A former Walmart employee in Alabama has filed a lawsuit against the retail behemoth, alleging that she and her husband were wrongly accused of stealing $2.90 in chicken neck bones, an accusation the plaintiff says led to her losing her job and having her husband deported. [More]
Retail Services
Surprise! Some Things Are Actually Getting Cheaper
By 7.25.11
Everyone hates rising prices, so to hear that a few things on the market today are actually getting cheaper… well that is a welcome balm to our sorely overtaxed wallets. Here are a few items you’ll spend less on today than you did in times past. [More]
Amazon Puts Nintendo 3DS "Under Review"
By 7.25.11
Amazon.com has flagged the Nintendo 3DS as “under review” because “customers have told us there may be something wrong with our inventory of the item, the way we are shipping it, or the way it’s described here,” according to a notice on the 3DS’s page. However, despite the notice’s claim that the 3DS “is not currently offered by Amazon.com,” the site appears to be processing orders for the portable console. [More]
Tulsa Man's Rhino Cups Break Antique Roadshow's Appraisal Record At $1-1.5 Million
By 7.25.11
Start digging through your attic, basement or anywhere else you keep junk — it could be worth millions. One man in Tulsa found out just that, when his set of Chinese rhinoceros cups were pegged at a value of $1-1.5 million by Antiques Roadshow, breaking the program’s previous appraisal record. [More]
Guitar Hero Is Coming Back After All
By 7.25.11
Like an aging rock star who just knows he’s got another hit in him despite being written off by the world, Guitar Hero will be making a comeback tour. The plastic video game instrument phase seems to have run its course, but Activision Blizzard is betting otherwise. [More]
Best Buy Replaces Deaf Bed-Bound Girl's Laptop After Holding It Hostage
By 7.22.11
After the story of a deaf and bed-bound girl whose laptop had been bouncing back and forth between Best Buy Geek Squad repair for 3 months went up on Consumerist, the ambassador for Geek Squad City, Randy Ratliff, reached out to help. “The buck stops here!” he said in his email. And of all the many who say that, he’s one of the few to mean it. He investigated the issue and now Jenni’s sister has a new laptop. [More]
Flash Mob Asks Walmart To Respect D.C.'s Local Businesses
By 7.22.11
When Walmart comes to town, local retailers that are unable to keep up with the mega-chain’s prices tend to wilt in its presence, creating what critics say is a negative ripple effect throughout the community. A group of community activists who fear Walmart will rob Washington, D.C. of its character stormed Walmart in a cheerful flash mob, imploring the company to meet with community leaders and agree in writing to improve the neighborhood and pay customers decent wages. [More]
Chase Wants To Alert You To Important New Policy Change… Four Days After It Goes Into Effect
By 7.21.11
Consumerist reader JP is a Chase customer who uses his debit card to pay for gas. Thankfully, the folks at Chase sent him this e-mail today explaining an important change to how the bank processes “pay at the pump” charges. Of course, it wasn’t important enough for Chase to actually send the e-mail before — or even a couple days after — the policy kicked in. [More]
FTD Delivers Wrong Roses And Wrong Stuffed Animal To Wrong Address At Wrong Time
By 7.21.11 — Updated: 3.1.13
When Joe ordered flowers for his fiancée’s birthday last week, his order wasn’t too fussy. He wanted 24 yellow and orange roses and a stuffed dog, delivered to her workplace, on her birthday. Things happen in the flower-delivery business, we know, and seasonal substitutions are normal and to be expected. What he didn’t expect, for his $70 or so, was to have half the amount of roses he ordered, in the wrong color and with the wrong stuffed animal, delivered to the wrong address, and nearly on the day after his fiancée’s birthday. [More]
It's Cheaper To Order Online While Standing In Sears Than To Shop At Sears
By 7.21.11
In a perfect consumer world, perhaps brick-and-mortar stores would price-match their own websites. Perhaps front-line employees would be permitted to use their own judgment once in a while. In this perfect world, it definitely would not be cheaper and easier to purchase an item for in-store pickup on your smartphone while standing in the store. [More]
Sales Of "To Kill A Mockingbird" Jump 123% On Amazon Because Of Beckham Baby
By 7.20.11
You know that annoyed feeling you get when a book you’ve always treasured suddenly becomes appealing to the masses in a trendy, fad-ish way? David and Victoria Beckham, aka Hot Soccer Guy and Posh Spice, no doubt set off waves of that irked emotion by naming their daughter Harper, spiking sales of To Kill A Mockingbird on Amazon in Britain. [More]
FTC Sends Out $108 Million In Refund Checks To Overcharged Countrywide Customers
By 7.20.11
Earlier today, the Federal Trade Commission announced it is mailing out refund checks to the nearly half million American homeowners who were charged excessive fees on their mortgages by former Worst Company In America champ Countrywide Home Loans. [More]
Beware The Worst Blu-rays Of The Year So Far
By 7.20.11
Blu-ray geeks rave about 1080p picture resolution, lossless audio and the high capacity of the discs, but upgrading old DVDs to the high-definition format doesn’t always make sense. Sometimes studios rush out discs without giving them the proper care, either replicating a standard-definition release or eliminating features entirely. [More]
Truck Toting 40,000 Pounds Of Watermelons Overturns On Freeway
By 7.20.11
The bad news is that a semi hauling 40,000 pounds of watermelons overturned. The good news? None of the delightful summer treats spilled out onto the roadway. We hope they’re okay! [More]
CSR: Buy Some Window A/C Units From Sears While You Wait For Sears To Repair Your Central Air!
By 7.20.11
This week, the temperature in many parts of the country has been cranked up to “broil.” We all know what that means: air conditioner breakdowns on a massive scale. Veronica’s sick, elderly parents purchased their central A/C from Sears four years ago. When she called up Sears, they told her that they could send someone to look at it at the end of the week. That wasn’t acceptable to Veronica: it was 103 damn degrees out there. [More]
Happy Hot Dog Birthday! The Oscar Mayer Wienermobile Turns 75
By 7.19.11
If only we’d known Monday was the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile’s 75th birthday, we would’ve popped a package of hot dogs on the grill to celebrate! The classic car was born in 1936, and has been bringing tubular meat joy around the country ever since. [More]
Sears Apologizes For $69 iPad Mistake
By 7.19.11
Sears is still stinging after a third-party seller on Sears.com stirred up a hornets’ nest of angry discount-seekers by advertising 16GB, WiFi iPad 2s for only $69. [More]
Best Buy Employees: We Want Our Awesome Discount Back
By 7.18.11
One of the top most awesome reasons to work in retail is for the sweet, sweet employee discounts. But we’re hearing rumblings from some of our friends inside Best Buy that changes to the employee discount are making them sad. Blue, even. [More]
