ChaCha Guide

Do you love to text on your phone? Do you have a few minutes a day to dedicate to texting? Well, I have the answer for you! ChaCha.com. Sign up to be a guide! What's a ChaCha guide? Well, what you essentially are is answering questions that are texted to ChaCha. It can be questions on anything and everything! You make $.20 per question answered and the more you do, the more you make. They say that pay averages between $4 to $10 an hour. Not bad for just sitting at your laptop at home for an hour a day. :-)

Shop For Free

I have heard about people going shopping at CVS and the like and purchasing tons of stuff for next to nothing, all because they played this game called The Grocery Game. The Grocery Game, www.grocerygame.com, charges you a small fee to use their services. Well, I came across this site, A Full Cup, http://www.afullcup.com, and it's the same thing except for free and it's better! If you want to go grocery shopping for free, here you go! Tell them Bellasmommy sent you. :-)

Latest from Bzz

Ok, so I haven't done a Bzz update in a while. Since my last update, I have received a SonicCare electric toothbrush, Glade Wisp Flameless Candle, a touchscreen universal remote control, Tropicana Pure juice and much more. If you haven't joined yet, you just have to! You are missing out!



BTW, my favorites that I have received thus far are the toothbrush (FANTASTIC!) and the flameless candle (better than regular candles!).


www.bzzagent.com

Totally Free Crap

Love the name! This site has tons of freebies to pick from that are available on the net today. Check it out!

www.totallyfreecrap.com

eBay Alternatives At A Closer Glance

I have been doing a little research as to what alternatives are out there for eBay sellers and buyers. I will be updating this post throughout the day with my findings.

Auction Sites



iOffer is the closest that I have found to eBay. I really like it. It's easy to list items, no fees unless something sells and even those fees are reasonable. You can use HTML in your listings no problem. You get a free iStore as long as you have 2 items or more. I really don't have anything negative to say at this point about iOffer. They are the second in line behind eBay with 2 million listings and growing. They also accept both Paypal AND Google Checkout which is a huge plus in my book. If I were to suggest any site to go to as an alternative to eBay, I would definitely start with iOffer.


Mommyauctions.com



What is eCrater.com?
eCrater.com is both a free web store builder and a free online marketplace. Sellers can easily create their own free online store in minutes. Buyers can easily browse and compare between thousands of products.Sellers receive free website hosting, a free subdomain and a powerful admin tool to manage their free online stores. All products are posted to the world's most famous product search engine as well.
Checking out their stats makes them a viable alternative, especially since it costs nothing to list, you are given your own link to your store (e.g., mine is http://bellagraysboutique.ecrater.com/) , you can sell basically anything and they even give you tools to help maximize exposure for your store and your listings. Fees are fairly minimal when items do sell.
Pros: Set your own pricing. Costs minimal. Exposure for site is growing.
Drawbacks: Not an auction site - only Buy It Now pricing. Obviously not as much exposure as eBay.

Bidville is pretty close to eBay as far as their offerings. Their prices are cheaper. No listing fees and minimal charges for enhancements like bold titles, highlighting and extra pictures. Although, several auction platforms do offer multiple pictures for free. You can also earn enhancement credits so these enhancements will end up not costing you anything. Final Success Fee (equivalent to the FVF @ feebay) is
$0.01-$25.00 : 5%
$25.01-$1000.00: $1.25 + 2.5% of amount over $25.00
Over $1000.00: $25.63 + 1% of amount over $1000.00

The actual appearance and layout of Bidville leaves something to be desired but the functionality is there and they are ranked the third in volume of listings behind eBay so there is something to be said for that.

For their list of FAQs, here is a link:

http://www.bidville.com/help/topics/index.asp?index=12

us.ebid.net

Payment Sites
checkout.google.com

• Process transactions for free when you advertise with Google
• Google Checkout is a fast, convenient checkout process that brings you more customers and allows them to buy from you with a single login -- and you can process their orders and charge their credit or debit cards for free.
• Increase sales.Google Checkout users click on ads 10% more when the ad displays the Checkout badge and convert 40% more than shoppers that have not used Checkout in the past.
• Process sales for free.Get free transaction processing when you use Google AdWords and pay no monthly, setup or gateway fees.
• Protect yourself from fraud.Checkout's Payment Guarantee protects 98% of Checkout orders on average – when an order is guaranteed, you get paid even if it results in a chargeback.

Ebay Boycott and the Alternatives

So, I am sure by now, you have heard all about the boycott of eBay. If not, here is a great video you should watch.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=23TomS5--nQ

eBay is trying to 'change its image' from a flea market to a high priced high volume marketplace. But what they have failed to realize is that the flea market is what made them and in the end, will end up breaking them as the mass exodus occurs.

So where should you go to sell during this boycott and beyond? Here is a great listing of different auction platforms to check out:
http://www.powersellersunite.com/auctionsitewatch.php

Many of the alternatives have free listings or extremely low cost listing fees.

Here are a list of several successful ones:

www.onlineauction.com
Use Promotional Code: 33385AAA

www.ecrater.com

www.wagglepop.com

http://www.bidville.com/register/?refer_nickname=bellagraysboutique&adsid=re052005

www.etsy.com - All Handmade Crafts

Baby Swags - PR for the WAHM

I just stumbled across this website, www.babyswags.com. What a great opportunity for the WAHMs who create baby and toddler products and want to get their names out there! They have helped WAHMs get their products out into the celebrity marketplace.

Here's a little snippet about their services:

Baby Swags will help assist you in marketing your product or service by placing your products into the hands of celebrities, agents, producers, athletes, musicians and editors. Some of the services that we can provide to you are:

• Finding the right form of media that best suits your business.
• Placing your products into the hands of celebrities.
• Help to promote your business by pitching your product to the right magazine editors that will put the spot light on your products.
• Monitor Editorial Calendars
• We can assist with your media kits.
• We are willing to assist with writing projects such as product descriptions, press releases, editorials and more.
• We can submit your press release to the largest online PR company called PRweb.
  Following up on distributed press releases.
• Tracking product reviews and interview opportunities.
• Provide your company with services related to expo's and trade shows.
• Provide gifting services for your next corporate event, charity event or celebrity event.
• Provide Co-operative advertising packages for national publications.
• Provide your company with product placements in celebrity gifting events and suites.
• We also have on staff a wonderful graphic designer that can help in web design, logo design as well as preparing documents or catalogs for print.

We are full service and will do what we can to help you succeed. If there is a service that you would like, that is not listed, please feel free to contact us with your suggestions. If you would like more information on how we can help to place your products into our celebrity swag bags and baskets please feel free to contact us at 888-284-2170 or email us at info@babyswags.com.

Inbox Dollars

Here is a new survey site that I found. It's pretty lucrative from what I hear. I just joined so I do not have any firsthand knowledge yet. I did get $5 deposited into my account automatically. I will update my progress as I go.

Top 100 Women Owned Businesses

I thought I would share this Top 100 list of the very best Women Owned Businesses around. This list consists of some of the most creative, innovative and awe-inspiring women-owned businesses that I have come across. So when you get a moment, check it out!

http://bellagraysboutique.gotop100.com

Bzz Agent

Have you joined BzzAgent yet? If not, you should! It's free and fantastic! I have received a Sonicare electric toothbrush (AWESOME!), Barilla Tortellini (SO YUMMY!) and much more!

You get to try products and services at no cost with samples, coupons and stuff like that. Then all you have to do is share my honest opinions with others, including some of the largest companies in the world. Want to learn more and sign up to join in the fun?

As a BzzAgent, you'll get to:
* Discover and try new products and services (for free!)
* Spread sincere word of mouth about them
* Have your opinions influence some of the biggest companies and brands around

If you'd like to receive the same benefits, become an Agent today.

Don't worry, BzzAgent respects its members' privacy and won't share
your personal information or spam you.

www.bzzagent.com