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Posts Tagged ‘bargain’

Bargain Crazy – £20 off

Friday, February 26th, 2010

The latest online voucher code or local voucher added to BView is Bargain Crazy – £20 off

Terms and conditions and full details of the voucher are as follows:

GEt £20 off when you spend £50 or more

To read more about this voucher code or special offer head here

Tags: bargain, code, online, special offer, voucher, voucher code
Posted in vouchers | Comments Off

Haggling for discounts

Wednesday, September 9th, 2009

Have you ever haggled for a good deal when buying something big or for an expensive service like broadband or mobile phones or even home or car insurance? These days it can be done – prices are not so set in stone as they used to be. As a previous blogger described, people with nerves of steel and a little  knowledge can barter almost anyone down for anything but personally, in reality, I think most of us are a bit embarrassed about asking for a discount or an ‘extra’ as part of the cost, but it IS worth it.

I have only ever bartered over the phone but I have done it twice and it worked for me! I have my broadband, phone and TV through one company and it’s a fairly good price but there was a time when my broadband just wasn’t running to the speeds it should so I rang and told them I was cancelling my contract and moving elsewhere and to my surprise they started to negotiate over my costs and the speed. Not one to miss a bargain if I possibly can, I ended up asking them what they would offer to keep me with them. What I was offered was more than I expected and when I finally hung up I had had my broadband speed doubled and extra channels added on to my TV package. Somehow for me I do not get that toe curling embarrassment over the phone that I would face to face.

I did once try my hand at asking for a discount for cash when buying a fridge but not sure I was confident enough as the answer was a ‘no’. So I was wondering.. Do any of our BViewers haggle? (apart from Vial!) Have you managed a discount even without a voucher from BView? Or do you think that bargaining is too hard? I know that personally I am just not brave enough to ask most of the time but I can see from people on TV that it’s the cheeky people who just go for it that manage to get a better deal. Also there is the point – would you haggle more with a small business because you think they would be easier or would you feel that they are working hard to run a business and asking them to cut their profits is perhaps not ethically a good idea? Have you bargained your way to a good deal at a chain store somewhere, and is that easier or harder than face to face with a small business owner?

Tags: bargain, deals, discount, haggling, save money
Posted in Savings | 2 Comments »

Money Saving Gardening (Part 2)

Monday, August 24th, 2009

Back on the subject of Gardening on a budget, the other option apart from local garden centres etc is to buy online and this is where a review site like BView really come into their own I think, as checking reviews for online nurseries or Garden centres that sell by mail order can be a real boon. I have ordered from several online companies but I appreciate others might be nervous in doing so the first time, so to read a review first can make all the difference, and of course if the company are then offering vouchers or discounts via BView then you have even more of a bargain. I shopped at Crocus for the first time this year and the BView discount made it incredibly cheap.

My other tips for money-saving gardening are to use things you can pick up cheaply. This year I have cabbages and broccoli growing in old plastic storage crates that I just made some holes in, at the bottom, for drainage. They are easy to move around and hold a lot of compost which is perfect for veg. You can make your own plant food (if you don’t mind the smell!) from soaking nettles in water for a couple of weeks, and of course to propagate and get free plants, just take cuttings. I use old polystyrene pieces from parcels as ‘crocks’ at the bottom of pots which has the advantage of using something that doesn’t break down in landfill, and saves adding extra weight to the pots.
You can grow potatoes and leeks etc in thick bin bags rather than expensive planters; make your own garden accessories by threading shells onto string and driftwood or using old broken jewellery to hang in trees and twinkle in the sunshine. I am even using an old wardrobe mirror in the corner of the garden for added interest amongst the plants. At the end of the summer before it breaks or rots I will just take it to the tip where it was destined to go anyway!

Browsing gardening sites can often give you fabulous ideas that you can adapt to suit yourself. To make a small pond I just buried an old sink, surrounded it with flat stones to cover the edges and put in some rocks to give a different depth for any wildlife that might come. I found someone giving away a water lily cutting on freecycle and so there it was – a mini water feature for no outlay but my time!

So with a little imagination and by being a savvy shopper, you can have a garden to be proud of without spending very much money at all! And of course, any of the places you DO shop at, you can come back and review on BView to help others make an informed choice.

Check BView for the latest offers at:
GardenCentre.co.uk
Gardens and Homes Direct
Cotswold

Contributed by Elizabeth C

Tags: bargain, cheap, garden, garden centre, gardenin, gardens, money saving, out doors
Posted in Savings | 5 Comments »

Money saving Gardening (Part 1)

Monday, August 10th, 2009

With all this glorious weather in Devon this year, I have had a great summer so far in the garden and it struck me that gardening on a budget IS actually possible with a little effort. While I would love to just throw money at my garden – and it would be easy to do so as garden centres are so addictive, the knack is in buying the offers and shopping judiciously.

For instance – the garden section in DIY stores and supermarkets are not looked after by gardeners and often get either neglected or over watered by the staff, so do not be afraid of buying the plants they are selling off cheaply when they are looking a little worse for wear. What you will often find is that with regular watering and some TLC these plants revive and grow as normal.

Many garden centres (In my area – Otter Nurseries, Trago Mills etc) send out leaflets with their special offers on and ideas for the garden. I think personally it’s a great idea, as I have often made a detour on a day out to visit a garden centre if I know they have a good price on compost or pots or something. Checking online if they have a website can also be a good idea if you have something specific in mind and of course checking bView for discount vouchers is a good place to start. I have managed to get a collection of very expensive ceramic pots due to BOGOF deals and I haven’t paid full price for compost or plant food in years as one garden centre or another usually has a discount price at one time or another.

I have also given spare plants away on Freecycle and picked up other excess plants on there from others too. From seeds up to actual garden sheds, all kinds of things can be picked up free if you are lucky.

Thinking ahead can also save you a lot of money. Taking cuttings and collecting seeds from plants you already have, for the following year, can save a fortune and buying seeds early in the year rather than waiting and paying more for plug plants is incredibly money saving. When a packet of 50 seeds is around £2 and 6 plug plants a matter of 2 or 3 months later is the same, getting into growing your own seems like the only way to go. However, even for people who don’t have space to grow things from seed, clever shopping and discount vouchers can still make a lovely garden without breaking the bank.

Find great deals at garden centres with BView:
GardenCentre.co.uk
Gardens & Homes Direct
Homebase
B & Q

Contributed by Elizabeth C

Tags: bargain, discount, garden, garden centre, gardening, money saving, smart garden, voucher
Posted in Savings | 1 Comment »

Car Boot Sales – The Buyers Guide

Monday, August 3rd, 2009

Car Boot sales are a fun place to have a wander, but there seem to be certain people who are able to go along to them every weekend and then turn up to work talking about all the wonderful bargains they’ve bought.  I don’t know about you, but for a long time I wondered at how they managed it!  I have since then been lucky enough if not to become someone who finds a bargain every time, at least someone who comes home happy with what I’ve bought on a much more regular basis.

The first thing I’d say is be prepared to get up EARLY if you want a bargain!  I know many of the boot sales go on till midday, but the really good stuff has usually gone before 9am so get up and get out there ready to go in when the sale starts!

If you plan on being a while take a snack and a bottle of juice with you, dress for the weather of the day, and take plenty of change.  You don’t want to be wasting money on food and drink, and it’s no good getting a good price for something then finding that you only have a £20 note and the seller’s run out of change!

Now I know a lot of people are really careful about buying electrical items at boot sales, because after all what do you do if you get home and it doesn’t work?  Well the thing is, if most people are careful of it, then good electrical items can often be bought very cheaply because seller’s know you’re taking a chance.  (I bought my last vacuum cleaner – a Dyson DC04 – at a boot sale for just £8 and we’ve had it more than two years now – not the latest model, but a very good bargain!).

Clothes and shoes can look a bit messy when seen at Boot sales, but take a good look at what the seller has, they may have some really good brand name items going for mere pennies, so it’s worth a good rummage.

Ask how much when you’re interested in something – even if it’s got a price stuck to it.  There’s a good chance that the seller would rather sell it for a bit less than the marked price, than take it home again.  If they give you a price, ask if they could do it for a bit less, chance it… you can’t lose anything by asking after all!  If you like several things on a stall, maybe once you’ve negotiated a price for each one separately, ask if they will knock off a bit more if you buy all three.

Despite what I said at the beginning about getting up early for the best bargains, if you stick it out till people are packing up, you can also sometimes pick up some bits for really good prices.  Not everyone who does a boot sale will be there every week, many people just do one or two each summer so they’re likely to let things go at silly prices at the end in order that they don’t have to pack it up and take it home.

Happy bargain hunting!

Contributed by Vialdana

Tags: bargain, car boot, car boot sale
Posted in Savings | 1 Comment »

Vi’s top vouchers for June

Friday, June 12th, 2009

I didn’t offer you any top tips for coupons last month, but thought I’d do so again this month and let you know some of my favourite ones I’ve seen here on BView.

Currys
For anyone who’s thinking of making an electrical purchase there are some great Curry’s discounts available at the moment.  Which one you use is rather dependent on how much you’re spending, as they have vouchers for money off from £10 off £300 spend to £100 off when you spend £1000, and several others in between.  Really useful if you have a major purchase to make as Currys are often pretty good on price to begin with.

Boots
With the sun showing her face for the first time in earnest recently, we’re all exposing a bit more skin.  Boots are offering 3 for 2 on selected skincare products at the moment so you can get yourself in tip top condition before you head out into the sunshine.  Don’t forget the suntan lotion though, we don’t want you spoiling your skin by turning it lobster red!

Pizza Express
If you’ve got an orange mobile phone, then you can get 2 for 1 on pizzas on Wednesdays with their special voucher codes.  Simply print the voucher and pop your Orange Wednesday code into the box to validate it and you are away.  As well as the pizza deal, you will also get two free servings of either Garlic Bread or Dough Balls it’s a brill bargain!

Chiquito
Now here’s a simple one for you.  Sign up to receive their free newsletter (by e-mail), and they’ll give you a voucher to get some free nachos next time you visit them between Monday-Thursday.

The London Dungeon
With the summer upon us we all start thinking of holidays and days out with the family.  Take a trip to the London Dungeon and you can get 2 for 1 entry with this printable voucher.  If you’ve never been there, it’s quite an impressive place to visit.

There are a number of other places which you could look at visiting which are offering 2 for 1 or other discounts at the moment including the London Bridge Experience and the Imperial War museum.  Don’t forget to look for discount vouchers this summer before you go anywhere, after all if there’s an offer available you might as well take advantage of it.

Tags: 2 for 1, bargain, boots, chiquito, currys, days out, discounts, london dungeon, pizza express, Savings, vouchers
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