In love, like life, there are no guarantees. But singles who signed on with a matchmaking service offering connections to other locals say they wound up with dateless, despite paying thousands of dollars up front for the chance to meet other lonely hearts. [More]
Retail Services
‘Free’ Anti-Wrinkle Cream Offers Could Drain Your Bank Account
By 5.24.17
No matter how tempting they seem, stay away from online offers of “free trials” of skin products. Instead of smoothing your wrinkles, they may deepen your frown lines by draining your bank account, since agreeing to a “free trial” of a product can mean agreeing to automatic shipments of it and other products as well. [More]
Barnes & Noble CEO Uses Amazon To Justify His Company’s Continued Existence
By 5.24.17
In the age of online shopping, are bookstores irrelevant? The new CEO of big-box bookstore chain Barnes & Noble doesn’t think so. If they were, why would Amazon be opening physical bookstores across the country, with a new one opening in New York City tomorrow? He sees this growth as proof that bookstores are still relevant. [More]
Lululemon Website Loses Its Flow, Experiences Outage Monday And Tuesday
By 5.23.17
Not that long ago, if the website for a retailer like Lululemon went down for a day or two, most people wouldn’t notice. But the exercise apparel store’s two-day website outage could mean significant losses, and embarrassment for a company trying to bolster its online presence. [More]
Apple Fights Bill That Could Make Fixing iPhone Easier, Cheaper
By 5.22.17
When iPhones first came on the market, customers could only get their devices fixed at an actual Apple store. Now that the phones have become ubiquitous, phone repair store have popped up on nearly every block and in every mall, providing owners with a plethora of options and prices when it comes to seeking repairs for their devices. But a new report shows that Apple and other tech manufacturers and organizations are fighting against these choices, pushing to eliminate state legislation that aims to make it easier for anyone to repair electronics. [More]
Piece Of ‘Costume Jewelry’ From Flea Market Was Really Diamond Now Worth $454K
By 5.22.17
Have you ever wondered whether there’s something very valuable sitting around your house, and you don’t even know it? A woman in England bought what she thought was a costume jewelry ring 30 years ago, and wore it all the time. It turned out to be a 26-carat diamond, which is expected to sell for up to $454,000 at auction this summer. [More]
AT&T, DirecTV Workers In 36 States Walk Off Job For 3-Day Strike
By 5.19.17 — Updated: 5.25.17
AT&T customers could find it difficult to obtain help this weekend if something were to happen to their DirecTV, U-Verse, or AT&T wireless service, as AT&T union workers walked off the job today following failed contract negotiations. [More]
4 Things You Should Know About The Ongoing Retail Apocalypse
By 5.19.17
To say that the retail industry has been having a tough go of it in 2017 would be a huge understatement, what with scores of retailers shuttering stores or closing up completely. It’s already been a record-setting year for retail bankruptcies, and it’s not even halfway done. Sadly, the second half of 2017 doesn’t look any better. [More]
Since Shoppers Aren’t Going To Stores, JCPenney Wants To Sell Linens To Hotels
By 5.19.17 — Updated: 5.25.17
Looking around its stores for something else to sell that isn’t clothing, JCPenney is entering a new business. After noticing large online orders for home goods placed by what turned out to be hotels, the company has decided to launch an actual sales team that will visit and sell to hotels. [More]
McDonald’s Phasing Out Artificial Flavors From Ice Cream
By 5.19.17
Now that McDonald’s is finally rolling out ice cream machines that work, the fast food giant is also improving the ice cream itself by removing artificial flavors. [More]
When A Store Closes, Where Must Everything Go?
By 5.18.17
With a record number of retail bankruptcies this year and surviving chains trimming their store counts, there are a lot of store closing sales happening across the country. Yet when a store closes its doors and the liquidation sales have been thoroughly picked over, where does everything end up? [More]
$425 Convertible Jorts Are Proof We Live In The End Times For Denim
By 5.18.17 — Updated: 5.19.17
When fashion historians look back on this century, perhaps the spring of 2017 will mark the beginning of the Denim End Times, when clear plastic appeared in inexplicable places, and someone, somewhere, evidently needed to convert chaps into booty shorts. It was a nice run while it lasted, denim. [More]
Levi’s Slammed For Referencing AIDS Memorial Quilt To Sell Jeans
By 5.18.17
While it’s always refreshing to see big companies trying to do their part to give back to their customers and support important social issues, sometimes these efforts hit the wrong note. To wit: Levi’s is facing backlash on social media over a Tweet promoting its upcoming Pride collection. [More]
Home Depot Helping To Speed Up Sears’ Death Spiral
By 5.18.17 — Updated: 5.19.17
Sears has been closing stores and selling off real estate to stave off its oft-predicted demise, but these closures and other financial decisions may also be hastening Sears’ end by turning annoyed shoppers into Home Depot customers. [More]
Is Walmart Catching Up With Amazon In The Online Shopping Race?
By 5.18.17
In the world of retail, bricks-and-mortar retailers have one common enemy: Amazon. Walmart may finally be catching up with the e-commerce giant, reporting a 69% jump in online sales last quarter. [More]
Walmart Customer Tackles, Frees Deer From Pet Food Aisle
By 5.18.17
Every once in a while we hear of a wild animal heeding the call to be more human-like by wandering into an establishment that is markedly not for them — from bargain hunting beavers to a seal pup taking a booth at a restaurant. The latest case of animals going not-wild comes from Minnesota, where a deer decided to do some sampling in the pet food aisle of a local Walmart. [More]
McDonald’s Pulls Ad Suggesting That Filet-O-Fish Can Cure A Child’s Grief
By 5.17.17
You know that McDonald’s ad where the fast food chain implies that the best way for a child to get over the loss of a loved one is to scrarf down a square fish patty on a bun? It’s been pulled, for reasons that should be immediately clear if you read that first sentence. [More]
Starbucks Selling Coffee Ice Cubes In Two Cities
By 5.17.17
A cold cup of coffee — iced coffee or cold brew, whichever you fancy — can be a nice way to cold down and get that jolt of caffeine you need in the summer. But no one wants a watered down cup of joe. To remedy that untasty situation, Starbucks is testing ice cubes made of coffee. [More]
