Okay, folks. My Amazon linkage has fallen off a cliff this month. Maybe you’ve all quit buying online because you don’t want the NSA seeing you buying 50 Shades of Gray. And I really couldn’t blame you.
This month I’ve got a dismal $30 in my Amazon “bank.” But NSA or no, I need to make at least $10 a day off those links to keep the puppies in kibble and keep up my best blogitude.
So I’m going to sales pitch you. This is a two-parter.
1. There’s a bounty on your head
That is, I get a bounty of $2 any time somebody uses a special link to sign up for a free 30-day trial of Amazon Prime. And for this month only, that bounty is tripled. That’s right: I get $6 if you sign up for a free Amazon Prime trial in October.
Here’s the link: Join Amazon Prime – Watch Over 40,000 Movies
If you cancel within the 30 days, you pay nothing and I still get six bux. If you continue, it’s $79 per year, but for that you keep getting what you got during the trial: unlimited free two-day shipping plus those gazillions of streaming movies.
The only catch: You must use the above link. Merely using my generic Amazon link or a product link then signing up for Prime while you’re there won’t do it.
2. This is a good time to buy preparedness gear
Fall is always a good time to stock up on preparedness gear.
It seems to be part of humanity’s genetic memory to lay in supplies for the winter. And just because we no longer (blessedly) endure a subsistence economy that might leave us starving by March doesn’t mean we don’t have special autumn needs. In fact, we have some that our Medieval cousins didn’t.
For instance, they didn’t need an AAA 65-Piece Winter Severe Weather Travel Kit. We might.
They didn’t need power-outage lights for when their electricity went out. We do.
They may have had to put up with various “divine-right” kings and thuggish overlords. We … well, we have bigger ones who can bring down the entire world’s economy and set off the zombie apocalypse.
So getcher survival supplies now — and do it with any of my Amazon links.
Take care of yourself! Keep Ava and Robbie in kibble through the winter — and keep me blogging!
I try to use your Amazon link every time, but occasionally get in a hurry. As a smaller town guy who hates going to Wal-Mart, I buy a ton of stuff on Amazon… even socks, paper towels, TP, Milk Bones (7lb. boxes), etc. They’re hooked up with Costco now so with no tax and free prime 2 day shipping, it’s a great deal for me. I’ve been a prime member for years and if you’re a big reader and impatient like me, it’s worth every penny… Fast free shipping and tons of free movies.
As I’ve mentioned before… I love and hate that they know me so well… They’re rating/past purchase suggestions are awesomely creepy.
I hope a lot of people take advantage and sign up through your link… It really is a good deal… a true win / win.
P.S. I hope you actually get credit for my purchases… If you noticed a bunch of hiking books lately… that’s me. And I promise all those “50 Shades” books were ordered for female friends… I’m not hoarding them for bartering. 😉
I buy a lot on amazon but right now I’ve been ordered to stay away. As soon as I get back to buying, you’re on.
Will you get notice when folks sign up so you can keep us posted on the progress? Good motivation to get Christmas shopping done. DH has been wanting to get Prime for some unknown reason, so I’m glad I procrastinated until this timely time. And as for shopping through your Amazon link, is there actually any other way to get into Amazon? 😉
Ragnar — Hiking books and Milk Bones duly noted, with many thanks. And double thanks for the endorsement!
Karen — Oh yeah, Prime for Christmas shopping! That’s an excellent idea. And I assume Amazon will tell me as people sign up (but as always, never tell me who signs up). So I’ll happily keep y’all posted.
Water Lily — Oh yeah, I understand Amazon bans … all too well. Because Amazon decided last year that you are “friends and family” despite the fact that we’ve never met, I’m not sure your purchases will be credited (unless you open a new account or something). However, the good news is that that whole “friends and family” business I was so worried about late last year (with Amazon denying commissions or even closing the account) has turned out not to hurt much.
And Karen is right — there is NO other way to enter Amazon except by using my links! Try getting to Amazon any other way and … the Wuggly Ump will devour you! (Hey, and speaking of the Wuggly Ump, there’s even an Amazon Associates link for that!)
The Wuggly Ump
BTW, Karen — I get a report from Amazon once a day. So I’d learn tomorrow who (corrected: not who, but how many) signs up today and so on.
I forget if there is any way to determine who is on the list so you don’t get the credit. I buy something at Amazon almost every month, often quite a bit. I sure do hope you are getting the credit. Just the other day I ordered a motion detector light and several nightlights. Time to replace the old ones with LED bulb things.
I have your Amazon link bookmarked, and ONLY use that bookmark to get there. It says “Clairewolfe” right in the link.
As for the “prime” thing. I don’t buy anything much from Amazon if I have to pay the shipping, and faster delivery isn’t important to me. I don’t watch videos, or have any other use for that prime club, even if I could afford it, but I’ll be tickled to send you the $6. directly. 🙂
I’m a Prime Member and have been for a few years. I buy from Amazon on a weekly basis and admittedly I forget to use your link. I will make an effort to correct that.
Well, dagnabit! Timing sucks. I did splurge last month for my b-day. And for those into such things, I can certainly recommend the Nitecore SRT-3. Best thing, IMHO, is that you can use multiple battery types. And the output is continously variable. I suspect they’re getting pretty popular, because the availabilty is worse now than a month ago, and I’m not seeing the lower price purchase options either. Everyone needs a few good flashlights in their survival kits.
However, about a week ago, the dentist finally billed me. And, I really did need to buy tires before winter. I’m soooooo tapped-out right now. 🙁
Dagnabit??? Did somebody really just say “dagnabit”? LOL. Jed, that’s a really cool flashlight — and thanks for even figuring out how to put my Amazon Associates ID into the link.
To everybody, thanks for the good thoughts — and even if you splurged last month without using my links, just bookmark ’em in the future and use ’em any time you go to Amazon. That way, the Wuggly Ump won’t get you and you’ll be helping me at no extra expense to yourself.
I have your Amazon link as my Amazon bookmark. That way I can’t forget. Not that I buy much… but every single thing I buy from Amazon I buy using your link.
I have a plethora of folksy expressions housed in my cranium. Occasionally, one or more pop out. The majority, such as “Jeezum Crow!” are of course euphemisms designed to allow the user to utter an intensifier or exclamation, without actually taking the Lord’s name in vain. Jeepers, you think old Jehovah can’t see right through that? Land o’ Goshen! Such sefl-delusion!
My Amazon shopping is restricted to what I can get with free gift cards from places like Swagbucks. Right now I’m saving up for season 3 of Sherlock.
Wow. Interesting. I sell lots of hard to find books on Amazon & usually wake up to one of those lovely emails: “you sold, ship now”. This week or 10 days has been DEAD. Wonder what’s going on? It is almost the same on eBay. 2 weeks ago I could spend the day packing; no sales at all this week. Weird.
sue — Weird! Amazon tends to be unreliable with its record-keeping and reporting (for Associates, though I assume not for sellers like you). So at first when I saw the drop-off I thought might just be bad reporting, which would be corrected later.
Lately the first week of the month has been the biggest, so when this month started off with such a fizzle I couldn’t believe it.
But if it’s happening for you on both Amazon and eBay … Hm. Any other Amazon or eBay sellers/associates/etc. have any data to report? Could buyers be spooked by the gov shutdown? Is something in the air?
BTW, one Amazon Prime signup yesterday. Slight uptick in regular sales (with power-outage lights the most popular item of the day).
Hoping for more action with tomorrow morning’s report, but definite THANKS to you who jumped right in!
It’s not about Amazon but is related. I happen to know that FedEx Express couriers have had their hours cut, so it’s happening all over. People and businesses are choosing the cheaper and slower shipping methods. If you ever want to “feel” the pulse of the American business world? Take a look at the shipping industries, especially the overnight ones. They may well be the mine’s canaries of the business world.
For all that $85 billion a month in etherealbucks the fed is printing, there sure doesn’t seem to be many more fiat greens floating around. I notice every month the “extra” just seems to be getting smaller and smaller.
And yeah, while I’m as disengaged from the actions of MotP as possible, the crap going on there is contributing to a general sense of malaise I feel. Where the neighborhood conversation used to be about horses and farming and the latest in haute couture (I live in a strange area) people who normally wouldn’t talk politics or governance are all of a sudden opening up and expressing their disgust with things. Maybe the shutdown will turn out to be that proverbial straw.
Its heartening to this old freedom outlaw to hear the masses finally waking up to what we’ve all known for years. Now to see if they’re going to help do something about it?
I’ve been reminded of Charlie Reese’s article during this shutdown, http://archive.lewrockwell.com/reese/reese494.html, and suspect the masses ARE starting to get the message. There’s been so much politicking surrounding every issue that many people no longer care from which side of the aisle, they just want it to stop.
Re: Amazon, I’ve noticed it has started charging tax along with S/H in the past couple of months. But my buys are sporadic and I don’t care if items are shipped regular delivery, so have never signed up for Prime. (And I already ordered items this month.)
I have to go into the post awful twice a month now to mail something… I hate it, but it’s part of a “job” I do. The shock the first of this month was that the lady behind the counter… a real live union loving federal employee… was complaining to ME about all the stupid new rules, the shut down, the pending postage increase, and generally ranting about everything we complain of ourselves.
Will wonders never cease? When these folks begin to “get it.” I suspect the end is truly upon us.
Gosh, Claire. Shameless pandering. I haven’t lost any respect for you in any way, though. The only person I’m aware of who ever has did that some time ago and is MIA, or some combination of those letters.
I don’t use Amazon a lot, but when I have, I’ve used your link (once I knew about it). Like ML, it would work better for me just to send you the $6. Mostly I’ve bought books in the hopes it will help me predict what’s coming at us. There has to be stuff on our own War of Northern Aggression which will give some good clues; I just haven’t figured it out yet. Bushwhacker book plots go like: B kills A, so C kills or tries to kill B, and D then has a grudge against C… until the alphabet or more is exhausted.
One which really impresses me is the unfortunately dirt cheap Rearden Conner’s Shake Hands With the Devil (don’t bother with the movie by the same name) http://www.amazon.com/Shake-Hands-Devil-Rearden-Conner/dp/1419108158/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1381526317&sr=1-4&keywords=shake+hands+with+the+devil about the Irish Revolution. By scuttlebut and by my impression the author is someone who has really been there, despite the book being written as a novel. In Ireland, though, it seems like the population was pretty united against the British Crown.
I will use your link in the future, I promise. Now I KNOW there’s SOMETHING else I desperately need…
ML and Shel (and a couple other people who emailed offers of donation) — I love ya. But hold on to your six bux. At least for a while. Right now the most helpful thing is just to get people in the habit of using those Amazon links (MORE shameless pandering!) for purchases large or small.
Shortly — next month? — I may do a little fundraiser. Since I can no longer ask readers to buy things from my Amazon wish list at Christmastime, I might ask for some cash (yes, more shamelessness). In fact, I’ve been thinking about having a fundraiser since mid-summer. But every time I start to get serious about it, someone else has a greater need (e.g. the “save Joel’s eyeballs” fund) and I can’t bring myself to ask.
And please don’t forget that anybody who ever uses those Amazon links, even for tiny purchases, is helping this blog. Because Amazon Associates’ commissions are based not only on the cost of items sold, but on the number of items sold in a month. It’s perfectly possible that a $.99 kindle book, purchased at the right moment, could bump commissions up by $10 or $15, depending on what else has sold that month.
I think that the slow down has nothing to do with Amazon, and everything to do with the the current uncertainty in the economy. People are hanging on to their money in case no more is forthcoming or what does come in will have no real value. If nothing is resolved re the national budget/debt ceiling, will SS be paying? or disability? or govt pay or pension checks? I don’t know if people are ‘waking up’ or just seeing the uncertainty of their own personal wallets.
At the emergency food pantry where I volunteer, the first week-10 days of the month are usually fairly quiet because people have gotten their pay or benefits or food stamps. This month we’ve been swamped so far, and about a third of the clients are first time new users.
Anyway, Claire, I look forward to your Christmas gift ideas and fundraiser. It’s always fun to see what’s on your radar(beside tennis balls of course). 😉
Ditto on the slow eBay week… I generally have at least 3 shipments a day. I’ve only had around 5 this whole week. Buzz kill to my beer fund… and right when I should have been hosting a big shutdown party!
Oh no! Not Ragnar’s beer fund!
I mean, that’s not quite as bad as the government shutdown causing the zombie apocalypse. But close!
For me: one more Prime signup yesterday (that’s 2, thank you). Another slight uptick in purchasing; almost normal sales for the day. Still have white wine in the fridge and bloody Mary makin’s in the cabinet. Kibble supply also holding out, so the pups won’t have to resort to cannibalizing the cat. Yet.
Hopefully my dog’s Dasuquin came through on your link.
Claire I would love to use your Amazon.com link but I am up in the “great white north” aka Canada. If you take into account the 3% extra due to the exchange rate and the 2% the credit card companies charge for the currency conversion then add the duties plus taxes, I just cannot bring myself to do it. Now if you were to arrange for an account with Amazon.ca…
Ahem. MJR, check your email from last December. For you denizens of the frozen north (not including Alaska, Siberia, Lapland, etc.), my Canadian Amazon link is: http://www.amazon.ca/?tag=livifree04-20
Nobody’s ever used it. But there it is.
SWEET!!!
Andrew S. — Thanks! I haven’t seen any doggie Dasuquin recently, however both human and critter supplements are among the most commonly purchased items. So I’m going to assume you bought it a while ago and it got credited just fine. Really appreciate you using those links.
I’m usually pretty good about using your link but I’ll confess, when it comes to kindle books oftentimes I’m lazy and order them right off the device when I’m laying in bed…a habit I picked up on deployment when japanese wifi wouldn’t let me get to kindle pages through the computer for whatever reason. I’ll try to remedy that from now on 😉
I bought a jeep less than a month ago, and I still need quite a bit of stuff for it so I’ll probably be doing a lot of ordering here soon.
Unfortunately, theres a lot of stuff I haven’t been able to find through amazon…for instance the seatbelt clips for the backseat. I need a set but it appears you can’t just order the clippy part that the seatbelt goes into, they want you to buy the whole setup for like $200. So yeah I’m not doing that.
They aren’t exactly an offroad shop, but I’ll try to look there first since they’re generally cheaper than O’reileys for small stuff.
‘Nother update: Three people have now signed up for Amazon Prime using the special link above. While that’s a lot fewer than I’d hoped (because after all, the service is FREE for 30 days, and you can cancel), it’s still $18, which in Amazon commission terms is a fair bit.
Otherwise, you guys have brought the Amazon totals to approximately where they usually are at this point in the month. Special thanks to S., who made a couple of large purchases (and told me about them via email). But every purchase, big or small, helps.