Help
Welcome to the help page. Please take a look at the table of contents to locate the information you need. Our goal is to make your entire shopping experience a pleasant one (both on our site and in affiliated stores). If you cannot find an article on the subject you are looking for, please be sure to look through the FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) as many concerns and troubleshooting issues are answered there.
If you can’t seem to find what you’re looking for anywhere on this page, let us know by sending us an email (admin@theshoppersguild.com). We will update the page and get back to you, personally, with the information you need.
Help Contents:
I. User Help
a. Search for a Deal
1. Location (Make Sure You are Looking in the Right Town)
2. Find the Deals you Want
i. Guild Favorites
ii. Search by Category
iii. Search by Company
iv. Search by Keyword
b. Print a Deal
1. Print Now
2. Cancel
c. Share with a Friend
1. Share a Deal
2. Share the Site
d. Sign Up for Membership
i. Membership Benefits
e. Languages
f. Forums
II. Business Customer Help
a. Sign Up
b. Creating a Deal
c. Tracking Progress
I. User Help
As a user, there are a number of ways to take advantage of the resource that is the Shoppers Guild (Shopperz.com).
Our first and foremost resource is a list of exclusive deals from businesses across the New York, Boston, and Miami areas. These deals are available to anyone with a computer and a printer (see I.a. and I.b.) .
In addition, however, the Shoppers Guild has a forum where users can freely exchange information about ongoing sales events, new store openings, and general shopping or fashion tips. This in and of itself is a great resource for everyone, and it is only available here. All users are invited to view the forums, but only members may participate in discussions (for more details see I.e.). Luckily, all membership is free (now and forever – see I.d.).
a. Search for a Deal
The Shoppers Guild (Shopperz.com) offers special shopping deals at numerous locations in the Metro Areas of New York, Miami, and Boston. These deals area available from business across the spectrum of goods and services, so it is important that you know how to navigate the site, and find the deals you want and need.
1. Location (Make sure you are looking in the right town)
Because the Shoppers Guild offers deals from businesses in different cities, it is important to make sure that you are searching within the right one.
To be sure, look at the Arcade: (see image below)
The third section from the left contains the options for “Location” and “Language.” (Note: the first section on the left says “welcome” and gives some description of the site and our services, and contains the “browse” option – more on that later) Beneath the heading for “Location” are the names of the Major Metropolitan Areas served by the Shoppers Guild. Click the one you want, and all of your searches will be restricted accordingly.
(Technically, the system is built to recognize which of the three cities is nearest to you based on the routing location of your ISP, but this is not a fool-proof method as some service providers will rout addresses through neighboring states…)
2. Find the deals you want
Having selected your city, it is time to start hunting. You can search for deals at shopperz.com in three (3) different ways. However, before you begin, you may notice that there are some deals already listed on the home page. These are guild favorites.
i. Guild Favorites
“Guild Favorites” are the Shoppers Guild’s favorite deals within your city. These deals behave like any and all others, except that they meet a certain criteria of excellence (set by the Guild Staff) on such things as Value, Creativity, Environmental Friendliness, etc.. There is no preset time during which a deal remains a Guild Favorite. As such, the list is subject to change frequently.
But there are many more deals beyond the Guild Favorites, all of which make for a greater shopping experience (whether it’s your next free hour or rainy day). And finding these deals is quick and easy thanks to the Guild’s three-pronged search capabilities. According to your preference or need, you can either: browse by category, company (business name), or keyword.
ii. By Category (“Browse Categories”)
Looking back at the “Arcade” we see that the first section on the left (entitled “Welcome”) ends with the words “Browse Categories” in bold, and followed by a little arrow. As it happens, this is not a directive, but a tool. Without clicking all one needs to do is move one’s mouse over the words to reveal all the different deal categories used by the Guild. Now simply click on the category you want to browse through, and find the deal you’re looking for,
iii. By Company (“Our Connections”)
If you prefer to browse by company (or would just like to peruse the names of those locations affiliated with the Guild), click on the black button labeled “Our Connections.” (This is located in the “Arcade,” at the bottom of the second section from the left.) Clicking on this button will take you to a special page with a listing of all the companies affiliated with the Guild. Initially, you will be taken to a page entitled “Show All.” This literally contains all the names and logos of every business offering deals through the Shoppers Guild, and can get a little overwhelming. To make things easier, you can takle the list piecemeal by clicking on any one of the alphabeltical links on the top.
Clicking an alphabelitcal link (“A” for example, or “E”) will separate the list alphabetically, revealing only those stores whose names begin with the letter you have selected.
When you find a store you like, simply click on its logo, and all of its active deals will be revealed.
Beware, however, that “Our Connections” lists all of the businesses affiliated with the Shoppers Guild. Literally ALL. This means that items from other cities are not filtered out. If you find a deal you like while browsing this section, check under the company name for the business’ address (right under the business name, in smaller type) to make sure it is local.
iv. By Keyword (“Search”)
If you already have a clear idea of what you want, you can get right to the point with a keyword search. The search bar is located back inside the Arcade, at the top of the second section from the left. Just type keywords for what you want (be careful about plurals), click the red button marked “Go!” and our computer will do the rest. All the deals that match your search will be listed below.
b. Print a Deal
Printing out your chosen deals is a snap. Each time you find a deal you like, simply click “add to list” (located at the center right of each deal). Clicking this button will add the item to your “Shopping List.” This list allows you to keep track of all the different deals you are planning to use. An annotated version of the list is posted on a yellow sticky, on the right hand side of the page.
1. Print Now
As soon as you add your first deal to your shopping list, a link will appear just beneath the yellow sticky. It will read “Print Deals,” and will have a little image of a printer to the right. If all you want is one deal, you can already click on “Print Deals,” or, you can add more deals to your shopping list first. There is no Limit to the amount of deals you can have on your list. But don’t be wasteful! Don’t print deals you don’t plan to use.
Once you click “Print Deals” you will be taken to a new page that will show the details of your shopping list in full. Here, you can make final choices to remove deals (see I.b.2.), or share news about these deals with your friends (see I.c.). Click the “Print” button at the bottom of the page, and a document with all of your deals will be sent to your printer.
2. Cancel
If – at any point – you decide that some of the deals you have selected are not really what you want, or just aren’t something you will have the time to go and buy, you can remove them from your list. Every time you add a deal to your shopping list, it will show up in the annotated version on the yellow sticky. On the right-hand side, just beneath each deal, will appear a small red “X.” Clicking the “X” will remove the deal from your list. The same function is set up in the full version of your shopping list, visible once you click “Print Deals.” Just as before, Clicking on the “X” will remove the deal from your list.
c. Share With a Friend
If you see a deal you like (or that someone else might), you can share it with them by email. It’s very simple.
1. Share a Deal
To share a newly discovered deal with someone, simply go to that deal, then click on the link that says “Share with a Friend.” Each deal has one, located in the bottom right corner.
Once you click on the link, you’ll be taken to a new page where you’ll need to write your friend’s name and email address (plus your name and email address so your friend knows it’s from you). A sample message is provided, although you are encouraged to make it personal. When you’re done, click the “Send” button at the bottom. Your friend will get an email with your message, and an image of the deal you wanted to share with them.
Just remember, they will not receive an actually certificate. When you “Share with a Friend” you send a copy of an actual deal, only without the proper ID Code. Instead, your friend’s copy will display how many deals of this kind are left, and how long they have until the offering expires. Hurry up!
2. Share the Site
Alternatively, one can share the site with a friend, rather than any one particular deal offering. The system is much the same, except that the link this format email is found in the “Arcade” in the fourth and final section from the left (Headlined: “Community”). The final Link is “Share with a Friend.” Click on it, and you will be taken to the same message page as before (see above), where you will be required to add your friend’s name and email, as well as your name and email. Again, a default message is already in place, but it is customizable. The only difference this time is that the message will not be sent out with the image of a deal or a link to one.
Pretty easy right? But remember: easy or not, don’t go sharing this site with just anybody…
d. Sign Up for Membership
Guild Membership comes with numerous benefits and no strings. As a member, you get to contribute to the forums, and get to create and manage your own personal profile. But this is no ordinary profile, think of it as your Shopping Central HQ. Sure, there are the usual things, like uploading an avatar/profile pic, etc. But your profile also gives you access to a series of tools to enhance your shopping experience including a news feed about the site, a tracker for all the newest deals from your favorite sellers, a print history that lets you keep a record of the deal’s you’ve selected (and how many of them you have successfully redeemed) and a score counter for the number of deals you’ve printed. And it’s all free!
1. How to Sign Up
Piece of Cake. There are several ways to access the registration page. The simplest is to click on one of the two “Join Us” links (one located just under the “Arcade” and to the left, after “About Us” and Contact Us;” the other at the very bottom of the page between “Contact Us” and “Forums”). This will take you right to the first registration page. This page allows you to select between a User account and a Business Customer account. Since you are not a store or business (judging by the fact that you are reading the “User Help”), click on the white button to the left under “User Sign Up.” You will now be taken to the second registration page. Once there, merely fill out the necessary information (all required info is followed by a red asterisk), accept the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy, enter the verification code, and click the button that says “Register.” Done. You are now registered. Easy Right?
You’ll notice that once you click “Register” you will be taken to your profile page. From here, you can customize what you want when you want, including your password. In case you didn’t notice, registration does not prompt you for a password. For the sake of security, the system will assign you a highly individualized password at random. This was sent to your listed email as soon as you clicked the “Register” button. If, however, you would prefer to use a different password you may. Just click “Change Password” from the menu at the left of your profile page (3rd link from the top) and follow the directions!
e. Languages
There are currently two (2) language options for the Shoppers Guild website (Shopperz.com). According to their convenience, users can swap between English and Spanish at any point, to better navigate the system. Content on nearly all pages is already translated. This does not, however, include the Forums (see I.f.). In order to switch between languages, go to the home page and to the “Arcade.” The third section from the left contains two (2) settings options. At the top, it allows you to switch between listings in Boston, Miami, & New York (in that order). At the bottom, it allows you to switch language. The default setting is English, so the only option will be to put everything “en Español.” Click the link that says “en Español,” and voila. To reverse the process, click the same link (only now it says “in English”).
Quick Note: all forum content (news, comments, discussion threads, etc.) will remain in their original language (if originally written in English, they will remain in Enlgish, if originally written in Spanish, they will remain in Spanish). Should one wish to read a post in a foreign language, we suggest copying the entry and pasting it into a program like Bablefish (http://www.babblefish.com/) or Google Translate (http://translate.google.com/).
f. Forums
