Thursday, January 28, 2016

Amazon Reviews :)

As everyone knows I love a good bargain so getting something at a significantly reduced price or for free is my kind of deal. I had heard of people reviewing for companies on Amazon where they get items for a really low price or free in return for an honest review. However, these reviewers are pretty quiet about how you sign up for these programmes so it can be difficult to get into.

I decided to give it a go - after all there was nothing to lose.

So I turned to my good friend google to find an amazon review site - I found one called AMZ reviews (and I have even included it as a linky so you can check it out) it lists a few hundred products that you can apply to review. You scroll through them and click on any items you like the look of, read the t&c and if your happy you can request to be a reviewer. If the company accepts you then you get an email with a link to the product and a code. You have to buy the product through the link in amazon and then at check out you add the promo code and it reduces the price - it's really really simple :)

Once you receive your item you then need to try it out - if possible take some pics or video so people know your a real person. Try to think about what is good, what is bad and what is okay about the item - what are the stand out features - would you really buy this as a gift for someone or for yourself? Or would you be horrified to receive it? think about any advice to future purchasers - does it need batteries, is it easy to open/use etc

Then get yourself back to amazon - go to the my orders page and click on the review item bit - there are 3 reviews you can do - a product review (essential - this is what you are getting it for), a seller review (desirable -  you dont have to do this but it shows others that the seller dispatched the item, it arrived as it should etc and I am sure the person giving you the item for free or cost appreciates  it) and package feedback which is for amazon really as they are generally the ones who package and send them out :D
7p
Amazon can take anywhere from 5 mins to a couple of hours to review and accept your review. Once it is up they will email you. You then need to log back into your amzreviews account  - go to the review requests page and find the item - then click on I have reviewed this and copy the link to your amazon review into the pop up box and thats it.

So what can you review? I think this really depends on your profile on amazon - the more reviews you do the more likely it is companies will choose you for bigger and better items - the more detailed reviews the better. As a newbie I have applied for loads of different items but I have been accepted for 7 and rejected for 1 - no explanation is given for the rejection so I wont take it personally :)

If your on facebook there are also specific companies who recruit people to review their items - similar to above but generally for one specific company rather than lots of them. I recently joined such a facebook group and requested and was accepted to review an item - unlike amzreviews these guys want you to put your review on different amazon sites around the world rather than just amazon.co.uk

So here is what I have been sent to review so far:

- 3D glasses/box to use with mobile phone - cost£12.99 reviewer price £0 (although if you dont have amazon prime you would have to pay p&p at £3.99)

- UV face and body paints - cost £3.99 review price £0 p&p £0

- wrist support - cost £29.09 (incl p&p) review price £0.10 (incl p&p)

- spiralizer - cost £7.60 review price £0 - free p&p

- freeview booster aerial - cost £11.75 - review price £2.35 (incl p&p)

- shake meal replacement plan - cost £10 review price £1 incl p&p

- foot pedi thing (one of those hard skin removers) - cost £15 review price £2 incl p&p

I'm also waiting on being sent a colour changing lamp - cost £3.40 review price £1.70

So that's £93.82 worth of items for £7.15

If you are thinking about becoming a reviewer please remember that in line with amazon's policy you need to declare on the review that you have received the product at a discount or for free in return for your review. Amazon took like over 1000 people to court recently due 'false' reviews or reviews which didnt disclose they had received the product for free/discount.

Also remember you should be leaving an honest review on your experience if you receive the product and it doesnt work then you should be saying that too as someone else is going to come along and read your review and pay full price and then be hugely disappointed.

Amazon itself also runs its own review programme its called review vines and you have to get loads of helpful votes and put on loads of reviews in order to get invited to join (its by invite only) if you are lucky enough to join this you are gonna be offered a whole bunch of amazing goodies we are talking top range oh em gee type of goodies but as I dont know anyone who has been invited to join I doubt I will be gettig an invite any time soon lol




Sunday, January 24, 2016

A new year and a new challenge

So in case anyone is wondering where I have gone? The answer is nowhere!

I completed the 365 days positive project and decided to take a couple of weeks to think about what I want to challenge myself with this year - what small steps can I take in my day to day life to make a positive improvement to myself and to those around me and I have come up with the following list!

1. Lose weight - there is no denying the fact that I am fat. I lost around 25kg last year but I still need to lose a lot more before I am considered a healthy weight. I currently weigh in at 91kgs and the healthy heaviest I should be is around 65kgs - so thats 25 kgs to lose!

2. Get fitter - exercise more - I am fairly sedentary and lazy - I even take the lift in work! To get fitter I need to move about more and take small steps to change my lifestyle. My plan is to go to an exercise class every week and to take the stairs - small steps but realistic ones too

3. Get healthier - medically I have a few issues - I am diabetic, have high blood pressure and suffer from allergies. Getting healthier links in with 1 & 2 - if your diabetic  have high blood pressure then losing weight and exercising can help maintain good glucose control and bring your BP down. As for the allergies - stress makes these worse and I do stress out about a lot of things. I spend a lot of time looking out for my family which is how it should be but then I dont take much time for me.

4. Keep the positivity going - focusing on the positives of day to day life really made me think about how lucky I am in many ways - I have family, friends, a job etc I realised i can choose to be happy and positive - it isnt always easy but if you make the decision to try then it seems to work out

5. Start saving! I have worked since I was 15 - the longest I have been out of work in 19 years was 6 weeks when I moved back home from Uni! Yet I have no savings, in fact I actually have debt (thats another post tho!) and this is because I have a weird attitude to money - when I have it I will spend spend spend and this is an attitude I need to change.

So that's my list :)

How I plan to achieve it? Well

1. Cut out snacks, exercise more, portion control - this will hopefully work

2. Take one exercise class a week (might even increase to 2!), walk more instead of using the car - to the shops, to the gp etc, take the stairs not the lift!

3. 1 & 2 will help :) along with - drink more water rather than fizzy drinks, reduce the amount of carbs I eat and replace with more veggies (yuck but I can disguise them in food!) try and get enough sleep - I currently get around 4-5 hours which leaves me exhausted - I am going to aim for 6 hours and see how I get on

4. Record on the blog once a week something great that has happened, a reason I am thankful or just something that has made me happy.

5. This is so hard for me! a) Allow myself only £25 cash a week and leave my debit card at home. b) transfer £50 a month to my savings account and dont withdraw it! c) dont impulse buy! if I see something I want - walk away and leave it for 48 hours - consider do I need it, or do I need it right now? Hopefully this will give me time to cool off and realise I dont need the item! d) shopping lists - make them and stick to them e) take lunch to work

So that's it really - I am confident I can achieve it if I try!

As for the blog? I will post as and when I can