Consumerist

Badvertising

Get Ready For An Onslaught Of Food Advertising

Foodmakers are planning to bombard you with advertising to keep you from ditching their carefully groomed brands for some blechy cheapo generics. Pay no attention as they try to re-brand their products as cheap and affordable. Here's a small preview of what to expect... More »

Dell

Dell Doesn't Care Where You Live, Keeps Delivering Packages To The Wrong Address

Elizabeth went out and bought a Mac after Dell twice sent Windows XP replacement CDs to her old address. After each failed delivery attempt, Elizabeth called Dell, which repeatedly promised that they'd get it right next time. One CSR even claimed that he personally called DHL to change the shipping address. (He didn't.) More »

Your Health

20 Drugs That Probably Won't Kill You, But Potentially Could, Maybe

Don't freak out or anything, but the FDA is going to publish a list of medicines that could kill you. Or not. They're not really sure. Still, there is going to be a list, and if it shows a medicine that you're taking, then, um, yeah, sorry to hear that... More »

Kay Jewelers

Help, Kay Jewelers Destroyed My Wedding Ring During A Routine Cleaning!

Kay Jewelers deformed Lisa's wedding ring during a routine cleaning and refuses to provide a replacement ring. Lisa first noticed that a tiny diamond was missing, which Kay Jewelers found stuck in their cleaning equipment. In the process of reseating the diamond, Kay again deformed the ring, scratching out the ring's beaded edges. Kay decided they couldn't repair the destroyed ring, but rather than ordering a new one from the manufacturer, Kay decided to remake the ring using a low-resolution picture of the original as their guide. Shockingly, that ring didn't work out either. It's now been three months and Lisa wants her wedding ring back. More »

College

Give The Gift Of College For Your Next Birthday Party

Thanks to state-sponsored 529 plans, friends and family can finally contribute to college savings funds without drowning under long forms and boring paperwork. More »

Animal House

This Foreclosed Property Is An Excellent Home For Bobcats

Unlike prospective homebuyers, this pair of bobcats went absolutely wild over a foreclosed Lake Elsinore home. According to the L.A. Times, the bobcats were likely attracted by an outdoor koi pond, which isn't just decorative, but serves as a fabulous source of drinking water. Like any suburban couple, the pair is expected to stay until the kids are old enough to leave. More »

Road rage

Comcast Driver To Senior Citizen: "Get The F!@# Down From Your Car So I Can Kick Your Ass"

Northfaceninja watched in horror as a Comcast employee repeatedly smashed his Comcast van into a car driven by a senior citizen before barking: "Get the fuck down from your car so I can kick your ass." The angry employee quickly abandoned his ass-kicking plan once he noticed onlookers jotting down his license plate number. More »

Too Big Too Fail

Nobody Panic: Government Seizes Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae

Oh dear, all that talk about Freddie and Fannie being "adequately capitalized" was utter bullshit and the government has now announced plans to place the failed government sponsored enterprises into conservatorship. That means the fate of the housing market and the global economy rest squarely on the shoulders of U.S. taxpayers. More »

Bad Ideas

Sears Offer To Mail Customer Missing Key To Floor Model Snowblower

Aaron visited Sears to pick up a new Craftsman snowblower he bought for 10% off on Sears.com, but the store only had one floor model in stock. Aaron agreed to take the unit after staff assured him that it came with a warranty, manuals, and all the things normally bundled with new snowblowers. Of course, Sears couldn't find either the manual or the keys. A salesman promised that "Ray from Lawn & Garden" would mail the key whenever he returned, an offer Aaron refused. The salesman then offered a key from another snowblower, promising "the keys are basically universal." That key didn't work because, as a different associate later discovered, the unit was missing its electric start socket. More »

Restaurants

Want That Hot Restaurant Reservation? Ask With A European Accent

The parasitic Grocery Shrink Ray has infected restaurants, shrinking portions and spurring substitutions as restaurateurs struggle to pry revenue from cash-strapped customers. Desperate to fill seats by any means, restaurants are borrowing from the airlines and starting to overbook reservations for peak times. They're also giving preference to the new big spenders: Europeans. More »

Pawn Shops

Looking For Great Deals? Try The Local Pawn Shop

Pawn shops are becoming an unlikely source of great deals thanks to the ongoing non-recession thing, according to CBS. Where else can you turn pop's old watch into last month's overdue rent check? We always see pawn shops as a half-step up from dumpster diving, a semi-acceptable sad-land where each abandoned item comes with a free story and a frown. More »

Storm Chasers

Priceline Encourages Deal-Seekers To Vacation Under Tropical Storm Hanna

Priceline won't let deal-hating weathermen keep you from the amazing savings churned up by Tropical Storm Hanna. Rooms in Hilton Head are now going for the low, low price of $64 per night, but act fast because the deal is only valid while Hanna pummels the dream destination's shores with 70 mph winds! More »

Carters tagless

Carter's Tagless Baby Clothes Causing Rashes?

Parents are complaining online that Carter's line of "tagless" baby clothes could be responsible for causing rashes and sores on babies. Instead of a traditional tag on the inside back of the shirt, a "tagless" has a solid silk-screen flat label. Carter's is said to be aware of the problem and that it's limited to their Fall 2007 line of tagless infant clothing. One blogger described the effect the shirt had on her daughter, writing, "Her back will turn very red and start oozing right where the tag (stamp) is in the back, the rash will appear as the exact size and shape of the stamp. The redness will then spread out from there." Googling "carters tagless" reveals a number of parents complaining about the same issue. I smell class action lawsuit.


insiders

Rogue Sandwich Delivery Guy Wants To Tell World Not To Buy Chips

This little email from an apoplectic-sounding Jimmy John's delivery guy just popped into our inbox and we felt the need to share it with you, our readers. The moral? Don't buy overpriced chips. More »

55% Off Groceries At Amazon Amazon is having a grocery clearance sale, 55% off regular price with coupon code CLRNCFTY. [Amazon]

Followups

PedEgg Works

Turns out PedEgg, a home foot buffer, didn't need to allegedly hire a "horror" makeup artist to increase the contrast in the infomercial's before and after shots. In the September issue, Consumer Reports says the results from their 29 testers indicated the product worked quite well.

Tropicana

Tropicana: Our 100% Juice Could Contain "Anything From Nature," Even Dairy

It's apparently a whole lot of fun to try to get a straight answer out of Tropicana as to what "natural flavors" are in their 100% juice. More »