HELLO CYBERDOSHERS!

The 2007 Challenge is almost over and I am managing to keep within the boundaries of my £4,000. I have now received most of the items I won on the eBid online auctions and have to say that I am delighted with all my purchases. Still amazed that there were no counter-bids, but delighted all the same. I'd just like to take this opportunity to thank Penny291 who runs PennyPinchers ( http://uk.ebid.net/stores/PENNY-PINCHERS ) and Snowdrops ( http://uk.ebid.net/stores/SNOWDROPS ) online stores. I have never had as much fun collecting bargain pressies before! It was good knowing that her profits go to charity. (I'd also like to congratulate Parcel2Go.com for their amazing £5.99 + vat delivery service, which got here overnight despite it stating economy 2 - 4 days on their website.)

What of my remaining £69.92 for gift shopping, I hear you ask? Well, as suggested by NYK, we all headed off in the virtual direction of a site called eBuyer.com (as recommended by Martin Lewis of moneysavingexpert.com) There, we each bought 2 MP3 - MP4 video players at £14.99 each. Delivery was free, as the order was over £50, so it always pays to shop together. The balance remaining for gift shopping is now £39.94 and, if you remember, I had set aside the £385 for credit card bills. Well, the dreaded credit card bills arrived and amounted to £374.84 so I'm actually £10.16 better off than I thought, but I'll put it aside for now as I prefer to look on this as a windfall.

I am really looking forward to documenting next year's challenge, even although I haven't fully decided HOW I am going to earn my money. It's great to hear that we have so many participants this year and I'll be really keen to find out how many of you will be documenting your progress here on the boards. 6 weeks today until 2008! I hope you are all ready because I know that I'm NOT!

All comments appreciated.

Cyberdosh Savers News Bulletin

The votes are creeping up ever so slowly in the eBid poll, which can be found at http://helpdesk.ebid.net/showthread.php?t=98218

I don't consider this as cheating in the least, it is simple market research: I really do want to know 'what people want' from the eBid website before I sink a full year off Cyberdosh into it. The fact that the one I call 'toadie' has offered to donate an extra £30 to my chosen charity if I can get 80+ votes within this coming week does make a difference, but come on... out of a membership of 363,379 I have only mustered up 49 members who will make the effort to click a button to say WHY they use eBid - to chat, to sell, to buy bargains, to trade or for some other reason. I think this information is crucial if any eBid members are to succeed in the 2008 Cyberdosh Challenge.

What's the old saying? Oh yes! All's fair in love and war... and eBidding!

Return to http://www.cyberdosh.com

Yeah Thats cheating! :)


http://uk.three.ebid.net/perl/normal.cgi?r...ty&mo=register-main < replied-to message removed by QT >

BRAVEHEARTS CHILDRENS' TRUST APPEAL
Readers, I NEED YOUR HELP!

The user known as 'hypnotoad' on the eBid online auctions has thrown down his gauntlet and challenged me. I have accepted his challenge and the deadline is dawn on 23rd November 2007.

Should I succeed in this challenge, an extra £30 will be donated to Bravehearts, who grant wishes for sick and dying children.

All that I need of you for my challenge to succeed is to follow this link and VOTE. If you cannot click the link, copy it and paste it into your browser an then go vote, please.

 http://helpdesk.ebid.net/showthread.php?t=98218

It will cost you nothing, I only need to raise a minimum of 80 votes in order to succeed and raise this cash, which I will personally make up to £50. I already have 34 votes - I need at least another 47. Voting is completely anonymous and it is a simple one click polling system. I ask you as friends, as family, as fellow eBid members and as supporters of all that Cyberdosh stands for - the freedom to earn, and spend, as we like.

Thank you.

If you are not a member of eBid, you can join at http://www.cyberdosh.co.uk and then go to the forums, look for the KT (Kitchen Table) and then click on the link that says Poll, Polls, Polls...

Cyberdosh Challenge 2007 Final Weeks

Oh my! What's the latest Bird Flu scare going to do to the price of turkeys this Christmas? Norfolk, hmm... isn't that Bernard Matthews country? I never buy BM food anyway, too many horror stories seem to relate to that particular brand. Regardless, I'm sure I'll find a nice traditional turkey somewhere for Christmas, or maybe even a big chicken.

Christmas shopping is proving to be an absolute dawdle. I have now purchased 23 items, all from eBid online auctions, and have spent a total of £41.80 including all the postage & packaging. Am I CHEAP or WHAT?! The relatives are going to hate me if they ever see this and they'll hate me even more if any of them have bought the same items but paid the full price! But at this rate my problem isn't going to be how to afford Christmas presents, it's going to be what to do with the change that's left over! 23 items bought and paid for, and delivered, and I still have £69.92 of my original £111.72

I may not have to survive on £25 per week of groceries afterall! I could start buying a few extras for the Christmas dinner!

Tadpoles (LSE:TAD)are still wriggling so I'm holding on tight until the last minute, or I'll set them free as soon as my £150 becomes £200 because there aren't many places let you gain a 33% increase on your cash within one month.

SHONA & THE 2007 CYBERDOSH SAVERS CHALLENGE

Thanks to all for pointing out bargains for me and helping me decide how, best, to spend my Christmas money and eke (or should that be EEK!)out my £25 per week shopping allowance. Well, it's Tuesady and shopping was needed, resulting in the departure of £19.21 HOWEVER, as this amount included 3 large selection boxes on a buy 3 for £4.50 offer, I think that warrants itself as Christmas shopping.
So, I now have £10.29 shopping money to last until the weekend and £85.56 left of my Christmas gift budget.

I SHALL COMPLETE THIS CHALLENGE, I WILL COMPLETE THIS CHALLENGE.

The Tadpoles (LSE:TAD) are still wriggling and I don't know whether to "hold 'em or fold 'em". Decisions, decisions.... oh, the plight of the rich, or what!

http://www.shonaprophett.co.uk

Hi Shona

If you need any toys or jewellery presents enter 1NR in the search box.

This will bring up a load of auctions starting at just £1 with no reserve. I don't know about ToyCrazyUK but I certainly plan on adding more items to this promotion.

If you don't see anything you fancy there, try my shop C ME Jewellery. I always combine postage for multiple wins and have been known to be open to offers.

Cyberdosh Challenge 2007

Well, I have been on to eBid and started doing some serious bargain hunting. So far, I have won 15 auctions and have another 7 bids in awaiting auction ends. Total paid out to date is £21.11 for 11 items, so my budget is now sitting at £90.06

All but one of the items are brand new and the above includes postage & packaging. I am GOBSMACKED! I am winning items without even a second bid going in against me, which leads me to think that either,
A) Nobody has heard of eBid and I have landed myself a goldmine, or
B) People are just too lazy to search for bargains.

In my enormous favour, this revelation has already helped me with my planning for the 2008 Cyberdosh Challenge with regards to making sales on eBid as a source of income. For now, however, I am playing that particular card close to my chest and revealing nothing until I carry out a little experiment to see if I am correct.

Fingers crossed that I win my remaining 7 auctions and then I'm off bargain hunting once more. At this rate, I won't even spend my full Christmas budget, little as it may seem! Do I get to keep the change? :)

PS: Thank you Beauty for the Stars, I'll check out your bargains tomorrow. I found you at http://www.beautyforthestars.co.uk but I already recognised your name from 'Now You Know' :)

Check out my website at http://www.shonaprophett.co.uk

Hi Shona

I have a good lot on my listing that are cheap and I combine shipping.

Every item is brand new and I am away to put on gift sets.

To keep the cost down I can even take off the recorded postage and just put it firdt class.
Hope that helps with your shopping.

The Cyberdosh 2007 Challenge

Following on from my last message stating that I had only £727.72 left to last me until 31st January 2007 AND include Christmas, my balance is now only £696.72
Some drastic action is needed. I decided on the following actions:

Set aside £385 to cover the November credit card bills
Balance = £311.72

The Tadpoles (LSE:TAD) shares have gone up by over 30% since the 16th October, so it looks like they'll have to go fairly soon as I am not in the position to hold them much longer. That should give me another £200 or so, after deduction of trading fees. This amount, I am hoping, will cover the credit card bill in December, which includes telephone bill, Internet access etc, meaning that I can budget the final remainder of my £4,000 on running the house. THIS IS THE THEORY! I am setting myself a VERY strict grocery budget of £25 per week (£200 until 31st December 2007) and HOPING that the remaining £111.72 is sufficient to cover my shopping spree online, probably on eBid!

It's the final countdown! I cannot fail! I must not fail! I will not fail!

I have agreed to participate in the 2008 Cyberdosh Challenge and I would hate to begin that on a losing streak, so I'm pulling out all the stops. Sellers unite and get back to me HERE with your online auction or buy it now bargains that are suitable for Christmas presents. (I've cleared this with NYK Media and no threads will be pulled so long as they are relating to bargains, special offers and discounts and nothing of an 'adult' nature. It has to be new, it has to be useful and it has to be economical to post. I'd like to be able to purchase several items from the same sellers and combine postage to maximise the bargain potential.
I now have a free seller account on eBid, which has been verified.
Help me succeed in the 2007 Challenge!

I have already started purchasing a few items, so you'll need to be quick if you want a share of my magnificent £111.17!!

My website is at http://www.shonaprophett.co.uk

I work on the annual Cyberdosh Challenges at http://www.cyberdosh.com

You will need to be a member of Cyberdosh to take part.

Apologies to all who are members of the CYBERDOSH messageboard - Dear McDade parked his diatribe in the wrong place! I do keep trying to explain that this is the CYBERDOSH savers board and not the marriage savers board but the two are so closely linked that it can be difficult to tell which is which when things get that tough.

Aside from that, YES! Let's get this show on the road (I think that's what you meant) and I'll look forward to reading the submission in the next 20 minutes. PLEASE email it directly to me and not by return of this post, which automatically gets published on the public messageboard and a copy sent to each of our members.

NYK welcomes back McDade, I guess you have all been introduced to him now. Let's just say, "he's a character" LOL

I'll be back soon to announce the winner of the Cyberdosh £100 treasure hunt.
Return to http://www.cyberdosh.com

McDade here,

Just an update on the marriage situation. It's over.
I am moving out shortly and looking to stay in Hamilton as it is near to Uni and also I need to be away from Coatbridge but not too far away that I dont see my son.

I told my wife that I loved her but was not IN LOVE with her anymore and we talked and all that.

The other girl and I have had a few almosts. There seems to be some bizzare attraction between us but we aint silly. Well, she isnt silly lol.

None of the 2 of us wants a relationship of huge proportions. We just are seeing each other if that makes sense.



ANyhow, Indeed, let us get this shit back on the grit!

McDade willing and able to provide the readers with accurate and detailed accounts of innacurate and vague stories.

Susan, lets do this. I will have something submitted in about....20 minutes?

CYBERDOSH CHALLENGE 2007 UPDATE

Dear Cyberdoshers,

The following is a copy of part of my first ever posting here when I accepted the currently running 2007 Cyberdosh Challenge. For newcomers to Cyberdoshing, this should go a long way to preparing you for how easy, or how difficult, the annual Cyberdosh Challenges can really be. 2008 will be my 4th challenge and I am more than a little worried about it this time around! Let's face it, I am a little worried about completing this 2007 Challenge with nothing left to show for my efforts! I have only £727.72 cash left, just over £1000 worth of shares and Christmas looming! So here goes with the 2007 rerun:

2007 CYBERDOSH CHALLENGE

...
For the 2005-2006 year, I worked with a few hundred pounds in what I liked to call my 'comparison' stakes. It involved a six point plan of:
1. Buying a lottery ticket every Wednesday and Saturday for a year
2. Investing £100.00 in Premium Bonds
3. Investing £100 in shares
4. Sticking £100 in a savings account for a year
5. Buying a scratch card every week
6. Betting on the occasional horse race

All of the above first began in 2005 until 2006 (as published in 'Now You Know' magazine, edition 12). Some adjustments were made for the 2006-2007 year to reflect previous results, but the challenge I have been set for 2007-2008 is a REAL corker in comparison...

LIVE FOR A YEAR ON £4000
Yes, that is the 2007 Cyberdosh challenge!!! I hasten to add that the above figure is LIVING EXPENSES only and does NOT include mortgage payments or rent payments, nor does it include Council Tax, as these items are basic to most people's budgets, and it wouldn't be very fair comparing life in a Council Tax band A, low rent flat to life in a top-of-the-range, mortgaged to the hilt, Band H mansion. The cost of EXISTING, however, should be much the same for most people's basic needs. (I say, hopefully!!) So there you have it - the great (or not so great) 2007 Cyberdosh Challenge has been unveiled at last and I, Shona Prophett, was mug enough to accept the invitation to participate before even hearing the details! I heard in the grapevine that Pat & Eddie also accepted the challenge blindly, so I'll be catching up with them, soon, to find out for sure.

... Having relished the 'Scottish Pound' series in NYK, I KNOW how to cook up a few inexpensive dishes and, having read 'The Plonkers' column, I know what's best in cheap plonk, should the need arise! So, other that mortgage (or rent) and council tax, everything else has to be paid for out of this lousy £4,000! And I mean EVERYTHING else - electricity, heating, food etc, etc, etc... My only consolation is that after the success of last year's challenge, I kept the shares and the Premium Bonds...

The entire article, and many others, can be found by checking back through old postings on these messageboards and I will try my best to keep you up to date with how I survive the remainder of 2007 before beginning anew - with the 2008 Challenge.

2008 Cyberdosh Challenge
In all fairness, fore-warned is fore-armed and I have been made privvy to what the new challenge entails. It's been 'nicknamed' the 2008 Cyberdosh Elite S. A. S. Challenge and it is, by far, the biggest yet. Owing to the nature of this next challenge, details are due to be released very soon to enable those participating time to let the idea sink in and to prepare - mentally! I'm still a little shocked by the enormity of it all and have no doubts, whatsoever, that 2008 is going to be the most difficult task I have faced so far. GOOD LUCK TO ALL WHO CHOOSE TO TAKE PART and may you reap the benefits.

That's all from me for now. My silly horse is entered at Kempton on the Wednesday 31st, although she may get ballotted out when they whittle down the runners. Thursday, 1st November, is the date when the basis of the 2008 Cyberdosh Challenge is unveiled! I'll see you all then to find out who, if any, are really up for this.

Shona.

PS: NYK Media introduced me to eBid, so I'll be on there looking for Christmas bargains to help me keep within my ridiculous £4,000 budget. I really do NOT want to have to sell those shares, so I'll plan my week to week cash and come back with a figure soon.

Dear McDade,

So pleased to see you have returned to the land of Cyberdosh and back within the fold of us frugal lifestylers whose main ambition is to earn and save. First, for the benefits of our new readers, I'll carry out the official introductions.

New readers, I'd like to introduce you to 'the mad' McDade, who first began as a columnist for 'Now You Know' whilst doing work experience as a college student in 1999. He was studying something media-related at the time and his tutors assured us that he did have sane moments, so we reckoned he could do the job and fit in with the satirical rants we were given to publishing. Indeed, he made quite a splash, especially on a wet day when dodging autograph hunters at one particular Lanarkshire bus stop!

To McDade,
Welcome to NYK Media's Cyberdosh Savers boards. The new readers are all NYK subscribers, although the newest ones have not yet been subjected to you worldly words or wisdom and/or despair.

Thank you for your kind 'deposit' onto these boards, I am sure that our growing number of readers will greatly appreciate your chosen subject as it is, on the whole, about saving (albeit saving a marriage). The £5 is only a lucky break, however, if you don't spend it on cheese sandwiches of any description before notifying the local constabulary. I guess it may be possible to keep said fiver in your possession for the relevant number of days appropriate to the rules governing unclaimed property, assuming, of course, that no little old lady or gentleman reports said fiver missing.

Whilst you have graced us with your presence, can I remind you to resubmit your details through the 'join' form on www.cyberdosh.com so you can receive your free copy of 'Now You Know' each month? We can't wait to see a return to the once famous (or infamous) columns lovingly known as 'McDade Said...'. That would be something! What d'ye say, McDade? Time to get this show back on the road?

I think, perhaps, we may need to see the return of 'Dear Millie May' in order to resolve your current dilemma, so best just sit tight and think of the long term consequences from all angles before you jump out of the frying pan and into the fire.

Looking forward to reading your future contributions and will, hopefully, be seeing your name back in print soon. Deadline for November issue is Monday 29th October 2007

The above deadline also applies to all you eBid members who submit details of special offers, and for anyone new joining the Cyberdosh sellers chart that can be found at http://www.cyberdosh.co.uk

More news on its way soon as we eagerly await the formal announcement of the 2008 Cyberdosh Challenge. shona Prophett is nearing the end of documenting last year's 'experiment' and those reults will be published in due course.

p.s. Hmmm, cheese and ham or cheese and pickle?

I can't decide.

See the similarity there?

Well, hi there and hello to you all.

McDade here. As I type this inane drivel to you, I am sitting in a computer lab in University. I have a class at 10 am so I am looking for something to do. I thought that I would fill you all in on my current status.

Journalism is great. Well, apart from Teeline shorthand. I suppose though I have to bite the bullet and get on with it though. So far, so good though. In my personal life, things are somewhat difficult. Marriage aint what I thought it was and, granted, I may have rushed in too quickly and now long for the lifestyle of a single man but I can not allow myself to hurt my son or, for what it is worth, my wife. I have never cheated on her, although the tempation has always been there. Thankfully I have never succumb to it...yet! I say yet because there is a girl in my uni class with whom I have clicked and immediately struck up a relationship with. She is a great girl who I have sat on several occassions with now and had some of the best conversations with. Mentally, emotionally and physically she is very attractive and she has admitted that she has feelings for me too. Again, I must stress, nothing has happened between us. Not even as much as a hug. However, we both know it is what we want. So I am in a bit of a pickle ladies and gentlemen.

Do I jump? Do I wait to be pushed? Or do I simply avoid this girl (which is impossible) and hope my feelings subside and stay in a loveless marriage?

Answers on a post card please.

On a lighter note, I found a fiver on the bus this morning, woohoo!