Re: What have you just bought?
 

I did not :D the facial/shoulder massage was quite nice though

Re: What have you just bought?
 

Car Insurance £341 instead of my renewal of £425 so a nice saving plus I should get £45 Topcashback on it if it tracks.

Re: What have you just bought?
 

Some new t-shirts and swimming shorts for our upcoming holiday.

Re: What have you just bought?
 

Some more (Barratt) Sherbet Fountains.

Re: What have you just bought?
 

I've not had them in forever. Still good?

Re: What have you just bought?
 

they remind me of my late father so much, he loved them well into his 60s/70s. He wasn't a hard person to buy presents for but you couldn't make him more pleased than by gifting him a catering box pack of sherbert fountains.

Re: What have you just bought?
 

Yep. :)

Re: What have you just bought?
 

Tesco clearance, 6 Gordan diet gin and tonic £2.75 + 6 Captain Morgan spiced gold with Pepsi max £2.75 + 4 Tesco All Butter Pain Au Chocolat 4 Pack £0.64. and some milk which I originally went in for £1.45.

Re: What have you just bought?
 

I bought my hubby a few short sleeve shirts he has lost a lot of weight so his shirts are too big !

Re: What have you just bought?
 

Topcashback are giving £2 cashback on 28th February on a minimum £5 spend.

So I purchased a £5 Tesco gift card and got the £2 cashback payable instantly.

Free money with no effort is always good!

Re: What have you just bought?
 

Smart gu10 bulbs and new down lights for the new kitchen

Re: What have you just bought?
 

A new Sandbanks Paddle Board.

Re: What have you just bought?
 

Bath Bombs (for the granddaughter).

Re: What have you just bought?
 

Samsung Tab S9 FE Plus.

Re: What have you just bought?
 

Almost the same as mine, not sure what the difference is with the FE version.

Re: What have you just bought?
 

The FE is a scaled back less powerful iteration of their flagship Galaxy S series. I got the Tab s9 just before Christmas. They also do FE version of the S series phones. Reducing the SOC speed or amount of cores and usually removing the OLED screen for a cheaper LCD screen with lower resolution.

Re: What have you just bought?
 

I'm moving from an S7 that's not supported with updates any longer which still works perfectly fine to an S9 FE Plus, so I think it maybe a downgrade in GPU performance? But I don't play games on it so I'm hoping it won't be an issue for me because I gain on memory, screen quality and size and battery life. I decided to buy it because it was on offer at Very and I got 6.8% cash back on it from Topcashback.

Re: What have you just bought?
 

I moved from a Tab S6 which died to the S9, decided against the S10 due to them no longer using Snapdragon SoCs.

This link should hopefully work. Comparing the S7 to the S9 FE
https://m.gsmarena.com/compare.php3?...idPhone2=12517

Re: What have you just bought?
 

Thanks I was on there yesterday but I couldn't find a comparison with the GPU performance.

I'll get the tablet tomorrow hopefully if I am back from work to sign for it as long as everything is smooth and not sluggish I'll be happy, although the screen refresh has dropped from 120 to 90 but I'm hoping I won't notice that too much.

Edit
Looks like the S7 GPU is still alot better, but hopefully for general usage it'll be fine.
https://www.notebookcheck.net/Mali-G....247598.0.html

Re: What have you just bought?
 

Another pair off footballs shorts from Sports direct.

Also the full training kit for the football team i joined. Not a bad price too.
https://clubshops.motiq.co.uk/shop/s...rs-pack-adult/

Re: What have you just bought?
 

S9 FE Plus arrived today and it's perfect, the bigger screen is just what I didn't know what I needed!

Re: What have you just bought?
 

PC gaming headset - Logitech G535 wireless

Re: What have you just bought?
 

A new soldering Iron and a couple of reels of gold and silver wire.

Re: What have you just bought?
 

I ordered a replacement power supply for a neighbour's battery-powered mower from Amazon at 11 this morning. They say it will be delivered TODAY.

Re: What have you just bought?
 

Four pairs of specs - two for driving/TV & films, and two for reading/computer screen/tablet (I like to have a spare pair of each).

Ouch…

Re: What have you just bought?
 

Double ouch if you go for prescription sunglasses too.

Re: What have you just bought?
 

Check out the prices in the ASDA opticians. I recently had 2 pairs of lightweight varifocals with all the coatings for under £90. A pair of Screen specs only cost £32.

Re: What have you just bought?
 

Got my eye test on Sunday , even though I’m on a contact lens scheme and therefore got everything 1/2 price it’s still going to cost a fortune

Re: What have you just bought?
 

Leaving those for next month…

Re: What have you just bought?
 

I bought some Audi car badges and interior carbon fibre look Air Vent covers from AliExpress, shockingly very high quality which also included free shipping, the whole transaction was less than £10 and if I had been able to purchase the same items from eBay or Amazon I would have been looking at £30 easily.

I also bought some PS5 Pro Black Plates for £15 a while ago and they got delivered in only 4 days and free shipping. I've heard people knock AliExpress but so far in my experience that place is fantastic.

Re: What have you just bought?
 

AliExpress is decent if you know how to use it. I get all my phone cases from there. An original Google logo black case for my pixel 9 pro xl £2.65. OnePlus 9 Pro cases £2.60, a leather wallet case £7.82. Xiaomi Mix 3 5G case £2.74. Xiaomi Mi4C case £2.24.

I like how they have somewhat subsidised the no tax aspect now offering choice bundles that qualify for free delivery. It's kind of mind boggling how postal services in China manage to group all the items together in one big parcel.

Other things I've ordered are bracelets 29p to £1.59. Stud earrings 84p. USB c 3meter and 2 meter 100w, 150w cables £3.23 and £3.59. Some yupoo traders use the platform for payment which makes the transaction soo much secure. Nicely designed toothpicks £2.15. A cat patterned fan dustproof cover £1.55. OnePlus Watch straps £1.55 and £1.01. Nohon replacement battery for my Xiaomi Mi4C £8.95. Headphone ear pad replacements £1.75. 100 Disposable shoe covers £1.35.

I do wonder how they make money especially during the days of no tax.

Re: What have you just bought?
 

mass production and poorly paid labour that is how they do it

---------- Post added at 17:50 ---------- Previous post was at 17:23 ----------

Not just bought it but been offered it and will be buying it haha Nice second user Ultra Light Road bike with stupid thin wheels for me to carefully choose a fast route with good roads haha

Re: What have you just bought?
 

Soft paper bedding for my hamster, he can now enjoy digging if he wishes.


He's roughly 22 months old.

Re: What have you just bought?
 

Two pairs of glasses and two pairs of prescription sunglasses

Nearly burst into tears at the bill

Re: What have you just bought?
 

All Amazon in spring sale, some good savings.

Slow close loo seat
Duvet cover
2 belts
Cargo shorts
2 half moon wall basket liners(left it too late last year and everywhere sold out)
XL Drying towel for car
Hose pipe spray gun

Re: What have you just bought?
 

I try to get frames re-glazed. Some frames aren't worth it at some opticians but my Flexons and Silhouette Pur-titaniums certainly are. The latter frames I got in 1996 for sailing, tough and salt-water proof and polarised lenses. The brand still can make the lenses for older frames.

Re: What have you just bought?
 

Two pairs of Navy football socks, boots scrubbing brush and miniature toiletries for my trip to Oxford for the Euros from Wednesday.

So excited now.

Re: What have you just bought?
 

£20.17 worth of stuff from Lidl. I needed £20.03 to get 10% off most stuff off next Monday.

---------- Post added at 19:08 ---------- Previous post was at 17:43 ----------

The days of bargains from the likes of AliExpress and Temu are apparently numbered.

The EU (and UK) have been under a lot of pressure by people like High St shops to "level the playing field" and apply excise duties (Tariffs for Trump) and VAT to imports from places like China via those sites.

Temu announced that a warehouse will open in the UK first, with all goods taxed at the local rate before they go on sale here, and dispatched direct from that warehouse after Customs approval.

That will, of course, mean an end to the magical free post and packing.

Re: What have you just bought?
 

David Beckham being the gift he is isn't as powerful as he may think. By marketing for AliExpress he sought to end counterfeit goods of his own name at the very least but going after the act as a whole. I can tell you AliExpress sellers don't care. They still mark down items. I don't believe the trade is gone. There is and always will be a market for no branded goods.

Israel don't pay AliExpress taxes.

Re: What have you just bought?
 

They would have to levy a 100% tax on a lot of the stuff to level any playing field. 20% VAT will make pretty much no difference

For example I bought a bike seat from Ali express bought multiple items to get free delivery ( you have to reach thresholds for free even on ali) cost me £4 pretty much the exact same seat down to flash logo but with a brand name on it (not a big name or anything) £11.24 even with VAT they would have to charge what the seat costs again plus some to get to amazons price

My friend who fixes up bikes has started using them for parts and the quality is great and price a fraction and I mean a fraction of what it costs here

---------- Post added at 19:41 ---------- Previous post was at 19:38 ----------

Ultimately the Chinese aint stupid either they will just ship to another country and then repack which is what often happens anyway already and there is VAT and duties on items over a certain cost and always has been anyway

Re: What have you just bought?
 

Amazon has got me again.

Lightweight Summer bomber Jacket, £26.99 but just realised I can get the same item from AliExpress for £18.19 but I'm sticking with Amazon this time in case it doesn't fit.

Re: What have you just bought?
 

There're a few places online that say they'll replace the lenses in you existing frames.

Re: What have you just bought?
 

5 x Adult & 1 x child tickets to the 2nd Floor and top of the Eiffel Tower (both by lift) for Monday 14th April.

I tried before, and they were all sold out, but I read on one of the online forums that they release another batch of tickets a week before, so tried again, and was fortunate in getting some.

Re: What have you just bought?
 

Have you seen Paris from the Montparnasse Tower? Might be worth a peek

Re: What have you just bought?
 

I went to the top back in 1989. I was on a school trip but I was the only one who wanted to go up. The teacher let me go alone, because 1980s. I got a ticket when I walked up, maybe because it was just me.

Re: What have you just bought?
 

Mobile phone cycle mount and a Honor X6b phone to use as a cycling computer. So far just using the GPS as a speedo but come summer I will be using it for mapping my ride and route planning.

Re: What have you just bought?
 

New hearing aids. What a difference

Re: What have you just bought?
 

It was, thanks…

https://www.cableforum.uk/board/atta...6&d=1744477550

Re: What have you just bought?
 

A handful of B&M’s own brand of pre workout drinks. I’d previously spent loads on more mainstream pre-workout powders etc along with a can of Monster or whatever but noticed over the past few months I was no longer getting and maintaining that “pump” after training that my old stuff used to give me.

Mrs Russ persuaded me to try B&M’s version which I knew was pointless as there’s no way it was going to compare with the big brand version but DAYM I was wrong.

About £1.50 cheaper altogether but would get me buzzing my tits off by the time I’d get to the gym, I’d be lifting with ridiculous enthusiasm and the pump would stay with me for most of the day.

Definitely a convert now and bought a 6 pack of them tonight.

Re: What have you just bought?
 

Dining room table, bench and chairs

Re: What have you just bought?
 

Some storage jars and a new glasses case.

Re: What have you just bought?
 

A new keyboard to replace my much loved relic. (Musical type). So many updates and changes - all good though. Going to be quite a steep learning curve.

Re: What have you just bought?
 

A birthday card for my sister from Moonpig. My back is a problem at the moment so getting one online is handy.

Re: What have you just bought?
 

2 spray packs of Demon Shine from Halfords. They normally charge about £8, but today it was £4.50 each. It's a quick and easy way to keep a shine on the car bodywork.

Re: What have you just bought?
 

A 5-speed desktop USB mini fan for work. The office is great, but as air conditioning is "sexist" (apparently, women feel the cold more), it rarely keeps me cool. This should do the job nicely.

Re: What have you just bought?
 

it is mad how much ooomph you can get out of them. I have one also :-) you are just hot stuff Russ hahaah

Re: What have you just bought?
 

I can't find the exact model. My mum has a desk metal fan which packs a punch even at the low setting.

https://amzn.eu/d/1cltW94

I've always wondered whether the blades get hot

Re: What have you just bought?
 

New System Boiler for May installation, will be interesting to see how much more efficient it is compared to my old 28 year boiler.

Re: What have you just bought?
 

Typcially, a 30 year old boiler can’t vary its gas consumption. It’s either on or off. A modern boiler on the other hand will begin to reduce the amount of gas it burns as it detects the water coming up to desired temperature. They also do the heat exchange more efficiently. You will save money on your gas bill.

Re: What have you just bought?
 

Right on both counts ;)

All the Amazon reviews said it works well and for long periods without feeling like it’s about to crap out so I’m confident it’ll do its job how I need it.

As for being hot…well yeah! But not necessarily THAT way. I seem to run at a higher temperature than my colleagues. They’re usually wearing jumpers, hoodies etc in the office while I’m there in t-shirt and shorts, still complaining how warm it is :shocked:

Re: What have you just bought?
 

A new SSD as I think my old one is nearing the end of life.

Re: What have you just bought?
 

there are tests that can prove that haha

Re: What have you just bought?
 

I know, but can you believe the Samsung software won't do a diagnostic scan on an 850 Evo, so it's time to maybe upgrade anyway.

Re: What have you just bought?
 

You maybe covered under warranty.

https://semiconductor.samsung.com/co...port/warranty/

Re: What have you just bought?
 

crystaldiskinfo should tell you if the cells have write time left and how many have been retired. Unless there is a fault or you constantly write data you may be surprised how long they last. What you bought anyway ?

Re: What have you just bought?
 

Topcashback has £2 bonus today on a £10 spend so grabbed a Tesco £10 voucher because free money is free money with no effort.

Re: What have you just bought?
 

Warrior Rage pre-workout

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00XLGV8...sin_title&th=1

I usually buy non-stim as caffeine often sends me on a right bender but as this was on offer I didn't pay attention to the fact it had 300mg of the stuff.

It arrived this morning and took some earlier before the gym, and I've been buzzing like Cornholio (for those who know) all afternoon.

Re: What have you just bought?
 

Just over 10 years old so just out of warranty.

Crystaldiskinfo gives the health as 65% so it's on it's way.

Bought one of these, but from the manufacturer not Amazon. So far so good, happy with it as the PC isn't used much anymore apart from as a media server.

Re: What have you just bought?
 

Lots of veg seeds at 29p a packet from Lidl. Sorry Mr Fothergill, its time to retire old chap...

Re: What have you just bought?
 

See if they germinate before retiring mr fothergill;)

Re: What have you just bought?
 

A new dishwasher (last month) and a new washing machine (today) - both broke down, both beyond repair.

On the bright side, found a reasonably priced and responsive* local company who can come out and check these things out (recommended by friends and relatives) - they’re not getting the business for the new machines, because they didn’t have the models in stock we wanted, but if they had, they would have taken the call-out charge off the delivery & installation charges for a new machine.

*came out next day

Re: What have you just bought?
 

Compost
just filled a large tub and planted some garlic

Re: What have you just bought?
 

Summer Fruits Scented Reed Diffuser 100ml - Juicy Cherry

https://www.bmstores.co.uk/products/...-cherry-418018

Re: What have you just bought?
 

A new Nomination watch, it is lovely

Re: What have you just bought?
 

A Google pixel watch 3 45mm LTE off eBay £200 all in

Re: What have you just bought?
 

I love mine. Been a huge part of my tracking the last few months . Very worth having imo. Hate the strap though much prefer after market elastic

Re: What have you just bought?
 

I was looking at straps but it confused me. Are straps model specific or universal?

Three want an extra £5 for LTE :(

Re: What have you just bought?
 

The Mrs bought one of those the other week as she’s started at the gym with me. I was a bit pissy as I’ve been trying to get her on to iPhone for ages but she won’t convert. I have the Apple Watch 10 and she’s always been impressed with it and I told her the Pixel 3 would be a massive step down. Ok it may not directly compare with the series 10 but it’s certainly damn good android watch.

---------- Post added at 13:09 ---------- Previous post was at 13:05 ----------

EBay will be full of replacement straps. The fabric/velcro ones tend to be the most comfortable but not very practical if you go swimming or get your wrists wet.

£5 for LTE isn’t bad actually. I’m with EE and I pay £7. Definitely useful if you out outdoors a lot, running, cycling, hiking etc. Call quality won’t be comparable to using your phone but still very workable.

---------- Post added at 13:20 ---------- Previous post was at 13:09 ----------

And given the incredible weight-loss journey you've been on, recommendations don't get much better than this.

Re: What have you just bought?
 

I've got my mum to order a Spigen strap from Amazon for me
Spigen Rugged Armor Pro Case with Strap Band Compatible with Google Pixel Watch 3 45mm - Matte Black https://amzn.eu/d/hUkxi1C

I ordered a black black nylon strap off AliExpress for £3.17 delivered
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005...5-da9c2e0d9fcc

Re: What have you just bought?
 

Yeah those nylon straps tend to be more comfortable on your skin plus it's easier to get the tightness right. With the original straps you're limited to the spaces between the holes.

On a side note, have I ever made such a post with so many double entendres before?

Re: What have you just bought?
 

Try more innuendos lol I like the word innuendo. My ass. :D

I'll try use the fabric one in the winter.

Re: What have you just bought?
 

I love this. It's nice and beefy. My mum said when buying Amazon informed her that this item had been returned a lot. Well mine isn't getting returned unless it breaks which I doubt will happen, it kind of defeats the purpose of it if it breaks.

Re: What have you just bought?
 

That does look like a good strap that but I do not like the buckle I can feel it. Not worn a watch for years before this and with the elastic strap I often forget it is there with straps like this I can always feel it

---------- Post added at 12:51 ---------- Previous post was at 12:49 ----------


Recently set a new target gonna drop another 11lb by my 2 year start anniversary in June I hope which will take me over the 19 stone loss. Thank you for your kind words on my journey I appreciate it

Re: What have you just bought?
 

Blimey, that's way more cheaper than 1 link of my watch bracelet / strap lol.

Re: What have you just bought?
 

can your watch take a ECG?

Re: What have you just bought?
 

....19 stone?? :eeek:

Seriously that is incredible. Awe-inspiring.

Re: What have you just bought?
 

No but it makes me feel good. lol.

Also agree, 19st. Wow, that's amazing !

Re: What have you just bought?
 

1.4 kg beef brisket joint for £13.99 at Lidl this morning. I'll pot roast this for melt in the mouth tender meat.

Re: What have you just bought?
 

That bud is reason enough . Fair play

---------- Post added at 15:22 ---------- Previous post was at 15:21 ----------

Not quite yet but soon hahaha

Re: What have you just bought?
 

some watch faces free on play might be of interest. limited time offer if you go on HUKD there are more

couple of nice ones I have changed to one. Mainly use it as a watch then hit the tracking and view on my phone

https://play.google.com/store/apps/d...igitalbasic524

https://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/dig...d-apps-4583757

Re: What have you just bought?
 

Thank you but I can't be arsed with a draw full of apps. It becomes bloatware :(

Re: What have you just bought?
 

just uninstall the ones you do not want and keep the ones you do and once cleaned up you will likely have less bloatware than you do now ( unless you already cleaned up haha)

you install to the phones watch app and then apply to watch. Then just delete the ones you do not want from the watch app they are not sat on your watch

Re: What have you just bought?
 

I'll have a play :tu:

Re: What have you just bought?
 

Samsung SSD 870 EVO, 4 TB for our daughter. Her gaming uses a LOT of space.

Re: What have you just bought?
 

Got 4 x 4TB Nvme and 2x 4TB Sata SSD 1 x2TB 870 Evo (good drive so good choice) 1 x WD SN850X very fast for the OS

You are not wrong about game sizes the new Oblivion remaster was 124 GB

Re: What have you just bought?
 

I've bought some Registrar ink for my fountain pen, It starts of blue but then oxidise and turn black


Some cartridges for a gifted £100 Waterman fountain pen, (They upgraded to a Mont blanc)


Then some hamster bedding for when I get another hamster, I was going to wait, but I miss the little thing that Chewie did be he crossed the bridge.

Re: What have you just bought?
 

Ozempic pen.

Im type 2 Diabetic but not close to being overweight enough to qualify for it to be prescribed. I’ve been cutting at the gym since November but at 50 I just can’t get ride of the final stone or so from my waist no matter how much cardio I do so I’ve decided to give this a try.

Re: What have you just bought?
 

Three 5G home broadband for my mother-in-law as she's had to go in a home and Sky stream wouldn't play nicely with the WiFi.

So far really impressed, around 400 download and 150 upload for £19/month.

Re: What have you just bought?
 

Dieticians have been advising overweight prediabetic and Type 2 diabetics to go onto a very high fibre diet for a period, as it has the same effect as the weight loss jabs. Only then will a prescription be considered.

Re: What have you just bought?
 

I’m not overweight - well on a technicality I am and my BMI suggests I’m obese but it’s more muscle than fat. My GP isn’t all that bothered by my waistline as she says it’s normal for 50 plus my overall cardio and diet excel the average for someone my age. This is why I don’t qualify for it on prescription but to be honest that’s probably a good thing. I totally admit I’m only doing it for aesthetics. I’ll never look shredded and neither would I want to, I’m just frustrated at all the work I’ve put in hasn’t shifted the extra few inches around my waist.