Heather at The Greenest Dollar read How We Decide by Jonah Lehrer earlier this summer, and it made her see Costco in an entirely new way. The point behind all that crazy luxury stuff for sale at Costco isn’t just to sell it, she says; it’s to prime your brain with feel-good dopamine so that you’re far more likely to splurge on the more affordable items deeper in the store.
Retail Services
Geek Squad Now Offering CD-Ripping "Service"
By 9.17.09
Sticking to its proud tradition of charging for services that take a couple button clicks to accomplish, i.e. HDTV and video game console “optimization,” Best Buy is now offering to rip music off your CDs and transfer it to an MP3 player or DVD.
Martha Stewart And Home Depot Enter Pact
By 9.16.09
Starting in January, you’ll be able to buy Martha Stewart-branded patio furniture, storage bins, and toilet wine kits at your local Home Depot, thanks to a new multi-zillion dollar business deal the two companies have cooked up. Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia’s old deal with Kmart—which a company tells the Atlanta Journal-Constitution earned them upwards of $1 billion annually at its peak—expires that same month.
Morning Deals
By 9.16.09
- Liz Claiborne: [Apparel] New Liz Claiborne Coupon Codes up to $50 Off + Free Shipping
- Dairy Queen : [Ice Cream] Buy One Blizzard Get One Free + $1 Off Oreo Cookie Blizzard w/ Printable Coupon
- BHPhoto: [HDTV] Panasonic Viera TC-P50S1 50-inch 1080p Plasma HDTV $999.95 + free shipping
Bailout Banks Will Keep Using Your Money For Private Jets
By 9.15.09
Under government pressure — and by “pressure” we mean asking meekly in a very soft voice — companies that have received funding from the taxpayer-funded TARP program have outlined the controls they plan to put in place to limit “luxury expenditures.” And — surprise! — the definition of “luxury” is very different for the corporate titans spending your money. While most big banks have put at least some limits on personal use of corporate jets, many seem to echo Bank of America‘s policies on official use, which state that that execs can use private planes for “safety and efficiency reasons,” no advance approval required.
DeadlyDeal Neither Deadly Nor A Deal, Just Lame
By 9.15.09
Brandon regrets having done business with DeadlyDeal.com earlier this year. He figured he “couldn’t go wrong” with his mystery box purchase—”after all, my dealings with Woot.com had all been more than satisfactory so far.” But DeadlyDeal is no Woot, friends. Well, except maybe in the creative writing department, because there’s no way those DeadlyDeal customer testimonies (“Thanks for my free iPhone!”) are legit.
You Will Not Escape Toys R Us This Christmas
By 9.15.09
One good thing about the bad economy: There are plenty of empty storefronts in malls across the country, and the owners are more than happy to rent them to short-term tenants during peak seasons. And, this year, you can add Toys R Us to the usual gang of Halloween and Christmas stores that pop up suddenly in your local Simon, and disappear in the night a few weeks later. Jeffrey and his posse are expected to open 80 temporary stores next month, along with new toy sections in 260 Babies R Us shops.
Morning Deals
By 9.15.09
- Northern Tool : [Automotive] 31-Piece Roadside Emergency Kit for $5 w/ Coupon 121380 w/ Free shipping
- Music123: [Performance & Recording] Microphone Sale: Buy One and Get One Free
- Western Digital : [Software] Free Acronis Disk Cloning Software (Download)
- Direct2Drive: [PC Games] $5 Sale on games, titles include Civ 4, Sid Meier’s Pirates, and Bioshock
Judge: BoA SEC Deal Violates "Most Elementary Notions Of Justice And Morality"
By 9.14.09
Judge Jed Rakoff, our favorite crusading curmudgeon of the court, is at it again. And once again, he’s turned his ire to the backroom deal that Bank of America tried to cut with the Securities and Exchange Commission to settle a complaint about outsize bonuses paid at Merrill Lynch before BofA took it over last year. The $33 million settlement, Rakoff wrote in his decision, “does not comport with the most elementary notions of justice and morality.”
Customer Tells Bank of America To Stick Her Debt "In Your Bailout Pipe And Smoke It"
By 9.14.09
Run people’s interest rates up to over 25% and eventually one of them is going to snap. Meet Ann. She’s has a balance of several thousand dollars on her Bank of America credit card. The bank has raised the interest on the card to 25.49% from 12.99% and she feels like there’s only one thing she can do to take a stand against what she calls “usury.” She’s refusing to pay. She’s also asking other consumers to “search their own souls” and consider joining her in a “debtor’s revolt.”
Best Buy Responds To Fury Of Internet, Decides Not To Hold Data Hostage
By 9.14.09
Remember that couple who tried to get Best Buy to fix their CD drive, only to have lost all their data and be charged $1,500?
Home Depot Jacks Up Price For Countertop After Order Placed, Homeowner Says
By 9.14.09
Giovanni and his wife bought a counter from Home Depot, but caught a nasty surprise when he called to check on the order. Suddenly he was told he had to cover a minimum order and he’d have to pay hundreds more than the agreed upon price. Now kitchenless in New York, he writes:
Morning Deals
By 9.14.09
- TheECA.com: Free 1-Year Membership to the Entertainment Consumers Association w/ coupon GIMAG (regularly $19.99)
- Amazon: [GPS] Magellan RoadMate 1412 4.3-Inch Widescreen Portable GPS Navigator $99.99 + free shipping
Attention Shoppers: Free Porn Available On Walmart TVs
By 9.14.09
Two men have been arrested for playing porn over a half-dozen TV screens in a Fort Smith, AR, Walmart store. The two apparently popped a DVD into a player that controlled several screens, and let it rip. According to police, “the pornographic DVD was visible to the general public as they were shopping” for several minutes.
MMS For iPhone Rollout Begins, 2 Weeks Early
By 9.12.09
Reports are showing up online that AT&T is beginning a slow rollout of official MMS functionality to seemingly random iPhone users, from Manhattan to Idaho. The official start date is September 25, but it makes sense that the company would implement the change gradually to make sure the network can handle it.
Walmart's New Competitor-Crushing Initiative
By 9.12.09
Walmart is looking to grow. Yes, grow. Their latest initiative, “Project Impact,” aims to make stores easier and quicker to navigate, improve customer service, and to move in on competitors’ territory as much as possible.
If The Coupon Doesn't Apply, You Must Not Buy
By 9.11.09
Most likely, this has happened to you. You have a great coupon for a restaurant or retailer, and go to use it only to find that for some reason, it’s been declined. Maybe it expired. Maybe it doesn’t apply to the item you bought. The question is: Do you still make the purchase?
