Social book review site Goodreads is growing quickly, with 16 million members, partly because of its reputation as a source for independent user reviews of books. It’s main competition, Shelfari and LibraryThing are both partly or completely owned by Amazon. Yesterday, Goodreads announced that they were joining their competitors at the seller of cat litter and fine literature alike. [More]
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Walmart To Test In-Store Lockers For Pick-Up Of Online Orders
By 3.27.13
Since Amazon doesn’t have bricks-and-mortar stores, it has been rolling out a network of lockers at places like 7-Eleven and Staples, allowing customers to pick up their orders from safe, secure locations, instead of having to chase down FedEx, UPS, or the Postal Service. Now comes news that Walmart is getting into the locker game for its own online orders. [More]
When Buying Music From Amazon, It Can Sometimes Be More Expensive To Only Buy Mp3s
By 3.27.13
In most cases, it will cost you more to purchase a new CD than it would to buy that same music as an mp3 download. Which makes sense, since digital files don’t have the high manufacturing, shipping, or storage charges that physical discs do. But sometimes, you could end up on the short end of the stick if you just assume that the mp3 will be cheaper. [More]
Symbolic Senate Vote Demonstrates Support For Marketplace Fairness Act
By 3.22.13
There have been multiple attempts in recent years to push through some sort of federal law that would allow for state governments to collect sales tax on residents’ online purchases, but none have made it very far. However, a Senate vote this afternoon shows their might be some life in the latest iteration of the Marketplace Fairness Act. [More]
Amazon Is Very Concerned Someone Will Get Hurt Lifting This 4.65-Lb Box
By 3.20.13
Consumerist reader Charles might have thought Amazon had thrown in some barbells or maybe a spare anvil it had lying around the old warehouse when he received the above package. But that’s not what he’d ordered, and it wasn’t what was in the box. [More]
EA Disabling User Accounts Because It Thinks Any Contact With Amazon Must Be A Refund Request
By 3.18.13
UPDATE: Electronic Arts has announced that CEO John Riccitiello is stepping down. His last day on the job will be March 30. Interesting timing, eh? [More]
Apple, Amazon Looking To Sell Used Digital Content
By 3.8.13
When you purchase a digital download, do you actually own it? Some say yes, others say you’re just licensing its use from the copyright holder. This argument is only going to get more heated with news that both Apple and Amazon are looking into how to go about re-selling “used” digital content. [More]
Stuff No One Needs: Comic Sans Stencils
By 3.8.13
You know what’s even worse than using the font Comic Sans for every message you create on a computer, printed and online alike? Bringing the horror to the real world by using these two-inch-tall Comic Sans stencils. Don’t do it. Not even you, Banksy. [More]
Company Pulls T-Shirts From Site Because Pro-Domestic Violence Slogans Are Simply Awful
By 3.4.13
As often happens with iconic sayings, a T-shirt maker has taken the well-known phrase “Keep Calm And Carry On,” words first produced for a WWII propaganda poster and well, changed it. The company is in hot water for featuring controversial twists of the phrase including, “Keep Calm And Hit Her” and other pro-domestic violence, rapey slogans. [More]
Amazon Sells Me Speaker I Think Is Fake, Sends Refund Two Years Later
By 3.1.13
Two years ago, Jamison ordered a speaker system from Amazon. They worked all right, and there was nothing about this story to write home about. Until he decided to take them apart recently, just because he could, and discovered that one of the speakers was actually fake. As in, there was a speaker in the box not even connected to a wire. That was very strange. He contacted Amazon. They don’t have any reason to do anything about it, though, right? The purchase was two years ago. It’s not their problem anymore. [More]
Retailers Love Latest Attempt At Online Sales Tax Law, eBay Not So Much
By 2.14.13
As we mentioned yesterday, lawmakers in D.C. are going to take another stab at a federal law that would give states the ability to collect taxes from online retailers. Not surprisingly, the retail industry loves it, while eBay says it will only hurt small businesses. [More]
Lawmakers Set For Another Go At Federal Online Tax Law
By 2.13.13
For several years, there has been a lot of talk — and a handful of legislative efforts — regarding a federal law that would give states the authority to compel online sellers to collect sales tax on purchases. None of these bills have passed, so it’s time to try again. [More]
Amazon’s Order Fulfillment: Efficiency Through Inefficiency
By 2.13.13
Is Amazon’s shipping system spectacularly efficient, or woefully inefficient? The company’s success has come from getting items where they need to be as quickly and efficiently as possible. Reader Jesse sent along an illustration of exactly how this efficient inefficiency works: the windshield wiper blads that he got for his car last week. [More]
Amazon Says It’ll Give Away Millions Of Dollars (In Its New Digital Currency, Amazon Coins)
By 2.5.13
Amazon announced today that it’ll be giving away “millions of dollars” in the near future. But before you start angling for a piece of the pie and dreaming how you’ll spend it, those millions will be issued in Amazon Coins, the company’s new digital currency that works only to buy apps, games and in-app services on its Kindle Fire. Kinda different. [More]
Amazon E-Mailing Tennessee Residents To Remind Them Of Sales Tax Obligation [UPDATE: South Carolina Too]
By 2.1.13
Even if your state doesn’t require Amazon to collect sales tax on purchases, you’re still supposed to be paying any applicable tax to the state when you file your annual tax returns. Virtually no one does. That’s why Amazon is e-mailing customers in Tennessee to remind them of their obligation. [More]
Survey: Top Brands For Buzz In 2012 Were Subway, Amazon And… Cheerios?
By 1.24.13
When you think about popular fast food chains, Subway is certainly among them. And Amazon.com is without a doubt the leader in online retail. But apparently the U.S. brand with the third-best “buzz” from consumers in 2012 was a cereal we’ve all been eating since the dawn of time. [More]
Seems Like Amazon Is Disregarding Georgia’s Efforts To Collect Sales Tax
By 1.23.13
Back on New Year’s Eve, we predicted that a new state law intended to compel Amazon to collect sales tax on purchases made by Georgia residents would probably fail — and that seems to be exactly what is happening. [More]
Amazon Deletes My Feedback About Questionable Marketplace Seller
By 1.22.13
Consumerist reader Wade recently bought a new Alpine Car Stereo from a third-party marketplace seller on Amazon. Or at least he thought he had. [More]
