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Have you heard of Greentoe.com?  Well, you soon will.  Why?  Because, it is one of the coolest new e-commerce sites to hit the scene in a long time.  You may ask, “What is so cool about e-commerce?”  After all, it is 2012 and there are billions of e-commerce sites out there.  The reason that it’s awesome is because it is the only site of it’s kind where you (the consumer) pick the price you want to pay for the products you want to buy.  All the other 4.8 billion sites dictate the price of products.  They tell you what is on sale and when.  Well, with greentoe.com, it is actually the opposite.  You pick the product you want to buy and then you name the price you want to pay for the product.

Currently, Greentoe.com’s focus is consumer electronics including cameras, televisions, appliances, and computers.  Just in time for Holiday shopping.  Talk about great timing!  The search feature on greentoe.com is great.  You just type in the product you want.  Then, it returns results with product shots, product reviews, and it even scans the web for the lowest price.  But, that’s not all it does.  It gives you an idea of what you should offer as a “What we think” price.  Where else can you name your price for a product and have free guidance to go along with it?

Between Canon, Nikon, Sony, Olympus and others, there are literally thousands of cameras to choose from.  With Greentoe.com, you can sort by brand, resolution, LCD screen size, price, and whether the lens is included.

If you are putting together a home entertainment system, you can choose from brands like Bose, Coby, Denon, Harmon Kardon, and LG Electronics.  So, pick your favorite brand, pick the price you want to pay, and there you have it, an epic and booming sound system.

School is back in session.  The time is right for getting a deal on laptops from brands such as Acer, Fujitsu, HP, Panasonic, and Samsung.  Greentoe.com incorporates expert and user reviews all right at your fingertips.  Being able to name the price you want to pay is the main function of Greentoe.com.  But, the one-stop shop for reviews surely saves time.  Don’t forget the old saying – “Time is money”.

The holidays are around the corner and who has time to drive around town looking for the best price?  No one.  With traffic and gas prices at almost $5/gallon, you will save money, time, and feel comfortable that you were able to get the best deal possible.  The best part is you can track your offers in the “My Offers” section.  So, you can do your holiday shopping for all your friends and family.

With a huge selection, a very easy to use navigation, slick product shots, reviews, and price information, Greentoe.com is around to stay.  So, whether you are buying a , a Samsung , an LG Dryer, an HP Laptop, or maybe even Beats by Dre headphones, Greentoe.com is the place to go.

“Are you different?” What makes someone or something unique? I suppose at this point you might be wondering, “How exactly is GreenToe.com different from all the other online retailers?”  It’s a natural question to ask – after all, look what they all have in common: they’re all websites, they all list thousands of items for sale, there are reviews, you pick which item you want…and voila!  A few days later it arrives at your house in a nice, recyclable cardboard box.  All you have to do is agree to pay the listed sale price, a little shipping, and you’re golden.

That’s the way the online retail world works these days.  Sadly, it’s a far cry from the good old days where you could walk into a store and negotiate a better price according to the timeless economic principle of supply and demand.  As everyone knows, when supply is high and demand is low, you’re going to get a good deal.  I’m talking anywhere from 20%, 30%…even 50% percent off.  If a storeowner had an item he needed to unload, something is better is than nothing, after all.  Great deals are happening all the time, all around the country.  You just have to do the legwork – and have a little bit of luck to find those deals.

And that is what makes Greentoe.com different from all the others.  You don’t have to be at all lucky – or do any legwork.  Greentoe.com has come up with a way to pair up sellers with products that need to go with buyers who are looking to find a great deal.

Whereas the other online retailers charge a set price, at Greentoe.com, YOU name the price you want to pay for the product you want to buy.  Then Greentoe’s system automatically notifies our vast network of brick & mortar retailers to see if anyone who has your item is willing to part with it for the price you listed.  Sure, those retailers want to make as much profit as they can but, at the same time, sometimes it’s more important for them to clear up a little space on the shelf.  So you never really know how low an offer you can make until you try.

Greentoe.com has taken the best of both worlds.  It pairs the convenience of online shopping with the price flexibility of in-person negotiation.  The best part is, in Greentoe’s system, everyone wins.  You get the best deal you can and the online retailer gets to unload merchandise that he’s at risk of taking a loss on.  Plus you get to do this all from the comfort of your own home.  No driving all over the city, spending time you don’t have, and paying for gas you’d rather not.  No uncomfortable in-store negotiations.  No more wasted time.  Just log on to Greentoe.com, find the item you are interested in from our huge catalog, and make an offer.  It costs absolutely nothing to try.  You have nothing to lose, only time and money to save.  Check out greentoe.com today.

I actually have an uncle who won the lottery.  It was about twenty years ago.  He was on his way home from work, stopped off at a gas station for a Snickers bar and, on a whim decided to buy one single lottery ticket.

He won almost six million bucks.

Prior to that, he was legendary in my family as the guy who could get the best deals.  Any time anyone in the family was buying anything big, they would ask him to come with.  A new TV, a new air-conditioning unit, a new car, whatever it was.  The guy just had a way with salespeople.  In fact, he used to joke that he could probably quit his job and support himself solely by charging his family members for chaperoning their purchases.  After he won the lottery, he DID quit his job.  But he never stopped looking for the best deals.  With all the free time he had, he actually got better deals.  What I eventually realized was, he liked getting good deals more than he actually liked the things he was getting the deal on.  He loved driving all over town, talking to various sales people, sizing them up, pitting them against each other, etc.  He just loved the game – and post retirement, he had more time to play it.  To each his own.

For the rest of us, however, there is Greentoe.  I love getting good deals and saving money like the rest of you…but I really don’t like doing the work.  Who does?  It’s like travel.  I love the trip, hate the traveling.  But you can’t have one without the other.  Or can you?

There are so many benefits for a retailer using Greentoe.com that, once they get started, they’re going to wonder how they lived without it.   my uncle did.   Look at your purchasing options.  Right now, if you want to buy something, the easiest way is to go to some online website and order it.  But that wouldn’t be the cheapest.  The cheapest way would be to find some local retailer who was selling your item and either wait for a sale…or do what my uncle did.  He was a master at sniffing out when the retailer needed to move inventory and was ready to make a deal on-the-spot.

Greentoe automates that process.  With Greentoe, you search for the item you are looking for, then put in an offer.  Somewhere, someplace there is a retailer who has that product and is willing to part with it for less than they normally would take.  Sometimes a LOT less.  You just never know what the circumstances are.  The whole point of the Greentoe system is to pair sellers with products to move with buyers who are looking for a discount, but are willing to wait a little bit for their product.  And that’s what makes Greentoe such a money saver.  Sure, if you want the product right now, immediately…you’re going to pay a little more.  But if you’re willing to wait, sometimes it could a few days, sometimes a few hours, sometimes a few minutes, you can save a bundle of money.

If you’re asking yourself why you should use Greentoe.com, you’ve come to the right place.  And the answer is easy: you’ll save money – much more than you would save using other online retailers.  And here’s why…Those other guys work by maintaining a large inventory of items, which they then offer for sale at a specific price.  You either agree to that price…or not.  If not, later alligator.  But that’s not how Greentoe works.  We don’t keep an inventory and we don’t set prices.  What we do is put you in touch with brick & mortar retailers who, for a variety of reasons, have items for sale that they are willing to part with at a substantial discount.  Maybe they need the shelf space, maybe they have an updated model coming in, maybe they’re trying to unload inventory before tax time…who knows?  And who cares!  Gift horses – and great deals – should not be looked in the mouth.

Which brings me to another reason why you should use Greentoe – by shopping with us, you are supporting local merchants.  We don’t have some giant warehouse somewhere in the middle of nowhere, operated by robots whizzing around all day, dutifully slaving away to supply all your consumer needs.  We’ve all seen The Terminator.  Eventually these robots are going to become self-aware and take over the entire planet.  The last thing we want to do is to support businesses that employ robots – they’re faster, stronger, and they don’t take coffee breaks.  The good news is, with Greentoe, though you are initiating the sale on our website, you are actually buying directly from a local retailer, supporting actual flesh-and-blood people.  You like people, don’t you?

Okay, fine, maybe you don’t like people.  But I betcha you like saving time.  At Greentoe, you’ll save that, too.  Before we existed, the only way to get the kind of deals we are providing is to drive around from store to store, hoping to be lucky enough to hit the timing-jackpot and find a salesperson ready to part with your item at a discount.  It happens all the time.  Given the right set of circumstances, most retailers will eventually take a lot less on an item than they usually can get.  The problem is, you never know where and you never know when these deals will pop up.  So you can either wait patiently, checking in every now and then to see if the store is ready to lower their price that camera you have your eye on…or you can just log in to Greentoe.com, make an offer, and wait for someone to take it.  Greentoe is not only quicker, you’ll save gas, too.  Now who doesn’t like saving gas?

So let’s add it all up.  By doing your shopping at Greentoe.com, you save time and money.  You also support local merchants.  And you might very well prevent the total annihilation of the human race by self-aware, murdering robots.  And, on top of that, you save gas.  The only question left is…why are you still reading this blog?  You have some shopping to do.

At Greentoe.com, our goal has always been to revolutionize the shopping experience by putting consumers in charge of pricing. It’s an entirely new concept. So, if you have questions, it’s to be expected. We’d like to use this space to explain exactly how it works.

Here goes…

The most important thing to know about Greentoe is that as a user, you can name your price for the products you want to buy. Using our system, you can search or browse thousands of products. We have expert and user reviews to help inform your decision. Or, if you know of the exact product you want, forgo search and go straight to the fun part – placing an offer. When you make your offer, there’s no need to search the web endlessly price comparing or sleuthing for the lowest possible price. In an effort to help you zero in on a price, we provide you with the lowest average price online. You can use that information to determine what your final offer will be. Obviously our retailers can’t give their goods away so when you type in an offer, we’ll help you gauge how likely it is to be accepted. We’ll also account for shipping and sales tax as the price you submit will account for both. Armed with this knowledge, you submit the final price you want to pay. You review your final offer for accuracy, set a time limit or expiration date for your offer and submit your credit card, which is only billed once your offer is accepted.

What next?

After you submit your price, our network of certified retailers is notified that there’s an offer available. The first retailer to accept your offer, makes the sale.  They’ll reach out to you with a receipt and shipping information. All of our retailers undergo a rigorous screening process and agree to the same 14-day return policy. So, there’s no guesswork when it comes to a retailer’s individual policy – their policy is actually a universal Greentoe policy.

Each Greentoe member has access to their detailed account information at any time. Just login to Greentoe.com click on “my account” and voila! In this section, you can monitor your offer status and check on recent orders.

A question we’re asked often is how does this work? Essentially, people want to know “what’s the catch?” Well, retailers have overhead. They have to pay for a store, employees, cash registers, toilet paper – the list goes on and on. And, if they want to reach customers outside of the town they’re located in, they need to sell products online. That expands their expense list to a website designer, someone to oversee the website inventory, hosting costs…basically a bunch of tech related costs that could give anyone a headache.

Greentoe manages these costs for them and the savings gets passed on to you. Small retailers get to compete against the big dogs and move inventory while you get to save money and support local small to medium business owners. Does that sound cool or what? We think so too.

Try it and please share your comments with us! We love to hear from you.

A sample of the search functionality on Greentoe.com

GreenToe.com is a next generation e-commerce marketplace that enables consumers to set the price on the products they want to buy. Created to change the way people shop, Greentoe.com shakes up the traditional retail model by putting consumers in the driver’s seat. They make an offer on a product and the site connects them to the retailers who are willing to accept the offer. The site benefits both consumers and retailers – shoppers can buy products at the lowest price available and retailers reduce inventory and find new customers.

Have you ever been to Mexico or China?  Think about commerce there?  Do you ever buy something for the price the seller is offering?  No. You haggle; you wheel and deal and you get a much better price.  Well, Greentoe.com was founded with the same concept in mind.  Why agree to the initial price?  Make an offer and see what happens.  This time, instead of dealing with a local salesman on a beach, you are instantly tapping into a network of online retailers.  So, the concept is the same.  But, the technology, the network, and the products are much different.

On Greentoe.com, there are tens of thousands of products ranging from Canon and Nikon cameras to Sony and Samsung television.  The site incorporates expert and user reviews.  So, if you aren’t sure what product or model you want, Greeentoe.com’s library of product content can help you make a decision.  Once you choose the product you want, you enter your credit card, and your offer is instantly distributed to our vast network of certified retailers.   The first retailer to accept the offer makes the sale.  Just like the merchant on the beach, right?  Well, not exactly.

Greentoe.com was founded with two things in mind – save time and save money.  Ever spend a whole day driving around to stores looking for the best price?  How about an entire evening surfing websites all night looking to save a buck?  Those days are over.  Go to greentoe.com, find the Canon camera you always wanted, pick a price that you want to pay for it, and just sit back and relax.  No gas, no parking, no aggressive salespeople.

E-commerce has certainly evolved since the early days of Amazon.com.  There has been a flood of group buying site, group buying aggregators, and flash sale sites.  But, all those sites dictate what products are on sale making most of the offers rather useless.  With Greentoe.com, you pick the product you want and the price you want to pay for that product.  It is that simple.  So, next time you are looking to upgrade your television or buy a brand new home entertainment center or simple looking for a new set of headphones, make sure you go to Greentoe.com first and place an offer.  You will be very happy that you did.  Just remember that commerce is thousands of years old and working a deal goes all the way back to the stone ages.  Step into the new age of commerce with Greentoe.com.