Hunting for bargains

What a week. Articles and deadlines and research and rehearsals and more rehearsals.

And I've also done a little online shopping this week, and thought I might point out a few of my favorite bargain places and alerts. With stores closing, I think I, along with many others, may need to look online in order to get our size or styles.

One blog that is fun and interesting if you like shoes is Barking Dog Shoes. I recently ordered a pair -- the Keen Madrid Mary Jane -- that I first read about on this blog -- I'll let you know if I like them when I get them. But it's a good way to see and learn about new styles.

An invaluable resource to find online not only what you're looking for, but also to see some of the deals those sites may have is The Find. You just type in your search term and it pops a window with all sorts of options, including one to find it locally if possible. I like that you can narrow the price with a sliding bar, or that you can see results by store too. I've used this to find everything from prayer flags to Crocs.

If you really like bargains and want to know when good deals come up, check out Deal News. You can specify exact search terms and get e-mails when good deals are found for, say, cookware, or cameras, or sheets, or shoes (my current fav). This site alerted me to a wonderful percentage off last weekend at Shoe Mall and I finally ordered the Keen Madrid MJ from them for significantly less than I could find them elsewhere, including Amazon.

I also get a newsletter from the same folks with daily deals called stylenotes. You can sign up for different newsletters here.

That's where I got my REAL bargain of the week: Mary Jane Crocs for $12.48 each with a promotion directly from Crocs. It was a buy two, get 50% off for various styles, and I learned about it it through stylenotes.

And then....

I did a Google search on "Crocs.com discount coupon" -- or you can use similar terms -- and found a code for FREE SHIPPING. So I have two pairs of these comfy sandals coming for a grand total of $24.98. Pretty good, hm? (That deal is only available for a limited time.)

By the way, any time you're ordering something online you should search for discount coupons. Many times you can find free shipping codes, sometimes with a percentage off as well. I don't have a favorite site for these: there are many, and they don't always have the same codes.

Both Endless and 6pm have regular deals and those alerts come through in Deal News alerts. I always check them first when I'm looking for a shoe, though. 6 pm is the outlet for Zappos, probably the premier online shoe store, and Endless is Amazon's store for shoes and handbags, although I always check Amazon too.

And one more "deal" newsletter or site is Fat Wallet. I get alerts from this site on specific products, but there are more deals to be had from it just by browsing through the site.

And then there are books! A while back I joined Goodreads, a site where you can review books you've read and learn about new ones your friends or others have enjoyed. They have a section where you can sign up to get new books free -- review copies or other giveaways, and I was notified this week that one is on its way to me! How cool is THAT!

I always prefer to shop locally when I can, especially the locally-owned stores downtown and elsewhere. We've had some lovely new additions this last year, and I hope they stick around for a long time.