Hello friends and followers,
We have been working in the background and offline to develop our website and the links needed to bring the absolute best products and pricing to you. We did not realize that the “publish” button within WA, our affiliate marketing program, would go to the internet and specifically to Facebook. With that said Patty and I have viewed more than 500 websites in the last week, seeking to find vendors and their products that we feel comfortable recommending to you. We narrowed the number to 35-40 vendors. We have contacted all of them and have linked to more than 25 and we expect that number to increase in the next few days. We must contact each vendor and sign-up to allow us to bring their products, sales, and pricing to you.
After writing the first seven pages, we thought “Tools of the Trade” would be easier than it has turned out to be. At this point, we see “Tool of the Trade” as an ongoing page of reviews, and information. We will write the reviews as we finish them as blogs. That will give you a reference to all the reviews as well as access to individual reviews under the “recent posts” column.
Switching gears, let’s talk about Covid. It appears we are facing a resurgence of the virus as well as a new strain. From what we gather if you have had both vaccine shots you are pretty well covered and not likely to contract the virus. The problem as we see it is that only about half of the Country has received both shots. The Nation, States, and local governments are working to address this challenge. There does not seem to be a “one size fits all” remedy. Putting the implementation and the politics involved with the pandemic aside, let’s review our shopping habits.
As mentioned in our original website pages, our approach is to shop in the metropolitan marketplace once a month wearing our masks. We get in and get out as rapidly as possible. We shop at our local grocery store, hopefully only once, in-between.
Online shopping for non-perishables has become an even larger part of our budget. As we worked with various vendors or manufacturers to recommend their products and/or services to you, we found that many of the products they produce or sell are carried online. We spend many hours reviewing these products only to find them online, often at comparable or sometimes better pricing.
In our area of the Country, we use Amazon and Sam’s Club. You may have Costco Wholesale in your area. On our website: KitchenTipsbyPK.com you may find referrals to Amazon and Sam’s Club. Rest assured that we in no way endorse these vendors but after our reviews, we find them as a place to not only find the vendor we reviewed but competitors as well.
Shopping online is quite easy, but you should be aware of several things. First and foremost is freight or shipping and handling. Shipping and handling costs can vary significantly. As an example, the other day Patty was running short on bread bags for the bread she bakes. We looked at several vendors and found just what she wanted at a particularly good price. We placed the item in our cart and proceeded with the transaction. When we got to the shipping cost it was thirty-five dollars. We stopped there, went to Amazon, and found a similar bag with “free shipping”.
This is as good a place as any to explain the costs involved. Amazon is free to join but you pay for shipping. If you upgrade to Amazon Prime at $100-$125 per year, shipping is usually free. At Sam’s Club, you join for approximately $45.00 and upgrade to Plus for another $55.00. This includes cashback bonuses, free shipping, as well as other benefits. If you only shop in-store, the cost is approximately $45.00 but without any of the benefits.
We pay $200-$225 between Amazon Prime and Sam’s Club Plus per year, get all the bonuses and do not have to worry about shipping. Another advantage is that if you run out of something or break something, you just get online, order, and it will be delivered to your doorstep within a couple of days without a minimum purchase price.
Patty & Doug
FROM THE GARDEN TO THE TABLE
