• Reader's Digest: 1 yr. Sub. $5, direct from publisher
• TiVo: Free TiVo-shaped cookie cutter
• Walmart: free sample of Ultra Gain /w baking soda

• NewEgg: LG Black 6X Blu-ray DVD-ROM 16X DVD-ROM 40X CD-ROM SATA Internal Combo Model GGC-H20LK for $99.99 w/ Free shipping
• BestBuy: Dynex - 42" 1080p Flat-Panel LCD HDTV for $597.99 + Shipping (or free in-store pickup)
• Gap.com: 20% OFF Every Purchase of $75 (printable)

• Tiger Direct: Apex Digital TV Converter Box Free with DTV Program Coupon
• Amazon: Canon Selphy CP760 Compact Photo Printer $79 Shipped
• KB Toys: 60% & More off Select Toys plus $5 off Oders of $100+

• Amazon.com: Planet Earth: Complete BBC Series on HD DVD for $20 + $3 s&h
• Amazon.com: DVD and Blu-ray Disc Roundup: Sicko for $4 + $3 s&h, more
• Cell Hut: Unlocked Cell Phone Roundup: NEC E132 for $56 + free shipping, more

She then tried six different ways of solving the problem, from filing complaints with various bodies to trying to track down the elusive store owner to including having 25 TONY staffers come into the store and screw with the staff to calling the T-mobile media relations line and getting an investigation launched. None of them worked. T-mobile did end up "terminating its relationship with the store," the reporter still never was able to return the device and get a refund.

That's a lot of work with little to show for it. Try this order of events instead:

1) Pay for item with credit card
2) Realize you way overpaid
3) Ask to return item for refund
4) Get cursed and thrown out of the store
5) Call credit card company and do a chargeback
6) Get money back
7) Watch Scrubs

What to do if…you’ve been had [TONY]

The study found that shoppers were less likely to accept additional surcharges when they were levied by a low-reputation eBay seller than from a high-reputation one. The consumers in the study would decrease their bids to account for fees when the seller had a low reputation, but now when the seller was mid to high-reputation.

No matter what their reputation, you should always compare the total price between the sellers. I usually try to go for whatever is the lowest total price from someone with a decent but not necessarily perfect rep.

How surcharges affect pricing and purchasing [news.info.wustl.edu] (Thanks to c-side!)

"Art is subjective, but I didn't mean to cause offense in any way," said Jeremy. "People were shopping at the Wal-mart the next day as if nothing had happened. I was appalled at the events that happened and this was my reaction."

Black Friday [jeremyscheuch]

"They told me they didn't have the money to pay off my car and I needed to pick it up in San Bernardino," O'Kelly told KESQ. "I was still financially responsible for it."

She was also told that she has until Friday to pick her car up or it will be sold at auction by the bank that shut down the dealership.

"I'm either going to have to make two car payments on a car I don't have or it's going to hurt my credit," O'Kelly said. "It's Christmas time. I'm a single mom. I don't have the money to be making two car payments."

We did a little research and learned that this problem isn't unique to Ms. O'Kelly. In fact, California passed a new law that protects consumers from this very situation, according to the Los Angeles Department of Consumer Affairs.

They say:

Many consumers who trade in their used cars when they buy a new car often still owe money on the trade-in. The understanding between the consumer and the dealer is that the dealer will pay off the balance owed on the trade-in so that the consumer will incur no further charges.

Typically, however, the sales or lease contract for the new car does not specify any time for the dealer to pay off the trade-in. If an unscrupulous or financially strapped dealer does not pay off the balance on the trade-in quickly, the consumer remains liable on the old contract while having to make payments for the new car.
..
If a dealer who engages in the above practices goes out of business or files bankruptcy, consumers are unable to recover money directly from the dealers and thus incur substantial financial loss.

This new law establishes a program to compensate consumers if a dealer shuts down or files bankruptcy before paying off the trade-in, license and registration fees, or sales proceeds from a consigned vehicle.

If this has happened to you, and you live in California contact the LA Department of Consumer Affairs or the California Attorney General and ask them about your options. You can also read the full text of the new law, here.

Kia of La Quinta Closure Puts New Car Owners in Corner
[KESQ] (Thanks, Traveler!)

It's not a new concept — the Chicago Tribune says that lots of towns and neighborhoods relied on their own local currency during the Great Depression. It's also perfectly legal.

So what's the advantage for shoppers? Well, the currency could offer incentives — trading $100 US for $110 in the local currency would give shoppers a 10% bonus, for example.

What do you think? Would you use a local currency in order to support your community? Or are you going to shop at Walmart until they pry the cart from your cold dead hands?

Milwaukee Neighborhoods Could Print Own Money [Chicago Tribune]
(Photo: sfxeric )

Christopher Elliott has a few ideas, here's our favorite. It's the return of the road trip!:

Here come the drivers! The Transportation Department has been complaining about a shortfall in road tax revenue. Wait until next summer, when a lot of pent-up demand to hit the road sees hundreds of thousands of vehicles unleashed on American highways.

See the USA in your Chevrolet... (before they no longer make Chevrolets...)

With oil prices spiraling toward $40 a barrel mark, what does that mean for travelers? [Tripso]
(Photo: improbcat )

Computerworld says that some saw the document as a change of heart for Apple, which enjoys poking fun at Windows users for having to worry about viruses. Apple says that they pulled the document because it was outdated.

"We have removed the KnowledgeBase article because it was old and inaccurate," Apple spokesman Bill Evans said in an e-mail Wednesday.

"The Mac is designed with built-in technologies that provide protection against malicious software and security threats right out of the box," he went on. "However, since no system can be 100% immune from every threat, running antivirus software may offer additional protection."

Apple yanks antivirus advice from its Web site [Computerworld]
(Photo: strobist )

Turn Yourself Into a Savvy Buyer While Christmas Shopping [Dumb Little Man] "Here are some hints for being more than a bargain hunter; we're talking about becoming a savvy buyer."

How to Handle the Job Offer You Can't Afford [Wall Street Journal] "Rather than immediately reject or accept a lowball deal, you should mount a careful counterattack."

10 Benefits Your Employer Will Cut Next Year [US News] "Here's a look at the where employers are likely to make cuts."

What to Do if You Get Fired [Yahoo Hotjobs] "Here are 10 tips for coping with a job loss and finding your way back into the workforce."

— FREE MONEY FINANCE (Photo: frankieleon)

The first 1,000 people to email a request to consumerreports@ampagency.com will receive a free 24-hour log-in to ConsumerReports.org. Your email address will be used for the sole purpose of distributing the free code; it won’t be used beyond that for any reason.

The kiosks can be found at the North Shore Mall in Peabody, South Shore Mall in Braintree, and Burlington Mall in Burlington from 12/4-12/7.

They found a variety of nasty germs that cause things like UTIs, pneumonia, and infant meningitis — proving once and for all that you should wash your hands before you eat.

Chuck E. Cheese's spokesperson says that the restaurant cleans and disinfects the tables and games every evening.

"We clean and sanitize our games every night with an antibacterial sanitizing solution called Sterbac Blue. We try to inspect and maintain during the day as well. We have a large amount of kids who come through here, and with them, a large amount of bacteria. We try to keep up with it."

Yep, kids are pretty gross. Be sure to wash yours thoroughly.

Is Chuck E. Cheese's Really Chuck E. Diseases? [momlogic]

I recently lost my home to foreclosure. The sad part is I tried for the last 30-40 days before the foreclosure to buy my home from the mortgage company for more than the balance owed on the mortgage. By this time, the mortgage had been referred to a local law firm, which wanted almost $20,000 in fees above the balance of the mortgage. They would not negotiate at all. A friend was helping me try to save my home, but the $20,000 in fees on top of the $100,000 owed was insurmountable.

Fast forward to the house being put on the market. I met the realtor handling the sale. I told him I wanted to make an offer to purchase my home back. I was told I could not make an offer until the listing was 'active', per NC law. I was told on Friday 11-28th that the house would go on the market on Saturday 11-29, after which I could submit my offer to purchase. They put the house on the market for $49,950. I called the broker Sunday evening to tell him I would be putting my offer for $50,500 in on Monday morning. I got a phone call on Monday morning telling me that they had already taken an offer, communicated it to the seller and had it accepted and the house was under contract.

Keep in mind the following:
1- The property is in Durham, NC
2- The REO firm in charge of the sale for Homecomings Financial is in San Diego, CA
3- The local real estate firm hired by the REO firm to market and sell the house is in Raleigh, NC

The original story I was given was that an offer was made and accepted on Saturday, and that the contract on the house was already signed on Monday morning at appx. 10am EST. When I remarked that it was odd that all of this happened over a Sat. and Sunday, and that 10am EST was 7am in San Diego, I started getting various changing storied from the Broker-in-Charge.

Long story short, the story now is they simply 'made a mistake' when they 'forgot' that I wanted to put in an offer. Despite my being in regular contact with their broker. I found out today that they actually took the offer to purchase which they accepted on 11-24.

AT THAT TIME, I WAS BEING TOLD I COULD NOT YET PUT AN OFFER TO PURCHASE IN, BECAUSE THE HOUSE WAS NOT YET AN ACTIVE LISTING AND IT WAS AGAINST THE REAL ESTATE RULES IN NC!!!

The listing real estate company is Weichert-Welcome Home in Raleigh, NC. The broker representing the 'purchaser' is with Weichert-Mark Thomas Properties in Durham, NC.

I will have to wait until the deed is recorded before I can find out how much the sale was for, but I have been told that the sale was for less than the listed asking price.

Remember, I was trying to pay HIGHER than the listed asking price...

I apologize for the poorly written email. This is so damn emotionally draining and frustrating, and there is nothing that I can do. I was willing and able to pay my mortgage off in full and then some and was rebuffed. Then when I again tried to buy my home back, I was lied to and deceived so that the house could be sold for less to someone else, who happened to work with an affiliated company.

There is so much wrong here.

Thank you for reading this. I am so sick about all of this. I've been trying for almost 4 months to save my home, BY PAYING THAN OWED AND THEN MORE THAN THE LIST PRICE AND EACH DAMN TIME I HAVE BEEN GIVEN THE RUN AROUND, LIED TO AND/OR IGNORED.

I honestly don't get it. So Homecomings lost a bunch of money on just my home, despite me trying to pay it off in full.

My gut read on this story is that the various parties Eric was dealing with were in cahoots with one another to buy the place cheap. Here's commenter dwasifar's take on the situation:

"What happened here is obvious. Someone involved in the process of selling this home, either in the lawyer's office or in the realtor's, put together a sweetheart deal for themselves or a friend to get this property at a bargain price. They shut Eric out of the process by misleading him so they could get the house themselves for the minimum the bank was willing to accept.

At the very least he should document what happened and inform the seller. The realtor and/or lawyer basically stole money from them, and they are probably not aware of what happened."

(Photo: woodleywonderworks)

One unemployed sheet metal worker said his attempts to get an error on his form fixed have proven fruitless. “I can’t get anybody on the phone," he told NYC The Blog, "I go through all of the menu options and at the end I get to a message that says due to the high volume of calls no one is able to assist you." Anyone who walks in is given a pamphlet with a number for them to call. The same number that no one picks up.

Visiting The Department Of Labor On 125th St. [NYC The Blog]

—-—-—-- Forwarded message —-—-—--
From: PrettySinful. com
Date: Thu, Dec 4, 2008 at 12:24 AM
Subject: Re: Girls Stripe Sexy Tights Hosiery Leg Wear
To: Jasmine

Hello,

Thank you for bringing this to our attention. We will be revising the title/description for all children products to make sure they do not include the word "sexy"

regards

Joseph
customer service

PREVIOUSLY: No Tween Girl Clothes Are "Sexy"

• Footaction: 30% OFF Friends & Family Event (print+online w/ coupon code: EMFF8CAP)
• BestBuy: Samsung L210 10.2-Megapixel Digital Camera (Black) + Free 2GB Memory Card for $112.49 w/ Free shipping
• PetSmart: Save $10 off your order of $60+ online w/ coupon code: DECPERKS

• Shoes.com: Save 20% off Men's Shoes Orders Store-Wide with Coupon
• Buy.com: Seagate FreeAgent 1.5TB USB 2.0 Drive $160 Shipped
• B&H Photo: Panasonic TH-42PZ80U 42-inch HDTV $895 Shipped

• Walmart: George Foreman Next Grilleration Grill for $30 + $12 s&h
• 6ave: Klipsch CS500 170W 2.1-Channel DVD Home Theater System for $498 + free shipping
• Overstock: Kenneth Cole Reaction Men's Take Note Oxford for $57 + $1 s&h

Bankers defend it saying that people would rather their cable bill to bounce than their mortgage payment, but it just so happens that if you miscalculate your balance or a deposit didn't clear in time, it maximizes potential fees. Overdraft fees accounted for 74% of service fees banks earned in 2006, to the tune of $1.97 billion. The data was based on banks' responses to survey questions, so you can bet the numbers are actually higher.

FDIC: Bank overdraft fees hit young, low-income customers [USAToday] (Thanks to Snarkysnake!) (Photo: David Reber)

• At the beginning of a liquidation sale, it's very typical that they reset the price back to original and begin discounts from there
• The discounts get bigger week by week, or faster if merch isn't moving
• Employee theft is a big problem
• One liquidator helps make nice with the old employees working through the liquidation sale by giving more sales bonuses than they got before
• Also, by buying everyone donuts

As retailers reel, a call for the liquidators [The Boston Globe] (Thanks to peetah!) (Photo: Josh Reynolds)

Firm denies workers' comp in racial killing [SFGate] (Thanks to Kevin!)

* Bartender: 10-15 percent of the bar bill.
* Waiter/Waitress: 15-20 percent of the bill, 20 percent at fine restaurants or if you have a large group.
* Massage Therapist: 10-20 percent of the total, 20 percent if it is a really great massage.
* Hairstylist: 15 percent of the total.
* Concierge: $5-10 is average, more for special services or favors.
* Doorman: $1 dollar or more for help with luggage or finding a taxi on the street.
* Parking Attendant: $1-2, depending on how far they travel to get your car.
* Van Driver: $1 or more per bag, especially if they help you with your luggage.
* Musician/Singer: $35-75 per person.
* Taxi Driver: 15 percent of fare, $1 per bag up to 5 bags, $2 per bag for 5 or more bags or if bags are very heavy (50 lbs. each).

In addition, if you regularly use any of these (or other) service workers, you'll likely want to give them an extra holiday tip this season. For guidance on what amounts are appropriate, Consumer Reports offers a nice chart on what others are tipping this season.

Now here's the big question: will the poor economy impact the amount you tip the service people in your life? We're guessing it will for many. How about for you?

10 Workers to Tip This Season [Yahoo Hotjobs]

— FREE MONEY FINANCE

(Photo: tiangotlost)

From the Daily News:

Of course, stealing the Empire State Building wouldn't go unnoticed for long, but it shows how easy it is for con artists to swipe more modest buildings right out from under their owners. Armed with a fraudulent deed, they can take out big mortgages and disappear, leaving a mess for property owners, banks and bureaucrats.

"Once you have the deed, it's easy to obtain a mortgage," Farrell said.

Many crooks have done just that:

- Asia Smith stole her 88-year-old grandmother's house in Springfield Gardens, Queens, pocketing $445,000 in mortgages she took out.

"Her grandmother raised her," said Queens Assistant District Attorney Kristen Kane. Smith, 22, was arrested last December and is serving a one-year jail term for fraud.

- A man posing as someone who had been dead for 19 years deeded the dead man's property to himself. He then sold it to the scheme's mastermind, who took out a $533,000 mortgage and vanished with the cash.

- Toma Dushevic managed to steal seven dilapidated city-owned buildings in Brooklyn 10 years ago.

It took 90 minutes for Daily News to 'steal' the Empire State Building [Daily News]
(Photo: Amy Photos )

When you sue over trademark infringement, one of the biggest criterion for the validity of your suit is whether or not consumers will be confused about which brand is which. To help us decide, let's look at one item from the Monster MiniGolf FAQ:

Q: Does the entire place glow in the Dark?
A: Yes! (Except the bathrooms..that would be too weird.)

See? You totally thought we were talking about premium-priced audio cables there.

Monster MiniGolf is asking for $1 donations to help offset its legal costs, which so far are $100,000 and they predict will reach $250,000. If you make a donation and take your receipt to a Monster MiniGolf place, you will get $2 off one round, which are normally between $5.50 and $7.50 for 18 holes. You can donate through the eBay page they have set up, which explains more about their situation.

Help Me Fight a Bully! It's a Monster. Justice needed! [eBay] (Thanks to Johnny!)

70% said the bailout was unfair to taxpayers, and only 15% thought that bankruptcies in the auto industry would affect them immediately.

What do you think?

Poll: 61% oppose auto bailout [CNNMoney]
(Photo: sfxeric )

Marshall Plan, Louisiana Purchase, the Moonshot, S&L Crisis, Korean War, and even The New Deal, which has been derided by some as being like the most expensive socialist thing ever, can't hold a candle to the payouts from the attempts to fix the current economic crisis. Take NASA. As Meg pointed out to me over IM, there's never been any fun beach excursions provided by NASA. The same, however, cannot be said for the current bailout, especially if your name begins with an A, ends with a G, and there's an I in there.

Marshall Plan: Cost: $12.7 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $115.3 billion
Louisiana Purchase: Cost: $15 million, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $217 billion
Race to the Moon: Cost: $36.4 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $237 billion
S&L Crisis: Cost: $153 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $256 billion
Korean War: Cost: $54 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $454 billion
The New Deal: Cost: $32 billion (Est), Inflation Adjusted Cost: $500 billion (Est)
Invasion of Iraq: Cost: $551b, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $597 billion
Vietnam War: Cost: $111 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $698 billion
NASA: Cost: $416.7 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $851.2 billion

TOTAL: $3,920,000,000,000
2008 BAILOUT TOTAL AS OF NOV 2008: $4,616,000,000,000

Scary Bailout Money Info Graphic [Voltage Blog based on a BoingBoing post]

More troubling is the potential for a conflict of interest:

Ald. William Banks (36th), one of the mayor's staunchest City Council supporters, warned that charging $6.50-an-hour to park at Loop meters and forcing drivers to feed those meters 24/7 would be a "definite deterrent to people visiting the downtown area," hurting retailers and restaurants.

Parking enforcement could get tougher if the contractor exercises its right to "supplement" the city's ticket-writing efforts to "protect its revenue."

Supplement the city's ticket writing to "protect its revenue?" Well, that seems like a conflict of interest, doesn't it? Consumerist expects to receive a lot of email from angry motorists should this deal go through.

Motorists would pay more to park at cashless meter spaces [Sun-Times]
(Photo: mbeldyk )

Newsday reports that the claim, which is for $2 million, says that officers on the scene "stood outside their vehicles drinking coffee while the crowd became more and more unruly."

$2 Million Sought In Store Stampede [Newsday]
(Photo: Getty)

Consumer Reports gives us the lowdown on what kind of cars the CEOs will be driving:

Mulally is driving a Ford Escape Hybrid, according to Automotive News. We’re currently in the process of testing a similar 2009 Mercury Mariner Hybrid. The 2005 Escape Hybrid we tested got 26 mpg overall in our testing—very good for an SUV. Other options for Mulally’s interstate drive included the Focus sedan with a manual (29 mpg) or automatic transmission (26 mpg). Or the upcoming Fusion Hybrid.

Wagoner is taking a Chevrolet Malibu hybrid (27 mpg), a comfortable road-trip-ready car featured in the family sedan test group in our latest issue. We found the fuel economy gains to be mild for a hybrid. (In the same group, the higher-scoring Hyundai Sonata four-cylinder got 26 mpg overall, and it cost thousands less.) Another option would have been the Chevrolet Aveo; we have tested three and the best overall mpg was 28 on a manual version, notably less than several competitors. As a long-distance cruiser, the Aveo leaves much to be desired, which arguably is a good reason for Wagoner to savor the experience. Shame he couldn’t pilot a Chevrolet Volt prototype to Capitol Hill.

Nardelli has the toughest choice to make. The company recently canceled its only hybrid products, Chrysler Aspen and Dodge Durango, just weeks after production began. Scanning the product line, there isn’t much there that promises good fuel economy or touts leading-edge "green" technologies.

We suggest that they all take the Wagon Queen Family Truckster. Together.

Automakers head to Washington – What should they drive? [Consumer Reports]
(Photo: AdamL212 )

Girls Stripe Sexy Tights Hosiery Leg Wear [Amazon] (Thanks to Jasmine!)

• Woot: Lyon by Washburn Electric Guitar with 5 Watt Amp and Instructional DVD for $89.99
• LineDrive.com: Under Armour up to 50% off at with free shipping
• Amazon: 18 Pack of Horizon 8oz Milk for $14.30

• Dell Home: Sony PS3 80GB for $322.99 w/ coupon code: CTV2$2HX963145 & TP5NV0VMFJ9BCZ w/ Free shipping
• Lowe's: Black & Decker 109-Piece Drilling & Screwdriving Set for $9.97 + Shipping
• Hewlett Packard: HP Pavilion dv5t Notebook, Pentium Dual-Core 2.0GHz, 15.4", 4GB, 320GB Wi-Fi + Printer for $549.99 after coupon code: SV2132 w/ Free shipping

• Buy.com: Aerobed Twin Bed in a Minute II Inflatable $40 Shipped
• HobbyTron: Buy 2 Intelli Heli Mini Helicopters Get One Free
• Amazon: Save Extra $10 off Omron Scales & Health Monitors

• Buy.com: Uniden FRS / GMRS 2-Way Radio 2-Pack for $29 + free shipping
• Amazon.com: Romancing the Stone with Jewel of the Nile on Blu-ray for $30 + free shipping

From their press release:

In the U.S., GM will focus its product development and marketing efforts on four core brands – Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick and GMC. Pontiac will be a specialty brand with reduced product offerings within the Buick-Pontiac-GMC channel. Hummer has recently been put under strategic review, which includes the possible sale of the brand, and GM will immediately undertake a global strategic review of the Saab brand. As part of the plan, the company also will accelerate discussions with the Saturn retailers, consistent with their unique relationship, to explore alternatives for the Saturn brand.

GM Sends Congress Plan Asking For $12 To $18 Billion, "Alternatives" For Saturn Brand [Jalopnik]
(Photo: Computermachina )

The image isn't great but it gives you an idea of the effect. Who's got the backstory on who made this ad and how it came to be? We bemoan the intrusion of advertising into every living surface, but it's cool to see a little piece of magic like this in an otherwise boring situation.

From MarketWatch:

"It's helping us all to run better operations," Parker said. The new fee at US Airways accounts for most of the $400 million to $500 million in annual revenue for services, he said.

US Airways' new baggage fees help improve performance [MarketWatch]
(Photo: zonaphoto )

Benjamin writes:

Normally, I just accept the inevitable and pay without contest. But the "gas prices" line really bugged me, so I decided to call in and complain.

Since this is an issue with the billing and pricing plan, I tried to talk to someone in billing support. I'm not one for popping a blood vessel, so I calmly asked for an explanation as to why overall decline in fuel prices is responsible for the increase in the cable fees. The person from Comcast said that they could not help me and that I had to call the complaint line. Up until this point, I hadn't had a complaint- I just wanted some explanation. She puts me on hold so that she can get me the number for the complaint department. Then she comes back with something that literally made me speechless for a few moments... "The complaint line phone has been disconnected."

Me: (Pause) Wait? What?

Comcast: You need to go to the web site and submit a comment through email.

Me: Comcast disconnected its complaint line?

Comcast: Go to our web site and click on the 'contact us' button and submit an email.

Me: Is the complaint line going to be reconnected anytime soon?

Comcast: On our web site under 'contact us'.

Me: Are you serious?

This didn't go anywhere so I eventually hung up. I did send an email from the Comcast web site and a few minutes later received a rather robotic, wholly unsatisfying response that basically said 'whatever, we don't really care'.

Its ridiculous that Comcast can claim that because of the INCREASE in gas prices, the INCREASE in technology prices, and INCREASES in health care costs that my bill needs to be raised $30-$40 a month. Is there any guarantee that when these outrageously high gas prices go down that the monthly charges will go down as well? And for the record, I haven't seen any enhancements to my service. I'm paying more for the exact same services that I got two months ago.

Benjamin D.

Calling Comcast customer service and expecting a sensible explanation for why they raised rates is like trying to thread the Empire State Building through the eye of a needle. You might be better off registering your gripe with the local Public Utilities Commission. At least their complaint lines still work.

(Photo: ChristophrHiestr)

While we've done many shrink ray posts, I've wondered how much the non-Consumerist-reading population has noticed. Well, an October '07 survey found 47% of consumers said they noticed packages were becoming more diminuative. Since the pace, and the coverage, of shrinking packages has greatly increased since then, that number surely must be higher. Don't forget to compare unit prices!

Freshly squeezed: The ever-shrinking box and carton [StarTribune] (Thanks to al koholic!) (Photo: Mykl Roventine)

After a local newspaper featured his story, the offers rolled in and he sold out his semester. Most of the ads are positive messages bought by parents, while others are from local businesses.

While the story is charming and plucky, it does raise the concern that other schools and teachers might get inspired and start renting out space to more sophisticated clients, like McDonald's or Coke.

"The advertisers are paying for something, and it's access to kids," said Robert Weissman, managing director of Commercial Alert, a non-prof that combats commercialization in the classroom.

But if the teachers keep the advertising local and in the style of the school yearbook, is it really so bad?

Ads on tests add up for teacher [USAToday] (Thanks to Joanne!)