Retail Services
Morning Deals
By 1.3.08
Shenanigans With Chase Credit Cards?
By 1.2.08
Anyone else get a call from Chase about their credit cards?
I thought I would pass along a problem I ran into today. I received a couple phone calls from Chase Bank fraud department concerning 2 credit cards I have with them (Amazon Visa and Chase Freedom Card). They reported (in a separate call for each card) that both cards are suspected of being compromised and that they are being closed.
Target: No Receipt, No Returns. Period.
By 1.2.08
You heard it here first and now shoppers in the Slickdeals forum confirm that it’s gone into effect: as of yesterday, Target won’t accept any returns without a receipt. Even if you can present the debit or credit card used to buy the item, you will still need a receipt. Previously, items under $20 could be returned sans receipt. Before that, it was items under $40. So, make sure to save your Target receipts and include them when you give gifts. I understand about trying to mitigate fraud (a commenter on the previous post talked about his “friend” in college who would swap tags on a $40 item with a $10 item, buy it, and then return it later without receipt to make $30 in beer money for the weekend), but they should allow people to use the card they bought the item with as a way to look up the receipt information.
Morning Deals
By 1.2.08
Apple Files Patent App To Allow Wireless Ordering At Stores
By 12.31.07
Apple has applied to patent a wireless ordering system that would allow shoppers to place orders from, for example, their iPhones as they approached, oh, let’s say a Starbucks, bypassing an ordering line altogether and going straight to the pick-up counter. The system would also allow stores to keep data on repeat customers to speed up future transactions.
Future Shop Sends You Two Blocks Of Wood Instead Of A Router
By 12.31.07
Happy New Year, Canada! Here’s a special treat for our neighbors to the north:
Bank Of America Can't Afford Soap For Employee's Break Room
By 12.31.07
After waving good-bye to billions in the subprime mortgage market and bailing out nefarious mustache-twirling mortgage lender Countrywide, Bank of America says it can no longer afford soap for its employee’s break rooms.
Open Box Gaming Mice Cost $12 Extra At Best Buy
By 12.30.07
Daniel wanted to pick up a Lachesis Gaming Mouse on sale at Best Buy for $59.99, but the San Francisco store he visited had only two open-box models left and both cost $71.99.
Sprint's Special Low Price For One Month Of Mobile Broadband: $14,062.27
By 12.30.07
Krystyl signed up for Sprint’s $59.99 unlimited Mobile Broadband plan and isn’t sure why she just received a bill for $14,062.27.
Best Buy: $50 SIRIUS Gift Card For $55. What?
By 12.29.07
Best Buy is selling a $50 SIRIUS gift card for $55. Rather, that is the “national internet price” at BestBuy.com—Best Buy stores may sell the $50 gift cards for $50. Any idea what is going on here? We chatted with a surly Best Buy representative who offered one explanation.
Reach Walmart Vice Chairman John Menzer And 742 Other Walmart Employees
By 12.29.07 — Updated: 6.27.16
We asked if anyone had executive contact information for Walmart, and boy did you deliver! Project Walmart Freedom lists 742 numbers from Walmart’s corporate directory, and toll-free numbers for 83 Walmart divisions. We were also able to liberate the direct number for Walmart Vice Chairman John Menzer.
Shopdropped iPods Implore Buyers: "Reclaim Your Mind From The Media Shackles"
By 12.29.07
Joe Ellis arranged for Santa to deliver an iPod to his daughter for Christmas. Santa instead left an anti-capitalist rant. The iPod purchased from a Maryland Walmart contained a note written in ransom-letter caps reading:
RECLAIM YOUR MIND FROM THE MEDIA SHACKLES. READ A BOOK AND RESURRECT YOURSELF.
Use Your Gift Cards Immediately!
By 12.29.07
The Dallas Morning News and Consumer Affairs both say you should use those gift cards as soon as possible—otherwise you risk losing them, forgetting about them, or having them decline in value due to maintenance fees or expiration dates. We know this isn’t new news, but the idea that “$7.8 billion in gift card value will go unused this year” makes us cringe. If you really don’t want the card, consider selling it online, or giving it to a shelter or other charity that can make use of it.
What To Look For In A Pillow Protector
By 12.29.07
Do you spend the nights fighting allergies and biting your pillow in agony? Wait, that sentence didn’t come out right. Anyway, the vice president of a custom-printing pillow company tells Newsday what he looks for in a good pillow cover.
Over 17 Million Items Recalled For Lead Contamination In 2007
By 12.28.07
Ladies and Gentlemen… Boys and Girls… The final tally for lead recalls is in.
