Links
Sites and services around the ‘Net recommended by Lobby13. Where you see blue text, it’s clickable … and it’s clickable for a reason.
Zazzle
Zazzle is seriously one of my favorite places on the Internet. Yes, you can design custom T-shirts, then buy and sell them, but you can also make mugs, buttons, stationary, invitations, canvas prints, ornaments, business cards, and whole slew of other stuff, PLUS you can make money without every designing a single product, PLUS they always have something on sale, PLUS they have incredible customer service, PLUS (last one) their quality is the best among online print-on-demand companies (we’ve tried several). We love Zazzle. Period. Satisfied customer since 2005.
Teeloft (and more!)
TeeLoft (and more!) is our Zazzle-powerd alter ego in the form of T-shirts, buttons, bags, hats, and more. We searched the ‘Net, looking for the best print-on-demand shop and found Zazzle‘s service and quality to be consistently great. Satisfied customer since 2005.
Amazon
Amazon has the most incredible selection of products, and it never ceases to amaze us what we can buy there. It is, by far, our favorite online place to shop and our first stop for any and every online purchase. We also use it to price compare multiple vendors in one fell swoop. We love that you can order online and have items shipped directly to the recipient, complete with card and wrapping! Satisfied customer since 2003.
Huebel & Associates, LLC
Huebel & Associates, CPAs is a multi-state CPA firm with a specialty in taxation, IRS representation including back-tax negotiation and reduction, QuickBooks® set-up and training, and business formation and consultation. Since 1978, the Huebel team has often made themselves available at odd hours, and we’ve known them to make house calls for many of their clients. Satisfied client since 2003.
CafePress
Cafe Press offers uniquely custom merchandise designed by … YOU, as well as your friends, neighbors, family, and some truly creative people you’ve never even met before! You can open a “basic store” for free or a “premium store” for $6.95 per month. Otherwise, there are no fees and no limits except those of your imagination. And if you’re not feeling creative, there are, literally, thousands of designs ready for you to choose your favorites. Offering a different variety of products than Zazzle. We also sell our creative works here using the TeeLoft (and more!) name. You can find our CafePress store here. Member since 2007.
Affordable Refinishing
Affordable Refinishing isn’t just a client. We’ve also done business with them, and — in the interest of full disclosure — they’re great friends. For bathtub and tile refinishing, there is no one better in the Baltimore area. Vince loves what he does, and that comes out in the quality of his work. Don’t just take our word for it though. Check out his Angie’s List rating. Satisfied customer since 2008.
DeviantART
DeviantArt or, simply, DA is a must-see web site for anyone even remotely interested in pretty much any type of art — yours, theirs, ours — it’s all here, and it’s amazing stuff. Free subscription includes ad banners; a paid subscription, less than $30 per year, removes the ad banners. Click here to view our work. Member since 2006.
Salon Anue
Again, Salon Anue isn’t just a client, but we are also the Salon’s client. Denise is our stylist, but we’ve seen the work of everyone at Salon Anue, and they’re all terrific. And the reason for that, in our opinion, is that they all love what they do! Which comes full circle back to being great at their work — they love it so they’re good at it; they’re good at it because the love it. Not sure which came first, and it doesn’t matter. It’s a great place, and I recommend it to everyone. Satisfied client since … longer than I’m willing to admit.
Fireflies NY
FireFliesNY™ provides martial arts therapy for children with Autism Spectrum Disorders. They work with your child’s OT, PT, and other therapists to make sure that thier program is in line with what is recommended for your child. Sessions at FirefliesNY™ involve a blend of TaeKwonDo, music and movement, balance, stretching, and breathing exercises all guided by Applied Behavior Analysis. Supporter since 2009.
PhotoStockPlus
Photo Stock Plus provides high quality stock photos, prints, and photo products. Whether you’re in the market to buy or sell stock photos or sell your event photos, we recommend Photo Stock Plus. Not only are we a customer, but we also sell our photography here. Member since 2007.
Real Vantage Financial, Inc.
Real Vantage Financial is another one of those companies that offers great service outside of regular business hours — obviously an important aspect to us! They manage real estate, representing buyers and sellers, offer property management services, residential mortgages, and all types of insurance, from health to property, including commercial policies. They also offer loan modification services, short sales, pre-foreclosure situations, and credit-repair consulting. Family-owned and -operated since 2001. Client since 2008.
Vista Print
Vista Print: Free business cards? Yes, we were skeptical. We tried it anyway. They are free except for shipping, and if you use the “slow” method of mailing, they arrive within 8 or 10 days (even though the disclaimer says they’ll arrive in 21 days). The cards are good quality and the only hitch is that they place the Vista Print logo on the back side of your cards (they don’t do this on paid products). If you’re not sure if you want to invest in their products, try the free cards. Satisfied customer since 2008.
eBay
Speaking of eBay, yes, we’re a fan! We’re not claiming it’s perfect, but we’ve had great experiences on eBay, both buying and selling. Satisfied customer since 1998 (YES, 1998!).
QuickBooks
QuickBooks: If you own a business, you should own this software! And if you think QuickBooks is going to be too difficult for you to use, you’re probably wrong. It’s intuitive and user-friendly, right out of the box, and packed with features that you’ll find invaluable to a growing business. Customer since 2005.
Yahoo!
Most of our web sites are hosted by Yahoo. Pricing is terrific, all aspects are user friendly, integrates easily with web design software or you can opt to use Yahoo’s design software. They’ve even made it easy to add a blog, open your own on-line store, and manage e-commerce functions. Satisfied customer since 2007.
We Say
WeSay is a citizen journalism site, and relative newcomer to our list of referred sites. It’s free to upload your own photography, and, for a nominal paid membership, they have monthly contests with cash prizes awarded. Member since 2009.
Spreadshirt
Spreadshirt lets you create custom items on screen right before your own eyes. Who knew creating could be so fun and easy? Again, we’re a customer and seller. You can find some of our designs here. Member since 2007.
Adobe
We use a combination of software products to produce this and other websites and graphics, but Adobe products are definitely at the top of our favorites list. If you have a student requiring the programs for school, be sure to check out their educational pricing here.
AutoHotKey
AutoHotKey is one of our newer favorites — only a couple months, actually. It’s a very light little software that helps automate common tasks. For instance, say you type the phrase “United States of America” several times a day for whatever reason. You can set up AutoHotKey so that all you have to type are two keystrokes, say *u[space], and AutoHotKey types out the entire phrase for you. And the best part of all? It’s free! Satisfied user since 2011.