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Beat the High Street this Christmas

Posted on 16th December 2007 at 17:27 Tagged under Entertainment

If you’ve had enough of the high street already this Christmas then why not think about shopping online? Not only do you get to enjoy the comfort of shopping from your own home, but by using a shopping comparison website, or shopbot, such as Shopping.com, you also know that you’ve got the best deal.

Understandably, some people have concerns when purchasing goods over the internet. We've been speaking to Shannon Clouston - chief shopper at Shopping.com - who's offered us some practical advice on how to shop safely online, and what to watch out for when you do your last minute Christmas shopping.

1. Do your homework - Use the internet to search for information. Manufacturers websites often provide detailed product info whereas shopbots such as Shopping.com should be used to help you find the best deal.

2. Read consumer reviews - High quality consumer reviews can uncover the important advantages and disadvantages of similar products. Just reading one or two reviews before purchasing should highlight any potential problems.

3. Make sure you know the total price! - Shopping.com asks all of its merchants to include the full price in any listings, but if you are buying an item from other outlets online check that all costs are listed, including any shipping costs.

4. Get the best deal - Don't overlook what the best deal is overall! Some retailers include free extras such as guarantees or relevant accessories. It can be worth spending that bit more in order to get some of these add-ons.

5. Check the return policy - Before you buy check the shop's returns policy. These policies can vary widely, though many online shops now offer 30-day money back guarantees.

6. Know the final date for delivery - Find out the latest delivery dates for the Royal Mail and Parcel Force. Shopping.com estimates Thursday 20th December is likely to be the final deadline for most postal carriers. For more information about last order dates, please visit our sister site - Last Delivery.

7. Pay by credit card or PayPal - Online fraud is rarely a problem, but to ensure safe payment use a credit card that offers purchase protection or if possible your PayPal I.D.

8. Keep your receipt - Save your receipts in case you need to track your shipments or return an item.

9. Share your experience - Help others make smart decisions by sharing your shopping experience. Write reviews of the products you bought and the shops where you bought them - if you feel like it you could even do that right here on Shopping Place!

10. Above all shop safe! - Always make sure you're buying from a safe source. A number of online schemes will show you if a site is safe or not. Shopping.com's Trusted Store scheme is one of them; another is called ISIS, Internet Shopping Is Safe.

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Christmas Last Delivery Dates 2007

Posted on 16th December 2007 at 17:04 Tagged under Entertainment

Still stuck for those last minute Christmas presents? Wondering what exactly to put under the tree for Auntie Mabel? Think it's too late to order those cut price flashing musical socks from the web? Well fear not, because there's still just about enough time to order online, and Last Delivery is here to help you place those last minute orders.

Last Delivery is Shopping Place's sister website, dedicated to providing you with all the last order and last delivery dates for Christmas 2007. Many of the online stores are still accepting orders, and will still guarantee delivery by Christmas. Jessops for example are taking orders right up until the 21st of December, and if you'd like to have your Christmas dinner delivered to your door, Tesco are accepting groceries orders up until two days before Christmas - 23rd December.

Last Delivery is like Ronseal, it does exactly what it says on the tin. It's the only place to find the last order dates for delivery by Christmas 2007 from all your favourite online stores - over 60 to be more accurate. Simple really. And if you're already thinking about 2008, Last Delivery will also provide last order dates for Valentines and Mothers Day next year, along with any other special occasions we can bother to code the website for.

So don't delay - buy those last minute Christmas presents today! Visit Last Delivery to find out which stores are still accepting orders for Christmas, and most of all, enjoy! Thanks for visiting Shopping Place - we'd like to take this opportunity to wish all our visitors a very merry and peaceful Christmas!

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Win £50,000 playing Pro Evolution Soccer 2008

Posted on 23rd October 2007 at 14:49 Tagged under Entertainment

Always wanted to live the footballer's lifestyle, but find yourself more of an armchair supporter? Ever wished to sign for Manchester United, but stuck with two left feet? Well your prayers may well have been answered. Thanks to Play.com and Konami, you could win £50,000, simply by playing the latest game in the hit series Pro Evolution Soccer.

There's one thing better than playing the latest footie game, and that's winning prizes whilst you do it. In conjunction with the nice people at Play.com, Konami is offering £50,000 to the best Pro Evo 2008 player in the UK. Have you got the flicks, tricks and kicks to beat thousands of other players and walk away with the £50,000 prize money? Whoever said that you'd get nowhere in life playing computer games was obviously telling a lie.

OK, so maybe £50,000 won't allow you to live quite the footballer's lifestyle we'd all like to have. It'd barely cover David Beckham's hairdressing costs, let alone the Christmas presents for his wife and kids. However we reckon it'd fill quite a gap in most people's lives. You could take two years off work, take a sizeable chunk off the mortgage, pay off the credit cards, or buy a real football pitch of your own. And you won't have to attend any cold Sunday morning training sessions or be booed by the fans either - you can take part in the competition from the comfort of your own home, in your favourite armchair with beer in hand. It doesn't get much better than that.

It doesn't matter which format you're thinking of playing on - PC, PS3, PS2 or Xbox 360 - everyone can enter the tournament as long as they have their console hooked up to the internet. The tournament kicks off in December 2007, which gives you plenty of time to practice your skills (and dirty slide tackling) on the new game after it hits the shelves on 26th October. The top 32 players will then go on to the national finals, which will take place in March 2008 at a prestige location on a format to be decided. The only requirement to enter the competition is that you buy your copy of PES 2008 from Play.com. But don't worry - this won't break the bank, as Play.com are one of the cheapest and best sites on the internet for entertainment, gadgets, and lots more. There's free delivery on all their products, so you could order Pro Evo, a new console, and even a new HD TV all at the same time from Play.com - and have the lot delivered to your door in a matter of days. It could be the best investment you ever make.

And even if you don't win the competition, there's no need to cry like Gazza. Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 is one of the most advanced football games in the world, jam packed with loads of new features. There's a new and improved artificial intelligence system which adapts to your style of play, an enhanced close control system, improved set pieces, and improved player details with full facial animation. Absorbing commentary by John Champion and Mark Lawrenson makes it seem like you're really there. Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 is guaranteed to offer many hours of entertainment, already having received rave reviews from many websites and magazines.

So if you want to be in with a chance with scooping the £50,000 - buy your copy of PES 2008 from Play.com today! And remember, the competition is exclusive to Play.com - people who've bought games elsewhere simply won't be able to enter - increasing your chances of winning even more!

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Ashamed of your outdated old mobile? SWAP.it!

Posted on 30th July 2007 at 21:01 Tagged under Mobile Phones

"Your phone's only got Bluetooth and a dozen polyphonic ringtones? Well look at this, mine's got 3G, wi-fi, pie-in-the-sky, fifty megapixel camera, and fully enabled toast capabilities. And I only needed to remortgage the flat to buy it." Sound all too familiar? We sympathise. It's ridiculously hard and expensive to keep up with the latest mobile trends these days - that contract phone that looked so appealing nine months ago is probably already outdated by a newer, faster, more glorious model. So if you haven't got the latest Golden Fallace 3000, the Carphone Warehouse is here to help, with their new SWAP.it service.

Does the offer of a new phone halfway through your mobile contract sound appealing? Thought so, and that's exactly what the Carphone Warehouse is offering. You no longer need to be ashamed of your technologically inferior phone, the brick that stays tucked away in your back pocket when around friends. Basically you sign up for a mobile contract which includes a free phone, and then nine months later, you get another phone - absolutely free!

But where's the catch, I hear you ask. Well as far as we can see, there is none. All you have to do is sign up for an 18 month contract or choose a tariff that is £35 or above, then you can just go back to the Carphone Warehouse 9 months later and swap your handset for a brand spanking new one. And you're not stuck with the crumby handsets and mobile operators - there's a wide choice of SWAP.it handsets including Blackberry, Samsung, Nokia and Sony Ericsson phones, and SWAP.it can be taken advantage of with O2, T-Mobile and Orange.

Of course like all things in this world, you get what you pay for. The more you pay, the better the handset you receive at the beginning of your contract, and the greater choice of handsets you have to swap to nine months later. Dependant upon the amount you pay per month, you are placed into either the bronze, silver or gold tier, the latter having the greatest choice of phones to swap to. However you only need spend £50 per month to get into this top tier, and £40 per month to get into the silver tier. The contracts themselves are also great value, with a huge amount of free minutes and free texts up for grabs.

So if you're paranoid about your current phone, just want a change, or are one of these people who need to keep up with the latest mobile technology, the Carphone Warehouse's SWAP.it service is for you. And if you're already paying over £35 per month on your current contract, there's no reason not to take advantage of this great deal.

Click here for more information on the SWAP.it service.

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The $2,000,000 Board Game

Posted on 27th July 2007 at 14:53 Tagged under Toys & Games

It's common consensus that board games are exactly that - boring. However, what about a board game that could win you money? We've always dreamt about the Deal or No Deal game you were given for Christmas being real, or the Who Wants to be a Millionaire playstation game feeding the one million pounds you just won out of a slot in the side. Well let's think bigger than that, what about a board game that could win you millions - two million dollars to be exact? Well it's a dream no longer, because Eternity II is here to boggle your mind and fill your wallet, courtesy of gadget store Firebox and famous online retailer Amazon.

It's the one maths equation you never learnt back at school - 256 square puzzle pieces + one clever person = two million dollars. It sounds easy, but as the name Eternity II suggests, the board game may require a bit more skill than picking random boxes or moving your piece down a snake. The vexing geometric puzzle took ages for the designers at Tomy to create, and the last board game they made - no prizes for guessing that one's name - was only cracked by some eggheads from Cambridge University back in 2000. But don't let that put you off, according to it's creator Christopher Monckton, Eternity II is just as likely to be solved by a five year old as a mathematical genius. So you've got a chance of being in the lolly even if your name's not Stephen Fry.

Unlike most puzzles, Eternity II has thousands of different solutions. However that doesn't make it any easier, and the knowledge of that is likely to have you down the nearest rehab clinic quicker than Pete Doherty when you spend hours trying to find just one solution. But don't worry, help is at hand. There will be two further 'clue' puzzles that complete the Eternity II range, and by solving these you will receive the locations of key pieces in the main puzzle, getting you even closer to the big prize.

The best thing about this board game, is that it hasn't even been released yet. Eternity II is released on the 28th of July (tommorow!), so by ordering today you'll have a head-start over those who buy it later on. This prior knowledge could make the difference between winning and losing that huge cash amount.

So buy Eternity II today, it's only £9.99 plus delivery at Amazon or £34.95 plus delivery at Firebox. It might be the best £9.99 you've ever spent, and I mean, it's only 256 square pieces of cardboard - how hard can it be?

Best Shopping Place Price for a Eternity II ~ £26.91 at Amazon

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