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Posts Tagged “

Retail

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accolades

Macy's Switches To Biodegradable Packing Peanuts

Wesa ordered a cast iron pot from Macy's and it got packed in these special packing peanuts which Macy's says are 100% biodegradable. They're made from corn and potato starch. Macy's says you can dissolve them in water and pour in the garden, yard, sink, or toilet, or put them in the compost, put them in the ground, or simply throw them away where they will "dissolve in the landfill." Pretty neat! The accompanying flyer is inside. More »

11:30 AM on Tue May 13 2008
By Ben Popken
979 views, 38 comments

Latest by HootieMac: Section 9 Reject: @Ash78: You're suggesting they use peeps as packing material? That's just crazy enough to work! more »

customer neglect

Lazy Employees Lose Kohl's An Easy $300 Sale

When husbands, boyfriends, and sons go shopping for womanly gifts, it's like shooting fish in a barrel for store clerks—these guys usually want to get in and out of the store as quickly as possible, and either they'll decide in a snap what to buy or they'll happily take your advice on what makes for the best gift. Either way, it's easy money with little hassle. Somehow, though, Kohl's jewelry counter clerks missed this bit of retail advice—here's how they lost a $300 sale from a guy who was ready to buy and bolt earlier this week. More »

1:07 PM on Sun May 11 2008
By Chris Walters
18,599 views, 107 comments

Latest by doc10house: @Eels: Yep. Everyone knows that's what love is. The number of zeroes after the price of the shit he buys you. more »

badvertising

Linens 'N Things Marks Product Up $10 During Free $10 Gift Card Promotion

Jim from Blueprint For Financial Prosperity writes: More »
returns and exchanges

"Free Engraving" For Electronics Really Means "Ha, Ha, You Can't Return This Unless It's Defective"

Certain electronics retailers such as Apple and Sony offer engraving for laptops, cameras and MP3 players. It may seem like a nice service, but it really saves them lots of money. Why? Engraved products can't be returned just because you couldn't figure out how to use the product or because you realized that you spent too much on it and now have to eat peanut butter and corn tortilla sandwiches for a month to avoid defaulting on your student loan. More »

11:39 AM on Thu May 8 2008
By Meg Marco
6,945 views, 56 comments

Latest by Meisterjager: Heeeeey, my iPod Nano says 'HANDLE WITH CAUTION: Contains heavy metal.' Gift from my pappy :o) more »

Target's internal crime lab is overrun with requests from law enforcement agencies for its forensic video expertise. [Forbes]

7 comments

privacy

Home Depot Won't Let You Buy Stuff Without Knowing What You Plan To Do With It

Reader Helen went to Home Depot to buy some various and sundry items, but left empty-handed after the self-checkout refused to let her complete her purchase without disclosing what she planned to do with her items. Helen says: More »

12:35 PM on Mon May 5 2008
By Meg Marco
36,251 views, 220 comments

retail

OfficeMax Calls You A Thief For Trying To Recycle

OfficeMax called Chris a thief for recycling empty printer cartridges. OfficeMax's MaxPerks program gives customers $3 for each empty cartridge they recycle, with a limit of 5 cartridges per customer per day. Chris runs a computer repair business that leaves him flush with empty cartridges. According to one cashier, this makes Chris a thief. More »

4:48 PM on Sun May 4 2008
By Carey
26,996 views, 125 comments

credit cards

Kohls Violates Visa's Merchant Agreement, Refuses To Accept Credit Card Without ID

Inelegy writes:
This afternoon I visited the Kohl's store in Moline, Illinois. When I was checking out I elected to pay with my Visa card. After sliding my card through the card reader I signed the screen when prompted. My cashier asked to see the card, which I handed over to her. She handed my card back to me and then asked to see my identification, to which I respectfully declined. She said I had to show my ID or I could not leave the store with my purchases...
More »

10:42 AM on Sun May 4 2008
By Carey
16,665 views, 412 comments

Latest by LibertyReign: @shadowkahn: Because corporations declaring themselves the police and inventing their own "policies" or laws in order to grant themselves police powers is called FASCISM. 1930's Italy/Germany. Look it up! It's bad enough when the cops pretend they have the right to more »

consoles

Toys"R"Us Pretends To Have Wiis In Stock, Disappoints Customers

Toys"R"Us' website may claim to have Wiis in stock, but as reader Nick discovered yesterday, they don't. Nick ordered the elusive console first thing yesterday morning, but Toys"R"Us quickly sent an email explaining that the Wii was backordered and unavailable. As of this morning, Toys"R"Us' website still inexplicably lists the Wiis as "In Stock." More »

10:43 AM on Sat May 3 2008
By Carey
7,625 views, 55 comments

Latest by toysandmore: Well if you would get up and go to a store where they have been coming in now on a regular shipments, you would find that they are sitting on the shelfs. We have them at our store and have more »

Widely expected to declare bankruptcy today, Linen's N Things instead decided to defer paying the interest that was due today that would have pushed it into Chapter 11. Your gift cards and the pile of 20% off coupons you use to test out new mulchers are safe...for now. [NYT]

5 comments

phone numbers

Contact Sears Public Relations

Unlike other companies, Sears seems a fortress of indifference; our readers, even after arming themselves with our standard escalation kit, dash themselves against their facade like a spray across the face of a giant stone statue of Stalin that for some reason had found itself in the ocean. One reader says he's been able to get traction out of calling the Sears Public Relations department: 847-286-8371. " I have used this number before and things have worked out pretty well," he writes. It's worth a shot, especially if we're talking about $1070 they're refusing to refund for a TV they never delivered.

(Photo: Sister72)

2:36 PM on Tue Apr 15 2008
By Ben Popken
1,483 views, 4 comments

Latest by harleycat: I work for Sears and there really is no point in trying to call the corporate hotline, all they do is take your info down and pass it right back to the store. Everything is done locally, corporate is more »

economy

Retail Bankruptcies Threaten To Wreck Economy, Empty Your Local Mall

As the cost of food and gas begin to crowd out other expenses, and access to credit is limited by the mortgage meltdown, a "widening wave of bankruptcies in American retailing" is threatening the economy, says the NYT. More »

1:29 PM on Tue Apr 15 2008
By Meg Marco
6,897 views, 66 comments

taxes

New York State To Start Taxing Amazon Purchases

One of the budget-related changes voted in last week by New York State's politicians included a new "Amazon tax":
"Another $50 million will come from requiring online retailers like Amazon that do not have a physical presence in New York to collect sales taxes on purchases made by New Yorkers and remit them to the state.
New York's argument, based on a reading of the 1992 Quill vs. North Dakota U.S. Supreme Court ruling, is that because Amazon makes sales through affiliates who live in the state, it can be considered to have a physical presence there—which means the new law wouldn't apply to retailers who don't use affiliate programs. More »

11:34 PM on Mon Apr 14 2008
By Chris Walters
5,210 views, 78 comments

Latest by DantePD: I made the mistake of moving to a place that has a 10% sales tax. I think 7 of it is Alabama and the other 3% are the county/city. It makes me miss Virginia, even with the higher personal property more »

Blockbuster has offered to buy Circuit City for a little over $1 billion, with the goal of creating "a chain that could sell portable devices and entertainment for them, much like Apple Inc.'s stores." [Chicago Tribune] (Thanks to everyone who sent this in!)

18 comments

damage

Best Buy: Only $1700 For This Awesome Broken Computer

Reader Scott says:
I was wandering around Best Buy yesterday here in Missouri when we came across this. Essentially, the back of this "open box" tagged computer was completely broken off. I realize that this may indeed be the nature of "open box" product, but seriously... 1700 dollars for a computer with this kind of blatant damage?
More »

9:24 AM on Mon Apr 14 2008
By Meg Marco
12,605 views, 50 comments

readers

Wal-Mart Holds Your Credit Card and ID Hostage When You Complain

When reader Steve went to Wal-Mart to buy Rock Star for his daughter, he reluctantly presented the cashier with a state issued ID containing just his picture, name and signature. Steve's job is to consult with law enforcement about identity theft, so he's more careful than the average bear. For one thing, he only likes to show his state issued-ID. The cashier, however, refused to accept it as a valid ID, and tense negotiations ensued. When Steve said he'd call corporate about their ID checking policy, the cashier refused to hand back Steve's credit card or ID until Steve spoke to an in store CSM. That's right, after he complained, the cashier held his credit card hostage. Check out the gory details, inside.
More »

12:09 AM on Mon Apr 14 2008
By profio
29,632 views, 135 comments

Latest by Albion01: As much as I hate Walmart I have to disagree with Steve here. John is probably some young kid who is just doing what he thinks is right. Something out of the ordinary like a card with merely a picture, more »

gifts

Target Bungles Wedding Registry, Won't Exchange Duplicate Gifts Without Receipts

Target doesn't accept returns without receipts to keep criminals at bay, but Chrissy recently discovered that their policy also extends to wedding registry gifts. Chrissy and her husband ended up with several duplicate gifts when Target failed to keep track of her registry. Chrissy didn't want a refund or cash, just store credit, but Target refused to consider any proffer until Chrissy provided receipts. One manager even urged Chrissy to call her wedding guests to ask for their receipts, because in Target's book, that's not extraordinarily rude or anything. More »

12:05 PM on Sun Apr 13 2008
By Carey
7,473 views, 76 comments

Latest by TARGET4LIFE: First off let me tell you the return policy: Target Stores Return PolicyWe will issue a full refund for most items returned within 90 days in new condition, with the original receipt, packaging and accessories. A form of personal identification more »

catalogs

Can The "Sears Catalog" Save Sears?

When Sears chairman, Eddie Lampert, took over Kmart, he was determined to revive the long dead "blue light special." Excited about bringing back the old favorite, Lampert's chief marketing officer called the new campaign a "marketplace of discoveries." More »

11:52 AM on Mon Apr 7 2008
By Meg Marco
5,346 views, 52 comments