The Yumster's Top Ten (Top Ten Websites)

Member Name: yummy87

Product:	Top Ten Websites
Date:	15/10/04 (348 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: I like them

Disadvantages: You might not!

If someone had asked me about five years ago what the internet was, I'd have been able to give only the basics. It was back in 1999 that I first discovered the wonders of the worldwide web and it's fast become one of the most important things in our household. There's nothing you can't find on the net and it's helped me in zillions of ways over the past few years, as well as being a valuable source of information for my children when they are doing their homework. I bank online, both for work and for our personal accounts, I enter competitions on the net, as well as find listings for postcard and telephone competitions and I am forever downloading music to add to our extensive CD library.

I've been thinking about doing this review for some time because there are a lot of sites tucked away in my favourites and each day I refer to many of them but it's been so difficult to whittle them down to a manageable number plus I wanted to write about the ten that I use most often. As an avid comper I use many more sites and utilities than I've listed here but I thought my ten favourites would be a little boring if all that were listed were competition sites and resources so here goes..............

www.dooyoo.co.uk - well Dooyoo had to be my Number 1 didn't it?! I first discovered Dooyoo a couple of years back when I posted a horrific first opinion and buggered straight off again. Last year I came back and after a couple of naff ops I got into my stride and have been posting regularly ever since. As opinion sites go Dooyoo does have faults - the cruddy search engine, the horrific time that it takes to get new products onto the site and the pretty abyssmal navigation, but for all its faults it's my favourite consumer site of the moment. Yes I used to prefer Ciao but in my opinion it's gone to the dogs and the recent addition of the private guest books adding to the completely unnecessary public guest books have made it a paradise for abusers, bullies and morons and general misfits. Community spirit? Why do opinion sites need a community in the first place? They don't and this is where Dooyoo have it right. They don't see the need for guest books, after all we are quite able to use Tooyoo, email or the comment section of reviews and I feel there is ample community spirit here without smelly old guest books anyway.

www.loquax.co.uk - As far as competition sites go Loquax is the best. Not only do they have an extensive listing of competitions from various internet sites added to the site each day, there are also offline competitions that can be entered either by telephone, email or postcard and these are listed away from the main site in the user forums. Loquax is my second "job" when I awake each morning as first of all I do my listing of daily competitions then I make my way over to Loquax to check what's new. The forums are invaluable and although I very rarely post on the forums themselves, I use them each day to pick up details of new competitions to enter. I have a bit of an aversion to forums of any kind really, but that's just me! Loquax offer a competition tracking device by which you can track the competitions you have entered so as to avoid entering them twice and there are lots of different ways that you can view competitions, it's just a matter of finding the format that's right for you and customising Loquax to suit your needs. And yes before anyone asks, Loquax does work, and I've had a holiday to prove it as well as thousands of pounds worth of prizes over the past year and a bit.

www.hmv.co.uk - Although I never buy anything from the HMV site because it is so expensive, I head over there at least twice a week to check out the new releases. As a parent of two music loving children and another who lives with his Dad, I'm forever searching out new CDs to download or buy after they have written me a list. I like the layout of HMV, it's easy to follow and the listings are easy to copy and paste into Word to refer to while I'm downloading the music! At the beginning of every week the charts are updated, so at the touch of a button its easy to see any new entries and also to get a complete track listing of the albums - invaluable in case there are a number of tracks that are pants.

www.mandmsports.com - I first came across this site after a friend of mine had bought some hugely reduced brand named sportswear for her son. I'm never off the damn place now and we have saved thousands of pounds on sportswear for the children as well as ourselves. At this time of year my youngest son is on the lookout for new football boots and at the rate his feet are growing I refuse to spend over £100 for a pair of Predators only to have to buy another pair midway through the season so we always nip over to M&M and get a pair with at least 50% off. The site also send out newsletters listing their latest bargains and these are fatal for me - I just have to go and buy something once I've received one.

www.playandwin.co.uk - Evenings are normally spent vegging out in front of the TV, but if I'm watching something that doesn't need a hundred per cent concentration, you'll sometimes find me sitting with the laptop fiddling on playandwin. The site is free to join and has a host of online games that can be played on your own or with other players on the site. It doesn't matter what sort of games you like, strategy, card games and puzzles are all featured so there is something to suit all ages. Hubby has joined up too and has beaten my top score on everything which isn't difficult but I humour him. Each player can set up their own player profile and add buddies to their list, although I've never really worked out what benefits this can possibly bring and unfortunately playandwin has its own brand of internet nutters who seem to revel in abusing people in the chat rooms tat are provided for players - I've been told this by other members who I know as I've never ventured into a chat room on the site. The rooms are moderated but as far as I can tell abuse is rife as are provocative profile messages but I only go there for the games so it all goes over my head. Players can win tokens on every game that they play and these can be entered into the weekly draw for cash prizes.

www.iceland.co.uk - I love Iceland with a passion. Although I do my main monhtly shop over at Tesco it's not because I prefer the supermarket - far from it. If Iceland stocked fruit and vegetables as well as other household goods, I'd do all my shopping on their site. Customers are treated as an individual with Iceland, not just a number, and in the year and a half I've been shopping with them I have been treated so well by them that I'd recommend them to anyone. If an item is out of stock I always receive a phone call on the morning of my delivery and said item is always replaced with something more expensive but at no extra charge. My shopping was supposed to be delivered today and yesterday I received a call asking if they could deliver a day early. I had to refuse because I was expecting money to be paid into my account today to pay for the shopping and other items but they said not to worry, they could still deliver a day early but not take any money until the following day! I shouldn't imagine many supermarkets give you that kind of service! The other think I love about Iceland is their free delivery. You do have to spend over £50 to qualify but yesterday I only spent £45 as some of the items I ordered were on special offer this week but I was still not charged any delivery which I think is brilliant!

www.talkfreebies.com - I've joined many freebie sites over the years in a bid to get a steady stream of free samples plopping onto my doormat each week but talkfreebies is the best I've found so far. The site has a huge amount of freebies listed, more than anywhere else and that's because it is the public who post the freebies onto the forums. The listings are easy to navigate and are all laid out in categories with the option to mark each category as read when you've applied for the freebie on offer. I have received tons of stuff just from looking through the forums regularly and we're never short of shampoo, cosmetic, stationery or food and drink samples to try before we buy. The vast majority of the freebies can be applied for online but there are a few where you do have to send a letter to apply but if you're a freebie freak then head over there now and you'll have a host of free items to try before the week is out.

www.imdb.com – which stands for The Internet Movie Database. While I’m not purporting to be a movie buff, I do visit IMDB practically every day for yep you’ve guessed it, answers to competitions! The site has just about every film listed that’s ever been made as well as many TV series. I suppose a lot of movie review writer would use the site for reference as all of the cast members are listed as well as the technical staff and occasionally a member of the public has written a small review on the film, although in my experience these aren’t particularly flowing, nor do they tell you an awful lot about the film or TV programme in question. However, the site is a valuable resource for me and has helped me win a few DVDs in competitions.

http://www.rhymezone.com/ - My children were the first to discover this site and use it often if they are writing poems for school and need a little rhyming inspiration. The site is really simple to use – simply type in the word you need a rhyme for and at the click of a button a whole list will appear. The site has been invaluable for me too when I’m trying to think of a slogan for a competition, and although I’ve not won a slogan one yet………….it’ll come and I’ll be praising this place even more!

www.lush.co.uk – last but not least the site of my favourite cosmetic company, Lush. I LIVE for this place and visit it at least once a week to see what’s new in the world of Lush and if there’s anything new I need to try. As a person who really suffers with sensitive skin, trying new cosmetics has been a minefield for me over the years and even hypo-allergenic products have been known to bring me out in awful rashes, leaving me in agony for days. I discovered Lush some three years ago now and I’ve never looked back. As their products are made from natural ingredients with no artificial skanky stuff, I thought that I may have some success with them but I can honestly say I have never had a reaction to anything I’ve used. Yes some of the items are a tad expensive but they really are worth it and now I’ve found Lush I’m hanging on for dear life!

Phew, I can’t believe I’ve written so much on a few websites, and I condensed it as much as I could. Hopefully it will give you an insight into my boring and sad old life and make you realise how lucky you all are to be normal :O)

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