Zeus of the ‘NetReviews of the Coolest Sites on the Net

Do you enjoy waking up early on a Saturday or Sunday and driving around your neighborhood looking for yard sales?  I would totally be one of these people if it wasn’t for the waking up early part.  Me and mornings don’t get along.  For those of you who are like me, there’s a website that can help take care of this aversion to the AM.  The site is called Yardsellr.  The genius of this site is the social aspect and the deep integration with Facebook (and Twitter, but the focus is more on FB).  Once logged in (through Facebook Connect) you can begin buying and selling things online in a little as 60 seconds.  It’s that easy.  No more getting out of bed, brushing your teeth, or showering…at least before 9am on a weekend.

One of the other things I like about this site is what they call “blocks”.  They have over 4,000+ blocks that range from Jewelry, to Star Wars, to Baseball Cards and everything in between.  Also when you put something up for sale they will not only spread the word on your block, but also in the news feeds of millions of Yardsellr fans on Facebook.

There are tons of items just waiting to be bought (and if your closet, garage, storage room, etc. is like most there’s probably tons to sell too!).  So what are you waiting for?

I know that may sound like a weird question but if you think about it, your brain is a muscle like any other (bicep, deltoid, pectorals, etc.) and needs to get a good workout to stay in tiptop shape!  So in addition to working on those “guns” (or for some “water pistols”… but hey who’s judging?) you should also be working out your brain!  Who knew?  Apparently a guy by the name of Lindsay Gaskins, who started a company called Marbles: The Brain Store.  They have a website as well, where all of the products they sell in their Chicago area stores can be purchased.

I think this is a great concept for a business.  There are lots of people of all ages, not just aging baby boomers, who could benefit from regular brain stimulation.  I really like their website too, it’s clean, easy to navigate, and has a lot of brain fitness related information.

So what do you think?  Would you buy something from Marbles: The Brain Store?  Looking forward to your comments!

If you’re like the 99.9% of people in the world who like saving money and getting a great deal, then I think you’ll like this site.  ZingSale.com is a free service that finds great deals on products that are sold all across the web and will track the price and then alert you when it goes down by more than 10%.  From CDs and DVDs, to Toys, Apparel, Shoes, Jewelry and more, you name it and they will track it for you and send you an email if the price drops.

I really like the design of the site, it’s very clean and intuitive which makes it that much more of a pleasurable experience (on top of saving money!).  Also thought I’d mention, with Black Friday coming up, that they have a Black Friday Deals section where you can avoid the crowds and instead add a price alert for any gifts you are planning on buying.

ZingSale currently tracks the prices of over 350,000 products and on average saves users of the site 43% on their purchases.  Now that’s what I’m talkin about!

For those who still like to purchase things in an actual brick-and-mortar store, this site will make the process a little bit easier.  Basically Milo.com is a local shopping inventory search engine.  So let’s say you are looking for a particular pair of Nike tennis shoes.  You can go to Milo and search on ‘Nike tennis shoes’ and it will return the results for all of the stores in your area that currently have Nike tennis shoes in stock.  If you want to expand the area of your search you can, and you can also filter by price, rating, whether or not it’s on sale, and by particular store (e.g. Nordstroms).  This site seems like a real time saver, so it might be a good idea to pull up Milo first before wasting time (and gas) driving around town.

What do you guys think, does this site fill a need that’s not being met?  Next time you’re going to head to the store to buy something, would you first pay a visit to Milo?

If you’re like me when you need a greeting card you probably head to your local bargain retail/drug store to pick one out.  You probably spend a good 10-15 minutes looking through the small selection of extremely cheesy cards, each one worse than the last.  Defeated, you finally pick the least lame card of the bunch.  Luckily now there’s a new alternative: enGreet.com.  To me this site is pure genius.  Users can order anywhere from 1 greeting card ($1.99 for blank, $2.99 for custom) up to 1,000 and with a wide selection to choose from, you’re sure to find one you like.

I like websites like this that fill a need that traditional brick and mortar stores simply can’t.  Since everyone has to buy greeting cards for all of the various occasions throughout the year, I think this was a great idea for a website.  What do you think, would you give enGreet a shot?

I’ve used this site several times myself and it’s been a nice little money saver.  Now to some RetailMeNot.com may seem slightly on the unethical side, but hey you have to figure that the big online retail stores take websites like this into account.  At least that’s how I rationalize it.  (Actually for those who need a clear conscience, it appears that they will remove the coupon and discount codes if the retailer requests it.)  However judging from the sites popularity, I’m guessing the people who have been using it so far shared my sentiments.

The site is very easy to use and navigate.  Just type in the URL of the site you are looking to make a purchase on and it will take you to that page with the list of all the coupon codes.  It’s that simple.  So next time you want to save some money pay a visit to RetailMeNot.

Alice.com Shopping Just Got Easier

I don’t know about you but shopping for things like toothpaste, trash bags, and laundry detergent isn’t exactly my idea of a good time.  In fact I don’t think it’s anybody’s idea of a good time.  Luckily now the tedious task of shopping for life’s little necessities just got easier.  Alice.com (still in beta) is a website devoted to selling smaller ticket items, like shampoo, toilet paper and contact lens solution.

If you’re like me the first thing you were probably thinking was, the shipping cost is going to make it just as expensive as if I went to the store and bought it.  But Alice has got you covered.  Shipping to your door is completely free!  So what are you waiting for, get your shop on!

When you think of online auction sites pretty much just one comes to mind: Ebay.  Well that might be about to change.  Founded in January 2007, Bonanzle is rapidly becoming a plausible alternative to Ebay and it’s big business ways.  If you’re a seller who’s tired of the seven pages you have to go through just to select a category for something you want to sell on Ebay, then you might want to check out Bonanzle’s quick and easy listing process.  No more high selling fees and poor customer service.

More interactive and user friendly, Bonanzle is poised to pounce on the thousands of disgruntled Ebay users (both sellers and buyers) and convert them to become one of the growing number of Fellow Bonanzlers.  So if you’re in the market to buy or sell, you might want to pay a visit to Bonanzle and see for yourself if they’ve got what it takes to tango with the 800-pound gorilla that is Ebay.

**Update** Bonanzle recently acquired Bonanza.com and it appears that they will be rebranding under the new name in the coming months.

If you’re looking to try out a new restaurant, bar, hair salon or dentist but aren’t sure where to go or which one to choose, check out Yelp.  Soaring in popularity since Google began including reviews from Yelp on their local listings section, the concept is simple: a place to talk about what’s great and sometimes what’s not so great about the places and business you visit.  Known as Yelpers, the users that comprise Yelp make the site what it is.  The very definition of Web 2.0, Yelp is a great site for users and businesses to find each other, and learn more about what the other is all about.

Once an account is created (free of course) you too can become a Yelper and upload photos, add a bio, and most importantly begin reviewing!  And with the addition of Mobile Yelp users on the go will never again have to randomly choose a restaurant or bar without first seeing what their fellow Yelpers have to say about it!

**Update** Yelp now has both an iPhone and iPad app, both of which are free. Since I wrote this post I’ve come to use Yelp all the time, especially when I’m trying to decide which restaurant I want to eat at. If you have either one of these devices, I highly recommend downloading their app.

If you happen to visit Woot.com and wonder where the rest of the products they sell are, you’re probably not alone.  Woot’s unique approach to offering great deals is what sets them apart.  You see, they only sell one product a day.  Yup that’s right just ONE.  So if you happen to be shopping for the particular product they are selling that day, then you’re in luck!  If not, then better luck tomorrow…

wine.woot.com

But there’s good news, if you absolutely can’t wait ‘til tomorrow there are two sub domains which can help to curb that shopping withdrawal: wine.woot.com and shirt.woot.com (incase you’re wondering, the same one product a day rule goes for them too).  This unique business model insures two things, number one: great deals on a wide variety of products, including 42” LCD TV’s, MP3 players, notebook computers, digital cameras, and more.  Number two: the anticipation of a new product, which entices visitors like you and me to pay a visit at least once every day.  Cause after all who knows, today might be your lucky day!