AmazonFresh and Prime Pantry are both add-ons to Amazon Prime memberships.
AmazonFresh is like a digital grocery store — complete with fresh produce, perishables, items from local stores, and Whole Foods products — that you can have delivered to your doorstep. Prices are low, and orders over $35-$50 (depending on zip code) get free shipping.
Prime Pantry is where you can shop for single-serving pantry staples and household supplies, as well as bulk items, without high minimums or shipping fees. For $4.99 per month, you get free shipping on orders above $10. For no additional fee, you get free shipping on orders over $35. Otherwise, orders under $35 have a $5.99 shipping fee.
AmazonFresh members also get free shipping on all Prime Pantry orders. Start a free AmazonFresh 30-day trial here.

AmazonFresh and Prime Pantry are both perks for Amazon Prime members in select areas, though they differ in what you can purchase from each service and their monthly add-on fees. However, if you belong to AmazonFresh, you already get all the advantages of Prime Pantry as an inclusion in your membership — whether you've been using them or not.

AmazonFresh is Amazon's $14.99/month grocery delivery service that lets you order fresh groceries (including perishables, produce, and Whole Foods' 365 brand products), everyday essentials, favorites from local shops and restaurants, and more delivered next-day. Shipping is $9.99 if you don't meet the local minimum, which ranges between $35-$50 depending on the area. You can start a free 30-day trial here.

Prime Pantry is free for Prime members, and it's where you get shelf-stable pantry staples and household products in everyday package sizes— like a single box of cereal, or a personal-sized snack — that would otherwise be too cheap to qualify for free shipping individually, as well bulk items that may be typically expensive to ship and obnoxious to pick up in-store. While the service is free for Prime members, you can pay $4.99 per month to get free shipping on all orders over $10. Otherwise, you have to meet the $35 minimum to get free shipping, and orders under $35 have a $5.99 shipping fee.

If you belong to AmazonFresh, you'll also automatically get free shipping on all Prime Pantry orders as an added benefit. Since AmazonFresh has a 30-day trial, you could technically test drive both services in one month — getting both free shipping on every Prime Pantry order and AmazonFresh delivery without adding any monthly fees onto your Prime membership.

Note: Currently, a Prime Pantry promotion changes the above pricing. From now until July 31, all Prime Pantry members receive free shipping on everything — meaning no $10 minimum to meet. Prime members without a Prime Pantry membership also receive free shipping on orders over $25, rather than $35.

Your AmazonFresh cheat sheet

Who can use it: Prime members in eligible cities.
What you can buy: groceries (including perishables and produce), everyday essentials, favorites from local shops and restaurants
Cost of service: $14.99/month.
Delivery fee: Orders under the local minimum ($35-$50) have a $9.99 shipping fee. Those that exceed the local minimum get free shipping automatically.
Delivery options: Get groceries delivered to your doorstep/doorman or pick it up yourself. Pickup is available in select cities for free and without an order minimum.
- Attended delivery: You choose a one-hour time slot when you'll be available to receive it in person, and your order will be delivered in paper bags rather than temperature-controlled totes.
- Doorstep delivery: You choose a two-three hour time slot when Amazon can leave your items on your doorstep or with your doorman in temperature-controlled totes. Only choose this option if the delivery person can access the necessary parts of your building like the lobby.
- Pickup (only available in select cities): Pick up your order from your chosen pickup location within the time slot you chose — for free and without an order minimum.

Main AmazonFresh perk: being able to order Whole Foods products, local favorites, and groceries (including fresh produce and perishables) to your door while paying highly competitive Amazon prices.

Read my full review of AmazonFresh for more information.

Your Prime Pantry cheat sheet

Who can use it: Prime members in select regions.
What you can buy: household items, pantry staples, and cleaning supplies in bulk or in personal sizes.
Cost of service: free for Prime members when orders reach $35, or $4.99/month to reduce the minimum to $10.
Delivery fee: Orders under $35 will have a $5.99 shipping fee, but orders over $35 get free shipping. Prime members can add a membership to Prime Pantry for $4.99/month to get free shipping on all orders over $10. AmazonFresh members get free shipping on all orders.
Delivery options: Depends. Prime Pantry is delivered using ground shipping, so orders take anywhere from one to four days to arrive. You can track your order.

Main Prime Pantry perk: being able to buy affordable, individually sized products that would normally not qualify for free shipping on their own, plus bulk items that often are costly to ship, without having to meet a high shipping minimum.

Read my full review of Prime Pantry for more information.

In short, AmazonFresh is like a full grocery store online — complete with fresh fruits, local favorites, and Whole Foods products — that you can get delivered to your door. Prime Pantry, like its name, is really more for pantry staples in both bulk and personal sizes. And if you have an AmazonFresh membership, you get the full perks to both services.

Shop Prime Pantry

Start a free 30-day trial of AmazonFresh

Join the conversation about this story »

Noma

COPENHAGEN, DENMARK — Approaching Noma, perhaps the world's most famous restaurant, one can't help feel the sort of trepidation that comes with any trip to a high-end dining experience. Fancy restaurants are by their nature intimidating places — expensive, filled with wealthy, successful people, and often, snooty staff.

Noma, a restaurant that takes immense pride in defying almost every convention in the book, doesn't fit that stereotype, and makes its point from the very beginning.

Rather than a greeting from an aloof maitre'd with a waxed mustache and immaculate hair, guests' first contact at the restaurant is with a 63-year-old Gambian immigrant called Ali Sonko and his infectious smile.

Sonko, a permanent fixture at Noma since it opened almost 15 years ago, started as a dishwasher at the restaurant, and having worked his way through the ranks, now owns a 10% stake in the business.

Previously voted the best restaurant in the world four times in the well-respected, but often controversial World's 50 Best list, Noma was named the world's second best at the 2019 awards.

Its name is portmanteau of the word's "Nordisk," meaning "Nordic," and "mad," the Danish word for food. The restaurant's name perfectly defines its ambitions.

Noma and its founder Rene Redzepi have built a culinary dynasty by focusing solely on ingredients from the Scandinavian region, shunning things like olive oil, and focusing instead on foraged ingredients from near the restaurant.

Famous dishes to appear on the restaurant's menu over the years include dried moss, ants, and more recently mold.

Located in the Danish capital, Copenhagen, it has a fair claim to be the most influential place of gastronomy in the world. Alumni are spread all over the world, and have taken the restaurant's philosophy of hyperlocalism with them.

Any time you eat an edible flower at a local bistro, or hear about the house churned butter at that trendy new spot downtown, Noma has probably had at least some influence.

I've been lucky enough to visit Noma twice, once in November 2011, and more recently in late July 2018. Here's what it was like on my most recent visit.

The original Noma was open from 2003 until early 2017, when founder Rene Redzepi and his team closed shop with a vision of reinventing the restaurant. A wildly popular pop-up in Mexico filled part of the intervening time, with the rest dedicated to building a new restaurant almost from scratch in a new location roughly a mile from the old restaurant.

Situated on a small lake just outside the centre of Copenhagen, Noma’s new location was formerly an ammunition storage facility for the Danish military, and comprises the main restaurant, its kitchens, and numerous greenhouses where the produce served to diners is grown. Designed by renowned architect Bjarke Ingels, the site's 11 buildings stretch more than 60 metres from end to end, and are designed to resemble an old Danish village.

In its previous iteration Noma changed its menu based on what ingredients were most readily available, but used vegetables, meat, and fish throughout the year. Now, it operates in three seasons, focusing on seafood for four months, vegetables for another four, and then game for the final four. Visiting in July meant I was served the vegetable-focused menu.

That did not necessarily mean it would be entirely vegetarian, the restaurant made clear before my visit.

It would still use stocks made from meat and fish, but would not serve entire pieces of either. Other animal products like cream and butter also frequently appeared.

As an avowed carnivore, I was slightly apprehensive about spending a small fortune on an entirely vegetarian menu — a meal at Noma costs between 2,250 and 2,400 Danish kroner ($353-$377), not including drinks. Over three hours and 20 unbelievable courses, however, I had my mind opened to the incredible possibilities that vegetable-based cooking can achieve.

But before the food, let’s talk about actually getting into the restaurant.

Getting a reservation at Noma isn't as simple as just going online, or giving the restaurant a call, and is much more like trying to get tickets to a festival or major concert. Noma releases reservations three times over the course of the year, and if you want to stand a chance of getting a table, you're going to need to be on the Noma website the minute booking opens. Once you manage to secure a table, you'll need to pay for your food upfront.

A system put in place by many fine dining restaurants in recent years, effectively buying a ticket for your meal discourages no shows, and allows the business to sink more money into ingredients. It's painful at first — my table of four, which I booked back in March for my July reservation, cost me almost $1500 four months before actually eating — but it does mean that all you have to pay for on the day is your drinks.

Now, onto the meal. After passing Ali Sonko and his smile, you walk down a beautiful flower-lined avenue before entering Noma.

There you’re greeted by virtually every single member of staff with a cheery hello, before being led past the open-plan kitchen to your table.

You’re immediately presented with your first dish — a potted plant. Mine was the herb thyme.

Me and the rest of my party were a little confused initially. On my previous visit in 2011 I'd also been given a potted plant near the start of the meal, but with more explanation of what I should do (pull out the radishes buried in the plant's edible soil). This time, we were left to explore the plant, before eventually being told to look for a straw.

On finding it, we were greeted by possibly the most delicious soup I have ever tasted. Imagine the best mashed potatoes you have ever had, then imagine it was a drinkable liquid, then times that by 10.

After draining every possible drop of the heavenly soup, our next course, a tart of crisp potato and nasturtium flowers, alongside sea buckthorn jelly shaped like a butterfly, was swiftly upon us.

Early courses at Noma come in rapid succession, with five served in about 20 minutes at the start of the meal.

Massimo Bottura, the owner of Italy's Osteria Francescana, the current number one restaurant in the world, speaks of a meal in terms of an opera — it should ebb and flow, with peaks of excitement, periods of calm, and ultimately, a grand finale. Redzepi and his team at Noma clearly subscribe to a similar philosophy, with the pace of the meal changing around four times over our three hour lunch.

Following on from the nasturtium tart, everyone at the table was presented with a vibrant green tangle that would have looked more at home on a beach than in one of the world’s most exciting restaurants. And that’s exactly where it had come from, as this was a dish of various seaweeds, foraged from beaches around Copenhagen. If you’ve ever had sushi, you’ll likely have eaten nori, the green pressed seaweed used to wrap sushi rolls, but this was a whole different experience. Salty, vegetal, and crisp, the dish tasted like what a walk by the shore smells like.

Next up was a quail’s egg cooked at exactly 129 degrees, topped with a “chorizo” made from rose hips, the fragrant berries which grow on rose bushes.

Despite containing no meat, this tasted genuinely like the Spanish sausage, with perfect spicing and a chewy consistency. Dishes that followed the egg included a dehydrated cucumber skin cannelloni filled with a puree of nuts from the beech tree, and morel mushrooms picked last year and preserved until serving (both are pictured later on).

One of the most striking and unusual details of a meal at Noma is that rather than being served your food by dedicated wait staff, many of the courses are brought to the table by the chefs who have cooked them.

This allows the staff to explain the inspiration behind the food they have created.

This dish — a walnut "tofu" served with a sauce made from sunflower seeds and crisp rose petals — was, our server explained, inspired by the restaurant’s Mexican pop-up. This was actually the one dish in the meal I did not enjoy, mainly because I dislike the texture of tofu.

The meal continued to build towards its crescendo with a succession of dishes alternating between rich and starchy, to light and refreshing.

For every caramelized milk stuffed with cheese and truffles, there was a dish of peas and cream, and for every deep-fried marigold flower with an egg yolk and whisky sauce, there was a berry and fava bean salad served ceviche style with a horseradish oil (my favorite dish of the meal).

Eventually, however, we reached the zenith of a truly astonishing meal — vegetarian shawarma.

For the uninitiated, shawarma is a Middle Eastern dish of roasted meat (generally lamb or chicken) which is marinated in around 10 different spices before being cooked slowly on a spit. For Noma’s vegetable based menu, the restaurant swapped out the meat for celeriac and truffles. The result was the richest, most decadent vegetarian dish you could possibly imagine.

Earthy, salty, sweet, and amazingly meaty, it’s entirely possible that had I not known this was a vegetable based dish, I’d have thought it was a piece of slow roasted meat.

An accusation often leveled at fine dining restaurants is that while the food looks and tastes amazing, portions are so small that you end up wanting another meal. After the shawarma, that certainly wasn’t the case, and all four diners at my table were feeling the same kind of full one feel after a big home-cooked meal.

Sadly for our waistbands, but luckily for our taste buds, we had three desserts to come. The first, a haute cuisine take on berries and cream which was described by our server as “much better than my mom’s version.”

Next came a dish one of our servers earlier in the meal had described as “controversial.”

It turned out to be a pancake made from moldy barley — created in the style of the Japanese mold koji, which is used in the fermentation of soy sauce, miso, and the production of sake. Noma devotes a huge amount of effort and time to fermentation, experimenting with all manner of preparations. A whole area of the back of the restaurant, known as the "Fermentation Lab," is devoted to such processes.

The dessert was served wrapped around an ice cream of plum seeds in essentially the fanciest ice cream sandwich you’ll ever eat. The texture of the mould was akin to the outside of a really good goat’s cheese, while the filling tasted almond like. The dish was divisive. I loved it — my mother, not so much. It was certainly interesting, and also provided a perfect snippet of Noma’s goal in pushing the boundaries of what we eat.

People are happy to eat blue cheese and the mould on the outside of salamis, so why not have a dish of just mould?

Just as it started, our epic, three hour long lunch ended with a potted plant.

This time, however, it wasn’t just for serving soup. It turned out that the whole thing was edible. A cake of chocolate and the delicate perfume roses, served alongside a hunting knife for slicing. Sadly, I failed to get a picture of the cut cake, but it's safe to say it was a thing of beauty.

And there, our meal ended. Three hours, 20 courses, and more than $350 later, we were finished, with full stomachs and expanded minds.

Noma is, in many ways, more than a meal. It’s lunch, a show, a lesson on agriculture and Danish history, and a trip to an exhibition all rolled into one.

The food won’t be for everyone, and I certainly wouldn’t want to make it my weekly spot for eating out — even if I could afford it.

But, in terms of experiences, it’s utterly stunning. If you ever get the chance to visit, take it with both hands. You’ll leave a hell of a lot poorer, but you won’t regret it.

Costco members can book cruises through Costco Travel.
Members can search for cruises offered by 12 cruise lines and compare their destinations, prices, and features.
Cruises booked through Costco Travel include perks like credits that can be used toward onboard purchases.
Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

A Costco membership comes with advantages beyond the ability to shop in the company's warehouses. Among other benefits, Costco members can purchase travel accommodations through Costco Travel, which allows members to shop for cruises, hotels, rental cars, and vacation packages.

Through Costco Travel, members can search for cruises offered by 12 cruise lines and compare their destinations, prices, and features. Cruises booked through Costco Travel include perks like credits that can be used toward onboard purchases.

Here's how you can book a cruise through Costco Travel.

1. Choose your destination, departure date, cruise line, and the duration of your cruise.

Once you've gone to the Costco Travel website, you can narrow the options you're given if you have criteria in mind. Otherwise, you can browse the cruises that are available in a given month. The month of departure is the only criterion you need to specify.

2. Review your options.

Once you've decided what you're looking for, you'll be shown the options that meet your criteria. This page gives you a snapshot of other relevant information, like the per-night prices for different rooms, the ship's features, the ports of call it will stop at, and an overall rating for the cruise ship from the travel guide company Berlitz.

For some cruises, you won't be able to see prices unless you enter your Costco membership number.

3. Select your cruise.

Once you've decided on a cruise, specify how many rooms you want, how many people will be staying in each room, and each passenger's age. You can also note if anyone in your party qualifies for a senior discount or is a member of the cruise line's loyalty program.

4. Select your room.

You can decide the size of the room you'd like, your room's location, and whether you want a room with a view outside the ship.

5. Decide if you'd also like to purchase plane tickets.

You can also purchase flight tickets and hotel reservations for before and after the cruise. While Costco will make a recommendation, you can switch to another option if you'd like.

Costco says it does not offer tickets from all airlines in every market, so you may have to book flights separately to get the best price.

6. Reserve the cruise.

From there, you'll land on an order page where you can review and confirm your reservation.

If you're booking a cruise with Viking River Cruises, you'll have to pay the full cost of the trip at the time you make your reservation. Otherwise, full payment will be due 90-160 days before the cruise, depending on the cruise line. If full payment is not due at the time of your reservation, you'll pay a deposit.

Kirkland

You don't need a Costco membership to shop its Kirkland Signature collection.
A limited selection of these items is available on Walmart and Amazon's third-party marketplace.
In some instances, however, the items are more expensive than if you were to shop at Costco.
Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Costco shoppers can't get enough of its Kirkland private label products. So much so, that sales from these products now account for nearly a third of its overall sales.

UBS recently estimated that the brand could be worth as much as $75 billion, which it estimates is around $15 billion more than Estee Lauder, for example.

For some, having access to these low-cost staples is the very reason to buy a Costco membership, but it doesn't have to be. This is because you can pick up Kirkland products on both Amazon.com and Walmart.com through its third-party marketplace. In fact, there is an entire storefront on Amazon devoted to Kirkland products ranging from toilet rolls to vitamins to basic food items.

On Costco's website, it states that Business Members are able to purchase items for resale but must inform the warehouse membership counter before doing so. There's one key catch to this loophole, however. That is that some of these items are more expensive on Amazon and Walmart's sites versus Costco's, and their assortments are also more limited.

Take toilet rolls, for example. 30 Kirkland rolls at Costco.com costs $19.99 with a $3 shipping fee. On Amazon.com, the equivalent set costs between around $30 with free shipping.

The bonus here is that you don't need to spend the money on a Costco membership to have access to these products. However, the benefit of the membership is you have guaranteed low prices once you're through the door.

It's clearly appealing to some shoppers though. Business Insider's Hayley Peterson previously reported that Amazon was the number one seller of Kirkland products, accounting for 70% of its online sales, citing data from researcher 1010data.

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: What makes mānuka honey 100 times more expensive than regular honey

Making your own kombucha is actually feasible with The Kombucha Shop's Deluxe Kombucha Brewing Kit (currently $74.99 on Amazon).
It includes a step-by-step guide that makes DIY brewing effortless and fun, plus the kit has everything you need — including swing-top bottles for storing your concoctions.
Though there is a reasonable upfront cost, you can continue to brew your own kombucha indefinitely, so the kit essentially pays for itself within a few batches versus buying store-bought drinks.

Kombucha has become quite popular in recent years. This fermented tea is brewed with a mixed culture of yeast and bacteria, and claims to have a long list of benefits, like improving metabolism, digestion, immune system function, liver function, and more.

The verdict is still out on some of those benefits, but one thing is certain — at $3 to $5 for a 16-ounce bottle, kombucha isn't cheap. Fortunately, there are a number of kits available that make it easy for anyone to make kombucha at home, like The Kombucha Shop's Deluxe Kombucha Brewing Kit (currently $74.99), which is one of the highest-rated kits on Amazon with a 4.7-star average rating from more than 200 reviews.

The Madison, Wisconsin-based company got its start in 2013 after founder Kate Field decided to take her side hobby of brewing kombucha to the next level. Her day job was a culinary and nutrition educator for low-income families in Washington, DC, so she parlayed both experiences into creating kits anyone and everyone could access. Today, the company is one of the largest home brewing kombucha enterprises and it sources all of its supplies from US-based businesses.

Below are my experiences with The Kombucha Shop's Deluxe Brewing Kit.

Specs

The Deluxe Kombucha Brewing Kit comes with everything you need for DIY kombucha. This kit includes:

Easy to follow instructions
One-gallon brew jar with lid
Organic kombucha culture and starter tea (called a SCOBY, which is an acronym for "syntrophic mixed culture of bacteria and yeast")
Organic sugar
Organic tea blend by Rishi Tea
Reusable cotton tea bag
Temperature strip
Cotton cover and rubber band
pH test strips
Pipet straw
Six 16-ounce swing top bottles
Stainless-steel funnel and strainer set
Bottle brush

The Kombucha Shop also offers the Original Kit (currently $44.99 on Amazon), which has everything listed above except for the last three items — the bottles, funnel and strainer set, and cleaning brush.

Set-up process

Going into this, I had zero brewing experience, but I do have a beer brewing kit that's in its third year of gathering dust.

I was intimidated so I asked my wife for help; she also happened to have grown up in a kombucha brewing household. She silently supervised me throughout the process, ready to chime in if I was screwing up.

Thankfully, the instructions were so clear that I didn't end up needing her help. Setting up the kombucha takes less than 30 minutes and is simple due to the easy-to-follow instructions.

First, you make your tea. A tea blend is provided for your first batch, but after that, you can use whatever tea you'd like. Then, add a cup of sugar and transfer the contents to the brew jar along with two quarts of cold water. The directions say to use filtered water, but I used tap water and didn't have an issue.

Next, stick the temperature gauge to the outside of the jar for easy monitoring; you're supposed to keep it between 68 and 86 degrees Fahrenheit. After you add the SCOBY to the mix and stir, you test the pH to ensure it's at 4.5 or below. Finally, cover the jar with the included cotton cloth and a rubber band to secure at the mouth. Now you wait.

After seven to nine days, you're supposed to test the kombucha to see if the flavor is where you want it. If it isn't, check again in a few days. Once the flavor is to your liking, you carefully remove and set aside the SCOBY for your next batch before bottling the current one.

At this point, you can add your favorite fruits, vegetables, juices, or herbs to the bottles and let them sit for two to four days in a warm, dark place. After this second fermentation, chill the bottles in the refrigerator and enjoy.

What makes this kit stand out

What I like about The Kombucha Shop's kit is that I can make all the kombucha I want without having to buy additional supplies. Sure, I need to supply my own tea, sugar, and water, but those are items I'd have around the house anyway.

Also, it costs much less making my own kombucha than constantly shelling out $3 or more for a single bottle. I did a little math and found that when you brew your own instead of buying it, the kit pays for itself after the fifth batch — which comes by quick. That's a conservative estimate assuming you pay $0.70 per pound of sugar, $20 per pound of loose-leaf tea, and that a 16-ounce bottle of kombucha costs $3 at your local market.

I also like that as soon as one batch is bottled, I can immediately turn around and start brewing a new one. After my initial brew was done, I started a mint tea concoction going and currently, I'm trying out a raspberry zinger.

You essentially "sprout" a new SCOBY with each batch, so you have the option of making two batches together (provided you have another brewing jar), putting multiple SCOBYs into the same brew, or giving your friends a SCOBY so they can start brewing kombucha too.

Perhaps most importantly, I appreciated that I could specifically tailor the tea to match my tastes and each of my creations so far has been excellent. I like to drink a 12-ounce glass each evening while I prepare dinner, it reduces my cravings for alcoholic beverages and I've also found that it makes me less likely to overeat, which has a constant struggle for me.

These were my personal experiences after drinking my brew, so I can't say everyone will have similar experiences.

Cons to consider

The directions warn that you should always keep the kombucha brew between 68 and 86 degrees Fahrenheit. When brewing in the winter and early spring in Michigan, it's hard to find a spot in our home that maintains that temperature. Fortunately, sub-68 degree temps just mean you will need to brew the tea longer. Or, if you don't mind spending an extra $30, The Kombucha Shop offers a heating wrap.

The Cleveland Clinic warns that pregnant women, children, people with compromised immune systems, alcoholics, and those with certain chronic diseases, such as HIV, kidney disease, or liver disease, should avoid kombucha. This is likely due to the alcohol content (up to 3%) and potential for contamination. Do not imbibe kombucha if the smell or color is off, like if it smells like nail polish. I personally haven't experienced this with my home brews.

As with all wellness-related foods and beverages, check with your doctor first before incorporating something new into your routine.

The bottom line

Overall, the Deluxe Kombucha Brewing Kit is a game-changer. Not only does it provide a more frugal alternative to the pricey options at the local market, but the process is so simple that it makes me want to try brewing and fermenting other beverages.

I also like how easy it is to customize the drink to my tastes, I can make concoctions you'd never find at the store. I strongly recommend The Kombucha Shop's kit to everyone who enjoys drinking kombucha.

Pros: Easy to use, can make batch after batch of kombucha for as long as you want, pays for itself in the long-term

Cons: Kombucha isn't for some people, especially pregnant women, children, people with compromised immune systems so definitely check with your doctor first

Buy The Kombucha Shop's Deluxe Kombucha Brewing Kit on Amazon for $74.99

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Amazon Prime Day isn't until July 15-16, but you can get access to some amazing early Prime Day deals on the site right now.
Currently, Amazon Music Unlimited is offering new members access to tens of millions of songs for $1 for the first four months (regularly priced at $7.99 per month).
See all the can't-miss deals of Amazon Prime Day 2019 here.

Amazon Prime Day 2019 hasn't officially arrived yet, but Amazon is still dropping some major deals early on — including access to the premium streaming service, Amazon Music Unlimited, for just $1.

If you have an Echo device, you've probably asked Alexa to play a song for you. Somewhat frustratingly, you may have noticed that there's a distinct limit to what she can play on if you're not a member of Amazon Music Unlimited. As a consolation for your lack of membership, she generally offers a short sample of the song that cuts off just as you start getting into it.

If you'd like to avoid this happening again, it's worth considering a membership to Amazon Music Unlimited, especially right now. Though it'll usually run you a monthly fee of $7.99, Amazon is currently offering new subscribers four months of access to the service for $1. This promotion is live now through 11:59 p.m. PT on July 16, when Prime Day 2019 ends.

And it's not just on your Echo devices that you can listen to the millions of songs on the platform. Similar to Spotify, you can listen commercial-free on pretty much any device — from your computer to your tablet to your phone — via an app that curates personalized listening channels and playlists for every mood.

$1 Amazon Music Unlimited access is only going on for a limited time, so new members should take advantage of the deal before the offer is over. Once the promotion ends, you can either cancel your membership or continue to pay the full $7.99 rate.

Considering that this trial will only set you back $1, it'd be a shame to subject yourself to all those half-played samples for the next four months.

Get Amazon Music Unlimited for $1 for the first four months here.

Join the conversation about this story »

Although Amazon Prime Day 2019 isn't until July 15 and 16, Amazon has already released a handful of deals to get you excited for the big annual deals event.
These deals are live right now and available through Prime Day, which ends at 11:59 p.m. PT on July 16.
The standout early deals are the Toshiba HD 43-inch Fire TV Edition Smart TV for $179.99 (Prime members save $120) and four months of Amazon Music Unlimited for only $0.99 (save $31).
We're compiling all the best deals across tech, home, kitchen, and more for Amazon Prime Day 2019. Bookmark our list of the best deals here.

Though Amazon's annual sales extravaganza, Prime Day, isn't until July 15, you can already start shopping some Prime Day deals today.

Every day leading up to Prime Day 2019, Prime members enjoy exclusive promotions and deals on Amazon products and services.

To shop these early deals and all Prime Day 2019 deals, you must be a Prime member. Sign up for a free 30-day trial here to get in on the Prime Day savings and try the many other benefits of a membership.

The following leaked Amazon Prime Day 2019 deals are available to Prime members only, now through Prime Day:

Toshiba HD 43-inch Fire TV Edition Smart TV, $179.99 (originally $299.99) [You save $120]
myQ Smart Garage Door Opener and Amazon Cloud Cam, $99.98 (originally $189.40) [You save $89.42]
Amazon Music Unlimited, 4 months for $1(originally $31.96) [You save $30.96]

The best deal so far is the Toshiba Fire TV, which has the Fire TV experience built right in so you can start enjoying all your favorite channels and shows right away. It includes a voice remote with Alexa and delivers 1080p picture quality.

These early Prime Day deals are a nice warm-up for the real event on July 15 and 16.

Make sure you're fully prepared by learning how to make the most of Prime Day 2019, looking at what deals were most popular (and are likely to be featured again) last year, and finalizing your Lightning Deal-grabbing strategy.

Read all our Amazon Prime Day 2019 coverage here as the big day approaches, and bookmark our list of the best deals of Prime Day 2019 here.

DON'T MISS: 31 useful Amazon Prime benefits to know that go beyond free 2-day shipping

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Imperfect Produce is a service that delivers seasonal, cosmetically imperfect produce for affordable prices.
Imperfect Produce and similar produce companies market themselves as solutions against food waste, but there are debates about whether this is disingenuous given the complexity of the nation's food system.
Still, it's a convenient and affordable way to get your weekly produce, if you live in a city where it's available.
I used Imperfect Produce for six months while living in the Bay Area and received a box of "ugly" vegetables and fruits every two weeks. I loved it because the produce was always fresh, seasonal, and delicious — despite the physical imperfections.

During my last year of college, I juggled multiple identities. I was a senior looking to squeeze more time out of the dwindling weeks with my fellow soon-to-be graduates. I was a part-time marketing assistant stumbling through a winding job hunt. And most humorous to all my friends, I was an unofficial Imperfect Produce ambassador.

I got the title because I excitedly worked the San Francisco-based grocery delivery service into every conversation possible. The concept — seasonal, cosmetically imperfect produce sent to your house for affordable prices, as part of a larger mission of reducing food waste — intrigued me, so I tried my first box, and became hooked right away.

The quality of the produce was great and everything always tasted delicious, I didn't have to wait on the very unreliable buses in Berkeley to take me to and from the grocery store, and the total bill was reasonable even on a student budget. Plus, little ol' me felt like I was saving these poor fruits and vegetables from being thrown away and wasted, and helping the bottom lines of local farmers and producers.

Since then, there has been some pushback against the idea that services such as Imperfect Produce and competitor Misfits Market actually solve a problem in the country's complex and broken food system.

As crop scientist Sarah Taber explains, the problem of "ugly produce" contributing to food waste might not actually exist, because those items will be turned into other food products such as soups and jams. While ugly produce companies may improve access to fresh food and help the margins of growers, they may divert attention and resources away from community organizations in low-income areas.

Knowing what I do now, I'm more wary of how ugly produce companies frame and market themselves. However, the ongoing conversations among food system experts and scientists, farmers, and the companies themselves don't change my positive experiences with using Imperfect Produce as an affordable way to get my groceries. For what it's worth, CSAs full of local produce are also an excellent option if you're able to carry heavy boxes home easily, but for city dwellers, this can be tough to do. The major advantage of Imperfect Produce is that it gets delivered directly.

If you're interested in learning more about what it's like to order conventional and organic "ugly produce" from Imperfect Produce, you can find details below.

What makes an imperfect fruit or vegetable?

The company defines "imperfect" in several ways: cosmetic damage, surplus or excess inventory, undervalued or lack of demand, or doesn't meet a strict specification from the buyer, usually in the way it's harvested or packaged.

A significant portion of the country's produce is grown in California, so the majority of Imperfect's fruits and vegetables come from there. It says it tries to source locally when possible, but sourcing ultimately depends on seasonality and availability. In total, it works with over 200 growers nationwide and sources most of its produce (78%) from family farms or cooperatives.

For produce with cosmetic damage, Imperfect checks quality to make sure it's only the shape, size, or color that's affected. It says, "To end up in your box, a piece of produce must be just as fresh, tasty, and nutritious (if not more so!) as its grocery store counterpart."

Ordering with Imperfect Produce

Imperfect offers a variety of different "default" boxes, which you can then further customize the contents of. To start, choose from all fruit, all veggie, mixed fruit and veggie, or organic. Then choose the box size and the shipping frequency. I usually ordered a medium-sized mixed fruit and veggie box, to be delivered every two weeks. Below is an example of one of my orders.

The fruits and veggies in your box are preset based on seasonal availability, but you can take out or add more of any item.

Though some people might not like the limited selection (when compared to a traditional grocery store), I liked this design more than I expected. I can get in the habit of buying the same, predictable produce every time I go grocery shopping, so to be faced with preset, limited options was actually a fun challenge that added more variety and creativity to my cooking.

It also helped me enjoy fruits and veggies at their peak seasonality, and thus their peak taste. When I had dozens of options, seasonal and non-seasonal, at my disposal at the local grocery store, I sometimes found myself gravitating towards my favorite produce, regardless of whether it was the optimal time to purchase and eat it.

The quality

The quality of the produce I received was consistently good. Many of the physical imperfections weren't even that drastic, and they didn't affect the ultimate taste of the fruit or vegetable. Prior to using Imperfect Produce, I didn't love the idea of not having control over the exact apple or carrot I'd be eating, but I eventually realized it was futile to be nitpicky about how beautiful my produce was. I learned firsthand from Imperfect Produce that it all tasted the same.

The price

Depending on which size box you get, you'll be paying $11 to $27 for seven to 25 pounds of produce. The price for everything in my medium boxes was usually around $15, which was about the same, if not less, than how much I was paying for the same amount of produce from my local grocery store at the time.

The plus, however, is that it was delivered fresh and safely to my door so I didn't have to spend time and energy grocery shopping in person. This combination of convenience, price, and produce quality (despite the physical imperfections) was why I told anyone who would listen to try Imperfect Produce.

Availability

Imperfect Produce is currently available in these cities nationwide, and is coming soon to Pittsburgh, Hartford, and New York. Sadly, I haven't been able to use it in the last couple years while living in NYC, but the moment it's here, I'll be first in line to sign up.

Order "ugly produce" from Imperfect Produce, starting at $11 a box.

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Amazon Prime Day 2019 will officially begin on July 15 at 12 a.m. PT and will continue through July 16, ending at 11:59 p.m. PT.
The 48-hour sale is expected to be one of the largest online shopping events of the year.
To plan for this big day in July, you can do a few things: make sure you're signed up for a Amazon Prime membership, see what other Business Insider readers scooped up last year on Prime Day, and check out some valuable tips and tricks for how to save more on Prime Day.
Check out our master list of Prime Day 2019 deals here.

Amazon Prime Day is one of the internet's biggest shopping events of the year. Hundreds of thousands of products across the site will be discounted for Prime members, from tech and appliances to beauty and clothing.

Every year, Prime Day seems to get bigger and better. Last year's deals only lasted 36 hours, but this year, Amazon has announced that you can expect a full 48 hours of deals.

When is Prime Day 2019?

Amazon Prime Day 2019 will officially begin at 12 a.m. PT on July 15 and will end at 11:59 p.m. PT on July 16.
The deals will last a full 48 hours, with some early Prime Day deals cropping up beforehand.
One of the best Prime Day deals starts today. You can save $120 on a Toshiba HD 43-Inch Fire TV Edition Smart TV (usually $299.99) and get it for just $179.99.

Prime Day 2019 will feature more than 1 million deals for Prime members around the world, plus the possibility of select deals at Whole Foods Market stores in the US. Last year, Prime Day offered double the deals on Amazon devices and the biggest deals yet on Alexa-enabled products like the Echo, Fire TV, and Fire tablets. Meanwhile, hundreds of brands featured Amazon Prime Day Launches, which were exclusive new items, content, and special-edition products made available for a limited time.

What will be on sale on Prime Day?

The vast majority of deals won't be live until July 15 and 16, but a few early deals have already been released:

Toshiba HD 43-inch Fire TV Edition Smart TV, $179.99 (originally $299.99) [You save $120]
myQ Smart Garage Door Opener and Amazon Cloud Cam, $99.98 (originally $189.40) [You save $89.42]
Amazon Music Unlimited, 4 months for $1 (originally $31.96) [You save $30.96]

Last year, the Fire TV Stick with Alexa Voice Remote was the top-selling product on the site. In 2019, you can expect tons of deals on Amazon devices like the Kindle, vacuums, smart home products, and more.

The most popular items that Business Insider readers bought were Kindle Unlimited, Audible, and Amazon Music Unlimited memberships; noise-cancelling headphones from Sony, Bose, and Sennheiser; and a variety of Amazon devices.

For a good idea of what will be discounted this year so you can plan ahead for the big shopping event, check out the best deals across all categories from Amazon Prime Day 2018.

Remember that you must be an Amazon Prime member to access the deals.

Amazon raised the price of a Prime membership last year, but access to Amazon Prime Day deals is just one of the many reasons why the membership is still worth it at the new price.

Being a Prime member also means you can enjoy a ton of other benefits, so if you aren't signed up already, now's the perfect time to join.

You can sign up here for a free 30-day trial of Amazon Prime.

DON'T MISS: AmazonFresh vs. Prime Pantry — here's the difference between Amazon's grocery delivery services

Join the conversation about this story »

We rounded up the eight best sales and deals happening online today, with savings on clothes at Bonobos, JBL speakers, Cuisinart cookware, and styles at Ralph Lauren. For even more deals and savings across the web, check out Business Insider Coupons.

1. Save an extra 30% on sale styles at Bonobos

Bonobos has all of the clothes guys need for hanging out at the beach, working in the office, and adventuring anywhere else in between. This weekend through next week, you can save an extra 30% on all markdowns by using the promo code "SALEONSALE30" at checkout. Visit Business Insider Coupons for more deals and savings at Bonobos.

Shop the Bonobos sale now.

2. Save up to 60% on Bluetooth speakers and headphones at JBL

JBL is celebrating Independence Day early with a huge sale on wireless electronics. Right now, you can save up to 60% on Bluetooth speakers and headphones, including sporty earbuds for working out, waterproof speakers for enjoying music poolside, tiny clip-on speakers, and more.

Shop the JBL sale now.

3. Save $70 on a 6-piece Cuisinart stainless steel cookware set on Amazon

While premium stainless steel cookware can be pretty expensive, you can save $70 on a six-piece set from Cuisinart as an Amazon Deal of the Day. The Cuisinart Multiclad Cookware Set includes a three-quart saucepan with lid, six-quart stockpot with cover, a nin-inch skillet, and an 11-inch skillet.

Cuisinart Multiclad 6-piece stainless steel cookware set, $109.99 (Originally $180) [You save $70.01]

4. Save an extra 30% on sale styles at Ralph Lauren

As a quintessential Americana brand, it's only right that Ralph Lauren has a huge sale for the Fourth of July. Now through July 5, you can save an extra 30% on already reduced sale styles by using the promo code "JULY4" at checkout. In addition to apparel, footwear, and accessories for people of all ages, the sale also includes home goods. Visit Business Insider Coupons for more deals and savings at Ralph Lauren.

Shop the Ralph Lauren sale now.

5. Save 20% on select grills at Target

If you missed out on the grill deals before Memorial Day, there is still an opportunity to save at Target. Right now, you can save 20% on select grills. The sale includes tabletop, charcoal, propane, and portable variations, so you'll find one that best fits your needs. And with options for in-store pickup or fast and free shipping, you can get all set up and ready to grill by the Fourth of July. Visit Business Insider Coupons for more deals and sales at Target.

Shop the Target sale now.

6. Save 25% on select gear at Columbia

With 80 years of experience in the outdoor industry, Columbia's products are built to withstand the rigors of outdoor living — and plenty of its best items are on sale now. During the brand's current summer sale, you can save 25% on select gear and apparel for men, women, and kids. Whether you're an extreme outdoors-person or you're just looking for some comfortable summer basics, this is a good chance to save. Visit Business Insider Coupons for more deals and sales at Columbia.

Shop the Columbia sale now.

7. Save 18% on the Leesa Hybrid Mattress and get two free pillows

We named Leesa the best overall mattress you can buy for its superb comfort and great value (mattress prices start at just $595). While Leesa is running a Fourth of July sale, we teamed up with the brand to create an exclusive deal for our readers, which is currently the biggest discount the company has offered to date. Business Insider readers can save 18% on the Hybrid mattress and get two free pillows — there's no need to enter a code, just click through our link and the discount will show up automatically.

Shop the Leesa sale now.

8. Save up to 60% on sunglasses at Nordstrom Rack

Yesterday was National Sunglasses Day, but Nordstrom Rack is making today a great time to pick up new shades for the summer. Right now you can save up to 60% on designer sunglasses from brands like Gucci, Prada, Ray-Ban, Fendi, and more. You can also get stylish sunglasses from DIFF-Eyewear for under $40.

Shop the Nordstrom Rack sale now.

Join the conversation about this story »

A high-quality toy will keep youngsters engaged for hours on end in screen-free imaginative play, doesn't require additional purchases, and will stand up to abuse.
I like the toys offered by Melissa & Doug because they are made of high-quality materials, provide my 5-year-old with plenty of fodder to let his imagination run free, and keep him away from screens.
Though the company's toys tend to be slightly pricier than other brands, they are built to last and are backed by a "100% Happiness Guarantee."

When talking with other parents of preschoolers, toys and screen time are always popular topics. How do we help our kids resist the allure of YouTube and other streaming media? This is where the brand Melissa & Doug comes up.

Melissa & Doug got its start when the husband-and-wife team of Melissa and Doug Bernstein started making fun, educational toys in Doug's parents' garage in 1988. Today, the Connecticut-based company has about 1,000 employees worldwide and offers a broad range of plush toys, arts and crafts, wooden puzzles, and other educational toys. The company's stated mission is "to ignite imagination and wonder so children discover themselves, their passions, and their purpose."

There are several reasons parents are talking about Melissa & Doug. The company offers a "100% Happiness Guarantee," which it highlights on every page of its website. It states: "We design every toy to the highest quality standards, and to nurture minds and hearts. If your child is not inspired, give us a call and we'll make it right."

The company is also committed to tech-free free play with campaigns like #TakeBackChildhood. Through its products, Melissa & Doug regularly champions play that reveals passions, promotes problem solving and creativity, develops resilience and grit, builds social skills, and sharpens cognitive skills.

What products does Melissa & Doug offer?

There are a number of ways to shop for Melissa & Doug products. You can look at products available for specific ages. They have categories ranging from birth to 8+ years old. You can also explore its offerings based on categories, such as outdoor play, puzzles, games, learning and education, and more.

The company sells more than 5,000 different toys so we won't cover them all here, but here are some of its most popular items:

Suspend Family Gam e ($14.42):Designed for ages 8 and up, this is a fun balancing game that nurtures hand-eye coordination, interpersonal skills, and cognitive skills. 1 to 4 players take turns balancing the odd-shaped game rods on the base.
Wooden Building Blocks Set ($16.99): For kids ages 3 to 8 years old, this is your classic building blocks set. The set comes with 100 durable pieces in nine different shapes and four colors.
Slice-and-Bake Wooden Cookie Play Food Set ($16.99): The Cookie Play Set is ideal for little bakers between the ages of 3 and 5. It comes with 12 pretend cookies, 12 toppings, a baking sheet, a spatula, a knife, and an oven mitt.
Pull-Back Vehicles ($21.24): This one is for the babies and early toddlers. The set includes four vehicles that you can zoom around the house simply by pulling back and letting go. The police car, fire truck, family car, and school bus are made of soft materials so you don't have to worry about injuries or damage.
On the Go Water Wow! Fairy Tale ($4.99): For kids 3 to 6 years old, this activity pad uses an easy-to-hold water pen to reveal fairy-tale-themed images.

To see all that Melissa & Doug has to offer, visit the company's store on Amazon.

My son had a blast with the Animal Care Center

Melissa & Doug sent my 5-year-old, Bucky, and me its Animal Care Veterinarian & Groomer Wooden Activity Center (currently on sale for $169.99 on Amazon) along with four play sets. The Animal Care Center is one of its higher-end pretend play toys. At 35.5-inches high by 26.5-inches wide by 33.5-inches long, it has become a focal point in Bucky's play area. Below, I will go into our firsthand experiences with the role-play center.

Set-up process

Assembling the Animal Care Center took a long time; there's no getting around that. There are so many parts and pieces and 30 pages of instructions. That said, the two-hour building process was easy, and the instructions were simple to follow. I just turned on some tunes and went to work.

The hardest part of the set-up process was keeping Bucky from playing with the Animal Care Center while I was putting it together. I'd recommend assembling it after the kids go to bed with a beer in hand. Be careful, though. I accidentally put the sign on top backward so that the grooming center sign faces the veterinary area and vice versa. So, on second thought, lay off the beer. Fortunately, Bucky didn't seem to mind my screw up.

What makes the toy stand out

The long set-up was well worth it.

My wife and I got a kick out of watching Bucky engage with his imagination as he groomed and performed health care to his stuffed animals. It was incredibly cute and heartwarming. Since I didn't finish assembly until around bedtime, we had to tear him away from the care center to put him to bed. When we woke up the next morning, Bucky was already back at it taking care of his imaginary pets.

After Bucky played with the Care Center for a few days, his interest naturally started to wane. This is when we introduced the other play sets. Below are a few details about each set:

Examine & Treat Pet Vet Play Set ($25.43): Of the animal play sets Melissa & Doug offers, the Examine & Treat is the most popular. The 24-piece set comes with a tote bag, pretend vet medical equipment, and a plush cat and dog. Bucky was fascinated by the recovery cone, and it gave us an opportunity to teach him why dogs needed them.
Feeding & Grooming Pet Care Play Set ($23.15): This set also has 24 pieces, such as grooming supplies, pretend treats and food, food bowls, and another plush cat and dog.
Tote & Tour Pet Travel Play Set ($17.27): The Tote & Tour set has 15 pieces, including a collapsible food and water dish, a leash, a harness, a collar, and name tags for the plush dog and cat included. But, Bucky's favorite part was the soft pet carrier. He liked to put as many stuffies as possible into it to bring with him in the car.
Wash & Trim Dog Groome r Play Set ($28.59): This set has 20 pieces of pet styling and bathing essentials. This is the only set that only comes with one plush animal, a dog. When you install batteries (not included) into the play blow dryer, it actually blows a little bit. Bucky had fun with that.

The sets appear to have given Bucky an increased interest in our real cats. Rather than terrorizing and chasing them, he's now much sweeter to the cats. Apparently, he's shifted from seeing them as his playthings to nurturing them.

My son isn't alone in his enjoyment of these sets. The Animal Care Center and its associated play sets are among the first toys kids go to when they come over. It's pretty common to find one of Bucky's friends walking around the house with one of the plush cats or dogs in some state of veterinary or grooming treatment.

Cons to consider

You really need to have some of the play sets or at the very least a large assortment of stuffed animals to get the most out of the Animal Care Center. I wish it came with some of the pieces you find in the sets, such as the veterinary and grooming equipment.

In the four sets, there's a total of 83 different pieces. Though there's plenty of room to store everything in the Animal Care Center, we do end up with toys all over the place. Fortunately, we are used to Legos, and these toys don't compare to having bricks all over the floor just waiting to destroy the bottom of your feet.

The bottom line

Overall, I strongly recommend giving Melissa & Doug toys a try. The company has a broad enough array of products so there's sure to be a toy that engages a little one in your life and keeps them from the mind-numbing screens. And, if your child doesn't like the toy you get, you can take advantage of the 100% happiness guarantee.

Though Bucky takes after me and prefers kitchen play sets, he still had a great time with the Animal Care Center. From my experiences, kids between the ages of 3 and 6 gravitate toward it. I just recommend picking up at least one of the veterinarian or groomer sets to go with it.

If the Animal Care Center doesn't seem appropriate for your child or it's just out of your price range, I strongly recommend browsing the Melissa & Doug store on Amazon for gift ideas. I'm certain you'll find something that appeals to the youngster in your life.

Pros: 100% Happiness Guarantee, durable construction from quality materials, imaginative play without the use of screens

Cons: Expensive

Buy the Melissa & Doug Animal Care Veterinarian & Groomer Wooden Activity Center on Amazon for $169.99 (originally $199.99)

Shop other Melissa & Doug toys and play sets on Amazon

Join the conversation about this story »

172 madison ave

A $98 million penthouse in New York City is the most expensive home for sale in the city, according to the listing agent.
Dubbed "Le Penthouse," the five-story condo in Midtown Manhattan is just a block away from the Empire State Building.
It comes with a nearly 3,000-square-foot wraparound private roof deck with a pool and Jacuzzi.
Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

A New York City penthouse that spans five floors and sits just a block from the Empire State Building has hit the market for $98 million.

Called "Le Penthouse," the Midtown Manhattan condo has 19,000 square feet of interior space and about 4,500 square feet of outdoor space.

"To my knowledge, 'Le Penthouse' at 172 Madison Avenue is the most expensive home for sale in the current NYC market," listing agent Raphael Sitruk of Keller Williams NYC told Business Insider.

The condo comes as a "white box" without any finishings or appliances so that the buyer can customize everything to his or her tastes, according to Sitruk.

"It's like having an infinite white canvas and designing the unique apartment you're dreaming about," Sitruk said.

While it's been reported that the apartment is New York City's second-most expensive listing, Business Insider cross-checked the listing across sites including Zillow, Trulia, and StreetEasy, and was not able to find any other listings that exceeded 'Le Penthouse's' $98 million price tag. Real-estate appraiser and marker analysis Jonathan Miller confirmed it's the most expensive active listing in the city.

Here's a look inside the most expensive listing in New York City.

DON'T MISS: Take a look inside the pair of twisting glass towers in NYC that's drawing attention from international billionaire buyers, from Jeff Bezos to New Zealand's richest person

A $98 million penthouse on Madison Avenue is the most expensive home for sale in New York City.

Source: Keller Williams NYC

The condo is located in Midtown Manhattan, just a block from the Empire State Building.

Source: Keller Williams NYC

172 Madison Avenue is a 33-floor luxury tower with 69 homes that comes with amenities including a full-time doorman, a spa and gym, a 67-foot lap pool, a Jacuzzi, a yoga room, and a lounge complete with billiards table.

Source: 172 Madison Avenue

The condo spans five full floors at the top of the tower, with the ceiling heights reaching up to 23 feet.

Source: Keller Williams NYC

It has more than 19,000 square feet of interior living space and 4,500 feet of outdoor space, including terraces and a private roof deck.

Source: Keller Williams NYC

The apartment will come as a "white box" unit, which means it comes unfurnished and without any finishings or appliances so that the buyer can customize everything to his or her tastes.

Source: Keller Williams NYC

"It's like having an infinite white canvas and designing the unique apartment you're dreaming about," listing agent Raphael Sitruk of Keller Williams NYC told Business Insider.

Source: Keller Williams NYC

Renderings of the apartment show what could be done with the space, such as installing an expansive wine room.

Source: Keller Williams NYC

The condo comes with a nearly 3,000-square-foot wraparound private roof deck with a pool and a Jacuzzi.

Source: Keller Williams NYC

According to the listing agent, the condo's sky-high price tag is justified because of its "super-central location," the 360-degree views and the private roof deck. "This space is unique and never seen anywhere before," Sitruk told Business Insider.

Source: Keller Williams NYC

Eighty-five percent of Athleta's redesigned swimwear collection is made from sustainable materials like recycled nylon, putting the company one step closer toward its 2020 goal of making 80% of its materials with sustainable fibers.
Performance and style aren't compromised in the process. The supportive, comfortable suits are perfect for active lifestyles, while the UV-protective fabric keeps up with long, summer days under the sun. All the styles are cute, ranging from classic to trendy.
We reviewed some of the bikini tops ($49-$79), bottoms ($49-$69), and one-pieces ($98-$128) and found that Athleta's three-year process of making the swim collection paid off.

If you're an active woman, you might already know that Athleta is a great place to find all the apparel to help you perform on land, from the leggings you run in and the work-appropriate pieces that are okay to sweat in, down to the underwear you'll be surprised to find really does make a difference.

This summer, it's also one of our recommended places to get a swimsuit.

As part of Athleta's 2020 goal of making 80% of its materials with sustainable fibers, it recently released a new swimwear collection with 85% of the fabrics made from recycled materials.

These two new fabrics are called AquaRib, which features Econyl, a 100% regenerated nylon fiber made from fishing nets and other discarded nylon, and H2Eco, made from recycled nylon. In making the H2Eco fabric, Athleta has already diverted more than 39,000 pounds of waste from landfills.

Athleta CMO Sheila Shekar Pollak says, "As a B Corp, we take our role in protecting our planet for the next generation seriously and have incorporated this mission into everything we do. At our size, we know we can make a big impact on perception, on demand, and ultimately on the industry."

More and more companies are making products from unexpected but sustainable materials such as recycled plastic water bottles. We've discovered time and again that there's often little to no compromise in quality, efficacy, and price of the final product, and Athleta's swimwear is no exception to this positive revelation.

The supportive and stretchy suits let you move around comfortably in and by the water, and since they have a UPF rating (how well the fabric protects against UV rays) of 50+, you won't have to cut your summer swim time short. The material also dries quickly so you're not wallowing and soaking in a clingy, too-wet suit.

You have tons of styles to choose from, including classic cuts and solid colors, as well as more flashy or fashion-forward pieces. Right now, the collection has more than 400 items. Bikini tops cost $49-$79, bottoms $49-$69, and one-pieces $98-$128.

4 women at Insider Picks tried these stylish and sustainable swimsuits from Athleta— here's what we thought:

Adriata Bikini Top, $59, available in 2 colors and Freestyle Camo Bottom, $59, available in 1 color

Athleta swim surprised me in the best possible way. It's flattering, comfortable, and built for summer days spent laying on a chair beachside or spiking the ball on a sandy volleyball court.

Sometimes swimwear sizing can be tough to gauge online — I'll order the recommended option for my cup size as I did here (typically medium), and wind up guessing on bottoms (I fluctuate between 26-27 and wear a size four in jeans). I went true-to-size here and got small bottoms and the fit is unusually perfect — not so loose you're afraid you'll lose them in an unfortunate wave, and not so tight that it looks like you no longer fit in them. As Francesca notes (below), the best thing about Athleta's suits may be that they simply sit on top of you, rather than adding segments or panty lines.

All in all, I didn't expect to love Athleta swim as much as more expensive designer pairs I've wound up buying in the past, but these are a great foolproof pair to feel comfortable and confident in — which is ideally the point. —Mara Leighton, Insider Picks reporter

Loop Back One Piece, $108, available in 3 colors:

When it comes to bathing suits, I usually keep it pretty simple. I never purchase a red bathing suit because I feel like red is a bold statement, and also the color lifeguards wear. This time, I decided to just go for it. I chose the Loop Back one piece suit in, you guessed it, red! It didn't look too risqué or like a lifeguard's uniform.

When I tried it on, I liked the adjustable straps and the ability to create a perfect fit without compromising the intricate, and cute, back. It also felt comfortable around the thighs and butt. Some bathing suits can feel so tight and squeeze you in all the wrong places, but the Loop Back suit sat nicely on my entire body. The one thing I would note is that the cups felt pretty stiff. I'm assuming, with wear, they'll soften up.

It's still too cold to really get use out of this suit, but I splashed some water on the fabric and cups, and they both dried fairly quickly. I'm excited to put it on and take a dip this summer! —Francesca Rea, Insider Picks content producer

Wrap Halter Bikini Top, $69, available in 7 colors and Twist Bottom, $49, available in 7 colors:

The classic halter style is given an update with a wrap-around add-on here. The wrap, which is an additional layer attached to the cups, isn't only a stylish look — it also provides more support around your bust so you feel extra secure, and the back ties give you a more personalized fit.

This top has an underwire, which I personally prefer in my swimsuits for both the aesthetic and functional support, while the cups dry quickly and are removable. I agree with Francesca's point above — they are slightly stiff, though not uncomfortable.

I loved the Twist Bottom because the cut and fit are the Goldilocks "just right," medium seat-medium rise standard, but they look more interesting than a regular triangle bottom. The twist waistband is flattering and even more importantly if you plan on spending all day at the beach, always comfortable. —Connie Chen, Insider Picks reporter

South Swell Bikini Top, $49, available in 9 colors:

I've shopped at Athleta for years and I have been happy with every one of my purchases from the store, so I was eager to see how the sustainable swim line matched up to the quality of the rest of their products.

Every once in a while I'll go with a bold print, but I typically play it safe and go with a solid style that provides a clean look. I chose this simple top and was happy to find that the color was eye-catching, but not to the point of being obnoxious.

I loved the overall style of the suit and liked the sporty look of the top. I wasn't too fond of the material because it felt a little more rigid and less elastic than what I'm used to, but it still had enough stretch to be comfortable while moving around.

The suit looked and fit wonderfully, but due to my preference for a little more stretchiness, it probably won't be my go-to for the summer months. With that being said, I would still recommend it to anyone looking to be more eco-friendly with their wardrobe. —Megan Foster, Insider Picks intern

The bottom line

All in all, we were pleased to find that Athleta's swimsuits could be comfortable, performance-optimized, and stylish at the same time.

As you look for ways to reduce your environmental impact, the collection is a reminder that even the small things — like a bikini top — can make a difference.

Shop all swimsuits at Athleta here

Join the conversation about this story »

sears

A Sears outage lasting several days caused problems at Sears and Kmart stores this week, the company confirmed to Business Insider.
The outage, which started Tuesday, prevented shoppers from making returns or picking up online orders in Sears and Kmart stores and left some Kmart stores unable to process noncash payments. It also disrupted deliveries and service appointments.
"Our systems experienced some technical difficulties, and we have resolved the issue," a Sears spokesperson told Business Insider. "We apologize for any inconvenience our members and customers may have experienced."
Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Sears was hit by a widespread outage this week that caused problems with stores, home deliveries, service appointments, and more, the company confirmed to Business Insider.

The outage prevented some shoppers from making returns, picking up online orders, and accessing "Shop Your Way" loyalty points in Sears and Kmart stores, and left some Kmart stores unable to process noncash payments. It also disrupted deliveries and prevented customers from making service appointments for broken washers, refrigerators, or other problems.

Sears said on Friday that the issues, which began Tuesday, had been resolved.

"Our systems experienced some technical difficulties, and we have resolved the issue," a Sears spokesperson told Business Insider. "We apologize for any inconvenience our members and customers may have experienced."

Dozens of customers have been complaining on social media about problems related to the outage.

Sears has been responding to customers individually and asking them to contact them again in 24 hours, saying the company would be able to check on deliveries and address other complaints when its "servers are back up and running" after "very serious technical issues."

We do Apologize, that is not the kind of experience we would like our members to have. Please bear with us. We are in the process of resolving very serious technical issues. Please check back with us throughout the day to see if it is up and running.
— Sears (@Sears) June 27, 2019

The Sears customer Nicole Jones told Business Insider that the outage left her without a car for a day.

Jones said she dropped off her car on Tuesday at a Sears Auto Center in Douglasville, Georgia, for an oil change that she planned to pay for with Sears Shop Your Way loyalty points.

"I get back there two hours later and the system is down," she said. "I can't use my points and I don't have $70 to pay them. No one on the phone was willing to help so my car was there overnight while I scraped up the money to pay."

Others complained on social media that they waited hours for deliveries that never arrived, or spent long periods waiting to speak to a Sears customer-service representative.

"Dear @Kmart, went to ur Penn Plaza location last night and had to pay with cash cause ur systems were down," one person wrote Thursday on Twitter. "Today I tried to do a return and couldn't because your 'return systems' were down. This is unacceptable especially in a busy NYC!"

Another person tweeted: "@Sears I have been told for the last 2 days to keep calling back in 24 hours to get a service appointment. Two days and this response still. This is not great service. The @kenmore dryer I received has not work since it was delivered. Please help!"

Here's what others are saying on Twitter:

@Sears Sears computer systems down for days????? The company can not access any orders?????? Insane!!!! All you get when you finally get a hold of a person is them telling you the system is down and to call back in 2-4 hours. Same story for days!!!!!
— Sandra (@Sandra68045824) June 27, 2019

I was suppose to receive a delivery yesterday between 5 pm -10 pm.They never came. I also can’t cancel a repair appointment for Friday.
— kimber (@kimb880) June 27, 2019

We do Apologize , that is not the kind of experience we would like our members to have. Please bear with us. We are in the process of resolving very serious technical issues. Please check back with us throughout the day to see if it is up and running!!
— Kmart (@Kmart) June 27, 2019

Dear @Kmart, went to ur Penn Plaza location last night and had to pay with cash cause ur systems were down. Today I tried to do a return and couldn’t because your “return systems” were down. This is unacceptable especially in a busy NYC! Is corporate over it just like staff?
— Cedric Leiba Jr. (@ceddynyc) June 27, 2019

@Sears I purchase a new dryer 5 days ago with a call the same day saying my delivery time is between 8:00 am and 9:00 pm and I will get a 2 hour window provided the day before-NO call the day before and now both the website AND your customer service line are down??? 😠
— ollyoxenfree (@ollyoxenfree6) June 26, 2019

Hi Bryant, we apologize we are experiencing technical issues with our website right now. We are working to get it fixed asap! We appreciate your patience.
— Sears (@Sears) June 26, 2019

@Sears haven't been to a Sears in years... Recently decided to go pick up a few items and sign up for the membership unfortunately I was told the system was down and the manager cant help. Staff was rude and unhelpful... I certainly won't be going back to Sears for anything
— Pete vass (@Petevass99) June 26, 2019

@sears is the biggest scam in the history of retail. They took my money for a ping pong table that was never delivered and then they stopped working responding to calls or emails. Anyone else experience this ?
— Tareq (@Tareq64501751) June 26, 2019

We were told by one #Sears rep that the system would be down 5 days. Why can’t you reach out to us? You have our info in servers postings.
— Walk4Jc ❤️ (@walk4jc) June 27, 2019

Once our servers are back up and running we will be more than happy to take a deeper look into how we can assist you.
— Sears (@Sears) June 27, 2019

Hello Cedric, we are very sorry you were not able to return your items due to our systems issue. We sincerely apologize our systems are currently experiencing some technical difficulties and are in the process of resolving. We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience.
— Kmart (@Kmart) June 27, 2019

Customer Service just told me the website is down for 5 days. Poor customer service, but at least she knew that part.
— Diana D (@DianaDArtist) June 27, 2019

Hi, @Sears: I ordered a dryer from you a couple days, with promised delivery tomorrow. Just heard I won't be getting it until who knows when, because "our system is down worldwide." Part of why I went with you was because you said you could get my dryer to me tomorrow.
— A CALM AND EXTREMELY STABLE GENIUS!!! (@Fleacatt) June 27, 2019

@Sears I have been told for the last 2 days to keep calling back in 24 hours to get a service appointment. Two days and this response still. This is not great service. The @kenmore dryer I received has not work since it was delivered. Please help! pic.twitter.com/A8XaEztWFd
— Anthony Bonanno (@nannotwo) June 27, 2019

@Sears Will your site be down all day? I have to place an order and have points expiring today.
— Jamie (@charman57) June 27, 2019

@Sears I purchase a new dryer 5 days ago with a call the same day saying my delivery time is between 8:00 am and 9:00 pm and I will get a 2 hour window provided the day before-NO call the day before and now both the website AND your customer service line are down??? 😠
— ollyoxenfree (@ollyoxenfree6) June 26, 2019

What the hell is happening at @Sears? Every time I call to figure out why my mattress wasn't delivered they say that their system is down and can't tell me anything and to call back in an hour where they'll tell me the system is down again.
— Nathan Starr (@ntstarr) June 27, 2019

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walkman cassette

The Walkman, the handheld cassette tape player released by Sony in 1979, is turning 40 this year. For decades, it dominated the music industry.
Recorded music started nearly 150 years ago with the phonograph, an invention by Thomas Edison that recorded audio onto a rotating foil cylinder.
Listening to music has, of course, changed since then. Here's a look at how we got to cordless headphones and streaming sites.
Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Watch any '80s movie and you are bound to spot it — typically clipped to the hip or held in hand.

It's the Walkman.

Though it was first invented 40 years ago, in 1979, the iconic cassette tape player defined the decade when legwarmers weren't part of costumes and Reaganomics ruled the land. It was the first device that allowed listeners to take music with them on the go (hence, the name).

Since then, we've evolved to CDs, iPods, and the current age of streaming services like Spotify and Apple Music. It's easy to forget how revolutionary the Walkman was for its time, and that it marked a pivotal moment in the nearly 150-year-old history of recorded music.

With that in mind, here's a look at how we've listened to music through the years — from the 1800s to today.

DON'T MISS: 9 predictions from old sci-fi movies that actually came true

The phonograph was invented by Thomas Edison in 1877. An article in The New York Times from the same year said the invention of the phonograph "will lead to important changes in our social customs." But in 1877, the phonograph was nowhere near perfect — it was something Edison would continue to perfect over the next 50 years.

Sources: The New York Times, The New York Times

It worked by producing sound into a horn while a tin foil-covered cylinder was rotated using a handle or gear. The vibrations shook a needle and recorded the audio on the foil. This was the "beginning for recorded music — or recorded anything," The New York Times wrote. However, the phonograph only allowed the listener to play a recording once, and, as you can imagine, didn’t produce the best quality.

Source: The New York Times, The New York Times

Soon after, Edison rival Alexander Graham Bell seemed to perfect the phonograph when he patented the Graphophone in 1886 — using Edison's technology but substituting a wax cylinder, which could be played many times.

Source: The New York Times, The New York Times, Britannica

Invented by Emile Berliner in 1888, the gramophone was the first device to record on flat discs and could be duplicated, "like waffles from a waffle iron," according to The New York Times.

Source: The New York Times

At first, the records were made of glass. The invention of the record would establish itself as one of the main ways to listen to and record music for decades to come.

Source: Smithsonian Institute

By the 1940s, the most popular way to listen to music, the news, or even hear presidential debates live was through radio. It quickly became the best way to disseminate information and provide entertainment. This was the decade where the talk show soared. According to NPR, American families listened to the radio "for three or four hours every day."

Source: NPR

In the 1950s, jukeboxes were everywhere — at its highest point, there were more than 700,000 across America, in diners, cafes, and nightclubs. However, the presence of the jukebox began to drastically decline just a decade later.

Source: The New York Times

While radio was still in its height of popularity, the record was inching toward dominating the way people listened to music by the mid-20th century. Records that were once made of materials like glass and wax soon became easier to manufacture using vinyl plastic — which effectively turned the act of listening to music into more of private hobby rather than a social or familial event.

Source: The Smithsonian Magazine

The 8-track did not have a long shelf life. Invented by Bill Lear in 1964, the popularity of the 'Stereo 8' format was quickly killed by the cassette player, introduced in the early 1970s, which allowed people to record their own audio using a similar device.

Source: The New York Times

In 1981, the New York Times wrote that the cassette player was "the most eagerly wished-for of all gifts." The device allowed people to not only listen to recorded music, but easily make their own recordings, too. This gave birth to the mixtape era, in which people could record songs they heard on the radio.

Source: The New York Times

Maybe one of the most visibly iconic music-listening devices, the boombox made its rise in the mid-'70s as a way to play tunes anywhere, and loudly — each contained nearly "150 decibels of power-packed bass," NPR wrote. It was in the '80s when noise ordinances were introduced in major cities like New York, according to NPR. Soon, portable cassette players would reign.

Source: NPR

Forty years ago, on July 1, 1979, Sony's Walkman was released — and as the first portable cassette player, it revolutionized the way we listen to music. At the time, a Walkman cost $150, and it soon became one of Sony's best-selling products, with over 400 million sold.

Former Sony Chairman Masaru Ibuka is largely credited with the idea for the Walkman.

Source: Business Insider

But the classic blue-and-silver Walkman didn't take off right away in 1979. Sales were slow at first. As a marketing campaign, Sony employees would ask people in the streets of Japan if they wanted to listen to a Walkman, which boosted the device's popularity.

According to The Verge, Sony ceased production of the classic cassette tape Walkman in 2010.

Source: History, The Verge

The Walkman did so well that by 1983, cassettes finally began to outsell vinyl records. But a new listening format was about to take off: the compact disc.

Source: Time

In 1982, we were introduced to compact discs — better known as CDs. The idea for it, according to Gizmodo, came from a meeting between two tech companies, Philips and Sony, in 1979. Both companies wanted something small, thin, and capable of holding approximately 74 minutes of audio.

The first CD player, however, was considered too expensive for the average consumer — it cost $1,000, equivalent to about $2,600 today. The product took time to make an impression on the public.

Source: Gizmodo

Sony's first portable CD player was introduced just 2 years after the CD itself. The Discman was "the smallest and lightest CD player ever produced, and its sound invited comparison with almost any model, regardless of size," according to The New York Times. In 1984, you could buy a Sony CD player for less than $200.

Source: The New York Times

The CD quickly became "the fastest-growing home entertainment product in history," according to writer Greg Milner. CD sales surpassed those of vinyl records in 1988 and cassettes in 1991. The format's peak came in 2000, when consumers bought nearly 2.5 billion CDs worldwide.

Source: The Guardian

But the digital age marked the beginning of the end for CDs. The introduction of Napster popularized the MP3 and, for the first time, allowed internet users to download and share music for free. The peer-to-peer service came under fire from the Recording Industry Association of America and was forced to shut down in 2001.

Source: The Daily Beast

The digital era pressed forward in November 2001 when Apple CEO Steve Jobs introduced its first venture into music players: the iPod. The MP3 player cost $399 and was purported to be as easy and consumer-friendly as a Macintosh computer. Back then, an iPod could hold just 1,000 songs.

Source: The New York Times

Since 2001, Apple has introduced 5 different types of iPods — Classic, Mini, Nano, Shuffle, and Touch. The company also released iTunes, its digital media player, in 2003.

Apple announced in May it will shut down iTunes with the next big update to the Mac operating system. A former executive vice president of Warner Music Group told the Verge in 2013 that iTunes "invented the digital music business."

Source: Business Insider

The 21st century has seen the rise of YouTube, internet radio services like Pandora, and streaming services such as Apple Music, Tidal, and Spotify. The most popular streaming service, Spotify, has more than 100 million paid subscribers. Although digital music sales increase every year, the overall shift away from physical units has cost the music industry billions of dollars.

Source: Reuters, The New York Times

Although no one knows what the future will hold, there's no doubt that recorded music has come a long way from its humble origins.

Google Home smart speakers can make phone calls.
You can tell your Google Home to call a Google contact, or to dial a number that you speak out loud. Google Home can also look up and dial businesses.
Unlike the Amazon Echo, you can't directly call other Google Home speakers — only phones.
Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

You can use Google Home— Google's smart speaker with Google Assistant built in — to place phone calls.

And since Google Home's phone calls use an internet technology called Voice Over IP (VoIP), rather than a cell service like T-Mobile or Verizon, it doesn't affect your smartphone's cellular voice plan at all. All you need is an internet connection.

Here's everything you need to know about making phone calls with Google Home.

Check out the products mentioned in this article:

Google Home (From $99.99 at Apple)

Amazon Echo (From $69.99 on Amazon)

How to make a phone call with Google Home

For most users, their Google Home will be ready to make phone calls without any extra setup.

There are a few ways you can start a call. Start by saying "OK Google" or "Hey Google," and then:

"Call [name]." You can call anyone in your Google contact list by name, as long as they have a phone number attached to their contact listing.
"Call [business name]." Google Home can look up the name of a business and place the call.
"Call [phone number]." Google will dial a number that you speak out loud.

Google Home white

When you're done, say "OK Google," and end the call by saying "stop," "hang up," or "end call."

You can also tell Google Home to redial the most recent call with "OK Google, redial."

How to set the number that appears when Google Home places a call

By default, Google Home calls appear with no Caller ID, which (especially with the deluge of robocalls we're subjected to these days) some people might consider suspicious and ignore. To remedy that, you can configure Google Home calls to show your personal Caller ID number.

1. Start the Google Home app on your phone.

2. In the bottom right corner, tap the account icon.

3. Tap "Settings," then at the bottom of the page, "More settings."

calls 2

4. Tap the "Services" tab at the top of the More settings page, then tap "Voice and video calls."

5. Tap "Mobile calling."

6. On the Calls on speakers page, tap "Your own number" and then tap "Add or change phone number."

calls 3

7. Finally, enter your phone number and tap "Verify" at the top right of the page.

calls 4

8. When you get a text with the verification code, enter it.

How phone calls from Google Home are different than from Amazon Echo

You might be aware that you can make calls with Alexa, the personal assistant on Amazon Echo devices. But the two kinds of calling — from Google Home and Amazon Echo— are somewhat different.

Google Home places calls to other phones, both mobile and landline — the smart speaker can place a call to any phone (in the US or Canada). Because Google Home doesn't have its own phone number, however, it cannot receive calls. It makes outgoing calls only.

Amazon Echo (2nd gen) vs Google Home

Amazon Echo can do that as well. You can use it to make calls directly to phones from your contacts or by speaking the phone number. But unlike Google Home, the Echo also has the ability to make direct Alexa-to-Alexa calls, letting you call someone else's Alexa. Similarly, you can place calls device-to-device from the Echo itself, or from the Alexa app on your phone.

Related coverage from How To Do Everything: Tech:

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NOW WATCH: I switched from the $1,099 iPhone XS Max to the $479 Pixel 3a XL — and I didn't miss much

Depending on the rewards, perks, and benefits you'll get, it can be worth paying an annual fee for a credit card.
However, there are still great and rewarding no-annual-fee credit cards worth considering.
There are co-branded airline cards, cash-back options, and flexible rewards points-earning cards.
Here are a few of the best no-fee credit cards of 2019, including our top choice: the new Wells Fargo Propel American Express® card.

Many people feel that paying an annual fee for a credit card is insane. Why should you pay to spend money?

I'll confess that I used to be in this camp. However, I've learned that, when a credit card offers the right mix of benefits, rewards, and perks, it can absolutely be worth paying a fee — that's because you'll get way more value from the card than you'll spend toward the fee. For example, I pay a total of $1,000 each year for two premium credit cards, but I get way more than that back.

However, there are still good reasons to go for a no-fee card, including cash-flow concerns, and to accompany a fee-card. With that in mind, here are some of the best available no-annual-fee cards.

Keep in mind that we're focusing on the rewards and perks that make these cards great options, not things like interest rates and late fees, which can far outweigh the value of any rewards.

When you're working to earn credit card rewards, it's important to practice financial discipline, like paying your balances off in full each month, making payments on time, and not spending more than you can afford to pay back. Basically, treat your credit card like a debit card.

1. Wells Fargo Propel American Express Card

Welcome offer: 30,000 points, worth $300 (after spending $3,000 in the first three months)

This new card from Wells Fargo has one of the more attractive rewards programs you'll find from a no-annual-fee card — at least, if you don't want to dive into the complicated world of multiple rewards programs and complex redemptions. The new Propel card is actually a re-launch of an old product — Wells Fargo stopped accepting applications for the old card back in February, before announcing the new product and reopening applications this month.

The card earns 3x points on all travel, dining, and streaming services (and 1x point on everything else). If that sounds familiar, it's because it's almost the same as the popular Chase Sapphire Reserve.

There are some key differences between the cards. The Propel lets you redeem points for 1¢ each towards cash back, merchandise, travel, or more, while the Sapphire Reserve offers a range of more valuable redemption options — it's easy to get at least 50% more value for Chase points. Plus, the Sapphire Reserve offers a number of premium perks that the Propel doesn't, like airport lounge access, a $300 annual travel credit travel delay insurance, and more.

Of course, the Sapphire Reserve also comes with a $450 annual fee, while the Wells Fargo Propel doesn't have a fee. Between the new member offer, and the solid earning rate on popular spend categories, the Propel makes a decent option for those who don't travel often, or who aren't comfortable floating a large annual fee.

Click here to learn more about the Wells Fargo Propel card from Business Insider's partner: The Points Guy

2. Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express

Welcome offer: $150 statement credit (after spending $1,000 in the first three months)

The Blue Cash Everyday is a cash-back card, earning 3% cash back at US supermarkets on up to $6,000 each year — and 1% after that — 2% back at US gas stations and select department stores, and 1% cash back on everything else.

There's also a "Preferred" version of the Blue Cash Everyday— the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express earns a bigger 6% back on the first $6,000 spent at US supermarkets (and 1% after), 3% back at US gas stations and some US department stores, and 1% cash back on everything else. The higher earning rate on the Preferred makes it worth paying the annual fee — however, the Blue Cash Everyday is still a great option if you're opposed to that.

If you're looking to make a major purchase — like an appliance or an engagement ring — and pay it off over time, you can take advantage of the 0% intro APR on purchases and balance transfers for the first 15 months (after that, it reverts to a variable 14.74-25.74% APR). You'll earn cash back on the purchase, which you can put right towards paying it off.

Click here to learn more about the Blue Cash Everyday from Business Insider's partner: The Points Guy.

3. Chase Freedom Unlimited

Welcome offer: 15,000 points or $150 cash back (after spending $500 in the first three months)

The Chase Freedom Unlimited is one of the best available options for a no-fee card — especially if there's a chance that you'll want to earn more valuable credit card rewards with a premium card later on.

That's because while Chase markets the card as "cash back," it actually earns Ultimate Rewards points that you can redeem for cash (1 point = 1¢).

If you decide that you want maximize the value of those points by purchasing travel with a bonus through Chase, or transfer them to frequent flyer partners, you can open a card like the Chase Sapphire Preferred or the Sapphire Reserve, and pool your points from the two cards. The Freedom Unlimited earns 1.5% cash back (or 1.5 points per dollar spent), so paired with a Sapphire Reserve, it's a great card to use for purchases that aren't made on travel expenses or dining.

Best of all, the card has no annual fee and often has 0% APR for the first 15 months on purchases and balance transfers. After that, there's a 17.24%-25.99% variable APR. If you have a major purchase ahead of you, that introductory offer can be useful.

The Chase Freedom Unlimited is a fantastic all-around card. However, to get the most value when it's time to spend your points, you need the Sapphire Reserve or Preferred card, too, so you can pool your points. Otherwise, points are only worth 1¢ each no matter how you use them and they can't be transferred to airline or hotel partners.

Click here to learn more about the Chase Freedom Unlimited from Business Insider's partner: The Points Guy.

4. Citi Double Cash Card

citi double cash

Welcome offer: None.

All in all, the Citi Double Cash is the simplest card on this list. It earns 2% cash back — 1% when you make a charge, and 1% when you pay it. Since, if you're looking for credit card rewards, you should be paying your balance off in full each month, you can just look at the full 2%.

There's one downside, though: the card doesn't have a sign-up bonus. That's significant, because the money you earn from a sign-up bonus can equal an entire year's worth of regular spending. Just look at the Wells Fargo Propel, above, which offers $300 worth of points. To get that much, you'd have to spend $15,000 on the Citi Double Cash.

While I would personally stick with a card that offered a generous sign-up bonus, there's no questioning the appeal of the Double Cash. With no categories to worry about, you're guaranteed among the highest consistent return rates of any cash back card — 2% across the board is nothing to sneeze at.

Click here to learn more about the Citi Double Cash Card.

5. Chase Freedom

Welcome offer: 15,000 points or $150 cash back (after spending $500 in the first three months)

The Chase Freedom works virtually the same way as the Freedom Unlimited, earning cash back in the form of Chase Ultimate Rewards points that you can either combine with another card, or redeem for cash or merchandise.

The key difference is how it earns those rewards. Unlike the Freedom Unlimited— which earns 1.5% cash back (or 1.5 points per dollar spent), the regular Freedom earns 5% (or 5x) in one rotating category each quarter on up to $1,500 spent in that category. For example, Q1 of this year was any payments made through a mobile wallet like Apple Pay, while the current quarter includes purchases from gas stations, purchases at Walgreens, and Lyft rides.

Which Freedom-branded card is more rewarding for you depends on how you spend your money. Personally, I use both, but if I had to choose one, I'd stick with the Freedom Unlimited— the consistent earning rate above 1% would make up for the lack of quarterly bonuses. To each his or her own, though!

Click here to learn more about the Chase Freedom from Business Insider's partner: The Points Guy.

6. Chase Ink Business Cash Credit Card

Welcome offer: $500 (or 50,000 Ultimate Rewards points) after spending $3,000 in the first three months

The Ink Cash is another solid Chase entry, although this one is a business card — however, anyone with just about any kind of business can qualify, whether you have a brick-and-mortar space with employees, or you're a freelancer, or even someone with a small side gig.

Just like with the two Freedom cards, you can pool the "cash" you earn with points from a points-earning card, effectively converting your cash into (potentially) more valuable points. Alternatively, you can reap the rewards in the form of cash instead.

The Ink Cash earns 5% cash back (or 5x points) on the first $25,000 in combined purchases at office supply stores and on internet, cable, and phone services each card holder year. It earns 2% back (or 2x points) on the first $25,000 in purchases at gas stations and restaurants each year, and 1% (or 1x point) on everything else with no cap.

The cardoffers a 0% introductory APR for 12 months (with a variable 14.99-20.99% APR after), and has no annual fee.

Click here to learn more about the Chase Ink Business Cash from Business Insider's partner: The Points Guy.

7. A no-fee airline credit card

Welcome offer: Varies

Delta: Blue Delta SkyMiles® Credit Card from American Express
American Airlines: American Airlines AAdvantage MileUp Card
United: United TravelBank Card

You may be sensing a theme here, but most airline credit cards worth having have an annual fee — although many of them will waive it for the first year. Those cards tend to come with useful benefits for people who fly with the airline, like priority boarding or free checked bags. You can learn more about the best overall airline credit cards here.

However, if you're interested in earning frequent flyer miles with a particular airline through your spending, but don't care about those perks and want to avoid the fee, you have a couple of options.

If you're a Delta flyer, you can go for the Blue SkyMiles card from Amex, which offers 2x Delta SkyMiles on every dollar spent with Delta and at US restaurants, and 1x mile per dollar on everything else. It also gets you a 20% discount — in the form of a statement credit — on Delta in-flight purchases like food or drinks.

It offers 10,000 SkyMiles when you spend $500 on purchases in the first three months, and for a limited time, you can earn 2x miles per dollar spent and up to $50 in statement credits on Lyft rides.

American loyalists have a new option, the recently-released AAdvantage MileUp card. This card offers 2x AAdvantage miles on every dollar spent at grocery stores and with American Airlines, and 1x mile on everything else. It also offers 10,000 AAdvantage miles and a $50 statement credit after spending $500 in the first three months.

United's no-annual-fee card doesn't earn miles, but instead offers cash back, called "TravelBank" cash, that can only be redeemed towards flights. You'll earn 2% TravelBank cash for every dollar spent with United, and 1.5% on other purchases. You'll also get 25% back on in-flight food and drink purchases. The card offers a sign-up bonus of $150 in TravelBank cash after you spend $1,000 in the first three months.

8. The Amex EveryDay® Credit Card from American Express

Welcome offer: 10,000 points (after spending $1,000 in the first three months)

American Express Membership Rewards is Amex's in-house rewards program, and the Amex EveryDay is the best no-fee card that earns them. These points can be redeemed for travel, merchandise, or more. However, the best option is to transfer them to a frequent flyer partner.

The EveryDay earns 2x points at US supermarkets (on up to $6,000 of purchases per year, then 1x after that) and at AmexTravel.com, and 1x on everything else. It also offers a 20% bonus on points earned in a billing period when you make 20 or more purchases during that period.

The card also offers a 0% intro APR on purchases and balance transfers for the first 15 months, before switching to a variable 15.24-26.24% APR. If you have a big purchase coming up and want some time to pay it off, but don't want to pay interest fees, this is a great option.

Like most Amex cards, features a few travel and purchase protections, as well as access to the Amex Offers program.

While most people will be better off with a version of the card that has an annual fee, the EveryDay Preferred, the regular EveryDay is still a strong option — especially since there's no annual fee.

Click here to learn more about the Amex EveryDay Card

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Finding a qualified applicant for a job can be difficult and time consuming work — this is where knowing how to post a job on Facebook comes in handy.
Facebook's job posting feature can help you expand your search and find more prospective hires.
Here's how to post a job on Facebook through your business' Facebook page.
Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Finding people to hire can be daunting, especially if you're running a small business. In fact, even with the plethora of options available for posting jobs (Indeed, LinkedIn, Simply Hired, etc.) 44% of small business owners still report difficulty finding qualified applicants, according to the National Federation of Independent Businesses.

That's a significant portion of small business owners, so taking a different approach — like posting a job on Facebook— is a good idea that can help you expand your search, and increase the odds of finding a new employee.

Facebook has had a job-posting feature on its site since February of 2017. For those who are new to it, or want a quick refresher, here's what you need to know to get your job-post live on Facebook:

How to post a job on Facebook

To get started, you'll need to have a business page on Facebook. Assuming yours is set up, here's how to get your job posting up on Facebook:

1. Go to your Facebook business page.

2. Above "Write a post" (located toward the top of the page) click "Job."

3. Fill out the information in the pop-up window — this will include everything from the job title to the job description. Optional fields, like adding questions for applicants, are marked as well.

1 HOW TO POST JOB FACEBOOK

4. Click "Publish job post" — you'll then get a confirmation that your job has posted.

As you fill out the job posting, the preview on the right side of the screen should update.

Your job post will be active for 30 days after submitting it, after which time it will expire. But don't panic if you make a mistake: You'll be able to edit, renew, close or delete the post after you've published it.

If you want some inspiration (or to see how others are crafting their job posts), check out this page. (In addition to showing up on your page, your newly published job post will also show up there, as well as on the Facebook Marketplace.)

And remember: Your post must comply with Facebook's page policies (for example, you can't provide false or misleading information or inaccurately tag content), otherwise the site will take it down.

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Top-quality lawn mowers are powerful enough to cut your grass to a uniform height on the first sweep, will last for years to come, and make an often tedious chore more enjoyable.
The Honda HRX217VKA Lawn Mower is our top pick because it has a 190cc engine, features a dual-blade cutting system, and the variable self-propelled mechanism allows you to finish the lawn at your own speed.

There's something Zen about spending an hour or two each week pushing the mower around the yard on a sunny day. The drone of the motor drowns out your thoughts as you work on a task with a clearly defined objective: Making your lawn look its best. Of course, the deciding factor between an almost meditative experience and one filled with frustration is often the quality of the lawn mower you have.

In the following guide, we mainly focus on walk-behind mowers since the majority of lawns are served perfectly well by these machines. However, if you have a lawn that is larger than half an acre, you may want a riding mower.

If you have a yard that is between a quarter and half an acre, consider a self-propelled model. This basically means you do less pushing. Self-propelled mowers are especially helpful on hills. Also, pay special attention to blade size. Look for a mower with a blade that's at least 20-inches long if you have a larger yard. Conversely, if you have many narrow areas to mow, a smaller deck, the area within which the blade spins around, is best.

Lastly, pay close attention to model numbers. Many brands have dozens of models with only slight differences. If you've done your research and have your heart set on XYZ Company's 12345, be sure you don't pick up the 12456. If you follow our links, you can ensure you are getting the right model.

While researching the best lawn mowers, we examined hundreds of expert and buyer ratings and reviews of dozens of models. The mowers included in our guide are fairly low maintenance, enjoyable to use, make quick work of your lawn, and will last you for several years.

Also, check out our guide to the best string trimmers to get into any edges or tight spots your mower may miss.

Here are our picks for the best lawn mowers you can buy:

Best lawn mower overall: Honda HRX217VKA Lawn Mower
Best electric lawn mower: EGO LM2101 Lawn Mower
Best corded electric lawn mower: Greenworks 22502 12 Amp Corded Lawn Mower
Best affordable lawn mower: Sun Joe MJ401E 12 Amp Electric Lawn Mower
Best lawn mower for large yards: Toro Recycler 20333 Lawn Mower

Updated on 06/28/2019 by Les Shu: Updated prices, links, and formatting.

Keep scrolling to read more about our top picks.

The best lawn mower overall

If you need a powerful mower that is packed full of features and can handle different terrain and grasses, look no further than the Honda HRX217VKA Lawn Mower.

Before we get into the nuts and bolts of the Honda 21-inch Variable Speed 4-in-1 Gas Walk Behind Self Propelled Lawn Mower, we should point out that the model numbers HRX217VKA and HRX217K5VKA are used interchangeably by Honda to refer to this lawn mower, and there do not appear to be any differences between the two. That said, the best adjective to describe the HRX217VKA is "powerful."

The 190cc engine allows you to mow at a decent clip, and it starts more easily and runs more efficiently than most side-valve engines. Also, the rear-wheel drive makes it so you can mow inclines and hills effortlessly.

There are more features than we have space to cover here, but we would be remiss if we didn't touch on the Versamow system. This system allows you to choose how much grass is mulched and how much is bagged depending on your yard's conditions. It also lets you shred leaves so you no longer need to use your leaf blower.

The Honda HRX217VKA is at or near the top of all of the expert best lawn mower lists, including Popular Mechanics, Top Ten Reviews, and Lawn Mower Review. The testers at Consumer Reports gave this model top ratings for handling, bagging, and mulching and "very good" ratings for ease of use and side discharging. Additionally, the reviewer estimated the breakage rate by the fourth year of ownership to be 16%, which is well below any of the other mowers they tested.

The reviewer at The Wirecutter call it "one of the best self-propelled mowers available" for cut quality and grass maintenance. He was impressed with how the mower cut grass into smaller pieces with its double-blade design. And, he found the Versamow system incredibly helpful. However, the reviewer that it was tedious to adjust each wheel when he wanted to change the cutting height.

Buyers remark that the mower cuts well after just one pass and doesn't leave stragglers, clumps, or lines. One buyer was impressed with how it could even handle unkempt grass over 6 inches high.

Pros: Durable, two-blade cutting system, 190cc engine, rear-wheel drive, five-year warranty

Cons: Expensive, tedious cutting height adjustment

Buy the Honda 21 in. Variable Speed 4-in-1 Gas Walk Behind Self Propelled Lawn Mower (HRX217VKA) on Amazon for $599 (originally $699)

The best affordable lawn mower

The Sun Joe MJ401E Mow Joe 14-inch 12 Amp Electric Lawn Mower was designed for people who want to maintain small yards and don't want to spend a lot of money.

When you first lay eyes on the Sun Joe MJ401E Mow Joe 14-inch 12 Amp Electric Lawn Mower, you may be struck by how small it is. At 29 pounds, it weighs almost half as much as the next lightest mower on our list. This makes it easy to maneuver, but it does raise questions of durability.

Fortunately, the Snow Joe + Sun Joe Company backs the quality of the mower with a full two-year warranty. With a 14-inch blade, this mower is meant for yards that are a quarter-acre or smaller, and the 16-inch deck makes it easy to get into tight spots.

The Sun Joe MJ401E to adequate for people with a small yard who don't want to spend a lot on a mower. It has similar benefits to an electric mower (no fossil fuels, lightweight, etc.), but there are only three height positions with the lowest scraping the ground. And, due to its 14-inch blade, it takes longer to mow a lawn.

The mower is a finalist on Your Best Digs's list, but the reviewer noted the budget price is reflected in its toy-like build quality and "flimsy-feeling" height adjuster. The reviewer thinks it's best for very basic lawn care.

The Sun Joe MJ104E has more than 1,500 5-star reviews on Amazon. One buyer says he had his Mow Joe for more than a year and left it in the weather and abused it otherwise. He is happy with how it has performed. He cautions against buying the 16-gauge extension cord recommended by Amazon. Instead, choose 12 gauge for 100 feet or more and 14 gauge for under 100 feet.

Pros: Inexpensive, lightest mower on our list, good for the environment

Cons: Three height adjustments on each wheel, only good for basic lawn care

Buy the Sun Joe MJ401E Mow Joe 14-Inch 12 Amp Electric Lawn Mower from Walmart for $79.99

The best electric lawn mower

The EGO 21 in. 56-Volt Lithium-ion Cordless Battery Walk Behind Push Mower is your best option if the idea of using fossil fuels to cut your lawn isn't appealing.

EGO has two 21-inch-deck, 56-volt lithium-ion cordless battery mowers that are quite popular and share a number of similarities: the LM2101 and the LM2102SP. The major differences between the two are that the LM2102SP is self-propelled, has a larger-capacity 7.5Ah battery, and it costs $100 more. For the purposes of this review, we're going to focus on the features they share in common.

The EGO 21-inch handles side discharge, bagging, and mulching. It is designed for use in all weather, and even features LED headlights for when mowing in heavily-shaded areas or after dark. There are six deck heights to pick from, and adjustments are made with a single lever. EGO backs the quality of their mowers with a five-year limited warranty.

The EGO LM2101 is a highly-rated electric-battery mower on Consumer Reports by far. Its lowest category rating is for its bagging for which it is rated "good." Despite testing the push option, the reviewer found this mower was easy to operate and had effortless handling. However, they found the 40-minute battery runtime to be fairly short, a common issue with cordless electric mowers.

Techaeris tested the EGO LM2102SP and found the battery lasted 60 minutes, which was long enough to finish the reviewer's 1/3-acre lawn. He estimated that the yearly cost to operate the EGO would be $1.50.

More than 2,000 buyers have left 5-star reviews of the LM2101 on Home Depot's website. After a year-and-a-half of ownership, one owner was impressed by how lightweight and quiet it is. He shared a story of hitting a metal pipe in his yard with the mower. It damaged the electronics, and EGO sent him a brand new mower to replace it. Buyers also appreciate that the battery only takes about 40 minutes to recharge from dead.

Pros: Easy to operate, good for the environment, excellent customer service, folds up for easy storage

Cons: Battery only lasts for an hour at most

Buy the EGO 21-In. 56-Volt Lithium-ion Cordless Battery Walk Behind Push Mower (5.0Ah Battery) from Home Depot for $399

Buy the EGO 21-In. 56-Volt Lithium-ion Cordless Walk Behind Self Propelled Mower (7.5Ah Battery) from Home Depot for $499

The best corded electric lawn mower

If you want an electric mower but don't want to deal with the hassle of recharging or the high price of a cordless alternative, consider the Greenworks 20-inch 12 Amp Corded Lawn Mower.

The Greenworks 20-inch 12 Amp Corded Lawn Mower has a lot of features that can make your mowing experience enjoyable. Since it is corded, you don't need to stop to recharge a battery or gas up. It's a three-in-one that has mulching, side discharge, and rear bagging capabilities. There are seven cutting height positions ranging from 1.5 to 3.75 inches, and you can adjust the height with a single lever. Plus, the 10-inch rear wheels, 7-inch front wheels, and 56-pound size make it easy to push around the yard.

For the past three years, I have used the Greenworks 22502 Corded Lawn Mower on our quarter-acre lawn. We particularly like how easy it is to adjust the blade height, and it's surprisingly light. There are just a couple of negatives we have noticed. We live in the Pacific Northwest where mowing wet grass is unavoidable. When the grass is wet, it does not feed into the bag of this mower easily. Also, we had to replace the cord after my teenager ran over it with the mower. So, cord control is important and takes a little planning.

Your Best Digs rated the Greenworks 22502 as the best electric lawn mower. The reviewer found this push mower easy to maneuver thanks to its lightweight design. He also liked that it was much quieter than the gas mowers he tested. However, he noted that dumping the clipping was awkward since there was a crossbar in the way, and he would have preferred it if the mower came with an extension cord. Greenworks offers the option of buying the mower with an extension cord for $30 extra.

More than 3,000 buyers have left 4- or 5-star reviews of the Greenworks 22502 on Amazon. The most helpful reviewer compared this model to a couple of Black & Decker electric mowers he had owned in the past. He was much more satisfied with his Greenworks mower because it could handle wet grass and was easy to maneuver.

Several buyers suggest coming up with a mowing pattern that moves away from the outlet and thus makes it harder for you to trip over the cord. One buyer found that the motor would get dirty during use and recommended opening it up and cleaning it with compressed air.

Pros: Lightweight for easy maneuverability, good for the environment, four-year warranty

Cons: The cord can get in the way

Buy the Greenworks 20-Inch 12 Amp Corded Lawn Mower on Amazon for $149.99 (with extension cord)

The best lawn mower for large yards

If you have a larger yard and prefer gas-powered mowers, the Toro Recycler 20333 Lawn Mower is for you with its 22-inch cutting width and self-propelling abilities.

One of the coolest features of the Toro Recycler 22-inch Personal Pace Variable Speed Gas Walk Behind Self Propelled Lawn Mower that kept coming up in our research is the blade-brake clutch. This allows you to stop the blade without stopping the motor of the mower, which is helpful for moving debris out of the way.

The Recycler has a powerful 163cc engine that doesn't require priming or choking to start, and there's no need for oil changes. There are nine cutting positions, and Toro backs this mower with a three-year "guaranteed-to-start" warranty.

Consumer Reports recommends the Toro Recycler 20333 because of its "very good" ratings in ease of use, handling, side discharging, and bagging and "excellent" mulching. The reviewer specifically liked the washout port for cleaning buildup under the sizable deck. The Wirecutter used to list the 20333 as the "runner-up pick" but supplanted it with the 20340 because of the newer model's upright storage. However, the reviewer still recommends the 20333 if the blade brake clutch is more important to you than compact storage.

More than 2,100 buyers on Home Depot's site recommend the Toro Recycler 20333. The most helpful reviewer found the powerful engine did an excellent job of chopping through foot-high grass, and the rear wheel drive gave him power while turning. He also mentioned that he could almost jog with it.

Another buyer notes that his Toro still runs well after three years of questionable maintenance. He does note a couple of negatives: It's a bit louder than the Honda, and if you go to fast, the mulch is not fine enough.

Pros: Blade-brake clutch, self-propelled, three-year "guaranteed-to-start" warranty, 163cc engine

Cons: Gas powered

Buy the Toro Recycler 22-In. Personal Pace Variable Speed Gas Walk Behind Self Propelled Lawn Mower from Home Depot for $449

business insider verification check

Getting verified on Facebook isn't as easy as making a few clicks.
Becoming verified and receiving a blue verification check on your Facebook account requires you to be a public figure, or of public interest.
You can become verified on Facebook either through a page or personal profile.
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Social media is full of fake accounts. So it makes sense that companies like Snapchat, Twitter, and Facebook allow certain accounts to become "verified," as a way to signal that they're the real deal.

Facebook uses a blue check to show that the company has verified a page or person of public interest (think celebrities or big brand names). There's also a gray check that's used to signify other authentic pages, for those who don't meet the "public interest" qualification.

Screen Shot 2019 06 28 at 3.26.57 PM

Either way, verification is free. For those seeking the blue or gray check mark, here's what you'll need to qualify:

A cover photo
A profile photo
A name that follows Facebook's guidelines
Content posted to the account
Visitors are allowed to follow you (profiles only)
Be able to provide a government-issued I.D. like a driver's license, national identification card or passport (profiles only)
Be able to provide a document (like your organization's phone or utility bill, a certificate or formation, articles or incorporation, or tax documents) with a watermark, for pages not representing a person

Here's how to get your Facebook account verified, whether it's a business page, or a profile:

How to get verified with a blue checkmark on Facebook

To get verified, you'll need to use the desktop version of Facebook. And for pages, you'll need to have it set to "public figure."

Once that's in place, here's how to get your page verified on Facebook:

1. Go to facebook.com and log into your account.

2. Go to this link and fill it out, including adding in a reason why your account should be verified.

1 HOW TO GET VERIFIED FACEBOOK

3. Hit "Send."

You'll get a notification after Facebook has started reviewing your request, and in the event that it's denied, you'd be able to re-apply 30 days after rejection.

How to get verified with a gray checkmark on Facebook

If, instead, you want the gray checkmark, go to your page's settings, and under the "General" tab select "Page Verification."

Then click "Verify this page" and enter a publicly listed phone number for your business, your country and language. Click "Call me now" — this lets Facebook call you with a verification code.

After that, simply enter that four-digit verification code click "Continue." You'll get a notification about your status once the company's reviewed your credentials.

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