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Every other retailer in existence may have had an awful holiday season, but Amazon says it was its “best ever.” [MarketWatch]
holidays
United Airlines Ruins Your Christmas As Only A Crappy Airline Can
By 12.27.08
Reader Thomas’s scheduled travel on United Air on Christmas Eve went pretty much how you’d expect: his flight left four hours early, and his rebooked flight at 4 a.m. was overbooked. The horror, inside.
By 12.24.08
../../../..//2008/12/24/the-nyt-offers-some-help/
The NYT offers some help choosing a yule log dvd.
Last-Minute Shoppers Unable To Save Christmas For Retailers
By 12.24.08
The AP says that while last-minute shoppers are still out there looking for bargains — the holiday season was over long ago for retailers.
Was George Bailey Just A Subprime Lender?
By 12.24.08
It’s A Wonderful Life is a heartwarming classic film — but it now seems to have wrecked our economy. Whoops!
Retailers Beg Government To Create Tax-Free Shopping Holidays To Save Them
By 12.24.08
The National Retail Federation has asked President-elect Obama to declare three tax-free shopping holidays next year.
Walmart: Your Generous Holiday Gesture Is Blocking Foot Traffic In Our Vestibule
By 12.23.08
Barry Goldberg decided that this was the season for giving — so he spent $1300 on $10 Walmart gift cards and stood in front of the store handing them out. Until Walmart stopped him.
Salvation Army: Some People Who Used To Be Donors Are Now "Clients"
By 12.18.08
If the Salvation Army is a charity that you usually support, they could really use your help this year. Donations are down and, according to a press release issued Tuesday, former donors are now “clients.”
Every Christmas Target Execs Fight Over Auto-Printing Guest Receipts
By 12.18.08
Regarding this story, turns out, every year at this time, Target has an internal clash of the titans over whether or not to automatically print guest receipts, according to a former employee.
What's New For 2008 Return Policies
By 12.15.08
Some retailers are tightening their returning policies this year, while others are loosening them. ConsumerWorld tells you who’s naughty and nice this year.
Barbie Vs Bratz: Barbie Wins! Court Stops Production Of Bratz Merchandise
By 12.13.08
This may well be the last holiday season for Bratz dolls, as a federal judge ordered their manufacturer to cease production and stop selling the popular dolls.
Santa's Not Coming: All KB Toys Stores To Be Liquidated And Closed
By 12.11.08
KB Toys has returned to Chapter 11 bankruptcy, says the Wall Street Journal, and will be liquidated by its parent company — Prentice Capital Management.
Being Forced To Buy Wii Bundles Makes You Very Angry
By 12.8.08
You know what makes you angry? Wii bundles. Here’s the situation. You go to the store to buy a Wii. You ask if they have any in stock. They do. You decide to buy the Wii — only to find out that they won’t sell you the Wii without forcing you to buy a bunch of other stuff. You become very angry. You write to us.
The Return of Layaway
By 12.8.08
Layaway is back this year. What’s that? It’s where you buy an item at a store, but don’t pay for it completely right away. The store puts the purchase item aside for you. You then make regular payments and once they add up to the full price tag, you get your item. Imagine that, saving up and only buying something once you can afford to pay for it in cash. Layaway plans used to be more popular but were overtaken by the ease and instant gratification of credit cards. Unlike credit cards, you don’t pay any interest, although sometimes there is a base fee. Now that credit lines are being cut and thrift is the new black, layaway is making a comeback. Kmart is featuring it in their Christmas ads, and Oprah talked about it on her show recently.
Jdimytai Damour, RIP
By 12.4.08
Artist Jeremy Scheuch made this digital image of Jdimytai Damour, the Walmart worker who was trampled to death by a crowd of Black Friday shoppers after they broke down the front doors and stormed in.
Try Consumer Reports' Website For Free And Increase Your Shopping Abilities
By 12.4.08
Consumer Reports has set up some cute mall kiosks in the Boston Area so that shoppers can research products while they are shopping, but if you can’t get to Boston you can still give the website a try.
Wal-Mart Employee Trampled To Death As Mob Tears Doors Off Hinges
By 11.28.08
The New York Times is reporting that a temporary employee of a suburban New York Walmart was trampled to death when a throng of shoppers tore down the front doors of the store and surged inside.
Holiday Gifts That Won't Break The Bank
By 11.26.08
As we’ve all been hearing lately, the sputtering economy is bound to put a damper on gift giving this holiday season. If you’re belt-tightening with the rest of us but would still like to give presents to those special people in your life, there are several alternatives for consideration. For instance:
