The Bargainista team is growing again...

One of the most rewarding things about having a blog is you! You make Bargainista the community that it is today.

When I first started blogging, three years ago this month, I wondered if anyone would care what I had to say. Then some friends started reading Bargainista and leaving comments. It was the motivation I needed to keep going. Soon people I hadn’t met in real life started leaving comments, subscribing to the feed or the email updates. The community started to grow.

Now almost 700 posts and three years later, we’ve had several guest blog posts and a regular column – baby bargainista – written primarily by Jenny and Rebecca, who have been doing an awesome job.

One community member in particular made herself known to me. She first came on my radar when she started leaving comments and won a giveaway soon after. We started emailing a bit and her warm, enthusiastic personality came through.

Contrary to what many people think about bloggers and their communities, many of us do meet in real life. Last June at the ChickAdvisor Recessionista Shop Crawl, we met in person. Sumaya was as sweet in real life as she was online. We introduced ourselves to each other and she gave me a warm hug.

Fast forward to a few weeks ago. I was spending more time responding to emails from companies or people representing their clients than I was actually researching and writing new posts. From speaking with some of you in person, I knew many of you were wondering what happened to the volume and type of posts you used to read here. Ideas of enhancements were swirling in my head but with a full-time job and family, there was only so much time I could spend on the blog. Something had to change.

Perhaps a virtual assistant would be the answer. Only problem was, how could I justify paying an assistant when I’m not earning money from Bargainista? Even if I decided to try incorporating advertising or sponsorship to try and pay for a virtual assistant, it would take time – time that I didn’t have.

Fortunately, about a week later, Sumaya emailed me and told me she was pursuing a career in public relations – I had no idea – and she asked if I would introduce her to the principals of her favourite PR agency. I did. And then the wheels started turning.

Wouldn’t it make the most sense to create a position for a member of the community? Would she be interested in working together to create an internship/editorial assistant role whereby in exchange, she’d receive mentoring from me and the occasional product sent Bargainista’s way? So I asked her and she said “yes”!

I’m thrilled that Sumaya has agreed to join the team. Already she has done a great job of organizing Bargainista’s inbox. She’ll be helping me respond to some of the email requests I receive, post local event notices and perhaps some product reviews as a guest blogger.

Please help me welcome Sumaya to the team and stay tuned for my interview with her in an upcoming post.

My Shop Crawl haul

Have you ever been to a ChickAdvisor Shop Crawl? Maybe you’ve thought about it but weren’t quite sure about spending $25* to save money and party with a bunch of other women (well, mostly women) who love shopping too.

Last Thursday, I attended the ChickAdvisor Recessionista Shop Crawl. The weather was a perfect ’cause the rain stayed away. My plan was to see how much swag I could walk away with without dropping a penny. Well, things didn’t quite go as planned. The deals were hard to resist and I spent some of my hard-earned cash. At least it wasn’t all on me. With an extra 25% off regular and sale items at Banana Republic, I bought Mr. B a Father’s Day gift too.

Anyway, I thought you’d like to know what I got for free, so I’ve included a photo. As you can see, I came away with a lot of goodies, including a $100 gift certificate towards an overnight stay at the Park Hyatt (another gift for Mr. B), a $25 gift certificate for Stillwater spa, 10% off at Roots online store and lots of beauty products from Maybelline – the event sponsor. All shoppers who completed the crawl got a swag bag with a bunch of stuff from the sponsor, a martini ticket and a lot of surprises on the way. Plus there were games and prizes at the FLOW after party.

Over the next little while, I’ll be coming up with a contest or two so I can share some of this swag with some of you.

This post wouldn’t be complete without a shout-out to Ali, Alex and the rest of the ChickAdvisor team for making the night a success, and especially to Sumaya – we finally met in person and she’s a sweetie.

What did you think of the Shop Crawl? Would you go again? What would you suggest to make it even better?

*Full disclosure: as a media friend, I received a complimentary ticket.

ChickAdvisor Recessionista ShopCrawl

ChickAdvisor is having another exclusive Shop Crawl with a twist... this time around it’s moving uptown to Yorkville.

The ChickAdvisor team has a great evening planned with discounts of up to 25% off at several stores, goody bags and even an after party where you can win great prizes. More details to follow.

Did you go any other ChickAdvisor Shop Crawls? If so, what did you think. Will you go again? Leave a comment.

What?
ChickAdvisor Recessionista Shop Crawl: Bloor/Yorkville
• Guided shopping with a group, or shop at your own pace
• Discounts of up to 25% off at participating boutiques
• Over $100 worth of free swag (each)
• A private after party with a cocktail and snacks at Flow restaurant after the shopping
• A chance to win some awesome prizes including a fashion walk-off for the best outfit purchased that night
• Complimentary makeovers from our expert, Joy David-Tilberg will be available

Where?
Bloor/Yorkville (Toronto) shops including:
• The Body Shop - In addition to providing discounts in store, The Body Shop is giving each of you two full sized products from their Moroccan Rose line.
• Roots and Diesel - 25% off regular priced items and 10% off sale items
• The Stillwater Spa Boutique - 20% off all products they carry in the boutique & each of you will get a $25 gift certificate towards services in the Spa! Brands carried in the boutique include Dermalogica, Kerastase, Babor, Jane Iredale, Pharmacopi and more.
• Over the Rainbow and eleven Boutique - 20% off
• Nine West - No tax on all purchases; get a free Nine West tote worth $25 just for visiting in store
• Calvin Klein Underwear - 25% off regular priced jewelry, watches, sunglasses and hosiery and an additional 25% off sale items
• Banana Republic and The Gap - 25% off regular merchandise
• Capezio - 20% off all regular priced merchandise

When?
Thursday, June 18: 6 p.m.-9 p.m.
plus admission to the after-party at Flow

How much?
Tickets $25 in advance
Buy now!

ChickAdvisor Shop Crawl heads to Little Italy

UPDATE: ChickAdvisor has changed the date to October 16.

ChickAdvisor is having another exclusive Shop Crawl with a twist... this time around it’s further in Little Italy on October 16 for ChickAdvisor members and friends.

The ChickAdvisor team has a great evening planned with discounts off at several stores, goody bags and even an after party where you can win great prizes. More details to follow.

Check out the new and improved ChickAdvisor if you haven’t seen it already.

Did you go any other ChickAdvisor Shop Crawls? If so, what did you think. Will you go again? Leave a comment.

What?
ChickAdvisor Shop Crawl #4: Little Italy
• Free products and samples;
• Exclusive discounts from the participating popular College Street boutiques on either all regular-priced merchandise only
• After ]arty at Vecchio Frak with free food and drinks
• Enter to win prizes from event sponsors

Where?
Little Italy, Toronto including:
• Girl Friday - 20% off
• American Apparel - 10% off plus $5 gift card if you spend $100 or more
• Balisi - 20% off
• Lilliput Hats - 20% off
• Red Pegasus - 25% off
• Ziggy’ at Home - discount TBA

When?
Thursday, Oct. 16: 6 p.m.-11 p.m.

How much?
Tickets $25 in advance
Buy now!

Tip of the Week – Join ChickAdvisor’s Product Review Club

Want to test out cool products for free? All you have to do is join ChickAdvisor’s Product Review Club by completing a survey. From time-to-time you may be selected to test out some cool stuff. In return, you’ll beexpected to write a review on ChickAdvisor within 14 days of receiving the goodies.

So far, I’ve reviewed one product and I’ve just received some skin care products from pHisoderm. I’ll have my review posted on ChickAdvisor soon as well as this blog.

ChickAdvisor Chicks Night Out: Sex and the City Movie

With less than two weeks left before the Toronto premier of Sex and the City, ChickAdvisor has managed to score a block of 50 tickets for opening night. So if you want to have your Cosmo and sip it too plus a guaranteed seat to the most eagerly anticipated chick flick of the year, purchase your ticket now. Don’t forget to wear your Manolos!

What?
ChickAdvisor Chicks Night Out: Sex and the City

Where?
Cineplex Scotia Cinemas
294 Richmond St. W. (map)

When?
Friday, May 30, 5 p.m. (6:50 p.m. show)

How Much?
Tickets are $20 each and include:
• Movie admission
• 1 Cosmo
• Swag
• Chance to win prizes

The ChickAdvisor Shopcrawl moves west

ChickAdvisor is having another exclusive Queen Street Shop Crawl with a twist... this time around it’s further west on May 29 for ChickAdvisor members and friends.

I’m thrilled Bargainista has been asked to participate once again as a blog partner. Thanks, Ali!

Last weekend, I shopped the same Queen St. W. strip between Bathurst and Trinity Bellwoods Park. I didn’t get to most of these boutiques but I did get to Girl Friday. For 25% off, I’m hoping they have the Shannon Dress in my size. It’s an incredible strapless dress and I’d love one in black or cherry red.

The ChickAdvisor team has a great evening planned with discounts off at several stores, goody bags and even an after party where you can win great prizes. More details to follow.

I’ll be there, hope to see you there too! 

Did you go either of the other Queen Street Shop Crawls? If so, what did you think. Will you go again? Leave a comment.

What?
ChickAdvisor Queen Street Shop Crawl Part 3: West-Queen-West
• Free products and samples;
• Exclusive discounts from the participating popular Queen Street boutiques on either all regular-priced merchandise only
• Free food and drinks at the after party
• Enter to win prizes from event sponsors

Where?
West Queen Street West, Toronto including:
• Girl Friday
• Moda
• Body Blue
• Pho Pa
• Coal
• Charlie
• Brazen Hussy
• Balisi

When?
Thursday, May 29: 6 p.m.-9 p.m.

How much?
Tickets in advance: members $20 (join ChickAdvisor, log in and get the member price) or non-members $25
Buy now!

Nestlé Noir keeps me wishing for more

I’m a new member of ChickAdvisor’s product review team. Sometimes I’ll get free samples of new products in exchange for a review on their site. This time around, I thought I’d share...

My first package arrived last week and contained four Nestlé Noir dark chocolate bars:
• Nestle Noir Cherry
• Nestle Noir Intense
• Nestle Noir Eclat Noir
• Nestle Noir Eclat Caramel

Okay, I know what you’re thinking, “She’s on NutriSystem, what the heck is she doing?”

No, I haven’t been taste testing these new dark chocolate bars from Nestlé. Instead, I’ve been spreading the Nestlé Noir love around.

Nestlé Noir Cherry
I brought the Nestlé Noir Cherry bar to the office and watched six other women enjoy it on my behalf. Everyone loved the dark chocolate mixed with little bits of dried cherries.

I was expecting at least one dissenter. Her husband travels to Switzerland frequently and he is known for brining home exquisite Swiss chocolate. Guess what? She truly enjoyed this dark, chocolate, cherry treat. I adore dried cherries so watching my co-workers ooh and ahh while enjoying the Nestlé Noir Cherry bar wasn’t easy. Guess I’ll have to wait until I reach my goal weight first but this is on my list new treats to try when I get there - in moderation, of course. ;)

Nestle Noir Eclat Noir and Nestle Noir Eclat Caramel
My husband and kids fought over the other three bars. They tasted each one. I was curious to see their reactions because all of them prefer milk chocolate. I was pleasantly surprised. Each one of them enjoyed Nestle Noir Eclat Noir and Nestle Noir Eclat Caramel, equally. Both are rich, dark chocolate bars with chocolate and caramel crisps respectively.

Nestle Noir Intense
Nestle Noir Intense with 70% cocoa was their least favourite, which isn’t to say each intense bite wasn’t savoured. They unanimously agreed they preferred the bars with crunchy bits more.

One thing is certain, these three samples weren’t enough. I settled a couple meltdowns by promising to buy them more. I’ll just wait for another 8 weeks so I can have a bite next time. ;)

Four questions for Ali de Bold from ChickAdvisor

I recently had the pleasure of emceeing Third Tuesday Toronto with guests Ali and Alex de Bold from ChickAdvisor. Donna Papacosta from Trafcom News also interviewed Ali and Alex for the first Third Tuesday Toronto podcast.

I still had a few questions, particularly about social shopping, so I interviewed Ali this weekend. I thought you might be interested in her answers too...

Why did you decide to start the Queen St. Shop Crawl?

Our members were asking for the longest time to get together. We wanted to create an event that would be a lot of fun and get the word out. At first I was thinking of booking out a nail bar and having drinks, snacks and manicures but we realized there was no way to accommodate a large group of people.

I started thinking about the things I love to do with my friends and of course shopping came to mind. I got the idea one night last spring (2007) as I was tossing and turning not able to sleep. (I suffer from insomnia quite a bit and have had many of my best ideas when I can’t sleep.) I immediately worked out how I would do it, and in August 2007 we had our first Shop Crawl.

Are you planning Shop Crawls in other locations besides Queen West?

Definitely. We did the strip between Spadina and John twice because there are so many independent boutiques and it is an easy walk, but we plan to hit up other areas of the city for future crawls, and eventually expand the idea to other major cities in North America.

Have you ever considered negotiating volume discounts for products or services like a hot new gadget or purse for ChickAdvisor members?

Yes. That is actually part of our original business plan. ;)

What advice do you have for PR or marketing professionals wanting to pitch you?

We are very careful to ensure that anything advertised on ChickAdvisor is appropriate and useful for our members, and that it delivers value for the advertiser. We are also flexible and have on a number of occasions worked out custom strategies/campaigns.

As a social network/platform, we have many ways to work with large national brands (we’ve worked with Maybelline New York, TravelZoo, Herbal Essences, etc.), as well as local businesses and smaller companies.

We have the ability to incorporate brands in our video series, “Where’d You Get That?” and Product Review Club (companies provide product, members review it).

There are opportunities for:
• email newsletter sponsorship
• category level sponsorship (Beauty, Shopping, Wellness, Deals, Restaurants); and,
• we also have a business service we just launched www.chickadvisor.biz, where local businesses can create profiles on ChickAdvisor similar to other business directories, for $300/year.

If you have something you’d like to promote, email us. If we believe it will be of value to our members, we’ll work something out.

CHANGE gets into social shopping

The first time I wrote about CHANGE was during ChickAdvisor’s Queen St. Shop Crawl. CHANGE caught on quickly. With Valentine’s Day around the corner, they’re offering a $100 gift card for anyone organizing a Girls-Night-Out Valentine’s Day Prep-Party.

Want to get your gal pals together at another time? You can book a private party at CHANGE for any occasion.

I just love shopping with a group of friends, don’t you? Interested in a party for Bargainista readers at CHANGE? Leave a comment.

What?
• Girls-Night-Out Valentine’s Day Prep-Parties
• Book a night of private gal pal shopping at CHANGE lingerie boutique.
• CHANGE professionally-trained staff will be available during the party to provide expert bra fittings and share lingerie trends for 2008.
• Get practical advice on the dos & don’ts of bra shopping.
• In addition to the ultimate in personalized service, parties feature scrumptious cupcakes and sparkling champagne.
• Party organizers will receive a $100 gift card

When?
Any time. Private parties are available year round for a twist on bachelorette or birthday parties – or just as a fun excuse to get the girls together.

Where?
CHANGE
315 Queen St. W (see map)
Toronto

How?
Want one before Valentine’s Day?
Call Lisa Bernstein (store manager)
416 977-7667 for more details.

Weekly Wish - Check out ChickAdvisor at Third Tuesday

When it comes to the communities in the social media space, my memberships divide pretty neatly into two categories:
• fashion/shopping
• marketing/PR/communications

These days, my favourite communities are the ones where I can meet with other members both online and in person. So you can imagine how excited I was when I learned these two groups were mashing together for the next Third Tuesday Toronto (which is going to be on a Wednesday but don’t get hung up on details).

Third Tuesday, for those of you who don’t know, is a free monthly event for PR and marketing types interested in learning more about social media in business.

ChickAdvisor founders Ali and Alex de Bold are this month’s guests. They will be sharing the secrets of their success about their thriving online shopping community. What I really admire is their determination and risk-taking. And, you know how I feel about ChickAdvisor Shop Crawls and their adventures in social shopping.

If you can’t make Third Tuesday, don’t despair. ChickAdvisor will also be featured on CBC’s Fortune Hunters starting Saturday, Jan. 19.

So this week, I have wish for you: check out ChickAdvisor at Third Tuesday and who knows, you may even see me there too!

What?
Third Tuesday Toronto with Alex and Ali de Bold on starting a Web 2.0 site: ChickAdvisor

Where?
Fionn McCool’s Irish Pub
181 University Ave. (map)
Toronto

When?
Wednesday, Jan. 23
6 p.m.

How?
It’s free but you’ll need to register first!

Win free tickets to the Wedding Show

What?
The Wedding Show
• Oyster shucking with celebrity chef Jamie Kennedy (Friday night)
• Meet top wedding professionals in the industry
• Sweet treats, favours and more: indulge at The Wedding Co. candy store
• Your name in ink: on-site calligraphy by Claire Reyes
• Decorate your own favours: hands-on demonstration by Bonnie Gordon (Saturday)
• Take home a bag full of Wedding Co. ideas, contacts and your copy of Wedlux Magazine.

When?
Friday, Jan. 11: 5 p.m.-9 p.m.
Saturday, Jan. 12: 10 a.m.-6 p.m.
Sunday, Jan. 13: 10 a.m.-5 p.m.

Where?
The Carlu (map)
Yonge St.
Toronto

How Much?
$20 at the door, or reserve yours online.
Save $3 if you sign up for The Wedding Co.’s weekly newsletter.

How to win FREE tickets?
The Wedding Show is giving away two pairs of tickets to ChickAdvisor members (or friends of members) right now! To enter is tell them your proposal story. How did he pop the question? Was it a complete surprise or did you see it coming from a mile away? Email your story or share it in the ChickAdvisor forums by next Tuesday. Winners will be announced Wednesday, Jan. 9.