Consumerist: Cyber Monday

Newegg Honors Canceled PayPal Promotion Transactions

Chris Walters — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 11:38:31 EST

A couple of weeks ago, several online retailers ran a poorly managed PayPal promotion that offered sizable discounts. For Newegg, the three-day sale instead lasted less than a day, at which point Newegg was yanked from the participating retailers list on PayPal's promotions page. But Newegg is going back and making good on orders that were in process when the deal was pulled, according to a reader who forwarded us Newegg's email.

(Emphasis ours:)

The popularity of this promotion surpassed everyone's expectations with over almost 16,000 orders successfully qualifying in the first few hours of the launch. The overwhelming popularity of the promotion quickly depleted all allocated funds, and once the funds were expired, we immediately removed the associated marketing materials. Unfortunately, some of our valued customers were in the process of making purchases and still under the impression that the promotion was in effect, and may have been inconvenienced or not received an expected benefit.

Newegg prides itself on always providing the highest level of customer service. Customer satisfaction is our primary mission. As a result, Newegg will review all purchases made utilizing PayPal between 2:30-5:30 P.M. (PST) on Monday, November 26th and apply the "20% off, up to $50" to each customer placing an order using PayPal during that time period.

Please know and understand that we have carefully reviewed the direct and online feedback from our customers regarding this activity. We will take all necessary steps to ensure the highest level of customer satisfaction as we plan our next PayPal promotion.

What's interesting is the promotion never stipulated that it would only last until "allocated funds" were depleted. According to DailyTech, even Newegg was surprised by this sudden detail on the day the promotion was canceled by PayPal. (A similar promotion back in April did stipulate the funds condition, so it was quite possibly a proofreading error on PayPal's behalf.)

At any rate, we're glad Newegg took this extra measure to do right by its customers, and we hope PayPal is paying for the extra discounts.

(Thanks to Kurt!)

"Cyber Monday" spending rose 21% from last ...

Ben Popken — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 08:40:05 EST

"Cyber Monday" spending rose 21% from last year. 61% of those purchases were made using computers at the office. [NYT]

Cyber Monday Isn't The Busiest Shopping Day For Online Retailers

Meg Marco — Mon, 26 Nov 2007 12:59:19 EST

ABC News informs us once again that so-called "Cyber Monday" (today) is a creation of the National Retail Federation, and is "by no means the busiest day for online sales, just as Black Friday is not the biggest day of sales for most stores."

"Retailers are having special Cyber Monday sales, and the way I see it, if retailers are attaching a sale and calling it Cyber Monday, it's true," says Scott Krugman, spokesman for the National Retail Federation.

"Black Friday is a great day for creating energy, buzz and excitement about the holiday season," Krugman said.

The sales do exist, however, and can be perused at the National Retail Federation's website, "Cybermonday.com."

The actual busiest shopping day is the Saturday before Christmas, as any former or current retail worker can attest. Online shopping tends to peak on the last day that items can be shipped in time for Christmas, says ABC.

Cyber Monday: Myth and Reality [ABC News]

What Cyber Monday Shoppers Bought

Ben Popken — Tue, 28 Nov 2006 15:18:38 EST

Thanks to media hype and participation by major retailers, yesterday's Cyber Monday resulted in record traffic and sales.

Walmart.com had a 60% increase in traffic. Cybermonday.com, a new site by the National Retail Foundation, overloaded its servers with four times the expected traffic.

What did all those crazy "Cyber Monday" shoppers buy yesterday? Find out, inside...

Courtesy of Shopping.com, an eBay company.

Electronics
Apple iPod Nano and iPod Video
Sony Handycam DCR-DVD405 Camcorder
Garmin StreetPilot i3 GPS Receiver
Samsung 42 inch HDTV Plasma TV

Toys
TMX Tickle Me Elmo
Hasbro Easy-Bake Oven
Razor Pocket Mod Electric Scooter
LeapFrog Talking Odyssey III Interactive Globe

For the Home
Cuisinart 12-Cup Coffee Maker
Hoover Upright Wet/Dry SpinScrub Vacuum
Zojirushi Home Bakery Bread Machine
Pop Art Holiday Themed Toaster

Clothing/Accessories
Citizen Calibre Wrist Watch for Men
Nike Air Max 360 Running Shoes for Women
DC Chalet Apres Ski Boot for Women
Oakley Monster Dog Sunglasses

Sports and Outdoors
North Face Apex Bionic Men's Jacket
Burton Emerald Snowboard Boot for Women
Salomon Performa 7.5 Alpine Men's Ski Boot
Burton Women's Feel Good Snowboard

Guide To Cyber Monday Sales

Ben Popken — Sun, 26 Nov 2006 23:54:27 EST

Recently we reported that so-called "Cyber Monday" might be a mere marketing myth invented by the National Retail Federation.

To test the theory we pinged some of the major online outlets to see what their Cyber Monday plans were. Their gut spilling, inside...

Retailers indicated a definite traffic increase on Cyber Monday. According to a study Google released, around ten percent of all employed US adults may visit an online shop this Monday. A spokesman for Barnes and Noble echoed the same, saying that Cyber Monday sales are usually, "up 70 percent over the previous Monday."

Cyber Monday is the beginning of the online holiday shopping season, but do these retailers plan on thanking us for dispensing of our hard earned money? What specials and deals will lure us into the deep-linked pages of their wares? — BEN POPKEN

Cyber Monday Promotions

• Buy.com - Storewide deals. Our picks: Samsonite Sport Backpack for $29.99, and Xbox 360 Wireless Headset for $52.66, and Simpsons Season 1 for $18. When you use Google Checkout, $10 off $30 and $20 off $50.

• Staples.com - 19" Widescreen Monitor after "combined" savings and more.

• Bestbuy.com Free 400$ Massage Chair to watch your 999$ TV with, and more.

• Walmart.com - A variety of items discounted, including a Garmin I-5 GPS for 289.00

• Macy's: free shipping on orders over $100.

Holiday Promotions that include Cyber Monday

• Google Checkout - Use Google Checkout with participating merchants and save 10$ on purchases of 30$ or more. This includes over a hundred merchants with some big names like Buy.com, Toys R' Us, and Ace hardware.

• Overstock.com - Free shipping Wednesday (11/22) - Tuesday (11/28).

• Amazon.com - An Amazon spokesman said their "Amazon Customer Vote" promotion will run for the next few weeks, where customers vote on which items to deeply discount. Last week's was a Core Xbox 360's at 200$ off retail.

• Paypal.com -

A smorgasboard of offerings through various online merchants, including Barnes & Noble, Petsmart, and Dell. Most including Free Shipping but a few other goodies spice the mix.

• JCPenney.com - Free shipping on orders of 49$ or more with code WPTHX49.

• OfficeDepot.com - 25% off all PSP games, Savings on selected merchandise, free shipping (with restrictions)

• Target.com - Free shipping on select items through Cyber Monday.

Black Friday Not So Black

Ben Popken — Tue, 21 Nov 2006 11:30:08 EST

Contrary to popular belief, Black Friday may not be the busiest shopping day of the year, according to a study released Monday by Mastercard.

This year, that title will belong to Saturday, December 23rd. This Friday, November 24th, will most likely rank as the sixth busiest shopping day.

Furthermore, so-called "Cyber Monday," may be a media myth. Last year, the Monday after Black Friday only ranked 9th in sales. — BEN POPKEN

Black Friday, Cyber Monday not as busy as most think [Reuters]

Cyber Monday: Not Our Funday

consumerist.com — Wed, 30 Nov 2005 11:31:14 EST

Business Week's Bob D. Hof has a brilliant dissection of the 'Cyber Monday' campaign, the much-touted farce designed by Shop.org to spur you to purchase lots of holiday crap.

Shop.org member Shmuel Gniwisch, chief executive of the online jewelry site Ice.com, recalls getting an e-mail from Shop.org last year, suggesting that online retailers come up with their own marketing hook to match Black Friday. "The online guys got together and said, 'Let's give people something different,'" he says. "The reality is, we didn't notice anything special" on the Monday after Thanksgiving.

We've personally gotten dozens of calls about 'Cyber Monday' over the last week, mostly from confused print and television editors questioning why they hadn't heard of this massive online retail fiesta. The reason is pretty clear, as Hof explains: for most major online retailers, 'Cyber Monday' isn't the biggest shopping day of the year.

After finding out that Cyber Monday is a scam and that turkey doesn't make you sleepy, our holiday season is seriously ruined.

Cyber Monday, Marketing Myth [BusinessWeek]