Ordering Online Works For Me

I recently "joined" a website I think you'd be interested in checking out.

Alice.

Alice.com, that is.

They carry a lot of common household products. From diapers to cleaning products to snacks. Even postage stamps!! (Anyone else out there HATE going to the post office...with four children...only to stand in a line of ten people...JUST to get some stamps??)

You have to purchase at least six items, but there's no minimum dollar amount. And you'll ALWAYS get free shipping! FREE!!

I mean, if the prices are comparable (or even a dollar or two more) for products you'd need to drive to the store to purchase--things you like to keep stocked up on--then wouldn't you rather someone deliver them to YOUR DOOR?! (Especially considering that most of us will spend $3-5 in gas just to GET to the store.) Well, I don't have to think long and hard on this one. I adore doing my shopping from the comfort of my own home. Adore it. (One year I did every last bit of my CHRISTmas shopping online. Right down to the stocking stuffers!) So, this website definitely works for ME!

Here are some of the items from my first order:

Arm & Hammer Washing Soda (Remember this necessary ingredient from my homemade laundry detergent? So, for those of you who can't FIND it in your local grocery store, here ya go!) $2.76/box

Clorox 2 FREE, HE $4.19 (with online coupon)

Sun & Earth Liquid Hand Soap, Natural $4.68 for 2 bottles (Buy 2, get $0.50 off sale)

Charmin Ultra-Strong, 24 BIG rolls $15.92

Bounty Select-a-Size Paper Towels, 8 rolls $8.41

Glycerine Bar Soap, Unscented "> Clearly Natural Glycerin Bar Soap, Unscented $1.79

Saran Cling Plus Plastic Wrap, 200 sq.ft., $1.61

Tom's of Maine Kids' Toothpaste, Fluoride-Free, $3.32

I don't think the prices are half bad. Do you?

AND you can pay through Paypal!!! Which I love. That way it can be taken directly from my bank account, and I don't have to go a-huntin' for my billfold to get a credit card number.

And y'all! The order arrived in 2-3 business days, just as they said it would. Can you believe that? With FREE shipping?! That is just unheard of!

I am blown away impressed.

Also, my Clorox 2 and soap dispensers were packaged so carefully! Alice had taped their lids shut and then placed them in a gigantic zippered plastic bag. Listen. I appreciate these little details that ensure a pleasant shopping experience for me. I really do.

Joining is free. There are no commitments. No hidden membership fees.

Here's how they do it, according to a direct quote from the Alice website:

"You order from Alice just like you would a retailer, but behind the scenes we work like a marketplace, allowing participating manufacturers to sell directly to you. Not every product on our site is sold direct from the manufacturer right now—we sourced a number of products ourselves to get the Alice.com site up and running—but we add new manufacturers each week onto our direct platform. This direct platform eliminates the retail middleman and saves lots of costs that can be passed directly on to you. And in addition to saving you money, the Alice marketplace allows participating brands to have a direct relationship with you—to reward you, personalize things for you, and work smarter for you. It is a win-win that gives you fantastic convenience AND tangible savings."

The website itself is very user-friendly. One thing I like is that as you place things in your basket, you are given the option to set up reminders for reorder. For instance, you may know you go through a large package of toilet paper every three weeks, so you'd tell Alice to remind you three weeks from your order date that you need to reorder toilet paper. It's all highly customizable to your needs. Anything you ever place in your basket (even things you decide not to order this time around) will be saved as "Your Products." Then all you have to do is go to this list of products, which by the way, is set up to look like a store shelf: the items are all pictured in rows, and you literally drag and drop them in your shopping cart. How nice is that?

Here I am dragging postage stamps over to my shopping cart.

It's shopping made simple. They have everything categorized, AND you can browse by brand name, price, and even "GREEN" products!

I'm not even sure what all one can do on Alice, as it's still a fairly new experience to me. Apparently, you can befriend people (sort of like on Facebook)--I guess for the purpose of discussing products or something. I don't know. That's kind of weird to me, but hey, if you get an Alice account, see if you can befriend me. I'm groovyrainbow. Yes. I know. Long story.

Also, it seems you can keep up with how much money you're spending over time on the site and possibly even what portion is spent in each category. Like I said, I haven't explored everything yet.

So...anyway, Alice? Alice is convenient. Alice is fast. I'll tell you what Alice is. Alice is step number one in the right direction toward my goal of doing away with Wal-Mart in my life for good! 'Cause Wal-Mart. is pure. evil. I'd even go so far as to say it is somehow destroying our country and certainly my sanity with each moment I have to stand in line behind four people with full carts and there are a mere five checkers in the entire store. For Wal-Mart I have much disdain and hatred. I do. (The worst part about it is, you'll probably run into me there sometime. Ugh.) Oh, can I ever escape its evil clutches?!

Head over to "Works for Me Wednesday" temporarily located at Rocks In My Dryer for more tips, hints, likes, and tricks of the trade. But first, go check out Alice.com, y'all. Oh, and be sure to come back here to let me know you did. So my curiosity can be satisfied. 'Cause that's important.