Shopping for some cool Star Wars figurines at CVS? Well you should’ve bought them before Spring Savings went into effect at the store. David saw some funny dealings at his local store and sent in a photo of with the Consumerist Tipster app. While time’s used to be you could nab some “Movie Legends Figurines” for $13.79, now they’re $14.79. [More]
Retail Services
Target, ‘Clearance Sale’ Apparently Means 424% Price Hike
By 6.8.12
Someone at Target has once again brought out the Bizarro Pricing Gun for the clearance sale price on this pack of Windex Electronic Wipes. [More]
It’s Probably Best To Not Bring Your Mini Meth Lab Into Walmart With You
By 6.8.12
We understand that a lot of people have hobbies — I like to bake bread; I’ve also been known to craft elaborate leather outfits for my carrier pigeons — but while it may be acceptable to knit as you stroll the aisles of your local retailer, cooking up a batch of meth in your purse is really just going to end badly. [More]
Best Buy Music Department Cares About Your Guitar Very, Very Much
By 6.7.12
The surprising thing about this story isn’t that a reader received excellent customer service from a Best Buy store. No, we’ve seen that before. It’s that reader Cameron’s local Best Buy store has a full-service music department where you can get instruments repaired by actual professionals. When Cameron brought his guitar to his local store for restringing and repair, he expected just that: new strings and the specific adjustment he needed to the instrument’s neck. Instead, he got a fantastic restoration job on the now shiny, like-new guitar, and didn’t have to pay extra. [More]
Haven’t You Always Wanted A Giant Floating Panty Liner?
By 6.7.12
At the pool, no one wants to be reminded of the time of the month that women worldwide bitterly refer to as “Shark Week.” So it caught Amanda’s attention when she noticed this light-colored pool toy with gentle curves on the outside. It would be nice to float on in the pool while lounging, waiting for your sunscreen to dry so you don’t catch fire. Oh, and it looks like a giant feminine hygiene product. [More]
Sears Doesn’t Handle Rejection Well, Incessantly Robocalls After You Refuse Fridge Delivery
By 6.7.12
Based on previous Consumerist stories about Sears, it might surprise you to learn that the refrigerator that Ginger and her husband purchased was brought to their home in one piece, on the correct day, and actually existed. Only they had discovered after placing the order that it was too wide for their kitchen, and they had ordered a new one instead. They were instructed to refuse the delivery, and then they would receive a correctly-sized fridge on a different day, and a refund. Yay! Only instead, they’ve received a barrage of robocalls from Sears, despite four separate attempts to cancel the order for the larger refrigerator. [More]
Best Buy Founder Richard Schulze Steps Down Earlier Than Planned
By 6.7.12
Best Buy is losing another one of its head honchos, as founder Richard Schulze announced today he’s resigning his chairman and director spots effective immediately. He had said earlier he would step down as chairman after the 2012 annual meeting on June 21 and remain a director through the 2013 meeting. [More]
Amazon Listens To Reason, Replaces My Second Defective Kindle For Free
By 6.6.12
No one likes when their brand-new electronics purchase goes on the fritz almost immediately after they buy it. Luckily, there are usually manufacturers’ warranties to cover when this happens. But what about when that replacement device also craps out? [More]
GameStop Sells Me Three Defective Nintendo DSes In A Row, Shrugs
By 6.6.12
AC used to shop at Gamestop a lot, but has vowed not to go back. Why? Somehow, the odds caught up with him and he has ended up with three defective Nintendo DSes in a row, all purchased from the same store. Return a defective one, get another. Return a defective one, get another. Not wanting to continue the cycle, he sent this letter to GameStop more than a week ago. They have not responded. [More]
All 620 Zippo Employees Had A Hand In Making Company’s 500 Millionth Lighter
By 6.5.12
When celebrating a milestone as significant as the 500 millionth of a product, it would seem anti-climactic to just let it pop off the assembly line and stick it in a box. Zippo made a pretty grand event out of honoring its 500 millionth lighter by involving all 620 of the company’s employees in its manufacturing. [More]
Organized Retail Crime Up 17% In Last Five Years
By 6.5.12
While retailers continue to enact ID-checking policies to make sure you don’t walk out the door with something you didn’t pay for — and to prevent people from returning too many things for refunds — a growing number of retailers say they have become victims of large quantities of product being heisted by organized crooks. [More]
Plastic Hanger Shrink Ray Costs You 4 Cents Per Hanger
By 6.5.12
Jeff needed some plastic hangers, and found some at Kmart that cost just a little more than he wanted to pay. But the odd thing was that the signage wasn’t quite right: the price given was for ten hangers, and the packages actually on the shelf contained eight hangers each. Okay, it’s not a big deal. And broken down, only a few cents’ difference per hanger. That doesn’t mean it isn’t annoying. [More]
Alleged Shoplifter Dies After Being Detained At Walmart
By 6.5.12
A man in California died last Friday shortly after Walmart loss-prevention staff detained him on suspicion of shoplifting. [More]
Another Non-Member With Costco Gift Card Encounters Resistance
By 6.4.12
It’s not a well-known trick, but we’ve written before about how it’s possible to shop at Costco without a membership as long as you have a member purchase a gift card for you. But maybe this loophole is closing. A few months ago, one reader reported being turned away at the door, even with the Cash Card in hand. Stephen reports that he was allowed to enter the store, but was told that he couldn’t make purchases without being a card-carrying member. They let him do it just this once. But allegedly never again. [More]
Higher Than Usual Dry Cleaning Bill? Blame Those Wire Hangers
By 6.4.12
First of all, let’s all agree that it’s impossible to read/write the phrase “wire hangers” without thinking of Faye Dunaway as Joan Crawford in Mommie Dearest shrieking, “NO WIRE HANGERS!” It’s those same despised devices that could cause your dry cleaning bill to go up, however, as they’re becoming more expensive. That’s enough to make anyone start shrieking. [More]
How To Lose A Sale Through Laziness And Obnoxiousness
By 6.4.12
Bill wants to buy a phone from Best Buy, but can’t. Many people would argue that he’s better off this way, but he likes the superior deals available from Big Yellow and Blue. He stopped by a Best Buy Mobile store for his latest upgrade. The future success of Best Buy hinges on having customers make purchases from these mini stores. Let’s see what kind of customer service the essential employees of these essential stores are providing. [More]
Despite Economic Woes, Americans Are Still Getting Their Kicks At Theme Parks
By 6.1.12
Some Americans might be cutting back in tough economic times and tightening purse strings on big splashy purchases — but skip checking out Hogwarts in Harry Potter World? Not gonna happen. Despite financial woes across the country, theme park attendance was up for 2011, partly due to the boy wizard wonder and his magical, imaginary land. [More]
Find-And-Replace Is Not A Good Idea When Porting Kindle Texts To Nook
By 6.1.12
As any thrifty e-book reader knows, there are a ton of cheap and free public domain titles available for download. But one War and Peace reader in North Carolina was confused about the new word he saw among the 1,100 or so pages of the classic Tolstoy novel. [More]
