There is a war raging in reviewer land, and it’s one you might not have noticed. BUT IT IS VERY REAL. Or at least it is to anyone taking note of which famous faces are taking the time to review things on Amazon. Because while everyone knows that George Takei is very adroit at making funnies on the Internet, Newt Gingrich is also in the reviewing ring. [More]
Retail Services
Amazon Going After Costco, Sam’s Club With ‘Pantry’ Bulk-Buying Service
By 12.13.13
For years, Amazon has been selling certain household goods, like toilet paper, cleaning supplies, and cereal, that are the bread-and-butter for warehouse clubs like Costco and Sam’s Club, but the online retailer has had trouble competing because of the shipping costs. That may change next year with the reported launch of something called Pantry. [More]
Arizona Price-Matcher Was Banned From Walmart For Allegedly Threatening To Beat Up Employees
By 12.13.13
You might remember the national story from earlier this week about a man who went to the media with his tale of woe about how he was banned from Walmart for life just for bringing other retailers’ ads to price match. We thought there might be more to the story, and there was. Gosh, there was. [More]
Raiders Of The Lost Kmart Not Sure What Color This Game Boy Advance Used To Be
By 12.12.13
Recently, Reddit user Pwnapanda wandered into a local Kmart* store, stumbling on a fantastic piece of ancient technology. There was a demonstration-model Game Boy Advance beckoning shoppers to play…if they don’t mind the decade’s worth of grime on the device. Or whatever it is that makes this thing look so vile. [More]
Egg Pricing At Target Doesn’t Even Pretend To Make Sense
By 12.12.13
Reader Daniel sent us what looked like a straightforward case of fuzzy math. At his local Target, a half-dozen eggs cost 99¢, while a dozen of the same exact eggs cost $2.09. Or do they? [More]
Cablevision: Broadcasters’ Attack On Aereo Doing More Damage Than Good
By 12.12.13
As you probably know, the broadcast networks have all been filing lawsuits against streaming video startup Aereo, which takes freely available over-the-air feeds and makes them available online to paying customers. While you’d expect a large cable operator like Cablevision to stand behind the networks in this fight, a new paper from the company expresses concern that the broadcasters are going too far and, if successful, may call into question the legality of all cloud-based technology. [More]
Christmas Ordering Deadlines For 25 Top Online Retailers
By 12.12.13
Still working on your Christmas shopping? If you’re going online to buy those gifts, you need to be aware of the sites’ wildly varying cutoff dates for placing orders in time to get them under the tree on the big day. [More]
Walmart Will Start Selling The iPhone 5c For $27 (With A 2-Year Contract) On Friday
By 12.12.13
Wait… this Friday isn’t even the day after Thanksgiving and already I’m sensing hordes of people seeking a big discount crashing through the doors at Walmart. And I know I didn’t get that time machine working yet, so the fact that Walmart is selling the iPhone 5c for $27 on Friday must be some kind of crazy freak sale. [More]
This Bank Customer Satisfaction Chart Is A Sad Reminder Of Rampant Consolidation
By 12.10.13
Maybe last week’s news that there are now fewer banks in the U.S. than ever before didn’t bother you. But here’s a chart of historic customer satisfaction scores that stands as a reminder of how so many banks have been absorbed into larger banking Voltrons in just the last two decades. [More]
Why Is This Man Banned From Walmart For Life?
By 12.10.13
Everyone needs a hobby. When an Arizona man had to retire from professional wrestling due to injuries, he says that he began visiting his local Walmart a few times a day, sometimes toting sale flyers from other stores and invoking the store’s price match policy. He never expected to be hauled off in handcuffs for it. (Update: Yep, there was more to the story.) [More]
Home Depot Shopper Won’t Sit On Store Toilet Seats Without Checking For Glue From Now On
By 12.10.13
UPDATE: This could be a case of self-sticking, reports indicate. Investigators now suspect that the woman who was stuck to the toilet seat did it to herself. Sigh, I repeat, sigh. [More]
This $40,000 TV Is The New Thing To Ridicule With Delightful Amazon Reviews
By 12.9.13
It’s not every day that the Internet’s commenters can all decide together which product on Amazon is most in need of derision by way of product reviews. This time it’s not a gallon of whole milk or even a gigantic tub of lube, but a $40,000, 85-inch LED TV from Samsung. It’s on sale, too, down from $44,999.99! [More]
Walmart To Pay Out $25 Million Over Exploding Gas Cans
By 12.9.13
Even though Walmart does not manufacture plastic gasoline cans, it does sell more of the cans than any other retailer in the country and it has been named as a defendant in dozens of lawsuits regarding exploding cans. And so the retail giant has reportedly agreed to fork over $25 million to cover its portion of a $161 million settlement that would close the book on a number of unresolved claims. [More]
DHL Uses Drone To Deliver Medicine In Germany
By 12.9.13
We might as well start digging our underground rebel hideouts now and prepare for the inevitable Robot Wars of 2023, as DHL has made the first successful package delivery via flying drone. [More]
Someone Bought A CD-ROM For $3B And 5 Other Things You Might Not Know About Amazon
By 12.9.13
We’re sure you’re aware of Amazon.com, as it sells everything from gigantic gummy bears to a Wi-Fi enabled egg tray. But there are things about that sprawling, massive and enormous company that you might never have known. Except that someone has looked into it and so of course, now we’ll all have a few more trivia facts to fill that next awkward silence at all the upcoming holiday parties. [More]
How A Best Buy Mixup Ruined A Great Hanukkah Present
By 12.6.13
No mere retail mixup can really “ruin” any holiday. Holidays aren’t about turkeys or iPods or even candles: they’re about bringing people who care about each other or who are at least related to each other together for warm memories and strained conversation. Reader L. is disappointed in Best Buy, though: their mixup means that he couldn’t give his family the great presents he had planned for Hanukkah. [More]
Sears Really Will Spin Off Lands’ End, Won’t Make Any Cash From It
By 12.6.13
As part of Sears’ exciting new plan of ditching any businesses that consumers actually like, the company announced today that it will be spinning off Lands’ End. The catalog company, which sells decent-quality clothing for middle-aged people, has been part of Sears since 2001. Instead of selling off the business, Sears plans to spin it off as its own entity, as it did with Sears Outlet and Hometown stores last year. [More]
Century 21’s ‘Delivery Landing Pads’ Will Give Amazon’s Flying Robot Army A Place To Call Home
By 12.5.13
The future of delivery is not teleportation or 3D printing but rather a sky full of autonomous drones that know where we live, what we buy, and what we want for Christmas, and which will surely someday decimate our numbers by blacking out the sun. So it only makes sense that these doomsday devices should have a pleasant place to land while they silently learn our ways and calculate how best to defeat us in the inevitable war. That’s why Century 21 has unveiled the C21 Delivery Landing Pads, so that our future flying overlords will know exactly which homes are most willing to do their bidding… or something like that. [More]
