Where can I get the best deals online?

2008 is definitely ending on an economic down note but the upside is that it’s truly a buyer’s market when it comes to this year’s holiday shopping. The savvy shopper can still give great gifts while saving money – if they know where to look.

With expectations of some major retailer chains filing for bankruptcy, others will try to survive by offering low prices before and after the Holiday shopping season. Even stable retailers are offering great deals to entice shoppers.

If you’re a technical person like myself, you may enjoy the Dell Days of Deals. They only arrive about once a month so it’s best to check in every once in awhile. Another Canadian website that offers great deals and coupons is redflagdeals.com. Many online retailers put up their door crashers here and it’s a great way to save on a wide variety of things. If you are a book lover Amazon.com or Amazon.ca are great sites to order from, especially if you buy enough books to add up to $39 or more. This qualifies you for Free Shipping. If you know of any sites that have great deals before and after the Holidays post them here and spread holiday cheer!

Holiday shopping frenzy

It’s getting close to that time of year and if you don’t act now you’ll probably find yourself in an overcrowded mall trying to find that perfect gift – a gift that was probably sold out 3 weeks ago. Is this really how you want to spend your Saturday? Yeah, I didn’t think so.

Online shopping continues to gain popularity (according to Statistics Canada, it rose 61% between 2005 and 2007) and it’s easy to see why: great deals, huge selection, and the ability to shop while wearing your house coat and drinking some coffee.

Want to make holiday shopping even easier? Use KinekPoint!

Haven’t used it yet? It’s simple:

1) Sign up for a free account at www.kinekpoint.com (do it by December 16th and you’ll have a chance at winning a free Wii & Wii Fit*)

2) Log In and find a KinekPoint Depot that’s close to your home or work – maybe even one along your daily commute.

3) After selecting the Depot, copy the address into the shipping form when you order online (don’t forget to include your KN number)

If you often shop from the same retailers, you can usually save the address on their site. That’ll keep you from having to type in the information every time.

I’ve been using KinekPoint and it’s already saved me loads of time (I’m never home when couriers try to drop off packages so I usually have to drive across town to get them). There’s a depot located just a block from my office and it only takes a minute to pick up my deliveries. If there’s not yet a KinekPoint near you, suggest a location – we really do want to know what locations would work for you.

Happy shopping!

Not sure what to get them this holiday season? Did you check their wish list?

Wish Lists are becoming a common sight on some of our favourite online stores and people are using them in increasing numbers.

Think no one you know has one? You might be surprised. We randomly typed in the names of our friends and family as a test. The result? More people than we thought were using wish lists at sites like amazon.com and chapters.indigo.ca (great guys, but next time maybe you could tell us – it would take some of the guesswork out of shopping).

Most sites with wish lists allow you to search by name or email address. If you’re searching by an email address, there’s a good chance that any result that comes back will be the right one. If, however, you’re searching by name (especially a common name like John Smith), check the items on the list and ask yourself if they match up with what you’d expect that person to like – if they don’t, you may have the wrong list.

Happy shopping and don’t forget to use KinekPoint – it’ll help you keep whatever gift you find a surprise.

Dropping hints on social networks

Not sure what to get them this Christmas? Have you checked their blog?
Think I’m joking? Not quite. Though it may sound brazen, more and more people are becoming comfortable with openly talking about their wish lists online. At first, I thought it was a bit obnoxious when I saw friends blogging about what they wanted under the tree or including their “must haves” in their Facebook status updates. The more I think about it, though, the more it makes sense.
People are increasingly spread out from friends and family and have less time to sit down and have real conversations – that’s the reason sites like Facebook, FriendFeed, and Twitter are so popular; they provide easy ways for you to stay in touch.

Application developers are even getting into the act. A quick search of “wish list” on Facebook brings up pages of applications. Our advice? Check the profile pages of your friends and keep an eye on their tweets and status updates – just make sure you have a pen handy.

What was your most frustrating delivery experience?

Have you ever gone through a delivery experience which made you want to scream? Almost everyone I know has, at some point, experienced the frustrating hassle of getting their online purchase into their hands. I once received a delivery notice on a Friday evening after work directing me to a courier depot that was closed all weekend. Needless to say, I needed that parcel ASAP. I waited all weekend and had to rush out to the courier depot (which was located 15 minutes away) on Monday morning. Why on earth did they put my parcel at a depot so far away when there were closer ones? I found out that it all depends on the courier’s route, so it doesn’t necessarily go to the closest one. I got my parcel but not without hassle and frustration. KinekPoint solves this very problem, as I now simply send my online purchases directly to a KinekPoint Depot. I will never go back to the old conventional frustrating method again.

Have you had a bad delivery experience? Leave a comment and tell your story.

How much is your time worth?

No matter what you do with your days, your time is valuable. If you work, you may think of your time in terms of an hourly wage or yearly salary. If you’re a stay at home partner or parent, you may think of your time in terms of how much you can get done in an hour. No matter how you value it, time is something you can always use more of.

Missed deliveries can take up a lot of your time. I’ll give you an example:
A friend of mine once had a missed delivery go to a depot 20 minutes from where he worked which closed at 4:30 PM and wasn’t open on Saturdays. Of course, he only found that out after he had driven there and was faced with a locked door. He ended up having to leave early from work the next day to make a second trip. He lost a half an hour of time at work and spent an hour and twenty minutes in the car. No wonder he was excited when I told him about KinekPoint.

With KinekPoint, he could have sent the package to a Depot near his office, picked it up on his lunch break, and paid just a couple of dollars. Any way you slice it, that’s a bargain.

Wii + Wii Fit Contest

For those of you who have been calling the department stores to try and get your hands on a Wii Fit and Wii Entertainment System for Christmas but haven’t had any success, this may be your lucky day!

We are running a Wii + Wii Fit prize package contest on the KinekPoint website (kinekpoint.com). All you have to do to enter is sign up for the service (which is free!). This promotion will last until December 16th - just in time for Christmas.

The Wii Fit is one of the hardest gifts to get your hands on this Holiday season and units are flying off the shelves (most stores run out hours after getting a new shipment). If you aren’t having any luck with local stores you can try the Wii Fit Tracker, after you sign up for your chance to win one on our website of course.

In most stores, the Wii Fit retails for $89.99-99.99; online you will see a pretty big hike since the demand is extremely high. You will see prices from $159.99-$199.99. The closer Christmas gets, the more you can expect to pay! In years past, the hot holiday item has been sold for unbelievable prices. We all remember the tickle-me-elmo fiasco. People were getting hurt from the slew of people rushing into the department stores to get their hands on the "it" holiday item.

With online shopping and our Wii & Wii Fit giveaway, you won't have to duke it out in the department store.

Need more info on the Wii Fit? Click here to visit Nintendo's website.

CTTC Releases 2009 Toy Verdicts

It’s that time of year again (and, if you’re like me, it could not have come soon enough). The Canadian Toy Testing Council (CTTC) has released its 2009 reports. A non-profit organization, the CTTC tests, toys, software, and children’s books in order to help parents (and us clueless aunts and uncles) with information to help them make good shopping decisions.

The full report (with a star rating system) can be found here.

For a look at what's a hit with the kids themselves, be sure to check out the toys which won the "Children's Choice Awards". Also, if you want to give the gift of a good book, you should check out their top children's books of 2009.

Ordering online and don't want the kids to see the delivery van pull up to the house? Why not ship to a KinekPoint Depot?

Keeping the Surprise in Christmas

I wish KinekPoint had been around last Christmas. Okay, I work here – saying that probably isn’t too surprising – but it’s true. Last year, I practically jumped through hoops to keep my roommate’s Christmas gift (an Alfred Hitchcock Film Festival Poster) a surprise.

“I ordered a Marilyn Monroe poster for my sister,” I lied, one afternoon. “So if a poster tube arrives, it’s for me.”

I thought that would be the end of it: one small lie that would keep the present a surprise.

Then it got complicated. A few days later, my roommate ordered a poster for his brother. Every time a delivery slip landed on our door, I raced to be the one first to the postal outlet. Half the time, the deliveries turned out not to be for me and, because the packages weren’t sent in my name, my roommate would have to make a separate trip to the depot.

By the time the poster finally arrived, I was sick of the whole thing.

This year, no matter what I order, I’m covered. There are two KinekPoint Depots within a couple of blocks of where I work. If I ship to one, I won’t have to worry about someone opening their gift by mistake.

What about you? Have you ever found the perfect gift only to have the surprise ruined before the big day?

Consumer Reports' Top Products of 2008

Consumer Reports – that dedicated bastion of relentless testing – has released their annual list of this year’s top 100 products.

While you can’t get the full list without subscribing, they’ve been kind enough to release a taste – providing you with ten items to help jump start your gift giving ideas. Click here to see the list.

Not surprising, the small sampling contained one digital picture frame (the Samsung SPF-83V Digital Photo Frame). At least two of my friends are buying digital picture frames this holiday season and it seems safe to say that the popularity of digital picture frames is staying strong.

Need a little help choosing which frame to buy? Consumer Reports has a little advice.

The importance of availability

You’ve checked the holiday shipping deadlines and found the perfect gift. Think you’ve got everything covered? Think again! If you didn’t check the item’s availability before you ordered, you might be in for a surprise.

Just because an item is listed on an online store, doesn’t mean it’s ready to ship out when your order it. Many online retailers ship items based on availability. If it’s in stock, the item will usually ship the same or the next day; if it’s not, you could be waiting weeks – or even months – for the item to ship.

Just look at this example from Chapters.Indigo.ca (it’s pretty typical):







This DVD set came up in search results and I can purchase it immediately, but it won’t ship for 1 – 2 weeks. It’s still early, so that leaves me plenty of time but, if I had waited until early December to order, there’s little chance I’d have it before Christmas.

Take a minute, the next time you’re shopping, to see how long it will take for the item you want to ship. If that extra time pushes you past the cut off deadline for holiday shipping, you may want to reconsider your order or look elsewhere for the item.

Think NB

The dust has finally settled and it’s time to sit back, relax (not for long), and talk about Think NB. For those that don’t know, Think NB is a great New Brunswick trade show that showcases the best emerging technologies and companies in the province.

For a company like ours, it was a great chance to put on some name tags, shake some hands, and get the word out about KinekPoint.

We knew people would be interested in the service but, to be honest, even we were surprised by how excited people were when they found out what KinekPoint was all about. When we asked people if they had ever had a problem missing a delivery for something they had bought online, almost EVERYONE had a story to tell (the only exception was one lone woman who worked from home and didn’t leave the house between nine and five). One poor guy had to drive 35 minutes to a courier depot every time he missed a delivery (we started working out the mileage and cost in gas but were worried about depressing him).

The most common question of the day was “how soon will this be in my area?”, which put a huge smile on our faces. We urged everyone to use the suggest a depot feature on the site and assured them that we’d contact the businesses they suggested.

Global Television and News 88.9 stopped by the booth for interviews which was quite exciting (and would have been even more exciting had just one of us gotten home in time to tape).

All in all, the trade show was a great success. Big thanks to the sponsors and the Board of Trade. We hope to see you all again next year!

Welcome to the KinekPoint Blog!

Hello and welcome to the KinekPoint Blog! There are hundreds of product and service blogs out there, but we’re aiming for something a little different. We’ll keep you updated on the latest news about our company and service, but we also want to help you by providing you with information that you can use to make online shopping a little easier. We’ll post articles, tips, and links to help you get the most out of shopping online.

From info that can help you make smarter shopping decisions to news on the latest shopping trends and websites, you’ll find it all at the KinekPoint blog.

Right now, you’re probably wondering just what KinekPoint is.

KinekPoint (the basics)

Ever get a note on your door saying that UPS or the postal service tried to leave you a package and missed you? That’s a missed delivery. It’s your time and energy spent trying to track down a package that you weren’t there to sign for. It’s not your fault; no one has time to sit at home waiting for boxes to show up.

KinekPoint is teaming up with local businesses to keep those delivery notices off of your front door.

Retail stores, pharmacies, video and convenience stores are all joining the network. All you have to do is sign up for a free account at kinekpoint.com and send your package to a location that works for you. We’ll send you an email notification when your package arrives and you can pick it up when you have time.

My KinekPoint is just around the corner from where I work – close enough that I can pick up packages on my lunch break.

Can’t find a KinekPoint Depot near you? We’re still growing. See that banner on the right? The one that asks if you know a location that would make a great KinekPoint Depot? It’s not an idle question. We really do want to hear from you!

Thanks for reading and check back often!