WORK


5.1. Buy / Sell
www.moneysavingexpert.com/shopping/
www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/action
www.adviceguide.org.uk/england/consumer_e.htm
www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/regulation
www.moneysavingexpert.com/shopping/demotivator/

DECISIONS

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Online_shopping

Which YouTube channel

  • The first decisions are about the type of product or service I am looking for.
  • Is it something we need or something we want?
  • Can we use another product we already have?
  • Can we borrow the product from a relative or friend?
  • Is it more convenient to buy it now or to wait to buy it in the future?
  • Which are the product specifications that we need the most?
  • Can I buy it online or I need to buy it in a "brick and mortar" shop?
  • Is this something I can try it in some place and later buy it online?
  • Which websites I tend to use? Sometimes, websites, like businesses, change and they become better or worse.

In order not to buy what you don't need, you can check the following:

https://www.theminimalists.com

https://zenhabits.net

https://www.becomingminimalist.com

http://www.missminimalist.com

https://unclutterer.com

vickirobin.com/about/projects/new-road-map-foundation/

yourmoneyoryourlife.com



Amazon best sellers
www.ebay.co.uk/ctg
Ebay best sellers      




https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FIRE_movement

https://firedrillpodcast.com/

https://www.mrmoneymustache.com/


https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/

https://www.which.co.uk/

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/

https://moneyfacts.co.uk/

https://www.savvywoman.co.uk/

https://www.bbc.co.uk/search?q=watchdog
​
https://yourmoneyoryourlife.com/

https://ymoyl.wordpress.com/

https://consumerworld.org/

http://www.consumer.es/


STEPS
These are not a fixed set of steps but a suggestion that can be changed according to what we are looking for.

For example:
  1. Find out about the product specifications, reviews, etc. to learn about the products and choose the one that you think is best for you.
  2. Use comparison sites to find the best prices and re-assess the product you are going to buy (when finding the best prices, sometimes you can find better products for less cost)
  3. Check that you feel safe buying it and read any other information you might need.  Consider the different type of delivery options.

You could also find the cheapest model of product you can and then assess if it could be enough for your needs.

Look at the "tips" section as there are suggestions that you can use when convenient.

Consumer problems, rights, etc.

Letter templates for complaints and compensations


TIPS

  1. Use several price comparison websites
  2. Use several browswers
  3. Leave the product in the shopping trolley for few days before finalising the order (because of the cookies, companies might send you reminders with offers or vouchers)
  4. Check product reviews critically
  5. Check sellers reviews crtically
  6. Check information about the product you want and similar products (wikipedia, blogs, forums, browser, youtube, etc.)
  7. Check the product you are about to buy carefully, as sometimes the reviews are for similar products with different specifications ( in a laptop could be different battery capacity, different processor, ram memory, software included, etc.)
  8. Reviews can be used carefully, as sometimes can be subjective and suspicious.  They can help also to find out more information about the product.
  9. Check the different possibilities of delivery (in my case I prefer to collect it in Doodle, if possible, to minimise risk).
  10. Use incognito or private browsing: Epicbrowser.com, duckduckgo.com Google incognito, Firefox private browsing, Opera private window.
  11. In Amazon, consider the pros/cons of different sellers.
  12. Camelcamelcamel.com can be useful to learn the prices that Amazon has displayed on a product at different times
  13. Sometimes the reviews are of similar products that are not exactly the same.
  14. As a general rule you have 14 days to return a product you have ordered by mistake (or because you have found it cheaper).  In the case of CD/DVD they cannot be opened (outer plastic film must be intact).
  15. Use different browsers as the mentioned above and Internet Explorer so the cookies don't overload one browser only.
  16. If your computer is slow, use opera as it demands less resources.
  17. Consider different options such as buying, renting or borrowing.
  18. Consider buying a model from the previous year rather than the latest and check the specifications and prices.  Sometimes an old version has some feature that the latest one lacks.
  19. Use cashback sites such as www.topcashback.co.uk  and  www.quidco.com.    
  20. When buying from China (www.aliexpress.com)     be careful with charges you might have to pay before collecting the items, days after shopping on-line.  
           Read the following about buying from China:  
                                                                                    www.moneysavingexpert.com/shopping/buy-from-china-aliexpress/

                                                                                    www.theguardian.com/money/2017/sep/03/buying-online-china-aliexpress-beware-pitfalls

                                                                                    www.makeuseof.com/tag/buy-safely-aliexpress-scams/

                                                                                    https://www.bigcommerce.com/blog/alibaba-faqs-security-shipping-taxes/#exactly-how-to-use-alibaba-to-source-products

                                                                                    https://andrewminalto.com/how-to-import-products-from-china/


www.bbc.co.uk/consumer/

www.moneysavingexpert.com/shopping/

www.savvywoman.co.uk
​
www.mrmoneymustache.com

www.dailyworth.com

www.topcashback.co.uk

www.quidco.com

GOOGLE CLEARANCE


https://www.myvouchercodes.co.uk

10 tips on paying off your debts 

www.which.co.uk/money/money-saving-tips/getting-a-great-deal/haggling-acnth5v5q67h

https://www.which.co.uk/reviews/10-money-tips-for-parents/article/10-money-tips-for-parents

https://www.which.co.uk/money/money-saving-tips/saving-money/50-ways-to-save-money-a9g329r4s8hm

http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/tv/ripoffbritain/rip-off-britain-english.pdf

www.moneyadviceservice.org.uk/en

Pension calculators

Mortgage calculators

Credit cards calculators

Investments

​
SPANISH

Tips para comprar online

http://www.aecosan.msssi.gob.es/AECOSAN/web/home/aecosan_inicio.htm

www.kontsumobide.euskadi.eus/y10-kb2home/es/

www.consumer.es

https://www.ocu.org

http://www.eka.org

www.consumo-ccu.es

http://ahorradores.net

​http://www.ahorristas.es
​
http://ahorrarencrisis.com

http://www.1000trucosparaahorrar.com

http://www.ahorratedinero.com

www.ahorro.net

​https://www.comoahorrar.es

http://www.mediavida.com/foro/off-topic/mejores-paginas-webs-para-ahorrar-dinero-458569

http://www.lavanguardia.com/tecnologia/20160310/40346885485/webs-apps-espanolas-ahorrar.html

http://www.expansion.com/ahorro/2016/09/24/57e4f810468aebef1a8b45de.html


PRICE COMPARISON

I would suggest using extensions to help online shopping, as different places might have different prices at different types for different customers.  Recently I wanted to buy a very cheap product of £0.99 (free shipping).  However, when in the basket I added 3 of them to buy, they added shipping costs that were far more costly than the product, however, I was able to buy them without shipping costs by buying each of them separately.  As I said before, I would suggest searching for the top browser extensions for shopping online, such as alitools, camelcamelcamel (the camelizer), getinvisiblehand, etc. and also searching for their reviews.​ https://energycompare.citizensadvice.org.uk/
https://www.ombudsman-services.org/
https://www.nationaltradingstandards.uk/
www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/home-energy-efficiency


Wikipedia                                 Web
Bing Shopping Campaigns
Pronto


https://joinpouch.com/
https://www.ilovefreegle.org

www.bizrate.co.uk

www.ukshopsearch.com

https://www.shopperuk.com

https://moneyfacts.co.uk

http://www.gocompare.com

https://www.confused.com

https://www.comparethemarket.com

​www.getinvisiblehand.com

https://www.amazon.co.uk

​Previous prices/Prices alerts in Amazon:     https://camelcamelcamel.com       http://zeezaw.co.uk/

Find items to use free delivery in Amazon: https://www.supersaverdeliverytool.com/

Compare prices in in different Amazon european countries: priceonline.eu/Compare-Amazon-price/

Refurbished items in Amazon:  Amazon renewed

Adquisitio for Amazon

Buy in Amazon through a cash back website: Quidco    TopCashback

Find Best Sellers products https://www.withintheflow.com/how-to-find-best-selling-products-for-your-online-store/
Amazon Best Sellers www.amazon.co.uk/Best-Sellers-Welcome/zgbs/ref=zg_bs_tab
Etsy Best selling items  https://www.etsy.com/uk/market/best_selling_items
Best selling items eBay  https://sellercentre.ebay.co.uk/business/best-selling-items
How to find the best selling products in Alibaba/Aliexpress
https://www.quora.com/How-do-you-find-the-best-selling-products-on-Alibaba-Aliexpress
https://www.quora.com/How-do-I-find-best-selling-niche-trending-products

Compare prices in other websites: Pricespy       Googleshopping
SPAIN ​
Apuntarse a los boletines/newsletters de vuestra tienda online favorita, para recibir ofertas.
Atento a fechas especiales de descuento: Black Friday, Amazon Prime Day (Julio), Aliexpress día especial de compras (Noviembre)
Groupon - https://www.groupon.es
• Soy de Chollos - https://soydechollos.com
• No tengo suelto - https://www.notengosuelto.com
• Tu código promocional - https://www.tucodigopromocional.net
• Hagglezon - https://www.hagglezon.com
• El Camelizer - https://es.camelcamelcamel.com/camelizer
• Telegram - https://www.telegram.org
Camel Camel Camel: http://www.camelcamelcamel.com

Usar modo incógnito!
- Skyscanner: https://www.skyscanner.es
- Kayak: https://www.kayak.es
- Google Vuelos: https://www.google.com/flights
- Booking: https://www.booking.com
- Expedia: https://www.expedia.es
- Airbnb: https://www.airbnb.es
- Hotelscombined: https://www.hotelscombined.es
- Hopper: https://www.hopper.com
- Lonely Planet Guides: https://www.lonelyplanet.com/guides
- Google Trips: https://get.google.com/trips/
- UTrip: https://utrip.com


REVIEWS

an you trust the reviews websites?  I find that the reviews are useful to spot some information (weaknesses, strengths, alternative products, specifications, features) that  then, you can check them on-line (or in shops) and help you to make decisions.   You can find fake reviews and honest reviews.  On the right below, you can watch an interesting video which shows how fake reviews can be obtained and it provides some advice, such as using different review websites.

NEWS ON FAKE REVIEWS

How to spot a fake review?

Review websites:
​
www.checkatrade.com/

SAFETY


When shopping online, make sure the website is a genuine one (safe with a padlock).  Even if it is a genuine one, sometimes is good to print the screen to ensure that you are buying what you wanted (sometimes there are several tick boxes). You also can be saving or printing any message, confirmation, etc. even if it is just to remember exactly what the purchase was.  If you buy something over the phone (something I try to avoid) make sure you send an email to confirm what has been agreed over the phone.

One of the things that made me to phone or contact the companies or search about it online, it is when I received emails on different occasions from a very famous shopping website and from the government... they seemed genuine!!!!!!  However, as it was not normal that they would send me this type of emails I contacted them and searched for this type of scam online.  This confirmed that the emails were not genuine, what was a relief because it seemed something that could be possible.  Very worrying!!!!

If possible, I would advice to collect anything you buy, or collect it recorded delivery, to avoid possibilities of post missing.  Sometimes I receive mail that is for other people, so I suppose the same could happen to others about my orders.  On one occasion, somebody from a different building came to bring me a printer that had been delivered to him (I cannot understand how it happened).


Check that shops are not fake.  Make sure you make pictures inside the phone (serial number,etc) as they can return something similar which is broken and ask for a refund.  If you sell something and in ebay and says you are posting it, don't give it on hand (even if the buyer asks you), as the buyer could later say that you did not post it to him and you gave it to somebody else.  When contacting a seller, use the contact forms from ebay or amazon, so that they keep the record in case you want later to complain.



takefive-stopfraud.org.uk

GOOD ADVICE FROM NATIONWIDE TO PROTECT AGAINST FRAUD/SCAMS

LITTLE BOOK OF BIG SCAMS

HOW TO SPOT ONLINE SCAMS

www.friendsagainstscams.org.uk/
webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20180311192207/https://www.getsafeonline.org/get-safe-online-week/ New phishing method: the inception bar
https://www.qld.gov.au/law/your-rights/consumer-rights-complaints-and-scams/scams-fraud/common-scams

Online shopping addiction
TRADING STANDARDS
​
www.businesscompanion.info/


www.nationaltradingstandards.uk/contact/

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/

https://www.gov.uk/consumer-protection-rights

http://www.consumer-ombudsman.org/

https://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/advice/how-to-complain-to-a-company

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/Y9Vpnl94w0pwKly0VLBTVm/consumer-advice


​Amazon about Phishing or Spoofed e-mails.


How to check if an email is from Amazon

www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/advice/how-to-spot-a-scam-alFiz5h8mnJ9



DIRECTORY



Books & Stationery




http://www.argos.co.uk

​https://www.google.co.uk


​https://www.johnlewis.com
https://www.houseoffraser.co.uk
http://www.marksandspencer.com
amazon.co.uk
aliexpress.com
https://www.alibaba.com
https://www.ebay.co.uk
https://en.shpock.com




https://www.pixmania.co.uk

https://www.salonskincare.co.uk

www.ebuyer.com
https://www.screwfix.com
https://www.travisperkins.co.uk

https://www.wickes.co.uk

Food, etc.https://www.qdstores.co.uk

http://www.wilko.com

www.therange.co.uk

https://www.poundland.co.uk

http://www.hamleys.com
http://www.thetoyshop.com
https://forbiddenplanet.com


http://www.asos.com

http://www.dorothyperkins.com/?geoip=home

http://www.next.co.uk

www.topman.com/?geoip=home

https://www.primark.com/en/homepage

https://www.primarkonlineshop.net

https://www.zara.com/uk/

https://www.carphonewarehouse.com

​https://www.clarks.co.uk
​
CARBOOT SALE DIRECTORY

MARKET STALL DIRECTORY


www.etsy.com/uk

https://folksy.com

www.spreadshirt.com

www.artfire.com

www.zazzle.com

www.cafepress.co.uk

www.gumtree.com


USA

SPAIN 


5.2. Employment
https://nationalcareersservice.direct.gov.uk/Pages/Home.aspx
http://www.prospects.ac.uk/
www.johnleescareers.com/links.asp
www.linkedin.com/home
http://careers.theguardian.com/
http://www.charityjob.co.uk/



​​5.3. Self-employment
http://www.skylineoffices.co.uk/small-business-ideas.php
www.ted.com/talks/simon_sinek_how_great_leaders_inspire_action
www.startups.co.uk_
www.businessballs.com/
www.gov.uk/starting-up-a-business
http://www.ted.com/talks/dan_pink_on_motivation
www.ipo.gov.uk
http://www.bl.uk/bipc/pdfs/inventing.pdf
http://bl-business-essentials.wikispaces.com/
http://bl-business-essentials.wikispaces.com/Industries
http://britishlibrary.typepad.co.uk/business/
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/
http://www.clickdocs.co.uk/default.htm
http://taxaid.org.uk/
http://www.lawontheweb.co.uk/legal_documents
www.alibaba.com
www.export.org.uk
www.socialenterprise.org.uk
www.princess-trust.org.uk
www.statistics.gov.uk
www.lawsociety.org.uk
www.ico.gov.uk
https://www.gov.uk/business
https://www.surveymonkey.com/http://www.companieshouse.gov.uk/
http://www.invent.org.uk/
http://www.inventored.org/
http://inventors.about.com/
http://mentorsme.co.uk/
http://www.eventbrite.co.uk/
http://www.meetup.com/
  1. Use several price comparison websites
  2. Use several browswers
  3. Leave the product in the shopping trolley for few days before finalising the order (because of the cookies, companies might send you reminders with offers or vouchers)
  4. Check product reviews critically
  5. Check sellers reviews crtically
  6. Check information about the product you want and similar products (wikipedia, blogs, forums, browser, youtube, etc.)
  7. Check the product you are about to buy carefully, as sometimes the reviews are for similar products with different specifications ( in a laptop could be different battery capacity, different processor, ram memory, software included, etc.)
  8. Reviews can be used carefully, as sometimes can be subjective and suspicious.  They can help also to find out more information about the product.
  9. Check the different possibilities of delivery (in my case I prefer to collect it in Doodle, if possible, to minimise risk).
  10. Use incognito or private browsing: Epicbrowser.com, duckduckgo.com Google incognito, Firefox private browsing, Opera private window.
  11. In Amazon, consider the pros/cons of different sellers.
  12. Camelcamelcamel.com can be useful to learn the prices that Amazon has displayed on a product at different times
  13. Sometimes the reviews are of similar products that are not exactly the same.
  14. As a general rule you have 14 days to return a product you have ordered by mistake (or because you have found it cheaper).  In the case of CD/DVD they cannot be opened (outer plastic film must be intact).
  15. Use different browsers as the mentioned above and Internet Explorer so the cookies don't overload one browser only.
  16. If your computer is slow, use opera as it demands less resources.
  17. Consider different options such as buying, renting or borrowing.
  18. Consider buying a model from the previous year rather than the latest and check the specifications and prices.  Sometimes an old version has some feature that the latest one lacks.
  19. Use cashback sites such as www.topcashback.co.uk  and  www.quidco.com.    
  20. When buying from China (www.aliexpress.com)     be careful with charges you might have to pay before collecting the items, days after shopping on-line.  
           Read the following about buying from China:  
                                                                                    www.moneysavingexpert.com/shopping/buy-from-china-aliexpress/

                                                                                    www.theguardian.com/money/2017/sep/03/buying-online-china-aliexpress-beware-pitfalls

                                                                                    www.makeuseof.com/tag/buy-safely-aliexpress-scams/

                                                                                    https://www.bigcommerce.com/blog/alibaba-faqs-security-shipping-taxes/#exactly-how-to-use-alibaba-to-source-products

                                                                                    https://andrewminalto.com/how-to-import-products-from-china/


www.bbc.co.uk/consumer/

www.moneysavingexpert.com/shopping/

www.savvywoman.co.uk
​
www.mrmoneymustache.com

www.dailyworth.com

www.topcashback.co.uk

www.quidco.com

GOOGLE CLEARANCE


https://www.myvouchercodes.co.uk

10 tips on paying off your debts 

www.which.co.uk/money/money-saving-tips/getting-a-great-deal/haggling-acnth5v5q67h

https://www.which.co.uk/reviews/10-money-tips-for-parents/article/10-money-tips-for-parents

https://www.which.co.uk/money/money-saving-tips/saving-money/50-ways-to-save-money-a9g329r4s8hm

http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/tv/ripoffbritain/rip-off-britain-english.pdf

www.moneyadviceservice.org.uk/en

Pension calculators

Mortgage calculators

Credit cards calculators

Investments

​
SPANISH

Tips para comprar online

http://www.aecosan.msssi.gob.es/AECOSAN/web/home/aecosan_inicio.htm

www.kontsumobide.euskadi.eus/y10-kb2home/es/

www.consumer.es

https://www.ocu.org

http://www.eka.org

www.consumo-ccu.es

http://ahorradores.net

​http://www.ahorristas.es
​
http://ahorrarencrisis.com

http://www.1000trucosparaahorrar.com

http://www.ahorratedinero.com

www.ahorro.net

​https://www.comoahorrar.es

http://www.mediavida.com/foro/off-topic/mejores-paginas-webs-para-ahorrar-dinero-458569

http://www.lavanguardia.com/tecnologia/20160310/40346885485/webs-apps-espanolas-ahorrar.html

http://www.expansion.com/ahorro/2016/09/24/57e4f810468aebef1a8b45de.html

Books & Stationery




http://www.argos.co.uk

​https://www.google.co.uk


​https://www.johnlewis.com
https://www.houseoffraser.co.uk
http://www.marksandspencer.com
amazon.co.uk
aliexpress.com
https://www.alibaba.com
https://www.ebay.co.uk
https://en.shpock.com




https://www.pixmania.co.uk

https://www.salonskincare.co.uk

www.ebuyer.com
https://www.screwfix.com
https://www.travisperkins.co.uk

https://www.wickes.co.uk

Food, etc.https://www.qdstores.co.uk

http://www.wilko.com

www.therange.co.uk

https://www.poundland.co.uk

http://www.hamleys.com
http://www.thetoyshop.com
https://forbiddenplanet.com


http://www.asos.com

http://www.dorothyperkins.com/?geoip=home

http://www.next.co.uk

www.topman.com/?geoip=home

https://www.primark.com/en/homepage

https://www.primarkonlineshop.net

https://www.zara.com/uk/

https://www.carphonewarehouse.com

​https://www.clarks.co.uk
​
CARBOOT SALE DIRECTORY

MARKET STALL DIRECTORY


www.etsy.com/uk

https://folksy.com

www.spreadshirt.com

www.artfire.com

www.zazzle.com

www.cafepress.co.uk

www.gumtree.com


USA

SPAIN