Swagbucks is a way to earn points and redeem them for gift cards to places like Starbucks and Amazon.  The primary way to earn is to use their search engine – you’ll earn points usually a few times a day as you search for stuff.  It’s super easy, and no, you won’t get rich or anything, but hey, a lot of people were able to use Amazon gift cards they’d earned through Swagbucks to help their Christmas budget last year!

There are other ways to earn, too – I’ve detailed them in my Top 6 Ways To Earn Swagbucks post.  You can refer friends, use their toolbar, print coupons, and more!  Fridays are Mega Swagbucks Days, in which searches you do through their search engine have a chance up winning up to 10,000 points!

If you’re not signed up for Swagbucks, go here to sign up and don’t forget to use code SBGames to get those bonus points!

If you’re already using it, now would be a great time to share your personal Swagbucks referral link and the bonus code on your personal Facebook page – I believe anyone can use the code!

Thanks, Bargain Briana!

Julie emailed to let me know that Paypal gift cards are on sale at Swagbucks!  They’re on sale for 550 points, regularly 700 points!

Point-for-dollar, the $5 Amazon cards are still a better deal at 450 points, but as Julie said – “cash” via Paypal is so much more versatile.

If you’re not using Swagbucks yet, sign up today and start earning points to redeem for prizes like Amazon and Paypal gift cards!  All you have to do is use their search engine and you’ll be randomly awarded points. (Here’s more ways to win.)

Cool!  Swagbucks just added a feature where you can earn points by printing coupons!  For every coupon you print through their portal and redeem at the store, you’ll earn 10 points!  These are the same coupons that are available from Coupons.com.  Just go to Swagbucks > Earn > Coupons to print the coupons that qualify.

It will take about 8 to 12 weeks after coupon redemption for the points to show up in your Swagbucks account, so kind of a long time to wait.  But, if you’re going to be using those coupons anyway, might as well earn points for them, even if you have to wait three months!

Thanks, Julie!

What’s Swagbucks All About?

If you’re new to Swagbucks, here’s a bit about it: you can earn points by using the Swagbucks search engine; redeeming special codes they release on the blog, Facebook page, etc; and by referring friends – and now, you can earn them by printing coupons, too!  You accumulate points and then can redeem them for things like Amazon.com gift cards.

The best deal is to get a $% Amazon.com gift card – it takes 450 points to get one, and you get thirty just for signing up!  Go here to join and start earning points!

More Swagbucks Tips

For more tips on earning Swagbucks, read my Top 6 Ways To Earn Swagbucks post!

Pampers Gifts to Grow is a program that allows you to collect the codes they place on diaper/wipe products (and release online) and redeem the points for things like Shutterfly credits and magazines – it’s not necessarily just for parents, you could do the program just by adding the codes they release online!

Once you’ve joined, or if you’re already a member, Deal Seeking Mom has a list of smaller-value codes that you can add to your account (some may have expired, so keep that in mind).

I sometimes share Pampers codes via the Springs Bargains Facebook page, and a few of us give away our one-time use codes on the Wall here on the site (in the sidebar). I’ve got a couple I need to give away, so there will be a few new ones posted there soon. ;)

Here’s another way to earn Swagbucks: make sure you enter your birthday on your account and they‘ll send you 50 free points on your special day!

Go here to join Swagbucks so you get your birthday bonus and start earning prizes!  And, make sure you read the Top 6 Ways To Earn Swagbucks.

Swagbucks is rolling out the new features this week!  Today they are debuting “Swagbucks TV”, a new way to earn points; and there’s a bonus code for new signups:

Find fun, fresh, and original video entertainment 24 hours a day, 7 days a week on topics ranging from Health&Beauty, to Technology, Sports, Nature, and more!  In addition to all the great content, you’ll be eligible to earn Swag Bucks periodically as you watch videos, with multiple earning opportunities and values every single day!

And, for the first two weeks, they’ll be extending our referral matching program to Swagbucks TV.  That means that you’ll earn matching Swag Bucks every time your referrals earn on Swagbucks TV!  (Note: you will receive a bonus at the end of the two week period which contains the full total of all your matching TV bucks.) There will even be special Swag Codes every day which reward people for answering trivia questions about the videos featured on the site.

If you’re new to Swagbucks, you can sign up here and get 30 points to start, plus use code SBTVisOnTheAir to get an additional 30 points just for signing up! The code is only valid through this Friday, October 22.

So, I have to ask: what do you think the Swagbucks guy above is named?  He’s officially known as “The Swag Guy”, but I think he looks like a Chuck.  You?

Today is… well, at least in the Swagbucks world, it is Get A Referral Day.  I have no idea what they’ve got planned, but they’ve announced on their blog that they’ll be debuting a new tool to help you get referrals!

Referrals are one of the best ways to earn Swagbucks: when people sign up using your personal link, you’ll earn as they earn, up to 1000 points.  If you’ve got a blog, you can get special links to use there, and you can even link your Facebook account to Swagbucks so that your Facebook stream is updated when you earn points so friends see what you’re doing and sign up, too!

Make sure you head on over to their blog to find out what they’ll be debuting.  Not sure what time they’ll announce it.  I’m really curious what it is!

If you’re not using it yet, it’s easy – just sign up use the Swagbucks search engine (powered by Google and Ask.com) as your search engine – they’ll randomly award you points, which you can redeem for a variety of prizes – the most attractive of which is an Amazon.com gift card for 450 points.

Searches and referrals aren’t the only ways to earn points: make sure you check out the Top 6 Ways To Earn Swagbucks!

Swagbucks is a fun, easy way to earn gift cards, and I know many people earn points all year in hopes of paying for many or most of their Christmas gifts with Amazon gift cards they’ve earned through Swagbucks!

But, if you’re planning on redeeming your points for gift cards,  do not wait until December to start redeeming them!  There’s a limit of the number of like prizes you can redeem, and the prizes aren’t available for use instantly.  My friend Toni wrote a great post on tips for redeeming Swagbucks that you will want to read!

If you haven’t a clue what on earth Swagbucks is, here it is in a nutshell: once you sign up, you earn points just by using the Swagbucks search engine, redeeming special codes, and a few other ways.  Then, you can redeem those points for a variety of gift cards, including Amazon, Target, and Starbucks!

It’s not a get-rich-quick scheme by any means, but if you’re trying to find creative ways to buy Christmas gifts without spending a lot of money, it’s perfect for that!

For more tips on maximizing your Swagbucks earnings, read these posts:

• How to earn more Swagbucks: use the toolbar!
• How to earn more Swagbucks: referrals, referrals, referrals
• Top 6 Ways To Earn Swagbucks

How many of you are using Swagbucks to pay for Christmas gifts?

Anyone can apply here to see if you’re of the demographic that they’re looking for, but they are specifically looking for 18-24 year old women.  If you are or know of a college student that just wants to earn money to buy a coffee every now and then, this would be perfect!

When I did surveys with Pinecone, I chose to have my payment sent directly into my Paypal account so that it wasn’t quickly accessible and I would actually save it rather than blow it.  But, blowing it is fun, too. :)

It makes me feel old that I am no longer in that age bracket, agh.  I mean, I know 26 isn’t really old but it’s part of the age bracket that goes up to thirty-five! ;)

Pinecone Research is currently accepting applications for women ages 18-24! This survey company pays $3 per survey and only opens their application process on a limited basis, so if you’re interested and meet the qualifications, I would apply ASAP!

If you’re not a female between the ages of 18 and 24, I would probably wait to apply. Pinecone Research can be hard to get into, but it’s a great company once you’re accepted!

Everyone’s favorite (but hard to get into) survey company is currently accepting applications!  Pinecone Research is looking for women ages 18-24 or 35+ to join their survey panel.  Go here to apply and earn a bit of extra cash taking surveys.

Pinecone pays $3 for each completed survey, with the exception of “household” surveys which are used to qualify you for other surveys. I haven’t done surveys for them for awhile – just don’t have time now! – but when I did they paid promptly. I chose to have my payments sent to Paypal, where it was less likely I’d spend them. :)

The only other survey company I’ve had a good experience with is MySurvey, though they recently upped the number of points it takes to redeem a $10 check from 1000 points to 1100. I do like that with MySurvey you earn points with every survey, even if it’s just 5 or 10.

September 24-25: Blessed Exchange Consignment Sale

September 30-October 2: Just Between Friends

October 21-23: Ute Pass Munchkin Market

Please feel free to add others in the comments.  If you organize a sale and would like it added to the local calendar, please contact me.

Just Between Friends is “The Nation’s Leading Children & Maternity Consignment Sales Event Franchise.” Wow, that’s a mouth full!

Basically, Just Between Friends is a national consignment sale company that is franchised out (similar to restaurant chains having locally owned and operated restaurants) and it’s wonderful! The Colorado Springs Just Between Friends puts on twice yearly mega consignment sales at the Phil Long Expo Center.

If you are in the market for baby gear, baby and kids clothing of all sizes, or maternity items, this is the place to be.

I have been to this consignment sale several times as a customer, but last time, I participated as a consignor. Following is a bit about my experience and some extra suggestions.

Preparing items for sale

~ The Just Between Friends website has a plethora of information about the proper procedures for tagging your items, acceptable items and pricing suggestions. I recommend you start there by reading everything. Reading through all of their guidelines can potentially save you some hassle, in the end.

~ Start preparing your items well in advance of the next consignment sale – seriously, several months wouldn’t be too far fetched. I didn’t start until about a month before and quickly got overwhelmed.

~ Diligently inspect each item in full sunlight (or under commercial flourescent lights). Wash or iron, if necessary.

Each item you submit will be inspected and will be deemed not sell-able if there are any spots, stains, snags or flaws.

~ Name brand items (Gymboree, The Children’s Place, Land’s End, Graco, Fisher Price, etc.) sell wonderfully. Other brands sell well, also, but many moms (and dads) are willing to pay more for name brand items in great condition. There is a minimum sale price of $3 for clothing items, if you don’t think an item will bring that much, pair it with something else. I paired many things together (ie. 3 pairs of infant cotton shorts for $3) if they wouldn’t bring in the minimum required.

~ Email the owners to ask questions if you can’t find answers on the website. They welcome

Drop off day

~ Plan to be at the Phil Long Expo Center for drop off for at least 1½ hours. Also, if you are there about 10-15 minutes before they open drop-off, you’ll spend less time, because you’ll be closer to the front of the line.

~ They have a very limited number of hanging racks and flatbeds available for use in getting your items from your vehicle to the inspection stations. If you have something similar at home (collapsible hanging rack, folding push cart, etc.), I would recommend bringing it with you, if possible, otherwise, you might find yourself unable to transfer your items from your vehicle to wait in the inspection line.

Any loose items that are small or not hanging can be packed into Rubbermaid tubs or other bins to lessen the amount of time and effort it takes you to transfer your items from one place to another.

~ If you do not have one of these available, the best thing to do (before ever even getting in the check-in line) would be to go over to the waiting area for the carts/racks and wait for one. Once you’ve obtained your cart/rack, unload everything onto it, follow their check-in guidelines and then come back and retrieve your items and head straight to the inspection line. This will move you through the process the quickest.

~ Once you’ve checked-in and had your items inspected, you are responsible for putting them in their proper place on the sales floor. Don’t worry, everything is labeled to make the process go more smoothly.

Sales status

~ I started with 88 items tagged for sale. 14 items were rejected due to stains or other problems, etc. 55 items sold (18 of those were on the half price day) and I donated the remaining 19 items (the Airman’s Attic and the Air Force Academy is the charity JBF donates to).

62% of the items I tagged were sold. This isn’t bad for a first time, but if I had been more diligent about checking for stains (in bright sunlight) and then washing or spot cleaning the items, this number could have been much higher.

Overall experience

In general, my first time consigning with Just Between Friends was very positive and I would definitely recommend others participate. However, if you plan on consigning in next month’s sale, you better get started sorting and tagging!

Laura Venning is an Air Force wife and homeschooling mom to three little treasures.  Her blog, Homemaking Joyfully, focuses on finding the joy in homemaking in a natural, simple, Christ centered way.  Check out her recent blog series, Preparing for Deployment!

Through September 7, you can list items on eBay for free!  There’s no listing fee for up to 100 listings, regardless of start price.  Of course, you still have to pay the final value fees if your item sells, but if it doesn’t sell, you’re not out anything.

Get more details here.  It’s been a looooong time since I’ve listed anything on eBay, but I’ve had some good success selling books through eBay in the past.  It’s so hard to know what will sell and what won’t, though!

Thanks, The Thrifty Mama!

Swagbucks is offering several promotions this week for back-to-school!  First off, new signups get a bonus when they sign up using code BackToSchool, giving you a total of 70 points to start!  That’s 15% of the way to a $5 Amazon gift card, just for signing up.

For those of us who are current Swagbucks users, they’re running some fun promos this week:

Wow!  Swagbucks just announced that they’re giving you 50 free points for your birthday – just go to their home page or your account settings and enter your birthdate.  You’ll get 50 credited to your account on your birthday every year!

If you’re not using Swagbucks yet, don’t forget that you can use code SUMMEROFSWAG when you sign up through June 11th to get started with 50 free points.

Want to earn more Swagbucks?  Make sure you check out these posts:

• How To Earn More Swagbucks: Referrals, Referrals, Referrals
• How To Earn More Swagbucks: Use The Toolbar

Still waiting to jump on the Swagbucks bandwagon?  They’re offering 20 free bonus points for signing up using code SUMMEROFSWAG!  That means you’ll get a total of 50 points upon signup, which is 11% of what you’ll need to earn a $5 Amazon.com gift card!

Uh, so how are you gonna earn the rest of those points?  By using Swagbucks as your search engine, by referring friends, by installing the toolbar… Wait.  We’ve already gone over all this!  Check out the Top 6 Ways To Earn Swagbucks and get started winning free stuff.

By the way, Swagbucks has also promised to release five Swagcodes today, so be on the lookout!  Use their toolbar to have quick access to their Twitter, Facebook, blog, and of course the message inbox.  I’ll also be updating you as I find codes – look on Facebook or on the Wall here on the sidebar.

And, they’ve also said that each day this week they’ll be highlighting a different high value Swag Buck bill, starting today with the 25. Every 7th searching win on Swagbucks will be awarded that big bill, meaning that more people will have big wins this week!

If you’re new to Swagbucks, don’t forget to use code SUMMEROFSWAG when you sign up so you get those bonus points!

Or, you could just put your friends to work for you!  If you’ve got a blog, or are active on Facebook or Twitter, you can promote Swagbucks to your friends and watch your points skyrocket!  For every 10 points your Swagbucks referrals earn through their searches, you get a matching 10 points, up to 1000 points per friend!

All they have to do is sign up through your personal link and you’ll receive credit every time they win through a Swagbucks search, too!  It is by far the fastest way to earn points.

Of course, you don’t want to spam your friends and readers with information about Swagbucks – which is why I promise this is the last time I’ll talk about it this week. ;)  But, chances are, if you mention that you’re earning free Amazon gift cards just by using a new search engine, your friends will be curious and get on board, too.

This is a great time to promote Swagbucks to your friends because anyone who signs up and uses code SWAGNATION5 through Friday at 1 PM Mountain Time gets 50 points to start!  Make sure you give them your personal referral link so you get credit when they sign up.  You can find your referral link under the Promote section of the Swagbucks site.

If you haven’t signed up for Swagbucks yet, go do it now, and then get started promoting it to your friends and family!  Don’t forget to read these posts about the Top 6 Ways To Earn Swagbucks and How To Earn More By Using The Swagbucks Toolbar.

Have I  mentioned that Swagbucks is a great way to earn a little extra cash – well, not cash, but gift cards – just by using the Swagbucks search engine?  As you search, you’re randomly awarded points, or Swag Bucks, which then accumulate in your account until you have enough to redeem for prizes or gift cards to some of your favorite merchants, like Starbucks or Amazon.com.

Swagbucks totally changed for me when they debuted the toolbar last fall.  I use the internet for everything and there are times when I want to do a “normal” Google search, instead of going through the Swagbucks search engine.  I got tired of switching the quick search field in Firefox from the Swagbucks search to Google search, and vice versa.

That all changed when Swagbucks debuted the toolbar!  Now, I can leave my Firefox quick search set to Google for the times I want to go straight to Google, and use the search field in the Swagbucks toolbar to search through Swagbucks, which earns me points.  I use Swagbucks search whenever possible – if I’m going to, say, this awesome site called Springs Bargains, I’ll search Springs Bargains through the Swagbucks bar.  If I’m lucky, I’ll earn a few points for the search!

If I’m looking for something really complicated, like “why won’t Apple Mail retrieve all my Gmail messages”, then I use Google search.

The toolbar isn’t just good for searching, though – there’s an Inbox, which periodically lights up like above alerting me to a new message.  Most of the time, this includes a Swagcode that’s good for a few points when you input it on the home page of Swagbucks!

Another awesome thing that was recently debuted with the Swagbucks toolbar is that you earn points just for being logged in! Seems like a couple of times I day I receive an alert that I’ve been credited 2-3 points just for being logged in to Swagbucks via the toolbar.  It’s a no-brainer!

The Swagbucks toolbar also contains quick links to their Facebook and Twitter profiles, as well as their blog.  They frequently share Swagcodes through those sites, as well, so it’s nice to be able to quickly access them through the toolbar.

So, why should you start using Swagbucks and especially download the toolbar?  It makes racking up points so much easier: easier, faster searching; special code alerts; points just for being logged in to the toolbar; and easy access to other parts of the Swagbucks world like Facebook and Twitter.

Don’t forget, if you haven’t started Swagbuckin’ yet, you can use code SWAGNATION5 when you sign up through Friday morning to get yourself fifty points to get started.

Coming up on Thursday: how to get your friends to help you rack up points in your Swagbucks account!  If you’re looking for other legitimate ways to earn a little extra cash (no get-rich-quick schemes!), check out the posts I’ve done in the past on MyPoints, My Survey, and Pinecone Research.

This week Swagbucks will be doubling the amount of winning opportunities through search!  Just conduct your normal, everyday internet searches through Swagbucks and the odds of winning those precious points will be even higher!

If you haven’t heard of Swagbucks yet, it’s a “search and win” website where you can collect points, or Swagbucks, by doing your internet searches through their search engine, and redeem the points for popular prizes – the most popular of which is the $5 Amazon.com gift card, which takes just 450 Swagbucks to redeem!  There are a variety of ways to collect points, and you can read about them here in my Top 5 6 Ways To Earn Swagbucks!

If you’re thinking of joining Swagbucks, there’s a special bonus offer through Friday at 1 PM – sign up for Swagbucks with code SWAGNATION5 and you’ll get 50 points just for signing up!

They’ve recently added even more ways to collect points, and I think I’m liking the new system – how about you?  In the next couple of days I’ll highlight two of the biggest things you can do to earn Swagbucks – use the toolbar and referrals.  Stay tuned!

Just thought I’d let you know that there’s a Swagcode worth 6 points in your toolbar if you’ve got it installed!  The code is good until 5:30 PM Mountain Time.

What is Swagbucks and why should you care?  You can collect points, or Swagbucks and redeem them for all sorts of prizes, the most popular being Amazon.com gift cards.  Lots of different ways to win – read my post on the Top 5 (now 6!) Ways to Earn Swagbucks for more info!

New users always get 30 free points for signing up!

But, good news – I just checked and was able to load my profile picture!  Now I’m just waitin’ for the 13 free points that will be awarded to my account in the first few days of April.

To upload your photo, login or signup for Swagbucks and you’ll see your point totals, referral totals, and prizes redeemd in a box on the right.  There’s a “mystery man” just to the left of your points totals – click on it, and it will take you to your account page where you can add a bright, shining photo of yourself!

Remember, your 13 Swagbucks won’t be credited until the first few days of April.  Want more ways to earn Swagbucks?  Check out my Top 5 Ways To Earn!

PS – Want your picture to show up here on Springs Bargains when you leave a comment – and most other blogs, for that matter?  Jen has a great explanation of how to upload your avatar.

Have you signed up with Swagbucks and started racking up those points yet? Just a reminder that you can use code SPRINGBARGAINS at signup to start your account off with sixty points! This code is good through 5 AM on Thursday, so hurry and use it before it expires!

60 points is about 13% of what you need to earn a $5 Amazon gift card – once you signed up with your sixty points, do searches, read their blog, Facebook, and Twitter, and refer friends to earn even more points so you can redeem them for prizes.

Want to earn lots of Swagbucks? Make sure you read my Top 5 Ways to Earn.

For those of you who are already signed up with Swagbucks, what do you think of the new system? Love it or hate it?

So, if you tried signing up earlier and it wouldn’t work, sign up using code SPRINGBARGAINS and you‘ll be credited with 60 free points to start!

There are also codes available in the Swagbucks toolbar, on Twitter, and on their blog – lots of ways for you to start earning points right now!

Sign up with Swagbucks to start earning and redeeming for prizes… They’re giving away tons of points today for their birthday!

Swagbucks, a hugely popular search and win site, is turning two years old this week!  They’re doing tons of giveaways via the blog, Twitter, and Facebook – check those areas frequently for your chance to win big.  (The other day I got two free Swagbucks just from one of their Tweets!)

If you’re new to Swagbucks and don’t know what the fuss is about, here’s the scoop: Swagbucks is a search engine that rewards you for using it!  It uses results from Google and Ask.com, and when you randomly perform searches, you’ll earn points that can be redeemed for a variety of prizes!  Many people’s favorite is the $5 Amazon.com gift card, which is available for 45 points.

There are quite a few other ways to earn Swagbucks – check out my Top 5 Ways to Earn Swagbucks for details on how to rack up those points and win prizes!

Well, wait a sec – the $5 Amazon gift card is now 450 points… Ack, what?!  But the good news is that your points have also been multiplied by ten as well!  If you had 5 bucks in your account yesterday, today there will be 50.  They say everything’s been adjusted proportionately, the prizes don’t “cost” more because your bucks have been multipled by the same amount, too.  They said they’ll be able to “award bucks to users in ways that were not before imaginable”, so stay tuned – I’m excited to see what they have up their sleeve!

If you’re ready to start seaching and winning, you can get sixty Swagbucks just for signing up!  Sign up on Swagbucks.com and enter code SPRINGBARGAINS and your account will automatically be credited with sixty, before you perform searches or anything else!  That’s automatically 13% of the Swag Bucks you need for a $5 Amazon.com gift card.  (Click here for a visual of where you enter the code upon signup.)

Happy birthday, Swag Bucks!  Here’s hoping Springs Bargains readers win some awesome amounts of points in celebration of your birthday!  I’d love to hear if you do.