heartzablaze215 asked:


I found a metal shopping cart at the end of my street My friends and I want to ride around in it (and act like complete idoits) but we don’t know how much weight one can take. The bottom seems to be a bit rusty but it appears to be quite stearty. What is the maxumin weight a shopping cart can hold? Could it hold two people?

WALLACE

Sue Atkins asked:


I think Christmas shopping with toddlers, is given a bad press! With a little bit of planning and some common sense there are many practical ways to take the stress, frustration and tension out of buying your father- in - law his annual socks and festive tie!

I think it helps to remember that small children have limits. If you are shopping with toddlers, be alert to their needs: are they tired, hungry, overexcited by the noise and confusion, or simply in need of some fresh air or a reassuring hug?

I don’t think it’s fair to expect toddlers to go from sitting in the car seat to sitting in their buggy for hours on end, so make sure you take breaks in your shopping to let them get rid of some of their energy and have some physical fun.

Lots of shopping centres have places for them to let off steam - or while you have a coffee let them move about while you supervise them. I used to pop into the Early Learning Centre for a quick 20 minutes while they had a play to give us all a break!!

* A great idea is to get your child to wear something with pockets before you leave the house. Once you are at the shops fill their pockets with something healthy like raisins or grapes.

Toddlers love to sit in the shopping trolley or their buggy independently digging out the raisins or grapes and you are able to zip around happily picking up what you need.

* Bring a small container with their favourite snack or a sandwich as a stand by as a hungry toddler is a grumpy toddler!

* Babies and small children can also become dehydrated in the dry air of shopping centres, so be sure to take frequent nursing or juice or water breaks.

* Make shopping fun - play games in the shops and look for things and get your toddler engaged in counting the reindeer or looking for snowmen.

* Keep their hands busy with a toy or a book to occupy their minds.

* Remember that children are naturally curious and this is how they learn about the world around them. Make the trip a learning time and sing Christmas songs or Nursery Rhymes and talk about colours or shapes or see how many circles they can find along the way.

If they want to examine an attractive item in a shop, don’t automatically tell them off or shout at them. Instead, help them to hold the item safely, or let them know that it can be looked at but not touched. You might say something like "This is breakable, so let’s just look at it together." Share your toddler’s enthusiasm and interest at this exciting time of Christmas with all its sparkle and magic and see the world from their perspective of curiosity.

* Choose a time when you know your little one will have a nap and make sure they are in the buggy so you can shop while they are asleep.

* How about sharing your kids with friends - they go shopping for a couple of hours on their own while you look after their children and then you swap. You get lots more done and you have a break and a bit of "me" time while your kids are having fun too.

* Toddlers can begin to be included in some of the shopping decisions so involve your toddler with questions such as "Which of these toys do you think Sophie would like to play with?" This can turn a boring, frustrating experience into a more pleasurable one, for everyone.

* Being surrounded by a crowd of adults can be a really intimidating business to small children, especially when shops are busy so using a backpack can be one way of bringing toddlers up to a height where they are more contented. It can also prevent the common, frightening experience of losing a toddler in a crowd.

A slightly older child can be a great help in shopping, if you approach it all in a spirit of fun and good humour. Ask them to go and get something for you while you supervise them as they love to be helpful and feel part of the shopping trip. Then praise them for their independence and help.

* Avoid the crowds. Shopping just before dinner, when shops are crowded, and parents and children are tired and hungry, can be very stressful. Try shopping in the morning or early afternoon on weekdays, or move dinner up and shop during the quiet early-evening time between 6 and 7 pm.

When you avoid the stress of crowded shops, busy car parks and long check-out lines, you have more patience and energy.

Be prepared for the tantrum zone check out. With colourful, delicious sweets and treats on display be ready,as these can throw your little one into a temper tantrum as you are both probably tired out and fed up waiting and they will become demanding and fractious. Be prepared and bring a favourite healthful snack from home which is an easy alternative to keeping them content.

* If you reach your limit… If you reach the limit of your patience and energy, try to remain calm, centred and grounded and press your internal "pause button" and dig deep to find your positive ways of handling anger and fatigue. You might try saying, "I’m starting to lose my patience. I think I need a break from shopping for a bit. Let’s go outside for a few minutes so we can both get some fresh air" Even a few moments of fresh air away from the crowds can make a big difference for both of you

* If your children reach their limit… If, your toddler has simply reached the end of their tether - respect that. Shopping can wait; an exhausted, hungry, or overly-excited child can’t!

Remember that all children behave as well as they are treated. A toddler who is regularly given your time, undivided attention, patience, and understanding will have more tolerance for a shopping trip - and any other challenging situation - than the child who must face stressful situations without your understanding and emotional support.

* Look for lots of ways to positively praise your toddler for their good behaviour.

* And remember to make sure you have had enough to eat and drink before you go out to keep your energy up!

* You get what you focus on…………. If you think the shopping trip will be stressful, frustrating and tiring ….. guess what …. it will be….. . so get playful and creative yourself and remember to do this before you go out.

Imagine the trip going really well …. see what you see , hear what you hear and feel how good you feel when the trip has gone really well. Turn the pictures up brighter and bring them closer to you and relax.

Toddlers will pick up on your mood so make sure you’re in a good mood first and they will follow you example.

* Another tip is to remember a time when a shopping trip has gone really well and to go back and remember it in great detail. See the things you did and remember the things you said and how you said them. Remember the frame of mind you were in and remember how you felt and then simply copy what you did that day as it clearly worked!

Shopping with your toddler need not be a strssful experience so relax get focused on what works and have fun!



EDDIE

jiminnyc asked:


I left a styrofoam container of ground turkey (still sealed in the container from the supermarket) overnight in my shopping bag. It wasn’t sitting on the counter, if that makes any difference. After discovering it was still out about 8 hours after I bought it, I immediately put it in the freezer. Does anyone know for sure if this would still be safe to eat? I have been looking online for tips, but can’t find anything definitive. I **** to throw it out, but I will if it’s too risky to eat.

ELISEO

Mike Smith asked:


Show your artistic flair

If you are an unrecognized artistic talent, doing mystery shopping may be more than rewarding for you. Mystery shopping is also drama in a way, because you are not in full control of the shopping environment. Mystery shopping is also pretty much staged, and you need to follow a predetermined scenario in order to fulfill the goals of your assignment. However, you should always be ready to improvise, as it’s not possible to predict all the situations that may occur while you’re on your mystery shopping assignment.

Meet new people in new situations

Mystery shopping jobs allows you to meet new people and be in different situations on every separate mystery shopping assignment. Most often you go to different shopping locations and need to pose as a different type of secret customer. If you are flexible and outgoing person, that aspect of mystery shopping may be right for you, because you will never be bored with mystery shopping.

Get well-earned money for your services

Payment is for most people the primary motivation to do mystery shopping. Money well-earned is always challenging and tempting. Mystery shopping is truly rewarding, and you can enjoy good earnings that will help you afford a couple of more purchases per month or an extra family trip on the weekend. Therefore, getting paid with mystery shopping is a very serious argument in favor of doing mystery shopping in your free time, instead of just wasting a couple of hours lying in front of the TV.

Contribute to better customer service

That’s the altruistic part of the mystery shopping benefits to mystery shoppers. Apart from the tangible benefits – cash, prizes, free items and free services, you contribute to the improvement of the customer service in your area. It’s really important, because you help create a more favorable and friendly customer environment in your shopping area. That will surely affect you, your family, and your neighbors – a good cause to strive for, apart from all the cash and freebies you get from mystery shopping.

Enjoy free entertainment and free services

Mystery shopping is a great activity that brings you lots of entertainment and cash, but you also get lots of free stuff – merchandise, free services, and free trials. For instance, doing mystery shopping in a gas station almost always means filling in your tank for free. A visit to an electric appliance store may get you a free coffee machine or something else. Or you might get a free demo of a new video game, or free DVDs together with another purchase. Your kids will certainly enjoy a whole day at an amusement part for free, while your spouse will be happy to share a free dinner at a cozy restaurant.

Run a reputation and get more companies want you as a mystery shopper

Once you have discovered the many benefits that mystery shopping can get you, you will want to participate more actively as a mystery shopper. Building a reputation of a reliable and accurate mystery shopper is also an asset, and may bring you more invitations to complete higher-paid mystery shopping assignments. Moreover, the more satisfied companies are with your mystery shopping reports, the more chances you have to earn cash and many freebies with mystery shopping.



LOUIE

John Stilos asked:


1. Shopping local creates jobs.

Shops in our town create local employment and self-employment. These people in turn spend in the local economy. It is a healthy cyclical movement that depends on where we make our purchases to stay healthy.

2. Local independent shops invest more in our communities.

Local businesses are usually more generous in their support of local charities, schools, and community events. So supporting local shops means a financial impact on our community.

3. Local shops sell a wide range of great products at affordable prices.

Many people get out of the habit of shopping locally and are then surprised by the range of products and services available. Don’t get brainwashed by the big-box advertising, not everything is cheaper at the chain stores, especially when you think of the down-stream affects of the purchase.

4. Shopping local supports entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurship fuels our local economic innovation and prosperity, and serves as a key means for families to move out of low-wage jobs and into the middle class.

5. Shopping local retains our communities.

People don’t like losing shops and services in small towns but don’t equate this to how they spend their money. We have the power, every purchase is a vote for the company or companies that we want to have around tommorow.

6. Shopping Local retains our distinctiveness.

Independent shops create distinctive shopping experiences and stock different products. Local businesses respond more quickly to the needs of local customers, stocking products to meet the changing population needs.

7. Shopping local saves the environment.

Local shops often stock a high percentage of local sourced goods which do not require long truck journeys thus having a smaller carbon footprint. Many local shops have P2, recycling and product life-cycle programs in place. Ask about what your favorite local shop is doing to be green, and make sure and reinforce it with a thumbs up and a thank you!

8. Local shops are for everyone.

Most people can get to their local shops easily on foot, bike or bus and this is especially important for the elderly and young people and those without transportation.

9. Local shops value you more.

These businesses survive by their reputation and repeat business which means you get a higher standard of service. You can build a relationship at a local shop. Isn’t it nice to be greeted by name by the owner and be told, “oh, I just got something in that your spouse will just love, let me show it to you!”

10. Shopping local saves services.

Private and public services cluster around shops. As shops disappear so do hairdressers, cleaning services, and restaurants, etc. The very life-blood of our community is the network of local services that depend on our patronage to local shops for their survival.

Next shopping trip, remember a dollar spent locally has a return on investment to you and your children’s heritage many times what one Washington would do at a big-box store. Go local; Go sustainable!



JOEL

tables asked:


I’ve seen people with the ugly brown hollister bags with the brown letters at the bottom. But i’ve also seen some hollister nice shopping bags that instead, have a big picture (of people) on them. Why is this?

Can someone send me a nice clear picture of the NICE holliser shopping bag?

and american eagle does the same thing.

DOUG

Willard Michlin asked:


In my 15 years as a body shop broker, I have visited many hundreds of body shops across the state. Almost 100% of the owners complain, if they are being honest with me that they work too hard for two little money. We talk about them wanting to sell the business to some other poor sucker who will then also complain about not making enough money.

When we start talking about the reasons they include:

1) The market prices are too low to make a profit.

2) They do not have enough volume of business.

3) They need to get some DRP contracts; then they would be doing great,

4) They have no time to go out and look for business.

5) Rents are too high.

6) Labor is too high.

7) I cannot find good body men and painters.

When we talk about, why they want to get out of the business? They give me these explanations:

§ I am sick of the business.

§ I am loosing money.

§ I am burned out.

When we take all of this into account and get to the bottom of the problem of all the complaints we come down to the real problem:

The insurance companies have controlled the prices paid to body shops be intimidating the owners to take the business–on the insurance company’s terms, or there are 10 other shops that will.

This makes sense when we are referring to shops that have DRP contracts with the insurance companies but what about the shops that do not?

The problem they are having is:

Non DRP shops keep their prices low because they think their next door neighbor will take the business for less and that the insurance companies will be unhappy with them and never send them business or give them a DRP contract, in the future.

These situations results in: no one making money. Not the DRP shops or the non-DRP shops. Even when the insurance companies tried owning their own body shop they could not make a profit, at the prices they force the body shops to take.

I hope I have summed up the problem, distinctly enough.

The industry is in fear of the insurance companies, but in truth the insurance companies’ power rests with the body shop owners not the insurance companies. The power is not with the large DRP body shops as all small owners believe but it belongs with the non-DRP body shop owners who are not bound to any agreements with the insurance companies. It is the medium and small body shops with no DRP agreements that can change the industry for everyone.

GIVE ME LIBERTY OR GIVE ME DEATH!

Over 200 years ago, a third of our nation, said that they were tired of taxation without representation, and they went to war against the strongest nation in the world, England.

They risked their lives and their property for what they believed. To fight the strongest power in the auto industry you do not have to risk your lives and you will not even be risking your fortune. It only requires that you stand up and say, “Enough is enough,” If what I say excites you, please read on. I have a plan.

If not, please stop reading; put this article down. Tomorrow when you go to work pull out your most recent profit and loss statement, and read it very closely. Calculate what will happens to any profit that is shown, when your costs, including rent, go up another 10%, in the next year or two. Then make an estimate as to how rapidly the insurance companies are going to respond to your request that they let you raise your rates. Then go tell your wife and kids that they had all better get a job and support dear old dad.

“I AM MAD AS HELL, AND I AM NOT GOING TO TAKE IT ANY MORE!”

Any plan has to workable. By that I mean that if you expect everyone in the industry to work together in trust, against the common enemy, you’re dreaming: it will not work. There will always a Benedict Arnold, who will take the opportunity to steal the business away from his “friends” while they are working to raise the industry rates. This plan does not rely on trust, but it does take co-operation. No company puts the businesses they already have at risk, in order to forward the goal of the group to raise rates.

THE BATTLE PLAN

The big body shop owners are the leaders of the association and industry. They are the generals in this war. They can participate in some of the encounters but must depend on the independents for the direct attacks. The big boys must organize and instruct the troops.

This can be started anywhere. It can be done in one area at a time or preferably it will be done in multiple areas, at the same time. Here is the plan:

1. All the local body shop owners are invited to an association meeting or a meeting at one of the bigger body shops. All attendees are asked to participate and to encourage others to do the same.

2. Everyone raises his or her posted rate to something above $50.00. We do not want everyone to raise the rates to the same price; this is collusion and price fixing. Each shop can pick their price. It should not make sense to be below $50.00 per hour

3. The posted rate is only charged for non-DRP work, which helps the little shops a lot and the big boys on some jobs. It doesn’t change any prices for clients under DRP contracts but it sure makes a difference on any other work that comes in the door.

4. When the insurance companies do their survey of posted rates, in an area, they will find them at above the $50.00 benchmark.

5. When a non-DRP shop has a client with insurance, he can demand and force the insurance company to pay the posted rate for that area. The adjusters can kick and scream but they legally must pay the average posted rate for that area. That is why it is critical to get everyone, large and small, to change their posted rate.

6. The little body shops can continue to charge what ever they want below the posted rate, but they must at least raise the posted rate. This is the only action required of every body shop. Just change their posted rate. No other agreements are required.

7. Over a period of time, everyone will start demanding the posted rates from the insurance companies. This will happen while the DRP contracts are still sitting at lower rates. The next thing that will happen without any agreement from body shop members is that some will drop their DRP contracts so as to be able to collect the posted rate. The remaining will start complaining to the insurance companies and threaten to quit.

8. At some point the insurance companies will raise the DRP rate, and everyone will be better off.

9. The following year, the association members can discuss the need to raise the posted rate again. Of course each person must make their own decision as to how much they want to raise the posted rate to. Collusion is a crime.

Well I have laid out the whole plan. It will work. The insurance companies will bring in the German Hessians troops* under some other name, as they did in the revolutionary war, but if we remember the battle cry we will win. “I am mad as hell, and I am not going to take it any more!”

HessiansAmerican Revolutionary War, Landgrave Frederick II of Hesse-Kassel (a principality in northern Hesse) and other German leaders hired out thousands of conscripted subjects as auxiliaries to Great Britain to fight against the American revolutionaries. About 30,000 of these mercenaries were hired, and they came to be called Hessians, because 16,992 of the total 30,067 men came from Hesse-Kassel. Some were direct subjects of King George III; he ruled them as the Elector of Hanover. Other soldiers were sent by Count William of Hesse-Hanau; Duke Charles I of Brunswick-Lüneburg; Prince Frederick of Waldeck; Margrave Karl Alexander of Ansbach; and Prince Frederick Augustus of Anhalt-Zerbst.”



BENNIE

Andrew Peterson asked:


Presently, online shopping is the best and easiest way to buy both rare and daily usage products. There are numerous online shopping websites, where you can purchase every types of products, including apparels, footwear, clothing, books of different subjects, handicrafts, cushion covers, kitchen appliances, health or fitness products and so on.

Online shopping websites enable the users to create online community. Such community is basically a type of group. The online community shopping allows the users to exchange their opinions about various products to the other members of the community. Through a few simple clicks of mouse, people can now shop the most exquisite collection of products with supreme ease. One can now experience shopping in one go by availing all kinds of products from a single online shopping site. Some of the shopping websites provide discount offers to their regular customers and sometimes provide discount coupons as well.

In an online shopping community, the social shopping feature allows the members to chat with other members or buyers. Through this feature, one can also collect necessary information about products, deals and prices. Online shoppers usually prefer credit cards to make payments. But, the customers who do not possess any credit card account, can easily pay through alternative ways, including debit cards, several ways of electronic fund transfer, cash on delivery, through cheque, PayPal, postal money order, Google checkout and so on.

Another advantage of online community shopping is being able to use the power of the Internet to look for the best deals available for services and products. For example, if you purchase an iPod, you should enter “iPod” keyword in a search engine, and you will get plethora of choices of online shopping.

You can save your precious money through the online shopping mode, because the normal stores or the shops in the malls are usually rented and they need to pay overhead costs like security and employee wages. While, online shopping stores do not required to pay shop rent and other costs, that’s why products and services are available at comparatively cheap price. Apart from that, you can also save your valuable time.

Hence, we can say that, the online shopping is the better and easiest way of shopping in the present time.



LUCIO

Groshan Fabiola asked:


Shopping is one of the favorite activities of many women, just as it can be a real nightmare for most men. The truth is that, whether we like it or not, shopping is an important part of our lives. To some people, shopping is close to a hobby, while to others it is the same as paying bills or going to work. Either way, I’m sure that all of us would like to spend as little time as possible stuck in traffic or in the crowds from shopping malls and supermarkets. Shopping online is the alternative, and more and more people prefer it to the traditional way of shopping, as it comes with many advantages. First of all, nothing compares to shopping from the privacy and comfort of your home. No crowds, no traffic, no noise, and no more hours spent on going from shop to shop. Instead, you can engage in an enjoyable activity and wait for all the goods that you have purchased online to be delivered to your home. What’s more, some online shopping stores offer free delivery, if the amount of money that you spend is over the limit that they have set, typically around $100. Furthermore, you can find some real deals at the online shopping stores, as their expenses are considerably lower than those of traditional real-world stores, which means that they can sell their products at more affordable prices.

People prefer shopping malls because they find everything they need under one roof. The same advantage comes with an online shopping mall, too. All the online stores that you may want to buy from are under the same virtual roof, and browsing through an online shopping mall is definitely easier and faster than walking around a real mall. People prefer malls because they have access to different places in the same location. In other words, malls are convenient. An online shopping mall is all the more convenient, as it requires very little time to browse, and, as has been said before, shopping at an online store is very affordable. There are lots of discounts, free items, prizes, and so forth. You can buy all sorts of products, from computers, software, electronics, DVD videos and games to clothing and accessories, jewelry, gifts, books, collectibles, and the list can go on forever. All it takes it that you find the online mall that has all the online shopping stores you want, and you’ll definitely agree that an online shopping mall is all you’ll ever need, as it is both money and time-efficient.

With the holiday season drawing near, you can witness more and more of a shopping frenzy everywhere you go. We all like to shop for gifts, especially around the holidays, but when it comes to making your way through the traffic and crowds, shopping online is a great alternative. Not everything you would like to buy for your loved ones can be found in stores close to your homes, but at an online shopping mall your perspective changes completely. You can browse through thousands of products and have everything reach you, without having to spend hours on the streets. The personalized gifts that you have always wanted to buy are at the click of your mouse. An online shopping mall is usually user-friendly, which means that you can easily browse through all the online shopping stores for what they have and find the products that you are looking for. Items are easy to order, and you can order them safely and securely. Just make sure you check the terms and conditions of every purchase, as well as the privacy policy before you do any shopping.

All in all, buying from an online shopping store saves money and time. An online shopping mall offers the opportunity to visit several stores in one place, without having to leave home. What’s more, the free shipping that many online shopping malls offer adds to the savings that you get shopping online.

Are you looking for a great online shopping store? Visit http://www.clevershoppers.com and you will find one of the best online shopping mall on the internet.



JAMEL

Sandra Prior asked:


Net shopping has really taken off in the last couple of years and there’s a vast amount of goods and services available in the digital megamall. Even so, more skeptical Net users are wary and need convincing of the advantages of shopping online.

After all, most people have a perfectly good mall just a short drive away and you can get most of the things you need there. As for saving money, there are always the seasonal sales. But the fact is, these are the exact reasons for shopping on the Internet. It’s convenient, the choice is amazing, and you can save loads of money.

As with anything though, you have to be aware of the potential pitfalls. The Net offers access to a whole new world of shopping and opens up the free market to individuals as never before. On the other hand, this is unfamiliar territory for most people. You are outside your normal field of reference and you need all sorts of new information, such as how your rights are affected when you buy from abroad, how to separate a good shop from a con job and what security measures protect you from fraud.

Getting Started

The Net brings the mall to your home, but it’s a mall unlike any other you’ve seen – one open to the whole world and with almost no limitations. Sure, you can shop for all the things you would buy on a normal Saturday afternoon trudge around town. If it’s familiar names you’re looking for, you’ll find them online as increasing numbers of players start waking up to the fact that Net shopping is here to stay, and have started offering an online service to their customers.

But that’s just the tip of the iceberg as far as Net shopping is concerned. The real benefits come when you get a bit more adventurous and start to explore. You can save money by buying from Internet-only retailers that don’t have the expensive overheads of shopfront premises and pass the savings on to their customers; buy from stores overseas and benefit from their lower prices; and find unusual or hard-to-come-by items at the click of a button. Shopping will never be the same again.

With such a wealth of choice available, you will never need help to get started. For most purposes, a good jumping-off point is one of the many shopping directories that have sprung up all over the Net recently. These provide links to selected shops and save you a lot of browsing if you’re looking for anything vaguely mainstream.

Some of these sites are extremely useful and will help you enormously when you start shopping online. Others are frankly rubbish, so be selective. Look for a site that’s clearly set out with well-defined shopping categories, a profile of each shop with details of any disadvantages to shopping there, and ideally some sort of scoring system so you know where to go.

Shop with Confidence

The biggest concern most people have when they start shopping on the Net is whether it’s secure. Many people are reluctant to send their credit card details off into the ether for fear of them being intercepted and used fraudulently by others to run up enormous bills.  This is an understandable worry, but it’s largely unfounded. Shopping on the Net is as safe as, if not safer than, mail order or telephone shopping, or even paying by credit card in a restaurant. Basically, whenever you give someone your credit card details or let the card out of your sight, you are at risk of fraud. The good news with Net shopping, however, is that there are lots of ways to protect yourself and minimize the risks.

Here comes the science bit; you’re protected in many cases by the kindly technology elves. On shopping sites you will often see assurances that information is transmitted using SSL (Secure Socket layer), a technology used to encrypt all information being sent to and received from a specific Web page or pages. Most mainstream shopping sites use this secure connection when you send your payment details over the Internet. Any information transmitted in this secure way is encrypted for the duration of the transfer. In the unlikely event that it is intercepted en route, it will be absolutely no use to anyone. The retailer decodes the message once it has arrived in order to take payment, but nobody else has access to your details along the way.



ERVIN