“I still like print magazines, but I wish that they functioned as a portable wifi hotspot,” said no one ever. This wish came true for some people last week when they received a special edition of Forbes magazine in the mail that serves as a disposable wifi hotspot as well as a disposable news delivery device. [More]
free stuff
Ask Tax Dad: Dependent Mom And Free Fast Food
By 4.15.13
Usually, our staff Certified Tax Cat handles readers’ questions about taxes, but he’s too busy staring at a blank spot on the wall. Filling in for him is Laura’s dad, a retired accountant and real live independent tax preparer. Exclusively on Consumerist this spring, Tax Dad answers your questions. Also, to celebrate federal income tax deadline day, we link some coupons for free fast food deals good for today only.
This should be the last installment of Ask Tax Dad for 2013: tune in next year when Tax Cat comes back, Tax Dad returns, or maybe Tax Cat’s dad will show up to handle your tax questions. [More]
IHOP Doing The Free Pancake Thing Again Today
By 2.5.13
Between Groundhog Day and the Super Bowl, you’re probably all celebrated out right now. But don’t forget that it’s National Pancake Day today, which means you have a right to some free food at IHOP. [More]
Grocery Store Gives Customers Free Food Rather Than Have Them Wait For Registers To Start Working
By 11.19.12
Pop quiz, hot shot: You’re the manager of a grocery store and a computer crash leaves your cashiers without any easy way to tally up customers’ purchases, let alone process payments. Do you (A) tell customers they’ll have to wait; (B) pull out the old calculator; (C) give them their food for free. [More]
Warehouse Store Sample Server: I’m Not Here To Give You A Free Lunch
By 11.19.12
Shoppers at Costco, Sam’s Club and other warehouse clubs are likely quite familiar with the many sample servers situated around the store, handing out freebies to eager customers. One such sample server has penned an open letter to warehouse club shoppers saying that he loves his job, but there are some things you all do that really get under his skin. [More]
My Extreme Couponing Career Was Short-Lived And Embarrassing Thanks To Kroger
By 11.13.12
Hell hath no fury like a grocery store cashier who thinks you’re trying to rip off the store. Sarah was terribly embarrassed when she was accused of doing just that at Kroger. Right in the store, she saw a coupon, part of a display hawking the DVD of the latest reboot of the Spiderman movie franchise. The coupon for a free 4-ounce bag of the delicious snack Pirate’s Booty didn’t say that a purchase was required, like the other “free stuff if you buy this DVD” promotions. So she tore one off and tried to get the free snack. This was, of course, the Crime of the Century as far as Kroger was concerned. Now she doesn’t really want to use coupons anymore at all. [More]
Funny Pictures: Not Always Funny On Second Glance
By 11.9.12
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]
Did The Hurricane Keep You From Your Free Taco Bell? Don’t Fret
By 10.30.12
While the rest of the country is currently chowing down on free Taco Bell thanks to San Franciso Giants outfielder Angel Pagan’s stolen base in the World Series, many of us in the Mid-Atlantic are more focused on things like saving our homes and wondering where our cars drifted off to. Thankfully, Taco Bell says y’all can still eat up at a later date. [More]
Detroit To Lose Again When Everyone Else Gets Free World Series Taco Bell Tacos
By 10.26.12
With the Phillies nowhere near the baseball postseason, the only reason I’ve been watching the World Series is to add to my Ken Rosenthal bow tie Pinterest page and to see which player would be the first to steal a base and thereby win free Taco Bell tacos for the entire nation. [More]
Free Donuts For Pirates At Krispy Kreme This Wednesday
By 9.17.12
Do you plunder and pillage? Do you favor parrots, eye patches and fancy hats? If so, then you might be able to score a free donut — or maybe even a free dozen donuts — from Krispy Kreme this Wednesday. [More]
Mattel Writes Back To Hot Wheels-Loving Little Girl, Sends Her Free Car Coupon
By 7.20.12
Rick’s daughter had a question about her toys. She wanted to know why some Hot Wheels cars have drivers, and why some don’t. Instead of just making up an answer or saying that he didn’t know, he sent a quick e-mail to Hot Wheels maker Mattel. They sent her back what was probably a form e-mail, but still surprised and delighted Rick. There was another surprise, too. [More]
It’s Free Slurpee Day At 7-Eleven
By 7.11.12
UPDATE: As the day has gone on (and it creeps closer and closer to the 7 p.m. deadline in each successive time zone), we’re hearing gripes from the Slurpee-hungry public who showed up at their local 7-Eleven only to be greeted by the bad news that enough of the headache-inducing delight had been given out for the day. [More]
Dress Like A Cow On July 13, Get Free Chick-Fil-A
By 7.9.12
Friday the 13th is probably not the day that some would want to test their luck by slapping on a cow costume and going out in public. But if you want free food from Chick-fil-A, it’s the risk you’ll have to take. [More]
Pizza Chain Offers Free Pies If You Order In Spanish
By 5.23.12
In a move that is both savvy publicity stunt and topical button-pushing, Dallas-based pizza chain Pizza Patron says it will be handing out free large pies to customers who place their order in Spanish. [More]
Free Pancakes Tomorrow At IHOP
By 2.27.12
We know that many of you will be observing National Pancake Day tomorrow by spending time with your family and other loved ones, visiting your local pancake memorial/monument and generally pondering what Pancake Day means to you. But if you also want to eat pancakes, IHOP is once again rolling out the free short stacks. [More]
Tassimo Offers Free Coffee To Registered Customers, Then Won't Register Anyone
By 1.19.12
Tassimo, a Kraft brand, is probably best known as the “those single-serve coffee brewers that aren’t Keurig.” Anita has one, and she received an e-mail from Kraft offering two free packages of coffee if she registered her brewer. Yay, free coffee! So she did just that, only to hit a brick wall of customer disservice. Not what you expect after buying a coffeemaker that retails for $140. [More]
Blockbuster Wants To Lure You In On Christmas With Free Batteries
By 12.21.11
Apparently having given up on the whole movie rental thing as a way to lure customers into its few stores that remain open, Blockbuster is trotting out a free battery gimmick. Go into any participating store on Christmas and you can walk away with two packs of either AA or AAA batteries. If you need more than that, you can buy additional packs for a buck. [More]
Google Continues Free Voice Calls To U.S. & Canada Through 2012
By 12.14.11
If you use the “Call Phone” function in Gmail’s Chat menu to chat with your phone pals in the U.S. or Canada — or if you’re looking for a free way of doing so — Google has announced it will continue to offer this service for free through the upcoming calendar year. [More]
