Penny Auctions are Like Penny Slots…

Posted on February 23, 2011 by Shelby Skrhak

Penny auctions are like penny slots. Don’t go in expecting to win thousands of dollars, or an iPad, and you’ll do fine. Penny slots are an appropriate analogy because the auctions really are like gambling for entertainment. (Yay!) What penny auctions are great for are winning smaller items like jewelry, toys and especially gift cards.

Two auction sites I’ve been playing with are QuiBids.com and BidRack.com. BidRack gives away FREE bids every day with a spin-the-wheel game, which I love. QuiBids doesn’t give away free bids but has tons and tons of gift cards for auction, which improves your chances of winning.

If you’re leery of penny auctions, I don’t blame you. I was too. But just a little math and common sense can help you feel more confident about the process.

Example at BidRack: Bid packages start at $27 for 40 bids, but best values are with larger bid packages. I purchased 100 bids for $60, which made each bid worth 6 cents. With 2 to 20 free bids you receive every day, you can bank a nice number of bids in your account. I’ve won one auction there, a $25 Target Gift Card for $3.28. But I spent alot of bids to win that, so I really paid $20 for the $25 gift card–still a 20% discount for a gift card that I’ll definitely use.

Review: Shutterfly Photo Books for Picky People

Posted on December 15, 2010 by Shelby Skrhak

Ever the procrastinator, I always put off creating my annual family year-in-review Christmas books until the very last moment. One year, I had to give them as New Year’s gifts, that’s how bad I am about it. And it looks like its shaping up that way again this year, with only 10 days until Christmas.

I’ll tell you honestly that I haven’t decided which brand of photo book I plan of creating this year. I’ve used Kodak and Snapfish before, primarily because of the lower cost, but I also spent hours (literally) creating these books. This year, if I order early enough to take advantage of the free shipping and 50% additional books coupon codes, I’m going with Shutterfly.

book Review: Shutterfly Photo Books for Picky People A few months ago, I got a code from Pampers to create a free 7×9 photo book and used the Simple Path technology on the Shutterfly site–letting them arrange and design the book for me. Huge time savings. And great result too!

I’m a magazine editor, so I’ll admit I’m way too opinionated about the placement, cropping, design and type styling for each page of my annual book. But the Simple Path nailed it. A new record time for me creating a book! (Anyone who’s stayed up late making their annual book knows the pain.)

Shutterfly even offered to let me try their Holiday and other Everyday Occasions greeting cards if I’d write a post about my past experiences with them. The deadline? Dec. 15 at 11:59 p.m. Check the post time… Dec. 15 at 10:57 p.m.

Review/Giveaway: Outlast Hand Sanitizer

Posted on September 30, 2010 by Shelby Skrhak

“Tiny, ugly germs and they’ll make you sick!” That’s according to Yo Gabba Gabba, my FatHeadPup’s favorite program.

That’s why I jumped at the chance to review Outlast Long-Lasting Hand Sanitizer. Unlike other hand sanitizers that work for only a few minutes, OutLast Hand Sanitizer says that it kills germs on contact and can control germs for up to 6 hours.

I handed out several samples at work and put it to the test. Everyone around our office is a little germophobic since a big outbreak of the swine flu a few years back wiped out nearly the entire 40-person creative and editorial team during the Christmas holidays.

Initially, I thought because Outlast was stronger (70% alcohol) and lasted six hours, it’d feel sticky or leave a residue–but those doubts were assuaged quickly when I applied it. No strong alcohol smell for my snout, no residue on my paws. Its doggone perfect!

outlast Review/Giveaway: Outlast Hand Sanitizer Outlast™ Hand Sanitizer works longer because of its unique patented formula that was originally developed for hospital use. Outlast is now available at select Albertsons grocery stores throughout Texas and Louisiana. You can learn more about it by visiting www.outlastgerms.com/moms.

Three lucky FatHeadDog readers will win a free bottle of Outlast Hand Sanitzer from FatHeadDog.com. Here’s how to enter:

1. Like this post on Facebook and then leave a comment here

2. Tweet this giveaway and then leave a comment here: RT for chance to win free bottle of Outlast Hand Sanitizer. Three winners. Ends 10/8 @FatHeadTweet

(Limit of one RT per day) Contest winner will be selected at random Friday, Oct. 8 at 10pm CST.

Disclosure: The product was provided for review by Outlast. I was not otherwise compensated and the opinions are my own. I just really like antibacterial stuff.

More Designer Shopping Sites

Posted on September 22, 2010 by Shelby Skrhak

I know it seems like there’s a dozen of these invitation-only shopping sites, but here are a few more that caught my eye.

Shop It to Me

With one of the most customizable email formats among the invitation-only sites, Shop It to Me lets you select all the designers you’re interested in following and sends you an email digest of the best sales. Invite 10 friends to sign up for email, and you’ll receive a $10 gift card to the retailer of your choice. Designers vary widely: Urban Outfitters, White House Black Market, Ralph Lauren, Puma, Adidas and more.

One Kings Lane

Another invitation-only shopping site, One Kings Lane is for home decor and accessories. When you sign up, you’ll receive $15 credit free. There’s tons of really cute items under $15 that offer free shipping, so free stuff! Yay! For every friend you refer, both you and they will receive $15 credit on the site. This referral offer by far is the most generous I’ve seen of any of them, so I’d hurry before it changes. I just purchased the Built NY padded electronic cases–the olive laptop porter and the set of 2 portable hard drive cases for $50 shipped. Home goods spotted: Sigg water bottles, Vera Wang tabletop, Tourance baby blankets, Inked candles and more.

Good Earth Dinner Kit Review and Giveaway

Posted on September 10, 2010 by Shelby Skrhak

Good Earth WEB 1 Good Earth Dinner Kit Review and Giveaway FatHeadDog loves meals in a box. If its food contained within a box–Hamburger Helper, Bento Box, McDonald’s Happy Meal–I’m in… so I was excited when MyBlogSpark offered me a chance to try the new Good Earth Mediterranean Chicken dry dinner kit and offer a giveaway to FatHeadDog readers.

Good Earth kits offer four meals: Mediterranean Chicken with angel hair pasta, Spicy Citrus Glazed Shrimp with angel hair pasta, Herb Crusted Chicken with mushroom risotto and Tuscan Chicken with penne pasta.

The Dinner

Right off the bat, I’ll say the Good Earth Dinner Kit was yummy. Never to leave well enough alone, I added Italian seasoning, diced green and red peppers to the skillet. Ready for my last ingredient, I go for the chicken…. cue the chicken! Err, I was out of chicken. Eh, I made it a veggie meal. Two paws up.

The Giveaway (has ended)

FatHeadDog will give one lucky reader the chance to try a new Good Earth Dinner Kit! The Good Earth gift pack that includes a Good Earth Mediterranean Chicken dry dinner kit, two sets of bamboo flatware, two bamboo dishes, a bamboo utility board and a 100% recyclable grocery tote.

To Enter: Continue reading →

Navigating the Invitation-Only Shopping Sites

Posted on September 2, 2010 by Shelby Skrhak

Have y’all heard of the Internets, and how you can buy clothes without even leaving your house? It’s really quite amazing. Here’s the rundown on a few of the most popular invitation-only designer shopping sites and codes to use for free credits:

Beyond the Rack

Beyond the Rack offers a dozen or so simultaneous designer sales, with a wide range of products such as clothing, accessories, watches, jewelry, electronics and home accessories. It’s really all over the board. You’ll earn $10 for every friend who signs up and makes a purchase. Recent spotted: Mont Blanc pens, Burberry handbags, Chanel sunglasses and FIFA World Cup authorized apparel.

Swirl

A sample sale site for clothing and accessories, up to 70% off. Every week, they offer five selections of designer sales, which last a few days each. Right now, you can get $20 off your first purchase when you use coupon code 20OFF829. The coupon expires on 9/30/10. You’ll earn $25 for every friend who signs up and makes a purchase. Recently sighted: Lucky Brand lounge wear, Paige Denim, Carla Mancini handbags and Kas clothing.

Gilt Groupe

The Gilt Groupe site presents a dozen or so designer sales on clothing, accessories, jewelry, handbags and high-end skincare. When you sign up, Gilt will send you an account credit, ranging from $10 to $35–depends on the offer at the moment. I signed up with a recent Target event and received a $10 credit. You’ll earn $25 for every friend who signs up and makes a purchase. Recently sighted: Marc by Marc Jacobs, Ben Sherman, Furla handbags and John Varvatos.

Review: Swagbucks

Posted on August 14, 2010 by Shelby Skrhak

Until now, FatHeadDog has been on the fence about the search and win site Swagbucks. I never seemed to “win” any points on searches, never entered the bonus “Swag Codes” in time and generally just failed at returning the investment of my time.

But now that I’ve gotten the hang of Swagbucks and figured out my best strategy for winning, I’m a big fan and tickled with the dozens of free Amazon.com gift cards I’ve scored from the site.

First off, here’s the premise of the site. You earn “Swagbucks” for searches performed on their site (as opposed to searching on Google). Points range from 7 to 50 “bucks” earned. You can redeem these points for thousands of prizes, but the best value, by far, is the $5 Amazon.com gift card for 450 bucks.

Here are a few pointers for winning:

Search Early, Search Often

1. Perform your searches approximately three to four times a day, several hours apart. I search first thing in the morning, after lunch, late afternoon and in the evening.

Once You Win, Walk Away

2. Once you win bucks from a search, its fairly unlikely you’ll hit it again, so you can save your next search for a few hours later.

Search Deep, Not Shallow

3. When searching, try related terms to the original you searched, and click through all the pages of results. Also, you can try searching photos or videos for the same term. To me at least, it seems searching “deep” wins better results than searching “shallow” with dozens of unrelated terms (which, by the way, can penalize you if Swagbucks thinks you’re not performing “natural searches”).

Review: RewardsGold for free magazines

Posted on August 10, 2010 by Shelby Skrhak

Rewards Gold is a great website for obtaining free one-year subscriptions to magazines such as Wired, U.S. News & World Report, Town and Country, Forbes, Working Mother and more. Right now, they’re offering a 1-yr free subscription to Maxim magazine while supplies last. (By the way, I know you didn’t read any of the words above because your eyes wandered over to Jessica Simpson’s boobies. It’s ok. Go ahead and look… now back to the post.)

Recently posted: Here’s a current link (still valid as of Aug. 9) to sign up for Rewards Gold and get a free subscription to Car and Driver magazine.

Through various sample and sponsored subscription sites, you can pick up some great finds of free magazine subscriptions. How does it work? The simple answer is free “sample” equals more exposure to new audiences who may convert their sample into a paid subscription.

Pretty simple process, just fill out a few questions about yourself and interests–you can ignore the part about referring friends–and select your free subscription. For offers from Rewards Gold, its ok to give them your real email address because they don’t send many emails and the ones they do consist of more free magazine subscription offers to popular consumer magazines.

I got my daisy dukes on…

Posted on July 16, 2010 by Shelby Skrhak

denimdiaper I got my daisy dukes on...

Target Email 11 I got my daisy dukes on... I’m a sucker. The minute those Huggies Little Mover Denim Diapers came out, I made a beeline for CVS. Yes I paid full price. Yes I made my son wear them. And yes, I love my little boy in them.
Now Pampers has followed suit with their own designer diapers from Cynthia Rowley. They’re available exclusively and for a limited time at Target and Target.com.

While we’re talking about Huggies and Pampers, here’s a tip I ran across on deals4dummies.com: PullUps package codes can be used twice–Once on www.Enjoytheriderwewards.com and also again on game.dothepottydance.com. Now who’s got their daisy dukes on? My kid, that’s who.

Pound for Pound food bank challenge

Posted on July 10, 2010 by Shelby Skrhak

Here’s a chance to eat healthy, win free groceries and help the nationwide initiative Pound for Pound Challenge. MyBlogSpark, the General Mills blogging program, invited FatHeadDog.com to participate in the Pound for Pound Challenge. Cool premise: For every pound participants pledged to lose through the Pound For Pound Challenge, the sponsors donated 14 cents to Feeding America- enough to deliver one pound of groceries to a food bank in your area. While they are no longer accepting pledges, you can still help by making a donation directly to Feeding America. I encourage you to check out the site; there’s lot of great information to inspire your healthier eating today.

Kroger wants to help one of my readers save a bit of money while stocking up on healthy food items. Time for a giveaway! Continue reading →

Review: Babies R Us new infant care line

Posted on July 6, 2010 by Shelby Skrhak

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of PBM Products. All opinions are 100% mine.

The FatHeadFamily was out running errands when we stumbled across a Babies R Us that I hadn’t visited before. Why would I propose to know every Babies R Us location in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex? Because when you have a cranky newborn that wants to get out of the house, that’s what you do–you wander the aisles of every Babies R Us from here to Oklahoma.

When SocialSpark asked me to blog about the new Babies R Us-brand formula and newly expanded infant care line, I was happy to since I wish they’d introduced their generic formula when my Pup was still taking formula. As I’ve written about before, there’s a strategy to buying baby formula for cheap. When your brand-name formula checks run out, generic formulas are a great value. Target and Wal-Mart are great options, but don’t offer any rewards or cashback for your purchase. At Babies R Us, you can accumulate Rewards R Us points with each purchase, which makes purchasing costly formula a little less painful. You’ll receive a $5 reward for every $150 you spend total during certain two or three month promotion periods–which I’ll admit sounds pretty paltry, but to sound entirely cliche, every little bit helps.

A Guilt Free(ish) Bath

Posted on May 30, 2010 by Shelby Skrhak

No one ever told me that when you become a mom, taking a bath is a luxury. I’m not stinky–don’t get me wrong. I do bathe. Just not as luxuriously as I used to. When my FatHeadPup was a newborn, I longed for the minute my husband came home, so I could pass off the Pup and run for the shower. I know you, too, have felt that longing for lather.

Continue reading →

A Smooch from FatHeadDog (and LIFE magazine)

Posted on May 12, 2010 by Shelby Skrhak

MONTAGE OUTPUT309x400 A Smooch from FatHeadDog (and LIFE magazine) You know, that’s FatHeadDog on the right. Not really, but Snapfish has teamed up with LIFE.com to offer the iconic magazine’s historic photos as printed cards, which make great personalized stationary for thank you cards and the like. These selected number of photographs from LIFE.com’s archives can help capture the exact emotion you’re looking for in your greeting cards, notecards and notebooks. It plans to introduce more offerings in the coming months, according to a Snapfish press release.

I can personally recommend the high-quality greeting cards and notecards, but Continue reading →

A Reward for OJ

Posted on April 7, 2010 by Shelby Skrhak

If you’ve followed FatHeadDog.com for the year we’ve been around, you’ll know FatHeadDog (FHD) is a fan of consumer loyalty programs. From a marketing standpoint, they’re fantastic ways to ensure brand loyalty. From a consumer’s standpoint, they’re the best way to get rewarded for purchases you already make.

Tropicana recently launched its Juicy Rewards program to thank their customers for choosing great taste and value. Specially marked packages of Tropicana Orange Juice contain a code for points that you can enter when you log onto Tropicana.com to redeem for discounts. You can also register for the chance to win the national sweepstakes for a Yosemite Adventure.

You can use your points for discounts on purchases with Tropicana’s national partners such as Adidas, Coleman, and EA Sports, or for cool local activities such as a visit to the zoo or a trip to the spa. Each carton of Tropicana Orange Juice is worth up to $15 in savings. In addition to providing great tasting and nutritional juice for our families, Juicy Rewards gives Moms a chance to save in all areas of our purchasing.

To create your own Tropicana Juicy Rewards account, follow the steps below. It will only take a minute
Continue reading →

Gods of car care… I get the hint.

Posted on January 30, 2010 by Shelby Skrhak

For as much as I love cars, I’m shamefully bad about getting my oil changed on a regular basis. About 2,000 miles past due for my oil change, I recently glanced at that auto shop reminder sticker with guilt–I know I need to do it. I know it can’t be good for the car. But I procrastinate, figuring I’ll get to it soon.

Like a beacon in my mail box, the nice folks at MyBlogSpark invited me to visit www.motoroilmatters.com, sponsored by Shell Lubricants, and learn more about why frequent oil changes are so important. In return, Penzoil through MyBlogSpark offered FatHeadDog a gift certificate to have my oil changed and report on the experience.

Ok! Gods of car care.. I’ll learn more about the importance of good oil and take my car in for heaven’s sake. I take the hint! Like they asked, I visited Motor Oil Matters, where I learned what the various oil weights, like 5W-30, 10W-30 and 10W-40, mean. And what does the ‘W’ mean? According to the site, not weight, but winter. (Really!?) See, I did learn something.. how’s that for fun cocktail party trivia?

FatHeadDog Deals

Free samples, coupons, magazines and earn free gift cards online

Category Archives: Reviews