Homeowners associations are supposed to represent the interests and desires of, well… homeowners. But the members of one HOA in Pennsylvania apparently have something against people putting up colored Christmas lights outside their home — and are wiling to reinterpret the math of their own survey to keep their neighborhood’s exteriors homogenous. [More]
Retail Services
Homeowners Association Ignores Basic Math, Fines Residents For Posting Colored Christmas Lights
By 12.2.11
Despite What TV Commercials Tell You, Cars Aren't Gifts
By 12.2.11
There are some occasions in which cars can be gifts. Say, you turn 16 and your parents give you the hunk of junk in the garage that barely runs. Or you’re on The Price is Right and Drew Carey tells you you’ve just won one. Other than that, the image — popularized by commercials — of a new car with a giant bow on it sitting in the driveway on Christmas morning are nothing more than an attempt at inception by ad wizards. [More]
Coca-Cola Nixes Those White Holiday Cans That Freaked Everyone Out
By 12.2.11
You have grumbled, railed and complained against stark white soda cans and it seems Coca-Cola is listening, as they’ve announced they’ll return normal red Christmas cans next week. [More]
Walmart Customers Keep Finding Syringe Needles Inside Clothing
By 12.2.11
Oh, wacky Walmart! If it’s not someone getting pepper sprayed on Black Friday, it’s a jab from a syringe needle: Multiple customers in Georgia are claiming they’ve found needles in clothing from Walmart, and in some cases, were stuck by those needles. [More]
Google Reportedly Testing The Waters Of Speedy Delivery Service For Online Shoppers
By 12.1.11
Watch out, Amazon, there’s a new kid on the retail block and it comes with a familiar name tied to it: Google is said to be discussing a new service with various retailers that would offer web shoppers super speedy delivery. [More]
Amazon Cooperating With State Tax Collecting Bill, Others Not So Happy
By 12.1.11
Because of a 1992 Supreme Court ruling, Amazon and other online retailers that don’t have a physical presence in a state don’t have to pay state taxes. Good news for them, and the consumers who avoid those taxes, but legislators are still pushing for those taxes to be collected. And now Amazon is onboard, which irks some smaller online retailers. [More]
ATM Company Testing Out Displaying Ads Instead Of Charging Fees
By 12.1.11
ATM fees are the bane of anyone who hates flushing $2 or $3 down the drain just to gain access to their own money. Going off the idea that any money-loving American would rather see an ad displayed during their transaction than pay an obligatory fee, one ATM company is conducting an interesting experiment. [More]
Man Repays Money He Stole From Sears Over 60 Years Ago, With Interest
By 11.29.11
A guilty conscience is a funny thing. An elderly man recently left an envelope with $100 in it on a Sears service counter in Seattle, with a note that said he’d stolen money from a Sears store in the late 1940s. [More]
Gas Prices Dip Across The Country While Still Being Really High
By 11.29.11
There’s good news and bad news when it comes to gas prices. First, yay! Gas prices are falling! But boo, they’re still at record highs for this time of the year. [More]
Best Buy Sold Out Of BlackBerry PlayBook Tablets After $300 Discount
By 11.29.11
We’re not sure if this is a sign of a resurgence for BlackBerry and Research In Motion, or just another sign of desperation: Best Buy says it sold out of the new BlackBerry PlayBook tablet over the weekend — but only after a $300 drop in price. [More]
Elvis Costello Tells Fans Not To Buy His Pricey New Release
By 11.29.11
Singer-songwriter Elvis Costello is apparently so bitter at the pricing of his upcoming box set that he’s telling fans not to buy it and to spend their money on Louis Armstrong’s music instead. A post on his official site calls the price of The Return Of The Spectacular Spinning Songbook “either a misprint or satire.” [More]
Seattle-Area Theater Will Encourage Texting During Performances
By 11.29.11
If you’re the type of audience member who feels the need to make the performance a sideshow to your nonstop texting and social network updating, you might want to make plans to move to the Seattle area by 2014. A theater there that’s slated to open that year will embrace technological obsession rather than discourage it, encouraging customers to text during shows. [More]
Why Is Waffle House Such A News Magnet?
By 11.28.11
When something big goes down in the news, and it happens at a diner, it’s not unlikely that Waffle House is somehow involved. From acting as a sign of the effects of natural disaster to a string of robberies, Waffle House gets in on the headline action quite often. [More]
Sears Apparently Incapable Of Matching Its Own Prices Across Stores
By 11.28.11
One might think that if one iteration of a store has a sale on a certain product, another store under the corporate umbrella could feasibly offer the same product at the sale price as well. Not so with Sears and its various stores, according to one Consumerist reader. [More]
Amazon Will Take A $175 Book Off Your Hands For 32 Cents
By 11.28.11
We’re not exactly sure we understand Amazon’s rationale in offering to buy a book for $0.32 and also listing others of its kind at $175. Seems a little wonky, no? [More]
Alleged Walmart Pepper-Sprayer Turns Self In But Won't Talk To Cops
By 11.28.11
By now you’ve likely heard about the Walmart shopper who police originally said used pepper spray to give herself a competitive advantage while bargain hunting on Black Friday. In the days since that incident made national news, the woman believed to be responsible for injuring at least 20 people has turned herself in to the the authorities — but she’s not really giving much of an explanation for why she thought a cloud of pepper spray would be a good idea. [More]
That Honey You Thought Maybe Wasn't Honey Is Actually Probably Honey
By 11.28.11
Just in case you’ve been staring numbly and accusingly at the plastic bear in your pantry, after a recent report that most honey isn’t really honey, and is instead “ultrapurified,” rest easy! Another report says it probably is the real deal. [More]
If You Want The Best Electronics Deals, Wait A Few Days
By 11.28.11
Although Black Friday and Cyber Monday grab the headlines, those who wait until the first week of December to buy electronics may score the best deals. According to research by a University of Washington computer science professor, gadgets hit their lowest price levels after the deal-hunting crowds have thinned out a bit. [More]
