We all know gaming is expensive in Australia. We’ve all done the sums – the price we pay locally for games and consoles is way more than gamers in the US and UK pay for the exact same products.

So what gives? Are we being ripped off? It sure looks like it at first glance. Take Tomb Raider on the PS3 – one of the hottest new releases out there right now. US consumers can pick it up for about $40, while in the UK it works out at a little cheaper than that. Here in Australia? Try $59 at JB Hi-Fi, or even worse, $88 at EB Games.

As for consoles themselves, the 500GB Sony PS3 will set you back $400 locally, but only goes for $300 in the US and about $340 in the UK.

The best gaming deals

Now as you probably know, there are cheaper ways of buying games than walking into mainstream physical retailers. Games sold in the UK use the same PAL format we do, and most of the time the basic price at UK online retailers such as Zavvi, The Hut or Amazon is so much lower that even with shipping costs to Australia it still works out cheaper than buying locally.

Australian retailers themselves have picked up on this, and many now offer parallel import copies themselves alongside full Australian releases.

However, there are limits to how much stock businesses can import in this way, and they can’t start selling parallel import titles before their Australian release date even if they’re released elsewhere first.

Top sites for cheap games

So in reality, most of the time you’re still best ordering directly from overseas yourself. Zavvi, for instance, has a standard 99p ($1.50-ish) international shipping rate per item, meaning you can have the aforementioned Tomb Raider delivered to your door (within 1-2 weeks) for a total of just under $39. The Hut offers exactly the same terms.

Amazon is probably the best-known online retailer, but be warned – you’ll likely be charged a minimum of $5 per delivery to get your order sent to Australia. The bigger the order the less relevant this becomes, obviously, and Amazon is more likely to offer specific deals through its affiliates than other online sources.

For example, Buckscoop recently featured an Amazon deal for the PS3 Exclusive Edition of Assassin’s Creed for just $35.50 all inclusive.

It’s worth checking other online sources abroad too. We recently highlighted a deal to get Tomb Raider for the Xbox 360 delivered from UK site The Game Collection for just $28.65. Sadly, the deal has just expired but it’s a site worth keeping an eye on.

Another site to watch is OzGameshop, which offers free delivery on all titles. It’s actually a UK site, and all items are shipped from there, but it’s set up specifically for the Australian market, and prices work out on a par with the likes of Zavvi and The Hut.

If you’re and PC gamer and not worried about a physical product, meanwhile, check out Greenman Gaming. It sells download-only titles, so completely removes the cost and headache of shipping physical items from the equation.

You can also trade in digitally downloaded titles for credit which can be used on new purchases. Not all developers are supported, but it’s a good idea, and the site regularly offers discounts through coupon and voucher codes.

Why so much cheaper?

That’s all great news in terms of saving money, but it still doesn’t answer the question why games cost so much here in the first place.

In truth, it’s partly because of something we’ve already covered here: most games sold in Australia aren’t actually made here. And it’s not just a question of shipping costs either. It also costs extra to get games rated here, and because of Australia’s stricter approach to more violent titles, there’s often the possibility of an appeal, or the developer having to amend the content to meet rating needs.

Even accounting for all of that, though, Australian games are more expensive. But the general cost of living, and the average wage, is also higher here than in the UK and US. Even accounting for the higher average cost of games, then, they cost a lower proportion of our minimum wage than is the case overseas.

In other words, being able to import games cheaply means if anything we’re actually scoring, so if you shop smart there’s no reason to complain.

We should mention, though, that using these tactics only lowers the amount of money going directly to the Australian gaming industry, meaning less cash to invest in the infrastructure that will reduce the cost of buying locally in the first place.

One of my favourite things about our house in Perth is the fact that we have been beautiful large white tiled floors throughout. I always feel like I’m on holiday in Spain. Okay, maybe not always, but when I think about holidays in Spain, back in the day, I think of large white tiles on the floors in the holiday accommodation.

Of course, in winter, that’s not so great! It does get a little chilly and having a rug you can have underfoot is very useful and great for making it all a little more cozy.

Deals Direct have an offer on rugs at the moment with some starting prices as low as $29.95 for a round 90×90 shag rug, and going all the way up to $2250, which is obviously not the budget rug.

The real bonus at the moment is the free shipping that comes with it, saving a small fortune in weighty mail.

There’s loads to choose from, including children’s rugs, ideal for bedrooms, play rooms, mats, road maps, alphabet and also beautiful shag pile rugs and gorgeous home accessory type bits.

Online shopping is all well and good, but when shipping fees in Australia cost more than the item itself, things suddenly don’t look so rosy any more. The high price of shipping has been a problem in Australia for a long time, and when it costs less to have a product shipped to your home from the United Kingdom or the USA than it does from the Target 10 kilometres down the road, or from a retailer on the other side of the country, something isn’t working.

There’s been a rumbling from retailers over the last few years about the need for competitive shipping rates, especially as the exchange rate has turned in favour of Australians shopping abroad, with the result being that Australian consumers turn further afield for their bargain shopping. Air miles and the environment aside, this eats directly into the profits and sustainability of Australian and Australian owned businesses.

But, you might think, at least if you buy ‘it’ in Australia, you’ll get it sooner, right? Well, no, actually. Some retailers (see the table below) offer express shipping internationally for less than standard shipping within our own borders!

When you can buy a DVD or game from The Hut or Zavvi in the UK for example, have it shipped to Australia from overseas, get a discount on shipping, or there’s a shipping promo or free shipping or delivery coupon codes, and you’re getting it for next to nothing, there’s no real contest, is there?

My own mother sometimes buys her beauty products in the UK and has them shipped to her in Perth. Why? Because the price of the original item is so much lower because it’s produced in Europe, I suppose, and combine that with voucher codes and free postage or postage deals and someone like StrawberryNet offering free shipping on skincare, makeup and body products is on to a winner from a consumer point of view.

In recent years, fortunately, more and more Australian businesses have wised up to the fact that the customer wants what the customer wants, and what the customer does not want, is to be paying over the odds for the convenience of online shopping and home delivery, and while there are people willing to offer this service, those who don’t are losing out.

It is pretty great then, when looking at the table below, to notice that the list of Australian merchants that are now including free shipping, occasional shipping promotions, discounts, coupons or vouchers – Deals Direct are well known for this – is growing.

We can only hope that some of the big name stores will follow suit soon, and shipping charges around and within Australia will become so competitive that choosing to shop local will be the most sensible decision of all, both for us as consumers, and for the environment.

Here’s a quick guide for you on some of the stores that offer free or reasonably priced shipping and delivery. If you know of others we haven’t included, leave a comment below. It would be great to give some credit and support where it’s best deserved.

Since the launch of the much anticipated Samsung Galaxy S4 last month, we’ve watched with great interest as retailers began slashing their prices for this smartphone over the past  week or so. It looks as though the combination of the Galaxy’s loyal following along with all the hype surrounding the S4′s release has retailers falling over themselves to offer the best deal.

The RRP on Samsung’s Galaxy S4 i9500 is $899 if you buy one from the Samsung Store. However, on Buckscoop we’ve seen a sequence of deals being posted for the S4, each with improvements made to the price on an almost daily basis.

The first deal posted last Thursday (2nd of May) showed that Duty Free Central had the best discount on offer for $719.97, including shipping to Australia. This even topped the generally ultra-competitive pricing of Kogan by $38. At the same time on the other side of the spectrum, you had household store names like Harvey Norman and Dick Smith who were selling the Samsung Galaxy S4 for between $820 and $850 respectively.

By Monday the 6th, Unique Mobiles had stepped up to take the lead in the price slashing by running two “$60 off” promo codes on the Galaxy S4 i9500 model and the slightly more expensive Galaxy S4 i9505 4G model. This dropped the prices down to $697 (i9500) and $717 (i9505) which included shipping. To sweeten the deal further, they also ran a 50% discount on their 12 and 24 month premium warranties. But just two days later and Digital World International (DWI) showed their intent to join in on the action by offering the Galaxy S4 i9500 for just $656.50, with express delivery to metropolitan areas included.

Today though, Thursday the 9th of May, both Unique Mobiles and DWI currently hold the no.1 spot for the best deal available on the i9500 model. Unique Mobiles issued new coupon codes for the i9500 and i9505 dropping the i9500′s price down to the same level as Unique’s at $649 (including standard shipping to metropolitan areas). However, it’s DWI who currently has the lowest price for the i9505 model at just $665. Even with Unique Mobiles´ coupon code applied their price only comes down to $679.

At the time of writing, Duty Free Central has since lowered their prices further but not quite enough to beat DWI’s or Unique Mobiles’ on the i9500 model. However their i9505 model comes out just slightly cheaper than Unique’s at $674 (shipped). Also, just to briefly explain the difference between the two models, the i9500 has an octa-core Exynos chipset and no LTE support. The i9505 on the other hand has a quad-core Snapdragon chipset with LTE support.

The table below is a summary of the best deals we’ve seen over the past week. It’ll be interesting to see where this price war takes us over the next 2-4 months.

* Note that at the time of writing all deals were still active.

Whoah! Where has the last week gone! We got caught in the iron grip of a cold and it plaughed our house like a bad smell.

Deals Direct have an ‘everything for mum’ catalogue out at the moment, but you’re pretty much starting to run out of time!  The offers in the catalogue end tomorrow, 11:59pm AEST May 7th 2013 and while stocks last.

Shipping charges do apply and will be calculated depending on your postcode.

While I don’t personally recommend buying kitchen appliances for mother’s day, like, ever, if you’re going to risk it they have some good offers, like a Micasa Stand Mixer with a $100 saving, going for $149. The 1 litre Stainless steel, smooth or chunky soup maker is half price, reduced from $150 to $74.95.

If you want to go for a more traditional, yet still practical gift, the 3 in 1 Jewellery Mirror Cabinet -Lockable door is awesome! I’d never have to untangle necklaces again! It’s priced at $99.95, an ‘introductory offer’.

There are twelve pages full of offers for every type of mother, so have a browse and get mum something special today.

Gymboree are offering up to 70% off girls, boys and newborns clothes as they start planning for spring.

They have some seriously cute clothes, and I’ve been a fan since my daughter was a baby. Up to 70% off is a little bit like Christmas, really.

• Plan your little one’s spring wardrobe

Some great example of Gymboree cute are the Dot Stripe Top, reduced from $22.95 to $13.12, or the superbly sweet Tulip Bee Top, reduced from $22.95 to $8.99.

In a rather unusual state for kids fashions, boys aren’t forgotten by Gymboree either. You can grab the Mommy’s Best Bud Bodysuit for $6.37 or a myriad of other options in a similar price bracket.

Cute clothes are a nightmare. You don’t need them, but you have to have them. And these are gorgeous and great quality.

Despite the fact that I write about Mother’s Day gift ideas almost daily at the moment, I haven’t actually arranged anything for my mother for the 12^th of May yet! Fortunately there is still time, but if you want to take advantage of Mother’s day deals rather than paying premium rates at the last minute, you – and I – should really act sooner rather than later! Remember I told you about Roses Only? Well, they have some new offers available, so if you’re looking for a stress free Mother’s Day gift, or still just browsing for Mother’s Day gift ideas, read on! Hopefully we can help you out.

Roses Only are a one stop shop for everything to do with flower delivery. When you’re buying flowers online, you really want to go to a reputable supplier, as you don’t want to be paying a fortune – and lets face it, florist delivery is never really cheap, just hopefully sometimes cheaper!

Looking at the location specific offers from RosesOnly.com.au, you can order a box of six roses delivered in Perth for for $79.95, including 6 roses, a fine porcelain money box, and a sampling of chocolates in a beautiful gift box.

In comparison, Fast Flowers have six roses only for $69.95, and you can add chocolate for a minimum $9.95.

While a single red rose is a bit more Valentine’s Day than Mother’s Day in my mind, it can still be a lovely touch to accompany breakfast in bed. From the flowers in Melbourne section of the Roses Only site, you can find a single red rose with a small box of chocolates for $39.95. Compare that to another site – Flowers For Everyone, for example – where a single rose on its own is $45.

If you’re looking for flowers in Sydney, there’s an extra special option for you, although it’s not extra cheap or anything. In fact, at $159.95 for the cheapest option, it’s luxurious. That’s for six roses, a bottle of Moët & Chandon Rosé and a small box of chocolates. If you’d like the big one with 36 roses, you’re looking at $279.95. Certainly a special one, like a first mother’s day gift, perhaps.

While we’ll agree this is not a cheap option, it is cheaper than a comparative arrangement at Fast Flowers for example, which is $194.85 although you receive 25g more chocolate in this option.

If roses aren’t your thing, there’s a bounty of beautiful tulips that have come in season and are perfect for the mother that exudes elegance and grace. Tulip bouquets start at $69.95 for 10, and go up to $189.95 for 36, with wine and chocolates.

Annoyingly, in light of Mother’s Day being just under two weeks away, the only Roses Only Coupon codes I can find are still Mbenz10 for 10% off, and the 5% you get off for signing up as a member. There doesn’t seem to be anything else at the moment, which surprises me. You’d think this is the perfect time to offer something that makes the horde of potential clients choose you! Despite their lower prices in the first place, that is.

Whatever you decide though, get on with it, so you can rest assured that there will be no last minute panics next weekend.

So how did the Westfield flash sale go for you on Tuesday? Did you find any bargains? Do tell, please! I love hearing about peole’s bargain buys! Especially if you’re shopping for Mother’s Day Gifts, because every mother wants what’s best for her family, and that means that most of us really want you to put some thought into your Mother’s Day gift ideas, but we don’t mind so much if you chase up and use some of the multitude of Mother’s Day deals out there. After all, financial pressure does no one any favours, and Mother’s Day – 12 May, by the way, in case you didn’t know the date yet, isn’t about breaking the bank, but sharing the love. On that note, here are some more Mother’s Day ideas from Westfield Shopping Center online.

If you missed out – I did. For some crazy reason, despite writing that it was on Tuesday, I had it in my head for Thursday. Colour me annoyed. Anyway, if you missed it, don’t fret. There are still some amazing deals to be had. 

At the moment, I’m loving Tony Bianco – it looks like you won’t find them in any of the Westfield shopping malls though, they’re only online.

But take a look at these gorgeous Mint Suede leather peep toe high heels. Sure, they’re not mumsy, but wow. Aren’t they beautiful! What’s more is, they’re reduced from $159.95 to $60. That’s beautiful in itself.

As a mum to two small children, a practical handbag is always a must for me. The Harley bag is gorgeous too! Stylish, practical, and useful, with it’s front zipper, zipped pockets inside and out and a dedicated phone pouch – no more scrabbling for it in the bottom of a bag. Yay. These were $249.95 but are now $159.95.

While home appliances are never a good idea for Mother’s Day, an exception can be made for coffee makers, and as it happens, Mr Espresso has a Pod Machine on offer for a whopping $650 – which is only worth mentioning because there’s $100 off on it at the moment.

Pharmacy Online is also offering fabulous discounts on gifts for mum. For example Arden Beauty by Elisabeth Arden is $59.95 instead of $150. That’s a huge saving. Or Revlon’s Charlie Red is only $29.95.

There were two vouchers for Pharmacy Online on Buckscoop this week. One for 5% off storewide, and one that offered a free sample bag of Swisse products with any purchase. They both expired on the 25^th, but I’ve had luck in the past with expired vouchers still working, so it won’t hurt to try them out, or have a look and see if there are any new current ones added since writing this.

And really, the same goes for any of your Mother’s Day shopping. If you find something you’d like to buy in a Westfield Shop, head over to the Deals or Vouchers sections of Buckscoop and type in the the retailer name, and you may just find yourself a free Westfield gift to spend on your Westfield shopping. Bonus. Who doesn’t like free stuff?

And of course, when all else fails, there’s always the trusty Westfields Gift Card, the perfect gift for anyone who is super fussy and like to get things for themselves. People say it’s impersonal, but I don’t agree – to me it says “Here, here’s something you can use to spoil yourself rather than putting towards groceries or bills. You can’t spend it anywhere else. It’s just for you. Enjoy it.” I can’t think of a nicer thing than guilt free spending for Mother’s Day. 

There’s been a lot of anticipation and discussion around the launch of the Samsung Galaxy S4 phone. It officially goes on sale tomorrow, Saturday the 27th of April. Samsung took over the Sydney Opera House for the unveiling of its flagship phone on Tuesday night. This high profile event was one of Australia’s biggest technology events which experts are calling a show of force against rival phone maker Apple.

Buckscoop has been on the hunt to see which carriers were offering the most competitive deals on the new Samsung Galaxy S4. Vodafone has launched an offer on their $60/month plan where new customers can pre-order and receive a bonus 1GB of data/month (for a total of 2.5GB/month) for the first 12 months.

In fact, it looks like most of the carriers are focusing on the $60 plans. If you’re thinking about going for a cheaper plan, the thing to be careful about are the handset charges as they become much higher. So much so that it gets to the point where most $50 plans actually end up costing close to the better-value $30 options.

Virgin plans are arguably better value for heavy data users but their call rates are higher than parent company Optus. So perhaps not as good for those of you who make a lot of phone calls. Optus appear to be making their sales pitch primarily around offering bonus Quantas Frequent Flyer deals. Existing customers who upgrade to their $60 or more per month packages will receive 8,000 points, while new customers will receive 4,000 points.

Here’s a comparative breakdown on the offers from Optus, Virgin, and Vodafone that I found on Lifehacker.com.au. It shows you how much you’ll end up paying for the Samsung Galaxy S4 on a 24 month contract for each carrier, including the various plan charges, handset fees, how much call credit you’ll receive, how many 2 minute calls that translates to and what they cost, the cost per-minute of calls, flagfall charges (costs to establish a connection), as well as included data and SMS costs.

(for a full breakdown of all plans offering the Galaxy S4 click here)

Debenhams in the UK have provided one of my favourite type of bargains: stacked deals! They have 20% off their towel bales in ten lovely colours, reducing them from £20 to £16 for a set of five towels. There’s also a voucher code VJ62, which takes an additional 20% off the new price, making these lovely luxurious towels £12.80. 

Annoyingly, of course, shipping costs more than the product itself. Go figure. You have to add £14 to the cost, which brings you to £26.80, which translates to $40.18

These towel bales comes with two bath towels, two hand towels and a face cloth (some have two), all of which are made from super soft, machine washable cotton.

A single cotton towel at Target is currently $20, and if you have to have it posted, you’ll be adding $9 to that price too. Laura Ashley has a three-piece set for $44.95, so airmiles aside, this seems like a much better deal.

Thanks to MissSparrow at Buckscoop Deals

It’s just around the corner! 12 May is Mother’s Day and you don’t want to be caught running to a petrol station for your Mother’s Day gift of flowers on Sunday morning, now do you? So, rather make the effort, take advantage of available Mother’s Day deals, order your flowers online, throw in the element of surprise with a florist delivery, and revel in your mum or partner’s appreciation on the day.

Roses Only have a specific selection that should match any Mother’s Day ideas you may have.

Their offerings include roses with candles, rose gift boxes, long stemmed roses, chocolates and bubbles, lilies and tulips, with a lot of the choices starting at $79.95. If you don’t want flowers at all, you can look at things like the luxurious Crisp Champagne Voluspa Candle for $49.95, a Sweet Delights Gift Box for Mum for $79.95, or if you really want to go all out, the Pure Indulgence Gift Hamper for Mum which will cost you $179.95 which includes a Papinelle Robe, blush, Lovestruck’ by Vera Wang – Eau De Parfum, 100ml, ‘Pure Indulgence’ Chocolate Truffles from Chocolatier, 150g, and a Hampers Only Signature Trunk (valued at $29.95).

They even have premium fruit boxes with or without alcohol and chocolates, starting at $69.95.

If money is really tight, there’s an ‘under $50′ section with beautiful Oriental Lilies, single roses with or without chocolate and so on – low on price but not on sentiment. Of course, on the other end there’s a bouquet of 99 roses for a whopping $699.99. I’d love to know how many of those they sell in a year!

Of course you don’t have to use any of the specifically-targeted-at-Mother’s-Day products. My mum, for example, is pretty non-committal towards roses, unless they grew in her garden. She absolutely adores Proteas though, and will always separate the flowers into different vases around the house, so a simple bouquet from one of the other sections of the website would probably suit her better.

Flower delivery for Mother’s Day costs $14.95, but if you want a slightly cheaper option, or want them to arrive before the day, because you’ll be taking your mum out for the day like the good child you are, it’ll cost you $9.95. For the extra $5 though, having them arrive on the day is nice. It’s a nice touch.

If your mother is elsewhere, abroad, there’s an international option too, for $19.95, which actually isn’t bad for international delivery! Remember it may not be mother’s day where she is, but that’s no reason not to spoil her. She’ll be thrilled to know you were thinking of her.

I’ve had a look around for some Roses Only coupon codes, and they do seem a little thin on the ground, but I can tell you that if you sign up to be a member, you’ll receive a 5% discount.

There’s also a 10% off code off from Mercedes Benz, but I’m not sure if you have to drive one to use it. I applied it to a test basket and it was accepted. The coupon code is MBenz10. I couldn’t see whether the 10% and the 5% could be stacked though, without actually ordering, so if you try it, do let us know in the comments below, please!

Whether you’re after bunches of flowers in Sydney, roses delivery in Perth or gifts sets of chocolates, candles or flowers in Melbourne, head over to www.rosesonly.com.au for something lovely for your mum.

If you’ve been online at all over the past week you will most likely have seen some reference to the much hyped 48 hour Click Frenzy Mothers Day Sales taking place over the 23rd and 24th of April. Many retailers have jumped on the band wagon in an attempt to ride the wave of hype to draw online shoppers to their shopping portals. This includes names such as Bonds, Myer, Dan Murphy’s and Masters. We’ve been looking forward to seeing some interesting deals offering good value emerging amidst all the hype. However, in reality it’s looking more like “frizzle” than “frenzy” in terms of what’s been announced so far.

Just take a quick look at some of the discount levels being offered by various retailers for instance. SurfStitch issued a 25% off Click Frenzy deal but this is nothing unusual as they regularly issue coupons for this level or higher as well as often giving away free gifts with orders over a certain amount (including free shipping too). The same goes for Kitchenware Direct’s “20% off 24 hour sale” and Bonds’ “Buy 3 – save 30% off on women’s items”. What we’re seeing in many cases is a percentage being knocked off the RRP values but not in conjunction with any existing discounts.

A number of retailers though have simply chosen to ignore all the hype and hold their own rival sales, such as Harvey Norman (calling it “Shop Frenzy”) and David Jones (“48 Hour Frenzy”). Harvey Norman is showing some decent offers on listed items such as the Garmin Nuvi 40 GPS Navigator for $73 and the LG 50″ HD Plasma TV (50PN4500) for $696. A few other merchants that chose to do the same include Priceline and the Good Guys. Priceline are running a competitive 40% off all cosmetics, while the Good Guys have launched an online sale called Mother’s Day Cyber Cashback where shoppers are being offered up to $250 back when they buy from the store’s Mother’s Day gift guide. Then there’s Styletread who are giving an additional 10% off all final sale items in their existing “Up to 70% off” midseason sale.

What we would recommend is that your approach the Click Fenzy promotions with an air of caution. Get your shopping list together before heading online for a bargain so that you have a clear idea of exactly what you want/need. This will help to avoid becoming overwhelmed by the sea of heavily promoted products. Before purchasing, be sure to check whether a retailer which normally offers free shipping over a certain amount hasn’t sneakily removed this during the frenzy sale in order to maintain profits. Finally, remember to keep checking Buckscoop regularly as we’ll continue to reveal those deals offering the best value amongst the hordes.

Ikea, the timewarp shop, as far as I’m concerned – you ‘pop’ in and hours and hours later find yourself bedraggled and worn out, burdened under way more than you ever intended to shop for. But, especially if you’re in rented property, I always find stuff that makes life easier at home, especially on the space efficiency front!

Anyway, they have three children’s lamps reduced at the moment:

• The blue star lamp
• The pink flower lamp
• The yellow bug lamp
• Red heart lamp
• Yellow Moon lamp

Each of these is reduced from $16.99 to $9.99.

Apparently they can be used with energy saving light bulbs, and some of them can be mounted in different directions – the moon for example.

They do produce a bit of heat, so should probably not be mounted in reach of children or near curtains, but they are pretty cute and for the price it’s probably hard to go wrong. If nothing else it works as a mounted night light and brings a bit of decor to a child’s room without breaking the bank.

It’s not that long to go to the day that’s all about mums, and if you’re still looking for Mother’s Day gift ideas, or wondering if there are any Mother’s Day deals about, you’re in luck. Of course, if you’re sitting there wondering what day Mother’s Day is, you’re way behind in the game, but never fear, we’re here to help: it’s May 12^th and you can read on for some fabulous Mother’s Day gift ideas from Westfield Shopping Center.

I must tell you, I’ve spent many hours in Westfield Shopping Mall, both in Perth and in the UK and I didn’t know till very recently that they had an online shopping option. What a wonderful idea for people who like to shop in comfort, who like to do easy price comparisons, or simply prefer to avoid crowds.

So with the big day just a few weeks away, are you still stuck for gifts for your mum?

Have a browse around the Westfield shop, and I’m pretty sure you’ll find something to suit any mother, with shopping in categories from jewellery and watches to electronics to flowers and gifts, and home accessories, and everything in between.

But before you rush over there, it may be worth waiting until April 23^rd, when there will be “An unbelievable online sale with offers from leading brands across fashion, accessories, shoes, health and beauty.”

It’s definitely worth having a look at what’s on sale. For example, Zodee have a 20% off offer, which doesn’t sound like much, but how often do they have sales on? Not very often, so 20% off is rather generous for them.

Portez is another one – sales and discount codes for them are seriously think on the ground, but in the flash sale they have 50% off.

So with the big day just a few weeks away, are you still stuck for gifts for your mum?

Have a browse around the Westfield shop, and I’m pretty sure you’ll find something to suit any mother, with shopping in categories from jewellery and watches to electronics to flowers and gifts, and home accessories, and everything in between.

Below are some of the sales I quite fancy the look of, but I’ll be waiting till Thursday too, because a lot of the sales are on top of already discounted prices. I do love a stacked discount.

If your mama likes her fashion, there’s a deal on Modo Handbags where you spend more than $100 in a single transaction, you can take $20 off. Or how about a subscription to InStyle Magazine for $69 – $5.75 per magazine for a year’s worth of fashion news and chatter.

If she’s less into fashion but loves to present dinners like MKR and hosts pretend dinner parties in the kitchen, there are a few food magazine offerings too, from super duper fancy cooking, to family meals – whatever you think she’d fancy!

One of the best deals I’ve found in my Westfield shopping spree are the Classic Bailey Button Short Ugg Boots. These $515.00 beauties are reduced to just $130. I am a mum and I’d love a good pair of warm shoes but I would never pay $515 for them, but if I got this as a gift I’d be seriously chuffed, especially if I knew what was paid for them!

We all know mum is worth a million dollars, but there’s no shame in not spending a fortune, if it’s the perfect gift, and the Satin and Mesh dress from Will Hope Love is so cute and perfect for date night, which of course should come with your Westfield gift, and with a reduction from $149.95 to $29.95, there’s money left in the budget to treat mum to dinner.

Don’t forget to check the Food and Wine Deals tab too, to see if there are any offers for your local Westfield Shopping Centre.

And if all else fails, there’s always the less personal, but sometimes more appropriate Westfields Gift Card. I’d rather receive a gift card with a home made card from my little ones than something I really didn’t want or don’t like, and I know I’m not the only one.

Here’s an insider tip for Mother’s Day: it doesn’t really matter what you spend, but how you present your gift, and the thought that went into it, and the time you spend with the mum in your life – be it your own mum, your wife, or the mother of your children, we all just want to know that you notice what we do for our families every day.

You may have heard this already, but I’ve been living under a rock, apparently! Mothercare has gone into administration! I’m a little sad about that. I loved their craft stuff!

Apparently this has been going on for a while now, so online sales aren’t available anymore, but you can still pop into a store and hopefully grab a few bargains!

There are maternity fashions, clothes for babies and kids, prams, nursery furniture, bath and baby care items, feeding safety, toys, games, books, gifts, and art and crafts things included in the sale.

There’s also 25% off store fittings, if you need a few railings or something!

Remember that it’s a liquidation sale, so all sales are final, and you won’t be able to return or exchange items.

You can’t use any other offers in conjunction with these, but that’s not really much of a surprise!

It looks as though Mothercare will still be around, but there won’t be physical shops for you to walk into.  If you have a bump on the way, find your nearest store and see what you can save on.