Poor DVDs, sitting on store shelves with dwindling hope passers-by will make loving homes for them. According to a report from a research firm, both sales numbers and revenue have dropped more than 43 percent last year from 2009. [More]
Retail Services
Walmart Says Vast Majority Of Its Products Are Made In USA; Experts Are Skeptical
By 5.12.11
The CEO of Walmart recently announced that a majority of the products it sells are made in America. But retail industry experts say that, assuming it’s even true, this fact is not a sign that the nation’s largest retailer is making a greater shift toward purchasing American-made products. [More]
Crazy Cat People Find Even Nuttier Obsession In Cat Hair Jewelry
By 5.12.11
We love cats. Really! But when it comes to making jewelry out of balls made from shed or brushed cat fur? Well… to each her own! In case you do want a little hairy number like a cat hair ball ring or necklace, Kate Benjamin is the cat lady for you. [More]
Amazon Cloud Player Locks User Out Of Music Collection
By 5.12.11
The Amazon Cloud Player is a delightful new service that allows users to store music they’ve purchased from Amazon (or upload even more music from somewhere else) and listen to it from any Web browser or on a variety of mobile devices. Neat. Bryan thought that he would try it out, but something went wrong, and now his music is trapped in the cloud. Even though he writes that he’s only used the Cloud Player on three different computers, Amazon clams that he’s reached his limit of eight devices and can’t access his files. [More]
Target's Belle Sippy Cup May Not Be Suitable For Its Target Customer
By 5.11.11
A reader sent this photo to our friends at Consumer Reports, with the comment:”How on earth did the design slip through several steps of quality control without anybody noticing how anatomically incorrect the figure is?” Indeed. This clearly should have been a “Beast” sippy cup. [More]
BofA Loses Check That Would Have Saved House From Foreclosure
By 5.11.11
CBS 13 has the story of a man who fell behind on his mortgage payments who was told by Bank of America that unless he sent them $4,175 he would lose his house that he had spent years putting work into. So he managed to put together the money and sent it in as a cashier’s check. Then the bank lost his check. [More]
Find The Best Stuff On Etsy With A Site-Specific Google Search
By 5.11.11
With over 800,000 different sellers on Etsy, a major online shopping site for buying handcrafted items directly from the makers, it can sometimes be a chore to wade through the clutter to find what you’re looking for. But StylishHome points out that just by doing a Google search that only scans within Etsy itself, you can take advantage of Google’s ranking algorithm to find the best items. [More]
Target & UPS Try To Destroy My Dyson During Shipping
By 5.11.11
It’s a conspiracy! At least according to Consumerist reader Terrance, who says Target’s poor packing job combined with UPS paltry efforts to handle his Dyson with care resulted in a sham of an attempt to deliver his product intact. [More]
You Can Now Eat IHOP's Pancake-Wrapped Sausages In Private
By 5.11.11
Craving IHOP’s stuffed french toast or sausages wrapped in pancakes but would prefer to have breakfast in the comfort and anonymity of your own home? Now’s your chance. The restaurant’s new “IHOP at Home” line will bring Griddle n’ Sausage wraps, French Toast Stuffed Pastries and Omelet Crispers to 3,000 Walmarts nationwide. [More]
The Cities That Guzzle The Least & Most Amounts Of Gas
By 5.11.11
As gas prices exasperate consumers at the pump nationwide, you might be throwing your hands up in despair and grumbling about how your neighborhood probably has it the worst. A new report shows that it’s not necessarily the biggest cities that are spending the most on gas. [More]
Catch Amazon's Jeff Bezos Live At 11AM ET Today
By 5.11.11
Want to know what’s up with that ad-supported Kindle? Have a question about Amazon’s new cloud-based services or the free videos offered to Prime members? Get those questions answered today, as Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos will be live in the Yonkers, NY, offices of Consumer Reports. We’ll have the live stream right here, and you’ll be able to ask questions during the event. If you can’t make it, be sure to follow it on Twitter at #SSCRSummit.
Bank Of America Does Something That Makes Sense, But Only Because It Has To
By 5.10.11
Ever since Bank of America got greedy and gobbled up the greasy, calorie-filled platter that was Countrywide, it’s been dealing with the indigestion caused by that company’s oodles of toxic mortgages. Now, after losing the Worst Company In America title by less than 1% to BP, BofA has decided to do something more than pay lip service to its crappy state of affairs. The bank has announced it will open 28 new foreclosure prevention centers in 22 states between now and July. [More]
Best Buy Considers Getting Into The Electric Car Business
By 5.9.11
Electronics giant Best Buy has been watching as online retailers chip away at its market share and a growing number of customers use the store as a showroom for products they will ultimately buy online. But some at the company see a future in a product that isn’t as easy to sell over the internet: electric vehicles. [More]
Bank Of America Testing Letting You Choose To Overdraft Via Text Message
By 5.9.11
Bank of America currently rejects debit card items that would make your balance go below zero, but Finextra reports they’re going to test out a new system that sends you a text message when you’re about to overdraft. The message will give you the option to let the transaction go through and incur an overdraft fee. [More]
Analysts: Gas Prices Should Drop In June
By 5.9.11
By next month, $4 gas may be in our rear-view mirrors. Falling oil commodities prices will translate to less pain at the pump if analysts’ predictions come true. [More]
An Open Letter To You From An Employee At A Liquidating Bookstore
By 5.6.11
Have you ever wondered what goes through the mind of a clerk behind the register at your favorite bookstore which is being liquidated in a bankruptcy sale? What do they make of all of it? What are their hopes and dreams? Are they just mentally picturing making everyone’s head explode? Well nows your chance to plumb those depths, as McSweeny’s has published a humorous open letter written by an employee at one of these stores *cough* Borders *cough*. [More]
Exxon Mobil Is The Most Profitable American Business By A Long Shot
By 5.5.11
This year’s Fortune 500 list is out, and while Walmart’s $421 billion in revenue may have beaten out Exxon Mobil’s paltry $354 billion, the oil giant beat out Big W where it matters most, profits. According to Fortune, the crude colossus made a whopping $30.4 billion in profits last year, nearly double what Walmart made and over $10.5 billion more than the next most profitable company on the list. [More]
Lane Bryant Sale Flyer Redefines 'Entire Store,' 'Everything'
By 5.5.11
David isn’t really sure why he received this Lane Bryant flyer in the mail, seeing that he’s not only thin, but, well, male. But that doesn’t matter at Lane Bryant, where they’re stretching the limits of reality and of the English language. [More]
