It sounds convenient once you've jumped through the registration hoops, although the clear downside is you're storing credit card info on a third-party site, which is the sort of thing that always seems to come back up as a bad idea when a company's database is breached. If you're comfortable with that risk, however, have at it.

"Subway launches sandwich ordering via SMS in New York City" [IntoMobile]

(Photo: freakapotimus)

I bought a baseball glove at Modell's a couple of weeks ago (in Manhattan.) I was in a hurry and so didn't have a lot of time to shop around or wait for delivery. I found one I liked at paid $49.99 for it. On the back of the receipt, it says the following: "MO'S LOW PRICE GUARANTEE" WE WILL BEAT ANY AD... ANY DAY AND REFUND 25% OF THE DIFFERENCE See stores for details." A little while later, I noticed that Dick's Sporting Goods and the Sports Authority were both selling the glove for $29.99. So, I went back to the store with a copy of one of their ads and asked about the guarantee, hoping to get either the difference, 25% of the difference, or, most logically, 125% of the difference - that would be "beating" the price, right? The response I got was surprising, to say the least.

According to the clerk, they would only match their own prices. That is, if the price drops later, they'll match it... I think. This seemed wholly inconsistent with the idea of "beating any ad." After all, wouldn't their policy be more like, "We'll match our own subsequent lower price!" ??

My gut instinct told me that this couldn't be right, or perhaps it was just an NYC thing. After all, we get screwed on specials all the time. So, I called their corporate number to find out what the official policy was. I spoke with a very nice lady named "Melanie" who said that the clerk was in fact slightly misinformed. Here's the actual policy:

Modell's will beat a competitor's REGULAR price. However, since I was looking at a sale price, they couldn't match it.

I politely asked her how often competitor's advertise their regular prices - isn't the whole point of the advertisement, typically, to show what's on sale? She said that yes, in fact, that did seem odd, but that that was the policy. No price match for me - it was on sale.

Essentially, Modell's will guarantee that their products are being sold at MSRP. Hooray!

Ah, we get it now. See store for details means "see store for the details of our non-participatory caveats and disclaimers." If that's the way they're going to play, I definitely don't "Gotta Go To Mo's."

[via CNET]

RELATED: Who would wait a week in line for an iPhone 3G? [Fortune]

July 2, 2007

VIA CERTIFIED MAIL

Leslie H. Wexner
CEO, Limited Brands Inc
THREE LIMITED PKWY
P.O. Box 16000
Columbus, OH 43216

Sharon J. Turney
President and Chief Executive Officer, Victoria's Secret
CEO, Limited Brands Inc
THREE LIMITED PKWY
P.O. Box 16000
Columbus, OH 43216

Dear Mr. Wexner & Ms. Turney,

I write to inform you of an incident that occurred this Saturday at your Victoria's Secret store located in SoHo, Manhattan at 565 Broadway (Store #774). Despite producing an original sales receipt, the credit card used to make the purchase AND a United States Permanent Resident Card (commonly known as a "green card"), I was denied the right to return a $24.99 bra that I purchased just one week and one day earlier. Your manager, Jackie, cited a "new return policy" that deems my U.S. government issued identification worthless in the eyes of your undergarment retail giant.

It all began when I attempted to return a bra that I had purchased for my mother (she didn't like the color) at another one of your stores located in Westchester County on the 22nd of June. The bra was just one portion of a purchase totaling $93!! After waiting on line for nearly 10 minutes, only to be told that I had to go to a different register because, unbeknownst to me, returns were being processed at one specific terminal, After waiting on line again, I was greeted by a very rude and condescending cashier. I produced the bra and my receipt (copy annexed) along with the credit card used to make the purchase. After starting the return process, the clerk requested photo identification. My student ID wasn't sufficient, nor was a credit card bearing my photo.

Given no other options, I reached into the depths of my wallet to pull out a form of identification that I use a total of once or twice a year when I travel on vacation to Europe. I don't even like to carry it around with me. It is the most precious and most official form of identification that I posses. It is my Permanent Resident Card issued by the United States Department of Immigration and Naturalization!

If you are unfamiliar with the Permanent Resident Card, in addition to bearing my name, a photo and a fingerprint, it also contains a plethora of other personal data regarding my immigration status. I am always reluctant to share this information with anyone but those who have a legitimate need for it ( i.e. Airport Customs & Security).

Like a good million (or four!) other New York City residents, I do not have a drivers license because I DO NOT DRIVE! While I was a bit hesitant to hand the Victoria's

Secret cashier my Permanent Resident Card, I had already invested 20 minutes of my personal time to make the still incomplete return, and so I caved and handed it over.

To my utter dismay and disbelief, the cashier nastily responded, "I can't use this, this is no good." After requesting to speak to a supervisor, Jackie, the manager on duty, cited a "new return policy" that demanded the production of either a drivers license or passport. According to Jackie, the new computerized return system "will not accept the numbers" on my green card. I even offered to accept store credit in lieu of a cash refund (which in hindsight, I was weak for even suggesting. I have a RIGHT to return the merchandise. It says so on the receipt!). There were no exceptions, according to Jackie. I could not return the bra.

To have a retail store tell you that your Permanent Resident Card, an identification document issued by the United States federal government, a document that sufficiently establishes my right to live here, to exit and enter this country without a visa, a card that proves my status as a Permanent Resident of the United States - a status that affords me nearly the same rights that a naturalized citizen has (with the exception of the right to vote and Social Security benefits, if you want to point out two of the most important differences) — is "no good," is an attack on my identity.

Never in my life have I been so frustrated. Here was one of your store managers telling me, a long time paying customer of your brands, in front of my boyfriend and everyone else on line, that I can't return a $24.99 bra because my green card "isn't good enough" to prove that I am who I say I am. I was reduced to tears as I stormed out of the store though a chaotic crowd of weekend shoppers. Yes I had caused a scene, and yes, I was utterly embarrassed. My $93 was good enough for Victoria's Secret when I went on one of my nearly once a month shopping sprees at what used to be one of my favorite stores on earth. Yes I can get a non-driver's ID from New York State, but in all my years of living in New York City, in all my years of living in this COUNTRY, I have never had a need for one. NOT ONCE. To get a new form of identification simply so I can enjoy the "privilege" of returning merchandise to one of your stores, is absolutely absurd!

Maybe I'm not good enough to shop at Limited Brands stores. Maybe I should wait until my citizenship track is approved by the INS before I reapply for return privileges at Victoria's Secret. By then I'm sure you will have a fully implemented and operational biometric return clearance system that performs a DNA analysis against a database of career "retail-store ripper-offers." Maybe then, your computer will be smart enough to point out to your sales clerk that I spend hundreds of dollars a year at your stores so maybe they should treat me with a little dignity and respect. Until then, all I can do is fight back. I will protest this return policy by urging all those similar situated to refrain from giving a single hard-earned cent to your company!

Truly yours,

RR

We're willing to chalk most of it up to poor training, but that's just plain rude behavior on the manager's part. Why couldn't Victoria's Secret accept the green card? It's got a bajillion pieces of personal information. Perhaps it's because if you're working at the SoHo Victoria's Secret, you're probably a vapid dipshit.

Rather than exiting in tears, though, RR might have been better served by calling Victoria's Secret corporate right then and there. Maybe HQ would've been able to set this store straight. In any event, Victoria's Secret should write an apology letter, let RR return the bra for a full refund, and maybe throw in a $25 gift card for good measure.

(Photo: AP)

The Graffiti Research Lab and the Anti-Advertising Agency did an interesting project back in January where they cut out phrases into stencils and taped them over these ads. The moving light behind the letters illuminated phrases like "Graffiti," "Advertising = Graffiti," piggybacking on the very message-dispensing machine it attacks. Click the picture above to see the movie.

A cool art project and way to reclaim the urban space, if only temporarily. Just don't do it in Boston. — BEN POPKEN

Light Criticism [The Anti-Advertising Agency]

Crunch's Broadway Dance Series: Legally Blonde

Mondays, 8:30pm at 13th Street, NYC

Ohmigod You Guys! Blonde ambition turns pink in this superfun dance class based on the new Legally Blonde musical on Broadway. Learn the show's awesome dance choreography, get the chance to win tickets and even meet cast members.

SPECIAL TICKET RATES FROM CRUNCH AND LEGALLY BLONDE!
Visit Ticketmaster.com or call 212-307-4100 and use code "CRNCH."

For more about LEGALLY BLONDE The Musical, go to
www.legallyblondethemusical.com

Note, Angie was cool with these types of classes, as there's a heads up and she can half-appreciate activity the activity half-ironically. — BEN POPKEN

PREVIOUSLY: Why Is Crunch Gym Forcing Spiderman 3 "Marketing Experiences" On Their Spinning Classes?
(Photo: Paul Konik)

Plucky weekend editor Carey Greenberg-Berger confirmed this deal by driving over there and emerging with a plunder-trunk-full of breakfast delights: 24 boxes. Only 11 are pictured because he's a nice guy and gave away a bunch before taking the photo.

When asked about the deal, Rite Aid employees had no idea why the cereal was so heavily discounted. There was no visible damage to the boxes and all expiration dates looked kosher.

For non-New Yorkers, take heart in that there's still a deal to be found even in this luxor encrusted playground.

Pictures of a reaaaaallly long receipt, inside...

UPDATE: Ok, so here's the scoop, courtesy of reader Ben P. Wellington. ALL RiteAids on the Northeast have a great deal on cereal. However, it's only one brand of cereal per week. This week was Post brand cereals. For some reason, perhaps out of human kindness, the checkout lady decided to scan one box of honeycombs over and over again, rather than scan 24 individual, various boxes of cereal. You can see what's discounted each week by looking at RiteAid's weekly circular.

— BEN POPKEN

Quite possibly the deal of the year [This Is What We Do Now] (Thanks to John!)

Reader Patrick provides the latest dispatch, from the West Village, where the neighborhood was crawling today with IDT salespeople. In typical fashion, the IDT employees maintained that they worked for ConEd and tried to bully residents into showing their bills. According to his report, the IDT workers resisted residents demands that they leave and argued with the super. Patrick called the cops but by the time they arrived, the IDT salespeople had left.

Attorney General Andrew Cuomo and the Public Utilities Commission need to deliver these guys a swift kick in the nuts, stat. Until then, residents beware. Patrick's letter, inside...

If IDT has come to your door, impersonating ConEd, file a complaint with the NY Attorney General's office by calling 212-416-8000.

Patrick writes:

Today a representative of IDT Energy came to my door (we do not allow canvassing in the building), presented herself as a Con Edison employee, (her EXACT words were "I'm with Con Ed"), and tried to convince me that I was entitled to a "reduction" in my energy costs, and literally DEMANDED to see my bill. She kept repeating, completely ignoring my asking for her Con Ed badge, "I NEED TO SEE YOUR BILL".

After I insisted she was not with Con Ed, she said, well, "I'm with IDT", and I promptly asked her to leave the building. She refused, and continued to try and get me to sign over my energy commitment to IDT, pen in hand. After I threatened to call the police, I heard one of her colleagues talking to a tenant upstairs, realizing that there were four young women in the building, all very aggressive, perhaps not even knowing that they were slamming for an energy reseller...

These girls clearly thought they were doing something above board and verbally fought for the right to remain in the building. I demanded again, and when three of the four blocked my access to go back upstairs I then called the police. The girls waited a bit, arguing with the super, and then left. When the police arrived I informed them of the issue.

...Yet another issue of something which may be "technically legal" but which through means of lying and door to door intimidation, ends up hurting consumers and New Yorkers.

— BEN POPKEN

Jill writes:

Gyms are notorious at not letting customers out of contract. Don't what it is, perhaps they're just really dedicated to getting you in shape. In any event, It sounds like this Crunch went one step further. Instead of cancelling your contract, they put your account on a six-month "rest" and then tried to start it up again. It could be that their computer system truly made a flub, but as you said, their previous history would suggest otherwise.

Either way, more the reason why it is often advisable to sign up with gyms on a month-to-month basis. The initial membership fee may be a bit higher, often the equivalent to one or two extra months, but if you ever go on vacation, or god forbid, decide to move many miles away, the long term savings could make it worth it.

At this point, it sounds like you're in the clear because all they have is a cancelled credit card. If they call back again, however, it may be more than a mistake and you could have a case for filing a harassment charge, just for bitch slap's sake. — BEN POPKEN

After investigation, Beth found someone was running a version of the 419, or "advance fee," scam, using Beth's name, address, and photos of her apartment gleaned from her blog...

When Beth asked Beth to see the apartment, Beth said said she was in Fremont, CA and could not show it. When Beth asked if a super or a friend could show it, Beth offered to overnight the keys, after Beth moneygrams $1500. If Beth didn't like it, Beth would send her money back.

When she asked to speak to Beth, Beth said, "I would love to speak with you by phone but I can't because I'm a deaf-mute person and I am teaching in CA for a deaf-mute school."

Beth has no recourse except to ask Craigslist to remove the ad every time it goes up.

She searched far for an agency to take up her complaint and the only one who will is The Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), co-sponsored by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the National White Collar Crime Center (NW3C).

Be careful what you reveal about yourself online. People can aggregate it and masquerade as you. Honesty may be in vogue, but that needn't extend to your personal details, like address, phone number, and pictures of your apartment. — BEN POPKEN

Web of Lies [3 Quarks Daily] (Thanks to Omri!)

Just because all the cool TV shows like 24 have everyone interacting through a series of glass pane offices doesn't mean the rest of us have to, Commerce Bank. — BEN POPKEN

• Opened a new BofA account
• Transferred funds from the old to the new
• Canceled the old BofA account
• Informed the people receiving your checks that someone stole your bank account so can they please rip up the check and wait for a new one
• Written those people new checks
• Gotten on with her life

Instead she fought the law, the law almost won, but she managed to shoot a few deputies. Her letter, inside...

Here is the complaint letter Carmela wrote Bank of America:

PS Bank of America customer service sucks. Don't bank there. — BEN POPKEN

Above is what his dinner may have looked like. Except, you know, smaller. — BEN POPKEN

Our tipster Max passes on words about his publicity shy friend. Shining points of clarification, if you will.

Previously:
UPDATE: The $55 Mac And Cheese: The Menu Said 'Truffles'
The $55 Mac And Cheese

Here's a snip from the menu of the Waverly Inn, which charged a reader's friend $55 for a bowl of mac and cheese. Fresh shaved truffles are clearly included in the mac and cheese.

So Max's friend is a bit silly for not reading . However, that doesn't excuse a $55 bowl of macaroni and cheese.

To its credit, the Waverly gave the couple several free glasses of vino. The price probably works out in the end, considering the waiter came by and sneezed caviar in their wine. — BEN POPKEN

Full menu reprinted, inside...

Click to enlarge.

The Waverly Inn is the creation of Graydon Carter, Vanity Fair editor and inventor of Spy Magazine. Which means this whole affair is probably some kind of a satirical sendup.

Menu courtesy of Eater.

This post originally tried to make a connection between the price of the truffle fries and the price of the mac and cheese. However, a reader has informed us we know nothing about making truffle fries and so we have retracted this assertion. Our apologies to the truffle union.

This guy goes to the Waverly Inn and orders a mac and cheese, the night's special, as an appetizer. It's the kind of place where there's no prices on the menus. When the mac comes, a waiter slides over and grates something on it. The guy assumes it's cheese, eats his dinner and gets his bill. His eyes explode.

The mac and cheese is fifty-five dollars.

Turns out the stuff the waiter grated on wasn't cheese. It was a fresh truffle. Special, indeed.

Watch out at the restaurant. Just because they put the fancy on doesn't mean they're above sneaking charges into your meal. Our reader's letter, inside...

— BEN POPKEN

Max writes:

Full receipt:

New RFID turnstiles mean Citibank customers with enabled cards or credit wands need never fumble for a Metrocard again.

Reader C-side spotted this one at at the Broadway/Lafayette subway station in Manhattan.

Eventually, RFID will spread to ever every transaction point. They're already at McDonald's. Forward-thinking churches will use RFID collection plates.

Good thing the security of broadcasting one's credit card information via transponder is completely worked out... — BEN POPKEN

Another picture, inside.

Spotted 'em in the window of a Manhattan t-shirt shop last night. It was cold. — BEN POPKEN

The latest chapter in the TWC grimoire comes courtesy of Sedef. His connection is sub-par and always crashes. A rotating crew of TWC give him different answers each time they show up. Sometimes, a neighbor is siphoning his signal. Sometimes, his connection is "too high" and needs "an amplifier."

Sedef says he's tried contacting supervisors to see about getting a half price discount on his service, seeing as he's only getting half service. He's "never heard back" from them after they said they would look into it.

While we sympathise with Sedef's plight, you can't stop there. If they don't call you back, call them back. Or, check out this handy list of Every Phone Number For TWC Level 3 Tech Support. And/or call the office of James D. Fellhauer, chief of customer care, at 1-202-328-4017, after reading our guidelines on obtaining executive customer service.

Sedef's letter, inside.

Sedef writes:

"I own a duplex one-bedroom co-op in midtown Manhattan. For the past several years, I've struggled to get a dedicated line for my broadband cable programming and Internet connection - a service for which I paid more than $100/month. Repeatedly, my cable programming would go down for no apparent reason, or alternatively (and more frequently), my Internet connection would inexplicably crash. In each instance, I would have to schedule a cable appointment and go through the requisite 1-2 appointments where cable guys literally ducked my appointment and claimed I wasn't home, and finally showed up to fix the problem.

Early on, cable technicians would tell me my problem was that my line had a splitter located down the hall from my ground floor apartment, and I was getting half the signal broadcast to my unit, with the other half going to a unit around the corner (not sure what that owner was paying for his/her service). One admirably brave technician actually told me it was inadequate service and that my signal was unacceptably low; he said the cable company should fix this for me (I've since learned that Time-Warner contracts out cable technicians and this honest technician has likely been rotated off their list of technicians).

Not surprisingly, I was able to diagnose my own problem with all the future technicians who visited my apartment to "repair" my continually crashing broadband connection. Besides being either typically condescending in attitude, or unhelpful in ideas for long-term resolution for my problem, little changed. One technician actually told me that my signal was too "high", laughably enough, and that it would need an "amplifier" as a solution. Sounded like a solution to an old-school audio (or even analog) problem, but of course, I never heard back from him afterwards.

At one point, I suggested to one of the many "supervisors" I was put in contact with at Time-Warner that perhaps they should credit my account for half the amount I was paying since I was receiving only half the quality/quantity of their advertised service. This suggestion was actually met with real consideration, and I was informed that they would look into this. Never heard back. Since then, I'm beginning to think that they actually pull this stunt/scam with a lot of tenants in buildings which are older and which haven't had the same rapid installation of high-speed services as the newer buildings. Regardless, I felt powerless as a consumer to fix the problem, as my co-op board has a special relationship with Time-Warner so they served as the exclusive provider of cable in our building (not to mention, they may have been the only game in town based on my particular neighborhood).

Somehow I don't think I'm the only consumer in NYC having this problem. I would love to give it more visibility in the hopes that we shame Time-Warner into doing the right thing."

Snead says he developed the idea of a pro-Walmart rally after seeing various ninnies and nincompoops rail against the big box retailer, most especially, Democrats prepping the muck for racking in the upcoming elections. He writes:

Edelman, hire this man.

Beginning at 4pm on West Broadway in NYC, "I Love Wal-Mart and Wal-Mart loves Me" will consist of a very militant group of around 75 volunteer protesters dressed as Wal-Mart greeters professing their love for Wal-Mart, with chants like "I heart Wal-Mart" or "Sam's Choice is my Choice". It will also include several volunteers in large reproduction "Sam's Choice" product costumes like Soda, Ketchup, Peanut Butter, and Bread."

This takes place in a parade filled with a bunch of other people dressed and acting like freakydoodles, so it won't have as much impact if it took place say, on Sunday, or, inside a Walmart.

(Thanks to C-side!)

No one does irony and rage, and SUVs better than NYC, baby.

(Thanks to Chris!)

UPDATE: The photo inside should make things more clear for those of you wondering what the heck we're talking about with this whole crazy context thing.

Softcore agit prop group Improv Everywhere sent 255 people to Home Depot in Manhattan to shop very slowly for five minutes.

Worth a chin scratch and a chuckle but the real gold lies in the employee reactions, after the jump.

The orange vests brand of actually improved performance is much more entertaining.

"I'm sure I contributed to the spread of illegal human trafficking," a reader writes. " So yeah, there was a bit of guilt, not to mention I'm married. And while this wasn't my first time doing this, it was my first time going to a house of ill repute and it's something in general that I hadn't done in years. I thought my life was different nowadays.

I'll blame it on the heat."

There's a happy ending, inside...

This is a story I would love to submit to the Times for it's Metro Diary, but somehow I think they'd pass. It's a story of exemplary customer service, so maybe it's good for Consumerist...

...When I walk in, I see I've arrived during a slow period. An elderly woman is hunched over a stove, poking her tongs at roasting spare ribs. Another elderly woman is serving a batch of those ribs to three young women sitting around a counter. All the women were eating them with little plastic gloves on their hands.

As I'm guided to a bedroom through the kitchen, they make a joke, giggle, and ask if I want some spare ribs. I say yes, as I love the roasted ribs I get at many of the Chinese joints in Chinatown. Ha ha ha.

The girl and I tussle for an hour, I shower, and as I'm ready to leave, Mama-San (I swear!) tells me to sit. She has put aside a plate of ribs for me. I have to eat them. It's like my own grandmother is there. They are amazing, these delicately spiced, gingery, scallion-y, ribs, with flavor all the way through. You can't find these at any of the restaurants I've been to, Korean or Chinese. She handed me the box with the plastic gloves, and I put them on. As I eat, I begin to sweat, and the woman I was just with (again, I swear) wipes the sweat from my brow. She stands over me, attending to me: "Do I need water?": "Do I want rice?"; and "Is it good?"

I left feeling the guilt and shame that comes from acting out in ways that are not healthy to the rest of my life, but full of laughter at the homeyness of it all.

And yes, I am going to go back."

After all, these guys are willing to give Stephen Malkmus a face transplant.

(Thanks to Karl Hungus!)

Staying in this hell hole and have full sympathies with Jason Calcanis. He complained about the heating here and got a few nights refund.

P.S. also the night manager Chris Vargess doesn't even say sorry (aaaahhhhhhhh!)

Sorry for what, we wonder, but not enough to find out for ourselves.

The Hudson Hotel receives a 9.5 rating on CitySearch, and even garnered a 2001 award for Best Bargain Hotel. The savings apparently comes from, among the lack of other amenities, skinflint heating. However, Calacanis reports paying $450 a night. At those rates, you can buy a sweater.

OMG, Amy Pohler, Rachel Dratch, David Pogue and Steve Jobs! And Mac stuff. And glass. And rain. And throngs of people. And did you see the glass? It's a slow moving liquid, just like the line to get in.

We enjoy the young lad saying he's been a Mac fan since he was "a baby. My dad was an early adopter." Was that of Appleware... or at the orphanage? Don't worry, the Mac family of computer products and personable software suite are all the family you'll ever need.

And here's a 360 degree QTVR panorama of the store at night.

Animal takes a bite out of the opening, including a special secret press card they swiped which got them to the head of the line. Ha ha, suckers!

Apple's cube is being revealed tomorrow. We were going to station a reporter inside and get awesome liveblogging coverage of all the subterranean delights (as the cube is merely the entranceway to an underground Apple lair).

Then some members of the press got a sneak peak today and shouted it out to Gothamist. We knew we should've kept that lil card snugged inside the brim of our fedora.

There's more pix here

The store will be open 265/24/7 and will provide the blueprint for future Apple meccas, the next of which is slated for Freehold, NJ, aka, the capital of cool.

UPDATE: In case there's any confusion, we are not liveblogging the store opening. It's already been scooped. Go turn on your TV, we're sure it's there somewhere.

On Friday, Apple will unveil a giant cube in front of FAO Schwartz and The Consumerist will be there to liveblog it (probably).

A shrine of glass, the heavily anticipated new Mac store has been encased with as much secrecy as it has large black panels, but all will be revealed in 03 days, 01 hours, 53 minutes and 03 seconds, as of this posting. We're told so by the Apple store cube site, hosting a countdown to the grand opening.

We may have live-blogging coverage of it if as long as the Blackberry of our embedded field reporter, Tim Nudd, editor of Adfreak, is working. We're not promising, but we're really really going to try.

He may win great prizes, or even a commemorative t-shirt. Stay tuned.

Renters at 706 Riverside Drive just won a lengthy legal battle against Pinnacle who wanted to charge new renters $2000 in building where most of the people paid $600. To justify the increase, Pinnacle claimed thousands of dollars of improvements. Improvements that were never made. In perusing the hundreds of documents the housing company submitted, tenants found:

• $1,029 for 100 gallons of latex paint and $454 for 45 gallons of ceramic adhesive. Enough paint and adhesive for an entire building.
• $336 for five toilet flushometers. The apartment has only two bathrooms, and the existing flushometers showed no signs of recent replacement.
• $169 for 240 light bulbs - 80 per apartment.

Under state law, a landlord can raise an apartments rent by one-fortieth of the improvement cost.

"Phony Repairs Add to Abuse" [NY Daily News]

Click on a photo to start the slideshow. If the photos disappear, hit refresh or go backwards. (sorry, code it buggy)

The strongest showing was by Saks Fifth Avenue who definitely lead the pack in style and innovation. Their windows are in a cinematic aspect ratio and they exploit their bold-face headline window space with grace and aplomb. The result has a breath of mothball and a deprecating cuteness but at least it tells a bit of a story. A story of, apparently, cupcakes and cleaning solution, but a story nonetheless.

Yowza!

The boys from the catalogue are real, they're placed at the door to draw patrons in, and they have girlfriends, also from the catalogue. Are either of these two available for purchase? God willing.

As we stood taking a picture, an old lady walked by and looked in. "Disgusting!" she said, "Absolutely disgusting!"

After the jump, a large, exploitative, shot of mounds of rippling male flesh.

Holy man meat.

Oh, to be a fly on the wall during the casting session.

Animal blog reports that a Saks rep said, "we wanted to take ordinary things and make them look high end."

A lofty goal, indeed. Instead of reaching it, however, they've managed to make the dress look like a lazy lamp shade and the bottles of cleaning solution, confused. The only thing that looks good are the light tubes, which, presumably, are not for sale.

Gawker had a few words to say about these as well.

However, for one skinny, blond publishing industry worker, a past shopping trauma causes a tickle in her olfactories. Now every Century 21 bag she encounters smells like vomit.

Aside: you'll have to forgive us and supply your own imagination caps for, try as we might, we failed to find the perfect picture to illustrate this post's "concept."

In creating her Pavlovian puke connection, she sacrificed reduced-priced cashmere and last season's Pucci for a misplaced piece of pride. Dignity is for sale in Manhattan, but you have to pay the right price. And usually the transaction doesn't take place in the back of a taxi.

Usually.

"Things That Make Me Nauseous: Century 21" [via Gawker]

They stood around, answered customer's questions and acted nonchalant, until the store caught wise, started screaming "Thomas Crowne affair!" and the cops showed up.

More crimes against humanity, after the jump...

Here's "Agent Simmons" (photo: far left), report:

Read more: "Mission: Best Buy." See more: Flickr set. [via Gizmodo]

The PR flak who sent us this says that over sixty-thousand dollars worth of iPods were used to achieve this Rube Goldbergian domino effect.

The ad is for Tekserve, a large, independent Apple specialized store in New York City. That's iTopia in the background, their store-within-a-store dedicated to iPods and iPod accessories.

Wonder if any of the screens cracked in making this?