NEW YORK, N.Y. — According to Topasio.com, in the old days, folks went down to the local jewelry shop to purchase diamond engagement rings, wedding sets, or other pieces of fine jewelry. And many still do, as they prefer to see the actual physical pieces before making a purchase. But more and more people are turning to online jewelry retailers nowadays, for many different reasons. The World Wide Web offers a virtually unlimited selection of any product, including jewelry. When trying to make a purchase at a brick-and-mortar store, one’s selection is limited to what that store carries.

While many stores do make special orders, the order selection is limited to the inventories of the few wholesalers that those stores work with. When shopping on the World Wide Web, one can access hundreds of thousands of inventories in minutes. Even rare, hard to find items can be found on the internet via a simple web search. For this reason and others, many are now using the web for fine jewelry purchases.

The classic jewelry store is famous for the high markup on its pieces. While some don’t mind paying the extra dollar for a quality piece of jewelry, others are looking for a deal. These are the ones who find bargains online. Many jewelry websites offer their pieces at below retail prices, because they don’t have the overhead costs that brick-and-mortar stores have. For those on a budget, buying jewelry online is definitely worth considering.

For anyone looking for a wide selection of fine jewelry at bargain prices, Topasio.com is a great site to visit. Topasio offers a variety of fine pieces, including diamond engagement rings, wedding bands, anniversary and eternity rings, earrings, bracelets, necklaces and more. Buyers can choose between sterling silver and 14k yellow and white gold, in many different styles and settings. In addition to a vast bridal selection, this online retailer displays whimsical gifts, children’s designer jewelry, Gemstone Globes and even Masonic rings at just a fraction of retail price. Choose Topasio for your next fine jewelry purchase.

For more information, visit www.topasio.com, or contact cu@topasio.com or call 888-698-6727, we are located at 1375 Broadway, 3rd Floor, New York, NY 10018.

Technorati Tags: Topasio online jewelry store, purchase diamond engagement rings

OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. — In today’s economy, every dollar counts and how people buy and sell products is quickly changing to meet economic need. Price Universe, LLC offers the first price comparison web site that gives the seller/merchant the ability to list one product for more than one price and also provides buyers with options as well. The web site, www.PriceUniverse.com, is designed so sellers can list a “Buy it Now” price; list a club price; or offer a combination of the two. With the “Buy it Now” feature, members and non-members simply click on the button and they will be directed to the merchant’s site to buy it.

If the club feature is chosen, members will be required to join that club. At the closing time of each club, emailed notifications will be sent to the members who have agreed to buy that product.

“Setting club prices is great if the merchant wants to sell in bulk, to promote a product, or to promote their business and web site,” Christopher Kirtley, co-owner Price Universe, LLC said, explained. “Our Internet sales method using the club prices is patented and while we do what many current price comparison sites do, we also do more. We are the future of price comparison.”

With PriceUniverse.com, members may choose the price for their product. If they choose to join a club rather than buy from the merchant directly, that is a viable option.

Each club has different prices, minimum member requirements, and start/end dates. All of these are set by the merchant. Categories are varied and range from electronics and sporting goods to automotive accessories and jewelry.

The benefit of the club option is that if members have time to wait, they can get their products for less. In addition, merchants benefit from bulk sales.

Product listing is also made easy. Merchants can add their products in one of three ways. They can use the Price Universe online form; upload feed files using their FTP account; or upload feed files from their desktop.

For a limited time, Price Universe is excited to announce that all merchants listing new products will be able to do so for free. After the free trial period, merchants will only have to pay a small monthly fee; they can list as many products as they want.

Additionally, Better Business Bureau(R) online (BBBonline) merchants can choose to only pay for their full clubs instead of the monthly fee.

For more information, visit: www.PriceUniverse.com.

Technorati Tags: Price Universe LLC, price comparison web site, Christopher Kirtley, PriceUniverse merchants

FT. LAUDERDALE, Fla. — CruiseJungle Holdings, operator of several consumer travel web sites today announced the launch of a unique fund raising program that directly benefits veterans and their families. The program, Voyages for Veterans, is designed to raise funds for the well-respected Fisher House veteran’s organization. Fisher House is a 4 star, A+ rated charitable foundation that provides free housing for families of veterans that are undergoing treatment at VA hospitals throughout the country.

The organization builds, furnishes and equips multi-bedroom houses located adjacent to VA medical facilities where the families can reside, at no charge, while their loved ones receive extended treatments there. Each Fisher House is designed to allow its guest to remain together in a family-like environment. To date, the foundation, working through a private-public partnership, has constructed 38 houses across the country and since 1990 has saved veteran’s families an estimated $100 million in housing expenses.

The “Voyages for Veterans” concept was developed by CruiseJungle CEO, Joe Ewart, who served with the Army in Vietnam in the early 70’s. He stated, “I was surprised to learn that veteran’s families are pretty much on their own when they have to travel to a VA facility for any extended medical treatment. Fisher House residences help mitigate the expense that would be incurred if the family was forced to stay at a local hotel and purchase all their meals at restaurants. I was particularly impressed by the fact that 97% of all funds raised goes to directly benefit families of veterans. We formulated a plan to use cruising as a way to leverage funds for Fisher House.”

The first phase of the program offers a direct contribution from CruiseJungle to Fisher House for anyone that signs up for its free weekly newsletter, CruiseFlash at www.VoyagesForVeterans.com .

In addition, future plans call for developing a series of cruise departures that trigger a direct contribution from the cruise lines for identified bookings as a well as specific targeted cruise departures that raise funds on board.

Those wishing to make direct donations to Fisher House may do so by visiting their web site at www.FisherHouse.org .

NEW YORK, N.Y. — Farecrawler.com and its sole fulfillment travel agency provider All Continents travel inc in Los Angeles have been awarded a BB rating with the Better Business Bureau(R). The rating BB is described by the Bureau as a high rating. According to the BBB, “The Company would generally have demonstrated good business-consumer relations, and we would expect any consumer complaints not to be of a serious nature and to be satisfactorily handled by the company.” Carren Rieger, MD of Farecrawler inc. said, “This great result is a tribute to the hard work of our team to provide access to cheap international airfares while providing great customer service though our service team staff at All Continents travel.”

Farecrawler.com is a leading online travel search engine owned and operated by Farecrawler inc. a New York based corporation that is specialized in providing access to millions of cheap airfares to Europe, Asia and Latin America from the United States.

More information: www.Farecrawler.com.

All trademarks acknowledged. Better Business Bureau, BBB, and BBB logos are service marks owned by the Council of Better Business Bureaus, Inc.

[tags]Carren Rieger MD, Farecrawler inc[/tags

HOUSTON, Texas — A decade ago, only the most risk-tolerant consumers would consider making diamond engagement ring purchases through online channels, says Whiteflash. In those early days, the internet was hailed as a revolutionary way to buy small-ticket items, but most wouldn’t have dared to buy something as emotionally and financially significant as an engagement ring online. Today, more and more people are turning to trustworthy virtual vendors to make substantial, multi-thousand-dollar purchases with complete confidence.

Convenience and increased variety have always been primary attractions for internet shopper. Traditional storefront hours often don’t fit into today’s demanding schedules, and local merchants often cannot stock the wide selection platinum rings and princess cut diamonds or round brilliant diamonds online.

How has that translated to increased comfort when purchasing luxury goods online? Lesley Harris, Director of Sales at Whiteflash.com, explains. “More wealthy people are becoming comfortable making large diamond and jewelry purchases from trustworthy e-tailers due to the transparency in both pricing and offerings. Savvy customers can educate themselves through online research to compare price, selection, and vendor policies.”

Does buying online mean giving up excellent service and personalized experiences associated with high-value transactions? Whiteflash doesn’t think so.

“We focus on listening intently to what our customers want,” Harris says. “We have been known to make ‘personal house calls’ to show our ideal cut diamonds or beautiful customized engagement settings.”

Judging by recent trends, Whiteflash.com is clearly doing something right. “In recent months, we’ve experienced a spike both in custom settings and in sales of large diamonds, up to and exceeding the six-figure range.” Whiteflash notes several recent transactions involved 4 to 5 ct ideal-cut round brilliant diamonds exceeding $100,000.

It would seem their clients concur. One recent high-value client praised Whiteflash.com’s service, commenting “few (others) invest the time in earning business today.”

About Whiteflash(TM)
Whiteflash is the first company in the U.S. to offer an exclusive brand of Hearts & Arrows diamond and bring the sheer beauty of “super ideal cut” to the Internet. Brian Gavin, a 5th generation diamond cutter, and Debi Wexler, a computer entrepreneur, together founded Whiteflash.com in 1999 bringing to the Internet their brand “A Cut Above.”

Technorati Tags: Whiteflash diamonds, diamond engagement ring, A Cut Above jewelry, hearts and arrows diamond, Debi Wexler, Brian Gavin

SAN DIEGO, Calif. — California author Jim Musgrave is featured on Sniplits’ beta test site. Anyone with a digital music player, smart phone or laptop understands the hunger for new content. Now, with the launch of Sniplits.com, there’s a new source for entertainment on the Internet. Sniplits(SM) is publishing audio short stories, packaged as DRM-free MP3 files and playable on virtually any device capable of playing digital music. Sniplits launched its website with 85 audio shorts, ranging from about one minutes in length to nearly an hour.

The stories represent the work of approximately 50 authors, including “What Were You When You Were Alive?” by Jim Musgrave (a.k.a. Efraim Z. Graves). “I wrote the story because I wanted people to recognize the plight of homeless veterans and how difficult it is to cope after experiencing combat. If just one person looks at a homeless person differently after listening to my story, then I will have succeeded,” said Musgrave.

The author, who also teaches English classes at Grossmont Community College to students online and in the classroom, wants his students to understand the problems of modern veterans returning from war, and this story was his attempt to get them active politically. “The writer must be active in political causes,” added Musgrave, “because our society is already alienated as it is, and only through dramatic communications will we be able to get the true message out to those who care.”

To market his story, Musgrave adds a signature to his emails and cell phone text messages: What Were You When You Were Alive?

Audio Story By Efraim Zimbalist Graves (Jim Musgrave), A Gulf War veteran wins a different kind of “Survivor Game” in San Diego, fighting prejudice against the homeless…. Time: 30:12 / $0.88. My Sniplits Author Fan Club Page: www.sniplits.com/musgrave.jsp (requires free log-in to view fan page).

“Our goal is to provide listeners with audio stories that are perfectly sized for any pause in their day,” says Anne Stuessy, of Stussi, Inc., creator of Sniplits. She suggests that a ten-minute story might be perfect while waiting for an oil change, while a 30-minute story might be just the thing for a dentist appointment or lunch break.

Technorati Tags: author Jim Musgrave, Stussi Inc, Sniplits audio books, Audio Story by Efraim Zimbalist Graves

DENVER, Colo. — “Over 100,000 key employers now hire primarily from their own websites,” according to Steve Madden at the Denver headquarters of Job Market Access Center (JMAC). “For some major firms it is the only place they will ever advertise their openings. So if you’re interested in leading firms like these, you will need access to their openings listed on employer sites, and that is what JMAC provides. We cover over 50,000 of them.” Job seekers can search by Metro Area and industry, so they can select out only those they are most interested in and best suited for. With a click or two they can be on the site, reviewing current openings and submitting their resume.

“Jobmarketaccesscenter.com also has individual lists specifically for financial firms, technology firms and other special interests, as well as private firms, the fastest growing firms, and more,” Madden added. “This section can prove valuable not only for contact information and descriptions for current openings, but also for news and company statements that might signal emerging opportunities in a particular division or geographic location.”

With JMAC, job seekers can access with a click or two as much as 85% of the advertised openings suitable for them, including those from newspapers, recruiter openings, job boards, employer sites, trade magazines and other sources.

“It includes Advertised Market SuperSearch, a search engine that covers openings from many sources. So all a customer has to do is specify the titles and locations they are interested in,” added Madden.

“JMAC gives our job seekers access to as much as 85% of the advertised openings, including those from newspapers, recruiter openings, job boards, employer sites, and trade magazines. It also provides access to the unadvertised job market among employers, recruiters and growth companies.”

Additional information: pr@jobmarketaccesscenter.com or contact Steve Madden at 1-866-664-7440.

Technorati Tags: Advertised Market SuperSearch, Job Market Access Center, JMAC Denver, Steve Madden

HONOLULU, Hawaii — According to Travel Hawaii LLC, Hawaii’s hotels are still adjusting to the comprehensive smoking ban that the State of Hawaii put in place in November of 2006. One of the outcomes of these adjustments are high and often mandatory cleaning charges, imposed by many hotels should a guest light up in a non-smoking hotel room. “The Aqua Palms & Spa in Waikiki has the highest charge we know of at present,” said John Lindelow, owner of Travel Hawaii, a Hawaii-based Internet retailer. “They charge a $500 cleaning fee should they find that a client has been smoking in one of their rooms.”

Other Aqua hotels in Waikiki charge a $200 to $300 cleaning fee, sometimes adjusted for the “severity” of the offense. Outrigger, with 25 hotels and condos in Hawaii, charges a $250 cleaning fee, and ResortQuest (29 hotels) charges $425.

Travel Hawaii maintains an online database of smoking policies at Hawaii Hotels, which can be found at Travel-Hawaii.com/smoking.html. “This is a rapidly changing area of hotel policy, so we make a lot of phone calls to stay on top of what the hotels are doing,” said Lindelow. Some hotels have no smoking in any room or in any other part of the hotel. Others ban smoking in rooms but allow it in designated areas around the hotel, for example the Waikoloa Marriott, which allows smoking “next to the luau area, next to tennis courts, and at the cabana.”

In addition to continual changes, said Lindelow, there’s sometimes significant variance between the stated policy of the hotel chains and the reality on the ground. “For example, ResortQuest has a corporate-wide non-smoking policy for all their hotels. However, we found that two of their hotels, when we call them, do offer smoking rooms, these being the Waikiki Joy in Waikiki and the Aloha Beach Hotel on Kauai. I guess they didn’t get the memo.”

Travel Hawaii has had to change their database to accommodate the evolving situation with smoking policies at Hawaii hotels. Formerly, they simply tracked whether a hotel allowed smoking. Now they track whether smoking is allowed in some rooms, whether smoking is allowed in other areas of the hotel, additional details on either of these policies, and any cleaning fees hotels may assess on violators.

“Our Japanese clients - more of whom are smokers - have shown a keen interest in our smoking database,” said Lindelow, “so we’ve translated the entire database into Japanese on our Japanese site.” The Japanese version of the database can be found at Japan-Hawaii-Travel.com/smoking.html.

About Travel Hawaii LLC
Founded in 1997 by computer scientist John Lindelow and travel agency owner Roz Rapozo, Travel Hawaii has become a leading Internet booking service for consumers wishing to vacation in Hawaii. Travel Hawaii maintains sophisticated online booking systems and databases focused on Hawaii travel.

Technorati Tags: Travel Hawaii LLC, Hawaiian hotel smoking fines

NEW YORK, N.Y. — Today, Fare Buzz launched a new, dynamic, web-based hotel booking engine - an industry first - allowing travel professionals to book hotels at net rates in over 100,000 hotel and resort properties. This innovative program offers quality-inspected properties in more than 200 countries, worldwide, with hotels ranging from budget to luxury accommodations.

The savings are substantial, 30-40 percent off retail prices. Agents can log on to the new booking engine at www.farebuzz.com/hotels.

The new hotel program provides travel professionals with access to pre-negotiated wholesale rates, as well as the best available rates, categorized as “Super Nets” and “Super Savers.” Agents can now add their mark up at the time of booking and receive their commissions within a week of booking.

“Travel agents are tired of waiting for their commissions and want their money fast,” says Arnold Walter, President and CEO of Fare Buzz. The new hotel program is based on a powerful, robust and yet very simple to use technology which gives search results in seconds and instant booking confirmation. Reservations can be made on the web site 24/7 or by phone seven days a week.

Established in 1994, Fare Buzz is a New York-based travel supplier that has grown to be one of the leading travel suppliers in the country. Since their inception, the company revolutionized the world of air travel through strategic negotiations and partner alliances. For years, they have been one of the leading suppliers of airline tickets. Fare Buzz backs up its product line with a “Price Meet or Beat Policy” and a “Product and Service Guarantee” - these are unique in the B2B world. Fare Buzz is a pioneer in travel technology; they have developed state-of the-art and user-friendly booking tools for the travel industry.

Fare Buzz is committed to creating a true value “One Stop Shop” for its travel agent partners, and offers them the most competitive air, hotel and car prices. These are complemented by the latest travel tools and excellent customer service support.

“I would urge all of our travel agent partners to try our new hotel booking tool and give us their feedback so that we can improve it further. We are committed to developing superior products and services that empower travel agents to grow their business,” Walter says.

For reservations, visit: www.farebuzz.com/hotels; or call: 1-888-808-4123.

Technorati Tags: Fare Buzz, CEO Arnold Walter, New York based travel supplier, web based hotel booking engine

SPEARFISH, S.D. — Although political campaigns for national office are hideously expensive these days, you don’t necessarily have to spend big to spend smart. South Dakota Republican U.S. Senate candidate Sam Kephart’s campaign is employing a unique web-based technology to reach new donors and potential voters.

Never before used in the political realm, Kephart’s online presentation (www.GOPpower.com) uses a proprietary combination of streaming video with synchronized Power Point slides, called Vforum, to deliver his long-format campaign keynote anywhere, anytime. The viewer can watch the previously recorded talk straight through, choose to browse by topic index, or, better yet, let the interface automatically search for keywords in the speech and take the viewer to them.

Kephart, 57, a first-time political candidate, entered the South Dakota U.S. Senate race for legacy issues. “My generation, the ‘baby-boomers,’ have done a dreadful job of leaving America a better place for the next generation. I was married late in life. I have two daughters, ages 8 and 12; I got into this race for them. Our parents, the World War II generation, left this place better off for us. We have abjectly failed to do likewise.”

Candidate Kephart, who owns a marketing consulting firm, decided to leverage his knowledge of online technology and try it out in his own campaign. “Vforum, the web-based platform I’m using, was initially developed to facilitate distance learning for critical military and law enforcement applications. During my primary campaign appearances, I’m frequently given only 5-10 minutes in front of an audience. It’s just not enough quality time. Vforum gives me an extremely cost-effective way to convey my full message to prospective voters 24/7, without interruption. The response has been very positive.”

Kephart, a conservative with populist leanings, adds, “Washington, D.C., what I call the ‘District of Cynicism,’ will never be able to deliver on any of its promises unless and until the broken dialogue between the major parties is transformed. Elected officials must get back to putting America first, before party, personal political advancement, or special interests. Wall Street and K Street are killing off Main Street. I’ll use any tool that helps even the fight.”

Brian Douglass, President of digital OutPost, the Carlsbad California-based developer of Vforum, said, “Mr. Kephart has been a client of our firm since the late 90’s. We’ve done several high-profile projects with him over the years. When he told us he was running for the United States Senate, putting our Vforum platform to work for his campaign seemed like a natural fit given our past collaborations.” Douglass and his partners were early pioneers in developing video compression and transmission technology when they all formerly worked for GTE. “We developed Vforum for serious world-wide training solutions. Although we have produced several successful military and government applications, we’ve never previously had the opportunity to apply Vforum to the political field. We’re excited about having a positive impact in such critical times.”

Kephart, who likes pushing technical and political barriers, concluded, “If I make it through the primary and get elected in November as a Senator, I intend to produce a monthly live Internet TV show for America entitled ‘Report to the People.’ It will have an 800 call-in number and web portal with automatic archive. Any citizen will be able to phone in and ask me about some pressing issue or stuck piece of legislation. This technology’s proven in the field and has the ability, properly deployed, to return some power to average Americans. I’ve been using video streams in corporate applications for ten years. It just amazes me that not one of our 435 Congressmen or 100 Senators has put this to work yet on a regular basis to serve their constituents. I guess they’re afraid of what might happen… I’m not.”

About Sam Kephart
For additional information or to receive a press kit on U.S. Senate candidate Sam Kephart, please contact Stephanie Mauszycki (mah-chess-ski) at 605-639-3159 or visit www.SamKephart.com, or email sam4senate@aol.com.

About Vforum
Vforum is the latest way to deliver a message more effectively online. This virtual forum utilizes video, synchronized with PowerPoint, to enhance visual appeal and information recall. A searchable format allows users to find information instantly. Fully captured, edited and hosted by digital OutPost, Vforum provides a way to reach a large distributed audience with one consistent and effective message. For more information or to schedule a demonstration, contact Meg Purvis at digital OutPost, located in Carlsbad, CA, at 1-800-464-6434 or email sales@dop.com.

Technorati Tags: South Dakota Republican, US Senate candidate Sam Kephart, Vforum virtual forum, digital OutPost