to find a way to allow online shoppers to get the latest coupons directly from the merchants on our website. Our users now can enjoy both coupons and rebates without going through the trouble of lots of searching, or running the risk of using expired coupons.

2. In reading the "about us" page on your site, it seems to me that your company turns the concept of affiliate marketing into a profit-sharing model. Is this a fair way to describe how your site works, and what are some of the brands/companies you partner with?

That is true. Affiliate marketing has always been a one way street for affiliates to earn money. We are changing that trend. Most online shoppers are not aware that a single click can bring hundreds of dollars to an affiliate marketer.

We have more than two thousands partners, and they include big brand name stores in the USA like Macy's, GoDaddy, 6PM, and FTD, and we do have global partners as well.

3. Do consumers need to disclose any personal information to use your site?

We require a minimum amount information from our users: name, email, and payment information.

4. What has been the feedback/response you have received from consumers since you started your site a year ago?

Our feedback has been good since we first started because our priority is always customer service.

5. What suggestions do you have for people who want to get the most for their money when buying online?

Always check if a store has a coupon or offer on our website. On PandaCashBack, we provide our users with the latest coupons and offers. For the majority of the stores on your site, the user can both use coupons or offers and earn cash back.

Thanks, Mohammed!

An Introduction to AbanteCart

AbanteCart is a free open source shopping cart or eCommerce platform for small to medium size business. It is designed, built, and supported by experienced enthusiasts who are passionate about their work and contribution to the rapidly evolving eCommerce industry. AbanteCart is powered with a robust and expandable core platform, state of the art feature set, and efficient user interface.

The interview below is with Kim Brenner, Marketing Assistant with AbanteCart.

1. What makes AbanteCart a unique tool for people who manage eCommerce websites?

AbanteCart is a shopping cart or ecommerce platform for small to medium size business. Among many features included in the application, below are the main key advantages over other applications that you need to know.

- It is free with free support
This is the best part. AbanteCart is free and anyone can enjoy using it. Because AbanteCart is supported by a community, you also get free support on the forum as well as the opportunity to help others.

- Easy to start and fun to use
With AbanteCart anyone can start selling products or services online. No special experience or training needed. If you know how to browse the web or you know how to use Google or Facebook, you can manage selling products online with Abentecart. For a business owner or ecommerce manager, AbanteCart is fun to use with many tools available in the control panel.

- Great flexibility and expandability
AbanteCart is a versatile application, meaning it can be set to do anything that you need to have a successful online business. With our constantly growing number of extensions, your shopping cart can progress beyond any limits.

- Fast and secure
AbanteCart is well-structured to use low resources and be fast running with security enabled to keep your site protected. The application is constantly monitored for performance and security.

- No limits
Owning and operating AbanteCart will not set any restrictions on size of your product inventory, number of customers, traffic limits, or any other limitations. You can customize, change the code, and expand your eCommerce as you desire. Feel free to grow your online presence.

2. Why is AbanteCart available for free?

AbanteCart is free because it is open source, and it is supported by the community, and anyone can contribute.

3. How does your platform help sellers better utilize SEO?

AbanteCart is SEO enabled with all best practices. Users have flexible control over content.

4. Do webmasters need to know anything beyond basic FTP uploading to be able to use AbanteCart?

No special knowledge needed. In AbanteCart you do not even need to know FTP. All extensions and managing can be done in admin.

5. What's your best advice to merchants who are looking to sell products on their own websites?

Do research and homework, and select a platform that can cover most of what you need to do with your business. Do not focus on all features, only what you need for your business. Focus on business and not software.

Thanks, Kim!