Toys R Us has written a reassuring letter to its customers outlining its toy safety policies and threatening to discontinue selling products from any company that ignores them. Since Toys R Us still sells Mattel toys and Thomas & Friends wooden train sets, it’s hard to imagine a company that wouldn’t make the cut.
Retail Services
Most Popular Toys Of 2007
By 11.16.07
Are you buying gifts for kids this year? Let us save you the trouble of asking them what they want: for the 5th year in a row, Barbie has emerged at the top of the list of toys most desired by little girls. For boys, the top item was Transformers. (Hey! Why not a Barbie Transformer? That would be awesome.) In a development that we imagine caught toy executives totally off guard, neither group of kids placed “toys made with lead, GHB, or intestine magnets” anywhere on their lists.
Letter To Target About Incorrect Signage Results In Gift Card
By 11.15.07
Richard went to Target to purchase Call of Duty 4 and saw an offer for a free $5 gift card with purchase. When he inquired about the offer, the employees at Target said it was expired.
Amazon's "Customers Vote" Shopping Game Is Back
By 11.15.07
Amazon’s “customers vote” shopping game is back and it seems very fun.
JC Penney Sales Down, Blames Subprime Meltdown, Bad Weather
By 11.15.07
JC Penney isn’t doing so well this fall and has cut its forecast, admitting sluggish same store sales and citing bad weather and the subprime meltdown as the reasons for the downturn.
Morning Deals
By 11.15.07
How To Not Get Scammed At Live Auctions
By 11.15.07
Should you ever venture into a live auction, you know, gavel, real chairs that you sit in, etc, Consumerama has some tips on auctioneer scams to watch out for. Let’s say the price drops to $300, and three hands shoot up. By law, he’s supposed to just accept one bid at $300 and move on, but:
Dinner Plates On Walmart Shelves Contain Lead
By 11.14.07
What are you feeding your children tonight? How about a hearty helping of lead? KUTV did a followup on their report yesterday about lead in dinner plates. Their investigative reporter bought more plates from Walmart. After heating them to 85 degrees, the plates leached out lead at .381 parts per million. The plates were made in China. The government says that anything below 2.0 is acceptable. But unlike a toy where you’re mainly just coming in skin contact with the toy, with a plate, the lead is actually seeping into the food and you’re eating it.
Best Buy's Myspace Forum For Sharing Dumb Customer Stories
By 11.14.07
There’s a forum on social networking site Myspace where Best Buy employees share the dumbest things customers have ever said to them. They range from the “I probably should find another job:”
wheres the bathroom
The 10 Worst Toys For 2007
By 11.14.07
Boston-based World Against Toys Causing Harm Inc., or W.A.T.C.H., has announced its top-10 list of the worst toys you can buy kids this Christmas. This is a rather pointless year for a list like this, considering the massive expansion of the Unsafe Toy Industry; in fact, the first item on their list was recalled back in October for lead paint. Still, there are some fun discoveries on the list, like “Sticky Stones,” small piles of easy-to-eat magnets, and the “Spider Man 3 New Goblin Sword,” because its “spring-loaded blade expands to more than 3 feet long, creating the potential for facial injuries.” If they could just combine the Goblin Sword with the Oozinator, we’d have a Dateline special on our hands.
That $3000 Was Fraud? Chase Doesn't Care, It Only Wants Money
By 11.14.07
Brandon writes:“In January 2007, I was traveling in Mexico and was mugged, having my wallet and passport stolen. By the time I got back to the hotel and began calling my credit card companies to cancel, the criminal had charged close to $3,000 on my CHASE Circuit City Visa card. I explained to CHASE that the charges were fraud, and they sent me a fraudulent charge affidavit to complete and have notarized. As I couldn’t take care of this until I returned from my trip, and had more important things like a passport to worry about, I waited a few weeks before completing the paperwork and during those weeks received about 2 calls a day from CHASE urging me to send the documents.”
Morning Deals
By 11.14.07
Baby Poisoned By Lead-Tainted Walmart Plates
By 11.14.07
A Utah child developed painful constipation after it was discovered that her family was using lead-tainted plates sold by Walmart. Investigators found the plates had lead levels of 11. Utah considers anything about 1 “unacceptable.”
Walmart "Saves The Average Family $2,500 A Year," But You Don't Actually Have To Shop There
By 11.13.07
Walmart’s new ad campaign says that the store saves the average American family $2,500 a year. What is doesn’t say is that you don’t actually have to shop at Walmart to take advantage of the savings.
Verizon Misquotes Rates 93% Of The Time
By 11.13.07
1) What is the data overage rates for the basic 10MB data package for $29.99?
Unused Gift Cards Aren't Free Money For Stores
By 11.13.07
While the information in yesterday’s post, “Don’t Let Gift Cards Become Free Money For Stores” was good, the title was erroneous. Actually, depending on the state, unused gift cards may be classified as unclaimed property. The value is then turned over to the state in a process called “escheatment.” It would appear, however, that in some states, the stores do get to keep the money. This PDF gives a breakdown of how the laws generally apply state by state.
Recalled Toys Featured In Walmart's Holiday Catalog
By 11.13.07
One of the unintended consequences of so many toy recalls is that holiday catalogs, printed far in advance, are now full of recalled toys.
