Reader Colin has run into something we’ve seen many times before. Best Buy sold him what we call a “Box of Crap,” in this case, an XBox that someone else had swapped out with their modded, broken one. Best Buy’s policy is to refuse a return if the serial number on the Xbox doesn’t match the one on the receipt, so unless you actually open the box and check out the item before you leave the store — get ready for a battle. [More]
Retail Services
How To Spot Fakes When Shopping For Green Products
By 5.17.10
If you want to buy environmentally friendly products when you’re out shopping, you’ll find plenty of options these days. The trouble is that “green,” like “organic,” is considered a very loose concept by lots of manufacturers. The Chicago Tribune put together a list of ways you can spot the fakes on your next shopping trip. Here’s an easy rule of thumb: the words eco, earth, green, friendly, gentle and kind are all frequently used to give the impression of being environmentally friendly, but they’re essentially meaningless marketing words. [More]
Cigarette Vending Machine Repurposed To Sell Books
By 5.16.10
Believe it or not, there are people who don’t own a Kindle or an iPad and can’t just order up a book when they get the sudden, overwhelming urge to read a book. So what’s a voracious reader to do if they find themselves without reading material and no bookstore in sight? Well, at the University of Hamburg, book lovers can head for a vending machine. [More]
Video Game Industry Drawing In Users With Free Versions
By 5.16.10
Influencing people to buy things in times of economic hardship ain’t easy, but the video game industry has figured out how to lure reluctant shoppers: Freebies! By offering free versions of their games, video game marketers are drawing in users from unlikely demographic areas, namely, women and the elderly. [More]
Great Moments In Stupid Inventions
By 5.16.10
Somewhere out there, at this very minute, someone, maybe even you, is inventing something totally ridiculous with plans of making it the next big thing that consumers can’t live without. Instead of just wondering about what stupid inventions are out there, why not check out a round-up of 37 of them? [More]
Solid Gold Diamond-Encrusted iPad Sells For $190,000
By 5.16.10
The one thing the recession has taught me is that if you’ve got money, might as well burn it! And what better way to treat yourself to a little bit of luxury than with a $190,000 solid gold, diamond encrusted iPad? [More]
New TV Watches You While You Sleep
By 5.15.10
Snoozing in the flickering light of your TV set could be a thing of the past, if you want it to be — a new Sony Bravia model uses facial recognition technology to detect when you’re sleeping and turns its display off, The Guardian reports. [More]
PayPal + Sears.com = Headaches
By 5.14.10
Reader Cheryl tried to use PayPal to buy some polo shirts from Sears — and, well, we’ll let her explain it. [More]
Costco Dispenses E85 Ethanol Instead Of Gas
By 5.14.10
A tank that customers at an upstate New York Costco gas station thought was full of premium gasoline may have actually dispensed E85 ethanol, damaging engines and fuel systems of cars not designed to deal with the fuel. E85 is a mixture of 85% corn juice and 15% gasoline that can severely damage engines not designed for it. [More]
Tracfone And Straight Talk Are Not Entirely Sure Why They Canceled My Account
By 5.13.10
Having trouble reaching a human at Tracfone or its new, Walmart-exclusive cousin Straight Talk? Call their corporate office at (800) 876-5753. This bit of information comes courtesy of reader Michael, whose service was canceled out from under him for a reason that no one fully understands to this day. Here’s his story, in the form of an open letter to Straight Talk. Which, thankfully, he didn’t send, because it sounds like nobody there would have had time to read it. [More]
How Many Walmart Employees Does It Take To Screw Up A Return?
By 5.13.10
Ournextcontestant has a long, amusing story about the surprisingly difficult ordeal he went through to return a necklace at a Hawaii location while on vacation. He says it took the combined efforts of several employees to complete the transaction, sucking away valuable island enjoyment time: [More]
Costco Really Loves Your Mom, Buys Her A Coffee Machine For Mother's Day
By 5.12.10
Joshua received such stunningly good customer service while shopping for a Mother’s Day gift at Costco that he had to share his story with Consumerist. He writes that he located a store that had the specific coffee machine that he wanted in stock, called the store to verify, and drove some distance to the store to pick it up. When he arrived, he learned that the store didn’t have the machine in stock after all…but it’s what happened next that makes this a true “Above and Beyond” story. [More]
Home Depot Called "Arrogant," Must Actually Pay Inventor For Invention
By 5.12.10
Home Depot had a problem: their employees kept sawing off their own extremities with the saws they used to cut lumber for customers. Michael Powell invented a gadget which fixed the problem, and offered to sell the device to the chain for $2,000 each. Then, the inventor’s lawsuit alleged, Home Depot simply stole the gadget’s design, made their own, and wouldn’t compensate him. “F*** Michael Powell. Let him sue us.” one executive said at the time. Now the chain must pay him a judgment of about $25 million. [More]
Lawsuit: Woman Claims She Was Attacked By Big Black Walmart Snake
By 5.11.10
It’s really quite shocking how often we found ourselves typing the words “lawsuit,” “snake” and “Walmart” in the same headline. Anyhow, here we go again. A woman is suing Walmart after she says a giant black snake attacked her as she was choosing plants. [More]
Victoria Wants Me To Reveal The Secret Of My SSN
By 5.11.10
As if it wasn’t compromising enough to give up her measurements, Lindsay says Victoria’s Secret also wanted her Social Security Number. [More]
Walmart Giving Used Games Another Go
By 5.11.10
After trying and failing at the GameStop-dominated used games biz, Walmart is taking a mulligan and making another run and used game trade-ins and sales, partnering with Game Trade in the effort to gives you pennies on the dollar for that not-so-old copy of Mass Effect 2. [More]
Wired Reviews Smart Mop, Says It's Dumb
By 5.10.10
The twistable, change-your-life-forever Smart Mop that’s sold via infomercial looks sort of handy, but does it work? Wired tested one out, and says no, it does not work. In fact, it leaves behind liquid instead of sopping it up, falls apart frequently, and scrapes across the floor if you don’t hold it just right. Wired wraps up the review with this very non-infomercial suggestion: “If you’re sick of taking paper towel to floor every time Junior dumps his milk, well, tough, that’s part of being a parent.” [More]
