Reader Justin sent us this picture of a comically overpriced microSD card on the shelf at Best Buy. Oh, this storage device is overpriced by $310! Best Buy, you’re so silly! Only it’s not as silly as the casual observer might think, because this isn’t really an item for sale. [More]
deals
If Staples Never Had Any Hard Drives In Stock, Were They Ever Really On Sale?
By 10.11.12
Jordan had two glorious things happening to him at the same time. He had a $220 gift card to Staples, and the office-supply chain had Kingston solid State drives on sale for the wonderfully cheap price of $79.99. They were marked down from $199.99. He headed to his local store to take advantage of the deal, since Staples.com wouldn’t let him use the gift cards. At Staples, he learned that while his local store had the the item on display, they didn’t actually have them in stock. Now he’s questioning reality: was the item on sale last week or this week? Did the sale really ever exist? Was the lack of stock an accidental bait-and-switch move? (If it were an intentional one, they’d push the drives on customers for $200, or try to sell them a cheaper but inferior model.) Why won’t the web site accept gift cards? [More]
TigerDirect Won’t Accept My Coupon Because It Just Won’t
By 10.10.12
Jeff got a coupon with his last order from TigerDirect, and decided to use it to order some new speakers. Only the coupon didn’t work. The only explanation he could get from TigerDirect as to why the coupon wouldn’t work? Because it just won’t. They won’t accept it, despite having mailed it to him and everything. [More]
Waiting In A Long Line For A Popular Product Might Be Annoying But It Could Boost Your Ego
By 10.9.12
After yet another study showed that maybe those Black Friday sales that generate such humongous lines aren’t necessarily the best deals, and the simple fact that ordering a coveted item online can often allow shoppers to skip those eternal queues, why would anyone stand around waiting ever again? Well, maybe because it makes you feel kinda good, say experts. [More]
Is Customized Supermarket Pricing Gleaned From Loyalty Cards Creepy Or A Good Thing?
By 8.10.12
Whether you’re one of those shoppers with way too many grocery store loyalty cards or just a few, swiping those at checkouts could be doing far more than just giving you a few cents off your favorite cereal. Stores like Safeway and Kroger are building up their research on how their customers shop, developing customized pricing on the things you like the most. So is that a creepy invasion of privacy or worth it if you save money? [More]
How Deep Does A Discount Have To Be For Before You Call It A "Good Deal?"
By 11.9.11
A study of “Groupon addicts” asked them to specify how low a markdown had to be before they considered it a “good deal.” These were some pretty tough customers. How do their standards match up to yours? [More]
JCPenney's Black Friday Ad Is Out
By 11.7.11
If you want to see what kind of deals JCPenney is offering for the Black Friday sale this year, their entire 72-page ad just got uploaded. [More]
Verizon Promises Deal To Get You To Stay, Then Pretends It Didn't
By 10.12.11
To keep Andrew from jumping ship to Sprint for cheaper service, the retentions team at Verizon Wireless did its job: they offered him an amazing deal. He could get a $20 data credit per month on each of his smartphone lines as part of an unpublicized promotion. Who wouldn’t take that deal? Unfortunately, it turns out that “unpublicized” now means “Verizon pretends that it doesn’t exist.” Andrew’s not the only one who was promised this deal, and he’s going to fight for it. [More]
More Groupon Employees Sue Over Unpaid Overtime
By 9.27.11
Groupon was hit with a second employee lawsuit alleging that the company failed to pay overtime. It’s only the latest in a series of major setbacks for the social coupon site casting its future into doubt. [More]
Time Running Out To Save 50% On Consumer Reports' ShopSmart And Support Consumerist
By 9.22.11
Our sister publication ShopSmart — think Consumerist with better shoes — is full of tips for saving money on everything from cars to cosmetics, and just like all Consumer Reports publications it contains no outside advertising. Even better, sales of ShopSmart help support this here site that you’re reading right now. That’s why we came up with this exclusive coupon that lets Consumerist readers save 50% on the latest issue of ShopSmart. [More]
Get 50% Off Consumer Reports' ShopSmart And Help Support Consumerist
By 9.15.11
Our sister publication ShopSmart — think Consumerist with better shoes — is full of tips for saving money on everything from cars to cosmetics, and just like all Consumer Reports publications it contains no outside advertising. Even better, sales of ShopSmart help support this here site that you’re reading right now. That’s why we came up with this exclusive coupon that lets Consumerist readers save 50% on the latest issue of ShopSmart. [More]
Kroger Killing Double And Triple Coupons
By 9.14.11
Continuing the anti-extreme couponer trend, Kroger announced that they’ll stop doing double and triple store coupons in North Texas stores. [More]
Adventures In Ordering A Clearanced HP TouchPad
By 8.23.11
RIP, HP TouchPad. A long time ago–well, about three months ago–HP claimed that their WebOS-based tablet would be the greatest on the market. Now, our tipline is buzzing with customers clamoring to get their hands on a TouchPad tablet: not because it’s a hot tech toy, but because the product’s being discontinued, and retailers dumping them for $100 or $150 depending on storage capacity. [More]
JetBlue Selling "Boston All" Passes Through Thursday
By 8.17.11
If you fly frequently through Boston, here’s a deal for you. Now through Thursday night, JetBlue is selling $1,999 passes that give you three months of unlimited travel, as long as you fly to and from Boston. When offered earlier this month, the “Boston All” passes sold out within a week. [More]
9 As Last Number On Pricetag Has Magical Effect On Sales
By 8.1.11
The rational consumer, like the black unicorn, is a myth. Otherwise how could you explain this study that showed that customers buy more when the last number on the pricetag is nine, even if the item is more expensive? [More]
Toys R Us Mystery Deal Not So Mysterious, More Frustrating
By 7.22.11
Caty wasn’t trying to scam Toys ‘R’ Us out of fifty bucks. She saw an interesting promotion in the store’s newspaper circular that required scanning a QR code in the ad and seeing what the “mystery deal” might be. She scanned the code, saw that it gave her a sweet deal on a game bundle, and headed over to the store. There she found empty shelves and employees who claimed that the deal had been a “mistake” and Caty had failed to follow a rule that wasn’t on the newspaper circular. [More]
Supermarkets Manipulating Multiples To Get You To Buy More
By 7.19.11
Supermarkets are rolling out the apparent discounts more than ever. Ten for $10! Five for $5! And shoppers, thinking they’re getting a deal, are gobbling it up. Never mind that you can get the same price if you just bought one of the items. [More]
50% Off Amazon Prime Renewals For Students
By 7.14.11
Students who signed up last year for a free year of Amazon Prime are getting close to their expiration date. So, Amazon is offering them a renewal for $39, 50% off the regular price of $79. [More]
