And now…the things I currently own instead of an SLR

Cole Haan black leather flats, Orange Cole Haan Bag, Lucky Earrings
Cole Haan suede [waterproof!] boots, BellezaPro flat iron
Cole Haan patent leather open-toe heels

Not pictured: Butter London nail polish in Mariner, 2 Recessionista Tees, 1 long-sleeve burnout tee, one floral green scarf, one off-white scarf, 5 Golden Rings, four calling birds, three …

Next shopping spree will include ONE digital SLR…I hope.

Happy Shopping!

Happy Saving!

Only a couple more days until my Recessionista Party.

Don’t forget to email me at chasingeducation@gmail.com to get your discount code.

Send me your phone number for a text message reminder an hour before the event.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/clkg/ / CC BY 2.0

I mentioned in my ‘Tis the Season for Sweet Deals post that I would provide a strategy for participating in JoJolie auctions. I don’t have a strategy for you, but I do have a review and it’s not pretty!

Everyone is looking for a great deal. Times are rough for everyone and looking fabulous requires a lot of creativity. My recent experience with JoJolie goes to show that some things are too good to be true. Do your research ladies!

You receive 5 free bids when you sign up for JoJolie and then you have to purchase the rest of your bids in packages. For details on how this works check out  How to Shop at JoJolie.

If you’re seriously bidding to win, forget about getting by with your 5 free bids. You have to be serious. You have to buy bids and you have to buy a lot of them. Don’t let the $3 price tag on JoJolie’s homepage fool you. The bids can cost you nearly $1 each depending on how many you purchase.

Let’s do the math.

If you check out the JoJolie website you’ll see that the Coach Nubuck Brooke Bag sold for $6.55.

Bidding starts at $1 and it goes up a penny for each bid. So it took 555 bids to get the price up to $6.55. Let’s say each one of those bids cost 75 cents (which requires you to buy a bid package of 25 bids that costs you $18.75…wait a minute $18.75 + $6.55 is $25.30, which is NOT $6.55, even if it is a good deal. And chances are you won’t win a bag with just 25 bids, but I digress.)

It took 555 bids to get to $6.55 cents meaning that at 75 cents a bid (which is generous, because some people may have paid more for their bids depending on many (or few) they bought) the price of that purse was more like $416.25. That cost is shared amongst all the bidders, which is great if you win. But if you lose (which, by the way, is most likely in a game of chance), you just paid for some stranger’s Coach bag.

Sounds a lot like gambling, doesn’t it? Maybe you win, maybe you lose, either way they’ve got your money.

It was a frustrating–and expensive!–experience that I do not wish to repeat.

My online Recessionista Party, however, is not a game of chance. You’re not gambling! You’re getting awesome deals and free shipping!

For my sanity, I adopted a one for them, one for me gift-purchasing philosophy. It’s even more stressful on my wallet– but hey, you can’t put a price on your sanity.

This season I set out to find the sweetest deals and boy did I hit the jackpot!
“A Recessionista is one who, despite an economic downturn, evokes the creative power and continues to look like a million bucks while only spending a few.”

Not only does Recessionista have incredible accessories and shoes at parties in Utah and Idaho, but now you can purchase earrings, hats, scarves and more on the Recessionista Blog using paypal.

Visit the blog regularly and you’ll find incredibly giveaways like this coach handbag!

My other sweet deal secret is Jojolie– an auction site where you can bid on designer bags for just a few dollars! Purchase “bids” in bulk for around 75 cents and then formulate a strategy on how you’re going to win. I still haven’t formulated my strategy, but I’ll let you know when I do.

Happy Shopping!