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Be a Pro at Spotting Fake Jewellery

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Here are some fool-proof ways for spotting fake jewellery, whether it is a dainty baby handprint necklace, a string of pearls, diamond earrings or gold bangles.

Price

Is the price too good to be true? Then it probably is. Real jewellery, especially rare items, can be costly. So, if you see a diamond-studded bracelet and it only sells for a meagre price, then it is most probably fake. Price is a good indicator of whether a piece of jewellery is real or fake.

Seller

Always go with a known and respectable seller; you will never go wrong. However, if you opt to buy from an unknown seller who does not have a solid reputation for selling genuine jewellery, you are setting yourself up for disappointment. When buying jewellery, do not trust online sites where you cannot check the authenticity of the item.

Return policy

If the seller does not have a return policy, then the product is probably fake. Sellers, especially online ones, who refuse returns perhaps sell phoney jewellery. Not being able to check the item personally before purchasing it is a very risky move. It’s too big a risk to part with a huge sum of money for fake jewellery.

Hallmark

Jewellery sold in the United Kingdom – whether, silver, palladium, platinum or gold – has a hallmark that indicates the purity of the metal. The Hallmarking Act of 1973 requires jewellers to have this hallmark to protect their consumers.

Logo

Jewellery makers, especially those who make expensive pieces, have their own hallmark that you can check. Check logos to see if anything is amiss. Fakers usually get something wrong in the logo, so it should be something to look out for – the spelling, font, etc.

Quality

You can spot a piece of fake jewellery by its quality. Genuine jewellery does not have quality issues, such as links that look pinched, or bands that have scratches on them. The look of the jewellery should be fine. Rings that have stones mounted on them should not have any imperfections; the mounting should be solid.

Documents

If you are going to buy diamond jewellery, it should come with a certificate proving its authenticity. All other jewellery should come with care instructions and details about the manufacturer. When reading the documents that come with the jewellery, check the spelling and grammar as well; it is another tell-tale sign of authenticity.

Test the metal

You can do some simple tests to see if what you bought is authentic. The first one is the magnet test – for silver or gold jewellery, use a strong magnet on your item. Gold and silver are non-magnetic, so if it sticks to the magnet, it is fake. The fog test is suitable for diamonds. Breathe onto the stone; if it fogs up, it is fake. A diamond does not retain heat, so if you blow air onto it, it should look the same. The skin test is when you wear a piece, and your skin turns green or becomes irritated and itchy. Real silver and gold do not react to the skin.

Image:https://cdn.pixabay.com/photo/2015/09/02/13/24/woman-919047_960_720.jpg

 

Fundamental Tips to Enhance Your Online Dating Experience

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Whether you’re looking for a life partner or a quick date for that party you’ve been dreading, online dating is a great way to meet new people and put yourself out there as an option for a love connection.

Portrait of casual woman lying on couch and using laptop

But there are a few essential tricks that will really help make sure you’re drawing in the right kind of attention and presenting your most appealing self to the internet at large.

One area that’s important to consider opening up about, if you have any interest in finding a sexual partner online, is your own health history. Specifically, if you haven’t had your STD status tested, it’s an important step for anyone who is sexually active. But getting tested will also show potential interests that you’re serious about your health and theirs, which is a huge turn-on. After all, there’s nothing sexier than being able to confirm on your dating profile, from the beginning, that you are clean and ready to have good, clean fun.

Another tip that will apply regardless of what you’re “seeking” is not to take safety lightly. Watch out for “catfishes” (people who aren’t who they claim to be, or who pretend to be interested in order to solicit gifts, money or personal information). While many believe only women catfish online, anyone seeking anyone should beware dishonest users in the online dating community.

Similarly, if you plan to meet up in person with someone, choose a neutral, public location and either bring a friend or use an app to let your friend see your location in case of trouble. Some even recommend taking a picture of your date or their license plate and sending the picture to a friend or family member before going anywhere further!

Though health and safety are important and a savvy internet user will readily admit that, it’s not the most fun focus. To keep people wanting more when they come to your profile, complete as much as possible. Be vague or detailed, but give lots of information and pictures. A thorough profile elicits more trust, and it helps show you care about openness.

Overall, be confident, don’t lie (it will always catch up), and know that you get to decide how much of yourself to share. But if you want to meet someone who’s honest, it really does take two to tango. Don’t say things on your profile that you’re not willing to back up in person.

If you follow these tips, you’ll find someone as interested in a good, safe time as you are, and you might just find your new favorite person in the world.

Author Bio: Paige Jirsa– I work with https://stdtestingfacilities.com/, which provides users same day STD testing in a discrete and proficient manner.

More for Less – Home Improvement on a Budget

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Given the opportunity, many of us would undoubtedly pursue projects to improve our homes. After all, changes and modifications that enhance our properties will not only increase comfort and convenience but can also have a positive impact on their value as well. But because of the high costs that these remodeling and renovation projects often entail, home improvement projects are often pushed back if not forgotten altogether.

The good news is that home improvement doesn’t always have to be an expensive endeavor. In fact, it can be a lot more affordable than you might think. To this end, here are a few ways that will help you make improvements to achieve the home you aspire to have without breaking the bank.

Do your homework

Home improvement is, generally, an involving activity. The tasks require not only a considerable investment of money but time and effort as well. And if you’re taking a do-it-yourself approach, it’s good standard practice always to do your homework first. In this way, not only are you far more likely to avoid safety hazards but you’re also bound to mitigate any potentially costly mistakes too.

Consider all your options

In any home improvement project, you’re undoubtedly going to have to spend on equipment, materials and services like junk pick up to complete the tasks at hand. And while this might sound small, the expenses can easily spiral out of control if left unchecked. As such, it makes sense to check out and consider all of your options first before making any purchases. It might sound tedious and time-consuming to do, but you’ll be surprised at how much money you can save by doing so.

Never do more than one task at a time

Unless the situation calls for it, it’s essential to stick to one task at a time when tackling a home improvement project. After all, working on multiple areas at a time will not only divide your focus and make your more susceptible to mistakes, but it can push the project back even more which will cost you more money as a result.

Leave certain jobs to professionals

While the DIY approach is an effective way of minimizing expenditure for a home improvement project, there are certain tasks that are best left in the hands of professionals. We can’t do everything on our own, after all, and if we bite off more than we can chew, we risk making mistakes that can be expensive to rectify. So, when in doubt, it’s always better to acquire the services of the experts.

It’s not easy to stay within a modest budget when tackling a home improvement project. After all, these kinds of projects can often require a considerable investment of resources. Fortunately, there are ways to minimize your expenditure significantly. By doing your research first, investing time in finding inexpensive alternatives, and knowing your limits, you have a better chance of staying within your allotted budget without sacrificing the quality or productivity of the project.

To read more on topics like this, check out the house category.

Services You Need to Reduce the Burden When Cleaning Your House

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Do you feel burdened by cleaning your house and keeping it in order? You can seek help from companies offering the best services to reduce the burden. You might need to pay them for these services, but you will save a lot of time. The service staff will also ensure that you receive the services you deserve.

Cleaning services

You might say that cleaning your house does not take much time. You can finish it in no time. The truth is that it could take several hours depending on when the last time you cleaned your home was. When you ask the cleaning company to come over, they will do everything that you wish related to home cleaning.

Junk removal

After cleaning, you will end up with tons of trash. You might not know what to do with it. If you are environmentally-responsible, you want to segregate the garbage and ensure that it ends up in the right location. Therefore, you need the help of junk removal companies since they will come over and remove the trash. They also know what to do since they are experts in this regard. They have worked with many homeowners before who also sought similar services. Even with deck removal, you can count on them if you need them for the job.

Laundry service

If you have piles of laundry to deal with each week, you do not want to spend hours cleaning it. Even if you have a washing machine, it will still be challenging for you. Therefore, you need laundry services to ensure that the clothes will become clean without breaking your back doing the job.

Repair services

Instead of throwing away items that are not functioning well, you can decide to repair them. There are repair service companies that will ensure these items will work again. Whether it involves major or minor repairs, you can count on them. You also do not want to spend a lot of money on buying a new replacement if you can use the same thing after repair.

Home organization

If you are familiar with Mari Kondo, you might find her ways to be weird. The truth is that it is not a novel idea. You can find people who can come over and be your Mari Kondo. They will help organize your home and, to a certain extent, your life. They will see to it that you let go of the things you do not need and keep the ones that are useful to you.

Appliance setup

Setting up appliances and equipment could take time. You can ask someone else to do it instead of spending hours figuring out how to do the job. You can also do the same for furniture that you have no idea how to assemble. By spending a few dollars, you can relax and use the items almost right away.

You need to be wise about what you do with your salary. Using it on essential services that will reduce your burden at home is an excellent idea and worth the money you will spend.

To read more on topics like this, check out the house category.

Crunching the Numbers When It Comes To Your Finances

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If you’re one of those people that doesn’t like math, then it can feel like torture to try to figure out your finances. You have to figure out how to get from point A to point B with a bunch of numbers that don’t make sense individually, so how can you possibly have them make sense as a whole? If you find that you need to crunch numbers and you are uncomfortable with this process, there are steps that you can do to help yourself out.

Start with the basics. First, you need to make a budget for yourself to see what those numbers are. Second, you can find an app to install on your mobile devices or your desktop that can help you organize. Another way that you can get help crunching financial numbers is if you talk to specialists or lawyers, especially when it comes to things like taxes. In the end, to avoid different types of economic frustration, try to move in the direction of organization using small, manageable steps.

Make a Budget for Yourself

One of the first things that you should do to reduce your anxiety about financial numbers is to create a budget for yourself. If you want to start small, you can create a budget just for your groceries. Then, you can move up to a household budget. And from there, start putting in numbers to build a life budget.

Find an App To Help You Organize

Once you have this budget set up, the next step you should do is find an app to help you organize all of your finances. You can install fantastic budgeting apps on your phone or your desktop, and a lot of them are entirely free. Once you have a central account set up, it’s possible to get a real-time Birdseye view of your finances at any point, and you can use the trends in search factors to help you understand where your money is coming from and where it is going to.

Talk To Specialists and Lawyers

Especially when tax season is around, you may want to contact a tax lawyer to help you work with your numbers. If you own a business, contacting a professional is even more critical, because you don’t want to make any mistakes that would jeopardize your personal or business finances.

Get Better Using Small Steps

A lot of the frustration that comes with working with numbers is the fact that people try to do too much all at the same time. If you take simple steps to help organize your finances one at a time, you’ll find that you do a much better job of staying organized, understanding what you’re doing, and being able to maintain this sense of fiscal responsibility.

 

Is Cloud Hosting Right for Your Retail Business – Taking a Closer Look

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As a retail business owner, your days are often filled with “putting out fires” and attending to one issue after another. Sometimes it seems as though nothing is ever just quiet and simple. Then there is the fact that consumers can be rather fickle at times, constantly changing what they want and what is in demand. There is no doubt that you’re constantly looking for ways to improve the efficiency of your business and make sure that profits stay where you want them to be.

One option that many retailers end up eyeing is cloud hosting. Cloud hosting services and solutions can help retailers of all sizes, and could just be the best decision you make. Here’s a look at why cloud hosting may be right for your retail business.

Ensure the Supply Chain is Visible

One of the biggest factors in determining a retailer’s success is having a supply chain that is efficient. You need to be able to see exactly what is happening at all times, at any given area on the supply chain. This allows you to pinpoint possible problem areas before they can balloon out of control and throw the supply chain out of whack. It also helps business owners to identify areas where cost savings can be realized.

With cloud hosting services, your supply chain will be highly visible at all times. You can check on inventory, stock-outs, shipments, and so much more – all in real-time. There will be no question areas, as it will all be clear.

Get a Better Sense of Your Customers

Because you’re seeing activity in real time, you can also zero in on the customer service experience and make sure it is up to par. Not only that, you’ll start to get insight into your customers so that you can offer a more personalized experience overall.

When you are using cloud services, you’ll have the ability to connect all the digital data you are collecting with your in-store data. This gives you a much more complete overview of your customer and what it is they are looking for and demanding.

There Are More Cost-Effective Routes Nowadays

One of the things that used to hold retailers back from installing these cloud services is the fact there was a fairly sizeable initial investment required. Today you can find cost-effective and flexible solutions, which means your business won’t need to make a massive investment.

A great example is Oracle cloud services by Logic. With this product, you’ll be able to get a full retail software platform packaged in a hosted model, yet you won’t have to make that initial large investment. Typically, it can be run with what you’ve already got in place. This saves both money and time, as you won’t have to hire IT specialists to train your staff.

Cloud Services Could Be the Way to Go

While it’s true that each retail business is unique and has its own set of customers, more often than not, cloud services can offer a real benefit to the company.

Let Your Sign Guide: How Cancers Can Channel Romance Through Fashion

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Hey, Cancers – is your love life on fire? The fact is, it can be hard out there when you carry a tough shell, but anyone close to you knows that you only act hard because Cancers feel everything. That makes love twice as intense, but heartbreaks hard to handle. Despite your intensity, though, you need to let people in if you’re going to find the perfect match. And when you’re struggling, the right outfit can help you set the mood.

For a date night that will have sparks flying, take a cue from famous Cancers and shed your shell. These looks will create incomparable chemistry, whether for a night or a lifetime.

Go Slinky Like Selena

One Cancer who is a master of steamy style is Selena Gomez, and if you’ve seen her on the red carpet, you know the star isn’t afraid to show some skin. Rather, Gomez chooses looks perfectly in tune with InStyle’s recommendations; Cancers can shed that shell with slinky silk and jersey looks that reveal your softer side. Silk is perfect for fancier gatherings and evening events, while draped jersey dresses offers a comfortable alternative for more casual affairs. No matter the occasion, though, softening your look may also help you show a little more emotional vulnerability. That’s what will really catch your partner by surprise.

When Less Is More

Semi-transparent fabrics are in right now, and with warmer weather around the corner, it’s the perfect time to pull out those gauzy garments, but you don’t need to overdo it. Sometimes it’s important to just take a step back and enjoy the simple things in life, despite that constant need to do more and be more. Yes, you’re a powerhouse, but you don’t always need to prove it. Instead, tune into your Cancer daily love horoscope and find your footing. Now may not be the time to dive deep into the dating game. Just dip in a toe and see what’s out there.

Be Open To Anything

If anyone has had a tough romantic run lately, fellow Cancer Ariana Grande’s love life might take first place. Despite her recent breakup with SNL star Pete Davidson, and the loss of ex-boyfriend Mac Miller, Grande isn’t letting love get her down. No, Grande is ready for the rest of 2019, and the stars say Cancers will be lucky in love. The secret: stay open to what comes next. Test out youthful fashion options, like those Grande likes, with bold patterns, bows, and lush fabrics. Like a brightly patterned bird, you’ll be giving off signals that you’re a catch and you’re ready for romance.

Cancers can be sensitive, and when things go awry, it’s hard not to pull out your claws, but if you want to open yourself up to love – or at least fun – you have to be willing to communicate and show your softer side. So put those pincers away and shed that shell. Your softer side, whether in silk or stripes, will charm potential partners if you’re willing to put yourself out there.

Does Your Packaging Line Really need More Automation

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While automation is often touted as the best way to boost productivity, it is not for everyone. Some operations could actually get bloated up by too much automation, which could make you reluctant to move towards more automation in your business. In other cases, you might not see the immediate benefits of spending on automation. But there are sometimes very clear signs that your business should move in that direction. Here are some of the signs that it might be time for your business to embrace automation even more.

Egg, Egg Carton, White Eggs, Hen'S Egg, Food, Egg Box

Your Employees are Overworked and Overstretched

If your employees can’t keep up the pace, this will end up affecting your business in many ways. First, they’ll be much less efficient, which will lead to more errors. These errors will start adding up and affect productivity. Overworked employees also have lower morale, and lower morale leads to more turnover and more absenteeism. Another underlying issue is that overworked employees are more likely to make crucial mistakes that could lead to injuries, which could end up costing you more in workers comp and open you up to litigation.

Automation will allow you to redirect workers assigned to menial tasks such as box erecting and sealing, so they can provide help somewhere else on the production line. If you don’t want to completely automate your packaging line, you could always benefit from adding a box erector that will allow you to free up some of your workers so they can help take off some of the load on more important tasks.

You have a Standardized Product and Packaging

If you have to deal with a variety of different products with different packaging shapes and sizes, then implementing more automation might not be the best option for you. Small operations with these kinds of products often don’t see a favorable ROI from automating these tasks. However, if you’ve recently switched to a standardized and steady product stream, automation becomes more interesting.

If you can See a Real Return on Investment

Adding new machinery to your packaging line is a serious expenditure, not to mention additional maintenance costs that comes with it. So, you have to make sure that it makes sense for your business and that you can get an actual ROI from your purchase.

If your packaging needs are variable, or you have fairly low labor costs, then automation is not always the best option. However, if salaries or employer mandated costs like unemployment insurance, workers comp, healthcare and other benefits are constantly going up, then you might want to assess your cost-benefit analysis a second time to see if it would be profitable for you. In some cases, adding one piece of machinery could replace the wages for one single employee over a year, and allow you to recoup on your investment fast.

Conclusion

Automation is not for everyone, but in many cases, it could lead to more productivity, lower overheads, and a more efficient workforce. Make sure that you keep these factors into consideration before you move towards more automation if you want to actually benefit from it.

How To Come Up With Clickbait Titles in the Travel Industry

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You can’t spend too long online without encountering clickbait. Ever seen a sensationalist headline you can’t resist clicking on, then find that the article is lacklustre and a letdown? Welcome to clickbait.

There’s no doubt your title/headline is important. The term ‘clickbait’ may have been coined recently but the theory is older than the internet itself. The most well-known proponent was advertising guru David Ogilvy, who famously said: ‘On average, five times as many people read the headline as read the body copy. When you have written your headline, you have spent 80 cents out of your dollar.’

Clickbait has earned its reputation for good reason, so is it a legitimate strategy for travel marketers? The problem isn’t the catchy title, it’s the fact that the body copy doesn’t live up to the hype. Done badly, clickbait titles disappoint consumers and do your brand more harm than good.

However, there is a huge advantage to writing your titles in a way that motivates people to click through. Here we’ll take a look at how to write great titles that get people going and do justice to the quality of your content.

Get the keyword in your title

When thinking about page titles on SERPs pages, the most important thing to do is put the keyword in there. If someone types in ‘flights to Madagascar’, they’re much more likely to click on a page that references that directly than something like ‘flights to East Africa’. And the earlier you show this in the title, the better.

Don’t fall into the trap of adding the keyword without context. Make the title is interesting to read and in proper English. If the keyword is ‘hotel Copenhagen’ Google won’t penalise you for calling your page ‘cheap hotels in Copenhagen’ – it will understand the context.

Once more – with feeling

It’s shocking how a single superlative can change a boring sentence into something truly amazing. While this might be a bit over the top, words like ‘shocking’, ‘unbelievable’, ‘incredible’ or ‘amazing’ can have a huge effect on the number of people clicking through.

Think about this example. Which would you rather click on?

‘7 facts about Turkey’

or

‘7 crazy facts you never knew about Turkey’

It’s clear which one is more emotive. But remember, whatever you say in your title must be backed up in your copy. If you say your facts are ‘crazy’ or ‘unbelievable’ then make sure they are, otherwise all the hard work you’ve done will be for nothing.

Incorporate popular trends

To make your titles come alive and resonate more with internet users, you can include popular trends or pop-culture references.

For example, we all know how popular Instagram is and how much people like to take great photos to show their friends, so incorporate it into your titles. Something like ‘the 10 most Instagrammable holiday destinations’ implies to users that your article is full of impressive locations they could visit to become the envy of their followers.

Add a sense of urgency

You’ve probably heard this one before, but conveying a sense of urgency to users is almost guaranteed to get you more clicks. A report by Experian found that email subject lines conveying a sense of urgency got 14% higher click-to-open rates and twice as high transaction rates compared to their average marketing emails.

Again, make sure you don’t do anything too sensationalist, but by adding a ‘now’ or ‘today’ to your title, you may get clicks from people who would otherwise have walked right past.

Add some ‘unbelievable’ statistics

Everyone loves a big number – it sounds impressive and begs the user to find out more. A title like ’10 reasons why the Thai tourism trade is worth 2.53 trillion Baht‘ suggests to the reader that Thailand is a destination already popular with tourists, so would be worth a further look.

On the other hand, when it comes to the price of holidays, low numbers can work well, too. Something like ’25 amazing places to eat in New York for under $10’ will attract savvy shoppers eager to get the best value.

Proceed with caution

A clickbait title is a great way to get your visitor numbers up, but as we’ve warned throughout, you have to keep a reader interested past the title. To have a real and long-term impact, all of your content needs to have SEO principles at its core. Make sure titles aren’t too long and give your reader a true sense of what they’ll find when they land on your site. A bad experience will actually have a negative effect on your performance.

The key takeaway is to create engaging and shareable titles that inspire action. If you’re not sure where to get started, a proven content marketing agency like Ad-Rank can help.

How To Put a Number Plate on Retention

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If you own a personalised number plate or would like to keep your current number plate once you sell your current car, continue reading to discover how to put your number plate on retention.

Why you may be interested in putting your number plate on retention: 

If you’ve grown attached your number plate or purchased a special personalised number plate, it’s well worth keeping your number plate, so that when you purchase a new car, you’ll be able to place your old number plate on your new car.

Alternatively, you may also be interested in putting your current number plate on retention if you’d like to put your personalised plate aside for the time being, without worrying about another individual paying for the rights to your personalised plate. Check out, New Reg.co.uk

for more information.

However, there is a legal process which you have to follow in order to put your number plate on retention, to confirm that your number plate is no longer associated with your old car.

How to put a number plate on retention:

1. Fill out a V317 form 

In order to disassociate your number plate from your old car, you’ll need to download a V317 form online, from gov.uk.

2. Be prepared to pay a fee

In order to disassociate a car from a number plate, you’ll be required to pay a processing fee. However, if your number plate has a special significance, you should find that the small fee which you’ll be required to pay, will be well worth it.

3. When you purchase a new car, you’ll need to fill out a V5C registration certificate to associate your number plate with your new car

As soon as you decide to have your old number plate placed on a new car, you’ll need to fill out a V5C registration certificate, in order to associate your new car with your number plate.

4. Remember that you have up to 10 years to register your old number plate to a new vehicle 

While you don’t have to register your number plate to a new car straight away, in order to keep your special number plate, you’ll need to associate your number plate with a new car within a 10 year period.

If it gets close to 10 years and you’d like to hang on to your personalised number plate, don’t be too concerned as you’ll be able to download and fill out another V317 form in order to renew the ownership of your number plate for another 10 years.

If you were wondering if you’d have to pay to process a second V317 form, the answer is no. Once you’ve paid for your first V317 registration, you will not be charged for filling out and filing subsequent V317 forms.

So if you’d like to retain your current number plate, for the foreseeable future, it’s great to know that there are multiple different ways to keep your desired number plate, for as long as you see fit. That is of course as long as you follow all of the laws and regulations which are outlined above.

To read more on topics like this, check out the lifestyle category.