demi t.

If you like to make jewelry, or just fix jewelry that you already own, this site is huge. They also have a gorgeous print catalog. Nice prices, huge selection of beads and findings. The only thing I wish is that they had more high end stuff. They do have plenty of semi-precious beads, but more that is even a step up from that, as well as real gold findings, would make it even better. I didin' t mark them down for it though because it is just a matter of what market they're targeting. Fun site, very nice and no problems.

If you want to start your own blog but are not a computer wiz, this is the place for you. It walks you through every step and gets you up in running within minutes, all at no charge. Very nice!

So far, so good. I especially like to share my experiences with message boards and have found few places where they can be rated. Who wants to invest their energy into a forum only to find out there's something really off about it. I would love to see more ratings and discussions on them. It's usually not money (although some do charge for premium membership and most at least request payment) but it is time, which in my book, counts too. For all else too, it is very useful to be able to check out a website's reputation rather than find out the hard way. Excellent.

Mike's Writer's Workshop, on Yahoo Groups. Here is the address:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mikeswritingworkshop/

It's called a writer's workshop but is actually a writer's message board. It is a simple format, one single thread for all. Knowledgeable and helpful folk, a nice crowd. Good place for any type of writing-related information or to find critique partners. I like that the moderator/owner (Mike) does not participate in the chat as I've found that too often leads to all sorts of silliness, from favoritism to using unfair leverage (subtly or blatantly) to get to "win" any discussion. This forum is refreshingly free of mess.

The only reason I gave it a 3 instead of a 4 is, in all fairness, also a lot of the reason the mess is minimized- no messages are posted until Mike approves them. The problem with this is Mike might not be available to approve messages for hours, days or once even weeks.

If you can live with that, it's very nice.

This site has a corresponding television channel. Prices are low but then you do get what you pay for. It's nice if you have loose stones or a setting that needs a stone. You can get something nice for not much money and put together just what you want. I bought a nice gold ring setting that was "snap lock," I popped my stone right in and did not have to take it to a jeweler. Unlike the other shop-at-home channels I look for jewelry on (QVC, HSN, ShopNBC) this one is jewelery and jewelry supplies only, and is not as slick or polished as the others. It's the cheapest though, and also has a lot of loose stones, which the others don't.

I love how you can go there and find just so much variety on, well... everything. They certainly make it easy to see a ton of choices on whatever you need and pick out the best deals. Also there are customer reviews on so many of the books and products. Perfect.

I enjoy this site, and its corresponding shop-at-home tv channel. I like the conversation tone of it while I'm cleaning house or to watch an upcoming program I especially like when I decide I deserve a special treat. I consider its price in between, higher than QVC.com but lower than Shopnbc.com. I've ordered several things and never had a problem with them. They cheerfully accept returns and also occasionally send me a $10 or $20 off coupon or some other customer appreciation bonus. Very nice.

I like QVC because of the wide variety of stuff, pretty reasonable prices, and entertainment value of hanging out and watching their corrresponding shop-at-home tv channel. It is a nice way to treat yourself. Once I ordered a large, expensive jewelry box which I never received. From following the UPS tracking, I think it was probably stolen off my doorstep. QVC sent a replacement, no problem. They are very nice about returns, customer service and such. Very nice.

This is a great site that goes along with the corresponding shop-at-home channel. They have the most interesting jewelry etc. over the other couple of competing channels.

I marked them down one though, because their prices are so high it is really kind of ridiculous.

Prices are good, and lots of nice specials. I've ordered many times and had no problems with delivery, returns, etc. Another huge plus is that they carry a lot of non-standard sizes, like tall pants, wide shoes and such. Nice selection too.

The reason I did not give it the top rating is because most of the things I've bought and used regularly, like work clothes, fall apart after about a year. Hems come out, zippers break, buttons pop off, fabric gets snaggy. In other words, it is poorly made. I would rather pay more for something that's better quality.

I bought an expensive diamond online here. It was true to what the certificate stated, gorgeous and an excellent deal. I could not have touched this beauty at this price in a brick and mortar store. Highest integrity. I would not hesitate to do business with them again.

Very nice update on an old classic. Still has the option to work with an Avon
Representative for personal delivery and service. Reviews of products. Updated often. Usually free delivery with $30 order, sometimes less.
Avon is both updated and a reassuring trip to the past. Nicely priced.

The only reason I didn't give it the highest possible score is because it has a few problems that it could (and should, in my opinion) do much better with -

1) The cosmetics shades shown often do not at all resemble what you receive.

2) There is no provision to order samples online. Personally, I'd be happy to pay for
Them. Also, why would I order nail polish, fragrance, foundation, etc., when I have no idea
What product I'll end up with.

3) Jewelry is not shown to scale and often they do not state the size. If it's not a
Featured piece that's shown on a model, it's often a guess if the earrings you
Have ordered are tiny or gigantic.

I am surprised that Avon continues to have these problems. They should understand that people want to have some idea as to what they are purchasing.

If you are serious about writing and want to improve your craft, this is the place. Critiques run on a fair, well-organized system of points. Lots of knowledge on here, no problems. And a large enough site for lots of input. Excellent.

Message boards have been completely ruined. Everyone has been run off, traffic is not 10% what it was 6 months ago. You get 3 strikes and you're banned forever, with no recourse. And what constitutes grounds for a strike is often ridiculous and random. Childish favoritism prevails.

After spending months making connections and contributing to the community, with hundreds of posts that get a lot of hits (keeping traffic on their site to see the ads, to bring in their revenue) you will be dumped as fast as you can snap your fingers. Attempts to reach a supervisor are simply ignored. If you push it, they will ban your IP address. Members are not valued at all and it shows in how nobody goes there any more. Even that does not make them take a hint so I don't know, maybe they want it to fail...

They continue to allow their silly low level help to permanently ban their most valuable members. When they got a new head moderator (whatever they're called) many of the moderators left too. Now she just starts her own threads and answers them herself too, lol. As if the complete fumble of their new format attempt wasn't bad enough.

It used to be a great site to discuss issues of friends, family, work, sex, relationships, everything really. What a shame.

The message board is a zoo and needs to be shut down immediately. Extremely poorly moderated, not a pleasant place. Pile-on bullying common. Stupidity and ignorance reigns. Major creep hangout. Do not even go there. Really.