Got A Good 'Drip Pricing' Story? The FTC Wants To Hear From You
By Chris Morran on May 18, 2012 5:15 PM
49 Comments
You may not be familiar with the term "drip pricing," but you're probably all too familiar with the concept. It's when a company advertises only one part of a product's price and doesn't reveal other associated charges until later in the the buying process. More »
GM Says It'll Pass On Advertising On TV During The Super Bowl
By Mary Beth Quirk on May 18, 2012 5:00 PM
27 Comments
First General Motors was all like, "Facebook advertising? That's for nerds, it doesn't work!" and now the automaker has announced it's not going to go for Super Bowl ads in 2013, either. More »
Facebook IPO Makes Billions For Company But Stock Price Doesn't Go Up
By Chris Morran on May 18, 2012 4:34 PM
33 Comments
Skeptics that thought Facebook's IPO price of $38/share was perhaps too high a jumping-off point were proven partially correct today, as stock in the world's social network finished its first day of trading only about $.23 above the offering price. More »
Bank Of America Apparently Doesn't Want Credit Card Customers Who Pay Their Cards Off
By Chris Morran on May 18, 2012 4:15 PM
72 Comments
Contrary to any ads touting financial responsibility, banks don't really make much money on people who pay attention to their money, and they may just kick you to the curb when they realize you won't be a huge source of fees and interest for them. More »
Dorito-Loving Raccoons Loitering Behind Neighborhood Store
By Mary Beth Quirk on May 18, 2012 4:00 PM
33 Comments
If you think it'd be cute to see a raccoon munching on a bag of Doritos, try to envision about 62 of them wandering around chomping snacks in your neighborhood. One community has been swarmed with a big group of raccoons that have been congregating in the woods behind a Stop and Save. More »
Report: Judges Collect More Than $1 Million In Traffic Fines By Calling Them 'Court Costs'
By Chris Morran on May 18, 2012 3:38 PM
48 Comments
Imagine you're caught speeding — or driving recklessly, or driving without a license — and you appear in traffic court all set to pay the fine. But then the judge tells you that he's not only knocking your offense down to a warning, but also discounting your penalty and collecting the lesser amount as "court costs." You'd probably be very happy. Only problem is, it's probably illegal and it keeps bad drivers on the road. More »
Now You Can Get Pricey Blood Thinning Drug Plavix In Cheaper Generic Form
By Mary Beth Quirk on May 18, 2012 3:00 PM
22 Comments
The Food and Drug Administration has given the go ahead to seven companies to begin producing Plavix in generic form. As someone who has to shell out over $100 for about 10 pills to quarter and force an unwilling, yet sick cat, to take, I am pretty darn excited about this whole situation. More »
Petco Loses Dogs Too
By Chris Morran on May 18, 2012 2:30 PM
39 Comments
It's not just airlines that fail at keeping a handle on customers' pets. Just ask the Texas man who took his retriever in to his local Petco for some grooming and is now looking for help trying to find the lost pooch. More »
(D©Bloom)
Smartphone Message Service Read Receipts -- Stress Incarnate Or Peace Of Mind?
By Mary Beth Quirk on May 18, 2012 2:00 PM
21 Comments
As messaging applications on smartphones continue to sidle into the territory previously occupied strictly by traditional SMS texting, users are being confronted with a sometimes uncomfortable proposition. Namely, that whoever is on the other end can see when you've read their message, and you can see if they're ignoring you or not as well. More »
(source: U.S. EIA)
Why Are West Coast Gas Prices Rising While Dropping Everywhere Else?
By Chris Morran on May 18, 2012 1:30 PM
62 Comments
While the national average for a gallon of gas has dropped nearly 20 cents since peaking in early April, prices on the West Coast of the U.S. recently began rising again, even as prices in every other region of the country trend downwards. More »
Airlines Aren't Pulling In As Much Dough Off Checked Bags Fees As They Used To
By Mary Beth Quirk on May 18, 2012 1:00 PM
53 Comments
You might already have suspected that the reason why you engage in a fierce, almost Hunger Gamesesque competition to stow your carry-on is because no one wants to pay to check bags. That free-for-all has resulted in U.S. airlines making less money off baggage fees for the first time since they started assessing them. More »
(PepOmint)
Top Posts Of The Week And Open Thread
By Laura Northrup on May 18, 2012 12:30 PM
51 Comments
- 9 Examples Why You May Want To Avoid Homeowners Associations Like The Plague
- Can A Restaurant Meal Be So Bad You Shouldn't Pay The Bill?
- Apparently This Woman Doesn't Find Clothing Necessary For Running Errands
- There's A Used Condom In My Room. Does The Hotel Owe Me Anything?
(tjean314)
Postal Worker Accused Of Stealing Meds From War Vets, Selling To Others On Her Route
By Chris Morran on May 18, 2012 12:15 PM
12 Comments
We've heard numerous stories about carriers for the U.S. Postal Service pilfering mail intended for others. But it seems like a lot of those stolen items just end up piling up in the carriers' homes. Here's a story of a mail carrier in California who robbed drugs intended for Peter to get paid by Paul. More »
Do-Gooder Buys Out A Closing Kmart To Donate $200K Worth Of Items To Charity
By Mary Beth Quirk on May 18, 2012 12:00 PM
72 Comments
A Kentucky man was scoping out a Kmart set to close for good, trying to snag himself some good deals on the discounted items for his own business. But while he was at the register, a thought struck him — where does all the rest of this stuff go after the store is shut down? So he signed up to buy out the store and give items to the less fortunate. More »
Verizon: If You Want Your Unlimited Data Plan, You'll Have To Pay Full Price For Your Next Phone
By Chris Morran on May 18, 2012 11:50 AM
54 Comments
After a bit of hemming and hawing on the topic, Verizon Wireless has finally released some concrete info on its plan to kill off grandfathered unlimited data plans as it moves customers from 3G to 4G LTE service. More »
(formatc1)
New Shoes Hurt, New Balance Replaces Them
By Laura Northrup on May 18, 2012 11:35 AM
36 Comments
Sean's new shoes hurt his feet. When he realized that this wasn't because he was out of shape or had bought the wrong size, he figured it had been too long since buying the shoes, and he wouldn't be able to return them. Not so when the shoes were from New Balance, purveyors of sneaker awesomeness. More »
United/Continental Pilots Get Authority To Call Strike Vote
By Chris Morran on May 18, 2012 11:23 AM
8 Comments
Even though United Airlines and Continental have merged just about everything else, the pilots remain represented by two different groups at the Air Line Pilots Association. Even so, all pilots for the merged carriers received union approval to ask members to vote on a strike if negotiations with management break down. More »
Community Not About To Let Walmart Sneak Into Spot Zoned For Residential Use
By Mary Beth Quirk on May 18, 2012 11:00 AM
61 Comments
In the case of an Arkansas town situated near the Bentonville headquarters of Walmart, proximity has not made many hearts grow fonder. Citizens packed a recent meeting in Bella Vista to make themselves heard on the issue of rezoning a spot so a Walmart Neighborhood Market could ostensibly move in. More »
