Stalkerish Way To Get Back Links (Sort Of Creepy But It May Work)

I just read the transcript of 8 Link Building Tips – Whiteboard Friday by SEO Moz and wanted share with you one interesting method of getting a popular blogger’s attention and building a relationship with them. From this you may get a mention on their blog with a backlink and guest post opportunities. Here’s what SEO Moz says: This could be a little bit stalkerish, but it’s cool. Amazon have a facility where you can search for other people’s wish lists using their email address. So if there’s a really good blogger who you want to impress, put their email address into Amazon Wish Lists and see if they’ve got one. If they have, maybe send them a gift with a little note saying it’s from your company, you really appreciate the work they do and the blog posts they’re putting out. It’s a great way of building a relationship. They’re going to reply to you. They’re going to say thank you. 

How to do it 

Go to http://www.amazon.com/wishlist (make sure you’re not signed in to your account)

 HAT TIP NICK'S TRAFFIC TRICKS

Google Tip...for EVERY phone!

Find deals on eBay using misspelled auctions tool

Millions of listings are added to eBay every day. Many of them contain typos or misspellings. Savvy eBay buyers and sellers peruse these listings to find deals and inexpensive inventory to resell on eBay.

Here is how it works. Use a tool such as Typohound. Enter the correct spelling of an item or brand name. Let's use Burberry as an example. Typohound will return a list of all possible misspellings and then pop these words into the eBay search engine.

The result - a list of eBay listings that have any variation of the word Burberry. For example, click here to see a Burberry crested blazer up for sale at only $29. The seller has misspelled the brand name BURBERY (missing an R). You could very well purchase this item, have it shipped to you, re-take the photos, list the item, and sell it for $50-$60. (According to HammerTap, the average selling price for a Burberry blazer in EUC condition is $55. This one has the crest, so it will probably go for more.)

How easy is that for finding inventory without leaving home? Misspelling tools are free to use and you can find some incredible deals in the process. Like this tip? Check out Jim Cockrum's My Silent Team for more creative eBay selling strategies

Find (Almost) Anybody’s Email Address

With great power, comes great responsibility. 

I’m entrusting this tool to you with the understanding that Distilled readers will use it sensibly.

When doing outreach and linkbuilding, it’s often more effective to be able to send someone an email directly, rather than trying to use a contact form. Instead of hunting through a website to find someone’s email address, this process will speed things up and help you find the address you’re looking for.

(This video contains text, menus and spreadsheet cells worth seeing. I recommend you watch it full screen, and in the highest quality that your internet connection will allow.)

The important things you’ll need for running through this process:

• A Gmail account, if you don’t have one already
• The Rapportive plugin from Rapportive.com to get rich contact information inside Gmail
• The Google Doc spreadsheet at bit.ly/name2email

It’s worth mentioning: this tool ONLY uses publicly available data (Rapportive has a published policy on data and privacy) and it can’t help you find the email address of people who want to keep it hidden.

Hat Tip: http://www.distilled.net

A sneaky way to get money off your groceries

How I managed to shop at Ocado for less than the exact same shop at Tesco...

In my household, my long-suffering boyfriend (soon-to-be husband) does most of the cooking.

This is partly because he’s a great cook, and partly because I’m a terrible cook. We are a perfect match!

To try to make up for my distinct lack of domestic goddess capabilities, I take responsibility for doing the supermarket shop every week. Which, being a sometimes busy and sometimes lazy person, I like to do online, via a site called mysupermarket.com.

I like this site because you can easily compare the price of, say, a bag of white seedless grapes with a box of white seedless grapes, and see which one is cheaper that week per kilogram. It also adds up the cost of your trolley in different supermarkets, so you can see whether it would be cheaper to shop that week at Asda instead of Tesco, due to the special offers that particular supermarket is hosting that day.

Now, I’ve been using this site for years and when I first started, supermarket discount codes were plentiful. A quick search on hotukdeals.com would reveal a dozen valid codes, each offering either free delivery or £5 off, shared on the forum by kind frugal tipsters like you and me.

Sadly, it seemed the supermarkets have wised up to this practice, and nowadays it’s rare to find a valid voucher code for anything other than your first online shop.

So what?

It always irritates me when firms treat their new customers better than old ones (and vice versa).

The supermarkets are being very clever here because it’s a lot of hassle to start afresh on a new account. You have to do individual searches for each item you want to buy, and can easily miss things off the list. I find it can take as much as 40 minutes to do a comprehensive online shop if you start from scratch.

By contrast, if you log in to an account you have used previously to do an online shop, all the items you have bought are saved as ‘favourites’ and on mysupermarket, you can literally start from your last trolley, no matter which supermarket you bought from.

So it takes seconds and just a few clicks to stock up on regular purchases.

Rachel Robson rounds up five ways to cut your food bills.

This means that, apart from switching brands here and there wherever there’s special offers or cheeky price cuts, I can generally whizz through my entire weekly shop in about 10 minutes.

Unfortunately, because I am a loyal customer using an account I have used before, that means I don’t qualify for any vouchers. Boo hiss!

The good news

The good news is, last week I discovered a way to get around this.

In fact it had been staring me in the face for years. I’m sure some of you already know about this, but for those of you who don’t, here’s how to use a ‘first online shop’ discount voucher without going through all the hassle of setting up a new account and filling your trolley from scratch for the first time:

Use the favourites stored in mysupermarket.

Remember, mysupermarket stores all your favourites, regardless of which supermarket you have used previously. So if you change your account details with Ocado, your favourites with Tesco will still be there, and you can instantly switch your trolley into Ocado with the click of a button.

I tried this at the weekend when a £15 off Ocado voucher fell out of a newspaper. (There is also a permanent £15 off your first shop voucher  on the Ocado website.) I love shopping at Ocado, which offers the same groceries as Waitrose – I just hate paying for the crazy prices they charge. And I felt it was wrong that new customers should benefit when I could not. So I made up my mind to use that voucher one way or the other!

 

In the end, all I had to do was set up a new account with Ocado using a different email address to the one I’d already registered. That took approximately one minute. Here's how I did it:

Registering as a new customer

Amazingly, Ocado allow new customers to register with an existing delivery address and name. The only thing the supermarket doesn't allow you to do is to register with an existing email address.

But you don't even have to go through the hassle of setting up a new email account if you have a gmail account, because Ocado fails to recognise gmail.com's plus addressing system.

This means you can simply use your existing email address at gmail.com (which can already be registered with Ocado), but add, for example, '+ocado1' to the bit before gmail.com. So if your existing address was lovemoneyreader@gmail.com, you'd change it to lovemoneyreader+ocado1@gmail.com. This will be interpreted by Ocado as a new email address of a new customer - even though all the emails it sends you will go to the inbox of your existing address (lovemoneyreader@gmail.com).

After using this feature of my gmail account to complete the registration process at Ocado, I went back to mysupermarket.com and took another minute to change the log-in details for Ocado on there – and hey presto! I was a new Ocado customer and could use the voucher code.

This meant that including delivery, my trolley at Ocado actually cost me 10% less than the exact same shop would have cost me at Tesco – and the quality of the fruit and vegetables was far higher.

Not bad for two minutes’ work...

Keyword Research With Wikipedia? (Sneaky method inside)

Yup, Wikipedia can help you with your keyword research. Specifically, you can learn how much traffic you can reasonably expect to get if you rank in the top 10 in Google for your target keyword phrase. read full article on 

Read full article on Nickstraffictricks

Google Maps Head Indoors in the UK

If you’re traveling in the UK, now you can not only find directions to your destination using Google Maps — you can also find directions to things you’re looking for once you’re inside a number of locations.

Available at some locations in the US since last year, Google is launching indoor maps for Android devices for locations in the UK beginning Tuesday. A part of the standard Google Maps app, indoor maps will appear when you zoom in on a specific portion of a map. 

Once you’re zoomed in to a floor plan you can then search for what you’re looking for within that plan. For instance, you might zoom in on a train station to get an indoor map of the station and help finding the closest restroom or coffee shop. At a department store, you might use the indoor map functionality to find the shoe or children’s sections — even if those places are different floors in the building than the one you’re currently on.

More than 40 venues in the UK currently have their floor plans available, ranging from places like the British Museum and National Theater to the O2 Arena and Paddington Station. 

You can check out a full list of supported locations on Google’s website. If you’re a building owner you can also upload the floor plan for your building to be included in a future release.

Are there places you go that you wish you could access an indoor map of? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

HAT TIP: http://mashable.com

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Dark Patterns: User Interfaces Designed to Trick People

Normally when you think of "bad design", you think of laziness or mistakes. These are known as design anti-patterns. Dark Patterns are different – they are not mistakes, they are carefully crafted with a solid understanding of human psychology, and they do not have the user’s interests in mind

darkpatterns.org

Sneaky Ways Websites Get You to Spend More

By Kate Ashford

By now, you probably know that brick-and-mortar stores manipulate you-from the displays to the music to the giant "SALE" signs. But online shopping feels more straightforward. After all, you're in control of the experience, right? Think again. "Marketers are constantly trying to influence us and get us to click on things," says Deborah Mitchell, a senior lecturer in marketing at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. "The environment is absolutely about persuasion." Here, experts share ten website ploys meant to lighten your wallet. Photo by Getty Images

 

1. There's a high-priced item in the mix of products.

 

If you're idly browsing, a product with a higher price can make a mid-priced option seem more appealing. You may not even notice the pricier piece because, if a site is smart, the cost difference will seem like a reasonable step up. So how does this tactic get you to spend more? "People don't want to buy the most expensive thing, but they don't want to buy the cheapest thing either," says Mitchell. "They believe that avoiding the extremes is safer." Although you may not notice this trick, try not to reject less expensive products simply because they don't cost as much. 

2. Items are displayed in a particular order.

 

"Consumers tend to buy things they see early in a list," says Vicki Morwitz, PhD, a research professor of marketing at the Stern School of Business at New York University in New York City. Retailers use this knowledge to their benefit. The first few items you see may net the company a bigger profit, or there may be excess inventory of those things. They may even be items the site has found you're more likely to buy based on your shopping history (more on that in #8). Take advantage of sites' sorting options when they exist, and order a page's inventory by the criteria that works for you-lowest price to highest price, for instance, or best rating to worst. 

3. Sites charge extra for shipping.

You may think that shipping fees are exactly equal to the cost of mailing your item. Not so. "Retailers make money from shipping and handling fees," says Morwitz. And it's tough to spot a bad deal, since some retailers have a legitimate reason for charging more-a warehouse that's farther from you geographically, for instance, or a not-so-hot contract with a shipping company. The best thing to do: Use Google Shopping to compare the total cost of an item, including shipping, between sites, because some may charge less to ship but more for the product, or vice versa. Also, search a site like RetailMeNot.com for coupons before you buy-you might be able to find a code for free or reduced shipping. 

4. Shipping costs pop up last.

 

If you've clicked through eight screens and entered your billing address, shipping address and credit card info before you see shipping costs, you're less likely to give up on the order, even if the shipping fees are higher than expected, says Lars Perner, PhD, an assistant professor of clinical marketing at the Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. If shipping costs seem high, it's worth your time to check at least one more retailer for a comparison price before you hit "submit."

 

5. Your subscription is automatically renewed.

 

Have you ever signed up for a 30-day trial of something, only to forget about it and get charged the full subscription price? "Many people don't get around to canceling it," says Perner. And the retailer is counting on that. Same goes for subscriptions that automatically renew at the end of a cycle-and it's not just magazines and newspapers that do this. Websites that charge for access (such as eHarmony), membership programs (such as the one at Barnes & Noble) and software that expires after, say, 12 months all have auto-renewal options. If you sign up for one of these, put a reminder in your calendar to cancel before the renewal date. Where possible, un-check the option to auto-renew. But if you're charged for something you never meant to re-order, call the retailer. They may issue you a refund. 

6. The retailer emails you directly.

 

If you've ever purchased anything online, you've probably received the retailer's follow-up promotional emails. Every time one of those pops up in your inbox, it gets that store into your brain. "It's just a matter of time until one of those emails arrives when you have time to shop around," says Perner. Unsubscribe from mailing lists when you can, or at least have those emails filtered into a separate folder you can check when it is time to shop.

 

7. There's a limited-time offer on the deal.

 

There are only six units left! You can only get this deal today! "These spur people to act quickly," says Perner. When you feel that quantities are finite or that an offer is only good for a particular period of time, there's a sense of urgency to make a purchase. What if the site never offers free shipping again? What if this is the only time this item will be on sale? What if they sell out? If you were going to buy an item anyway, feel free to jump on the sale. But if you find yourself snagging one-day-only deals left and right, even though you have no interest in tango lessons or dinner at the upscale sushi restaurant in town, you may want to unsubscribe from the daily deals emails. 

8. Your shopping experience has been personalized.

 

Some sites greet you by name. Some suggest products you might like, based on past purchases. You may even get special offers. "It all fosters a closer relationship between the consumer and the retailer," explains Mitchell. For instance, fire up your Amazon account and the site has "recommendations" for you. While it feels convenient, it's simply one more way to persuade you to buy something else. "If a company customizes well, it can highlight things of interest to you that you might not have found on your own," says Morwitz. If you'd rather not be tempted to buy those suggested items, log out of your profile on the site and try shopping as a new customer. 

9. Sales are advertised on the home page.

 

"People tend to 'anchor' on the first price they see," says Mitchell. "So if a retailer puts something that's inexpensive up front, people think that whole website is a great deal." But that's not necessarily the case. In fact, it's common for sites to put a few things on sale and bump up prices on the rest of their inventory, notes Mitchell. Make sure you comparison shop elsewhere before settling on something. 

10. The site saves your credit card info.

 

How convenient! You don't have to re-type your credit card number, since it's saved in your profile from the last time you shopped. "It makes it that much easier for consumers to push the 'buy' button without a second thought," says Morwitz. If you feel like you're impulse-shopping because it's so simple to click "submit," consider checking out as a guest instead of creating a profile on a site, when you can. That way, your information won't be stored for your next online shopping excursion. But if your habit is in check, go ahead and use the stored billing info feature, suggests Morwitz-it'll save you time and the effort of digging out your credit card. 

Article originally appeared on WomansDay.com.

.•:*¨¨*:•.WONDERFUL*¨¨*RECOMMEND*¨¨*BUYER .•:*¨¨*:•.

Have you ever seen this really k.e.w.l. looking feedback??? AND WONDERED "HOW DID THEY DO THAT???" WELL, DON'T WONDER ANYMORE. IT IS ALL RIGHT HERE FOR YOU IN HERE AND IS SUPER EASY & LOTS OF FUN. Below is 101 Positive Styles for you to Leave as a SELLER & as a BUYER!!!

50 for buyers to leave for seller & 51 for sellers to leave for buyers

~~~you could also change a few letters around & start creating your own fun ~~~

....Enjoy

FOR SELLERS TO LEAVE FOR BUYERS:

1. »-(¯`v´¯)-»AWESOME eBayer»-(¯`v´¯)-»COME BACK ANYTIME»-(¯`v´¯)-»

2. *¨¨*:•.FIVE•:*¨¨*:•.STAR.•:*¨¨*:•.EBAYER.•:*¨¨*:•.

3. .•:*¨¨*:•.WONDERFUL*¨¨*RECOMMEND*¨¨*BUYER .•:*¨¨*:•.

4. ,¸¸,ø¤ºGREATº¤ø,¸*¸,ø¤ºBUYERº¤ø,¸*¸,ø¤ºTHANXº¤ø,¸¸**

5. (¯`'•.¸(¯`'•.¸(¯`'•SUPER STAR eBayer•'´¯)¸.•'´¯)¸.•'´¯)

6. ø¤ºTOPº¤ø,¸¸,ø¤ºEBAYERº¤ø,¸¸,ø¤ºTHANKSº¤ø,¸¸,ø¤ºA+º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤ºA+º¤ø

7. (¯`'•.¸GREAT EBAYER ¸.•'´¯) (¯`'•.¸COME BACK REAL SOON¸.•'´¯)

8. I»-(¯`v´¯)-»THIS BUYER!FAST PAY!SUPER SWEET!»-(¯`v´¯)-»

9. .•:*¨¨*:•..•:* ABSOLUTELY STELLAR EBAYER*:•..•:*¨¨*:•.

10. ‹(•¿•)›SEE FOR YOURSELF THIS SUPER BUYER‹(•¿•)›

11. ‹(•¿•)› THANK YOU! FAST PAY! SUPER BUYER! ‹(•¿•)›

12. <>< ...HAVING THIS BUYER AS YOUR OWN IS A BLESSING...><>

13. PERFECTº¤ø,¸¸,ø¤ºEBAYERº¤ø,¸¸,¸,øºø,¸,ø¤ºHIGHLYº¤ø,¸¸,ø¤ºRECOMMENDED

14. ¸,ø¤º°`°º¤øøø•• E•X•C•E•L•L•E•N•T ¤¤ E•B•A•Y•E•R ••øøø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸

15. -:¦:-•:*'"*:•.-:¦:-•* FABULOUS * -:¦:- * HIGHLY RECOMMEND 

-:¦:-•:*'"*:•.-:¦:-

16. -:¦:-•:*'"*:•.-:¦:-•* Unbelievable Buyer...WOW!!! *•-:¦:-•:*''''*:•-:¦:-

17. .•:*¨¨*:•.YOU.•:*¨¨*:•.ARE.•:*¨¨*:•.A.•:*¨¨*:•.SUPER.•:*¨¨*:•.STAR.•:*¨¨*:•.

18. ‹(•¿•)› º°`°º¤AWESOME eBayer! Thank You°`°º¤‹(•¿•)› º°`°

19. «:::P:::» «:::E:::» «:::R:::» «:::F:::» «:::E:::» «:::C:::» «:::T:::» THANKS

20. ••A•.•´¯`•.•W•.•´¯`•.•E•.•´¯`•.•S•.•´¯`•.•O•.•´¯`•.•M•.•´¯`•.•E••

21. .•:*¨¨*:•.A.•:*¨¨*:•.FIVE.•:*¨¨*:•.STAR.•:*¨¨*:•.EBAYER.•:*¨¨*:•.

22. »-(¯`v´¯)-»×º°”TRUELY AN AN ASSET TO EBAY”°º×»-(¯`v´¯)-»

23. "*:•.-:¦:--:¦:-•:*"'"*:•.-:¦:-•*Thanx"*:•.-:¦:--:¦:-•:*"'"*:•.-:¦:-•*

24. ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°COME AGAINº¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø

25. (¯`'•ø,¸¸ ‹(•¿•)›¸.,ø'¯)Thanxya(¯`'•ø,¸¸ ‹(•¿•)›¸.,ø'¯)

26. (•¿•)YOU MAKE(•¿•)BUYERS(•¿•)LOOK GOOD(•¿•)

27. ‹(•¿•)›SEE WHAT AN AWESOME BUYER THIS IS‹(•¿•)›

28. ~P~ ~E~ ~R~ ~F~ ~E~ ~C~ ~T~

29. »-(¯`v´¯)-» ~THANK YOU~ GREAT eBayer »-(¯`v´¯)-»

30. §§§ (¯`'•.¸ §§ (¯`'•.¸ § ~ * ~ SUPER BUYER ~ * ~ § ¸.•'´¯) §§ ¸.•'´¯) §§§

31. «:::P:::»«:::E:::»«:::R:::»«:::F:::»«:::E:::»«:::C:::»«:::T:::»«:::!:::»

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33. *-:¦:-•:*'""*:•.-:¦:-•:*THIS*•-:*EBAYER*:-•*IS*:•-:*ROCKIN'-:¦:-•:*'""*:•.-:¦:-*

34. ...<>< BLESSINGS ...<>< EBAYER ...<><

35. ,¸¸,ø¤º° One of the Best Buyers EVER!!!º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°°

36. :¦:-•:*"*:•.-:¦:-•*EXCELLENT 

BUYER!*•-:¦:-•:*'''*:•-:¦:-THANKS*•-:¦:-•:*''**•

37. :¦:-•:*Smooth'"Transaction*:•.-:¦:-•*Great eBayer*•-:¦:-•:*Thank You*•-:¦

38. »(¯`v´¯)»LOVE»(¯`v´¯)»THIS»(¯`v´¯)»BUYER»(¯`v´¯)»

39. (¯`'•.¸TERIFFIC*(¯`'•.THANK YOU.•'´¯)*BUYER¸.•'´¯)

40. .•:*¨¨*:•.EXCELLENT.•:*¨¨*:•.BUYER.•:*¨¨*:•.THANX.•:*¨¨*:•.

41. «E» «X» «C» «E» «L» «L» «E» «N» «T»

42. «A» «W» «E» «S» «O» «M» «E» «!» «!» «!»

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44. ..¸.•´¯)¸.•´¯).SUPER..¸.•´¯)¸.•´¯).BUYER..¸.•´¯)¸.•´¯).

45. <3.. *..<3..*..<3 Super eBayer. Thank You <3 ..*..<3.. *..<3

46. *-:¦:-•:*'""*:•.-:¦:-•:*fast*•-:*pay*:-•*SUPER*:•-:*eBayer-:¦:-•:*'""*:•.-:¦:-*

47. »-(¯`v´¯)-»This buyer is what eBay is all about»-(¯`v´¯)-»

48. (¯`'•.¸AwEsOmE SuPeR TeRiFFiC BuYeR¸.•'´¯)

49. .•:*¨¨*:•.Thank You!.•:*¨¨*:•. Highly Recommend•:*¨¨*:•.Asset to eBay.•:*¨¨*:•

50. °º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°ºGREAT BUYER THANK YOUº¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º

FOR BUYERS TO LEAVE FOR SELLERS:

51. -:¦:-P-:¦:-E-:¦:-R-:¦:-F-:¦:-E-:¦:-C-:¦:-T-:¦:-

52. -:¦:-A-:¦:-W-:¦:-E-:¦:-S-:¦:-O-:¦:-M-:¦:-E-:¦:-

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54. *¨¨*:•.FIVE•:*¨¨*:•.STAR.•:*¨¨*:•.SELLER.•:*¨¨*:•.

55. .•:*¨¨*:•.WONDERFUL*¨¨*RECOMMEND*¨¨*SELLER .•:*¨¨*:•.

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57. I»-(¯`v´¯)-»THIS SELLER! GR8 DEAL! THANX!»-(¯`v´¯)-»

58. .•:*¨¨*:•..•:* ABSOLUTELY STELLAR SELLER*:•..•:*¨¨*:•.

59. ‹(•¿•)›SEE FOR YOURSELF‹(•¿•)›SUPER SELLER‹(•¿•)›

60. ‹(•¿•)› THANK YOU! GREAT DEAL! SUPER SELLER! ‹(•¿•)›

61. <>< ...BUT FROM THIS SELLER. THEY ARE A BLESSING...><>

62. ¸,ø¤º°`°º¤øøø•• E•X•C•E•L•L•E•N•T ¤¤ S•E•L•L•E•R ••øøø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸

63. -:¦:-•:*'"*:•.-:¦:-•*FABULOUS*-:¦:-*SELLER*-:¦:-•:*'"*:•.-:¦:-

64. -:¦:-•:*'"*:•.-:¦:-•* Unbelievable Seller...WOW!!! *•-:¦:-•:*''''*:•-:¦:-

65. «:::P:::» «:::E:::» «:::R:::» «:::F:::» «:::E:::» «:::C:::» «:::T:::» SELLER!

66. *:•.YOU.•:*¨¨*:•.ARE.•:*¨¨*:•.A.•:*¨¨*:•.STAR.•:*¨¨*:•.SELLER.•:*

67. ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°THANXº¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤

68. »-(¯`v´¯)-»×º°”WONDERFUL SELLER”°º×»-(¯`v´¯)-»

69. (•¿•)YOU MAKE(•¿•)SELLERS(•¿•)LOOK GOOD(•¿•)

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72. *-:¦:-•:*'""*:•.-:¦:-•:*THIS*•-:*SELLER*:-:*ROCKS'*-:¦:-•:*'""*:•.-:¦:-*

73. ...<><BLESSINGS ...<>< 2 U SELLER...<><

74. ‹(•¿•)›SEE WHAT AN AWESOME SELLER THIS IS‹(•¿•)›

75. ,¸¸,ø¤º° One of the Best Sellers EVER!!!º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°°

76. »(¯`v´¯)»LOVE»(¯`v´¯)»THIS»(¯`v´¯)»SELLER»(¯`v´¯)»

77. (¯`'•.¸TERIFFIC*(¯`'•.THANK YOU.•'´¯)*SELLER¸.•'´¯)

78. .•:*¨¨*:•.EXCELLENT.•:*¨¨*:•.SELLER.•:*¨¨*:•.THANX.•:*¨¨*:•.

79. .¸.•´¯)¸.•´¯).SUPER..¸.•´¯)¸.•´¯).SELLER..¸.•´¯)¸.•´¯).

80. <3.. *..<3..*Super eBay Seller. Thank You*..<3.. *..<3

81. »-(¯`v´¯)-»This seller is what eBay is all about»-(¯`v´¯)-»

82. (¯`'•.¸AwEsOmE SuPeR TeRiFFiC SeLLeR¸.•'´¯)

83. .•:*¨¨*:•.Thank You!.•:*¨¨*:••:*¨¨*:•.Asset to eBay.•:*¨¨*:•

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92. (¯`'•.¸TOP*(¯`'•.THANK•YOU.•'´¯)*SELLER¸.•'´¯)

93. T-:¦:-E-:¦:-R-:¦:-I-:¦:-F-:¦:-F-:¦:-I-:¦:-C

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100º. º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤ºº¤ø,¸¸,¸,øºø,¸,ø¤ºº¤ø,¸¸,ø¤HIGHLY RECOMMENDED º.

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Get Twitter to tell new users who YOU think they should follow

Twitter will show new users a list YOU created of suggested people to follow! First, you need to create a special list (how to is below). Then, anyone clicking the “Sign Up” button when visiting YOUR Twitter page will be presented with YOUR list of suggested people to follow! All you have to do is creating a regular Twitter list, but include “#WelcomeToTwitter” (with no quotes) in the list’s description. Then when people join, Twitter will show them that list and recommend the people on it to follow! Here’s Twitter’s presentation on “Follow Recommendations:”

Sneaky Little Email Trick to Get People to Click Through on Your Links

Today I would like to share a sneaky little email trick with you that I learned from Carl White, one of my husband’s mortgage coaches. This little trick gets people to click through on the links in your emails, which is what we all want. Right?

So let’s say you are sending out an email to your list in which you would like to introduce your subscribers to the new product line your company just released. And let’s say you want to send them to one of your company’s videos.

The easiest way to do this would be to add a hyperlink in the body of your email and hope that people will click on it and go through to the video. Right?

Well yes, that might work. But often subscribers don’t click on our links because they don’t like to be taken to another website. They think something like, “Oh, I don’t have time for this right now. I’ll just come back to it later.” And we all know how that goes. They’ll click away never to return again.

So how about a little teaser?

You know how the saying goes about how curiosity killed the cat?  Not only cats, but people as well are curious by nature. Some more than others, but if we are tempted enough most of the time our curiosity gets the better of us. Wouldn’t you agree?

So, here’s a sneaky little email trick
to make your subscribers want to
take a look at your video and click through.

How about taking a screenshot of the video and add a little play button to the image to make it look like your video is actually embedded in your email. Then insert the image into your email and hyperlink it to your video, so when people click on the image they are directly taken to your video? (I use Aweber as my autoresponder, but you can use this little trick in any email client.)

In the example above I used SnagIt to take the screenshot and then using the arrow tool added a “Play Button” to the image.

You think someone would click on that?

I would, and I bet you a soda pop so would most people. There’s just something about that little “Play” button that makes us want to click on it. We just can’t help it. Especially if the image of the video itself is enticing.

Now, some people have their email client set so it doesn’t show images. So to make sure that these people still get a chance to click through to your video, include the hyperlink underneath your picture or somewhere in your text as well.

Go ahead try out this “sneaky little email trick” in your next campaign and check your stats to see if your click through rate doesn’t go up. I betcha it does.

To Your Massive Success!

Ilka Flood

HAT TIP: enlightenednetworker.com

Sneaky supermarket tricks you need to know

Joanna Robinson

 
Gabrielle Marks/Flickr
 

It might seem like the economy is on the up but we’re not out of the woods yet – we’re all still trying to stretch our pounds as far as we can. With the the weekly shop still making a significant dent in our hard-earned cash and the  supermarkets up to all kinds of tricks to get us to spend more money, what better time to learn how to beat them at their own game?

• Make your food go further
• Tricks to look out for
• Savvy Shopping
• Find the best deals on MySupermarket

Make your food go further

First off, if you make some adjustments at home you won’t have to go to the supermarket as often, which is one easy way to solve the problem!

• Keep a good supply of canned, frozen and dried foods you know everyone in your household will eat. That way, even when your fridge is looking a little sad, you’ll still have options and won’t have to rush out for extras.
• According to the excellent Lovefoodhatewaste website a shocking one third of the food we buy in the UK gets thrown away. They explain that it’s largely related to dishing up portions which are too large. You can check out their portion planner to avoid this. They’ve also got some brilliant recipes for using up your leftovers, and they’re not complicated, so think before you throw!

Preventing food waste should be one of your top priorities; as well as making a significant environmental impact, you’ll theoretically be saving a third on your food bill!

Look out for their tricks

Obviously you can’t avoid the supermarket forever, (now isn’t that a nice thought?!), but you can be aware of all the marketing ploys and save some serious money on your shopping trip whilst helping your health and the environment.

Sweets and goodies near the checkout

Convenient isn’t it? Supermarkets love to prey on tired, hungry and irritable shoppers. But don’t get caught out like this. Never go shopping when you’re hungry. It might sound obvious, but you’ll end up buying things you don’t need, and more often than not they’ll be unhealthy and expensive.

Pretty packaging

Ooh, the Tesco Finest cheddar cheese looks delicious….but wait a second, it’s all about what’s on the outside.

The reason we don’t tend to buy a supermarket own brand produce is because they purposely package it to appear bland and unappealing. However own, basic or mid-range brands more often than not offer better value for money than Tesco Finest or Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference for instance.

As well as costing less, they’re also often equally as tasty. Why not test a few out on your family and see if they can tell the difference? OK, it doesn’t work in every case, but you’ll get to know which items really are the best value.

Special Offers

We all love a special offer. Big writing and colourful signs make us feel like we are winning and the supermarket is giving us something for free. This is NEVER true. Suppliers pay the supermarkets handsomely to have their products placed in a prime position and on special offer because they know it will get customers to buy their product, even if they wouldn’t usually.

Buy-one-get-one-free offers can be useful, but only if you were going to buy the product anyway. Buy two for £X can also be good, but always remember to look at how much the item costs individually. Then if the saving when buying two is significant, it’s probably worth getting the deal – only if you needed the item in the first place though!

If there isn’t much of a saving, ask yourself if you really need two. If you don’t, don’t get it.

Getting 50% extra deals, or a certain percentage, can seem appealing. However, these offers often tempt you to buy a brand you wouldn’t normally get. If this is the case, always look at the price per Kg or per 100g. This will allow you to compare exactly how much you are paying for the amount of product. You’ll often find that even though you get more with the brand on offer – you are actually paying more per Kg or 100g.

There is an easy way to avoid these – have a shopping list and stick to it. If items are on special offer and seem like a bargain, people are often coerced into buying them. If it isn’t something you use often, or something you were planning on buying anyway, don’t be tempted!

Real Offers – product reductions

Supermarket stock that doesn’t shift gets reduced – we’ve all seen it. These are not like the bargains supermarkets brag about, they are genuine bargains.

Take advantage of them by finding out when your local supermarket gets rid of its stock (this is usually later in the evenings or on Sundays). Much more produce will be sold at bargain prices as it reaches its use by date and most of the things you buy you’ll be able to freeze so you won’t have to use them straight away.

Dirty display tricks

Did you know that supermarkets stack their shelves tactically? They put the most expensive items right in your eye-line to make you spend more. Look above and below and you can often get better deals. This also works on your kids sitting in the trolley. Items are positioned so they reach out and grab the top of the range products. It’s no coincidence that the finest range of organic cereal is at their eyeline when you’re looking for own brand cornflakes…

The first way to get around this is look at the whole range and compare the prices. Don’t grab and run.

Secondly, if you can, leave the kids at home. That way they won’t distract you from finding the best value items or get their hearts set on the most expensive items.

Also, men are apparently more susceptible to eye catching displays in supermarkets – so be strong guys, or suggest that perhaps after all the weekly shop is a job for the ladies.

To show just how sneaky supermarket displays are we did a little research at our local Tesco.

	Biscuits	Butter	Bread	Crisps	Cereal	Toilet Roll
Top shelf	65p	£1.29	61p	46p	85p	£1.96
above middle	£1.28	£1.31	99p	30p
Middle shelf	£2.54	£1.92	£1.14	51p	£2.32	£2.05
below middle	£71p	£1.65	£1.19	40p	£2.12
Bottom shelf	26p		72p	28p	£1.53	£1.99
Maximum saving	£2.28	63p	58p	23p	£1.47	9p

This table clearly shows just how much more expensive the product in the middle of the shelf (right in most people’s eyeline) is. So give your neck some exercise and shop around on the shelf.

The supermarket maze

Believe it or not, all supermarkets follow a similar overall layout. Fresh produce; fruit, vegetables, meat and dairy are all stocked around the outer limits of the store whereas pre-packed, processed and frozen foods are placed in the centre of the store.

They do this on purpose. It means that to get to the stuff you need for your diet, you have to look at all the stuff you don’t. Then as you work your way through the aisles, you buy stuff you don’t need. You therefore spend more and they make more. Cunning isn’t it?

They also keep staples such as bread and milk towards the back of the store in an attempt to get you to walk past almost everything else to find them. Plus, if you’re looking for tea bags, it’s no coincidence that biscuits are just next to them. Supermarkets pair up like for like products knowing that you’re more likely to end up buying both.

You can beat them at their own game. Help your health and your wallet – stick to the perimeter. If you have to go into the middle, use the aisle signs to go straight to the product you need. Then you won’t be looking at unneccessary items.

‘Convenient’ bags and packets – loose is cheaper

When you’re whizzing round the supermarket thinking about ten other things at the same time, it’s easy to opt for pre-packed items.

But, buying items like fruit or vegetables loose, is invariably cheaper than buying them in bags or packets. This is because the supermarket has to pay someone to pack them. They also have to pay for the materials and the overheads for the factory where they pack them which all adds up to a bigger price tag.

Do it yourself for free. You’ll also help the environment by saving on packaging and producing less waste.

Weight comparison

Supermarkets have to give the price per weight or volume of each item. It’s written underneath the price in much smaller writing. This is great for shoppers as it means we can look at how much the item really costs per 100g or kg. This way we can easily see how much we are really paying for an item and it helps us compare.

However, to trip you up, supermarkets tend to show the price per unit in different amounts for similar products. For example they might mark own brand orange juice as 52p per litre and then they’ll mark Delmonte orange juice as 8p per 100ml. This is meant to confuse you and stop you being able to compare prices.

It’s easy to beat them if you know your metric measurements though. A litre is 1000ml so that means that a litre of Delmonte costs 10 times 8p – 80p. This is actually more than the own brand, but it seems like it’s less when you just look at it because of the smaller unit measurement.

Don’t let them fool you. Get measurement savvy and get the most for your money.

Our Shopping Trip

To put our tips into practice, we went on a shopping trip of our own to see how much we could save. Here’s the impressive (if we say so ourselves!) results:

Shopping at Morrisons (all prices accurate on 16th Jul 2009)

Shopping List	Most Expensive Option	Cheapest Option	Saving
Peaches	£1.98 pack of 6*	£1.28 punnet of 6	70p
Royal Gala Apples	£1.15 for 5 (approx 650g) pre-packed	90p for 5 (approx 650g) loose	25p
Tomatoes	69p for 6 (approx 400g) pre-packed	67p for 6 (approx 400g) loose	2p
Red Onions	79p for 3 (approx 525g) pre-packed	52p for 3 (approx 525g) loose	27p
Granary Loaf	£1.09 from the instore bakery	95p off the shelf	14p
Cheddar Cheese	£4.42 for 500g – store luxury brand	£2.73 for 500g – store budget brand	£1.69
	Total – £10.12	Total – £7.05	Total – £3.07

*Advertised as ’50% extra free’!

You get the idea -  we  saved a massive 30% on our shopping bill, and that’s just one small shopping trip. So if you spend about £100 on your weekly shop, you could be saving as much as £30 a week! That’s a serious saving over a few months or even a year.

Top Shopping Tips

Here’s just a few extra tips to help you save as much as you possibly can:

• Before you go shopping have a look on Mysupermarket. You can compare prices of any items at all the major supermarkets, so you’ll be well prepared when you reach the shops.
• Try not to visit the supermarket when all you need is 2 pints of milk – you’ll just end up buying things you don’t need, as well as wasting time and petrol.
• Try eating one or two vegetarian meals a week and you’ll be able to cut back on the meat you buy and save a small fortune.
• Buy fruit and vegetables that are in season – not only is this better for the environment, it’ll help your wallet too! Produce shipped from overseas incurs more transport costs and is therefore always more expensive.
• It’s not always cheaper to buy in bulk if you end up throwing loads of food away. However you can buy staples (like rice and pasta) in bulk since they work out cheaper, last for ages and you know you’ll always use them. Its worth checking out the bargain basement supermarkets such as Aldi, Lidl and Netto for these kind of products as well as for things like salt, sugar and flour.
• Once you’ve been round the supermarket and got everything you think you need (want), go through the basket just before you get to the check-out. Do you really need that jar of cajun fish relish? Or was it just displayed enticingly? Take out items that you don’t really need before you get to finally pay for your goods.

Got more of your own savvy shopping tips? Share them with the other Moneymagpies on our forums.

How to Get Hotel Discounts

Learn money-saving secrets, such as how to get a free hotel-room upgrade, from an anonymous concierge.

“Hotels don’t want you to know this, but many of them give free upgrades. I know a sneaky but effective way to get one—and I’ve done it myself many times. The night before you check in, call the concierge for restaurant recommendations and casually mention how excited you are for the trip and that it’s a special occasion. If it’s a specific noteworthy celebration—a birthday, an anniversary—by all means, mention that, too. You may score a nicer room and a comped bottle of wine as well. Once you’re at the hotel, come by the concierge desk after 6 p.m. to ask about other activities. Many guests will have gone to dinner, and we can devote more time to finding you deals. Most concierges have discount vouchers and coupons for museums and tourist attractions, but that’s not all: Often we can help you score secret friends-and-family discounts at local department stores, which can save you a ton if you plan to go on a shopping spree. We can also provide services you would pay more for elsewhere. Once a guest needed flowers for an event she was attending. I picked out a bunch at the market and arranged them for her myself. Not only were they beautiful but the guest walked away paying only a fraction of what she would have been charged by a florist.”

How to get a free upgrade

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

By Fran Golden, Budget Travel

I have a long, transcontinental flight coming up. I dread being cramped in a coach seat, but I can't afford first class. What are my chances of getting bumped up for free?

They're actually better now than ever. To cut costs, some U.S. airlines have been offering fewer flights in recent years, and coach can be overbooked. If a carrier bumps passengers, it's frequently required to provide either a substitute flight or a refund or both, per government regulations. The airline may not want to bump people if first-class seats are available.

Read the original story on Budget Travel 

So how do carriers select the lucky few who get ferried to first class? It's all about the miles. Computers track frequent-flier and program miles and upgrade passengers automatically, based on who has earned the most. About 95 percent of those in first class on domestic flights last year were upgraded or used frequent-flier miles (sometimes with an additional fee), according to Joel Widzer, author of "The Penny Pincher's Passport to Luxury Travel."

But you need a lot of miles to qualify: Delta requires you to fly at least 25,000 a year to qualify for its entry-level Silver Medallion level. On the other hand, you can sometimes find upgrade certificates for sale online, courtesy of frequent fliers who can't use them before their expiration date. For instance, some United/Continental vouchers on eBay start with bids as low as $1.

But even if you don't travel often, simply being a member of the airline's frequent-flier program helps your chances. It indicates some level of brand loyalty. Having an airline-sponsored credit card in your name helps, too, though those may come with hefty annual fees.

Does dressing up so that you look like you'd belong in first class improve your chances of getting upgraded?

Looking polished helps, but not as much as it once did. There's one outfit that seems to work better than even the finest couture: a military uniform. In the past few years, it's not unusual to see a first-class passenger give up his or her seat for military personnel.

Any other tips for flights?

Remember that gate agents deal with a lot of demanding, obnoxious passengers, and offering a few kind words and a smile goes a long way. John E. DiScala, founder of travel-advice site johnnyjet.com, reveals that chocolate helps him get upgraded -- or at least moved to a better coach seat-about half the time. DiScala says he brings one-pound chocolate bars for the gate agents and flight crew, who have discretion on seating after the cabin door closes.

Some people swear by the sob- or celebration-story strategy. Personally, I wouldn't go this route unless you really are a newlywed, on your way to a funeral, etc. Karma, you know.

Showing up late might work, but it's risky. A man sitting next to me once in business class on Air New Zealand was huffing and puffing -- he confessed to being intentionally late for every international flight, because then they rush you on the plane and into any available seat. Of course, the downside is you'll be turned away if the flight is already full.

One big  upgrade advantage is flying solo. Airlines try to put families together, and they may need your coach seat to do that. Chances are there's only one empty seat in first or business class.

Finally, before you book the flight, you may want to consider trading in your frequent-flier miles for an upgrade, though the numbers may be steep: On Delta, it takes 10,000 miles for an upgrade on domestic round-trip tickets and 30,000 miles for flights from the U.S. to Europe -- but that's not applicable on certain discount fares. That said, there are more opportunities now than ever to earn frequent-flier miles, not only by traveling but also through credit cards, hotel stays, car rentals, and online shopping sites.

"When you consider that one can earn three points per $1 spent on a credit card, 10,000 miles seems less daunting," Widzer points out.

A friend of mine ended up getting upgraded to a suite at a hotel in Vegas. She's not a high roller, so how did she land that freebie?

Just as with airlines, brand loyalty really helps. If you're visiting a chain hotel, sign up for its frequent-traveler program.

Also, according to Widzer, you're more likely to get upgraded if you book directly with the property, on the hotel's website or by phone, rather than with a third party, such as hotels.com. "Booking direct is by far the biggest thing you can do to get an upgrade," Widzer advises. If you see a lower price online, call the hotel and ask them to match it.

Unlike with the airlines, however, you are most likely to get a hotel upgrade if you travel during a low-occupancy time, such as weekends at business-oriented hotels. When vacant suites are available, the hotel may bump you up, hoping to impress you and gain future business. You also may have better luck at a new property that's angling to create good word of mouth.

The time of day matters, too. It helps to check in later, once the hotel has a better handle on its occupancy for the night. If you arrive at 8 p.m. and their suites still aren't full, they may upgrade you for free or for very little, since few new guests are likely to come and pay for them.

Another strategy DiScala says has worked for him: Befriend the bellman. "I visited Vegas at a not-busy time once and tipped the bellman well," he says, "so he gave me a free upgrade." The same tactic may work with the concierge.

What about rental cars? Is it true you're most likely to get upgraded if you book the cheapest car at first?

Yes, and here's why: The cheapest rental cars tend to sell out first, leaving the company no choice but to upgrade you. That said, the check-in clerk may try to sell you an upgrade for a discounted fee. Say no. If they don't have the car you reserved, they usually give you a better model at no extra charge. Arrive early in the day, before most people return their cars, for the best shot.

Loyalty also counts. Join a car-rental company's membership program, and you may get special offers for upgrades. You should also search online for coupons. The site carrentalupgrade.com is worth bookmarking, in particular. Some car-rental firms also run their own promotions for upgrades through organizations such as AARP and AAA. And always remember to ask: Politely requesting an upgrade is often the best, easiest bet.

Readers' best upgrade strategies

What's it take to get out of the cheap seats? We asked BT readers to share their favorite upgrade strategies.

Volunteer to get bumped: My flight from JFK to Amsterdam was over-booked and someone was in my seat. He was adamant: He wouldn't move. I was so embarrassed by his behavior that I told the flight attendant if I could catch my plane from Amsterdam to Glasgow I'd be OK getting bumped. After 15 minutes she said "follow me" and turned up a flight of stairs. I had never even seen first class before!

— Cyndi Armstrong, South St. Paul, Minn. 

Speak in Romance language: My hubby and I got upgraded to business class to Ireland for our honeymoon. We just mentioned the purpose of the trip during check-in and the flight attendant did it, no questions asked. Another time, we got upgraded to a suite at a Crowne Plaza because we mentioned we were there for Valentine's Day. It was a nice surprise, since we'd scored the hotel on Priceline for a song.

— Caroline Dover Wilson, Greer, S.C.

How to (Legally) Stay in Europe for More Than 90 Days

By Nomadic Matt | Published May 8th, 2012

As I’ve been planning my move to Sweden, I’ve been trying to figure out how to get past the 90-day limit placed on tourist visas. This is a problem encountered by travelers every year and a question that regularly pops up in my inbox.

“How can I stay in Europe for more than 90 days?” I am asked.

It’s a great question with a very complicated answer. I’ve always known it to be difficult but until I started researching on how to stay there, I never knew how difficult. But in the process of this research I’ve come to learn there are a few ways to stay in Europe longer than 90 days, they just aren’t well known.

First, it’s important to note that Europe isn’t a monolithic area – there are a number of visa rules happening throughout the continent – but when people talk about the “90 day limit”, they are talking about restrictions on the Schengen Visa, which is the visa rule that governs 26 countries in Europe. It includes all the European Union except Ireland and the United Kingdom as well as a few non-EU countries.

What is the Schengen Visa?

The Schengen visa is a 90-day tourist visa for Schengen zone countries that include:

Austria	Belgium	Czech Republic	Denmark	Estonia
Finland	France	Germany	Greece	Hungary
Iceland	Italy	Latvia	Lithuania	Liechtenstein
Luxembourg	Malta	Netherlands	Norway	Poland
Portugal	Slovakia	Slovenia	Spain	Sweden
Switzerland

Romania and Bulgaria are set to join later this year.

These countries have a border-free visa agreement that lets residents move throughout the zone without needing a passport. Essentially, it’s as if they are one country and you can move as freely as you would like. Residents of the UK and Ireland, while not Schengen, are still allowed limitless entry. For non-Schengen citizens, you are allowed entry into the zone for 90 days within any 180 day period. These days don’t need to be consecutive – the total is cumulative. Once day 181 hits, the count resets itself.

Citizens of most countries are allowed to enter the Schengen area without having to get a visa beforehand. Your passport simply gets stamped upon your arrival and departure from Europe. You are allowed to enter and leave from any country you want – they do not have to be the same. I fly in and out of different countries all the time. Once you are in, your 90 day counter starts.

However, not all countries are allowed such freedom. Citizens from many countries of the world need to apply for a Schengen visa ahead of time. You will be required to fill out paperwork beforehand and will have to fly and in out of the country for which your visa is issued. (Even then, as this post shows, you still might not be granted a visa.)

You can find the specific rules regarding your country at the European Commission website. (Spoiler alert: Citizens from African and Asian countries get screwed.)

Staying in Europe – The Easy Way

With so many visa rules, it’s so easy stay in Europe beyond 90 days as a tourist – you just need to mix up the countries you stay in. The United Kingdom has their own rules that allow you to stay 180 days. Most non-Schengen countries such as Ukraine, Moldova, Croatia, and other Balkan countries allow you to stay for up to 60 or 90 days. So all you need to do is spend 90 days in the Schengen zone, visit the UK, go to the Balkans, hang out in Ukraine, or drink wine in Moldova. If you align your schedule right, you can easily be out of the zone for 90 days but still in Europe.

That’s the easy way to stay for more than 90 days. Just vary your location. I spent 3 months in Bulgaria, Romania, Ukraine, and England as I waited for my clock to reset then headed back into Germany for Oktoberfest.

Can You Stay in Schengen More Than 90 days?

When most people ask me about staying in Europe, they mean staying longer in the Schengen zone. After all, it covers 26 countries and visiting so many destinations in 90 days can be a little rushed (it is an average of 3.4 days per country).

If you want longer time in the zone to travel, live, learn a language, or fall in love, then the “move around” option isn’t going to work for you. You need something else. Luckily, there are a few ways to do this – and I can’t stress the importance of the word “few.” Staying more than 90 days in the Schengen zone is not easy.

The Schengen law states that you can’t stay in the area more than 90 days. If you do, you are subject to a fine and deportation. How that rule is enforced, though, varies greatly between one country and another.  If you overstay by a few days or even a week, you’ll probably be OK. If you overstay longer, you might have problems.

For example, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, Switzerland, and Scandinavian countries are all very strict about entry and exit. If you overstay your visit by longer than a week, there is a good chance they will pull you aside.  Two Australians I know were detained leaving Switzerland due to overstaying their visa by two weeks. They were allowed to go with just a warning but they had to book new flights.

I know of someone who overstayed by 6 months and now has an “illegal immigrant” stamp on her passport. In order to enter Europe again, she must apply for a visa at an embassy from now on and be pre-approved.

Yet if you leave from Greece, France, Italy, Spain – the southern European countries – you won’t have any problems provided you a) haven’t stayed over too long and b) didn’t catch the immigration officer on a bad day. When I left Greece, no one even looked at my passport. One of my friends met a boy in France, fell in love, and decided to not leave. A year later, when she finally did, the French officials didn’t even look twice. Another friend flew into France and didn’t get an entry stamp. Spain is notorious for not caring and Americans who decide to overstay for months mention that as the easiest country to exit from.

That being said, I do not think it is wise to overstay. No matter where you are, you can get away with a few days.  Maybe a week, especially if you are heading home. But a few weeks? A few months? Don’t risk it.

Can you just extend your Schengen visa/stamp?

The Lonely Planet thorn tree forums, while a mess of random posts, are good for one thing: stuff like this. I came across one great quote: “This topic has been discussed ad nauseum here on the boards for years. If someone found a way to extend a Schengen, we would have heard of it by now.”

He’s right. Simply put, you can not extend your visa or entry stamp. There is a 90 day limit and that is that.

So then what’s a tourist to do?

Three Visa Loopholes Anyone Can Use

Unfortunately, the majority of the countries do not allow long-term stay visas for visitors. In my pursuit of a long-term visa for Sweden, I found that there is no universal long-term tourist visa for the Schengen zone. Schengen allows for a D or C class visa (letter varies on the country), which is a semi-permanent residence visa for up to one year.  But the specific visa and requirements vary from country to country. Some countries are harder, some are easier, and others are near impossible despite being in the same visa treaty zone. (I don’t understand the variance either. Same zone, different rules – it makes no sense. You would think if they were to all have the same rules they would abide by the same visa.)

But there are a few countries that do offer long-term visas and these countries are the way into Europe:

France

France offers a long-term visitor visa for a period of up to one year.  The application process takes up to one month. According to the French Embassy, “The ‘visitor’ visa (or visa “D”) allows you to enter France and stay for more than three months.  Long stay visa holders will be allowed to reside in France for up to 12 months according to the validity of their visa and purpose of stay.”

To get this visa, you must set up an appointment at the French consulate near you. You can’t walk in – you must make an appointment.

At this appointment, bring the following documents:

• One application form filled out completely and signed.
• One ID picture glued onto the application form.
• Your original passport, which must have been issued less than 10 years ago, be valid for three months after your return and have at least 2 blank pages left.
• A letter promising not to engage in work certified by a notary public.
• A letter of employment stating current occupation and earnings.
• Proof of income (you’ll need bank statements or copies of your investment portfolio).
• Proof of medical insurance that includes evacuation insurance.
• Proof of accommodation in France. (The French consulate never returned my e-mails so I was unsure how you could have this before you even get to France.  One could use a friend’s address or, lacking that, “rent” a place (one where you can get a refund) for the purposes of the interview. It’s a little fuzzy.)

Note: you can’t apply for this visa more 3 months before your arrival date.

You can visit the French Embassy for links to local embassies and consulates for more information.

Sweden

Sweden also offers a long-term stay tourist visa for a maximum period of 1 year.  The process is easy but long – taking up to 8 months! It’s not something to do at the last minute.  You will need 2 copies of the following documents when applying for the visa:

• Residence permit for visitor’s application form.
• Notarized copies of the pages of your passport that show your identity and the validity of your passport as well as copies of all the other visas/stamps you have.
• A Bank statement showing the means to support yourself for the duration of your stay.
• a return airplane ticket.
• A letter from your insurance company stating you are covered overseas.

Applications can be delivered in person during visiting hours (no appointment needed) or mailed to a Swedish consulate.

After your documents are received, you will be required to have an interview with one of the immigration officers. Most people who apply for this visa tend to have family in Sweden. If you don’t, you will need to have clear reasons as to why you need to stay longer and show ample proof that you can support yourself.

You can find a list of Swedish embassies here.

Italy

Like the other countries, Italy will let you in if you can afford it and promise not to work.  You’ll need the following documents to apply:

• A long-term visa application filled in and signed at the consulate. The applicant must appear in person.
• One passport-style photo.
• Your passport, which has to be valid three months over the planned stay in Italy. The passport will be kept during the application process.
• Documented and detailed guarantee of steady income. Proof of financial means, such as letters from the bank indicating the status of your account, including amount of money in the account.
• Proof of lodging in Italy.
• A letter from where you specify the reason for your stay in Italy, length of stay, and where you plan to reside.
• A notarized background check.

This visa is issued solely to those who are planning to move to Italy and not work.

For more information, visit the Italian Embassy website.

P.S. – Spain and Portugal offer long term stay visas but they are geared to people who are retired and have lots of assets. They aren’t meant for people passing through but you can always apply and try.

Additional Notes:

• Citizens of Australia, Canada, and New Zealand are eligible for one to two year working holiday visas, which allow them to stay and work within the Schengen zone. Applicants must apply for this visa from a specific country and be younger than 30. I would apply for this visa even if I didn’t plan on working simply to get the extended time in Europe.
• Rules are not universal. In some cases (depending on your country of citizenship), additional documents my be required.  You’ll want to check with your local embassy for specifics but you aren’t restricted from applying for this visa from your home country.
• All of these visas will require you to show proof that you either have income, have a high savings, or both. They are adamant about not letting theses visas be someone’s back-door way of getting into the E.U. and finding a job. While most didn’t give an exact number, I would say that if you don’t have at least $30,000 USD in your bank account when you apply, you shouldn’t apply. It is hard to say for sure how much you really need as the embassy websites aren’t specific. It is most likely at the discretion of the immigration officer but the more money you can show, the better. This is about proving you don’t need to work. For citizens coming from developing countries, this number might be even higher and you may even need someone to vouch for you.

Because of Europe’s open border policies, you simply need to enter and exit from the country that issued you the visa but you can be anywhere in Europe during the length of your visa.  Once a country has issued you one of these short-term stay residence visas, you are a “resident”, allowing you access to anywhere in Europe.  Since the Swedish visa takes so long, I am applying for a French one but after I get to Paris, I am simply going to fly to Stockholm.

Other Ways to Legally Stay in Europe

Study – All Schengen zone countries offer student visas that are not hard to obtain so long as you are enrolled in a recognized university program.  This would require you to pay for the course but it will virtually guarantee you a visa.

Marry – Fall in love with a European (or at least a friend) and apply for a marriage visa!

Be Self Employed – Germany offers a “self-employment” visa. If you are a freelancer and have some form of income, this is the visa to get. It’s perfect and will give you one to two years in the EU. This isn’t a business visa where you move your company to Germany but a visa for contract workers, artists, web folks, and other freelance type jobs. You need to apply for this visa when in Germany.

You can apply for this visa while you are in Germany and the process usually takes about a week. You simply need the following documents to your visa appointment:

• A completed application form.
• 2 passport photos.
• Bank statements – Like the other visas, they want to know you have money just in case you don’t find work. As before, the more money the better.
• A copy of your resume.
• Proof of residency – You’ll either need to be on a rental contract or be on someone’s rental agreement. You need to bring an official copy of the rental agreement to the immigration office. Adam of Travels of Adam, says “All i’ve ever had are short sublets. You still have to register at a local city office but all I’ve done is show up with a printed-out lease from the Internet, and submitted that. Once you do that, you get the official form from the local office and that’s all the visa people wants to see.”
• Health insurance – You need to have German insurance that is valid for at least 1 year. It’s easy to get once you are in Germany and you don’t need to be a citizen of Germany to get it.

Bring a German speaker with you just in case there is a need for translation.The process is pretty straightforward. You might get lucky and get the visa that day. Or they might review it over the course of a couple of weeks. But if they do that and your 90 day Schengen visa is close to expiring, they will give you a temporary 3 month visa extension while they process your request. In theory, one could apply for the visa knowing they won’t meet all the requirements simply to get the 3 month temporary visa.

It’s very rare someone is denied for this visa if they can show they have a job and proof of income. You can find out more information here.

The Greatest Visa Trick Known to Man?

Don’t want to study? Don’t want to wait for a visa? Don’t have a freelance job?  Luckily, you have one fabulous loophole to keep you in the Schengen zone past 90 days. It is by far the best loophole/hack out there.

All you need to do is enter France (Schengen zone) via the Chunnel (train service) from England. England doesn’t issue exit stamps (so there’s no outbound immigration) and France does not have entry stamps in the Chunnel. So technically there is never any proof of when you entered the Schengen zone.  All you have is the entry stamp you got when you flew into England. (When you enter England, you’ll need to show proof you are leaving – I would simply buy a cheap flight exiting the country.) Since England gives allows you to stay for 180 days and Schengen gives you 90 days, in theory you could stay in the Schengen zone for 270 days, telling the immigration officer you left England on the 180^th day (180 + 90 = 270). There’s no proof you didn’t do that. And by coming through the Chunnel, it is impossible for you to even have an entry stamp into France. (The reverse does not work. When you leave France, you will get an exit stamp and receive an entry stamp from England.) This method gets you into the Schengen zone without a dated entry stamp.

Immigration officials can’t prove you were in the Schengen zone for more than 90 days, but they can’t disprove it either. It’s a great loophole. It’s also very high risk. They might not buy your argument and require additional proof to prove you aren’t lying. We are always at the mercy of immigration officials and, while the loophole is on your side, they might not appreciate you using it. If I were to use this loophole, I would fly out of Europe from one of the southern countries that is less likely to care about my entry and exit dates. I would also consider buying a train ticket leaving England on day 180. That way you can have at least “some proof” you “took” the train. (After all, who saves train ticket stubs? It’s more likely you would have a receipt than a ticket stub. )

Disclaimer: Use at your own risk. When dealing with immigration officers, nothing is ever 100%.

Addendum: Two people have noted that they indeed received an stamp by French officials when they entered the country. Then a handful of other people noted that they did not (including my friend who is currently in Europe). There is also this recent article about a loophole that lets you back into the UK without a stamp. You are technically supposed to get a stamp when entering France but as so often happens (especially with French officials), the application of this rule is unevenly applied.

The best, easiest, and most effective way to stay in Europe long term is to vary the amount of countries you visit so that you are in the Schengen area for only 90 days. As I said, there are a lot of countries not in the zone so this is easy to do.

If do want to stay in the Schengen area beyond the 90 day limit, you need to apply for one of the visas listed above. When you go to the interview, make it crystal clear that you have enough money to support yourself, you are not looking for a job, and give good reasons why you need to stay longer. I doubt “I want to spend more time drinking in Greece” will get you anywhere.

If you are like me, and want to stay longer than 90 days, be prepared to work the system. I decided not to apply for my Swedish visa because of the wait time and go for the French one instead. If I am denied that visa, I will enter on a normal, 90 day tourist visa and head to Berlin for the independent work visa. But that’s because I can show proof of income. If that’s not you, be like my friend Mike, who is currently bouncing around Europe after entering using the Chunnel trick.

In the end, it is not impossible to stay longer in the Schengen zone. By working the system a bit and using the few loopholes that do exist, one can legally stay past 90 days and enjoy all Europe has to offer without worrying about being barred for life.

HAT TIP: nomadicmatt.com