While Sears Auto may not be the division of Sears that leaves you without hot water for three weeks, or refuses to refund the money on the TV they never delivered, they are the division that magnificently screws up changing a tire then tries to bill you for the labor it took them to fix their mistake. Reader R writes in to tell us when he needed to replace a damaged tire, Sears Auto had the cheapest price. After three hours and two different tires, he left Sears Auto with the damaged tire he drove in with. Sears botched the first attempt at a tire change by giving him a tire in the wrong size, then presented him with a bill for the additional labor it took them to get it right. When R balked at paying to fix their mistake, the manager on duty put the busted tire back on the car. Classy! Read his story, inside.
Retail Services
Wal-Mart Challenges Craigslist With Free Online Ads
In an attempt to tighten their stranglehold on American consumers, Wal-Mart has quietly launched a free Internet classified ad service, directly challenging Craigslist, the reigning Internet ad champion. The Wall Street Journal says, “The service, which the retailer described as a pilot test, carries 30 million items, including foreclosed homes, basset hounds, Madonna concert tickets and a 1981 Ford Firebird, as Wal-Mart tapped into Oodle Inc.’s menagerie of listings.” More, inside…
Morning Deals
- Buy.com: Creative GigaWorks T40 Speakers for $88.99 after rebate, $79.99 after using Google Checkout for first time
- Overstock.com: Motorola H700 Bluetooth Wireless Headset for $39.99 (down from $129.99)
- Delta: Get a 20% mileage bonus on AMEX Membership Rewards points transferred between June 10 and July 31, 2008
Highlights From Dealhack
Wal-Mart Reports You To The Police For Not Allowing Them To Check Your Receipt
The epic conflict between shoppers and receipt checkers continues! Reader Michael was unwilling to wait in line to have his cart searched, prompting Wal-Mart to threaten to file a police report as they wrote down his license place…
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Wal-Mart is cutting down its inventory (fewer clothing styles) and remodeling its older stores (lower shelves and clearer signage) to spur more shopping. [Reuters]
Better Return Policy, Customer Service Available To Best Buy Customers Who Spend $2,500 Per Year
Like shopping at Best Buy but don’t like their lack of customer service and crappy return policy? They’ve got an offer for you. Spend $2,500 per calendar year and you’ll be considered a “Reward Zone Program Premier Silver Member.” The benefits of this membership are immediately apparent. You’ll get your own dedicated customer service line that’s only for Premier Silver Members, and a more generous return policy as well. Why should good customer service be available to bad customers? We’ve got the text of a Best Buy Reward Zone Silver Training Document, inside.
Morning Deals
- Office Depot: HP Deskjet F4180 Color Flatbed All-In-One for $39.99 (down from $79.99)
- ISGM: Free Classical Music Downloads
- Google Checkout: $10 off $60 when you use Google Checkout to pay at these online stores
Highlights From Dealhack
Bank of America Loses Customer When CSR Doesn't Get Her Morning Coffee
Here’s yet another reason to avoid Bank of America, from reader Alison. She received a call on a Saturday at 8:30 in the morning from Bank of America, to deal with an issue she resolved the previous night. She was not pleased with being roused so early on the weekend, so she called BOA to request they disturb her no earlier than 9:00 am, especially on the weekends. The cranky CSR answering her call not only told her such a request was impossible, but added “Well, I have to be at work at 7 in the morning, ma’am.” Alison didn’t feel that was adequate justification for waking her up, and is closing her account. She told her story in an EECB to Bank of America, and let us listen in. Read her email, inside.
Why Would Anyone Bid $55 For A $50 Target Gift Card?!
The ever-thoughtful economists over at Freakonomics are stumped by eBay member lpinok, who bid $55.71 for a $50 Target gift card.
Target Refuses Return, Says If Computer Doesn't Show Item, It Doesn't Exist
Kirk and his wife spent over $4,000 last year at Target, but we have a feeling that figure is going to drop dramatically for 2008 after Target refused to refund Kirk $24 because they said they didn’t have a record of his purchase in the system. In fact, they didn’t have any record of the lampshade he was holding in his hands—it wasn’t in their computer, and therefore it didn’t exist, even after his wife went and brought an identical lampshade from the store shelves to the customer service counter. Said the clerk, “We don’t carry this lampshade.”
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Amazon.com seems to be back up. A bit slow, but functional. All in all, the site was down for 3 hours, which is very very long for a gigantic online retailer to be down these days. [Amazon]
Amazon.com Is Was Down!
Whoa Amazon is down. It just says, “Http/1.1 Service Unavailable.” Then I tried again and the front page was there, but when I clicked through, same error message. It looks like it’s been this way since at least 1:30 PM, eastern. It was broken for several Consumerist writers who tested it out.
Wal-Mart Planning Its Own "Geek Squad"?
MarketWatch says that Wal-Mart is “very interested in expanding into installation and repair services in its fast-growing electronics segment.”
Bank of America Receives The OK To Buy Countrywide
It is done! The Federal Reserve has given the OK for Bank of America to buy subprime poster child Countrywide Financial Corp.. Bank of America CEO, Ken Lewis, says that even though the mortgage market has deteriorated significantly since the bank offered to buy the mortgage lender, buying Countrywide is still a good deal because the housing market is going to improve “by early next year.”
Is Kmart Selling Abstinence Pants?
Kmart has been catching some flack for selling young girls’ pants that bear the message “True Love Waits” on the front and back, reports TheBuzz Blog. According to their description, “These athletic pants boldly proclaim just where she stands by pointing out that “True Love Waits” in a large screen print on the front and back of these pants.” More, inside…
Morning Deals
- Woot: Polaroid T730 Compact 7MP Digital Camera for $74.99
- Fry’s: Harman Kardon AVR-146 5.1-Channel Home Theater Receiver for $172.43 + $9 s&h
- Amazon: Denali 150-Piece Homeowner’s Drill & Drive Bit Accessory Kit for $29.99 + free shipping
Highlights From Dealhack
- REI Outlet: Save an Extra 20% off Any One Item Store-Wide
- Amazon: Black & Decker Cordless Tools at least 50% off & Including a Free Spare Battery for a limited time
- Buy.com: Cavalry 500GB USB Drive $80 Shipped + SDHC Savings
Highlights From Bargainist
- Krispy Kreme: Free doughnut on Doughnut Day, June 6, 2008
- Martin + Osa: 20% off sitewide coupon
- Nordstrom: June Clearance: 50% off
Class Action Certified In Suit Against Citibank Over IPod Mini Promotion
When Citibank offered free 4 GB iPod Minis to new customers in 2004 and 2005, the product was retailing for $249, and Citibank indirectly acknowledged the value of the product by saying they’d substitute an mp3 player of “equal or greater value” if there were fulfillment problems. There weren’t, but by the time Citibank got around to passing out the iPod Mini, it had dropped in price and a new 6 GB version was now on the market for $249. Citibank chose to take the savings and distribute the now cheaper 4-gig versions. Now there’s a class action lawsuit against Citibank in California, where it seems all class actions are born. You can read the ruling for the certification here (PDF).
Save Money By Being Your Own Butcher
CheapStingyBargains says that rather than relying on a butcher, it can be cheaper just to buy a whole piece of meat and cut it up yourself:
