If it’s not on your calendar, put it there now; Sunday, May 11 is Mother’s Day. It doesn’t get the same coverage as the more popular gift giving holiday’s like Christmas and Valentine’s Day, but when it comes to finding the right gift you want to make sure you get Mother’s Day right. To help 3LUXE users with their quest to find the perfect gift, we launched the 3LUXE 2008 Mother’s Day Gift Guide.

After all your mom has done for you over the years, you don’t want to wait until the last minute and miss out on the opportunity to say thank-you. And although the National Retail Federation believes consumers will scale back on the amount they spend compared to last year, we’ll still spend an estimated $138.63 – a little more than the standard card and flowers of yesteryear.

Recognizing there’s not a “one size fits all” gift for Moms, we’ve broken out our gift guide into four segments. In addition to the Traditional Gift Guide, we’ve added gifts perfect for “Techie” and “Foodie” moms. Finally we’ve created a Romantic Mother’s Day Guide. The last one isn’t for “your” mom, but for the mother of your children. Several years ago (it might have been Katie’s first Mother’s Day) I screwed this one up, I’m not not going to let that happen again. Hopefully there is a new Dad out there who will see the Romantic Guide, awake from their stupor, avoid my mistake, and get a great gift for their wife.

Whatever you decide to do for “Mom” this year, be sure to include a heartfelt “Thank-you”. Nobody is more deserving.

All the best,
Bill

Ask any friend – they’ll claim to doing research before making a purchase. Nobody wants to make (or admit to making) an uninformed purchase. Some of us do research on everything from large investments like cars, to daily necessities like a bar of soap. The amount of time and effort we invest varies greatly by individual and can be influenced by a number of variables; cost, time, importance, etc. In a study from earlier this year, eMarketer found that 9 out 10 people, read reviews at least “some of the time” before making online purchases. Surprising to many, over 65% surveyed check a minimum of four reviews before making an online purchase. People are predominately (76%) looking to the web for a combination of user and expert reviews – all great news for 3LUXE.

What I find most interesting or surprising about online research are the misconceptions about the “rich”. Many imagine the rich to spend frivolously, going from store to store, adding shopping bags at each stop. These images are reinforced by the photos we see in grocery tabloids of famous stars doing just that, but the stereotype couldn’t be further from the truth. The majority of the rich accumulated their wealth by making wise investments and being smart about how they spend money – good habits don’t die.

MediaPost published an article last week covering a new study done by American Express and Harrison Group that illustrates how the rich comparison shop. Like the rest of America, they’re increasingly turning to the web for both research and purchases. The study defined “rich” as having $352,000 in discretionary annual income, approximately 12 million American households. This wealthy group holds 70% of U.S. assets and accounts for 50% of the consumption. With vast resources available, the wealthy go to the same place everybody does for comparison shopping, the net. 70% surveyed utilize the net to identify, price, compare and purchase fashion and home goods. Not only are the wealthy using the net for research, it has become the preferred destination for shopping, with 70% preferring the web over in-store purchases.

I often receive questions about the range of prices and breadth of categories reviewed on 3LUXE. Everything from BMX to Boeing and Strollers to Sedans, we find the best. We do this because we know it doesn’t matter if you’re dropping a few bucks on beer or breaking the bank on a new boat. What matters is doing the research right and finding the best product.

Our goal at 3LUXE is simple, to save time, your time. Instead of spending hours researching your purchases, let us do that for you. Spend your time enjoying what’s most important to you – whatever that may be.

Simply find the best of everything.

All the best,
Bill

Since launching 3LUXE I’ve been surprised by the popularity of our turntable selections . However, the popularity has nothing to do with nostalgia, but a desire to archive valuable record collections to a digital format. Two of the record players selected connect directly to a computer and convert classic records into portable MP3s that can be enjoyed anywhere.

Since it’s a rainy Saturday here in Saint Paul, I decided to get caught up on some reading. The latest WIRED magazine included Transfer Tickets: The Best and Worst in VHS-to-DVD Converters. The review included four devices that allow you to transfer VHS tapes to DVD. As someone who has a large collection of personal video on VHS this is a great find. My favorite is the solution from Pinnacle Systems, Dazzle DVD Recorder.

For under $50.00 this solution is perfect, allowing you to easily plug your VCR into your PC with a USB connection. It allows you to declutter – box up all your old VHS tapes and the VCR. And unlike standalone hardware solutions, it doesn’t add another video component into your entertainment system.

Pinnacle has a long history as a leader in video editing and continuously gets highly rated in reviews from both users and professionals. This device is no exception, it’s a simple device to move video collection from VHS to DVD. The Dazzle DVD Recorder keeps it simple – tape to DVD. One recommendation, before transferring your videos, check Pinnacle’s website to download the latest driver and software updates.

As an added bonus, Amazon has Dazzle DVD Recorder on sale for $44.99 with free shipping.

All the best,
Bill

Last night Mother Nature threw us a curveball in Saint Paul hitting us with a wintry thunderstorm, complete with lightning, rain and snow. It made for a messy morning – I’m ready for spring.

When I booted my laptop this am I saw the 3LUXE “Best Of” the Day, the Mion Current, making me hopeful for spring. Mion makes awesome sandals. Admittedly they’re a favorite of mine, the perfect balance of comfort and toughness. Since Mion makes such an excellent sandal I couldn’t have been more surprised when I saw a report that Timberland will discontinue Mion and GOLite footwear this fall.

I hope this is a faulty report and I’ll be able to continue to enjoy Mion’s for summers to come. If it turns out to be true, I suggest we all stock up before they run out.

All the best,
Bill

The best thing about Google is the vast amounts of information it gathers and categorizes. If it’s out there, Google brings it back in its results.

The worst thing about Google is the vast amounts of information it gathers and categorizes. If it’s out there, Google brings it back in its results.

Therein lies the paradox.

Autobytel recently fielded a study that found that 7 out of 10 Americans suffer from what they’ve categorized as Search Engine Fatigue—a condition/malady/sickness/state of mind that comes from not finding what you’re looking for on the web.

Luckily, there is a remedy.

Search engine fatigue is the genesis of our site 3LUXE. We didn’t know the term, but we certainly suffered from it.

We (my wife, two kids and I) moved into a new house (new to us, really old in fact and needing lots of updating) in the summer of ‘06, which immediately put us in the market for a number of big-ticket items. Having to buy so many things all at once really brought into sharp focus that there was no one source that easily identified the best items for purchase.

To be clear, recommendations and reviews weren’t impossible to find.

Just frustrating.

And time consuming.

The search engines gave us millions of results, and the information existed within those, but it took a ton of time to winnow through the results to find those that were really relevant. And the shopping comparison engines were only of real use when we already knew what we wanted to purchase.

That’s why we created 3LUXE—we research thousands of products in hundreds of categories and only post reviews on the three we’ve found to be best in each category. We find these products through online and offline research, including personal use where possible. Essentially doing the research people would do if they had more time. With a goal of being the first place you go, before you go shopping.

Barry Schwartz of Swarthmore College wrote a book about how more is often less. It’s called The Paradox of Choice: Why More is Less. It’s a great read and I highly recommend it no matter what business you’re in.

The main theme of the book is that when there are too many choices, or too much information, your brain can’t reasonably process all of the trade-offs that are possible. There are too many options to be considered. Too many variables to weigh. It’s nearly impossible for you to feel confident that you’re making the right decision. In the end, most of us make no decision (i.e. purchase) at all. The Autobytel/Kelton Research study showed the same result, 75% of those who suffer from Search Engine Fatigue get up and walk away from their computers.

That’s phenomenal.

That’s the paradox of choice brought to life.

That’s the reason why we started 3LUXE.

All the best,

Doug

In today’s consumer driven culture we have grown accustomed to, and expect options. Whether we’re choosing a product or deciding where buy it from, we want options. Many times the number of options available can be overwhelming and we need a simple solution (like 3LUXE). Other times we know exactly what we want to buy, but want options on where to buy.

For many of us, myself included, iTunes has become the de facto option when it comes to purchasing music. One of the issues with iTunes; most of the purchased music can only be played in iTunes or on an iPod. If you have a zune, rio or one of the hundreds of other players available, you can’t take the music with you. Now thanks to Amazon there is an option. Amazon (AMZN) released AmazonMP3 in beta today. This new service offers songs for $.89 and there is no Digital Rights Management (DRM). No DRM means you can play the music you buy, on any player.

The Amazon offering requires you to install Amazon’s MP3 downloader on your computer. When installed, you can buy and download music from Amazon and it will be automatically added to iTunes. This afternoon I was looking for the song 1234 by Feist (the song from the new Nano commercials). I made the choice to buy it from Amazon (along with a John Coltrane Album). I now have the option to play those songs in iTunes, on my iPod, or my Rio Sport MP3 player. Amazon’s beta library is limited compared to iTunes and the purchase process isn’t as elegant. But they are pushing innovation and change to give us all another option.

Thanks to Amazon, I get the music I want, and I have the option to listen to it, where I want.

All the best,
Bill