Earlier today, Consumerist reader Steve popped into Ricky’s — a chain of stores in NYC — to pick up some of his usual pomade. On the shelf, he saw what initially appears to be a good deal — a free travel-size shampoo with the purchase of a tin of pomade. But something struck Steve as being off about this deal. [More]
bad deals
Ripoffs Encountered At The Grocery Store
By 1.31.12
Sometimes items on the store shelves jump into your cart with the promise of better things than they deliver. Examples include food stuffs that look nothing like their glamour shots on the box and big bags of chips that are only half-full. [More]
80% Of AOL's Revenue Is Subscribers, 75% Of Whom Don't Need It
By 1.21.11
A New Yorker profile this week details how 80% of AOL’s revenue comes from subscriptions, and, according to an ex-AOL exec, 75% of those users are people who subscribe to the dial-up service and don’t need. Basically we’re talking about folks who have another kind of ISP and don’t realize that you don’t need to pay AOL anymore if you’re just using it for email. The group can be further divided into two sub-groups, the old, and the lazy. Here’s a step-by-step process for canceling AOL and saving some cash while still keeping access to your AOL email account. [More]
Target Discovers Opposite Of Bulk Discount
By 5.24.10
Michael spotted this less-than-stellar offer at a Utah Target. Two packs of Edge Sensitive shaving cream bundled together cost $4.39, 45 cents more than two on their own ($3.94). [More]
Top 7 Legalized Ripoffs
By 5.7.10
We busted the trusts! Oil! Rail! Coal! Kapow! You just got Tafted! Yeah, but that was a century ago. Industries have had more than enough time to mutate and adapt, especially when it comes to technology, and figure out new anti-consumer ways to develop and maintain hegemony. You get higher prices, lower product quality, and fewer rights. They get more yachts to waterski behind. In no particular order, here are some of the top 7 legalized ripoffs consumers face today: [More]
Sale At Target Means You Pay $2 Extra
By 3.8.10
Consumerist readers are on to you, Target. After reading the site for awhile, people are moving the sale cards over to see what the price used to be before it went “on sale.” [More]
How A $19.99 Flower Arrangement Costs $49.95
By 2.12.10
Craig writes that he found a great deal from Proflowers recently: a dozen roses for $19.99. Good boyfriend and sensible shopper that he is, he ordered them for Valentine’s Day, only to discover that the delivery charges and holiday surcharges made the cost more than double. [More]
Don't Let Your Parents Buy An Awful Laptop For Too Much Money
By 1.29.10
It’s easy for companies to target non-tech savvy people to unload outdated products that pale in comparison to the stuff on the lower end of the market. Alvaro spotted this terrible deal, which offers a machine with 512MB of RAM, a Pentium IV processor and a 30GB hard drive for $400. [More]
Think Carefully Before Buying Diapers At Target
By 1.20.10
Reader Sarah was shopping for some diapers when she noticed something strange about Target’s pricing. Yes, the well-documented insanity continues in the diaper aisle… [More]
Watch Out For Cyber Monday Non-Deals
By 11.30.09
Just as Black Friday has its sleazy underside meant to make you pay more than you should to buy stuff you don’t need, so does Cyber Monday. [More]
Sony Hunts For Morons Willing To Pay $25 To Rent A Movie
By 11.12.09
Has Sony got a deal for you if you’ve got a Sony Bravia HDTV that can connect to the internet: Rent Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 30 days early for the low, low price of $24.95. Movie blogger Colin Boyd gushes about the fantastic offer on his site (citing a ZDNet story), Get the Big Picture:
QVC Tricks Thousands Into Overpaying For Wii and Accessories
By 11.2.09
Reader Joe/Mordecai spotted an awful QVC deal on a Wii, a crappy game and some accessories.
Target Charges You More For Free Bonus
By 8.11.09
Reader Michael sent us this picture of a 16-ounce bottle of Crest whitening rinse and a 32-ounce bottle that says “BONUS 100% MORE FREE.” Turns out by “FREE” they mean “$1.15 more.”
Quick! Stock Up On Ben & Jerry's Before This Sale Expires!
By 8.10.09
We were going to list this in tomorrow’s Morning Deals, but decided the bargain was just too good to hold off posting: Harris Teeter has reduced the price on all of its Ben & Jerry’s pints, from $3.99 to $3.99.
Jewel-Osco Resorts To Sarcasm
By 7.15.09
We know times are tough for retailers as well as consumers, but Chicago chain Jewel-Osco seems to be resorting to sarcasm instead of discounts.
Do Not Fall Into Target's Evil Sunscreen Trap!
By 5.18.09
Eagle-eyed reader Kt noticed that Target is charging $9.99 for both the 3 oz and the 6 oz size of Coppertone’s NutraShield sunscreen.
Meritline Using Misleading "Free HDMI" Cable To Sell Digital TV Converter With No HDMI Output?
By 4.22.09
Matthew emailed us with an interesting link to a Meritline offer that he says is making the rounds on deal sites. The Airlink digital-to-analog converter box is a fairly generic offer, but Meritline is offering a free HDMI cable with it. The only problem is, there’s no place on the box to use the cable. If you just see “free HDMI cable” and don’t read the specs closely, you’ll be in for a rotten surprise when the box arrives. But hey, free cable.
Probably At 4 Cookies The Real Savings Kicks In
By 4.10.09
Edward found this sign at a Subway shop in NYC. We appreciate that they’re doing the addition for us.
