Stupid

Hewlett-Packard Crowned Head Of The Stupid Shipping Gang After Packing 32 Sheets Of Paper In 17 Boxes

Leading the stupid shipping gang takes creative incompetence, and Hewlett-Packard is clearly up to the task. Other companies might have turned to email when faced with the challenge of shipping sixteen software licenses. Not Hewlett-Packard! HP went looking for a box. A really big box, which they filled with sixteen smaller boxes, each containing two precious pieces of paper ensconced in a layer of protective foam. More »

1:45 AM on Sat Jul 19 2008
By Carey
589 views, 12 comments

Latest by UNDERSTAR: Maybe they ran out of envelopes??? more »

Stupid Shipping Gang

Dell's "Keyboard Condoms" Are No Problem For Stupid Shipping Gang

Consumerist Forums reader Sixtwo sent us some photos from his recent scrape with Dell and the stupid shipping gang. He ordered a pair of "keyboard condoms" which tip the scales at a few grams, but received a giant box and paid $16 for shipping. His letter and photos, inside... More »

8:56 PM on Fri Jul 11 2008
By Jay Slatkin
12,220 views, 48 comments

debt collectors

Debt Collector Sends Verizon Collection Notice To A Fluffy White Dog

You may think this dog is cute, but that's bullshit. This dog is a deadbeat that doesn't pay its Verizon bill. More »

4:36 PM on Thu Jul 10 2008
By Meg Marco
29,153 views, 63 comments

gas prices

Can Prayer Lower Gas Prices? These People Think So

Some people think we don't have a prayer of gas prices dipping below $3.00 for a good long haul. These parishioners holding hands around a Shell station beg to differ. They're part of a group called "Pray At The Pump," organizing prayer-circles at various DC area gas stations, hoping to goad divine intervention into lowering gas prices. I wonder if they carpooled to the rendezvous point.

Activists Keep the Faith, if Not Their Money [Washington Post] (Thanks to ejangles!)

6:34 PM on Tue Jul 8 2008
By Ben Popken
5,367 views, 122 comments

stupid shipping gang

This "License Only” Version Of Office Is Packed Very Efficiently

Today's episode of everyone's favorite post "Stupid Shipping Gang" is sure to be a crowd-pleaser! Newegg was concerned about Rob's software license (Just a license. No discs.) being damaged so they shipped it in a box. With packing peanuts. More »

2:18 PM on Mon Jul 7 2008
By Meg Marco
6,462 views, 27 comments

department of homeland security

Want Safe Skies? Strap This Remote-Controlled Stun Device To Yourself!

Make of this what you will, as the story comes from the Reverend Sun Myung Moon's church-owned Washington Times and may be more fiction than fact, but "a senior government official with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has expressed great interest in a so-called safety bracelet that would serve as a stun device, similar to that of a police Taser." Yes, the EMD Safety Bracelet from Lamperd Less Lethal is designed to make flying a fun experience once again. Just check out everything it can do:

Take the place of an airline boarding pass.
Contain personal information about the traveler.
Be able to monitor the whereabouts of each passenger and his/her luggage.
Shock the wearer on command, completely immobilizing him/her for several minutes.

More »

12:01 PM on Mon Jul 7 2008
By Chris Walters
25,586 views, 107 comments

Latest by n/a: I'm not sure how these devices receive their signals, but making a miniature Faraday cage to enclose it should effectively disable it. Hooray for boondoggle technology. I think I found about 3 contradictions in their promo video too. <tangent> This more »

stupid shipping gang

Boy, This Tiny Microfiber Cloth From Amazon Sure Is Packaged Efficiently

Yes, folks. It's time for everybody's favorite post: Stupid Shipping Gang! In this episode, Amazon demonstrates how to package a tiny microfiber cloth efficiently. More »

2:46 PM on Thu Jul 3 2008
By Meg Marco
9,402 views, 47 comments

Don't Be Stupid

No, You Should Not Save Money By Filling Your Rental Truck's Gas Tank With Water

Look, we know gas is expensive, but don't save a couple bucks by topping off your U-Haul's gas tank with water. We won't pretend to care about U-Haul—not even U-Haul cares about their vehicles—but the next renter will want to bludgeon you with a rusty ice pick when their truck breaks down because you hosed the engine. More »

9:25 AM on Sat Jun 28 2008
By Carey
15,429 views, 55 comments

dunkin' donuts

This Dunkin' Donuts Game Piece Is Sufficiently Waterproof

Reader JoeTan says this is his 6th attempt at removing a Dunkin' Donuts game piece from his iced coffee and the results, shown above, have all been identical. Mush. More »

11:10 AM on Fri Jun 27 2008
By Meg Marco
7,721 views, 31 comments

fail

Adobe: "It Would Have Been A Pleasure To Assist You With This Issue. [Unfortunately, We're Totally Incompetent]"

If you produced expensive, frequently pirated software, you'd probably want the process for buying it to be as easy on the customer as possible, right? If you're Adobe, not so much. Yet another reader writes in to share her frustrations with trying to buy Adobe's Dreamweaver. More »

10:41 PM on Wed Jun 25 2008
By Alex Chasick
12,359 views, 86 comments

bank of america

Bank Of America Treats Parking Meter Payments As Cash Advances, Charges $10 Fee

Reader Gary used his Bank of America credit card to pay $2 on a parking meter in Washington, DC. Bank of America treated it as a cash advance and slapped him with a $10 fee, as well as a higher APR. When Gary called to complain, he learned that it wasn't an error: Bank of America has started treating payments to parking meters as cash advances and may even treat all payments to government entities as cash advances. More »

12:00 PM on Wed Jun 25 2008
By Alex Chasick
12,345 views, 74 comments

Latest by n/a: But here's what happened when Ms. Ruiz talked to a City of Portland employee who then contacted B of A...: (B of A Rep) said that there was an issue early this year whereby some municipalities were encoding parking meter transactions more »

Stupid Shipping Gang

Revealed: Apple's Secret Membership In The Stupid Shipping Gang

Apple may have Al Gore on its board of directors, but that won't stop them from shipping teeny tiny remote controls in cartoonishly large boxes. More »

9:00 AM on Sun Jun 22 2008
By Carey
7,555 views, 58 comments

Latest by LVP: Hypocrisy at it's best. [img.timeinc.net] How much energy does even one of those monitors use? Do they have a carbon credit counter? more »

bad ideas

Please Don't Hoard Gas Because It Will Catch Fire And Burn Down Your Apartment

Listen, we know gas costs more than $4 a gallon, and may go even higher, but that doesn't mean you should start stockpiling gas. Two Dartmouth natives learned this the hard way when the 45-gallons of gas they were hoarding in nine plastic jugs ignited, nearly burning down their eight-unit apartment complex. More »

11:00 PM on Sun Jun 8 2008
By Carey
6,182 views, 45 comments

fail

Why Would Anyone Bid $55 For A $50 Target Gift Card?!

The ever-thoughtful economists over at Freakonomics are stumped by eBay member lpinok, who bid $55.71 for a $50 Target gift card. More »

9:15 PM on Sat Jun 7 2008
By Carey
23,062 views, 108 comments

Latest by clickable: @MrsLopsided: You might be on to something. I don't know about shopping offshore, because if Target has rules about that, it probably means they won't ship outside the U.S. so buyer would be stuck on that point. But possibly someone more »

legal tender

Paying Your Verizon Bill With Cash? That'll Be $3.99 Extra

Employees at the Verizon store in Millington, Tennessee told reader Josh it would cost an extra $3.99 to pay his bill with cash. According to the employees, the charge was to offset the cost of "new money software." More »

10:10 AM on Sat Jun 7 2008
By Carey
11,031 views, 64 comments

stupid

Bloomingdale's Sends You To A "Collection Agency" Over $5.00

Reader Haven accidentally underpaid a Bloomingdale's credit card bill by $5, and so it was off to the collection agency... More »

11:49 AM on Wed May 28 2008
By Meg Marco
9,281 views, 72 comments

customer service

Target To 80-Year-Old: Yeah, We Sold You The Wrong Watch Battery, But We Won't Take It Back

David cc'd us on a letter he recently sent to Target:

My mother in law, recently went to Target to get a battery installed for her watch. The watch was a common Timex model and the associate told her that she would have to buy the battery first. So she purchased that battery, and the associate attempted to install it in the watch. The battery did not fit the watch, so the associate said "sorry, we don't have the right battery" and then refused to take the battery back and refund her money. She was told they don't take back opened battery packages.