Yeah, can't help you with that too much, Michael. The problem is we're in the early stages of ebook sales going mainstream, and that means every publisher and every retailer is trying something different. The good news is sometimes it will work out in your favor as a consumer, like Amazon forcing competitors into selling new releases for $10 no matter how high publishers want to price them; the bad news is that sometimes you'll get screwed, like every format being locked down by DRM so that you can't read it on a competing device.

One thing you can do is buy from the independent ebook retailer shortcovers.com, which I've found frequently sells ebooks at prices lower than Sony, and competitive with Amazon and Barnes & Noble. (They're currently selling Cheerful Money for $10.49.) Shortcovers sells ebooks in the ePub format, locked down with Adobe Digital Editions DRM, and they say you can read their books on Sony Readers as well as several other ereader devices currently on the market.

The site doesn't offer as large a library as the other retailers, and as I noted the books come with the same DRM plaguing every ebook retailer. But it's a good alternative for owners of Sony Reader devices until Sony discovers competitive pricing.

Update: You can also try ebookprice.info to comparison shop—just make sure that whatever format you buy will work with your ereader. (Thanks to BinaryTB!)

(Photo: kevindooley)

Consumer electronics, appliances, toys and games are sold at www.lay-away.com, which charges no service fees to consumers because revenues come from sales commissions paid by retailers. A $35 fee applies on canceled orders.

Consumers who go to www.elayaway.com are charged a 1.9 percent transaction fee on merchandise purchased from retail partners that include Apple, Bass Pro Shops, Best Buy and Home Depot. Cancellation fees are $25, or 10 percent of the cost of the merchandise, whichever is less.

I can't recommend either site without knowing more about how well they work, but a quick comparison of a Nintendo DS Lite at eLayaway.com showed one available from Best Buy for $129, the same price being offered on the official Best Buy site. As always, read the fine print and make sure that any hidden costs aren't being bundled into the total price.

"Layaway makes a return as stores court strapped consumers" [San Jose Mercury News]
(Photo: No Trams To lime Street)

You may have noticed that Walmart's being doing a ton of work on rehabilitating its reputation, mostly in the area of environmental sustainability, where it went from being a nobody to a leader in the field almost overnight. At the same time, over the past several years the company has been quietly laying the groundwork for a second attempt at growing into urban areas, after being turned back in Chicago and Los Angeles in 2004. Here are some of the things it's been working on according to the Financial Times:

• creating a "more responsive regional management structure;"
• hiring local political consultants;
• establishing online "community action networks" to provide a grassroots show of support;
• adjusting its charitable giving strategy to include minority groups in Chicago, New York, and Philadelphia; and
• "encouraging minority suppliers to do business at its stores."

I don't know about Chicago and Philly, but NYC has Targets, Kmarts, three Costcos, an IKEA, and now even a JCPenney in the middle of Manhattan. Somehow it doesn't seem that ruinous anymore to imagine a Walmart mixed in there somewhere.

"Walmart eyes urban expansion in US" [Financial Times via New York Daily News]
(Photo: renaissancechambara and JessyeAnne)

Radio Shack owns a company called Kiosk Operations Inc., and last month they opened kiosks in "about 100 Target stores in Minnesota, California, Georgia, Illinois, New Jersey, Texas and Washington," according to the Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal. Sales have been good enough that now they're expanding to all 1,700 Targets before the end of next year.

A Target spokeswoman told the paper, "This provides added convenience for our guests. They can do their Target shopping trip, grab some groceries and address any cell phone needs they may have." And then she made "woop! woop!" noises and ran off while slapping the top of her head, while a Radio Shack employee asked the paper for its home phone number and address.

"Target taps RadioShack to run cell-phone depts." [Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal via mocoNews]

"Best Buy Opens First 24-Hour Store" [RetailWire]
(Photo: Ben+Sam)

The company announced in a press release last week that it's signed a 6 year deal with Home Outfitters, a home goods retailer in Canada:

...under [the agreement] a special line of Linens 'N Things branded home goods will be produced and exclusively sold at Home Outfitters in Canada. The agreement, which includes a broad range of bed and bath, home decor as well as seasonal products, extends through 2016.

"Linens 'N Things(R) Signs License Agreement with Canada's Retail Giant Home Outfitters" [PR Newswire via RetailWire]
(Photo: Daquella manera)

That means shoppers will see more gingerbread houses and peppermint crunch cookies, and fewer exotic teas and flavored olive oils; classic ball ornaments instead of offbeat cowboys or cartoon-themed character figures; and an emphasis on simple festive wear like shimmery tops instead of elaborately beaded gowns.

Traditional Christmas colors — red, green and gold — are also back.

That's a big departure from recent years when stores pushed the whimsical and splashy, from the upside-down Christmas tree fad in 2007 to stockings adorned with mermaids and elephants.

Business Week notes that Saks Fifth Avenue is offering an in-house line of cheaper Christmas ornaments to lure in customers who can't afford the crazy expensive Christopher Radko ones, and Home Shopping Network is pushing modest indoor decorations instead of inflatable lawn crap.

If this is what a recession does to one of the tackier holidays of the year, then thank you recession, here's a candy cane.

"Recession-stung stores plan old-fashioned holidays" [Associated Press via Business Week]
(Photo: albany_tim)

Here's the relevant section:

(b) Any retail establishment that has a restroom for employee use, which typically does not permit customer access to such employee restroom, shall permit a customer to use the employee restroom during normal business hours if the restroom is maintained in a reasonably safe manner and all of the following conditions are met:

(1) The customer requesting access to the employee restroom presents written evidence, issued by a licensed health care provider, that documents that the customer suffers from an eligible medical condition;

(2) A public restroom is not immediately accessible to the customer;

(3) At the time that the request for access to the employee restroom is made, three or more employees of the retail establishment are working; and

(4) The employee restroom is located in an area of the retail establishment that does not present an obvious risk to the health or safety of the customer or an obvious security risk to the retail establishment.

The law puts some reasonable limits on such situations, and clears up some liability concerns that store management might have.

AN ACT CONCERNING CUSTOMER ACCESS TO RESTROOMS IN RETAIL ESTABLISHMENTS [Connecticut General Assembly]

RELATED:
Plaid Pantry Says Bathroom Off Limits, Lets Customer Poop Pants
Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory Refuses Bathroom Access to 5-Year-Old, Who Then Has Diarrhea In Front Of Them

(Photo: ryaninc)

"In my extensive retail career of 42 years, I have never experienced such difficult times. Tightened credit and economic uncertainty have created the perfect storm of of falling sales... We realize that we must act decisively to raise revenue in an effort to pay suppliers and secure our future."

Anderson says there's more, like promises to provide superior customer service, but we're just surprised that the retailer sent this out in the first place.

The readers at RetailWire are in the retail and/or marketing business and seem to mostly agree that it's not a good way to drum up business. But what do you think? Would you be moved by a "desperate times calls for desperate measures" letter like this?

"Dear Customer: Please Buy Something" [RetailWire] (registration required)
(Photo: feverblue)

"Target fined over lead paint in toys" [Reuters]
(Photo: j.reed)

When the niche site AlpacaDirect.com (no, it doesn't sell live alpacas) began posting customer reviews, good and bad, for selected items on their site, they noticed something interesting starting to happen.

It was a risky move for the four-year-old company, based in Brentwood, Calif. Hobart was effectively paying to host bad press — such as posts by customers who described AlpacaDirect's golf cardigan as "kinda sweaty" and a "poor fit." Both awarded the cardigan three out of a possible five stars.

But a month after installing the PowerReviews service, Hobart saw sales climb 23% on items that had customer reviews (even that cardigan, which garnered an average of four stars).

"People are really researching their purchases," he says. "We knew our customers liked our products, and we wanted them to tell one another."

The company found that not only were customer reviews a valuable way for customers to interact with each other and discuss the products, but were also a venue for honest feedback that helped the company improve their products and the site.

And what, astroturfers, is wrong with that?

Even bad reviews boost sales [CNN Money]

(Photo: rockmixer)

Project Impact calls for remodeling about 70% of Walmarts in the next five years, and improving sales in major competitors' fields, such as toys and crafts. So long, Toys 'R Us, it was nice knowing you.

"They've got Kmart ready to take a standing eight-count next year," says retail consultant Burt Flickinger III, managing director for Strategic Resources Group and a veteran Walmart watcher. "Same with Rite Aid. They've knocked out four of the top five toy retailers, and are now going after the last one standing, Toys "R" Us. Project Impact will be the catalyst to wipe out a second round of national and regional retailers."

Which would you rather have—a bigger, more pleasant Walmart, or more competing retailers in your area?
Walmart's Latest Move to Crush the Competition [Newsweek] (Thanks to everyone who sent this in!)

(Photo: genebob)

Speaking from experience, I suggest the ideal clothes shopping jaunt would involve a side door the general public doesn't use very much, a straight line directly to the clothes, a quiet employee who ignores you until you have a question, a nearby register, and a straight line out of the store. If you can't get the entire experience down to under 5 minutes, you (the retailer) are doing something wrong. Or you've installed strippers, which probably wasn't a good idea.

"Making guys feel at home shopping" [SFGate]
(Photo: quinn.anya)

Alex Firmani alerted Sears about the gift card exploit before the XSS exploit we mentioned above ever made it to the blogosphere, but they ignored him and while they called him back to discuss the matter, they didn't fix the problem:

On first reporting this to a company representative, the response from Sears was polite but they didn't take it as a pressing issue requiring a 0-day fix. Even after last week when Sears was reported first on Reddit, then FoxNews, TMZ, and the Consumerist to have easily exploitable XSS security holes all over their web properties, three days went by and I could still verify as many gift cards as I liked. And this is the same Sears.com that is authorized by MasterCard and Visa to store consumer's credit card numbers in their database!

After I copied a short report of my findings to a few Executive VP emails at Sears Holdings, the next day, all online gift card verification scripts were taken offline.

There's some debate over at Reddit whether the gift card exploit could reasonably be used to a criminal's advantage, but what we're surprised about is how a company as big as Sears would leave themselves open like this—even after being privately alerted about the issue.

A DarkReading article on the exploit quotes WhiteHatSecurity CTO Jeremiah Grossman saying that this is probably a fairly common security flaw on e-commerce sites. Firmani makes a point of urging other retailers to practice better security hygiene:

Responsible website owners MUST implement security measures on the server-side to prevent continual tries at gift card verification. Sears.com used cookies and relied on browser and user honesty to report those cookies back if they had tried and failed with more than three gift card numbers. You can never, ever rely on client-side cookies as a method of security for anything. Optimally you should require a site user account before they can verify a gift card number so you could then lock out accounts and use your overall account security strategy as a method to prevent numerous verifications. And you should have a self-termination routine on the verification scripts so they shut off if too many requests are received.

"Fortune 50 retailer Sears.com fails the most basic of security tests" [WebSecurity] (Thanks to jeremiahg, keith55, and theharmonyguy)
"Flaw In Sears Website Left Database Open To Attack" [DR]

RELATED
"Sears Caught Selling 'Grills to Cook Babies' Thanks To Poorly Built Website"
(Photo: ximenatapia)

1. Health insurance. It's too high, so to cut costs companies hire part timers. "It is difficult enough to train full-time people. Having them there part-time and having a huge turnover makes it all the more difficult."

2. Crazy pricing. Now that retailers engage in overhyped sales year-round, it's much more difficult to keep the right ratio of employees to customers. "When you have manic pricing, up one day, down the next, it wreaks havoc on customer service. When the sale is on, you don't have enough staff. When the sale is off, the staff stands around and complains about the slow business."

3. The lack of a merchant class. (We think that's what he's saying.) Most modern businesses don't pass down a tradition of how to value the customer relationship. Instead, impersonal corporate employees swoop in and make decisions that look good on paper, but ruin the ineffable sense of being appreciated that most customers long for:

When you walk into a store, and there is virtually no help, it's because someone figured out that the company could save X dollars if it cut back the labor budget by 7 percent. When you walk out disgusted and sales go down, the store blames it on the economy or brutal competition. Then the company reacts by having another sale which further erodes profit margins. This cycle eventually results in another failed store.

"Why Customer Service Is So Bad" [New York Times]
(Photo: mrmanc)

The Vogue editor stood up to offer, "Could someone lead a committee that would make ground rules for retailers of when the discounting starts, and then all the retailers can agree to it?" Von Furstenberg interjected that that was illegal - in fact, if the big department stores had any such agreement, it would amount to price-fixing and collusion, an anti-trust lawsuit in the making. "Is that something we can change?" asked Wintour. "We have friends in the White House now!"

"How Do You Solve A Problem Like Fashion Week?" [Jezebel via noturnonred]
(Photo: Karin Bar)

Here are just a couple of examples from the HD Guru report:

Sales Pitch: Their Geek Squad Black Tie Protection pamphlet says that if your product requires 4 repairs, "we'll make sure that you get a new one."
Truth: Contract says "new" can mean refurbished or rebuilt, at Best Buy's discretion.

Sales Pitch: Pamphlet says on TVs 30" and up, you'll get a loaner if they can't fix yours on the first visit.
Truth: There's no mention of a loaner TV anywhere in the contract, so you'd better hope your Best Buy honors pamphlets.

Sales Pitch: If they can't repair your TV, they'll replace it with a product of equal value, or reimburse you fair market value for it.
Truth: "Fair market" means what they determine it's worth at the time of the repair. As an example, HD Guru points out that this past April Best Buy recalled a house brand LCD HDTV that sold for "up to $1000" and was less than 3 years old. The fair market value compensation it gave out: "gift cards amounting to $500 or about half of the original purchase price."

Click over and read the full report for more details on the truth versus fiction of Best Buy's warranty programs, and to read the company's official response to HD Guru's questions.

"Extended Warranties: What You See Is Often Not What You Get - An HD GURU Investigative Report" [HD Guru]
(Photo: Robert Scoble)

I am not sure how widespread [Teavana] is, but it was my first experience with them (and my last). I do feel that my story should be taken with a grain of salt, as I have no idea whether this is a common business practice throughout the chain.

Walking in the mall today, I was delighted to discover the existence of the stores, as I am an avid tea drinker, and I was very pleased to have the opportunity to see a wide selection of loose teas and accessories in person, rather than working off of descriptions from online tea sellers. The store seemed to be perfect; they had a wonderful selection of teas, and they had all manner of brewing and serving equipment, much of which I had not seen before. My problem comes from the really unconscionable upselling that the salesperson carried out. It is not that there was undue pressure to buy extra items. I don't believe myself to be easily coerced into unwelcome purchases, and were that the case, I would not be as bothered as I am. Rather, I am utterly dismayed at the way in which the salesperson added more than the quantity requested of some items, and much more egregiously, added items to my bill without ever informing me about the extra charge that would be incurred, or even intimating that they were, in fact, considered to be purchases.

The first inkling came when I ordered loose tea. The tea is sold by two-ounce units. I requested two-ounces, the salesperson ended up putting 4 ounces in (This doesn't seem like much, until you consider that we are talking about tea that is $9/2oz). Although I admit that I should have said something, I was sure that I would get a use out of the tea, so I did not think to object. The true problem comes from the tin that the salesperson automatically filled with the tea. This tin, which he introduced with, "And you can keep coming back and using this tin for this tea in the future," cost an extra $7. Which, is absolutely an outrageous price, and something I would never voluntarily pay for a tea tin. However, the absolute worst was still to come. I ordered two-ounces of their "special Silver Needle tea." Without any prompting, the salesperson went into the back and came back with the tea in a small (two-ounce) blue tea tin with bamboo painted on it. As he made no comment on the container, I did not even consider the slightest possibility that there would be an extra charge (Ask yourself, if you just bought a tea that was 20/2oz, do you think you would be expected to pay for the tin it came in?).

Obviously, had I been aware of any of this when I was checking out, I would have objected without thinking twice. Very conveniently, however, the cash register did not have a display showing the charges as they were being rung up. It was only after leaving the store and realizing that I had just paid nearly $90 for tea (Admittedly, my purchases included more than the aforementioned items) that I began to look over the receipt to see where the charges came from. It was at this point that I discovered that the small little blue bamboo tin, the tin which I had expressed no desire to purchase, cost $13.99. I'm enclosing a picture of both the tin and the receipt.

I really cannot understand why a company would choose to employ such unscrupulous upselling strategies. Had they even provided a mediocre experience, they would have had a very long-lasting customer, as they provide a service that it fairly unique, and at least to me, valuable. However, I absolutely have no wish to patronize any store that I feel that I have to keep a constant vigil against being ripped off. As such, they've absolutely lost a customer, and I would never set foot in there again.

Check the store's return policy, then return the unwanted tins if permitted, explaining precisely why. Have any other readers experienced similar sneaky sakes tactics at other Teavanas, or other retailers?

(Photo: yosonuts)

The Victoria's Secret and Aeropostale stores were hit between 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. on Friday. Victoria's Secret reports that about 400 bras and 350 pairs of panties were stolen, worth about $23,000. Aeropostale says more than $2,000 worth of T-shirts were stolen.

Police believe that their M.O. is to have one team member distract the sales staff while others help themselves to the merchandise, stuffing it in specially lined bags.

I sent the link to one of our contacts in retail management for an opinion. She says that this method is quite plausible. A similar group, if not the same one, has hit other malls across the country, including hers.

Victoria's Secret gets hit a lot at [my mall.] Banana Republic and Ann Taylor both got hit bad last month, too. It was the same deal, with lined bags and decoys.

Lined bags are usually done with [aluminum foil and] duct tape. What you have to look for is a bag from a store that's not in your mall, or one that is exceptionally square. A typical bag from a clothing store will crinkle and not be stiff and flat.

There's also taking the contents of a whole table and bolting, which happens to Victoria's Secret a lot. What they do is you take everything but a few sizes, skim the table, and that way it looks like it hasn't been hit.

Now, we're not providing this information as tips, but simply to allow you to be an informed citizen or retail employee. Be vigilant. Keep the panties safe.

Shoplifters loot Vienna mall of $25K worth of items [Charleston Gazette]

(Photo: coreyann)

Well, I guess early July is as good a time as any to buy a pre-lit Christmas tree.

Christmas Lane [Kmart]

This seems to be the evolutionary path of every reward program: gradually shave off benefits, tighten redemption windows, and create small leaks intended to void some of the perks. You just have to evaluate the overall benefits each time the terms are changed and ask yourself whether it's still worth participating in.

Here's an edited version of the email, with some of the marketing spin taken out (emphasis ours):

Your Reward Zone® program is changing on October 31, 2009

Reward certificates will only be available at MyRZ.com

Reward certificates will no longer be transferable

Lastly, for the following two conditions, points will be cashed out, available certificates will be sent, and any remaining points under 250 will be forfeited:

You will need to use your points in the year they are earned. Reward Zone is becoming an annual program, which means that points no longer roll over from year-to-year.

You will need to make one purchase every 12 months to remain in the program.

Thank you from the Best Buy® Reward Zone program.

Update: Reader C.W. wrote in to say his notice only mentioned the new non-transferable policy, and said nothing about the move to an annual program or forfeiting unused points under 250.

I have not seen the drastic restrictions in my notification rec'd: 06/29/09. I wonder if the restrictions are based on RewardZone Members' status (i.e. "Regular" and "Premier", etc.)? I'm in the Premier status. If a newer one has been, or is being, sent out, I've not gotten it as of today (07/05/09). Just wanted to help contribute to the whole picture. Keep in mind, that Premier users get to "bank" their points for larger prizes in the RZ online catalog.

The Reward Zone® program is changing

We're making a change to your program rules. Reward certificates will no longer be transferable. This safety measure helps prevent others from redeeming your reward certificates without your knowledge.

For an even better membership experience, we're asking members to change their certificate preferences in their profile, so we can:

* Issue rewards more quickly and conveniently
* Deliver benefits more safely and securely
* Be more environmentally friendly by reducing the amount of paper we use

We appreciate your membership, and we want to help you take full advantage of the Reward Zone program. To receive the benefits of faster, more secure reward delivery, visit MyRZ.com to update your certificate preference.

Thank you from the Best Buy® Reward Zone program.

(Photo: Robert Scoble)

I've heard designers sneer at the thought of making a U.S. size 8. It's depressing as hell to watch the wave of standard capitalist interest break against a rock of pure sizism, and roll away. Pricier brands that do offer larger sizes, like Eileen Fisher, have managed to do so for years without harming their brand image.

The truth is, that if the cost of garment development were the only reason that plus-size ranges are making a hasty exit from shop shelves, we would be seeing the discontinuation of petite lines, too, because they face all of the same expenses. And that hasn't been happening. Moreover, the excuse about cost boils down to complaining that making clothes that fit most women is really hard - and that doesn't sound quite right coming from companies who are in the business of clothing women. Given the market share at stake, how is it that nobody is willing to step up and do cute, well-fitting clothes in larger sizes?

I actually don't agree with her point about petite clothing—I'm barely five feet tall, and I find that clothing in the petite size range is often styled for women more than twice my age, or designed for someone five inches taller than I am. Petite Sophisticate, the once-common chain that carried only petite sizes, still exists but has scaled back substantially.

Really, it's a feminist issue hiding behind a great big consumer issue. If, as the CDC claims, the average American woman is 5'4", 168 pounds, and wears a size 14, then who clothes women who are larger than average? Do women below the average shop in malls, and above the average wear only whatever wrap dresses and stretchy tunics the fashion industry deigns to produce? Why are plus-size clothing sales decreasing more than misses' sizes, as Crain's New York reported?

I got nothin'. No more time to write about it, either. I have a pile of pants to hem.

Plus Vs. Petite: Why Retailers Find It Hard Making Clothes To Fit Most Women [Jezebel]
Fashion First, Whatever the Size [New York Times]
Plus sizes a fashion victim [Crain's New York]

PREVIOUSLY:
Go To The Black Macy's If You Want Plus-Sized Formal Dresses
Size 16 Goes Online-Only In Ann Taylor Stores

(Photo: doctorow)

"Eddie Bauer files for bankruptcy protection" [Yahoo Finance] (Thanks to Justin!)

I got a rebate check from Circuit City this week a YEAR after the rebate application was submitted. I remember last fall when checks were bouncing even though there was supposed to be a cash pot to cover them (which I guess was used for other things). I pretty much gave up on the $30 refund for a new keyboard from Microsoft-and it is still in the box because shortly after purchase, my whole computer died (don't get me started on that piece of junk from Dell and their rebate still missing, too and the extended warranty that was never honored).

So my question is-should I cash the Circuit City refund check? If it bounces, I am out $37 fee from the bank and the $30 from the check. I could really use the cash now that hubby is no longer working (former GM employee). So what ya think I should do here? Trust it's a good check? Sell the unused keyboard? Or run away screaming?

Selling the keyboard probably isn't a bad idea if Jan doesn't intend to use it. I recommend looking carefully at the check. It's probably from Circuit City's rebate processor, and not from the defunct company itself, so it should be a good check.

Have any other readers received severely late rebate checks and deposited or cashed them? Were they good?

(Photo: hanapbuhay)

Walmart, for whatever reason (I can think of a few), is a repeat offender, but these pictures also come from Office Depot, Home Depot, and a Tesco discount store in the UK.

(Thanks to Nick, Rick, Hayden, Charlie, and Andrea!)

(Top photo: kailadee)

There's none of the despair and desperation that characterized the fourth quarter and early 2009 when store traffic screeched to a halt and retailers responded with chaotic promoting. The price cutting now seems more planned and organized and there's a growing sense coming from the likes of Saks Fifth Avenue, Macy's and other big retailers that business has bottomed out despite the rising unemployment rate.

Theoretically, at least. Less fun for frugal shoppers, but better for retail profit margins, I guess.

The Forever Sale: Retailers Slow Pace of Markdowns [WWD]

(Photo: scelera)

We spoke with Evan Schuman, the editor and publisher of the blog StorefrontBacktalk.com, which broke the story earlier this month. Schuman has spoken directly with representatives of Heartland—which announced its own massive data breach a few months ago—and says they'll roll out this new approach around October of this year, and that other processors are working on similar solutions. It involves new point-of-sale hardware that can encrypt each day's batch of credit card numbers separately, then shuttle each daily pack off to Heartland's data centers for archiving.

It's a better approach than what we currently have. For one thing, retailers will no longer have any reason to store credit card numbers. But it's not an ideal solution and there are some definite costs, as Schuman points out below. In fact, there's a much better end-to-end encryption solution that we could already be using but aren't simply because it's not as profitable for card companies like Visa and Mastercard.

We're reporting on this on Consumerist because it reveals a little of the world of credit card processing and data security—the part of the retail chain that we never see, but that affects us at the register and after we leave the store. Schuman points out that whether the new data segmentation approach takes off or not, things won't change for the consumer experience—it's all pretty invisible from our side of the register.

What it could affect, however, is the cost of transactions for the retailer, and consequently it could impact prices at the register. Whether that's worth it to implement a better security approach remains to be seen.

If you're interested in how retailers approach the issue of data security, you should check out StorefrontBacktalk.com.

"Heartland's New Encryption Strategy: Let Them In, But Limit Them" [StorefrontBacktalk]
(Photo: Andres Rueda)

Oddly, the S&K web site shows no hint of impending doom. The company had filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy in February, but was unable to recover. S&K gift cards will be accepted during the liquidation.

S&K Menswear Closing All 105 Stores [DDI Magazine] (Thanks, John!)

(Photo: chrisjones)

Crain's New York reported:

An Ann Taylor spokeswoman blamed low demand for the size in both brands, but some industry experts speculate that the elimination is really a cost-cutting measure.

"It's more expensive to produce," said one retail expert, explaining that larger sizes need separate patterns cut and fitted, which can be quite costly.

I call BS on this. Guess what, geniuses? Offering the same items online that used to be available in stores means that you still have to design them, still have to cut the patterns for them, and you still have to make them. Just not as many.

Good luck to Ann Taylor, though. I'm sure that this move will work out well for them at a time when, according to the same Crain's article, 70% of American women wear a size 12 or larger. Other retailers in the same price range, such as Banana Republic, Gap, and J. Crew, ditched their larger sizes for women years ago.

Ann Taylor cuts size 16 [Crain's New York]

I hope you're sitting down right now...I have actually had a GOOD experience with Best Buy.

Went in on Saturday to finally pull the trigger on an upright freezer purchase I had been debating for some time.

Next day—Sunday—I got a phone call from the store, telling me they wanted me to come in so they could refund $100.00 in CASH, no less!) on the purchase. Seems that the item was reduced in price by that amount between Saturday and Sunday, and they wanted to do right by me.

No one was more flabbergasted than I was that they took such a step—most places would have waited for me to notice and then mention it to them—here they were pro-actively seeking me out to make a refund!

Another astonishing thing about the location (in Irving, TX on Airport Freeway) that I noticed was that every single person I dealt with was friendly, courteous and seemed very much on top of their game while dealing with other customers as well.

Is it possible that BB is finally 'getting it' with regard to customer service, or did I cross over briefly into some alternate universe consisting of nothing but Consumerist Hugs and Snugglebunnies?

We don't know, Gunman, we just don't know. Everything seems so topsy-turvy suddenly, and nothing is what it seems. Hold us.

(Photo: NNECAPA)

Apparently, the secret lay in...um, making the stores look cool and connecting demo PCs to the Internet so customers can comparison shop. How novel!

In essence, CompUSA's new owner is turning the stores into Internet entrance ramps. PC and television monitors not only display eye-catching clips, as they do in most retail chains; each points as well to the device's product page on the compusa.com Web site. Shoppers can also check store inventories and even browse competitors' sites to compare prices. "We want to give people the rich experience of buying online," says Gilbert Fiorentino, who heads the chain's retail strategy.

If they want to duplicate rich experience of buying online, do you think anyone would complain if I walked into the store wearing fuzzy slippers and carrying a plate of waffles?

How CompUSA Made a Comeback [BusinessWeek] (Thanks, Geoff!)

(Photo: qnr)

Where did it come from? Surprisingly, the brand name was not bought by TigerDirect. The newly formed LNT Acquisition, LLC bought the name, Web site, mailing lists, and proprietary brands for $1 million in the bankruptcy proceedings.

LNT Acquisition is a joint venture between liquidators Hilco Consumer Capital, LLC and Gordon Brothers Brands, LLC. They've purchased familiar-but-liquidated retail brands like Sharper Image and Bombay Furniture Company.

Don't go crying to the new Linens 'N Things if you're still waiting for merchandise or rebates from the original company, though.

Orders prior to 2/15/2009
As you may be aware, Linens N' Things and its related affiliates ("LNT") filed for bankruptcy in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware on May 2, 2008. On February 15, 2009, LNT Acquisition, LLC, the owner and operator of this website, purchased certain assets of LNT, including the brand name and the LNT.com website. If your order was made prior to February 15, 2009 the new LNT cannot help you with locating your goods or rebates. We understand your frustrations and recommend you open a dispute with your credit card company.

LNT Acquisition is a joint venture between liquidators Hilco Consumer Capital, LLC and Gordon Brothers Brands, LLC. They bought the brand name for about $1 million, and have purchased other defunct retail brands like Sharper Image and Bombay Company.

Previously: Linens 'n Things To No Longer Sell Linens, Things

Linens N' Things intellectual property goes for $1M [Dealscape] (Thanks, Ruth!)

He wrote:

Hey guys, I was shopping at a local grocery store (the UGO in Knoxville, TN) that sells odds and ends, scratch and dent stuff (think a Big Lots for grocery items) and I came across this table of new in bag Circuit City red polos. I am told that the company bought them for $0.25 a shirt, and they are selling them for $1.00 a shirt. I also found a few of the XXL shirts with a Generation C logo on a sleeve. They have like 8 cases of these things in different sizes, men and women's styles.

So, dear readers: What would you do with these shirts?

The controversy over the name heated up in 2006 when Stacey Crummett, chief executive of Hollister-based Rag City Blues, added the word "Hollister" to the label of her vintage bluejeans. In response to her trademark application, Abercrombie & Fitch attorneys sent her a letter alleging she was violating the company's trademark and threatening to sue.

Crummett, who runs the business with her husband, said she added the name simply to identify the location of her headquarters. But she backed down and removed the name from the labels.

"They are a lot bigger than us," she said. "I said, 'Let's just not argue.' "

Once word spread about Crummett's run-in with Abercrombie & Fitch, locals and city officials began to fume, saying that the clothing firm was preventing them from showing their hometown pride on T-shirts and jackets.

"To me, it's a bunch of baloney," said Raul Gonzalez, 70, working at his one-room barbershop on 6th Street. "We were here long before they thought of [the apparel line]."

Even students at Hollister's San Benito High School wonder if they are violating Abercrombie & Fitch's trademark by wearing shirts emblazed with the school nickname, the Hollister Haybalers.

Hollister City Attorney Stephanie Atigh insists that A&F's lawyers are wearing their turtlenecks a little too tight. "There is no way you can trademark Hollister, Calif.," she said. "It's a geographical place."

Hollister, Calif., is at odds with Abercrombie over name [The Los Angeles Times] (Thanks to Melisa!)

I went into the empty store and presented my order number to the three employees. After about 10 minutes one of them walked out of the back and said "there is no mower here". The employees then fumbled around a bit and brought out a sheet of paper with a list of names, and said "see your name is not on it", "maybe it was already picked up".

I immediately realized that this must be a common occurrence (and having read through the Sears comments here I know it is) and in truth didn't really care, because by the time I went to pick it up, I wasn't sure it was such a great purchase after all. Funny thing was, they made no attempt to see if they had another mower, offer me a refund, nothing. It was almost as if I walked into a shoot for one of the Night of the Living Dead movies. I assume that this Sears hardware store had no lawn mowers whatsoever, other than those on display.

Anyway this should be a caution to anyone making a purchase through Sears. Not only did they charge my credit-card on the 13th, but as of today, the money still has not been refunded and the online status shows the mower is still waiting pickup. Also yesterday I emailed the several contacts I could find, and have yet to hear back from anyone.

A+ for initiative to the Sears employees who didn't think to themselves, "hey, maybe we can sell this person a different lawn mower, seeing as we are a retail establishment that sells lawn mowers."

Tracy reported to us that today, 6 days after the non-pickup of the lawnmower, a Sears manager called to say that her credit card had been refunded. Let's hope that it actually is.

(Photo: Atwater Village Newbie

My fiance got a $25 gift certificate to Think Geek from a friend of hers in the US. We both like the store but rarely order mainly due to the exorbitant shipping costs. To give you an idea, the $67 total order was accompanied by 2 shipping options to us in Southern Ontario. DHL Express for $27 or UPS Express for $37. On top of that, of course, is the handling fee charged by both companies (usually $7 for DHL and whatever UPS feels like charging, I get hit with $35 often) and the taxes when it comes across the border. I don't need my order in 2 days, but I had no other options. I e-mailed their customer support, but got a canned letter saying their are constantly negotating rates, etc. If I lived in Buffalo (2 hour drive away) I could get it shipped for $7. Anyway, because it was a present, we sucked it up and got a friend to go in on ordering a couple things to defray the costs.

I received the package today, and was more than a little disgusted by what I saw. It came in two boxes for some reason, and you need to look at both. The first box was an alright size, it had a shower curtain and a glass mug in it. Looking through the box I noticed one thing was missing, a "Linux inside" sticker. To my horror, it was all by itself in the second box. Well, it wasn't really alone, it had a catalogue and 5 bags of air in it. Thank you Think Geek, you have ensured I will no longer be wasting any more money at your store for useless things. Even if I didn't care about the waste of cardboard and plastic (I don't, I'm sure I'll be reusing the packing materials for something that size) I DO care about my money they wasted.

Well, The corks have yet to stop popping for those who opposed the plan — mainly drunk-driving awareness groups, the police, and small-business owners. Police feared an increase in underage drinking, since kids would have easier access to wine (uh, know any teens who crack open a bottle of Merlot on a Friday night?); and Mom and Pop wine stores claimed they would not be able to compete with the volume discounts offered at the supermarket.

However, supporters of the idea, such as Vote Wine 2009 (a coalition of supermarkets, wine growers, and the New York Farm Bureau) note that "Without this proposal, consumers will continue to pay higher prices and have less choice."

Either way, if the budget passes, wine will go up 6 cents a bottle. And since we'll still have to make a special trip to a wine store to buy our Chateau Trop Cher, it kinda seems like the consumer is the one who loses out in this war of the rosés.

Wine in Grocery Stores Proposal is Killed (Photo: Ninjapoodles)

It's important to note that Buy.com is a member of the Green Design Institute, and while they didn't fund this particular research, they have contributed money to a general research fund—so take the report with a grain of salt. And since Buy.com doesn't use warehouses, it's hard to apply the results to an e-tailer like Amazon.com. Sandy Bauers on Phill.com writes,

So this isn't an ironclad dictum. I view it more as information to factor in, measuring my circumstances against their statistical average: someone who drives 7.5 miles to a store in a car that gets 22.5 miles per gallon and picks up one or two items.

So if I'm in my Prius and I'm only going to detour a mile out of my way to stop at King of Prussia Mall on my way home, I'm good to go.

But not long ago I considered driving to a York County nursery to get a special dwarf fig tree for my edible landscaping plan. Scratch that. I'll order online instead.

Meanwhile, there's one more variable. The researchers concluded the best way to make either system more efficient was simply to buy more.

"GreenSpace: E-tail or retail kinder to Earth? They did the math" [Philly.com]
(Photo: McPig)