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Ebay’s Price Match Guarantee

June 18, 2021 By Kathryn Vercillo Leave a Comment

Have you ever wondered about eBay’s price match guarantee? Most people don’t think about that. Even savvy shoppers who regularly look up their favorite stores’ price matching policies often don’t think to do so when online shopping. However, eBay does have a price match guarantee. Therefore, you should research it if you’re a regular eBay shopper.

When Did eBay’s Price Match Guarantee Start?

Ebay has changed a lot since its inception. The big online auction site looks a lot different than it did in the early days. Whereas it started off as a place for the average person to sell their random items, it quickly become a hot spot for savvy resellers to make a lot of money. As the site has changed, so has its policies. In an effort to compete with online ecommerce sites, the company launched eBay’s price match guarantee in 2017.

Best Price Guarantee

Ebay’s price match guarantee is actually called the Best Price Guarantee. This reflects the whole point of price matching p- to make sure that the customer gets the best possible price on an item. Like with other price matching policies, if you find the same item at a lower price on a competitor’s website, then eBay will honor that price.

Tip: Look for the Best Price Guarantee symbol when shopping on eBay. This shows that the item qualifies for price matching.

Only New Items Qualify for Price Matching

All stores that offer price matching have restrictions and limitations. One of the limitations of eBay’s Price Match Guarantee is a little different from the norm, however. The site requires that all items must be new to qualify for the guarantee. Since most stores only sell new items, not both new and used items, this isn’t usually an issue.

In order for an item to qualify for the eBay price match, it must not only be new but also:

Be unopened
Appear on either the Ebay Deals page or their “top products” list

What Does “New” Mean on eBay?

Note that “manufacturer refurbished deals” do count as new and unopened. However, seller-refurbished items do not.

You can also look for the labels:

“New”
“Brand New”
“New in Box”
“New with Tags”

However, if you see “new other” then it probably isn’t going to qualify. Not sure if you’re item qualifies or not? Look for that Best Price Guarantee tag.

Stores for Price Matching

Most companies restrict the stores they’ll offer price matching against. In eBay’s case, you can only look for competitive prices across eight other businesses:

Amazon.com
BestBuy.com
HomeDepot.com
Jet.com
Sears.com
Target.com
Walmart.com
Wayfair.com

Obviously, the bad part about this is that you don’t get a lot of options for price comparisons. You can’t go to some random retailer, find the item, and ask eBay to match the price. However, since these online portals are comparable to eBay and offer low prices, they’re you’re best bet to find your matching item anyway.

The good news about that is that it’s easy to search for possible price matches. Before you check out at eBay, hit up each one of those eight online stores. Run a quick check for the items in your eBay cart to make sure that they aren’t available elsewhere for a lower price. This kind of comparison shopping saves you money whether you use price matching or buy the item from the cheapest retailer.

Price Matching Gets You The Better Deal at eBay

Usually, companies match the lowest price. Therefore, there’s no difference in value between which store you shop at. However, eBay gives you more than that. They’ll give you 110% of the price difference. Therefore, you actually make a little bit of money by using eBay’s price match guarantee for shopping you’re already doing anyway.

What does this really mean? Well, let’s say that you buy a brand new item on eBay for $200. Then you find it priced at $150 from another qualified retailer. That’s a $50 difference. Many stores would simply give you the item for the matching price. In other words, they would give you $50 back. However, eBay gives you an additional 10% of the difference. 10% of $50 is $5 so you would get $55.

Other Details of eBay’s Price Match Guarantee

Here are the other things you’ll need to know:

The item for matching must be exactly the same.
It must also currently be in stock.
The price at the competitor must be lower excluding taxes, shipping, and other fees.
The buyer is a US resident. Additionally, the item ships to the US. The buyer does not have to physically be in the US at time of purchase.
If you return the item, you forfeit the price match on that item. You’ll get a refund for the returned item. However, you won’t get the coupon value for the price matching.
You may only apply for one price matching deal per day on eBay.

Finally, eBay limits price matching to a difference of 50% of the item’s price or $500, whichever is cheaper. In other words, if you find an item for sale on another site at higher than $500 price difference then it’s disqualified. However, this would be a very rare find.

How to Get the Money

If you think that you qualify for price matching, then here’s what you need to do:

Buy the item on eBay.
Within 48 hours of purchase, contact eBay’s customer service. Provide them with all details about where you find a lower price.
That’s it. If they verify that you’re owed the refund, you’ll receive an eBay coupon for 110% of the price difference.

Yes, you receive an eBay coupon for future shopping. Therefore, you only want to take advantage of price matching if you’re a regular eBay shopper. Sure, it’s good to get the lower price regardless. But it really works out to your best advantage if you shop on the site frequently. That’s how you’ll get the best prices and also be able to make the most of the money that you get back.

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Check out these helpful tools to help you save more. For investing advice, visit The Motley Fool.

Is It Possible to Make Money With Domain Names?

January 28, 2021 By Kathryn Vercillo Leave a Comment

There was a time in the early days of the Internet when it was easy to make money with domain names. Then the idea got so hot that almost everyone was trying it. Obviously, that made it harder for those who were new to get into the game. But things have shifted again. If you’re interested in trying, you can make money investing in domain names.

A Look Back at Making Money with Domain Names

If you do a deep dive into this site, you’ll find a 2006 post titled Alternative Investments – Domain Names. Think back to technology in 2006. Chances are that you had a personal computer at home. However, the iPhone was yet to be invented. And you likely chatted using AIM. Things were different back then.

In fact, the Internet was about to explode in new and interesting ways. Blogging was about to become big business. And savvy folks realized that they had the potential to make a lot of money with domain names. If you bought a domain name that people ended up vying for a year or two later, you could make tens of thousands of dollars off of just that one domain sale. And the risk was low because domain prices were low.

Valuable Domain Names Quickly Got More Expensive

Some lucky smart people even get really rich. For example, Page Howe bought then quickly sold Seniors.com and Guy.com for over one million dollars each in 2007. Of course, by this time, people were starting to realize that having the right domain name was a really important business move. So the costs of those popular – or potentially popular – domain names started climbing.

It made the business of trying to make money with domain names riskier. On one hand, you could make a lot of money flipping domain names. On the other hand, buying them could cost you a lot more. Therefore, you could also lose more. Whether or not to get into this business became a much trickier question for the average investor, especially for those who weren’t confident in their knowledge of the information technology sector.

Can You Make Money With Domain Names Today?

It’s been fifteen years since that article on domain names as alternative investments. In Internet time, that’s several lifetimes of change. So, is it possible to make money with domain names today? Yes. In particular, if you’re looking for a way to make a side income, then buying and selling domain names can be a great option. There are three core ways that you can make money with domain names:

1. Holding (Parking) Domains

If you don’t want to invest a lot of time into this side business, then buying domains just to hold them is a good way to go. Basically, here’s how it works:

You buy a series of domain names.
Then you set up advertising on those sites.
And when people land on the sites and click the ads, you make money.

There are a variety of ways that you can do this, but the usual route is to work with a domain trading platform that offers advertising on parked domains. Examples include Sedo, GoDaddy, and DittoDomains.

2. Flipping Domain Names

This is the option that most people have in mind when they think about how to make money with domains. You buy domains that are already out there, registered. Then you sell them, and you make a profit.

Of course, you might do any number of other things in between: hold on to the domain for awhile, make it nicer to make it more profitable before the sale, etc. Think of it like house flipping, except the “house” is the website.

Most people who opt for this choice use domain name marketplaces. Existing domain owners list their domains for sale. You can purchase the ones that you want, and you might purchases tens or hundreds at a time. Then you’ll likely use the same types of marketplaces to sell those domains. (Incidentally, these marketplaces are also where you’ll likely buy domains for parking as well.)

Alternatively, you might work with a domain broker who makes domain purchases for you. Or you might find a domain name that you like and reach out to the site’s owner directly to try to negotiate a sale.

3. Building Out Domains

If you’re interested in a more long-term project, and you enjoy creating websites, then you might build out domains. In other words, you’ll create a blog or website. There are numerous ways to make money from websites – through advertising, sponsored posts, creating and selling your own products, promoting your business services, etc.

Buying Domain Names to Create Websites

You can either:

Register a domain name that doesn’t already exist. In this case, you build it up entirely from scratch.
Purchase an existing domain name, then build out the site to make it better.

Many people choose the latter and even make a full-time business out of it. Essentially the concept is to buy domain names that you believe you could make money working with. Then you build out the site. Maybe you do it yourself. More likely, you hire designers, bloggers, SEO experts, etc. to work with you to make the site great. At that point, you either sell the site (which is a version of flipping domain names) or you hang on to it and keep making money off of it.

You might invest in a variety of domain names in the same niche – buying several domains related to bread making or fishing or art history, for example. This is a great way to delve into a specific area of interest while also trying to dominate a market. And it gives you a chance to cross-promote your domains, explore different techniques in the niche, etc.

Alternatively, you might explore different interests by buying a variety of different domain names. This gives you a chance to see where your skills might work best. Either way, you have a chance at earning some extra income. The risk, of course, is that you spend money on the domain names, as well as the people you hire to help you with them, and then you fail to turn a profit.

If you enjoy reading our blog posts and would like to try your hand at blogging, we have good news for you; you can do exactly that on Saving Advice. Just click here to get started. If you want to be able to customize your blog on your own domain and need hosting service, we recommend trying BlueHost. They offer powerful hosting services for $3.95/month!

6 Free Content Management Systems (Including Hosting)

July 21, 2020 By Susan Paige Leave a Comment

A content management system (CMS) is an application that allows users to develop and run their websites accordingly. Featuring an admin panel where you create and update content and subsequent pages with information, posts, images, videos, and others, a CMS can be viewed as a smart and intuitive interface that aids you in designing your online presence.

However, as a cost conscious small business owner, you’ll want to get the CMS for free. Here are a few options to consider.

Plan Your Financial Future with WeVest

August 2, 2017 By Mary Newton Leave a Comment

Financial planning apps are everywhere, and each has something different to offer. WeVest is a fairly new financial planning app that offers a new perspective on saving money and growing your net worth. The app promises a straightforward and inexpensive solution to you financial planning needs. But how well does it keep those promises?

How WeVest Works

When you create a WeVest account, you have to answer a few questions. In order to get your full financial picture, WeVest asks you basic questions about your assets, debt, income, age, and more. These questions allow their algorithm to create separate accounts on your dashboard for each item, as well as categorize you with peer groups who use the app. Then, WeVest asks about your saving goals. Their primary options are saving for retirement, building a college fund, and paying off credit card debt.

WeVest% and Your Financial Plan

The primary goal of WeVest is “to optimize the growth of your net worth in a way that achieves your goals.” Using your answers, WeVest algorithms formulate a financial plan specific to you, using the money you are willing to invest in yourself. Your WeVest% is the percentage of your income that you want to put towards growing your net worth. Your WeVest% is divided according to your goals – savings, retirement, college debt, etc. – in the most efficient way possible.

While this seems a lot like putting your money in someone else’s hands, fear not: WeVest also allows you to compare several recommended plans and pick the one you prefer. You have total control over your financial plan, supported by WeVest’s professional advice. In addition, you have constant access to that financial plan whenever you need it.

Once all your information is in and you have decided which financial plan you prefer,. Your dashboard shows how much money is going to which “bucket” – savings, debt repayment, retirement, etc. – for that month. You are given a graph that will measure and predict the growth of your net worth and savings, as well as whichever other buckets you prioritize. Finally, you can also see your exact current net worth with assets and liabilities, your financial plan, and a savings comparison between you and other users in your peer group.

WeVest Pricing

WeVest is not a free service. Their plans consist of a $4/month plan or a $35/year plan. Both plans have identical benefits, with the exception of the $35/year plan offering a 27% discount from the monthly plan. When you sign up, you have to select a plan and input your card information. However, you have a 45-day free trial before WeVest takes money from your account. You may also cancel your account at any time. This way, if you think you may use the app regularly, you can still sign up for the yearly plan knowing you have time before fully committing. This app boasts the low cost of its services in comparison to face-to-face professional financial planners.

WeVest Drawbacks

WeVest offers some fantastic insights into your financial planning, but it does have its drawbacks. Its primary drawback is its accompanying app. Rather than having an app which allows you to log in and view your information on your phone, WeVest’s mobile app is a simple calculator. It is free, and allows you to calculate simple savings projections for a large purchase, your child’s college tuition, or retirement. While these are useful, they are also pointless if you have an account with WeVest. Furthermore, toggling the “See The Full App” option within the mobile app simply opens the WeVest page in your mobile browser.

WeVest also caters more toward adults starting in their mid to late twenties with a stable, full-time job. College saving plans are geared towards planning and saving for your child’s future tuition rather than your own. Each financial plan prioritizes retirement funds. If you are a college student with a part-time job looking to get ahead in the financial planning game, or you are retired but still looking for a place to manage your finances, WeVest is not that place.

WeVest also requires a separate account for each individual item. For example, you need a separate account for student loans, a separate account for your retirement fund, a separate account for your savings, etc. Having this many accounts seems impractical, and having to input this many different accounts gets confusing on the website.

Is WeVest Worth It?

WeVest is perfect for the right people. If you are looking to keep track of your retirement fund, flesh out your savings, or invest in a home, WeVest has exactly what you need. If not, you may be better off looking elsewhere. WeVest is an incredibly thorough financial planning app that is truly a bargain for all it offers. If you want to invest in your financial future through financial planning, look no further than WeVest.

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Photos: WeVest

10 Best Frugal Living Blogs

July 5, 2017 By Mary Newton Leave a Comment

Frugal living blogs are all over the internet, making it difficult to keep up with every single one. But how do you choose which blogs to follow? Check out this list of the ten best frugal living blogs and what makes them so great.

1. WiseBread

WiseBread has been around for a while, and age certainly keeps them on top of their game. From life hacks to career advice, they have it all, entirely dedicated to their motto: Living large on a small budget. Their practical advice on a variety of finance-related topics is sure to keep you interested and informed.

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2. Money Saving Mom

It is no surprise that many frugal living blogs are run by moms. This mom in particular focuses much of her blog on finding coupons and deals. She also provides grocery lists and menu plans, adding a touch of personal experience to her practical advice.

3. Mavis Butterfield’s One Hundred Dollars A Month

If you are looking for a frugal living blog driven by personal experience, look no further! With recipes, crafts, gardening tips, daily deals, and money saving advice, One Hundred Dollars a Month offers a variety of resources and tips for the frugal liver. You can rest easy knowing that all of this advice is tried and tested by Mavis herself!

4. Living Well Spending Less

This blog is quite the eye-catcher, and that is a good thing. This blog covers four major topics: food, life, home, and money. It offers financial planning advice, as well as accompanying tutorials with free downloads. The blog also sells a Living Well Planner created by the founder, Ruth.

5. Budget and the Bees

This blog offers practical and varied financial advice, covering topics from money to travel. It is a great one-stop-shop for those seeking practical financial advice.

6. Money Crashers

Money Crashers posts articles in a variety of categories and from a variety of writers. Whether you are a busy mom or an artist looking to sell your work online, this blog has an article for you.

7. SquawkFox

The coolest thing about SquawkFox is that the blogger, Kerry K. Taylor, is not just a blogger. Taylor has been around almost as long as Wise Bread, and has an amazing career background in finance advice. She is a speaker and a consumer expert. She has done TED Talks, has her own YouTube channel, and even wrote a book on saving money. If you are looking for professional advice, SquawkFox is definitely the place to get it.

8. The Simple Dollar

One unique thing about this blog is that it is male-driven. Many frugal living blogs are run by women who run their own households, leading to posts about dinner recipes, updating their kids’ bedrooms, and the like. While these are all fantastic and useful topics, it is refreshing to have a varied perspective. This blog is simple and streamlined, offering frugal living and financial advice, as well as a variety of guides to help you navigate the financial world.

9. Our Debt Free Family

This blog offers fantastic personal finance advice, but perhaps its best treasure is the blog’s toolkit. From forums to calculators to suggested reading, this is a goldmine of useful finance tools.

10. Fun Cheap or Free

Last, but certainly not least, Fun Cheap or Free offers a unique perspective on a fun and frugal life. While also offering free printables and fantastic budgeting advice, this blog’s shining star is its experience-driven tips on how to have fun without breaking the bank.

These blogs offer a wonderful variety of frugal living and personal finance advice, all with their own unique perspectives. Among them, you are sure to find the perfect one for you.

If you’re interested in frugal blogs like these you may also enjoy:

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Photo: Cheap Like Me

Microsoft Blue Screen of Death Caused by August Update

August 17, 2014 By Emma Harrison Clark 21 Comments

Microsoft is asking users to uninstall an update to avoid the blue screen of death

Microsoft, the maker of popular operating system Windows, has this week asked users to uninstall their latest update after complaints that it was causing computers to crash and give users what has become known as the Microsoft “blue screen of death.” The update bug is apparently a serious one, with users reporting it was causing computers to crash and leave their computer screen blue.

PC World reports that Microsoft has identified three key problems with the update:

“First, fonts that are installed in a location other than the default fonts directory (%windir%fonts) cannot be changed when they are loaded into any active session, essentially locking them in. Second, fonts don’t render correctly. The third issue is the most critical, however… that systems may crash with a ‘0x50 Stop error message’ after the updates are installed.” It appears the problem will apply to the following programs: Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 8.1, plus Windows Vista and Windows Server 2003.

If you’re one of the unfortunates who has downloaded the updates already, don’t panic. There is a solution, which is detailed in the security bulletin by Microsoft. You’ll need to fiddle with the registry files, then enter the recovery environment to delete the .dat file, reboot and then export the file. This will then need to be repeated before you uninstall the update and reimport the font file. It may sound complex but follow Microsoft’s bulletin and you’ll be on the right track.

It’s not the first lot of issues Microsoft has had to deal with this month. On Friday they had to issue a hotfix for Internet Explorer after multiple dialog windows began causing halts and delays. This applied to all versions of Explorer and garnered many user complaints.

The problem with the latest update is yet to be found, but it has notably coincided with Microsoft’s move towards using Patch Tuesday to combine small feature updates into the Windows monthly security update package. This is instead waiting awhile (until a bundle of new features are ready) and then releasing them together in one major update like Windows 8.1.

Whatever the cause, users aren’t happy and Microsoft may need to rethink their update protocol before impatient users start to rethink their loyalty to the brand.

(Photo courtesy of wolfram_schmied)