Birchbox, the company to blame for the current subscription beauty box trend, opened a retail store last year in Manhattan, where shoppers can create their own boxes in person and shop for other beauty products. Now the company wants to expand, and wants customers to tell them where to build their next store. [More]
Retail Services
Walmart Worker Suing Retailer Claiming Its Previous Benefits Policy Discriminated Against Same-Sex Couples
By 7.14.15
A Walmart employee who married her wife before the company changed its policy to extend health insurance benefits to same-sex couples is now suing the retail giant, claiming it violated gender discrimination laws. [More]
Back-To-School Shoppers Delight Retailers, Plan To Spend More This Year
By 7.14.15
If you’ve visited a big-box or office-supply store in recent weeks, you know that retailers are ready for the back-to-school shopping season to begin, even if children aren’t. You can’t blame stores for being excited, though: parents say that they plan to spend more on outfitting their kids for school this year than they have in recent years. [More]
Authors, Booksellers Call For Investigation Into Amazon’s Alleged Anti-Competitive Business Practices
By 7.14.15
Last year, Amazon and book publisher Hachette engaged in a contentious feud that at times saw the online retailer use its considerable clout to make it difficult for consumers to purchase books by Hachette-published authors. Now, eight months after the two companies came to an undisclosed agreement, groups representing thousands of authors and booksellers are pointing to the online book retailer’s actions as reason for the Department of Justice to open an antitrust investigation into Amazon. [More]
Starbucks, 17 Other Companies Partner To Provide “Opportunity Youth” With Jobs, Internships
By 7.13.15
Teaching young adults responsibility — and showing them that responsibility can have financial benefits — pays off in the long run by cultivating a solid work ethic. That’s the thinking behind a new multi-company initiative spearheaded by Starbucks. [More]
Beats By Dr. Dre Headphones From $17 Teardown Were Actually Counterfeit
By 7.13.15
Hey, remember when we shared a post where an expert took apart a set of Beats headphones and estimated that the parts they contained were worth maybe 17 bucks? Those were fun times. The story proved our suspicions about pricey electronics, and didn’t really surprise anyone. Guess what, though? Those headphones were fakes. [More]
Walmart Crashes Amazon’s Deal-Filled Birthday Party, Announces Its Own Mega Online Sale
By 7.13.15
UPDATE: Just hours after Walmart pointedly announced it would offer its own mega-sale in response to Amazon’s Prime-member only deal day happening on Wednesday, the online retailer released its own barbed statement, reminding consumers they could avoid missing all the deals by simply signing up for a free 30-day trial of Amazon Prime. [More]
All New Albums Will Be Released On Fridays: Did Anyone Notice?
By 7.10.15
At some point in the last 25 years or so, you’ve probably anticipated a new album release from a favorite artist and made a special midweek trip to the store to buy it. This might be an unfamiliar ritual to our younger readers, but was a thing that people did…until this week. Starting today, labels worldwide will all release their new albums on Fridays. [More]
J. Crew Will Launch Its Own Old Navy-ish Discount Brand
By 7.10.15
About twenty years ago, Gap Inc. started an interesting experiment: they opened some outlet-ish stores that sold clothes that might not be out of place in a Gap store, but were lower quality and at lower price points. The brand that I first encountered in a Gap outlet store in 1994 is now very familiar to consumers: Old Navy actually outsells its sibling Gap Inc. brands. [More]
This 9-Year-Old MP3 Player Is Ready For The Latest Tunes, Costs $300
By 7.10.15
If you weren’t all that familiar with technology, this “portable media center” that reader S. found in the clearance section at Walmart might seem like a reasonable enough purchase. What isn’t obvious until you look more closely is that the $300 price tag has been on the box since 2011. What isn’t obvious until you perform a quick Google search is that the PMC7230 has been on the market since 2006, which would explain why it’s still languishing on the shelf. [More]
Here’s Why Amazon’s Stupid Shipping Gang Wrapped Some Bubble Wrap In Brown Paper
By 7.10.15
Earlier this week, we were amused to see a reader’s submission of a roll of bubble wrap in a massive box, protected with a substantial wad of kraft paper. While we laughed, though, a reader who is quite familiar with shipping procedures pointed out why Amazon needed to wrap up the bubble wrap. [More]
Walmart Manager Accused Of Conspiring In $78,000 Robbery
By 7.10.15
In the past, Consumerist has reported on several employees who could certainly take the title of worst employee at Walmart: the man arrested for stealing cash from a customer and food from the company’s deli, the woman who allegedly stole $10,000 in cash and gift cards while working as a cashier, or the long-time employee who stole $250,000 over several years. Today, we add another candidate to the list: an Oklahoma store manager who allegedly conspired to help another man steal $78,000 from the store. [More]
Payment Information From Zoo Gift Shops Breached, May Include Names And CVVs
By 7.9.15
Have you bought a cuddly stuffed animal or another souvenir recently during a visit to the zoo? If so, keep an eye on your credit card statements. According to reports from financial institutions and an announcement from one affected zoo, a company that manages zoo gift shops recently had its systems breached. [More]
Shoplifting Suspect Bites Target Security Officer On The Arm
By 7.9.15
Retail security officers, maybe you should consider a series of rabies shots. A few weeks ago, we shared the story of an alleged Macy’s shoplifter who chomped on a police officer who showed up to intervene. Now police in the Denver suburb of Aurora are looking for a woman who was suspected of shoplifting, and chomped on the forearm of a Target employee while making her escape. [More]
Target’s Black Friday In July Promotion Is Back To Annoy Us
By 7.9.15
Sure, Amazon is creating a new shopping holiday that they claim will be even bigger than Black Friday to honor their 20th anniversary, but we can be thankful for one thing: they are not actually referring to it as “Black Friday.” Many other retailers do regardless of what time of year it is, and Target has brought back their annual summer Black Friday promotion. [More]
Amazon’s Stupid Shipping Gang Nestles Roll Of Bubble Wrap In Kraft Paper
By 7.8.15
Look, Amazon doesn’t know what Alexis wanted a roll of bubble wrap for. Maybe she just wants it to wrap up breakable items before placing them in a box to move, store, or mail. Or maybe she’s a collector of rare and precious bubble wraps, and needs to keep the rolls in mint condition with no risk of damage and not a single bubble popped. [More]
Chase Credit Card Settlement Halts Collections On 528,000 Accounts
By 7.8.15
Earlier today, we told you of reports that JPMorgan Chase had agreed to pay at least $125 million to close the books on state and federal investigations into its credit card collections practices. Now that the details of the deal have been made public, we know exactly how much the bank will pay and how many credit card accounts are affected. [More]
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JPMorgan Chase To Pay $136M To Close Credit Card Debt Collection Probes [UPDATED]
By 7.8.15
UPDATE: The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has released the details of the settlement, which put the total value at $136 million, $106 million of which will go to the 47 states (and Washington, D.C.) involved in the investigations. [More]
