Stores offer the steepest discounts the day before Christmas, not on Black Friday. A Boston Globe study found that the orgy of mindless early-morning consumerism is good for cutesy door prizes and savings on one or two items, but provides no discount for the vast majority of surveyed goods.
holidays
What Part Of "Must Obtain Signature" Did FedEx Misunderstand?
By 12.29.07
Frank told FedEx to require a signature before delivering his skis, instructions FedEx found vague and confusing. When Frank complained, FedEx said that in order to deliver the increased volume of goods over the holidays, they reserve the right to essentially chuck your delicate gifts from a speeding truck.
Easter Creep: Target Hauls Out The Easter Products On December 26
By 12.27.07
We’d love to tell you exactly what we yelled at our computer screen when we saw the above photograph, but it would probably set off your company’s web filtering software.
Return Policies For 15 Major Retailers
By 12.27.07
Hate that stationary bike your hint-dropping friend got you for Christmas? Want to return it so you can buy something useful like a cook book or ten pounds of fudge? Well Mouseprint rounded up return policies for fifteen major retailers to help you offload all those gifts you never wanted. Retailers readily accept returns if you have a receipt and the original packaging with price tags. Most stores charge a 15% restocking fee and want their merchandise back within a few weeks. Happy returning!
Lillian Vernon Fires Employees Four Days Before Christmas
By 12.27.07
Longtime catalog business Lillian Vernon, famous for its dinky personalized items—and under corporate ownership of one sort or another since 2003—decided to personalize the sensation of being terminated last Thursday, reports the Virginian-Pilot. Although seasonal workers have always been a big part of LV’s holiday workforce, this time around the axe fell on longterm employees who showed up to their normal, year-round jobs that morning. “Lillian Vernon officials declined to comment on the layoffs. Philip Read, a company spokesman, answered his wireless phone Friday and said he was no longer employed by Lillian Vernon as of Thursday.”
Retail: Can The Day After Christmas Save Christmas?
By 12.26.07
The International Council of Shopping Centers said same-store sales, or sales at stores open at least a year during the November-December period, appear to be coming in just below meager projections, though it said post-Christmas buying could help restore the shortfall.
Gift Idea: Buy Someone A Magnum
By 12.19.07
Tyler Colman, Ph.D., also known as Dr. Vino, suggests giving magnums this year because those huge bottles have a smaller carbon footprint due to the more favorable wine-to-glass ratio.
Gee Whiz! The Starbucks "Cheer Chain Phenomenon" Might Be A Lame PR Stunt
By 12.19.07
Some cynical people, (not us, mind you) are starting to suspect that the news stories popping up all over the U.S. about Starbucks “cheer chains” might be planted by Starbuck’s PR team.
Macy's Website Asks You To "Wait Here A Few Moments While Other Shoppers Finish Up"
By 12.18.07
Mike
We like the “wait in line” style of the message. It’s a good way to remind people who shop online to avoid crowds that they’ve managed to fail in that regard.
USPS Asks That You Write Addresses Clearly To Speed Up The Holiday Mail Season
By 12.14.07
This coming Monday is the busiest day of the year for the USPS and they’d really appreciate it if you’d write your addresses in clear handwriting, so the computers can read them without human help.
10 Magazine Gift Guides Reviewed & Ranked
By 12.13.07
You’re busy: you don’t have time to shop, or to read magazines, or to look at magazines for ideas to guide you when you go shopping, which you’re not going to do because you’re too busy. Luckily Slate has pre-digested the gift guides from ten magazines including Vogue, Maxim, Consumer Reports, and Gourmet, then barfed them up like an HTML mama bird for your shopping convenience.
By 12.10.07
../../../..//2007/12/10/a-quick-guide-to-end/
A quick guide to end of the year tipping. [CNBC] (Thanks, J!)
Why Are Nintendo Wiis So Hard To Find?
By 12.9.07
Nintendo thinks depriving potential customers of the coveted Wii is a sound business decision that will ensure its long-term survival. Sure, you want the Wii now, but your passions are fleeting and unreliable. If you can’t wait for Nintendo’s post-holiday production ramp-up, hit the jump and we’ll tell you how we snagged our Wii.
Shoppers Chill Out: Retail Sales Down 4.4% From Last Year
By 12.5.07
Reuters is reporting that retail sales are down 4.4 percent compared with same period a year ago.
Family Tries To Pull Off $7 Million Black Friday Heist
By 12.4.07
A young man, his girlfriend, and his mother were arrested on Saturday for stealing $7.4 million from an armored car company last Monday in Cleveland, Ohio. They timed the robbery to occur after Black Friday and the ensuing weekend because they knew the company would be chock full of retailers’ profits. Then they loaded a newly bought getaway van with the cash and hid away in Pipestem, West Virginia. The FBI tracked them down using old shopping receipts found in the girlfriend’s abandoned pickup truck.
This Boneless Spiral Ham Is "Delicious For Chanukah"
By 12.4.07
This photo, and a few others of similar signs on similar hams, was taken at Balducci’s on 8th Ave. at 14th Street, on Sunday, 12/2 by NancyKay Shapiro. She’s attributed the signs to the “Department of Monumental Cluelessness, Well-Meaning Division.”
Recalls Are A Headache For Toy Drive Organizers
By 12.3.07
Toy drive organizers are recruiting extra volunteers to help them “throw away” recalled toys, says USAToday.
Shopping Tip: 100 Notable Books
By 11.27.07
The New York Times has released its list of the 100 Notable Books of 2007, so if you’re shopping for bookworms… you get the idea.
