If there is indeed a 3D TV revolution underway, someone forgot to tell consumers. The NPD Group said high prices and the annoyance of having to wear glasses — which potential buyers have long cited as reasons to avoid the products — continue to keep 3D TVs on store shelves. Customers are also disappointed with the lack of movies available in the format. [More]
Retail Services
Walmart Declutters Aisles Per Customers' Request, Then Loses $1.85 Billion In Sales
By 4.18.11
Back in 2009, Walmart surveyed its customers and asked “Would you like Walmart to be less cluttered?” They said yes. So Walmart cleared out space and reduced inventory and customer satisfaction shot up. However, same-store sales plummeted, by Phil Terry’s estimate, by $1.85 billion, and now Walmart has fired the team that put the idea into place and is spending hundreds of millions to undo what they spent hundreds of millions doing. But wait! Weren’t they listening to their customers? Why weren’t they rewarded? [More]
Best Buy's Genius Plan For The Future Is To Become RadioShack
By 4.18.11
Back-to-back crappy financial quarters at the Big Blue Amazon.com Showroom (Best Buy) has the company looking to scale back their retail presence and, according to the Motley Fool, “begin opening more stand-alone small-box locations, targeting hundreds of new Best Buy Mobile stores selling the latest smartphone gadgetry within the next five years.” Wait… small stores… emphasis on wireless… why does that sound so familiar? [More]
Price Drop Lends Credibility To Rumors Of New Nintendo Wii On The Horizon
By 4.18.11
Last week, we reported on the rumors of the impending release of a newer, better Nintendo Wii, along with reports that the company would be dropping the console’s price to $150 to clear inventory of the older models. Well, it’s not quite the announcement from Nintendo HQ that people have been waiting for, but a number of retailers have gone ahead and slashed Wii prices down to $170. [More]
Don't Expect A Fine Dining Experience At The Target Pizza Hut Express
By 4.18.11
You can really work up an appetite on shopping excursions, so it makes sense for many consumers to hie themselves to the nearest source of food and chow down. Which is why reader Kevin B. and his family decided to eat at the Pizza Hut Express inside their brand new Target store. However, he says they had a less than savory dining experience. [More]
Congratulations BP: You’re The Worst Company In America!
By 4.18.11 — Updated: 9.4.14
On April 20, 2010, the Deepwater Horizon, an offshore oil rig leased by BP to drill for oil in the Gulf of Mexico, caught fire following an explosion. The disaster left 11 men dead and spilled millions of barrels of oil into the Gulf. For the cost-cutting efforts that ultimately led to this catastrophe — along with others in Texas and Alaska that have killed more than a dozen more employees, injured hundreds and leaked toxic chemicals into the air and water — thousands of Consumerist voters have selected BP as the Worst Company In America. [More]
The Worst Company In America Final Death Match Is Over — But Who Won?
By 4.17.11
This year’s Worst Company In America final death match between BP and Bank of America received the highest number of votes of any WCIA championship ever — it was also the closest final in the tournament’s history. [More]
Deciding Whether A House Cleaning Service Is Worth It
By 4.16.11
It may seem extravagant to hire someone to clean your house, and some frugal people find it all but unthinkable to farm out such a task. [More]
Don't Fall For These Gas Saving Myths
By 4.16.11
The economic hardship brought on by gas price increases is a spawning ground for silly, ineffective conventional wisdom on how to cut down on fuel use. It’s important to distinguish between genuine gas-saving maneuvers and moronic wastes of time and effort. [More]
One Day Left To Vote On BP Or Bank Of America For Worst Company In America!
By 4.16.11
UPDATE: POLLS ARE NOW CLOSED. THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO VOTED!
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As you read this, Bank of America and BP are locked in deadly combat in the Worst Company In America octagon, in what will likely be the closest final death match in tournament history! [More]
Bank Of America Posts 36% Drop In Profits
By 4.15.11
Perhaps hoping to garner sympathy votes in our Worst Company in America contest, Bank of America today reported a 36% drop in profits for the first quarter. One of the big drags on business continues to be the toxic landfill of mortgages the bank gobbled up when it bought Countrywide Home Loans. Never trust a man who is completely orange, I always say. [More]
Shipping Rates And Info For Over 50 Online Retailers
By 4.15.11
Here’s a handy to the shipping rates and free shipping info for over 50 top online retailers. From Amazon to Zappos, they’ve got it all so you don’t have to go digging through the site or go through the entire checkout process just to see what you’ll get charged. Consider it a candidate for your bookmarks list. [More]
Do You Like E-Mailed Receipts For Offline Purchases?
By 4.15.11
Our smart-shopping colleagues over at ShopSmart magazine recently noticed a promising trend at some high-end retailers: stores e-mailing your receipt to you rather than printing it out on old-fangled paper. Stores trying it out include Apple Stores, Nordstroms, Anthropologie, Urban Outfitters, and a few Whole Foods stores. [More]
Sears Sues Maker Of Sex-Enhancement Spray Over "DieHard" Name
By 4.14.11
For decades, Sears has been using the trademarked brand name “DieHard” on its car batteries and auto parts. Now the retail relic has filed a trademark infringement suit against a company that makes a sexual enhancement spray under the same name. [More]
Man Gets 6-12 Months After Yelling At Walmart Greeter Who Asked To See Receipt
By 4.14.11
A man has received a 6-12 month sentence after he was accused of yelling and cursing at a Walmart greeter who asked to see his receipt. [More]
Etsy Finds New And Exciting Ways To Plaster Your Real Name Everywhere
By 4.14.11
One would think that after the overwhelming negative reaction to the privacy changes that Etsy made earlier this year, the whimsical hipsters at online craft market Etsy would have learned their lesson by now. Don’t be silly! In a post to the site’s user forums, CEO Rob “Rokali” Kalin let slip that Etsy plans to identify users by their real names throughout the site, including on forums. [More]
Worst Company In America Final Death Match: Bank Of America Vs. BP
By 4.14.11
In the same year that a film about a stammering British king won the Best Picture Oscar, another UK misfit, BP, now stands on the precipice of claiming another precious piece of Americana: The Golden Poo. But that’s only if the oily Brits can wrestle the trophy out of the tenacious-but-incompetent grip of this nation’s least-favorite native son, Bank of America. [More]
