The leap year only comes around every four years and to celebrate the extra day Purchase.ie have decided to refund the delivery charge on all transaction in the Island of Ireland until and including February 29th.

The only rules are

1: You got to spend more than €20.

2: The delivery address must be within Ireland or Northern Ireland.

3: You must use the promotion code leapyear at checkout to avail of the offer.

When you enter the code leapyear you will notice that 1 cent has been deducted from your transaction. This indicates to us that you have used the code. We will then refund the delivery charge to your credit card, debt card, laser card or paypal account the within 24 hours.

If you got any questions or encounter any difficulties please call us on 01 8428187 or email sales@purchase.ie

Alternatively you can view a video tutorial about using the site here

Valentine’s Day is nearly upon us again. What is Valentine’s about for you? Is it about overpriced chocolates, overpriced restaurants and over-sized cards ? Read on to find out how to celebrate this occasion in a more ethical fashion.

If you fancy a eco-weekend away in Ireland the Eco Award winning Glenribbeen Lodge in Co Waterford might be just for you. Based in a nice tranquil setting between Lismore and Cappaquinn you can relax and meditate by the fish pond and even pick your own fresh warm eggs for your breakfast.

A simple way to show your love that won’t cost you an arm and a leg is to go on a nice romantic walk. The Kells Girley Bog Eco Walk is a wonderful 3.5 Mile walk through forest and bog. Over the course of this walk you are bound to see a wonderful array of birdlife, plant and animal life.

Instead of buying those overpriced chocolates why not make your own organic chocolates with this Chocolate Making Kit. The kit holds everything you need to create your own decadent and delicious chocolate using simple instructions and magic ingredients.

Instead of buying those overpriced bouquets of roses which your loved one will watch die in front of their eyes why not consider handmade Fairtrade Felt Flowers. Available in Parma Violet, Passionate Pink and Tempting Turquoise.

Go with a Plantable Valentines Card this year made from recycled paper and embedded with high-grade, pure North American wildflower seeds

Finally tell your loved one that they “light up your life” with a cute Sun-Jar. Available in Yellow, Blue and Pink the Sunjar will make for a lovely candle alternative if you decide to have a romantic night in.

Tell us your top Eco Valentines Tips for a chance to Win a €50 Shopping Voucher from Purchase.ie – Ireland’s Favourite Online Eco-store.

Winner Announced Valentine’s Day!

Purchase.ie, the online eco-store that provides a wide range of products aimed at helping people save energy, conserve water and reduce waste announced that County Wicklow are its eco kings of online shopping for 2011.

Based on data collated and analysed from last 1,000 purchase.ie online transactions in 2011 the report confirmed that businesses and homeowners in the Garden County have demonstrated their firm commitment to eco-friendly products whilst saving money at the same time.

Wicklow just pipped Dublin to first place by a mere 0.03 percentage points, with Sligo also taking a place on the podium in third spot.

Also in the top 7 counties and with a sales average above its per head of population were Galway, Cavan, Meath and Cork respectively.

According to Colm Griffin of Purchase.ie “It was no surprise to see Dublin featuring so strongly, given that the business is based there and a lot of the marketing is centred around the capital. However, it’s very positive to see lesser-populated counties such as Wicklow, Sligo and Cavan perform so strongly. One has to factor in that in parts of these and other Counties broadband may not be as readily available.”

Unsurprisingly all counties that are home to a major city featured in the top 10 with Galway in fourth place and Cork, Limerick and Waterford in seventh, eighth and ninth respectively.

Offaly attained the lowest score in the report, with Kilkenny, Longford and Westmeath also in the bottom four. 

With a total of 81 per cent of all International purchases, the International report showed that the UK dominated this sector in 2011,(Northern Ireland accounted for 15 per cent of this figure), with the United States next best with 5 per cent, followed by Italy on 4 per cent and Germany and Holland on 2 per cent each.

Griffin added “I’m not surprised to see English speaking countries dominate the International sales figures given that the site is in English after all. I’m delighted to see Italy perform so well. Energy prices in Italy are extremely high which I would like to think is a market place the business can make further in-roads into”.

ENDS

Note to editors:

Results were collated based upon data sourced from the last 1,000 www.purchase.ie online transactions in 2011. Using figures from the 2011 Census, the total number of sales per county was measured against per head of population figures to produce the purchase.ie league table.

UK leads way on International Online Sales

According to Purchase.ie online transaction stats for 2011 the United Kingdom with a total of 81% of all international transaction dominated online sales in 2011.

Purchase.ie researched the geographic location of last 1,000 online orders placed with the business and found the UK dominated online sales with UK mainland accounting for 66% of sales and Northern Ireland accounting for 15% of International sales.

The United States accounted for 5% of all online sales placed with Purchase.ie and Italy a surprise third with 4% followed by Germany and the Netherlands on 2% each.

In all Purchase.ie received international orders from over 20 countries in 2011.

Garden County the Kings of Eco Shopping for 2011

Purchase.ie the online eco-store who provides a wide range of products aimed at helping their customers save money have just announced that Wicklow are the eco kings of online shopping for 2011.

Data was collated and analysed based on the past 1,000 purchase.ie online transactions dating from Dec 31^st 2011 backwards.

Using figures from the 2011 Census the total number of sales per county was measured against per head of the population figures. Using these averages the Garden County topped Dublin by just 0.03 percentage points with Sligo also taking a place on the podium in third spot.

In all 7 counties had above average sales against the population of the county. Other than the aforementioned also included were Galway, Cavan, Meath and Cork respectively. Well done if you are from one of the magnificent seven and keep shopping!

Munster featured prominently in the mid-tier counties with Limerick, Waterford, Tipperary and Clare all in this sector. Mayo, Leitrim, Kildare and Louth also fell into this category.

Finally there are the counties we would really like to see moving up the charts in 2012. If you are from any of the below counties you really got to earn your county strips and get shopping at Purchase.ie. Someone has to be last and unfortunately for the good people of Offaly the wooden spoon of 2011 is all yours!

Make a bid to Save Money This Year

So 2012 has arrived and Im sure most of you are still struggling to keep the New Years Resolutions you have made.

As an eco site I guess Purchase.ie should be encouraging you to live a greener life in 2012, reduce your carbon emissions, hug trees etc. ‘It’s all well and good to be green when you got an endless supply of money….’ you might say and we hear you.

So why not make 2012 the year of saving money and living a greener life in the process!

Here is our simple four point plan

1: Reduce your energy bills.

Late in 2011 all the major  electricity supplier (ESB Electric Ireland, Airtricity and Bord Gais) increased their rates by about 13%. No doubt many of you have already got bills that exceeded what you had budgeted for. Oil rates have risen, gas rates have risen so why not counter this by making some changes in your home or business to counter the increases.

Products like chimney balloons, rad booster radiator reflector panels and far infrared heating panels are just three products which can help you counter rising energy costs. Ok you got to outlay money to save but there are many products out their which will give you a quick return on investment. See a full list of energy saving products here.

2: Reduce your water usage.

Householders still have not been hit directly with water charges in Ireland as the water meters have yet to be installed. What most people forget though is that in order to create hot water you are using energy. The ecocamel water-saving showerhead, the dish squeegee and tap aerators are three products which can help to counter this issue and save you money. See a full list of water saving products here.

3: Reduce your waste charges

The bintrasher can help you to compact your refuse and fit up to 40% more rubbish in your bin. If you are living in a local authority area which uses a pay per weight system then the Loofen Food waste dehydrator will reduce the weight of your food waste by up to 80% and will also prevent bad odours and fruit flies in kitchen, brown bin or composter. See a full list of waste management products here.

4: Use eco cleaning products

Ecoballs are a natural alternative to conventional washing powder which can reduce your detergent costs by 80%. Dry cubes are inserted in the tumble dryer with your clothes and reduce drying time by about 25%. Magnoballs help to optimise the performance of your washing machine and dishwasher by preventing the build up of limescale and the kettle and iron descaler speeds up the heating time and thus reduces your energy costs on these heavily used electrical appliances.

So make a new year’s resolution to put a smile on your face and start saving money in 2012.

Purchase.ie at The Square in Tallaght Christmas Market

Purchase.ie is exhibiting at the Square in Tallaght Christmas Market every day right up to

Come see the Purchase.ie Products at the Square in Tallaght

Dec 24th This German style Christmas market opened on Thursday November 24^th and most of the stalls are set in cute wooden cabins.

A great place to sample the best in hot International Cuisines and pick up a wide range of great gift ideas from candles and knitwear to handbags and even remote control helicopters.

At The Square in Tallaght Christmas market you can find the perfect gift idea for all the family and Purchase.ie provides a wide range of practical gift ideas which can help to save money by reducing energy bills, conserving water and reducing waste.

A wide range of colourful and innovative eco gift ideas can also be found on the Purchase.ie stall suitable for all the family including eco educational toys, sheep-wool slippers and alternative grocery shopping bags.

A large percentage of the Purchase.ie products are also Irish-made including the Bin Thrasher to compact your bin waste and the Stopcock cosy to prevent your water supply from freezing.

Purchase.ie are also using the occasion to raise funds for the Capuchin Day Centre based on Bow St in Dublin 1. The centre provides meals, food parcels and day care facilitates to the homeless and those in need. The centre provides hot meals for up to 500 people in Dublin every day.

Purchase.ie is delighted to announce that it will be supporting the Capuchin Day Centre in the run up to Christmas by donating 5% of all customers orders when they use the code capuchin10.

Brother Kevin Crowley of the Capuchin Day Centre lifted the Sam Maguire Cup recently when some of the Dublin Players paid the Centre a visit. Photo: Damien Eagers

The Capuchin Day Centre provide meals, day care facilities and food parcels to the homeless in Dublin and those in greatest need. With the Irish economy in a depressed state the number of people in need of the Capuchin services is on the rise.

“When we started the service back in 1969 we had about 50 people coming in to us regularly according to Brother Crowley of the Capuchin Franciscan Order. “Today we have around 200 people coming in here in the morning for breakfast and in the afternoon we could have up to 500 people coming in for lunch”

Purchase.ie customers can now avail of a 10% discount on over 100 eco products with when they insert the code capuchin10 on the website or call 01 8428187 and quote the code. 5% of every such transaction will be donated directly to the Capuchin Day Centre.

If anyone wishes to make a direct donation to the Centre they can go to www.homeless.ie or call the Centre on 01 8720770

 Trolley Dolly Family Welcomes Three New Additions

The trolley dolly shopping bag family are celebrating three new arrivals to complement the existing 7 family members.

The trolley dolly is a fantastic eco shopping accessory allowing you to go grocery shopping week in and week out without needing to buy one plastic bag.

The latest models include a new box bag and bottle bag to go with the normal reusable nylon bags and net bags.

The newest additions will arrive in Ireland on December 8th and in plenty of time to ship this wonderful christmas gift idea to you.

So say goodbye plastic bags and a big hello to

Disco Dot Black Cream Trolley Dolly

Floral Black Cream Trolley Dolly

To find out more or to order one of these or the 7 other different styled trolley dollies go to the trolley dolly shopping page here

Oh and don’t forget their brother the messenger bag and of course the little ones the 5 bagz and the 3 bagz

As the temperature drops that few degree it is a good time to consider ways of coping with

Read our tips and add your own for chance to win prizes

the cold months ahead and perhaps saving some money in the process.

Below please read our top 10 tips. Please add your own views in the comment field below. At the end of November we will give out three prizes to the people that have added the most meaningful contributions.

First Prize – Owl Energy Monitor

Second Prize – Radbooster Radiator Reflector Panels

Third Prize – Chimney Balloon & Inflation Tube

So here is our 10 Tips for Saving Money This Winter

1: Chimney Balloons are inserted in the flue or unused or rarely used fireplaces and are designed to eliminate cold draughts entering the room and heat loss escaping from your room and up the chimney. When installed a chimney balloon gives you an estimate 25% energy saving.

2: The Radbooster Radiator Reflector Panels are designed to be easily fitted to the brackets at the back of your radiators. When installed the Rad Booster will help you to heat your room 35% faster. Made in Ireland and independently tested by a leading BER Assessor.

3: The Stopcock Cosy insulates your water supply helping to prevent your water supply from freezing. Ensures that your water supply will stay intact no matter how cold it gets this winter.

4: With energy rates continuing to rise it is well worth considering the installation of Far Infrared heating plates. Works on the same principle as the sun radiating the earth these ceiling mounted heating panels heat your body as opposed to the room. Come with thermostats for adjusting room temperature. Can save up to 70% on heating bill when compared to conventional heating systems.

5: Energie Solar Panels will guarantee to give you 100% hot water daytime and at night whatever the weather 365 days of the year. Probably the most reliable and maintenance free solar panel system on the Irish market.

6: Bursting attic pipes caused hundreds of thousands Euro in damages in Ireland last winter. The  Attic Cosy Kit  provides full protection to your attic pipes against freezing. One kit comes with eight 1 meter lengths of self-adhesive strip and elbow and T fitting to cover joint fittings.

7: Reports of oil theft seem to be on the increase again this winter. Not a great surprise when considering the record high oil prices. A Tanklok will secure your oil supply against this growing risk of theft.

8: Sheep Wool Insulation rolls insulate or top up existing insulation in your attic. Made of 100% Sheep wool this product is effective in even the harshest of climate. A fully breathable product, sheep wool insulation is the most eco friendly type of insulation available.

9: During the winter months our energy bills invariably begin to show an increase. But could we be doing a little more to counter this? An Owl Energy Monitor allows you to measure your spending in real time and adjust your energy use behavioural patterns accordingly.

10: Using more hot water generally means an increase in your energy bill. The Ecocamel Aerated Showerhead will divide the amount of water you use when showering in two without affecting the water pressure or indeed how much you enjoy your shower.

So add your ideas below on saving money this winter and you might just win one of these three great prizes.