Starting next month, you might see TV spots advertising Dairy Queen‘s new “Sweet Deal” menu, which is supposed to be a value-priced alternative to their regular menu. They’re already rolling it out, and at least one item on the menu will actually cost you about 8% more than it used to.
Retail Services
Morning Deals
By 2.12.09
Highlights From Dealnews
- PC Connection: [HDTV] Westinghouse 40″ 720p LCD HDTV for $600 + free shipping
- Apple Store: [Laptop] Refurbished Apple MacBook Core 2 Duo 2.1GHz 13″ Laptop for $849 + free shipping
- Cell Hut: [Cellphone] Unlocked LG KE970 Shine Cell Phone for $135 + free shipping
Sprint Helps You Deal With Your Deadbeat Brother
By 2.11.09
Reader B. probably shouldn’t have used her credit to help her less-than-creditworthy brother get a cellphone, but this story has a happy ending thanks to some helpful customer service from Sprint.
NY AG: Before Losing $15 Billion, Merrill Lynch Quietly Made 696 Employees Millionaires
By 2.11.09
New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo wrote a letter yesterday to Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.), head of the House Financial Services Committee, (which is currently holding hearings Washington on how banks are spending bailout funds.) In the letter, Cuomo expresses concern that Merrill Lynch moved up their bonus schedule so that they could make sure that taxpayers would get the bill.
Author Does Right Where Publisher Once Went Wrong
By 2.11.09
Michel Cuhaci ordered a book from Amazon, only to discover it was an unreadable misprint copy. He made sure that the one-star review of the book made this known. Little did he know, the Author of that book was reading the reviews. And little did he know, that author is a Certified Bad Ass.
Customers Fight Back Over Fake Amazon Reviews
By 2.10.09
We all know that Amazon’s review system is kind of a mess. It’s plagued by “professional reviewers,” reviews from friends, legitimately critical reviews that get yanked after complaints by angry fan groups, and—worst of all—fake reviews, usually written by employees of the manufacturer. Adam found a new fake reviewer named David Jacob, but what really caught our eye was how real Amazon shoppers have picked up on it and left a series of comments to warn future customers to stay away from Gamenamics.
GameStop Pays Its Employees In Hidden Fee "Cash Cards"
By 2.10.09
Remember our post on student loan debit cards? The cards are pitched as a great convenience, or less expensive to distribute than paper checks, or more secure, when in reality they’re germy with hidden fees that slowly nickel and dime your balance. Turns out, GameStop uses a similar system to pay its employees.
Morning Deals
By 2.10.09
Highlights From Buxr
- Overstock: [Cellphones] LG KG320 Chocolate Bar GSM Unlocked Cell Phone for $89.99 w/ coupon 134877 w/ Free shipping
- Buy.com: [Gadgets] PHILIPS Bendable Gooseneck Web Cam for $11.99 w/ Free shipping
- Toys R Us: [Toys & Games] Cranium Cadoo 2 Board Game for $7.98 w/ Free shipping
Highlights From Dealnews
- Buy.com: [Audio] Anycom HCC-500 Bluetooth Speakerphone for $58 + free shipping
- TigerDirect: [HDTV] Refurbished Sharp 32″ 720p Widescreen LCD HDTV for $380 + $41 s&h
- Amazon.com: [Shoes] adidas Men’s Terrex Low Gore-Tex M Hiking Shoes from $37 + free shipping (select sizes only, sadly)
Morning Deals are purely an informational service for the readers, Consumerist receives nothing in exchange for their posting.
Citibank Inserts Advertising Into Your Account Activity
By 2.10.09
Reader Eric was looking at his credit card account activity when he noticed something odd. No, it wasn’t an unauthorized charge. It was advertising.
Free Subscription Offer From Stonyfield Farm Will Cost You Money
By 2.10.09
Someone needs to explain to Stonyfield Farm that free usually means that you don’t have to pay any money for the item in question. Especially in a case like this, where you’re already having to send in multiple proofs of purchase to prove you’ve “earned” the “free” item. What you find when you peel back the foil lid is some fine print that explains you also have to pay $2 for this free offer. SLR, who sent in this tip, adds, “I wrote to them via their web site asking what part of free don’t they understand, but received no reply.”
Best Buy Employee Arrested For Stealing Credit Cards
By 2.10.09
Uh oh, another Best Buy employee has been caught swiping data from customers. Unlike the woman last August who went on small time shopping sprees, this woman was caught using a card reader to swipe and store info on as many as 4,000 customers at the Best Buy store located at 1880 Palm Beach Lakes Blvd in Palm Beach, Florida.
eBay Opportunists Already Trying To Sell Their Kindle 2 Pre-Orders For $$$
By 2.9.09
Amazon announced the Kindle 2 today and there are already people on eBay trying to sell their “place in line” for a huge markup. The new Kindle will retail for $359.00 (you can pre-order them now) but if you are really impatient can pay some person on eBay $599.99 for their presumably better pre-order spot.. ugh.
How A Sale Works At Target
By 2.9.09
Finally, an example of a business plan in which Phase 3 is definitely, “Profit!”
Morning Deals
By 2.9.09
Highlights From Buxr
- Amazon: [XBOX] Intercooler TS for Xbox 360 for $19.99 + Shipping
- ZipZoomFly: [Laptop] MSI U120-001US 10″ Notebook for $329.99 w/ Free shipping
- 1-800-Flowers: [Flowers] Sign up to newsletter for free $20 Savings Pass
Highlights From Dealhack
- Barnes & Noble: [DVD] 40% off A&E, Biography, & History Channel DVDs
- Lenovo: [Notebooks] Save an Extra 15% off 15-inch IdeaPad & ThinkPad Notebook PCs
- Amazon: [Lighting] Save $25 off Verilux Natural Spectrum Lamps & Lights
Highlights From Dealnews
- Amazon.com: [Gadget] Sling Media SlingCatcher Digital Media Receiver for $166 + free shipping
- Abt Electronics: [HDTV] Samsung 32″ 720p Widescreen LCD HDTV for $528 + free shipping
- Newegg: [Headset] Nokia BH-801 Bluetooth Headset for $16 + free shipping
Morning Deals are purely an informational service for the readers, Consumerist receives nothing in exchange for their posting.
Chase Replaces Automatic Payments With Monthly Minimum On All WaMu Credit Cards
By 2.8.09
Is your Washington Mutual credit card set to receive automatic payments? If it is, and you pay anything less than the full balance, then come March 6, you’ll be paying only the monthly minimum. Why? Because it’s an easy way for Chase, WaMu’s new corporate overlord, to make money off unsuspecting cardholders…
Geek Squad Decides Your Clearly Broken iPod Is Fine, Dares You To Pay 3rd Party To Prove Them Wrong
By 2.7.09
Geek Squad told reader Dave that he didn’t have the “technical expertise” to diagnose his clearly-broken iPod. The 30 GB unit wouldn’t play when docked or connected by USB cord, something Dave though might be covered by Best Buy‘s Product Service Plan. Geek Squad first tried replacing the hard drive. This solved nothing. Dave brought the still-broken iPod back and asked the agent to write into the notes a request to call him if the problem was misunderstood. Without calling, Geek Squad again returned the iPod with a note saying that the agent “could not duplicate the problem.” With this firm diagnosis in hand, Geek Squad decided they were done and wouldn’t perform any additional work. When Dave objected, he was told that his ‘only option was to pay for a third-party to test the iPod and prove the Geek Squad technician wrong.’
