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markvillacampa · 4 years

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Week 37, 2020

Hundreds assemble as John Cage piece changes chord for the first time in 7 years

UPI - September 5, 2020 - 1 min

"The experimental (music composition) piece, which consists of eight pages of music meant to be played very slowly, is intended to last for an entirety of 639 years -- meaning it will end in 2640 if all goes according to plan."

"The organ had been playing the same chord for six years and 11 months before Saturday's chord change."

Snowflake IPO gets vote of confidence as Berkshire, Salesforce agree to buy shares

CNBC - September 8, 2020 - 2 min

You know SaaS stocks are underpriced when Warren Buffer starts hoarding them.

Reed Hastings on New Book, Netflix’s Future — and Why He Fired His Last CFO

Variety - September 7, 2020 - 14 min

Candid and rare interview with Netflix's CEO. A couple takeaways:

"Advertising looks easy until you get in it. Then you realize you have to rip that revenue away from other places because the total ad market isn’t growing, and in fact right now it’s shrinking".

"The key is embracing managing on the edge of chaos. And as long as you are tolerant of managing on the edge of chaos, of course there’s going to be some mistakes — but there’s also going to be a lot of innovation".

Airbnb is experiencing a resurgence while hotels are still suffering

Axios - September 3, 2020 - 1 min

Airbnb spending is 75% higher than this time last year. The company laid off a quarter of its workforce in May.

Disrupting Bloomberg

Net Interest - August 21, 2020 - 13 min

Can the $24000/year Bloomberg terminal, the golden standard for professionals to access real-time financial market data, be disrupted? Marc Rubinstein argues probably not anytime soon.

Why the Taboola-Outbrain deal fell apart and what it means for publishers - Digiday

Digiday - September 9, 2020 - 7 min

You know those "recommended articles" with clickbait headlines that plague the web? They are paid advertisement, and most are served by just two companies, Taboola and Outbrain.

The merger, announced back in October, has fallen apart, as advertisement spend has declined amid the pandemic, and regulator's concerns about competitiveness in the content recommendation space.

Silicon Valley’s new stock exchange opens for business

Protocol - September 9, 2020 - 5 min

Eric Ries, author of The Lean Startup, has launched a new stock exchange aimed at companies with a long term vision. They have yet to convince a company to list, and it's unclear how they will stand out from other exchanges.

Bay Area sky turns bright orange, some areas see 'snowing' ash

San Francisco Chronicle - September 9, 2020 - 2 min

The wildfires ravaging California left apocalyptic scenes in San Francisco, where the atmosphere turned intense orange on Wednesday.

Christopher Michel has published some stunning photos and people are making jokes about Blade Runner 2049.

Massive deal in Madrid: EQT buys online real estate classifieds platform idealista for €1.3 billion - Tech.eu

Tech.eu - September 10, 2020 - 1 min

This is the biggest sale by a Spanish tech company ever.

A private equity fund, Apax Partners, had acquired 80% of Idealista in 2015 for €226M. Founders still controlled 6% of the company.

Facebook reinvents Facebook with the launch of Campus for college students

The Verge - September 10, 2020 - 2 min

Facebook is launching "Facebook 2005 Edition" 🤪

EBay Executive Linked to Alleged Cyberstalk Named Kids Club CEO

Bloomberg - September 10, 2020 - 2 min

A former eBay executive who left the company after being linked to an alleged cyberstalking scheme has a new job: CEO of the Silicon Valley Boys and Girls Club.

The 'brushing' scam that's behind mystery parcels

BBC News - September 7, 2020 - 2 min

The seeds many Americans have been receiving in the mail from China in the past months are probably part of a scam campaign to fake reviews in e-commerce sites. Despite alerts from authorities, many have planted them.

Epic says ‘Sign In with Apple’ will keep working for Fortnite after all

The Verge - September 10, 2020 - 2 min

In true Apple fashion, they backed down in the decision after Epic had already communicated users they will need to migrate to email and password login.

Elizabeth Holmes May Pursue ‘Mental Disease’ in Her Defense

Bloomberg - September 10, 2020 - 1 min

First they think you're crazy, then... you say you're crazy?

Nikola Motor labeled "an intricate fraud" by Hindenburg Research

TESLARATI - September 10, 2020 - 3 min

The analyst firm has published a report accusing the electric automaker of fraud.

Nikola Shares fell 9% because of the news and its $20 billion public valuation fell to $14.24 billion in a matter of hours.

Apple’s new App Store guidelines carve out loopholes for xCloud, Stadia, and other apps that Apple had blocked

The Verge - September 11, 2020 - 4 min

Three main updates:

Game streaming services are allowed on the store as long as each game is submitted as a separate app to be reviewed by Apple. Then, a single "game catalog" app that links to the individual apps can be submitted.

This is the same response Apple gave to Microsoft's xCloud service a few weeks ago, now baked into the official guidelines. Sounds like a recipe for bad user experience.

Regarding digital fitness or tutoring classes: “one-to-one experiences” do not have to be billed through the App Store, but “one-to-few or one-to-many services” do require the usual in-app purchase.

The margin in one-to-one experiences is typically lower, so it makes sense to not take a cut from those, otherwise they'd become impossible to offer via app.

“free apps acting as a stand-alone companion to a paid web based tool”, like VOIP, cloud storage, email services, and web hosting applications, are now exempt from having to use Apple’s in-app purchase for subscriptions, but they cannot offer purchases inside the app itself or include a call to action to purchase elsewhere.

This is a broadening of the "reader app" rule that was originally created for the Kindle app and later taken up by Netflix.

How TikTok knows you'll love the next video it shows

Axios - September 10, 2020 - 4 min

TikTok has revealed some more details of its algorithm to reporters in a virtual tour of its new "transparency center" in Los Angeles. No technical details have been shared, only that it's a typical filter-bubble producing algorithm. This is all an obvious PR move to gain USA regulators trust.

The Woman Taking Over TikTok at the Toughest Time

The New York Times - September 11, 2020 - 8 min

Profile of TikTok's interim CEO. The previous CEO resigned last month after only four months at the company. I personally don't envy her position and don't blame him for leaving...

Exclusive: China would rather see TikTok U.S. close than a forced sale

Reuters - September 11, 2020 - 3 min

We're approaching the mid-September deadline and negotiations are turning nuclear.

Apple Design Teams Develop Special Face Masks for Employees

Bloomberg - September 9, 2020 - 2 min

It comes packaged like you'd expect from any other Apple product.

Former NSA chief Keith Alexander has joined Amazon’s board of directors

The Verge - September 9, 2020 - 2 min

Last week Amazon said the job posting to hire an Intelligence Analyst to track "Labor Organizing Threats" was a mistake.

Today, they add the former head of the NSA, involved in the widespread surveillance systems revealed by the Snowden leaks, to the board of directors.

Amazon's Alexa for Landlords Is a Privacy Nightmare Waiting to Happen

Gizmodo - September 3, 2020 - 6 min

"My landlord would be able to hear or, in if the device is an Echo Show, see into my home — my home that I am paying them to rent, which should afford me privacy from remote viewing."

Weird Seattle retailer Archie McPhee hit with even weirder PayPal security glitch

GeekWire - September 11, 2020 - 4 min

PayPal is blocking all transactions that include the word "tardigrade" because "Tardigrade Ltd" is a sanctioned company linked to an arms dealer from east Europe.

It just so happens this company sells tardigrade-related merchandise (apart from being the original creators of the famous horse mask and other ridiculous items).

Fraud Prevention Startup NS8 Lays Off Hundreds, CEO Departs Amid SEC Fraud Investigation

Forbes - September 11, 2020 - 3 min

Just months after raising over $100 million, fraud prevention startup NS8 laid off hundreds of employees after informing them it was under investigation for fraud.

Inside Pinterest, more tales of workplace discrimination

The Verge - September 11, 2020 - 9 min

More allegations of discriminations and pay disparity two months after Françoise Brougher, former Pinterest COO, sued the company for alleged sexual discrimination.

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andylocksmithtipsntricks · 5 years

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LifeLock Review

3/5

Account takeover alerts

24/7 identity theft help

High membership fees

Plans start at $9.99/mo.

Visit LifeLock

Compare Plans

At a basic level, LifeLock is a monitoring service. LifeLock surveys and inspects locations, platforms, and services where your identity-related information (like Social Security number, credit card information, or driver’s license number) is stored. LifeLock will alert you to any suspicious behavior or indications that your information has been stolen. Signing up for a LifeLock package does not guarantee that your identity won’t be stolen—the company is simply a watchdog for red flags.

LifeLock Pros and Cons

Pros

60-day money-back guarantee

Identity restoration specialists

24/7 identity theft support

Personal loss reimbursement

Cons

Increasing membership fees

Vague notifications

Delayed alerts

Past data breaches

LifeLock Plans and Pricing

Monthly Cost (First Year) Monthly Cost (Second Year) Alerts Stolen Fund Reimbursement Active Monitoring

Standard Advantage Ultimate Plus $9.99 $19.99 $29.99 $11.99 $22.99 $34.99 Credit Social Security number Identity fraud Data breach Bank Credit Social Security number Identity fraud Data breach Bank Credit Social Security number Identity fraud Data breach $25,000 $100,000 $1 million 1 credit bureau Dark web 1 credit bureau Dark web Crime reports 3 credit bureaus Dark web Crime reports Sex offender registry View Plan View Plan View Plan

{ "@context": "http://schema.org", "@type": "Table", "about": "" }

Data effective 6/14/2019. Offers and availability subject to change.

LifeLock’s upper-tier plans are more comprehensive than those offered by similar services, but you pay a lot more for features like million-dollar reimbursements and file-sharing network protection that most people don’t need to worry about. We’re also not fans of the introductory price that then goes up a year after you subscribe, no matter what plan you choose.

The plans work like a subscription service with annual renewals, but you can cancel at any time. If you pay annually, you can get a prorated refund of any months you’ve already paid for.

Identity Alerts

Despite its name, LifeLock’s identity theft protection works less like a lock and more like a security system. LifeLock watches for suspicious activity on your credit report and will alert you if something looks fishy so you can take steps to fix it. It won’t prevent people from getting access to your information, but it will give you the opportunity to stop the fraudulent activity before they get away with much.

On the downside, the LifeLock fraud alerts are often vague and confusing. Sometimes it can be hard to tell whether the “suspicious activity” that triggered the alert was you doing your daily business or identity thieves using your account. Also, because LifeLock checks multiple credit bureaus for its top-tier plans, you may get multiple fraud alerts about the same activity.

One of LifeLock’s biggest strengths is the Bank Account Takeover Alert. We talked to Susan Quackenbush, a credit fraud investigator for Capitol One, who told us that thieves often change names and addresses on existing bank and credit accounts to take them over—it’s one of the most common ways of stealing account information. Quackenbush says even many of the best identity theft protection companies don’t monitor that kind of fraud activity. LifeLock does, but the alert is available only with the most expensive Ultimate Plus plan.

LifeLock App

The LifeLock app comes free with every plan, and it gets high ratings from both Android and iOS users. The app lets you see the different ways LifeLock monitors your identity, and it lets you check your credit score. We think the best feature is the in-app communication that lets you talk directly to identity theft experts 24/7 by either messaging or calling. If you lose your wallet or your driver’s license or get an alert that your private information has been stolen, having someone to walk you through important next steps can take a huge weight off your shoulders.

Norton Antivirus

LifeLock has teamed up with Norton Antivirus to give you virus protection on up to five devices, including laptops, desktops, phones, and tablets. Protection is optional, so if you already have an antivirus that works for you, you can opt out. But Norton Security (aka, Symantec) has some of the best anti-malware products around, and its most recent tests from AV-Comparatives showed that it scored well protecting against spyware, malware, and other viruses that could infect your device and leak your personal information. The only thing we don’t like about the included Norton Antivirus software is that it doesn’t work on iOS devices.

Customer Service

Most of the glowing reviews from customers have to do with LifeLock’s experts helping them recover from identity theft. Less-than-stellar reviews are usually about billing, with customers continuing to get charged for cancelled memberships. Account access is another sore point—several members report being unable to access their accounts and receiving very little assistance from LifeLock customer service.

Note: In our research we discovered that in 2015 LifeLock was ordered to pay a settlement for false advertising and failure to protect customers’ sensitive information, among other offenses. We also discovered that the company suffered an email leak in 2018, putting its customers’ privacy at risk. Keep in mind that the fact that you have to give over so much personal information to an identification theft protection service can make it your Achilles’ heel if it were to ever get hacked.

How LifeLock Stacks Up

Credit Monitoring Identity Theft Insurance Computer and Internet Protection Additional Protection Starting Monthly Fee

LifeLock IdentityForce IdentityGuard 1-bureau monitoring None None $1 million + $25,000 stolen funds reimbursement $1 million $1 million Dark web monitoring Dark web monitoring Social media monitoring Dark web monitoring Safe browsing tools Social Security number and credit card alerts Sex offender registry monitoring Risk management report $9.99 $17.95 $8.99 Visit LifeLock Visit IdentityForce Visit IdentityGuard

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Based on each company’s most basic plan. Data effective 6/14/2019. Offers and availability subject to change.

LifeLock’s main selling point compared to its competitors is its $25,000 insurance policy that covers out-of-pocket expenses if your identity or wallet is stolen. This reimbursement is more clearly defined than the vague million-dollar “identity theft insurance” promise offered by both LifeLock and its competitors.

FAQs

Can LifeLock help if my identity has already been stolen?

Like an insurance company, LifeLock can’t help with reimbursement of personal expenses after your identity has been stolen, but it can help you with identity protection going forward.

How can I protect my child’s identity?

Protect your child’s Social Security number by keeping their Social Security card and other personal information in a safe place. Don’t give their Social Security number out to anyone unless you know specifically how it will be used. Keep an eye out for any pre-approved credit card offers in their name, and request their credit report from a major credit reporting bureau. If their identity hasn’t been stolen, they won’t have a credit report yet. To further protect your child’s identity, you can request that a credit report be created and then put a freeze on it to prevent any activity until they’re old enough to use it.1

What is two-factor authentication?

Two-factor authentication is a way of protecting a private account—like a bank account—by requiring you to provide two forms of proof of access. One is usually a password, but the other could be a PIN number, an answer to a security question, or even a thumbprint ID. This type of authentication adds another layer of protection to your personal accounts.

Conclusion

If you want complete coverage, LifeLock’s top-tier Ultimate Plus plan is a good choice, but it’s pricey. The lower-tier plans are less expensive, but they have enough holes in their identity protections that they just aren’t worth the monthly fees. LifeLock’s history with the FTC is also troubling, and we don’t like how it can change the rates for its services each year. LifeLock is almost a good option, but with the exception of the top-tier plan, we can’t recommend it as a whole for your identity protection. We recommend shopping around to find a stronger identity protection service.

How We Reviewed LifeLock

We studied how the company monitors credit reports and other indicators of identity theft and compared its methods and pricing with similar services. We looked at the Better Business Bureau to find customer complaints against LifeLock, and we also checked into the company’s history to learn of any data breach issues. Our full methodology explains more about the process we use to review products.

Related Pages on SafeWise

Best Anti-Malware and Antivirus Software

The 5 Best Identity Theft Protection Services of 2019

Tips for Recovering Lost or Stolen Items

How to Respond and Recover from Identity Theft

Sources:

Federal Trade Commission Consumer Information, “Child Identity Theft”

The post LifeLock Review appeared first on SafeWise.

Article source here: LifeLock Review

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jamieclawhorn · 7 years

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Profit from cold winters with Centrica plc & SSE plc

Don’t you just love it when those gas and electricity bills hit the freezing doormat after a long and bitterly cold winter? No? Me neither. It’s the same all around the country. Those post-winter, post-Christmas energy bills are probably the worst to deal with. But not for the energy companies themselves, because that’s when they make their money. It’s their peak season, if you will.

So how can we profit from this phenomenon? We can become shareholders of course. But with six huge companies to choose from, which one(s) should we invest in?

Government crack-down

Well, you’ll be surprised to learn that only two of the UK’s ‘Big Six’ energy suppliers are listed on the London Stock Exchange, the rest have been taken over, with some now under foreign ownership. That leaves just SSE (LSE: SSE), which was formerly Scottish and Southern Energy, and Centrica (LSE:CNA), the owner of British Gas and the UK’s largest domestic supplier of gas and electricity.

The share prices of both these FTSE 100 stalwarts have come under pressure lately as Theresa May’s government promises to crack down on the Big Six, with the potential for industry regulator Ofgem capping the default standard variable tariffs until 2023. Needless to say, this will have a big impact on the profits of our two remaining listed energy giants.

But this threat has been lingering for some time, and the market has already responded by wiping billions of pounds off the value of SSE and Centrica’s shares, leaving them trading at multi-year lows, and further inflating the yields on their generous dividends.

Inflation-beating returns

In recent years SSE has performed the better of the two, suffering to a lesser extent from the effects of customers switching to alternative suppliers. As a major utility play, the energy giant has always been seen as a relatively safe place to park savings and earn inflation-beating income.

The Perth-based group has continued to reward shareholders with handsome payouts, with management working towards achieving dividend cover within a range of around 1.2 to 1.4 times earnings going forward. To me the dividend looks pretty safe.

SSE’s shares have suffered from recent concerns over plans to cap energy prices, leading to a share price slump to near three-year lows, while at the same time swelling the prospective dividend yield to 7%. Despite the recent noises from Ofgem and the government, I still see the utility giant as a safe place to stash your cash and generate steady and reliable income.

Monster yield

Meanwhile, in a trading update last month, rival Centrica warned that full-year earnings for 2017 would be below market expectations, reflecting lower-than-expected operating profit in its business divisions both in the UK and North America.

Management attempted to reassure investors concerned about the sustainability of its dividend, pointing out that the current year shareholder payouts were underpinned by net debt which was within its target £2.5bn-£3bn range, along with £2bn of operating cash flow. Unfortunately, that didn’t stop the shares plunging to 18-year lows.

Yet at current levels, Centrica’s prospective yield equates to a massive 8.3%, according to consensus forecasts, and even if management was forced to trim the dividends in the future, we’d probably still be left with a yield that beats most of its blue-chip peers.

How to make £1,000,000 on the stock market

Investing in companies like Centrica and SSE can certainly help you on your way to making a million from shares, and with a little patience and careful planning you too could become a stock market millionaire.

To show you how, the leading experts at The Motley Fool have released this 10-Step Guide To Making A Million In The Market.

To claim your FREE 10-Step Guide To Making A Million just CLICK HERE now!

More reading

Is Saga plc a falling knife to catch after sinking 20% today?

Centrica plc isn’t the only stock I’m avoiding

Is Centrica plc a falling knife to catch after sinking 15% today?

After today’s 10% share price crash, Aggreko plc is now a bargain dividend-growth stock

Centrica plc isn’t the only value trap I’d avoid right now

Bilaal Mohamed has no position in any shares mentioned. The Motley Fool UK has no position in any of the shares mentioned. Views expressed on the companies mentioned in this article are those of the writer and therefore may differ from the official recommendations we make in our subscription services such as Share Advisor, Hidden Winners and Pro. Here at The Motley Fool we believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors.

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aaylajartblog · 7 years

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Best Art Supply Stores

I run the risk of stating the obvious when I say that the art supplies you use matter. It’s common sense. However, what may be less obvious to some is the fact that where you choose to shop for your art supplies can have a huge impact on the range, quality, and cost of the materials available to you. So today I would like to talk about some of my favorite places to buy art supplies and the things that I consider when I go shopping.

6. Michael’s (link)

Michael’s is more of an “arts and crafts” store and less of a professional art supply store, but I included them on this list because they probably have the highest number of physical locations out of any of the suppliers I talk about here, so there is a convenience factor to consider. They have retail stores in all 50 US states.

My opinion of Michael’s is that they don’t have competitive prices for professional grade art products, but they do have a large range of affordable lower-quality hobbyist or student grade products. I typically shop at Michael’s when I’m doing crafts or when I need an art tool immediately but the quality doesn’t matter because I just need something that will get the job done. On their website, Michael’s is described as “the nation's largest retailer of arts and crafts materials [including] art supplies, bakeware, beads, craft painting, floral, framing, general crafts, home decor, kids/teachers, scrapbooking, wedding, and yarn & needle crafts.”

One thing I do happen to like about Michael’s is that they almost always have sales going on, and every time you shop there you get a pretty good coupon (usually 40-50% off) printed out with your receipt. If you subscribe to the online newsletter, they send coupons and deals at least once per week. You can also sign up for a free rewards membership, and then use the app to get instant coupons and discounts that can be scanned right from your phone.

As a small side note: I have personally experienced that it can be difficult to locate an employee in Michael’s stores, and sometimes they aren’t very knowledgeable about the products. While they can usually tell you where something is, they often don’t have the experience to be able to give you professional advice on what products to choose.

Summary:

Average retail prices (their custom framing is insanely expensive)

Limited range of professional art supplies, but large variety of scrapbooking and craft materials

Not very good shipping rates, and no free shipping options, but a flat $4.95 shipping rate for any size order of ship-to-store

Physical retail stores in all 50 states

Newsletter subscription and phone app with coupons and discounts

180 day return policy for new, unused, unopened products

5. ASW Club Express (link)

I haven’t actually shopped here, but I’ve heard and read things about the site and I didn’t want to leave them out because I know that many people do buy from them.

With ASW (Art Supply Wholesale), you get art supplies at a cost lower than suggested retail price but you get the best deal by purchasing a membership. When you are an ASW club member, you get your art supplies at wholesale price - and they make it quite clear on their website the kind of deal you’re getting because you can see the non-member and member prices side-by-side in your shopping cart. Membership does cost $99/year, though if you spend $5,000+ during the year your next year’s membership will be free. Personally, I don’t think I would spend enough money to make the $99 membership worth it, but this could be a very useful resource for art teachers, especially because the membership price for teachers is reduced.

After perusing their website and searching for some items that I might typically purchase, I was disappointed to find that ASW seems to have a more limited supply than Cheap Joe’s, Amazon, and Dick Blick. You also want to be careful when using the search feature on their website; it seemed to me that when I typed something in, it would bring me to the page of a similar item if they didn’t carry exactly what I was searching for. I can see how people might mistakenly order the wrong item if they didn’t pay close attention to the details when using the search feature.

Summary:

Low prices; very low wholesale prices for members

Moderate range of supplies

Standard shipping rates calculated by size and weight of order, plus $5 handling fee for purchases under $100

No physical locations, only online

There are no “sale” or “clearance” sections of the website, though the front page lists good deals going on. It appears that most of the best deals are for members

30 day return policy, plus “a restocking fee of 5% per item or $5 per order (whichever is greater) will be applied to items returned due to buyer's remorse”

Get better prices with membership ($99/year, $59/year for teachers)

4. Jerry’s Artarama (link)

When I go to this website, I’m often overwhelmed by how much is going on each page. It is quite cluttered and there is often too much vying for your attention. Despite the mess, they have great deals and quite an expansive site.

Honestly, I’m sure Jerry’s is just as good as Dick Blick in terms of pricing, and shipping is comparable, but Jerry’s stores aren’t in my area so I don’t shop with them. I might start checking them out more, but their website isn’t very friendly on the eyes and that deters me.

Summary:

Great low prices

Wide range of professional products

Flat rate shipping ($5.95-$9.95), free shipping for orders >$99 for 48 contiguous US states

17 retail stores throughout US, plus online shopping

Newsletter email subscription with special offers and discounts

30 day return policy on most items, must be in resellable condition

I haven’t dealt with the customer service, but some reviews from around the internet aren’t that great

Frequent art contests with valuable prizes for winners

Artist resources section with instructional DVD’s and other teaching materials

3. Cheap Joe’s Art Stuff (link)

Cheap Joe’s is owned and operated by Joe Miller, a pharmacist-turned-artist from North Carolina. He has three retail stores in North Carolina and an online store as well. Cheap Joe’s is known for having affordable prices, great quality products, and top notch customer service.

I personally find the website to be a bit cluttered and unwieldy, but the huge range of items is great and I can always use the search bar when I know what I’m looking for. They seem to have a large customer base, and their average reviews are very high.

Summary:

Low prices

Great range of professional products

Flat shipping rates based on order total, with a new “value method” shipping system ($8.95 for any purchase, free for orders > $150). Seems like a pretty good deal for contiguous US locations.

Only 3 physical locations, but expansive website

Newsletter email subscription with special offers and discounts

Reportedly great customer service

An insanely awesome 100% satisfaction guaranteed, 365 day return policy (here)

2. Amazon (link)

I don’t think I need to explain who or what Amazon is, but I will say why I use this site. The benefits of shopping from a huge reseller like Amazon are: very low prices, best deals on shipping, and widest variety of products.

Certainly, with Amazon you lose out on a lot of the warm cozy feelings you get when shopping from an art supply specialty store, and that can feel pretty impersonal. There also aren’t physical retail stores, so you’ll be doing all of your shopping online - which means waiting for your products to be shipped and arrive at your door. So if you need something right this minute Amazon probably isn’t for you.

When I use Amazon, some of the features that I especially like are the recommendations for similar or related items that they give you based on your past purchases and what you have currently placed in your cart, their free or low-cost shipping, and the ability to find products that other stores don’t carry.

I personally tend to shop at either Dick Blick or Amazon, depending on whether my priority is how quickly I’ll get the item or how much it will cost me.

Summary:

Usually the lowest prices for the product

Possibly the widest range of products available

Lowest shipping rates that I’ve seen, and often times free shipping is available

No physical locations, but enormous online presence

Added bonuses on shipping and prices with a prime membership ($99/year)

30 day return policy on most unopened items (with a return label creation process online)

Ability to buy and sell used/new items on the marketplace

1. Dick Blick / Blick Art Materials (link)

Blick is my personal favorite place to shop for art supplies, though I’ll try to be impartial in my review.

Blick is the largest art supply retailer in the US, so I first started shopping there because they had the largest range of student and professional grade products that I had seen at the time and their prices were quite reasonable. I have stayed with Blick due to the many benefits that I have discovered over time and seen them roll out over the years.

Usually, Blick has every product that I am looking for - though their online store obviously carries more than what they have in retail locations. The upside is that when I want good art supplies immediately, I can go to one of their retail locations and pick them up on the same day. With their new “preferred card” program, I can also get the online price in the store which saves me money! The downside is that if they don’t have the item in the store, I have to buy online and I am honestly not a fan of their shipping costs. I usually only shop from their online store when I know that I will be making a large purchase, because they do typically offer free shipping coupons for orders over $99.

A bonus that they have for most items (though I haven’t used yet) is bulk discounts; when you are buying 12 or more of an item, you get bulk pricing. However, even their typical prices are below suggested retail price so you’re usually still getting a great deal.

Summary:

Lowest prices besides Amazon

Vast range of professional products

Shipping rates starting at $4.95 and increasing with each additional product, with varying shipping discounts for orders over a certain amount (usually $49, $99, $129, $149)

Retail stores in 24 states and D.C., plus large online store

Newsletter email subscription with special offers

100% satisfaction guaranteed, 365 day return policy (here)

Free Blick “Preferred Card” program, which allows you to get the cheaper online prices when purchasing in-store

Discount prices on bulk purchases

Monthly art contests with free high-value giveaways for winners

Weekly art demonstrations in physical retail stores, often with small giveaways

Ability to easily re-order from previous orders online

Summary

I’ve gone over several different online stores here, so I would just like to review the main points for shopping at these different locations.

Shipping & Prices

If you’re an online shopper and you don’t care about having to wait a few days for your items to get to you, I recommend shopping at Amazon. Not only are you going to get the best deals on shipping, you’re also likely to get the lowest cost items in general.

Immediacy and Quality of Products

If you need your art supplies same day and it cannot wait for shipping, I recommend Blick Art Materials. Blick often has the lowest prices out of the stores that I talked about here, and they have that preferred card program which allows you to get the online price in store.

There is the possibility that you won’t have a Blick store in your area, so my next suggestion is Michael’s if you’re working on crafts or if you don’t need super high quality products.

The Best Discounts and Bulk Purchasing

If you can afford the membership, Art Supply Wholesale (ASW) Club is the best way to go because you get products at wholesale price, which is by far the cheapest way to go. However, this is really the most effective way to shop if you are either going to be buying in bulk, making a lot of purchases on a pretty regular basis throughout the year, or if you are an art educator.

Loyalty and Customer Service

If you are looking for an art supply store to call your home, and be guaranteed that you are going to be given top notch customer service from knowledgeable staff, I recommend Blick or Cheap Joe’s.

Artist Community and Free Stuff

If you are wanting to enter art contests for free and get a chance to win amazing art supplies, or to have access to art demos and feel like part of an artist community, I recommend Blick or Jerry’s Artarama.

Okay, that’s it for this week! I hope you have found this post to be useful in helping you decide what art supply chain is best for you. I would love to hear your comments, feedback, and personal reviews of these stores - or let me know if I’ve left any out.

Thanks for reading!

#reviews #art stores #art supplies #discounts #memberships #blick art materials #asw club #jerrys artarama #cheap joes art stuff #amazon #michaels

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jamieclawhorn · 7 years

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Are Provident Financial plc shares seeing a ‘dead cat bounce’?

A week of woe for non-standard lender Provident Financial (LSE: PFG) has brought out the bargain hunters, bottom fishers and falling knife catchers. That is what happens when a company issues its second profit warning in two months, scraps its dividend, sheds its chief executive and sees its share price drop 66% in a day, which wiped £1.7bn off its stock market value on Tuesday.

Sub-prime investment

The turnaround was almost as swift. Provident Financial’s share price bounced 13.16% on Thursday, then another 20% on Friday morning, although it still trades 70% lower than a year ago. The UK’s largest sub-prime lender is no longer a falling knife and the question now is this: are we seeing a dead cat bounce?

Provident Financial’s collapse has flushed out the contrarians, position-coverers and opportunity seekers, many of whom will have been tempted to part with their money by surprisingly positive commentary about the group’s future. Star fund manager Neil Woodford is publicly standing by his stock pick, claiming the doorstep lender will be around for decades and is now seriously undervalued. Markets retain faith in Woodford’s long-term stock picking abilities, despite his recent travails.

Cat people

My problem is that the well-documented problems in Provident Financial’s home credit division are not just skin deep, but cut right to the bone. The firm has slashed the division’s value to zero amid reports that its credit collectors are looking to join rivals, and take their best clients with them. It has massive technical problems, and is under huge pressure to fix them quickly as rivals circle. Newly appointed managing director of its consumer credit division, Chris Gillespie, has his work cut out.

Valuation metrics also need to be treated with caution. Personally, I’m not putting too much faith in a forecast 21% rise in earnings per share for 2018. There could be more trouble ahead. The full-year dividend looks doomed as Provident Financial shores up its capital base. This is a gamble. You could win big, especially if the firm attracts US or European predators, but last week was the time for nimble traders to take advantage and that moment has now passed. I fear this dead moggy could soon lose its bounce.

More alive than dead

I am more tempted by advertising giant WPP (LSE: WPP) whose stock plunged more than 10% on Wednesday. Markets reacted badly to half-year guidance warning of slightly weaker than expected top-line growth and lower full-year like-for-like sales, due to weaker spending by consumer goods firms. Friday morning’s share price of 1,435p is 34% below its year high of 1,928p.

Yet it looks to me that the sell-off may have been overdone, given that WPP also reported 124.7% jump in profits after tax to £634m, and an interim dividend of 22.7p, pipping the anticipated 22p. I’m with analysts at Macquarie who saw Wednesday as an “extreme reaction“. I am content with forecast earnings per share growth of 9% in 2017 and 6% in 2018, and a forecast yield of 4%. For a long-term buy and hold, today’s forecast valuation of 12.4 times earnings looks a good entry point.

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