Before I begin, I must make one small confession … I have  O.C.D. – Obsessive Christmas Disorder!

I do believe I was born with the condition (Christmas-in-July birthday), and it has progressed through the years to the point where all hope for a cure has been abandoned! All that being disclosed, let me share a Deal Dash experience that has evolved into a Christmas memory I will cherish forever …

Deal Dash has been very good to me … I have more gadgets and gift cards than I could ever imagine.  And many friends and family members have benefitted from my winnings and BIN’s (Buy It Now and get your bids back).

I never paid much attention to the ‘TOYS’ category on Deal Dash – I don’t have any Wee-Ones or Grand Wee-Ones myself … but, every now and then, I would toss a few bids on some neat items for urchins in the family or my circle of friends – and I had quite a few NICE items to show for those efforts.  Well … one September morning, I had a ‘Pay It Forward’ moment.  It dawned on me that, since Deal Dash has afforded me SO many great deals, why not share a little of the wealth and the luck with some needy children during the Christmas Holiday Season??!!!

What started out as a casual effort to ‘get a few nice toys’ for those less fortunate transformed me into a Woman on a Mission (do you think they could make a Transformer Flip Toy for this???!!!).  Before I knew it, my very large living room was filled with boxes – it was starting to look like one of those forts we built as kids.  I thought I could free up some space by taking toys out of the shipping boxes, and that worked for a little while.  But, like a woman’s purse, I just kept filling up my living room by adding even MORE toys to the stash of goodies.  I am now on a first-name basis with my carriers from the Postal Service, UPS, and FedEx, and I am convinced that they think I’m running some nefarious business in my basement!

Thanks to Deal Dash, I have garnered almost 100 Toys for Angel Soldiers!  It is a local ‘Toys For Tots’ campaign for Military Children.  And there will be MANY smiling faces this Christmas, thanks to ‘DASH-er’!  (Hey … the Military has code names for EVERYTHING … ‘DASH-er’  is  MY code name for this wonderful journey of gratitude and love!)

You MIGHT think the children are the beneficiaries of these great toys, but, truth be told, I am the one who has received more FUN and pure JOY over the past few months!  Deal Dash has made ALL this possible! And it has started a tradition that I hope to continue in the future!  The only change I will make for 2015 is that I will start MUCH earlier!  Getting all these toys in 3 months has been exhaustive … NEXT year, I will spread my DASH-er mission throughout the year – and, who knows?  Maybe I’ll have 200 toys next year!!!

If you would like to take on a task like this yourself (TRUST ME – you will feel SO uplifted!), here are a few recommendations:

1. KNOW your limits.  Winning auctions are almost always below retail, but you must include the cost of your bids!
2. TRACK your winnings!  I actually created a spreadsheet to track my winnings, BIN’s and Deliveries.  This keeps you in line with your budgeting, and you won’t lose track of your toys!  It also gives you a great way of communicating your purchases to the charity of your choice!
3. Get Bids at the lowest cost possible (Winning Bid Packs and buying them on sale helps!) … and allocate what you can afford towards gift items.
4. Don’t be afraid of the ‘Buy-It-Now’ option!  I typically placed enough bids on items I could afford so that if I didn’t win the item, I was STILL able to buy the toy and get my bids back!
5. Start your ‘shopping spree’ early in the year!  I condensed my efforts into 3 months – and it has taken a little bit of a toll, financially and mentally!  Spreading your efforts over the year will be less stressful, and it might also make the BIN option more affordable!
6. Be PATIENT and TIMELY!  Some of the highest-priced toys I won were in the ‘off-peak’ hours.
7. SHARE your efforts with Friends and Family members!  They might be so inspired, that they will add even MORE toys to your stash!!!
8. Be JOYFUL!  Once you’ve decided on an organization for your donations, BELIEVE that your efforts will benefit so many needy children!  It will inspire you, and bring you a Christmas Joy that you probably haven’t felt since your own childhood!  LET IT GO!!!!

To all my fellow DEAL DASH-ers … have a Blessed Christmas, and a VERY Happy New Year!

To all of the wonderful folks at Deal Dash … THANK YOU … for the many smiles we will see this Christmas … for allowing me to share some Gratitude and Love this Holiday Season … for bringing back the Child in ME!

Jomama4111

I’ve been shopping on DealDash since summer of 2013 and have won nearly 300 auctions. 

If you love shopping on DealDash and want to be a guest blogger please email [email protected] for a chance to have your story featured!