The gaff - 27th April 2018
on: 27/04/2018 | 18:00
The gaff banner by: brulaw
giffgaff Happenings
by bluemoonbaz
Removal of USSD message
@richardf brings us this important news: We are are removing the automated USSD message that is sent following a free call or text. The message says ‘Woohoo that call/ text was free - your balance is still [top up balance]’. As we’ve moved to introduce unlimited minutes and texts across our goodybag range this has become an increasingly irrelevant message. Similarly quoting the top-up balance at the end of the message is often confusing for members who have a goodybag given that figure is quite often 0.00. Anecdotally and as per the numerous threads requesting instruction on how to turn these messages off, we think this should reduce irritation for many, many members. Finally, with the upcoming introduction of GDPR and the fact these messages need to live and be triggered from our billing system (which is always worth tidying up where possible) - we’re going to take the opportunity to streamline here. We don’t have a fixed date yet but it should be within the coming month. I will give an update once we have a known date. No one needs to do anything, this will happen in the background.
giffgaff gameplan
Have you tried our brilliant gameplan? Join us and share your financial goals while helping others reach their own, find and share great Hot Deals or get a helping hand with our financial products. Join our chats by sharing your financial goals, interesting news or just get a bit of inspiration from some friendly faces. Everyone is welcome, so why not head over and join in? Just click here.
Creative Writing Challenge April 2018 Entries
@gsklb04 has another great creative writing challenge running. This month's theme is FREEDOM. Do you fancy a try? Please keep your entry down to 1500 words or less. *If you enter anything from anything other than your own work please mention the author.* Head over here and get those creative juices flowing 
.
Has GD had its day?
We have an interesting debate going in contribute about our General Discussion pages. So what are your thoughts? Does the section need closing or do we need changes to refresh it? Maybe you feel it's fine as is? @t_will says "What I'd love to see is people talking about specific behaviours that they think would lead to improvement. Frame a problem with the change you would like to make that would make you want to visit the forum, rather than what puts you off. That way, we can more clearly see what's missing, and what would appeal to people." You can read all your fellow members' thoughts and give us your views by clicking here.
Blog Highlights
by jammydodge
Five ways you can help reduce plastic waste
You may have seen the extensive coverage plastic waste has been getting over the past few months as environmentalists have attempted to raise the profile of this quite alarming problem. But there can be no change without everyone doing their own little bit. Therefore, in this blog, @carlryds explains how you can help reduce the plastic waste piling up in the world. Why not jump in and get involved.
10 beautiful RED iPhone 8 / iPhone 8 Plus cases
The latest Apple iPhone has been out for over 6 months now but just two weeks ago they released their PRODUCT (RED) editions of the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus. Alongside a new phone model or colours comes a series of gorgeous cases. In his latest blog, @wsjudd explores the top 10 RED iPhone 8/8 Plus cases on the market. Pop over and admire their beauty even if you don't fancy buying one.
How To Make Extra Money Online In 2018
Everyone loves to make a few extra quid here and there but there is no such thing as a quick buck no matter what the ads may say. In the age of the internet making a money is almost as easy as Pi but not quite. In this detailed blog, @zerodudex333 guides you through the best methods to get guaranteed money online. Head over and check them out quick.
Tips for buying from Amazon
by toxiic
What to do before buying an item on Amazon
Check CamelCamelCamel
CamelCamelCamel is a website that records the prices of products on Amazon at different times. All you do is jump onto the website, type in the product you’re looking at (or Copy and Paste!), then Hit Search and click on the item you were looking. This will then bring up a host of different graphs of the price, so you can see exactly when the price of the product decreased and by how much. Also, a fantastic feature you can take advantage of is the notifications. Here, you just set the price you want to buy the product for and a form of contact (I use my Twitter username, so when a product drops to the price I want, CamelCamelCamel send me an automated tweet that I can see – saying the prices have dropped to what I programmed it to). This is a great little website for seeing whether the price you’re looking at on Amazon is the best price/whether you should wait it out.
Checking Other Sellers
This is a feature on Amazon missed by many. At face value, it may seem that the product details (like when it would be delivered) are what you’re definitely going to get the product for. Well, there are sometimes other sellers selling the same product, it’s just Amazon defaults to what it thinks is the best option for you based on a number of factors. Anyway, with these other sellers: it’s possible to get the item quicker or from a more reputable seller than the one Amazon picks for you. It’s always worth a look at other sellers, just in case you find the same product but with, say, quicker delivery. Below is how to look for it (if reading Gaff, please see original post linked below).
Amazon Warehouse
Amazon Warehouse just means what people have returned to Amazon and Amazon are now selling at a reduced cost (as it’s technically pre-owned). These reduced costs can actually be very good alternatives if you don’t want the brand new version of the product. For instance, I bought an Amazon Warehouse laptop for £150 whereas the price for a new version is £250. – despite it being pre-owned, I saw absolutely no damage to the laptop (not even scratches!) anywhere on the case or screen. And it’s still going strong today. It’s important to note there are different conditions to pick from sometimes when buying an Amazon Warehouse product, though the listing will say the damage caused to that bulk of products (and not the exact product you’ll get – hence even though the laptop said it has scratches on its casing – there’s none at all!). Also, you only get a 1 year Amazon Warranty with Amazon Warehouse deals, as opposed to the 2 year with new products. You can find Amazon Warehouse deals on a certain product using the instructions said in Checking Other Sellers (above).
Say Hello!
by kathleen414
Say hello to @drkarter by clicking here.
Welcome @fuzzotter to giffgaff by clicking here.
Say hello to @stehady29 over here.
Photo Of The Week
by brulaw
This week's featured photo is Hot Dog by @lornaerudd. Comments from giffgaffers were "love it" (thesepticpheasant), "ahhh Lorna" (yvonnearmstrong), "that's boss!" (oliverspooner), "this english weather is far too hot for Setters with fur coats" (jeanlk), "cheeky dog plunking down on top of your daffys" (kazkat1), "love it" (frencielove), "aww looks great lovely dog" (themzbiker), "that day was hot, I would brought a paddling pool for the garden just for the day if I had any money to" (ellieclarke1989) and "I hope you didn't like those daffodils too much" (illneverrememberit).
Who'd have thought that a dog taking a nap in the garden could be so photogenic? It proves that it's always good to be ready with a camera. Click here to see the original post. Great pictures everyone, keep them coming.
Previous Edition | Next Edition (4th May 2018)
on: 27/04/2018 | 18:09
thanks for this weeks gaff everyone involved i`ll need to have a closer look at buying from amazon 
on: 27/04/2018 | 18:20 - edited: 27/04/2018 | 19:41
Hope you enjoyed reading another packed edition from the gaff team and a brilliant photo from @lornaerudd
I feel like doing that somedays ..lucky dog 🙂
As ever a big thank you to my fellow gaff colleagues for all there brilliant work 👌
@toxiic 👍
@willp789 @brulaw @kathleen414 @ijustcantdoit @jammydodge @revilo10 @as7861
👍👍👍
on: 27/04/2018 | 18:43
Hello to The gaff team,
@willp789, @bluemoonbaz, @jammydodge, @toxiic, @kathleen414, and @brulaw.
Thank you for another very interesting and informative edition of this weeks The gaff.
A very warm welcome to our new giffgaff members:
@drkarter, @fuzzotter and @stehady29, I hope you are enjoying this great and friendly network.
Congratulations to: @lornaerudd for this weeks photo of the week, it is a lovely photo.
Wishing you all you lovely giffgaffers a happy and peaceful weekend.
Kind Regards
a1ant
on: 27/04/2018 | 18:47
mcilwraith wrote:
thanks for this weeks gaff everyone involved i`ll need to have a closer look at buying from amazon
Yup. Good luck saving £. @mcilwraith
on: 27/04/2018 | 18:49 - edited: 27/04/2018 | 19:44
bluemoonbaz wrote:
As ever a big thank you to my fellow gaff colleagues for all there brilliant work 👌
@willp789 @brulaw @kathleen414 @ijustcantdoit @jammydodge @toxiic @revilo10 @as7861
Always a pleasure 
Not sure why but I never get your @'s towards me. No notification on GG, no email. Ah well.
@bluemoonbaz worked that time!
