The Garmin StreetPilot C330 got slightly above-average reviews from CNET readers when it was first introduced in 2005. If you want to drive around all old-school, you can pick one up on Amazon or eBay for under $50. And if you want to kick it really old-school, you can spend $200 on one at Kmart. [More]
kmart
Confessions Of A Kmart Service Desk Employee
By 9.13.13 — Updated: 5.30.14
Five years ago, we published a post called “10 Confessions of a Kmart Manager.” Kmart and all of Sears Holdings Corporation aren’t doing so well right now, so maybe the company has tried to make some changes to draw and keep more customers? No, an anonymous front-line Kmart employee tells us. They have not. [More]
Scammer Threatens To Blow Up Kmart If Prepaid Debit Card Isn’t Filled
By 9.12.13
While the man in the earlier story who mentioned that he might get a machine gun and use it against the employees of a customer service call center was improperly venting his frustration, the person who called in a bomb threat to a New Jersey Kmart was just trying to scam the store out of some money. [More]
Kmart Forgets It’s Still Summer, Begins Airing Holiday Ad
By 9.10.13
Perhaps Kmart panicked after having a nightmare that it was November and had forgotten to put together a holiday ad campaign, or maybe some prankster at Sears changed a Kmart marketing exec’s desk calendar. Why else would the beleaguered retailer start airing a holiday shopping ad while it’s still summer? [More]
Kmart Frowns Upon Customers Using A Closed Store As A Personal Huffing Haven For The Night
By 9.4.13
Sometimes you don’t want to go home, and perhaps sometimes you just don’t have enough money to splash out on a hotel or motel room. But that doesn’t mean Kmart will take kindly to customers snuggling up inside a closed store like a ne’er-do-well stowaway intent on huffing numerous canisters of air duster. [More]
17-Year-Old Portable Radio Model Isn’t A Retail Antiquity, Just A Classic
By 6.19.13
Reader Walter went out on a retail archaeology expedition, also known as “going to Kmart.” Searching the electronics section, he thought he hadn’t found anything out of the ordinary until he turned the artifact over, and discovered a copyright date of 1996. At least! A true ancient electronic find! Or was it? [More]
Kmart Gives Me BP Coupon For 30 Cents Off Gas. Excluded Items: Fuel
By 5.13.13
When Scott checked out at Kmart, a pretty sweet coupon printed out. What was it for? Thirty cents off per gallon (limit 20 gallons) at his local BP gas station! That’s actually a pretty good deal, and a nice Kmart/BP cross-promotion. Then he noticed the exclusions. Good coupons almost always have a lot of exclusions, so it’s smart to check them before heading for the newest BP. Scott didn’t expect the coupon to just cancel itself out, though. [More]
Sears Heard That Rent-To-Own Is Ridiculously Profitable, Decides To Try It Out
By 5.10.13
The rent-to-own business is an extremely profitable one: who wouldn’t want to collect more than three times the list price of, say, a computer? So it’s interesting but not surprising that troubled retailer Sears is now entering the lease-to-own market in a partnership with the existing rent-to-own company WhyNotLeaseIt. [More]
Sears Outlet Not Used To Having Actual Customers, Locks Them Inside Store
By 4.1.13
A Michigan couple were shopping at Sears Outlet with their infant last week when they realized that they had been trapped inside the store. Police responding to a tripped alarm last Monday night discovered the would-be customers inside, claiming that employees had closed up and left them inside. [More]
Hey Kids… This Mystery Shopper Report Tells You Which Stores Will Probably Sell You R-Rated Movies & Games
By 3.25.13
When I was an adolescent, my friends and I had to rely on word-of-mouth about which stores would look the other way when it came to movie ratings and parental advisory warnings on music. But kids today, they have the benefit of the Federal Trade Commission, which periodically looks at how strict various businesses are about sticking to these ratings systems. [More]
Worst Company In America Round 1: Sears Vs. JCPenney
March 22, 2013
To mark the halfway point in the first round of WCIA, we bring you this fight between two department stores that are wildly adored… in an alternate universe where it’s still 1985. [More]
Kmart Admits It’s Pretty Bummed Out About The Shark That Died During Its Ad Shoot, Too
By 3.15.13
We were so sad yesterday about the white-tipped shark that died after being shipped across the country to star in a Kmart commercial shoot that we weren’t even able to make any jokes about the company jumping the shark. And when we skip obvious puns, the sadness is real. Plenty of our readers expressed sadness on Twitter recently, and it seems that somber feeling goes for Kmart, as well. [More]
Shark Dies After Being Put In A Backyard Pool For Kmart Commercial Shoot
By 3.14.13 — Updated: 3.15.13
Sears/Kmart Shop Your Way Rewards Program Not Very Rewarding
By 2.14.13
Stuey made a big purchase at Sears and ended up with a huge stack of Sears/Kmart ShopYourWay rewards points to spend. Well, that he could theoretically spend. The problem was that he couldn’t find anything he wanted that was available, didn’t come bundled with things that he didn’t want, and was eligible for purchase with rewards points. What could he do? That’s not very rewarding at all. [More]
Kmart Assumes I’m Home All Day, Waiting For My Mason Jars
By 1.29.13
Companies that ship things just can’t win. If a package gets stolen from a customer’s porch: somehow that’s their fault. Kmart has apparently taken precautions against that, blocking UPS from letting UPS drivers bring packages to a depot or leave it with no signature. Bringing it to a Kmart store: not an option. She doesn’t want to stay home all day and wait for a box of jars, her neighbors aren’t home during the day, and the situation has become ridiculous. [More]
Kmart, Where A $75 Pair Of Socks Now Only Costs 37 Cents
By 1.18.13
You know those pricey $75 socks you’ve been saving up to buy from Kmart? Consumerist reader Jon found them on sale for a huge discount at his local store. [More]
Here Are Some Old Photos That Came With My “New” Camera From Kmart
By 1.10.13
Bargain hunters know that buying a floor model of something like a camera or a computer can be a good way to save a bit of money, especially on electronics. But floor models lack that appeal when you pay full price… and you were never told it was used. [More]
Here’s The Problem With Kmart’s Layaway System
By 12.21.12
A former Kmart employee and frequent tipster who used to work at Kmart has read our recent stories about problems with Kmart layaway, and was able to offer some insights as to why layaway orders placed online are going wrong. Maybe. [More]
