Don’t want to spend Thanksgiving weekend watching football with cousin Sally or you can only listen to your brother’s new Tuvan throat singing album a few dozen times before it starts to sound repetitive? Then it’s time to take your phone/tablet/laptop/Omnitool into the room that used to be yours before your mom turned it into her office/photography lab, and binge-watch your way through the weekend. Thankfully, the good people at AVclub.com have put together this handy list of older TV shows that will help you pass the time. [AVclub.com] [More]
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Amazon, Best Buy, United Airlines Make Consumer Reports’ Naughty List
By 11.26.13
While the bearded guy at the North Pole is making his list and checking it twice before he heads out to deliver toys and/or coal on Dec. 24/25, our pals at Consumer Reports have already decided who they think deserves a shiny black hunk of anthracite in their stockings. [More]
Undercover Investigation: Working At Amazon Warehouse Can Cause “Mental & Physical Illness”
By 11.25.13
For all the times you’ve felt like working could send you straight into the arms of the mental health care system, an investigation into a UK-based Amazon warehouse claims conditions were so stressful, they could cause “mental and physical illness.” [More]
Cash-Strapped USPS Gets Lucky With New Amazon Sunday Delivery
By 11.12.13
The United States Postal Service has been struggling to make money for some time now, but ho! What is that yonder, in the distance? Could it be a knight in shining armor, riding in to save this damsel in distress? And what is the male version of a damsel? Anyway, Amazon is rolling out Sunday package delivery and it’s granted USPS the contract to carry it out. [More]
Are Small Bookstores Committing Suicide If They Join Amazon’s New Kindle Program?
By 11.6.13
A common refrain among people in the book business — especially those in the independent bookselling market — is that Amazon is “out to kill small bookstores.” Depending on how one looks at it, the latest scheme from the online retail giant either bolsters or calls BS on that statement. [More]
Wife Of Amazon’s Founder Gives Book About Amazon A 1-Star Rating — On Amazon, Of Course
By 11.5.13
At first it might seem odd for Mackenzie Bezos, wife of Amazon’s founder Jeff Bezos, to lay out exactly how much she disliked The Everything Store, a book about all things Amazon on the very site that the book is about. But actually, it makes perfect sense. Billionaires — they’re just like us! [More]
Amazon Thanks FAA For Lifting Device Restrictions With A One-Day Sale On Kindles
By 11.4.13
It was just about time for kicking off shoes and reclining in the comfiest chair (I call him Fergus) at Consumerist HQ when a one-day only sale caught my eye. Because it’ll be over by tomorrow, the time to spread the news is now. [More]
Best Buy Is Just Daring You To Use Their Stores As Amazon Showrooms
By 11.4.13
Last week, we mocked Best Buy’s ad campaign that frames the electronics chain as America’s “holiday showroom,” mostly because it’s close to the truth. For many people, Best Buy is a fine showroom for the online retailers they plan to really buy from. The company knows this, and the ad campaign is a sort of dare. “Come on in,” they’re saying. [More]
No Binge-Watching Amazon’s New Original Shows
By 11.4.13
Many a Netflix subscriber has lost a weekend to binges of the streaming service’s original shows like House of Cards, Orange Is The New Black, and the fourth season of Arrested Development, and Amazon Prime users have certainly done this with many of the TV shows available included in its streaming library. But for some reason, Amazon won’t be feeding this binge impulse when it launches its first slate of original programming later this month. [More]
Amazon Offering Discount E-Books On Previously Purchased Books (But The Selection Is Wanting)
By 10.29.13
Back in September, Amazon gave a vague launch window for its new MatchBook program, which allows customers who bought printed books from the e-tailer over the years to now have the option of buying an e-book version of those titles at a discount. Today, MatchBook finally launched, though only with around 75,000 titles included. [More]
18 Cats That Can’t Resist Lounging In Amazon Boxes
By 10.23.13 — Updated: 1.26.15
As everyone who has owned a cat or seen the Internet knows, cats love boxes. America’s cats aren’t quite sure what to make of the news that Amazon has increased the free Super Saver Shipping threshold to $35, from the original $25. On the one paw, this might mean that their households will be getting fewer packages from Amazon and fewer boxes to lounge in. Or could it drive more cat owners to get Amazon Prime and thus have more boxes to lounge in? [More]
Amazon Quietly Ups The Free Shipping Minimum Purchase To $35
By 10.22.13
For as long as we can remember, Amazon.com’s minimum purchase requirement to qualify for its free super saver shipping was $25, a pretty easy threshhold for many shoppers to reach with perhaps a couple of books or a really nice salad spinner. It’ll be a bit tougher now, however, as Amazon has quietly increased the free shipping amount to $35. [More]
Amazon Employee Suing Company Over Daily, Unpaid 20-Minute Security Searches
By 10.16.13 — Updated: 1.26.15
It’s understandable that giant retailers like Amazon wouldn’t want employees bringing anything home from work they shouldn’t. But much like a lawsuit Apple workers brought against that company for on-the-clock security searches, an employee of Amazon is bringing a class-action lawsuit against it alleging that workers have to go through daily, unpaid security procedures that cost them time and money. [More]
This RAID Controller Looks Suspiciously Like A Sex Toy
By 10.9.13
Consumerist reader Ben was just minding his own business, shopping on Amazon for a RAID controller for his server when — what the holy heck, is that a huge pink plastic phallus? [More]
Amazon Debuts New Kindle Fire HDX Tablets With Live Pop-Up Video Help
By 9.25.13
There was a show on VH1 wherein music videos would play (yes, on TV, kids!) and little bubbles of information about the artist or the video would pop up so you could learn while you listened. Maybe someone at Amazon was a fan of that show too, because the company’s new Kindle Fire HDX tablets have a sort of pop-up help feature on the desktop. But instead of just words, a tech-support rep appears. [More]
Staples, RadioShack No Longer Want To Be The Places Where You Pick Up Your Amazon Orders
By 9.19.13
For about a year, some Staples and RadioShack stores allowed Amazon to set up lockers inside, giving customers of the online retailer a secure location to which their orders could be delivered. But the two chains are saying the deal didn’t really work out and are ending the arrangement. [More]
The Number Of Nicolas Cage Pillowcases For Sale On The Internet Is Truly Astounding
By 9.19.13 — Updated: 12.13.15
All those nights lying awake, wondering where Nicolas Cage is, what he’s doing, how his dreams are unfolding, and wishing you could be slumbering cheek-to-cheek aren’t hopeless, after all. Because beyond any human reasoning we can summon forth, there are pages and pages of pillowcases featuring the star of Captain Corelli’s Mandolin. [More]
CEO Equates Bricks-And-Mortar Retail With Sex, Says Neither Are Going Away
By 9.13.13
While some futurists predict an end to bricks-and-mortar retail shopping, with everyone shopping online and getting their purchases delivered (or 3-D printed) to their homes, there are an awful lot of people who still enjoy the experience of going out to the store and getting their shop on. And one retail tech CEO thinks that, like other human desires, the availability of the Internet can’t fully sate this lust for real-world shopping. [More]
