Yesterday, we reported that the craft honchos who run Etsy have noticed an increase in hijacked accounts sending out spammy messages, and they put at least some of the blame on users with the same passwords on both their Etsy and eBay accounts. However, eBay counters that this is not their fault, since unencrypted passwords weren’t part of last month’s account data breach. [More]
Retail Services
Woman Uses Heat Packs For Pain Relief, Burns 4 Holes In Breasts, Sues
By 6.5.14
When you need to relieve pain after a surgery and can’t walk around tethered to a heating pad all day, a small portable handwarmer is a suitable substitute…isn’t it? One woman thought so. According to court documents, she nestled them between her shirt and skin after reconstructive breast surgery. From the mention of “court documents,” you can probably guess how this ended. [More]
Group Petitions Target To Ban Guns Following Open-Carry Demonstrations
By 6.5.14
A petition to ban guns at Target stores has garnered thousands of signatures after recent open-carry demonstrations at the retail stores. [More]
Stephen Colbert Upset That Stephen Colbert Books Are Hard To Buy On Amazon
By 6.5.14
TV personality Stephen Colbert usually prides himself on unbiased reporting and sticking to the facts (at least the ones that matter to him), but now he’s taken the rare step of putting himself in the middle of the fight between Amazon and publishing biggie Hachette Book Group… mostly because it means his books sales are being affected. [More]
Spammers Take Advantage Of eBay Breach, Invade Etsy
By 6.5.14
When the usernames and passwords of a big, popular site like eBay are compromised, consequences can spread beyond the original site that was attacked. It’s possible that users of selling platforms Etsy and eBay use the same usernames and passwords on both sites, since security staff at Etsy say that they’ve noticed an uptick in spam and account hijackings since the recent eBay breach. [More]
Things At Fab.com Are Not So Fab Lately
By 6.4.14
Fab.com began its existence as a social networking site for gay men, but evolved into a a curated flash sale site for home goods, art, and accessories. There just aren’t as many cut-rate luxury goods around as there used to be, though, and the company has culled off 70% of its employees. Now some customers report that no one is picking up the phone. [More]
Amazon Teaser Video Is Either Selling 3D Phone Or Amazing Sex Toy
By 6.4.14
Amazon is trying — perhaps a little too hard — to interest consumers in the mysterious device it will unveil later this month. It’s probably a 3D smartphone, but if you just listen to the things said in the video, your mind might wander to less family-friendly notions. [More]
Stupid Shipping Gang Will Slam Your Cupboard Doors
By 6.4.14
It’s better for an online retailer to send an item packaged incorrectly than to not send it at all, or to wait around for the perfect box or envelope to show up. Right? That’s the founding principle behind the Stupid Shipping Gang, who sent reader Veganman a box of tiny door bumpers that could have fit in an un-padded manila envelope. [More]
Obviously, Walmart Doesn’t Want You To Drink 12 Budweiser Margaritas
By 6.2.14
If one can of Budweiser’s malt beverage margarita-like substance costs one dollar, how much should twelve cans cost? That’s right…$12.97. Wait, what? If this math sounds a little off to you, apparently you don’t work at Matthew’s local Walmart. [More]
Raiders Of The Lost Walmart Suck At Picking Father’s Day Gifts
By 6.2.14
We don’t really do gift guides, but over the weekend Consumerist did bring you a wonderful list of creative ideas for non-terrible Father’s Day gifts. Meanwhile, over at Walmart, someone is doing their best to inspire customers to buy really terrible gifts for their dads. [More]
Walmart, Other Retailers Slash Price Of Hachette Books Amid Amazon’s Ongoing Feud With The Publisher
By 6.2.14
While the power struggle between Amazon and book publisher Hachette moves into its third week, other retailers have begun to use the situation to their advantage. [More]
Signet Acquires Zales, Creates Mediocre Jewelry Voltron
By 5.30.14
We love to use wedding imagery when discussing corporate mergers, because it’s a useful metaphor: months of preparation and due diligence lead to a joyous union and (we hope) decades of happiness as life partners. In the case of the acquisition of Zale Corp. by Signet Jewelers Ltd., the comparison is just poor writing, since all companies involved are mall jewelry stores, where Americans buy their wedding bling. [More]
The Fashion Industry Wants To Make Buying Ill-Fitting Clothes Easier
By 5.29.14
When you order clothes online, do you order two different sizes, figuring that one will fit you and you can take the other back? Joke’s on you, over-ordering person! That consumer behavior is one of the reasons why women’s clothing manufacturers are switching clothes from numbered sizes to small, medium, and large. [More]
Target Enters E-Book Arena With New Subscription Service Partnership
By 5.28.14
If the back and forth between Amazon and Hachette has you questioning where to buy your next e-book, Target has a potential solution for you. The company announced Wednesday it has partnered with Librify to give consumers another option when it comes to buying, sharing and discussing books. [More]
Amazon’s Stupid Shipping Gang Makes Sure Coffee Filters Arrive Safely
By 5.28.14
Reader Laura (no relation) received a big, sturdy Amazon box at work. “The kind large enough to hold six to eight regular reams of 8×11 paper,” she wrote to Consumerist. “20 inches in length and a good foot wide and deep.” This box must hold a large amount of office supplies, right? Not so much. [More]
Costco Shopper Pays For Firefighters’ Groceries While They’re Out On Emergency Call
By 5.28.14
Firefighters might do the work of superheroes, but just like other humans, even they like to chow down during Memorial Day cookouts. So when a group of firefighters had to abandon their groceries at Costco to respond to an emergency call, one good Samaritan didn’t want to let them go hungry. [More]
More Consumers Open To Banking Without Traditional Banks
By 5.28.14
Is the future of banking not at banks? That might not seem too unrealistic, what with the rise in prepaid debit cards and the high number of consumers who are unable to obtain traditional banking products. [More]
Raiders Of The Lost Walmart Can Holster Your 7-Year-Old Phones
By 5.27.14
The Raiders of the Lost Walmart are a brave band of explorers who scour the American retailscape for items that are obsolete or just plain old. They still have some use, but the more important question isn’t “who would buy this?” It’s “why is this still on a retail shelf?” [More]
