Nothing Cheers Me Up More Than an Amazing Deal on a Coach Bag from the Coach Factory Online!

I have been a Coach customer for over 20 years.  I used to buy strictly leather Coach bags, but since the leather used in the handbags has changed noticeably over the years, I have slowly migrated away from their leather bags.

Something else that's changed slightly is the exclusivity of who can sell first quality Coach products, especially online.  You can find Coach bags on Amazon, Ebay, and other websites that you may have never heard of before.  All the sellers state that they are authorized dealers, but how can you be sure?  Although there are plenty of resources online that help you to discern a genuine coach bag from a replica, there is always that little bit of concern in the back of my mind.  Since a fellow fashion blogger told me about Coach Factory Online, the official online Coach Factory outlet, I no longer need to risk shopping for deals on Coach bags elsewhere online.  I still look to see what's on sale in the Coach department at Macy's when I'm there, but the selection is much larger at the online outlet.

All you need to do to start receiving invitations to the Coach Factory Online sales events is to register on their homepage or you can drop me a note with your email and I can send you an invitation since I'm an existing member.  It's completely free!  When I first registered, I was skeptical about how good the prices would really be, but just wanted to take a look for myself.  The website says that the invitations to each sale event are sent at random, suggesting that not everyone receives invitations to every event.  That may be true, but I receive quite a few regularly.  Also, the selection changes quite frequently, so you can always return the following week if you don't see something you love.

I was pretty thrilled to get the Coach Park Metro Signature Tote for $133.56 (Reg. $318) and the Coach Darcy Patent Leather Medium Skinny for $24.48 (Reg. $68).  On top of that, I got free shipping because my order totaled at least $150!  Don't get me wrong, I don't buy Coach bags on a regular basis, but I wanted to share this site with those of you who may be in the market for one.  When you see the one that is the perfect match for you at a huge discount . . . it's kismet!!!

Weekend Wishlist: Make Love Not Trash, David & Goliath, DC Comics Swimwear, and More!

As I had mentioned on my post "6 Tips for Shopping on Zulily", I make it a point to checkout the new sales on Zulily on Fridays because you get free shipping on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday after paying shipping on the first order.  Since there is such a vast quantity of items on sale during any given time, I always add things I like to my wishlist as I see them.  Then I won't need to go back to search for them when I've made my decision to buy or not.  I thought it would be fun to briefly share what new items I've added to my wishlist each Friday . . .

What's new on my Zulily wishlist today?

1.  Coral Stripe Sidetail Top - $22.99 (Originally $42.00)

2.  Blue & White 3-Dimensional Flower Drops Shower Curtain - $24.99 (Originally $36.00)

3.  Chrome Pedestal Sink Organizer - $24.99 (Originally $38.00)

4.  Mason Jar Sipper - Set of 12 - $32.99 (Originally $48.00)

5.  Make Love Not Trash White & Red Sunglasses Tote - $6.99 (Originally $10.00)

6.  David & Goliath 'You Rock, You Rule' Boys' Graphic Tee - $9.99 (Originally $18.00)

7.  DC Comics 'Girls Rule' Tankini for Girls - $19.99 (Originally $40.00)

8.  Dromedaris Black Malika Leather Wedge Sandal - $49.99 (Originally $140.00)


What's on your weekend wishlist from Zulily or somewhere else?

6 Tips for Shopping on Zulily

Over the past few months, I have been exploring the various opportunity shopping sites online.  Although there are many such sites I have yet to visit, so far I have shopped on Zulily, MyHabit, Beyond the Rack, Rue La La, Totsy, Ideeli, and a couple of others.  Of all of them, I have to say that Zulily is my favorite.  I think it's because they offer top brands (but not necessarily designer and luxury brands) for clothing, shoes, and accessories for women and children.  There are sometimes some great items for men too.  There are also some great finds for home furnishings as well.  Zulily's website also has a few features that other opportunity shopping sites do not offer.

For example, I bought the David Jones handbag pictured above on Zulily for just $26.99 plus $5.95 shipping, which ended up totaling about half of what the bag retailed for.  I had actually seen this bag in the Peacock color on Zulily before, but it was sold out.  So I put my name in on the waiting list and, about a month later, I received an email saying that the bag was available in the color I wanted again.  I was thrilled!  I've made many other purchases on Zulily and have never been disappointed.  That's why I want to share what I've learned about shopping on Zulily with 3G2S readers . . .


6 Tips for shopping on Zulily:

1.  Shop on the weekends for the best selection.  On Zulily, you only pay shipping once per calendar day Monday through Thursday.  That means, if you buy one thing on Tuesday, you will have free shipping on everything else you buy through midnight PST on that Tuesday.  However, when you shop on the weekends (Friday through Sunday), you only pay shipping once for all 3 of those days.  That way, you get to shop the sales that are ending, still going, and just starting on that Friday, as well as all the new sales that start on Saturday and on Sunday.

2.  Checkout right away when you find something you love.  Since an item is only officially being held for you after you've begun the checkout process AND you only pay shipping on the first item, there is no reason to wait to checkout if you find something you really want.  You can always continue shopping after you checkout for the first item.  There is nothing worse than going to checkout to find that something you really wanted has been removed from your cart because it was sold to someone else.

3.  Use the search box.  There is a search box on the upper right corner of the Zulily website.  Since there are more sales going on than are shown on the front page, I have found the search box to be wonderfully helpful.  You can type in anything, like "owls", "acrylic tumblers", tote bags, "boys size 10", or "Star Wars", and it will bring up every item available that fits your search.

4.  Enter your email to be notified when an item comes back in stock.  For some items, Zulily will ask you if you would like to be notified when the item becomes available again in the color and/or size you were looking for.  You should always put your email in.  You won't always receive an email with a second chance to purchase, but I have received those emails on a few items, like the handbag pictured above.  You can always decide you no longer want or need the item by ignoring the email.  If you do still want the item, however, you should make the purchase as soon as possible.  If it sold out the last time, then it will likely sell out this time as well.

5.  Shop the Ready to Ship items if you're in a hurry.  Some items take quite awhile to ship.  I believe once the sale is over, then the manufacturer ships the items to Zulily, who in turn ships the items to their customers.  I've had some items arrive within a week, but others have taken a few weeks to arrive.  If you are shopping for a gift or something to wear to an event, you should shop from the Ready to Ship items.  You can find them under the "Shop By Category" tab.

6.  "Heart" your favorite brands.  You can click on most of the brand links to go to that brand's page on Zulily.  Then click the heart to favorite that brand.  By doing this, you will receive an email notification the day before that brand will be featured on Zulily.


If you have any tips of your own for shopping on Zulily, please do share them in a comment below.  If you are visiting Zulily for the first time, then I would love it if you would come back and tell me what you thought of it.

Shop 'n' Share: Bought the Perfect Mother's Day Gift for My Mother-in-Law on Rue La La

Recently, I've been discovering the wonderful world of opportunity deals shopping sites.  I actually had registered on Rue La La when the site first launched quite awhile ago.  I remember receiving an email invitation, so I thought "Why not?".  I never really took the time to look around until recently.  With Mother's Day coming up, I was searching out unique gifts for both my own mother and my mother-in-law.

Like many other opportunity shopping sites, Rue La La offers several categorized sale events that will last a few days.  Each event even has a countdown clock, so you know how long (hours or days) you have to make a buying decision.  There is usually some type of deal for shipping too.  On this site, you just pay $9.95 for shipping once every 30 days.  So after this order, I got free shipping on everything for 30 days!  (Yes, this could be dangerous.)

I was truly stumped for a gift to get my mother-in-law this year.  I think, if there is something she really wants or needs, that she would just go out and buy it for herself.  There's always the old restaurant gift card standby gift, but we've turned to that option so many times.  Then I saw that Rue La La was having an "Outfit the Beach House" Sales Event.  My MIL lives by the beach and I think it is one of her true loves.  So I started browsing and found this Sandy Toes & Salty Kisses wall art by Michael Dexter.  I thought it would be the perfect thing to hang in a home near the beach occupied by two empty nesters.  I was able to ship the gift directly to my mother-in-law's house and was also able to include a gift message.  Gift wrapping is not available on this site, but I don't usually opt for that anyways unless I'm purchasing a gift for someone who is just an acquaintance.

I guess what I love about shopping on opportunity sites is you just never know what you'll find!

P.S.  I actually shopped on this site with my mobile phone.  Overall, I prefer to shop opportunity sites on my computer.  There is always so much to see and it is just too time-consuming to browse the items in a single column.

I made this purchase with my own funds and did not receive compensation from this retailer to share about my shopping experience with my readers.