When a stranger knocks on your door, it’s almost always someone asking for something rather than someone willing to give you something. So it’s understandable to have a closed-door policy unless you see through the peephole that it’s Ed McMahon. And even if it is Ed McMahon, he’s most likely a zombie rather than a Publishers Clearing House representative because he died last year. [More]
Retail Services
Is Bank Of America's $0 Liability Guarantee Any Different Than What You Already Have?
By 11.5.10
If you’ve lost your remote and been unable to fast-forward through your DVRd shows — or heaven forbid you’ve had to watch something on live TV — in the last two months, you might have seen one of Bank of America’s commercials touting its “$0 Liability Guarantee” for all its credit and debit cards. But is all this just window decoration on guarantees you already have? [More]
Cheese Sold At Costco Linked To E. Coli Outbreak
By 11.5.10
Costco might be a good place to stock up on eyeglasses, but the FDA says that the warehouse store has been selling and sampling some cheese that could make you sick. [More]
Sorry, Best Buy Store Changed Their Minds, No Kinect For You At Midnight
By 11.4.10
Mike pre-ordered the Kinect, a new sensor thingy for the Xbox, from his local Best Buy. He expected the store to be open at midnight so he could be united with his new toy just after the official release. The store web site said that they’d be open at midnight, so why should he expect anything different? [More]
Let This Web Site Play Shirt Matchmaker For You
By 11.4.10
Everyone has that one shirt: a shirt so wonderful, you would happily buy a dozen more like it. Maybe–just maybe–a world like that will be possible someday soon, thanks to the Shirt Fit Finder. This site compares the sizing of different brands of shirts, and finding something similar for you to buy. The bad news? Their selection of brands and sizes is terribly limited. The worse news? It only works for men’s shirts. Ah, well. Someday. [More]
Buy Your Jeans Now Before Cotton Prices Go Up
By 11.4.10
It’s been a bad year for cotton-producing regions in India, China and Pakistan and the price of cotton has skyrocketed since the summer. So before retailers begin tacking this cost of materials increase onto the consumer, the forward-thinking people at SmartMoney.com have put together a list of what items you should stock up on. [More]
It's Sort Of Like A Flowbee For Dogs, Except Not
By 11.4.10
My dog thinks that I’m always looking for new and innovative ways to torture her, such as toothbrushes, ear drops, and baths. She should be grateful that I don’t have a Dyson vacuum, since the company is launching a carefully designed pet-vacuuming attachment, which will go on sale in the U.S. in January 2011. [More]
Gucci 3D Glasses And Other Ridiculous Designer Crap
By 11.3.10
Are the glasses that come with 3D TVs just not stylish enough for you? Perhaps you need to chic up your curb on garbage day. And what about that label-less sponge you’ve been using to clean your kitchen? Now you can finally have all these things and more without having to sacrifice your love of big name designers. [More]
Costco Rated Top Store To Buy Your Eyeglasses
By 11.3.10
Costco isn’t just a place to buy enough toilet paper or cereal to supply a small army; it’s also the place where you’ll find the best deals on eyeglasses, says a new study from our fitter and trimmer siblings at Consumer Reports Health. [More]
Smell Like Justin Bieber
By 11.3.10
If you’ve ever wanted to smell like tween spirit, now’s your chance. Justin Bieber has released a line of scents exclusively at the awesomest store in the world, Walmart. Insert five exclamation points! [More]
Study: Alcohol More Dangerous For Society Than Heroin, Crack, Meth, Other Fun Stuff
By 11.1.10
A new study out of the UK looked at the combined harm done — to both the user and to others — by a host of different drugs. The conclusion: While alcohol might not damage the body as much as some other drugs, its ill societal effects make it the most dangerous intoxicant on the list. [More]
What You Hate About Retailers
By 11.1.10
Over at DailyFinance.com, they asked readers to give nominate the most annoying ways in which retail stores try to squeeze you for extra cash or tempt you into spending more. [More]
How Long Will You Wait To Do Your Holiday Shopping?
By 11.1.10
Like it or not, we’re now officially into the Holiday shopping season. While some stores haven’t given into the Christmas Creep instinct to turn their sales floors into mini North Poles, plenty of people are already going to be out looking to check names and items off their gift lists. [More]
Credit Card Lets You Choose Paying By Credit Or Rewards Points
By 10.29.10
Would you like to pay with reward points, or credit? Just press the button on your credit card and a microcomputer rewrites the information on the magnetic strip, letting you switch payment types. A tiny light lets you know which one is active. That’s a new kind of credit card, the “2G,” Citibank is testing out starting next month. [More]
GameStop Pushed Me Out Because I Refused To Upsell
By 10.29.10
You can’t walk into a GameStop without having to fend off requests to sign up for a membership and preorder games. A former manager says he refused to take part in the often irritating environment, faced a demotion due to poor upselling numbers and lost his house as a result. [More]
Target Shortchanging Customers On Coupons
By 10.29.10
Coupon-clipping Target shoppers are ticked off at the news that the retail chain has been shortchanging customers on some manufacturers’ coupons since at least mid-summer. [More]
Sears Finally Runs Out Of Living Customers, Reaches Out To Zombies
By 10.28.10 — Updated: 2.28.13
In an encouraging step, Sears has made its merchandise and web shopping experience more accessible to a marginalized population that most retailers ignore: zombies. They’ve even translated the site into Zombian. As they put it, “Zerger bargarz zambah barg!” Yes. [More]
Study: Credit Cards Are Making You Fat
By 10.28.10
No, it’s not that second Baconator I ate yesterday or the 6-pack of Schlitz I had afterward that’s causing my clothes not to fit anymore. It’s the credit card I used to pay for them — or at least that what the authors of a new study are theorizing. [More]
