Retail Services
Morning Deals
By 10.16.07
Verizon's Plan To Share Your Call Data Generates Blog Scrutiny
By 10.15.07
Just a little over a month ago, we alerted Verizon Wireless users to an opportunity to opt-out of Verizion sharing some of your information with unnamed third parties. Specifically, the information is subscriber’s CPNI, which consists of what numbers you call, what numbers call you, and how much the call costs. It is not linked to your name, number, or address.
Free Facebook Gift: Walmart Ghost Cookie
By 10.15.07
Today’s free gift that social network site Facebook users can electronically give to each other appears to be a frosting-coated ghost cookie in a plastic bag. Oh, and the cookie says Walmart on it. Spooky. Now is time for a fun Halloween game. Make this simple marketing ploy into a metaphor, and then read a lot into it.
Pepsi Worker Attacks Coke Worker At Walmart
By 10.15.07
Police say that two soft drink workers, one representing Pepsi (David Paulina, 42) and one representing Coca-Cola (Robert Koscho, 48) “tried to run each other over with pallets full of soda bottles” at a Pennsylvania Walmart. The violence escalated outside the store, and the Coke rep ended up with a broken nose.
Does It Make Sense To Get A Text Message Plan?
By 10.15.07
Here’s the current text-message rate plans for the different cellphone providers. Most providers also offer unlimited text message plans: AT&T: $19.99 a month, Sprint: $20 a month, T-Mobile: $14.99 a month, Verizon: Unlimited messaging isn’t optional feature, but it is part of the America’s Choice Select Plan.
Her Depot: Home Depot For Women
By 10.14.07
Scary man tools will be replaced by decorative trinkets and stylish furniture at the new Home Depot pilot store designed to attract women. Tragically dubbed “Her Depot,” the store will abandon Home Depot’s warehouse aesthetic in favor of shorter, “cleaner” aisles that emphasize home organization and interior design.
“There is a showroom of doors and windows unlike any other we’ve ever tried,” Feldman said.
67% Of Consumerist Readers Are Cellphone Only
By 10.13.07
When asked about their home telephone situation, 67% of responding Consumerists said they only had a cellphone. 27.7% have both a cellphone and a landline. A paltry 3.6% only have a landline, and just 1.4% say the use neither cellphone or a landline, using payphones instead. The survey had 7735 participants. Clearly, the cellphone is king.
3 Ways To Improve Your Online Shopping Experience
By 10.12.07
SmartMoney offers three tips to improve some of the most common down-sides of shopping online: too many results, not enough discounts, and dreaded shipping fees.
Budgeting Tip: Use What You Buy
By 10.12.07
A columnist at Get Rich Slowly describes how her family learned to focus on getting the most use out of the things they purchase, rather than using them once or twice and then moving on to the next new thing. While it sounds like an obvious tip, it can be a little harder to practice in real life—but, she writes, the results can be eye-opening.
Painlessly Divorce Outlook And Your Crackberry
By 10.12.07
Mike Elgan describes how he was able to dump outlook, move all his data to online services, and can now use any phone he wants:
Morning Deals
By 10.12.07
Hey Shoppers: Apparently, You Still Hate The Gap
By 10.11.07
Even though the Gap was kind enough to address (er, refute) our reader’s observations about the Gap’s general state of crappiness, we haven’t forgotten that the store isn’t doing so well sales-wise, and it is therefore our sad duty to inform you that same store sales are down 7%.
6 Online Shopping Scams To Watch Out For
By 10.11.07
1. Missing Auction Goods – Auction fraud represents over a third of Internet scam complaints every year. Your safest bet is to pay with plastic so you gain the protections of the Fair Credit Billing Act. When plastic’s not an option, setting up an account through PayPal or BillPay that connects to your credit card is the next best bet.
Aquos LC-32D40U Develops Defect 1 Month Out Of Warranty
By 10.11.07
A friend of ours bought a Sharp Aquos LC-32D40U last year. Its warranty expired in August. Naturally, this month, it developed a strange liberation. There’s a thin black line on the right side of the screen. It sorta looks like it’s not completely hiding the letter boxes when you go to full screen format. When he called Sharp, they didn’t want to help him because his warranty was over. Best Buy, where he bought it, will charge $100 to come out and look and it.
Verizon Unleashes Zombie Debt Collector Scourge On Innocent Consumer
By 10.11.07
Reader Kevin has a problem with Verizon and the zombie debt collectors they’ve unleashed on the account Verizon said was paid off and closed…
Costco Sales Up While Other Retailers Cry
By 10.10.07
Costco shoppers, who might pick up a $1,270 strand of cultured pearls while buying cases of seltzer, spent more even as costs for housing, fuel and food rose. Customers also purchased iPods, digital cameras and prepared food.
