- Select hotels in Palm Beach: [Hotels] $19.09 sale, pay one night get 2nd night for $19.09 through December 2009
- Walmart: [Video Games] Guitar Hero World Tour Band Kit (Xbox 360) for $99.74 + $9.97 Shipping
- BuyDig.com: [DVD Player] Toshiba 1080p HD-Upscaled DVD Player $79 Shipped
- TekServe: [External HD Storage] G-Tech 500GB external hard drive for $129 + shipping, or buy in store
Retail Services
Morning Deals
By 4.16.09
Amazon Can Ban You From Your Kindle Account Whenever It Likes
By 4.15.09
Amazon recently banned a customer for making what they considered too many returns, and when they did this they also disabled his Kindle account, although the returns were never related to Kindle purchases. So what happens when your Kindle account is taken away? Your Kindle still works, and the books you already bought for it will work, but you can’t download those books ever again (better have made a backup on your PC!), you can’t receive your magazine, blog, or newspaper subscriptions on it anymore, you can’t email documents to Amazon to have them converted and sent to your Kindle, and you can’t buy any new books for the device. That $360 device only works so long as Amazon decides it will work.
Morning Deals
By 4.15.09
- Kenneth Cole: Today only, 40% off everything, no coupon/promo codes needed
- TGI Fridays: Today only, Tax Break discount with $5-$10 Bonus Bites
- Walgreens: Through April 20th, 15% OFF Online Orders w/ coupon TAXED
- Taco Del Mar: Today only, free taco.
- HydroMassage: Today only, free massage (call ahead to schedule an appointment)
- Pittsburgh Pirates: Today only, $1 seats, $1 hot dogs, $1 12-ounce soda and $1 popcorn
- MaggieMoos: Today only, free single scoop ice cream at participating stores (which means call first)
- Cinnabon: Today from 5 to 8pm, free Bites (mini cinnamon rolls); they’re also having an online tax essay contest where the winner receives a $100 gift certificate
Thanks to MainStreet for several of the tips! Check out “Free Stuff: Tax Day Is Snacks Day” [MainStreet.com]
CitiBusiness Strands Customer In The Middle Of The Pacific With No Credit Card
By 4.15.09
Skye is on a boat in the middle of the Pacific Ocean without any way to pay for things, because Citibank canceled his card due to a security breach and didn’t bother to warn him first. What’s worse, they’re making him call repeatedly to try to fix it, which is costing him $3.50/minute because he’s in the middle of an ocean.
Virgin Mobile Offers To Pay Your Phone Bill For 3 Months If You Get Laid Off
By 4.14.09
Starting tomorrow, Virgin Mobile will offer all customers who sign up for $30 or more post-paid plans coverage under their free Pink Slip program, which means if you get laid off and can provide proof, they’ll pay your cellphone bill for three months, and you won’t have to put a Skype number on your resume.
Amazon Apologizes For "Ham-Fisted" Catalog Error
By 4.14.09
Was it a hacker? Probably not. Was it a translation error? Who knows. Here’s the official #Amazonfail apology email (again) for your reading pleasure. It is, apparently, the final word on the matter.
Worst Company In America: Citibank VS Sprint
By 4.14.09
A bailed out bank? Or a struggling wireless company? Who offends you more?
"Buy.com" Is Apparently A Curse Word On Best Buy's Forums
By 4.14.09
Reader Andrew was trying to post a question on Best Buy‘s forums, but he made the horrible, offensive mistake of putting a space between “Best” and “Buy.com.”
Mom! My "New" PSP Is Full Of Porn!
By 4.14.09
When a 6-year-old Tampa Bay boy turned on his “new” PSP from Walmart there was a little something extra included. Lots and lots of porn!
Former Employee Says AmazonFail Caused By The French (Well, By One Of Them At Least)
By 4.14.09
Mike Daisey, the monologist and former employee at Amazon.com, told the Seattle PI that the weekend’s gay and feminist book fiasco was actually caused by an employee at Amazon.fr who confused the term “adult”—which refers to porn stuff in Amazon’s system—with “erotic” and “sexuality.” That sharp-toothed troll who claimed all the credit is going to be pretty miffed to find out about this.
Martha Stewart And Kmart Settle With Magician Who Lost Fingertip In Lounge Chair
By 4.13.09
It looks like a certain Des Moines magician/hand model will be able to afford a fancy new gold fingertip soon, or at least a gold-plated one, because he’s settled his lawsuit against Kmart and Martha Stewart Omnimedia for an undisclosed amount.
Amazon Gay Book Removal Was Massive Prank, I Did It, Claims Troll
By 4.13.09
An online miscreant named Weev is taking credit for this weekend’s fiasco where reams of GLBT books were removed from Amazon sales ranking, sparking a massive online riot. Weev, pictured, says he organized an army of off-shore computer users to make a bunch of fake Amazon accounts and flag all the gay and lesbian books they could as inappropriate. Also, he got several friends with high-trafficked websites to embed an iframe code that made their visitors automatically send the flags without their knowledge. If true, this recent post by a formerly profligate troller provides insight. However, no one can verify Wee’s claims as Amazon appears to have deactivated all the ways he used to ply his prank. It’s hard to trust a professional liar like Weev, even the idea’s plausibility doesn’t speak well for Amazon.
Best Buy, Nike Make List Of 99 Top Ethical Companies. Wait, What?
By 4.13.09
A business ethics institute named Ethisphere has released its annual list of the 99 “World’s Most Ethical Companies.” We have to take exception to some of their choices.
Maybe You Should Just Go Back To Ignoring Me, HyperFriendly Chase Tellers
By 4.13.09
[I] had to go down an escalator and there were like 4-5 suited people at the bottom staring and smiling at me. My instinct was to run back up the escalator, it was really intimidating. Then I told like 5 separate people who were circling me like sharks that I was fine and preferred the teller. And then one guy went so far as to grab my withdrawal slip out of my hand!! He saw it and was like, ‘Oh, you don’t know your account number? I can help you with that from over here…’ It was unreal.
Government To Banks: Why Are You Making Predatory Loans With Taxpayer Money?
By 4.13.09
The bailed-out banks have found a new way to annoy the government, according to the Congressional Oversight Panel, the body named by Congress to oversee the federal bailout. Chair of the committee and friend of the blog, Elizabeth Warren, is concerned that the same people who are subsidizing the banks are being targeted by abusive lending practices, says the Wall Street Journal
BoA Hikes Rates On Millions Of Credit Card Customers
By 4.13.09
Last week Bank of America decided to hike rates on millions of credit card customers. They said that if you carry a balance and have an interest rate below 10%, starting in June you’re likely to see it spike into the double-digit category. BoA said it had to do it because these customers were “underpriced relative to market conditions.” But according to at least one email, Bank of America might be underrepresenting the number of customers caught in its interest rate dragnet…
Morning Deals
By 4.13.09
- NewEgg: [Video Game] MotorStorm Playstation3 Game SONY for $16.99 w/ Free shipping
- BJ’s Wholesale Club: [Memberships] Free 60-Day Shopping Pass via printable coupon
- Buy.com: [Headphones] Kensington Stereo Bluetooth Headset $23 + free shipping
