Unlike other animals with bad reputations when it comes to visiting stores with say, delicate products, we’re seeing quite an uptick in generally well-mannered bears dropping by retail establishments without doing any damage. A bear in Colorado had a bit of a sweet tooth recently and broke into a candy store to satisfy it while managing to be very tidy about his looting. [More]
Retail Services
If A Bear Is Going To Break Into A Candy Shop, He Can At Least Be A Very Careful Marauder
By 8.10.12 — Updated: 9.25.13
Report: Apple Store Employees Now Allowed To Price-Match iPhones
By 8.10.12
The worst kept secret in telephony is that there is a new Apple iPhone coming in the fall. Thus, some of the big box retailers that offer the current version of the device are starting to offer discounts to clear inventory. Apple stores are not advertising any such price drops, but a new report claims that employees have been given authorization to offer price matches. [More]
Police: Walmart Worker Followed Suspected Shoplifter Out, Hit Him With Car
By 8.10.12
A month ago in Houston, a high school student briefly considered committing a crime. He grabbed some DVDs and headed for the door. He says that he changed his mind near the door and left almost-ill-gotten goods behind in the store. That didn’t stop a store employee from following him out of the store as he walked home, then intentionally hitting him with his car. The teen suffered back injuries, and the driver is longer employed at Walmart. He’s also in jail with a $30,000 bond, charged with aggravated assault. [More]
Study: Men Don't Feel The Need To Spend As Much On Dates If There Are Plenty Of Women To Be Had
By 8.9.12
If you’re the kind of lady who absolutely loves it when a guy goes totally nuts and splashes out on fancy dates and all that wining and dining that goes with it, you better head to somewhere with less women around, according to a new study. Researchers say if men detect a shortage of the ladyfolk, they’re more likely to spend spontaneously in order to seem attractive. It’s all about biology! [More]
Tim Hortons Coffee Pods Hitting A Kitchen Near You In Deal With Kraft
By 8.9.12
Tim Hortons is brewing up a scheme to boost its sales and up the amount of its coffee you’re able to guzzle on a daily basis. The Canadian company has hooked up with Kraft’s Tassimo single-cup coffee makers and will be offering pods (known as T-discs) of its coffee for consumption at your leisure. [More]
Free Shipping And Free Delivery Are Different Things
By 8.9.12
Kenny took advantage of a free shipping promotion from Best Buy to shop for a ginormous television. He found one that he liked, but the order had a $70 shipping charge. Wait, what? Turns out that getting a ginormous item like a 51″ TV counts as “delivery,” like a home appliance, not “shipping,” like a smaller TV. That makes sense, but it’s a distinction that should be made clear to the casual customer surfing the site. [More]
NYC Shuts Down Trojan's Roving Vibrator Carts Since No One Is Allowed To Have Fun Anymore
By 8.9.12
Any New Yorkers looking for a free buzz will be left frustrated, as the city shut down Trojan’s roaming pleasure carts bearing free vibrators yesterday after crowds at the carts grew too large, causing the city to shut it all down. Time to go drown your sorrows in two smaller sized sodas instead of one huge one, guys. [More]
Party City Takes Marketing Lessons From Macy's
By 8.8.12
Consumers are so literal-minded. We see a sign that says “all items $1,” and we foolishly believe that all items cost $1. Marketers take advantage of these tendencies with signage trickery and cruel, cruel asterisks. That’s what Andrey found at a Party City store. “It’s neither [all] on sale, nor does it make any sense,” he typed on his phone. [More]
Attention, Costco Shoppers: Joan Rivers Handcuffed To A Shopping Cart Is Today's Special In Aisle 4
By 8.8.12
Costco customers stocking up on cases of bendy straws and vats of mayonnaise in Burbank, Calif. were like surprised to come face-to-surgically-altered-face recently, after comedy legend Joan Rivers staged a protest at the store this week. She’s peeved and claims that the bulk retailer won’t sell her new book because it contains curse words. So she handcuffed herself to a shopping cart — easy enough to roll out of the store. [More]
Can Best Buy Be Saved?
By 8.8.12
Best Buy founder Richard Schulze shook things up the other day when he mentioned that he’d very much like to have his company back and out of the hands of shareholders. Since then, a few details of how Schulze plans to keep the ship afloat have surfaced, but will it be enough to remain competitive or is he just making matters worse for the company? [More]
Man Surprised To Receive Illegal Assault Rifle Instead Of The TV He Ordered From Amazon
By 8.8.12
A man living in Washington, D.C. was expecting a new high-definition TV he ordered from Amazon through a third-party seller, but somewhere along the way, his order got turned into something he (or anyone) wouldn’t have ever expected: A high-caliber, semi-automatic assault rifle that is very large and very illegal in D.C. [More]
Apple And Amazon Quietly Change Security Procedures After 'Epic Hack'
By 8.8.12
It was inevitable that one of the companies called out in Mat Honan’s piece about a few hackers destroying his digital life would change some of the loophole-laden security procedures that helped the baddies gain access to the tech journalist’s accounts. So we’re relieved to learn that Apple and Amazon have both closed the particular weak spots that allowed a few determined people to reset all of Honan’s key passwords for services like Google and iCloud, and to remotely wipe the hard drives of all of his Apple devices connected to iCloud. [More]
It Took Half An Hour For Hackers To Totally Shred Tech Journalist's Digital Life
By 8.7.12
Hackers wanted access to technology journalist Mat Honan’s Twitter account. It doesn’t just have 16,000 or so followers, but was tied to Gizmodo’s account, allowing for exponentially more mischief and, above all, lulz. So how did they get access to his account and destroy most of his digital life in the process? Knowledge of how different companies confirm customer identities and how their password retrieval systems work are all that a determined person needs to get into your life and mess everything up. The weakest links in this rather insecure chain? Apple and Amazon. [More]
No, Trojan Isn't Giving Away Hot Dogs On The Streets Of NYC: Those Are Vibrators
By 8.7.12
Lest you think that bright purple cart and the objects being handed out willy nilly on the streets of New York have anything to do with hot dogs, we’re here to warn you — Trojan is not the food business, it’s in the business of getting you to buy its vibrators. That’s why the company will be handing out 10,000 of its Trojan Vibrations vibrators on Wednesday and Thursday this week. Again, not hot dogs. Sex toys. Get it right. [More]
Walmart Oil Change Turns Into $3,000 Disaster And I Can't Even Get Store To Call Me Back
By 8.7.12
An oil change seems like a pretty simple procedure, at least as far as automotive maintenance is concerned. And yet, one Consumerist reader now faces nearly $3,000 in repairs to her SUV because someone at Walmart mucked up the all-important “refilling” part of the oil change. [More]
Amazon Hopes Delivery Lockers Will Fix That Whole "My Package Never Arrived" Problem
By 8.7.12
If you live in a few certain metropolitan areas, perhaps you’ve seen large metal lockers emblazoned with Amazon’s logo on it in your local grocery store, drugstore or 7-11 and thought maybe the company was just keeping a change of gym clothes on hand. But as we reported last fall, Amazon has been testing a new locker system to avoid the often frustrating experience of trying to get a package delivered on time. [More]
Ebay Partnering Up With Target, Best Buy & Other Retailers To Test Same-Day Delivery
By 8.6.12
While you might not be able to get your mitts on that pair of burnished silver cufflinks in the shape of Robert Pattinson’s face* from a seller living in Pocatello, Idaho on the same day you win them on eBay, the company is testing out same-day delivery in cooperation with major retailers like Target, Best Buy, Toys “R” Us, Macys and more. [More]
Amazon To Annoy Even More Book Stores With Textbook Rental Plan
By 8.6.12
Now Amazon just seems to be toying with the retail book stores of America. The online behemoth has long been hated by many bricks-and-mortar booksellers for the hugely discounted prices it charges on books and other items traditionally sold in book stores. And then there’s Amazon’s Kindle e-book reader which some stores blame for dropping sales. Now Amazon is getting into one business still dominated by college book stores: textbook rentals. [More]
