The day was a Sunday…the month September and the year 1986. What was I doing you ask? This is an easy one. I was eating Cap’n Crunch, glued to the television, watching a rousing episode of The Littles while my mom sat at the kitchen table clipping away at coupons. 30 minutes later, after my bowl was empty and the credits displayed, I joined mom at the table to see what I could expect in the coming week from Monday’s grocery store trip. I probably even “helped” her clip some savings in hopes of getting her to pick up a treat for me the next time she shopped.

Do you remember those times? Well, even if you don’t, you have probably come to realize that coupons are still a thing of the present. The coupon world HAS changed, but at the same time, it has stayed the same. Although parents across the country may still find solace in the coupons delivered to their door in the local newspaper or bunched together in their mailbox, merchants are now branching out to gain greater exposure. You now have a pretty good chance of finding a 20% off coupon for a television in an email campaign, then you do in your periodicals. You may also learn about savings in a weekly newsletter that you originally thought was just cluttering your inbox, or even a targeted ad campaign as you peruse the Internet; maybe seen while walking down 80’s cartoon memory lane (remember Richie Rich?).

During these interesting economic times, the gloves are off in the merchant world to get customers to their site, and it’s these coupons that just might pay off for them.

Here at Buzzillions.com, we recently released a new section of our website to highlight top-rated gift ideas.

BUT WAIT…THERE’S MORE! This new section ALSO features coupon offers that many of our merchant partners are offering. No longer do you have to use scissors as the starting point for your savings. Now it’s as simple as entering a code during the checkout process to take advantage of free shipping, $100 off one item, or even 30% off an entire order. To “get you in the door”, these deals are only going to get better and more enticing.

Didn’t know about this new gifts and coupons page? That’s fine too because we’ve made sure to point out our partner’s special promotions on our product pages as well. Want to buy a TV? You’ll be happy to know that our top-rated LCD flat-panel TV offers free shipping from one merchant or no sales tax (outside of NY) from another.

These special offers change frequently, so come back early and return often so you too can hop on the coupon bandwagon. There is no sense in having your special someone hoping for a treat, only to be disappointed come holiday times.

…Fast forward to Sunday, November 17, 2008. I again found myself eating breakfast with the parents, this time it was Pancakes on the menu and NFL Countdown on TV. Instead of scissors in my mom’s hand, she was armed with a laptop,  mouse, newly received email offer, and a desire to shop…only this time, I had to teach her how to copy and paste! The more things change, the more they DO stay the same.

If you’ve ever bought anything, ever, you’ve probably experienced Wrap Rage. Wrap Rage occurs when you are reduced to a profanity-sputtering lunatic by the seemingly simple act of opening a packaged product. Parents know this rage well, and during the holiday season are more susceptible to it due to toy buying. The zip ties, the wire twisties, the sealed clamshells, the cardboard…all will lead you to the spiked eggnog fairly quickly. Amazon must have taken note of their customer complaints. Last week, they pledged to change packaging forever with what they’re calling “frustration-free packaging” thus ending the need for box cutters, Band-aids and Christmas morning sobbing. While it’s unclear still what products will eventually move towards this kind of improved packaging, what is evident is that toys are probably one of the biggest offenders. Buzzillions has a number of toys that are not only pleasantly free of the traditional packaging, but are also made of eco-friendly materials, like reclaimed woods and milk jug plastic. Not only are they excellent toys in sensible packaging, but they’re all highly rated. My personal favorite (something I got just the other day for my twins) tops the list below. I was able to open it in about nine seconds.

Ten green toys that won’t make you cry…

1. Recycled Plastic Tea Set: Durable and adorable tea sets, made of recycled milk jugs. And gloriously…no wire twisties in the packaging.
2. 27 Piece Cookware Dining Set: Play cookware for the little chef in your life. Also from Green Toys and also made of recycled milk jugs.
3. Wonderworld Washing Sink: Play washing sink made of eco friendly woods.
4. Imaginarium Chunky Wood Train: Natural wood and again, no batteries!
5. Plan Toys Logging Truck: And the irony prize goes to…the logging truck made of sustainable wood.
6. Plan Toys Sports Car: Earth friendly rubber wood. no gas required.
7. Wooden Parking Garage: Once there were parking lots, now it’s a peaceful oasis…made of rubber wood.
8. Kettler Fold n Go Frog Bike: Figuratively and literally a green toy, with recycled resins making up 98% of the plastic.
9. Imaginarium Natural Wood Blocks: Certified by the Forest Stewardship Council and much more attractive than the plastic alphabet blocks.
10. Discover Rig: Crafted of an eco friendly bio composite called sprigwood. Lights and sound effects generated by pushing, not batteries!

I like metaphors.  I use them too much, to the point I should probably go into some kind of program.  But since I’m still firmly in denial, there’s no sense in stopping now.  I’ll begin by saying I have several iPods, the iPhone and a MacBook.  To use the worst and most disturbing metaphor I’ve heard bantered around the corporate world these days…I’ve drunk the Kool-Aid.  And I’m not alone.  Apple iPods are nearly as pervasive as cell phones where I live.  When they came out in 2001, they changed portable music forever and became the best selling digital audio player in history.   My two year old can actually slot my iPod into the home stereo and, using the track wheel, find Lupe Fiasco (his current favorite) by the album cover art.  I’d say you can’t beat that for usability.  I knew there were similar players out there, but sort of assumed they would go the way of betamax tapes and HD DVD…sorry, you lose, thanks for playing.  There was no need for me to pay attention to the other guys because, well, I was already dating the rock star.  But the other day, someone called my attention to some data we’re seeing on Buzzillions right now with regards to the Zune and audiophiles’ opinions of them.  We know this because when someone writes a review we ask people how they describe themselves. In this case the choices are: “Casual Listener”, “Avid Listener” and “Audiophile”.  Turns out the Zune is not only liked by those who select “Audiophile”, but liked enough to be number one in this group of people.  Which means of course that the revered iPod is in second place.

Why is this?  Do these audiophiles know something I don’t, or is the New York Times onto something when they hypothesize that some people are simply buying the Zune because it is NOT the iPhone?  While there do seem to be anti-Apple zealots out there (though they hardly outweigh the rampant Microsoft-is-the-devil’s-spawn sentiment) surely there are people buying them for more than the satisfaction of knowing there’s one less iPod on the planet.  So I took a look at the reviews and specifically what the audiophiles liked about the Zune. Reviewers point to a few features as being stand outs.  Among these are the included headphones, which they say are higher quality than the standard issue iPod headphones.  In addition, users point to the integrated FM radio, the durability, the excellent sound quality, the large screen and larger font sizes making the display easier to read, especially when using in a car.  CNET’s Zune vs. iPod Prizefight gives the face off between the two a tie, which they themselves seem genuinely surprised by given iPod’s overwhelming popularity.  Most intriguing to me, it sounds from the reviews like my kids would find it equally as easy to use as the iPod. All this has me thinking (brace yourself for another metaphor) that the rock star I’m dating…maybe he’s not so great after all.  Maybe, like those tedious and formulaic teen movies, I should take a closer look at the less popular outcast - the one who could really win me over, if only I’d give him the chance.

(we’d love to get your feedback in the Comments section below)

A big day for us today (Oct 30, 2008)! In the last 6 months, we’ve done a ton of work getting feedback about Buzzillions.com. We’ve conducted usability tests where we observed people use the site in a lab setting. We’ve talked to scores of users about their experiences on the site and the challenges of online shopping in general… all in an effort to make the best website for “finding exactly the right product for you” (our mission).

From brainstorm sessions to design powwows to engineering all-nighters, the whole company came together to launch a site that helps consumers buy the right product the first time (especially in this economy).

But enough about us. None of this matters if it doesn’t make shopping research easier…especially when it comes to buying gifts. So, please take a spin on the site and come back and let us know if it does by posting a comment below.

You might also want to check out a review of the new Buzzillions in the Wall Street Journal today, titled Finding the Right Product Review for You. (the Mossberg Solutions column)

Here’s “What’s New”…

• Buzzillions Rank - To know how a product stacks up against the rest, every product on Buzzillions has a “Buzzillions Rank” - a score that incorporates the star rating, number of reviews and credibility of the reviewers. It’s much more reliable than the star rating alone. Top 10 Lists are then created for every category on Buzzillions using these rankings.
• Personal Reviews - Customer reviews are now organized by type of reviewer so shoppers can read reviews from people most like themselves. For instance, if you’re buying a gift for your sister who just had her first baby, you can read reviews for Jogging Baby Strollers just from First Time Parents.
• Personal Recommendations - Shoppers can find product recommendations from people like themselves (or the people they are buying for). (This functionality is significantly enhanced from the previous site.)
• Review Snapshots - We spent the most time on this, creating the best possible “snapshot” of what all the reviewers agree on. This is the big time saver in your research process, allowing you to scan dozens of products before you drill down to read individual reviews. (Some of this content existed before, but the Snapshot is a distinctive new research tool on Buzzillions.)

And lastly, we started from scratch and re-designed the user experience so it’s super easy to use, and it’s clear we are an independent product review site based on content from real people like you.

Thanks for being involved, and I look forward to reading your comments (even from our competitors).

Thanks,

Jim Morris

I read an article today that seems to confirm what I’ve known all along: when times are tough, women buy cosmetics.  While I’ve significantly scaled back my shoe shopping, I see nothing wrong with purchasing yet another lip gloss.  I’ve already lost thousands in the stock market, and that did nothing for my appearance, why not shell out $10 for a bit of makeup?  There seems to be some evidence to support the fact that I’m not alone in my rationalizations.   The New York Times reported in their article, “Hard Times but your Lips Look Great,” that Estee Lauder noticed a significant uptick in lipstick sales following September 11th.   Panic in the streets, threats of war, an economy in a death spiral…no match for lipstick. More alarming still, is UK Popsugar’s article “You Have to Suffer to Be Beautiful During Credit Crunch” which claims: “Nearly one in three women, which is the equivalent to eight million nationwide, would prefer to eat less than curtail their spending on what we all seem to see as must-have essential beauty items.”  That’s right, some of us would rather starve than be ugly.  So why is lipstick seemingly buoyed by an economic slide?  Probably because in times of great economic stress, women cut back on the big ticket items and with it go things like apparel, shoes, jewelry and electronics.  But makeup…lipstick to be specific, is (relative to the car you’d been planning to buy pre-economy meltdown) practically free - a luxury you can actually afford. That said, lipstick purchases add up, especially if you buy them the way I do - blindly and with plenty of false hope.  With that in mind, I give you our Top 10 list in this category, as well picks from my fellow lipstick/lip gloss/lip balm wearers here at Buzzillions.  All these products have great reviews and none cost as much as a new pair of shoes (well, maybe the Nars, but it’s a cheap pair).

Buzzillions Top 10 Lipsticks and Glosses

And a very unscientific poll of what we like here at Buzzillions:

1. Elf Cosmetics Luscious Liquid Lipstick:  Lots of colors, and I mean come on, it’s a dollar.
2. Burt’s Bees Lip Balm: An old standby, tried and true. Lots of good stuff, no scary ingredients.
3. Bonne Bell Lip Smacker Lip Gloss, Dr. Pepper: Who doesn’t want Dr. Pepper on their lips all day?
4. Vincent Longo Baby Balm Lipstick, SPF 12: Also loved by Allure magazine in their annual Best of Beauty list.
5. Bonne Bell Lip Lites Lip Gloss in Cappucino:  A neutral gloss that compliments most skin tones, and smells yummy too.
6. L’Oreal Colour Juice Sheer Lip Gloss, Watermelon: Easy to apply, not too sticky and smells like candy.
7. Nars Frost Lipstick in Klute:  Yes, it’s $24, but there’s a reason it’s a beauty editors fave.
8. LipFusion Color Shine Collagen Lip Plump: Not a lot of reviews but one of our employees swears by it..
9. Carmex Lip Balm: A favorite for the guys too, and still comes in that familiar yellow pot.
10. Smashbox Lip Gloss Sheer Color in Illume: Another winner in Allure Magazine’s Best of Beauty Editor’s Choice Award for best lip gloss.

The last couple days we reached out to BabyCheapSkate, a popular mom blogger and long time Buzzillions user, to hold a giveaway on behalf of Buzzillions. We decided to give away two $25 cash prizes to two random people who write a comment on how they would use Buzzillions, what they think of it, what could be improved, and so forth. Reading all the comments has been really exciting for us, and it’s great how much time people spent exploring the site and telling us how they’ll use it for their new baby, or holiday shopping, etc.

You can see the contest here, and you can even comment for a chance to win because it doesn’t end until Monday!

Our second giveaway is being held on SisterlySavings and that contest is still running too :).

We love giveaways!

The Lobster Baby:

“..an adorable costume for Halloween. My old is going as the Little Mermaid and My 3 month son is Sebastian.” - Ellie and Eli’s Mommy from Charleston, SC.

Turtle

“My son is 6 months old and we hope that by Halloween he will be crawling, so the turtle with the shell will be perfect.” - Amanda from Lexington, South Carolina

Baby Duckling

“We added some orange tights to look like the duck legs. She was so cute! The costume is very soft and great quality.” - Angie from Columbia, SC

More baby costume ideas and reviews on Buzzillions

Like myself there are a lot of women (and men) try out new skin care products that make bold claims of reducing acne, preventing dryness, eliminating wrinkles, and so on. The Neutrogena Wave Power-Cleanser for instance has been widely advertised for a few months now, and it really did seem appealing with its creative design and supposed power to revolutionize your skin cleansing routine.

This time I held some patience and waited a few months to see what early adopters would actually end up saying. I’m really not surprised that a lot of people went online and swooped it up (it’s pretty cheap at $14.99), but the 72 reviews so far share a pretty bleak story.

Along with straight out disappointed buyers saying they want their money back, others elaborated on how the product doesn’t foam like it claims, and many even said it caused breakouts rather than diminished them! Don’t you just hate when a skin product causes acne when the one that’s the one thing you’re desperately trying to get rid of.

Disappointing to say the least, but I’m just going to stick to the basics and use the tried and true products highly reviewed on Buzzillions that never let down.

Recently we’ve had two widely regarded mom bloggers review their experience using Buzzillions. MomAdvice who writes helpful money saving tips, wrote a very flattering review about how she uses Buzzillions and how it helped her find the right GPS system. 

MomReviews also writes reviews on a wide range of products she uses, which is especially why she found Buzzillions to be unique for having reviews written by real people. She highlighted all the features we love seeing catch on with people, like the affinity recommendation wizard, review snapshot, and of course the discovery of highly reviewed products you never would have known about otherwise. You can read her review on us here. 

1. Mint.com is a highly addictive money management site. You can quickly see where you’re spending, where you can save, and where you can earn higher interest.

Mint is by far the coolest way to track your spending online. It’s is completely free, and it takes about 5 minutes to import your bank accounts, after which it spurts out a clean pie chart of your spending trends. I had no idea until I signed up for Mint that I spend about 20% more than people in SF eating out at restaurants, or that my most frequent merchant is Trader Joes :). There are all kinds of interesting nuggets you would never know about your spending habits! You can see how hundreds of Twitter users are benefiting from Mint.com as well.

It also showed me banks that would give me 2-3% higher interest than I’m currently getting! I don’t know anybody who has the patience to purchase and use Microsoft Money and all those other bland financial software tools, but Mint is sure to attract the masses as they continue to make financial tracking and budgeting fun .

2. Gas Prices from MSN Auto : Type in your zip code and find the cheapest gas locations in your area, the average gas price, and the highest price. It’s also updated every night. The difference between the cheapest and most expensive gas in our zip code in SF is 70 cents! You’d save a good $14 on a full 20 gallon tank of gas.

3. Read reviews on Buzzillions of course :). Chances are you’ve bought something for a great price, but it just didn’t cut it. Eeither it broke, or the quality was so bad it was unusable, or it just didn’t meet your expecatations. Reading reviews from actual owners of the product on Buzzillions can help you get the best bang for the buck. You never know afterall, since even the best brands out there don’t always produce the best products .