After sorting through a mountain of nomination e-mails, we’ve whittled down the field of competitors for this year’s Worst Company In America tournament to 40 bad businesses. Here’s your chance to have your say on how these players will square off in the bracket, and which bubble teams will get left out in the cold. [More]
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Amazon Clears Up Dates For New Prime Pricing
By 3.13.14
As we reported this morning, the annual subscription rate for Amazon Prime is going up from $79 a year to $99 a year. However, there was some confusion over exactly when that change was going to take place. [More]
Online State Sales Tax Solution Remains Elusive After Congress Declares ‘Fundamental Defects’ In Senate Bill
By 3.13.14
After years of attempts to craft a federal law that would affirm states’ rights to tax online purchases, the issue may still be far from being resolved. The House Judiciary Committee has put the brakes on the Marketplace Fairness Act passed by the Senate in May. [More]
Amazon Jacks Up Rate On Prime Memberships To $99/Year
By 3.13.14
Amazon said in January that it was considering increasing the annual subscription rate on its Amazon Prime program — which includes free two-day shipping on many purchases and access to the site’s library of streaming videos — by twenty to forty dollars. This morning, the e-tailer began notifying customers that it is indeed jacking up that rate from $79/year to $99/year. [More]
Will Amazon Get Those Drones After All? Judge Dismisses FAA Fine For Commercial Drone User
By 3.7.14
Chin up, Amazon! Turn that frown upside down, local brewery sending beer through the air! Delivery by commercial drone might still be possible, despite the Federal Aviation Administration going around putting the kibosh on the unmanned aerial vehicles. A federal judge has dismissed the FAA’s only fine against a commercial drone user. [More]
Who Wins The Streaming-Service Wars? Netflix, Pretty Much
By 3.4.14
There are many different video-streaming services available to consumers now, but it shouldn’t be difficult to figure out which one is right for you. It all depends on what your favorite shows are, since different streaming services have their own agreements with content providers, and produce their own exclusive content as well. Which one is best? Well, what’s your favorite show? [More]
Supreme Court Takes On Amazon Warehouse Workers’ Case Over Unpaid Time
By 3.4.14
Should warehouse workers have to spend their own free time waiting for security procedures after their work shift is done, or should companies like Amazon have them on the clock during that process? Amazon workers have been fighting to collect pay for that time spent in line waiting for security checks, and the United States Supreme Court has agreed to hear their case. [More]
Is Amazon Prime Price Hike In UK A Sign Of Things To Come?
By 2.21.14
Last month, Amazon revealed that after nearly a decade of charging $79/year for its Amazon Prime service, it was mulling over the possibility of adding anywhere from $20 to $40 to that amount. Now comes news out of Europe that the online giant is increasing Prime rates for customers in the U.K. and Germany. [More]
Family Of Deceased Amazon Worker: No One Noticed Her Lying In Parking Lot For 7 Hours
By 2.12.14
The family of a Delaware woman who died after she was found lying outside in the parking lot of the Amazon distribution center where she worked has a lot of questions this week: Namely, how could no one have seen her lying there for at least seven hours, with her car running? [More]
Shoplet Rules The Stupid Shipping Gang Forever, Sends Me Coupon In Box Of Air Pillows
By 2.11.14
Ed ordered three big (by “big” we mean four feet by six feet) dry erase boards from Amazon.com. They came from a vendor called Shoplet. Everything seemed fine with the transaction until a mysterious box arrived on his doorstep alongside the boards. The box was tiny, unlike the boards. What was inside? Mounting hardware? Extra erasers? Free markers? No. He opened the box and was horrified at what he found inside. [More]
Newegg “Premier” Offers Expedited Shipping For $50/Year
By 2.6.14
While Newegg has long been a go-to online retailer for a large number of electronics shoppers, for some consumers the site was lacking the expedited shipping and other perks offered by the Amazon Prime service. This week, Newegg finally dipped its toes into the premium subscription service pool with Newegg Premier. [More]
Amazon May Raise Price On Prime By $20 To $40
By 1.31.14
For years, Amazon has been charging an annual fee of $79 for Amazon Prime membership, which includes free two-day shipping on many items and access to a library of streaming movies and TV shows at no extra cost. For people who take advantage of both aspects of the service, it’s a pretty good deal at under $7/month, but is that all about to change? [More]
Amazon In Talks To Create Online Cable Competitor, But Don’t Hold Your Breath
By 1.21.14
Amazon is already a major player in the streaming video rental and subscription business, competing against iTunes, Zune, Google Play, Redbox, and Netflix. But does the e-tail giant have its eyes on more-established competitors? A new report claims that Amazon is looking to create its own live pay TV service that would pit the company against cable operators. [More]
Amazon Patents Method For Shipping You Things Before You Order Them
By 1.21.14
Regular Amazon shoppers are probably quite familiar with the e-tailer’s e-mail blasts that highlight things you might want based on previous purchases and the things you’ve searched for on the site. But what if Amazon went one step further and actually predicted the things you will buy and shipped them in advance? [More]
Amazon Fresh Promotes New Service By Delivering Bags Of Distinctly Unfresh Groceries
By 1.13.14
While it might be a nice surprise to receive a free, unexpected groceries on your doorstep, some San Francisco residents are a bit puzzled as to why Amazon is pushing its new Fresh delivery service with free bags of very unfresh items. A can of Coke, mushroom soup and fish taco seasoning? Dinner is served! [More]
Is This 2,550-LB Wide-Belt Sander Now The Heaviest Thing That Ships For Free On Amazon?
By 1.7.14
UPDATE: No, it appears the sander has already been beaten by a few other contenders. Let’s just say lathes are really, really heavy.
Amazon’s Stupid Shipping Gang Has Really Outdone Itself With This One
By 1.6.14
UPDATE: Sigh, the mystery has already been solved and has thus been rendered unmysterious. But we’ll make you scroll through our original musings first, of course. [More]
Stupid Shipping Gang Protects My Toilet Paper With Even More Wads Of Paper
By 1.3.14
Amazon really cares whether your packages arrive safely, no matter what they are. How much do they care? Reader Tony reports that when he ordered toilet paper from Amazon, it arrived in a huge box stuffed with brown paper. [More]
