Reader David writes in with a complaint about Kmart. David went to his local Kmart where he bought a lamp and a light bulb for that lamp. David was then printed a receipt that was 21 inches long. He measured it. From his blog:

“I did a little math. If every customer purchases exactly two items (an underestimation, I’m sure), then K-Mart goes through approximately one mile of paper every 3,017 customers. Only the top 6 inches of the receipt contains information relevant to the purchase: the date, items purchased, price, store number, etc. The remaining 15 inches contains ads for things I could have purchased if I’d known about them before I went to the register, and also a list of store hours. I don’t know about you, but when I want to know a store’s hours or what they sell, I never dig out old receipts to find the answer. “

This, of course, begs the question: Do any of you even read those receipt ads? This seems like an incredible waste of paper, and it’s getting worse and worse. David calculates that these add-ons waste a mile of paper every 4,224 customers, which means Kmart is wasting 507 miles of paper every single day! Not to mention printer ink! Yikes! —MEGHANN MARCO

Receipts of Unusual Size [Ironic Sans]

See David’s 21 Inches of receipt inside.

Want more consumer news? Visit our parent organization, Consumer Reports, for the latest on scams, recalls, and other consumer issues.