heh: Best Buy, Enemy Territory.

Why does Consumerist drive business (via ad placement) to stores they rail against on a daily basis?

@SuperJdynamite: I figure because at the end of the day, BB's money (through advertising) is as good as any other store's money...

How many times do I have to say this? Morning Deals are not sponsored. Not now, not ever.

@Ben Popken:

Then why are they for sites that are on The Consumerist's "No-Buy" list?

It does seem odd that the articles which sometimes bracket the deals section are lambasting the very products in it.

Is anyone else having trouble with the Canon camera from Staples listed at Dealhack? Dealhack says the $50 discount (from $200 to $150) is valid until Saturday but Staples' website is quoting the camera at $200 and then offering a $50 rebate that's only valid on the purchase of a camera AND a printer.

@SuperJdynamite: Regardless of not being sponsored, I, too, have often wondered why The Consumerist posts articles that bring business to companies like WalMart and BB. Just as I am amazed at the great familiarity of the commenters with the inventory and displays of companies that they claim are "the enemy".

I don't shop at WalMart. I encourage my friends to avoid the store, but I don't shun them for being misled by cheap prices and well designed marketing. A problem does not go away by being ignored and each negative mention hopefully furthers the cause.

When there is a positive report - So be it. While it is sometimes possible to defeat an opponent by concentrating on his weaknesses, victory usually comes to those who also acknowledge and deal with their opponent's strengths. For people supporting a family of six on minimum wage, the fact that cheap food and clothes for their kids from some suppliers can be evil is a difficult nut to swallow. To be workable, arguments must be based on the real world with effective alternatives presented not a rant based on an ideal economic model.

I believe the simple answer is that The Consumerist is reporting on the marketplace as it is. It often offers solutions to problems but is up to consumers to decide what they want to do about it. It is, after all, The Consumerist, not The Economist or the Utopian Tribune and it deals with the complex realities of the interaction of consumers in the marketplace. I have several bones to pick with Ben and Meg et al, but I believe their intentions are good and overall thrust well directed.

I put up the best deals I can find, independent of the articles we write. Morning Deals are for saving money. I trust people can make up their own minds. With Best Buy, for example, most complaints relate to in-store experiences, while most of the deals we post for them are for online shopping.

I see this as the brick and mortar stores have problems, but deals on the website are different. You're not haggling, or dealing with surly workers. Rebates are usually instant, and the savings aren't confusing.

I equate it to me shopping at a supermarket I won't usually shop at if they have something on sale that I want. It really doesn't matter who sells my Pepsi, as long as it's the Pepsi I want at a good price.

@myotheralt: Actually Enemy Territory:Quake Wars is a very fun game.

AVOID that Philips player! I've returned TWO because they are garbage.

@richtaur: What was the problem? I have a Phillips DVD player, and one night it just stopped showing video. Searched the internet high and low, and finally found ONE link which said that it might have switched itself to progressive, and to hit two keys on the remote. Fixed it 1-2-3. I am interested to know what happened w/yours.

@GitEmSteveDave: We bought two in a row that both had audio/video out of sync. Additionally, it was super unresponsive, sometimes taking ~2 minutes to eject disc... so frustrating! (love your handle BTW)

@richtaur: Thank you. It's going to be the name of my first born male child. I could pick worse Kevin Smith characters to name him after. And SteveDave (no spaces) is a really hard name to make fun of.