Bert's Place » Shopping http://bertsplace.net Bert Leithold's place on the net Sat, 19 May 2012 14:15:35 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 Favorite Shopping Sites http://bertsplace.net/favorite-shopping-sites/ http://bertsplace.net/favorite-shopping-sites/#comments Thu, 02 Feb 2012 17:02:24 +0000 Bert http://184.173.199.252/~aleithol/?p=1276 Updated: February 2, 2012

This is the place where Da Guy gets to tell you about some of the online shopping and delivery sources he goes back to over and over. There are more references and specifics related to the topic at hand as you look around Bert’s Place.  To get you started, here is a collection of what he considers some of the best.  Take his word for it, or check out some of the Ratings & Review Sites Da Guy likes to use.

Auctions

  • eBay — everyone knows about them, don’t you? Da Guy is “Bert-L” on eBay if you were wonderin’

Auto Stuff

These are the primary sources for the products Da Guy uses to maintain his rides these days, and where he goes looking for those “new things” from time to time. Be sure to check out the specific detailing products Da Guy uses on his Auto Detailing post, nearly all of which can be obtained from these places.

  • AJ-USA – great prices on accessories, Covercraft products and Lloyd mats
  • Autogeek.net – great stuff to maintain the look of your ride, along with helpful hints. Check out the additional discount via Club Lexus.  These guys run various sales and at times have free shipping, so keep your eyes open.
  • Canine Covers – combine these custom covers with an appropriate harness and protect your dog and vehicle on your travels. Shop around the Net for best pricing and material/color options, as many sites resell these made-to-order items from Covercraft.
  • Detailed Image – good products and helpful info to maintain your ride. Check out the additional discount via Club Lexus.
  • Griot’s – lot’s of speciality branded products. When you want the best, you’ll probably find it here. Great service and a lifetime 100% money back guarantee.
  • Sewell Lexus Parts – the BEST prices and service.  Check out the additional discount via Club Lexus
  • Lloyd Mats – great custom “protector” mats for your ride if you can’t fine OEM versions to your liking. Get them from AJ-USA for better pricing.
  • PakShak – generally the best prices on microfiber of all types, and it comes to you from a distributor in Paradise to boot
  • West Coast Specialties – is the place to go in the San Diego area if you need auto damage or paint repair. Specializing in the luxury brands such as BMW, Ferrari, Mercedes, Masserati, and Porsche
  • Zaino Store – your source for the best polish on the market. Da Guy does all his ordering on the web, as there are few local distributors around the country and world.  You can contact Sal via Zaino’s web site with questions — he always seems to be available and is always helpful.  Check out Da Guy’s practical view of exterior Zaino application here.

Books, Music, & Video

  • Amazon.com — books and more — online, safe, ordering! If you are a big Amazon user like Da Guy is, consider becoming a “Prime” Member. For a single annual fee, you get 2-day shipping on nearly everything you buy.
  • Dress Circle — a super London store for all your West End needs
  • Triton Gallery — when you need a Broadway Showcard to remember that favorite production

Clothing & Personal Stuff

  • Caswell-Massey — Luxury personal grooming items
  • eBags — if you need to hold it, you’ll probably find it here
  • Land’s End — Da Guy has been a fan for years — the best!
  • The Territory Ahead — Super special casual attire. You don’t want to look like everyone else, now, do you?
  • Tumi — Super high-end luggage …and if you’re an AARP member, check out significant discounts via the AARP benefits site

Food & Drink

  • Big Island Candies — it’s all about those original shortbread cookies
  • Chef Paul — it’s all about the spices. Vegetable Magic and Poultry Magic are the ones Da Guy uses all the time.
  • Honolulu Cookie Company — the most stellar flavored shortbread cookies, making the perfect gift or mail order treat
  • NapaStyle — Michael Chiarello’s place, and you’ll love everything. Try the California Olive Oil. It’s a luxury you’ll be hooked on!
  • Spice Barn — inexpensive, fresh and super customer service. Da Guy’s #1 source for his spice cabinet, and it will be yours as well. Give them a try!
  • Stonewall Kitchen — outstanding jams. outstanding everything!
  • Wine.com — great place to find those bottles you’re looking for
  • Wolferman’s — the BEST English muffins on Earth!
  • Zagat.com — Restaurant reviews online

Also, look for more kitchen things in Home below

Electronics, Gifts & Gadgets

  • Amazon.com — electronics and more
  • Headroom — super headphone selection and reviews at great prices
  • iGo — one charger will do ya. Get more “tips” here.
  • MoMA store — neat stuff from the Metropolitan Museum of Art
  • WirelessGround — great service, prices and fast shipping on cellular and PDA accessories

Also, check out the Personal Computing and Photographic & Video Equipment sections below

Home

  • Arts & Crafts Period Textiles — raw materials, kits, and outstanding custom completed work by Dianne. Always a piece of art.
  • BarParts.com — just what it says, and super customer service
  • Bridge Kitchenware — everything you can’t find anywhere else, and where most of Da Guy’s baking items are from, including those needed for Maida‘s recipes
  • BuyLighting.com — a super place with fast shipping on all those light bulb needs including every type of compact fluorescent you may ever need
  • California Vines — wine accessories of every kind
  • Chef’s Catalog — just what it says
  • The Container Store — anything and everything to make your life more organized; One of Da Guy’s favorite stores — online is nice, but going to a physical store is a must
  • Crate & Barrel — love this place, and their stores
  • Garnett Hill — bedding, towels, and the like
  • Improvements — those little gadgets you’ll need one day around your home
  • Lighting Universe — why pay retail or even discounted home center store prices when you can have them delivered to your doorstep?
  • Pottery Barn — love this place, and their stores too!!!
  • Sur La Table — check ‘um out
  • Williams Sonoma — awesome high-end everything
  • Wine Enthusiast — accessories, wine storage, and the best place to purchase your Riedel stemware

Look for more kitchen things in Food & Drink up above. Check out the Environment article to see what Da Guy is up to around his place.

Home Companies & Contractors in the San Diego Area

i.e. the local companies and contractors Da Guy has had positive experiences with helping out around his place in the Carlsbad and Encinitas, California area

Personal Computing

  • Amazon.com — software, accessories and more
  • Cables to Go — you’ll need this place some day
  • CD Dimensions — decent prices and same-day shipping on your bulk CD, DVD, and label needs including MAM-A Gold Archive media
  • Puget Custom Computers — Service is #1 here. It’s da place Da Guy went for his Wintel (aka, non-Apple based) systems.  GREAT in every way.

Photographic & Video Equipment

Da Guy’s recommendations are in his Photography Resources article

Real Estate

Da Guy has moved some 14 times in his professional career to places far and wide. Finding great agents is a nearly impossible task, especially those that go the extra yard with service for their clients. Here’s the select group that Da Guy would use again and recommend in a heart beat:

  • California, San Diego and surrounding environs
    • Margaret Hokkanen and the SurfTheTurf team. If you’re looking for a down-to-earth group of folks on the leading edge of technology with a series of customized web sites and service well ahead of their competition, you’ve found them at SurfTheTurf.com
  • Georgia, Marietta / Alpharetta / Roswell
    • Marsha Sell and the Sell Team are a class act in the northern suburbs of Atlanta

Recreation

  • REI — if you can do it outdoors, it’s here. Physical super stores or online, and get an annual rebate on your purchases to boot!

Shipping

The ones Da Guy always prefers when he has a choice for the best and most reliable service.

]]> http://bertsplace.net/favorite-shopping-sites/feed/ 0 Favorite Products around the Home http://bertsplace.net/favorite-products-around-the-home/ http://bertsplace.net/favorite-products-around-the-home/#comments Fri, 01 Jul 2011 07:01:39 +0000 Bert http://184.173.199.252/~aleithol/?p=1328

Da Guy has had good luck with some of these things around his place

  • Attic Breeze — Simply awesome solar-powered attic fans
  • Bosch — Those dishwashers!
  • Great kitchen fans that will suck the be dickens out of your cook top at Broan
  • What would Da Guy do without his Cuisinart small appliances?
  • Hunter-Douglas blinds and window coverings
  • If you’re into baking, is there anything other than a Kitchenaid Stand Mixer?
  • Kohler — super kitchen & bath fixtures
  • Miele Vacuums– far from cheap, but if you want the best that will outlast many purchases from your local discount store for years to come, this could be it. Da Guy is an Aquarius owner.
    • Great customer service for your Miele Vacuum decision from Witbeck Vacuums

The Container Store

Their brick and mortar stores have everything you need to be organized around your place. Hopefully you have one near you.  Da Guy outta have stock in this company!

]]> http://bertsplace.net/favorite-products-around-the-home/feed/ 0 Shopping: Rating Review Sites http://bertsplace.net/shopping-rating-reviewsites/ http://bertsplace.net/shopping-rating-reviewsites/#comments Fri, 01 Jul 2011 07:01:12 +0000 Bert http://184.173.199.252/~aleithol/?p=1279 There are lots of places that want your money.  The Internet has opened up a zillion possibilities, but where do you get started?  Here are the places Da Guy goes to when he needs to make a significant purchase before making that decision to move forward.  Check them out.

Angie’s List

If you’re a homeowner looking for quality service contractors, consider Angie’s List. You’ll need a membership, but Da Guy thinks it’s worthwhile especially if you’ve just moved to a new place or are starting a major project and don’t yet have a network of people and companies to call.

Reseller Ratings

If you’re looking for consumer reviews of all sorts of companies you’ve not dealt with before, one place to try is ResellerRatings.com.. This is where Da Guy tends to go for his non-homeowner type of searches, especially for internet-based companies he’s not dealt with before.

  • Da Guy is “aleithol” over there if you’re looking for his reviews

Yelp

You also may find info on what’s good and not so good around your world on Yelp. It’s a free-form forum sort of place where your results may vary as anyone can say just about anything, but you might want to give it a try.

  • Da Guy is “Bert L” on the Yelp boards
]]> http://bertsplace.net/shopping-rating-reviewsites/feed/ 0 Photography: Resources http://bertsplace.net/photography-resources/ http://bertsplace.net/photography-resources/#comments Fri, 01 Jul 2011 07:01:10 +0000 Bert http://184.173.199.252/~aleithol/?p=1283 It’s all about research, reviews, and purchasing advice before you take the leap.

Info on the Net

You could spend a lifetime surfing. Here are a few websites, blogs and podcasts Da Guy finds useful in his exploration.

  • alittlephotoshop — Photoshop for photographers
  • Ansel Adams — THE Photographer. The Sierra and Yosemite. Black and white. The man who turned photography into art.
  • The Art of Photography Podcast — Down to earth basics, interviews and more.  Podcast available via iTunes.
  • CamBags — a terrific site to help with that difficult decision about what to store your gear in. Pictures and reviews of bags in use by real people with real equipment.
  • Lisa Bettany — photographer, model, and app developer with a super blog.  Also check out her worthwhile Mostly365.com experiment.
  • Canon Digital Learning Center — free online learning for the Canon EOS Digital Photographer
  • Cleaning Digital Cameras — a useful place to start your exploration of a potentially scary DSLR topic that we all have to deal with some day
  • Digital Photography Review (DPR) — one of the top resources on the Net for everything digital
  • Digital Photography School — helpful how-to
  • The-Digital-Picture.com — Canon is the specialty, with reviews, how-to’s, practical recommendations and equipment comparisons
  • Canon Enjoy! Digital SLR Cameras — this fun, flash-based Canon site is for those new to DSLR, or perhaps those Point-and-Shoot enthusiasts that want to know a little more about what those “other cameras” are all about, and how it’s done
  • Fredmiranda.com — the place a lot of digital photographers hang out. You may want to as well.
  • Rob Galbraith Digital Photography Insights — The place to go for Compact Flash and SD card performance ratings before you add to your digital storage. The site seems to have halted updates to the performance database in late 2008, but it still has valuable info for those not familiar with what CD/SD speed really means to your photo experience.
  • Imaging Resource — choosing and using digital cameras
  • Scott Kelby — A photographer and prolific author of digital photography and Photoshop books
  • The Luminous Landscape — a fabulous non-commercial how-to site run by Michael H. Reichmann
  • Joe McNally — Awesome photographer, great blog
  • NAPP – National Association of Photoshop Professionals — Some free stuff here related to the Photoshop world, but for those that join  get a subscription to Photoshop User Magazine, as well as hundreds of training videos, hints, tips, forums, special events, podcasts, discounts and more.
  • William Neil — Awesome landscape photographer
  • Nicolesy — Great blog by this lifestyle and food photographer
  • Northlight Images — The reviews in this outstanding UK site are some of the best related to digital imaging color management products, i.e. which products do you use to ensure the color you see on your PC or that comes off your printer is realistic and life-like.
  • Photography Blog — keep up with what’s new
  • Photography on the Net: Canon Digital Photography Forums — hosted by Pekka Saarinen. An active community
  • Pixel-Peeper — An outstanding site run by an amateur photographer allowing you to get beyond the specs and reviews to see real photos taken with different cameras, lenses, and settings. Specs are interesting. Reviews are valuable. Seeing is convincing.
  • Galen Rowell — Surely one of the best landscape photographers of our time, with a life that ended all too soon. Check out his legacy at the Mountain Light Gallery in Bishop, California or through many of his large format books on Amazon.com.
  • Rick Sammon — One of Da Guy’s favorite authors on digital photography and Photoshop
  • Singh-Ray Blog — great photos demonstrating use of these high-end filters
  • SLR Gear.com — Focused (pardon the pun) on lens selection and independent reviews
  • Strobist.com — A super BLOG about flash photography
  • Stuck in Customs — Trey Ratcliff’s blog focused on HDR
  • This Week in Photography — TWIP.  A super fabulous website and podcast available via iTunes.  If you’re new to this podcast, it’s worth going back to the first weekly and hourly podcast from 2008 to start your journey with these guys.
  • Tips from the Top Floor — Chris is informative and always amusing.
  • Art Wolfe — Landscapes, wildlife and people. What an awesome contemporary photographer

Time to Buy

Check out and support your local photo store if you have one, especially if they’ve been helpful and have real product on-hand for the touchie-feely we’d all like to have before we lay down our hard-earned cash (or is that plastic?). You’d be remiss though, not to search for prices and availability on the Net in this highly competitive market when you already know what you’re after. Be sure you understand warranty implications if you buy on the “Gray Market”.  That’s something that ‘s just not for Da Guy, even at the slightly lower prices it some time entails. Use comparison sites such as BizRate, PriceGrabber and ResellerRatings.com to find yourself a reputable online dealer with loads of positive consumer feedback like the ones below. Be sure you add any shipping and handling fees to the price of your products before making your final decision. THAT can make a difference  …and be sure you read the fine print as to what “free shipping” really means and how long that will REALLY take to reach you.  ;-)

These are the places who have received nearly all of Da Guy’s business for photographic gear. Give them a shot.

Amazon.com

You never know without trying, but Da Guy finds “best buys” and hard to find items at Amazon.com more often than you’d think.

It’s generally where his search begins.While it’s not always the case, Da Guy typically finds better pricing on combined electronic and photographic accessories such as CF and SD cards here compared to the other places; Sometimes better pricing on cameras ($200 savings on his old 40D); Sometimes better bottom line pricing because of free shipping; Sometimes better availability of brand new gear (like his SD3500IS that was available from Amazon several weeks before the other guys, and it included free 2-day shipping the day it became available since he’s an Amazon Prime member.)

B&H Photo & Video

B&H has a wide selection of in-stock items. Prices typically are comparable with Adorama, and between the two competitors, should be able to give you nearly anything your heart desires and pocketbook can afford.

If you are a NAPP member, check out the NAPP discounts page for any promos in place with B&H (like free 3-day shipping, that can be a “total price” tie breaker in this cut-throat competitive world).

Adorama

Adorama is one of the two places Da Guy winds up when he wants something found in reviews or articles, as well as when he just can’t seem to find it anywhere else. Da Guy’s online experience with Adorama has been great with same-day shipping on in-stock items and fast shipment on backorder or special-order items. They have a huge in-stock selection including B+W filters, lens hoods, Crumpler and Think Tank bags )which B&H does not carry), Photographic Solutions products, and more.

If you are a NAPP member, check out the NAPP discounts page for any promos in place with Adorama (generally free ground shipping, but sometimes product discounts as well).

Beach Camera

Almost always, Beach Camera has the best prices on big-ticket items including some electronics things such as cordless phones when the manufacturers allow online discounting (and a lot do not, hence why the price is the same from many online retailers).  Beach Camera has a photographic stock selection that’s more limited than Adorama and B&H. The have fast, generally same or next day service. Several of Da Guy’s major purchases have come from here, but as his acquisitions become more esoteric, this place does not generally win his business. Da Guy had a great experience with a returned telephone product where he was treated far better than expected — terrific customer service. Note: As with most mail-order houses, pay attention to the extra FedEx shipping fees that compound quickly if you just can’t wait for the free “within 10 business days” slow-as-molasses UPS shipping.

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