Like many other Americans, Casey broke up with his big bank, Chase, and joined a local credit union. The Consumerist commentariat should be very proud of him. Except that since changing banks, he received a refund for a Groupon he had purchased, which Groupon is powerless to give him because the debit card he used to purchase it has been canceled. [More]
Retail Services
Busting Black Friday Myths
By 10.27.11
With the shopping holiday known as Black Friday just weeks away, rumors of too-good-to-be-true sales are already spreading. But the realities of the post-Thanksgiving tradition of free-spending gluttony obscure the truth behind the day. Visions of scoring ridiculously great deals and completing all your holiday shopping in one day rarely come to pass. [More]
Would You Pay Someone $4/Card To Write And Send Your 'Thank You' Notes?
By 10.27.11
If you think that the opportunity to spend money on a wedding ends with the honeymoon, you’re mistaken. A new business wants to unburden newlyweds and others by writing and mailing all those pesky “thank you” notes, for a price. [More]
Some Of The Items On This Shopping List Are Confusing
By 10.27.11
Big loofa? Check. Good mayo? Check. Dong bags, ass wash and white people bread? Um… come again? [More]
How 'Convenient' In-Store Pickup Became Four Inconvenient Trips To Best Buy
By 10.27.11
Oliver thought that ordering online from Best Buy and then picking his purchase up from his local store would be the fastest and most convenient way to get his purchase from the retailer. Normally it would be, except for one key detail: he had Best Buy gift cards to use up, but had forgotten to use them when he placed the order online. Best Buy’s computers couldn’t cop with this mistake, and he was punished by having to make four 80-mile round trips to the nearest Best Buy store to get his purchase. [More]
Game Publisher Fails To Deliver On Promised "Battlefield 3" Bonus
By 10.26.11
In a press conference at the E3 video game expo in June, Sony Computer Entertainment of America CEO Jack Tretton announced that the PS3 version of Battlefield 3 would include a copy of one of its predecessors, Battlefield 1943. But Battlefield 3 hit stores Tuesday without Battlefield 1943 in tow. [More]
Capture Your Bank Of America Break-Up On Video
By 10.25.11
With reigning Worst Company In America runner-up Bank of America preparing to roll out monthly fees for some customers who use their debit cards to make purchases, a number of people are thinking it’s prime time to end their relationship with BofA — and that’s a perfect moment to capture on video. [More]
Warner Bros. Pulling Harry Potter Videos Out of Circulation On Dec. 29
By 10.25.11
Attention, Harry Potter fans: If you want individual copies of your favorite films in the series, you better buy them before Dec. 29. On that date, Warner Bros. is ceasing all distribution of the movies, presumably in order to push a comprehensive set of all eight in the franchise. [More]
Creepy Or Cool? John Lennon's Tooth To Be Auctioned Off
By 10.25.11
It’s pretty lucky for whatever memorabilia hungry fan out there who doesn’t quite have everything Beatles just yet, that John Lennon handed over his tooth at one point. Because now that dental piece of history is going up for sale at auction. [More]
If You Can't Figure Out How To Go Green, There's Someone Willing To Do It For You (For A Price)
By 10.25.11
Having trouble picking up the right brand of eco-friendly dish soap or making your own compost collection? Being green might not come naturally to everyone, but like anything else, it can be bought, with the help of an “eco-concierge.” [More]
Has Nordstrom Finally Succumbed To The Christmas Creep?
By 10.24.11
For four years, we’ve been documenting Nordstrom’s resistance to that insidious holiday shopping problem known as Christmas Creep. But after all these years of making it clear that it wouldn’t be getting into the yuletide spirit until after Thanksgiving, there is some concern the department store might be feeling the creep’s siren song. [More]
Walmart To (Sort Of) Price Match Holiday Season Purchases
By 10.24.11
With more and more people doing their holiday shopping online (because it’s generally cheaper and faster and doesn’t require driving anywhere), the nation’s largest retailer is doing what it can to encourage consumers to head to Walmart. Earlier today, Big W announced it will offer price-matching on purchases made between Nov. 1 and Dec. 25, even after you make your purchase. [More]
Virginia Restaurant Tried "Pay What You Want" Model 50 Years Ago
By 10.24.11
Not so fast, Brooklyn, you aren’t the first place for a non-chain to try the “Pay what you want” outside Panera. Turns out a downright mom and pop restaurant in Virginia had you beat by 50 years. Take that, hipsters! [More]
Solar Power Becoming More Affordable, Realistic
By 10.24.11
Engineers and manufacturers are ever-so-slowly getting better at helping you siphon electricity from that massive power generator 93 million miles away. Due in part to technological advances and growing demand, solar power is starting to grow a little more mainstream and practical. [More]
Walmart Won't Add Many Future Part-Timers To Health Insurance Rolls
By 10.24.11
In health insurance-aimed cost-cutting maneuvers, Walmart won’t subsidize health insurance for future employees who work fewer than 24 hours a week. Also, new part-timers who work fewer than 33 weekly hours won’t be able to add spouses to their plans. And like workers at most any other company, full-timers with complete health benefits will have more deducted from their paychecks. [More]
BofA Is No Longer Biggest Bank In America
By 10.21.11
After a recent round of selling off assets, Bank of America is no longer the biggest bank in America. [More]
Best Buy's Game Replacement Plan Is Not A Free Upgrade Plan
By 10.21.11
Blah, blah, when something seems to be good to true, it probably is. Kevin knows that, but was still tricked into buying an extended warranty for last year’s copy of Madden ’11 by a misinformed or unscrupulous Best Buy employee. Customers who buy sports games where a new edition comes out every year, the cashier told him, could get the next year’s game for free by purchasing a $5 replacement warranty for the game and returning it to the store the following year when the new edition comes out. Nice plan if it were true. It’s not. [More]
Buy Cat Food By The Case At Walmart, Pay More
By 10.21.11
Comparing prices between different brands of canned cat food, Gabe made a discovery at Walmart: it’s cheaper to buy individual cans of Friskies cat food than to buy a case of 24 cans. Buying in bulk is supposed to be cheaper for the consumer, but maybe Walmart has imposed a convenience charge for encasing all of those cat food cans in cardboard. [More]
