A discussion about sales, sales tips and advice, and about those who land the deal

Hi Dan,

Lightbulbs - it is possibly a simple fix: make it 'feel' like the bulbs are worth the money: better packaging, a more 'quality' feel. My good friend, Beau Ballin, says the rest of the reasons to buy aren't worth it. He even bought LED lights for his Christmas house display - twice the cost and long-term expense of the cheaper ones...but that is what he wanted.

As for diapers, two views: 1. cloth hurts the environment equal to disposable due to chemical cleaning; 2. We live in a world of Purell and antibiotic everything - who would actually wash out their children's cloth diapers on a regular basis? A collective 'eeewwwww' from the US population. Best, Joe.

For the person that said:

As for diapers, two views: 1. cloth hurts the environment equal to disposable due to chemical cleaning; 2. We live in a world of Purell and antibiotic everything - who would actually wash out their children's cloth diapers on a regular basis? A collective 'eeewwwww' from the US population. Best, Joe.

I disagree entirely. Cloth Diapers ewwwww?? Ummm your oil, and bacteria that clings to your clothing when you sweat not to mention shed skin umm you have no problem washing that? If a person has genital herpes/yeast infection/ect... they keep their underwear & wash it. If an animal or baby uses the "toilet" on a carpet, or bedsheet, many people don't say ewww and throw the article away. They wash it. What's the difference? Disposables have been around for only a short time. Before that-people didn't have the modern technology to clean/sanitize their garments like we have today. Also-there are plenty of earth friendly biodegradable detergents now. That's what can be learned with a little bit of an open mind, and education. Sincerely, Erika.

I totally agree with Erika. Thanks for speaking up!

I also agree with Erika. Cloth diaper yuck???? Are you serious? Quite the contrary. I cringe at the idea of placing harsh chemicals on baby's most sensitive parts 24/7. Now THAT is yuck.

I totally agree. Cloth diapers are no more yucky than disposables - it's the poo that's yucky, and that happens regardless of the type of diaper catching it! Besides, I don't know where the "chemical cleaning" idea comes from - most cloth diapering moms I know try to use as little chemicals as possible to clean the diapers, since the major reason not to use disposables is the chemicals in the diapers!

Cloth is Ewwww? Whats Ewww is encapsulating poop in plastic and sticking it in the ground where it will remain for years. That is Ewww. At least with cloth the poop is going where it should - into the toilet. And when was the last time you saw a cloth diaper rolled up in some parking lot or side of the road? Cloth is better for the enviornment and anyone who says other wise hasn't done their research. You wash your clothes that have urine, feces, semen, blood and vomit on them without special chemicals. Diapers are no different. At least with cloth diapers they get washed out in the toliet first! The chemicals are generally used by diaper services but at home washing requires nothing special.

As for the lights, if people really cared they would switch. Every light in my house is a CF bulb because I wanted to save money. I have noticed that small rooms like closets and bathrooms are cooler with CF bulbs cause they produce less heat than a typical 60 watt bulb. So I also spend less to cool the house. The benefits aren't being touted enough. People just need to advertise better I think. Even MCD's needs to advertise and everyone knows them.

I have to speak up on the cloth diaper info too - I don't know where you get your information, but cloth is way less taxing on our enviroment that disposable! So you use a little water washing them (I have a HE washer - so STILL using less water washing them than those who have regular washers and whose kids are in disposables!) Have you ever researched the amount of water, bleach, crude oil, trees, etc. it takes to make disposable diapers? If not, you may be surprised to note that it takes 1 cup of crude oil to make the plastic for ONE disposable diaper, not to mention that even with disposable diapers you are suppose to dump solid waste in the toilet as well (in most states it is illegal to place human feces in the municipal garbage system) We switched to cloth when we had TWO kids in diapers and it is really not that difficult! Shake the poop in the toilet and toss it in the diaper pail. Wash the contents of the pail every 2 or 3 days and that is all there is! Using a biodegradable soap like Charlies Soap completely removes the "chemical problem" that you mentioned. If you have a child in diapers - like you said you did, I would wise up and start looking into cloth - you are putting so many needless chemicals in your babies most sensitive regions!
As for the light bulbs - they are different and more expensive and americans are cheap and lazy - plain and simple. We have slowly been replacing all of our bulbs around the house and have almost completely CF bulbs everywhere - if you want the "soft, yellow, glow" feeling the traditional bulbs give off - light a candle or two! I will note, however - we have had two issues with the CF's that were not listed - a little tiny buzzing sound (only heard if your house is extremely quiet) and the bulbs won't dim. We have dimmers throughout our kitchen and even purchased "dimmable" CF's for the can lights in the kitchen - but they just don't do the trick. A true dimmable bulb is my only major issue with them. As for the mercury - try not to break them - if you do follow the directions listed on the package to clean up. Hopefully they will come up with a way to make them without the mercury in time. But for now - I don't break bulbs too often so it is not really a concern.
Food for thought from a Right Wing Republican who, GASP, yes is concerned for our enviroment!