It’s that time of year again, when we’re happy to hear about shoppers performing good deeds and random acts of kindness. Some of those warm-hearted folks we know better than others, including Pennsylvania’s “Santa B” layaway angel, who has now covered the cost of Walmart shoppers’ layaway items for the third year in a row. [More]
layaway
Walmart Starting Holiday Layaway Early Again So It Can Sell More ‘Star Wars’ Stuff
By 9.1.16
You want Star Wars merchandise this holiday season? Walmart has Star Wars stuff, which is the entire reason the retailer is kicking off its holiday layaway program a full two weeks early for the second year in a row. [More]
Kmart Loses Two Customers’ Layaway Orders, Shrugs
By 12.23.15
You might remember Kmart’s layaway fiasco of last year, when the company canceled layaway contracts out from under customers the week before Christmas, giving an outrageously long timeline for when those customers could expect refunds. A repeat of that disaster would be disastrous for Kmart’s layaway business, but it looks like something similar only happened on a micro-scale this year, affecting a few customers in North Carolina. [More]
More “Layaway Angels” Pay For $306K In Gifts At Four Walmart Stores
By 12.16.15
Just hours after “Santa B.,” a so-called layaway angel, shelled out $79,000 to pay for toys and other gifts at a Pennsylvania Walmart, another generous person was paying off $106,000 in balances on layaway orders at two Walmart stores just a state away in Ohio. [More]
‘Tis The Season: Secret ‘Santa B’ Pays For $79K In Layaway Gifts At Pennsylvania Walmart
By 12.15.15
Each year, so-called “layaway angels” visit retailers covering the remaining balances of orders that strangers had planned to pay for over time. This year is no different, as one generous person shelled out $79,000 to pay for toys and other gifts on layaway at a Pennsylvania Walmart. [More]
Kmart Expands Layaway Program, Hopes You’ll Trust Them This Year
By 9.10.15
Layaway is a very simple transaction: you pick out an item, a store puts it aside, and you make payments on it until you’ve paid it off and you can bring it home. It was a dying retail tradition when tightening credit markets and a massive recession led stores, notably discount retailers Kmart and Walmart, to bring it back. This year, Kmart wants customers who may no longer have a local store to use layaway plans to buy holiday gifts. [More]
Walmart Opens Holiday Layaway Program Two Weeks Early, Reduces Minimum Cost For Eligible Items
By 8.27.15
Thinking about getting a jump on your holiday shopping? So is Walmart, apparently. The company announced today that it will open its seasonal layaway program early and lower the price for eligible items. [More]
Kmart Layaway Customers: Keep Your Eyes Peeled For Refunds
By 12.18.14
If you’re one of the many upset people we’ve heard from after Kmart canceled many layaway orders and at first, told some customers refunds might not arrive in time to buy replacement Christmas presents, keep your eyes peeled for that money to be coming back to you soon, if it hasn’t already. [More]
Kmart Apologizes For Layaway Debacle, Says Some Cancellations Were “Inadvertent”
By 12.17.14
UPDATE: Sears Holding Company has now posted a new entry on its blog with instructions for customers affected by the layaway fiasco. [More]
Kmart Ruins Christmas By Canceling Layaway Orders, Holding Onto Refunds
By 12.16.14
UPDATE 12/18: Kmart says it’s finished processing all refunds, and customers should be receiving them “soon.”
UPDATE 12/17: Kmart has apologized for the debacle, saying some contracts were “inadvertently” canceled but people still might not get the item they ordered in time. [More]
Another Layaway Angel Swoops In, Pays $50K Worth Of Bills At Pennsylvania Walmart
By 12.16.14
In a season where there can be Grinches around every corner and bah-humbuggers just waiting to get ya, it’s always fun to hear about those layaway angels who go around paying off other shoppers’ bills all in one fell swoop. We’ve landed a big one today, folks — someone’s just paid off $50,000 in layaway items in Pennsylvania. [More]
Layaway Angels Fan Out, Hit West Virginia And Tennessee
By 12.15.14
Layaway is a useful tool that some retailers only offer during the holiday season. Let lets consumers without access to credit pick out gifts and pay them off over time––and, as one mother pointed out to me, keeps gifts hidden at the store, far away from impatient, snooping kids. Layaway was dying out before the Great Recession, and came back with its own folk heroes: the Layaway Angels. [More]
Secret Santa Gifts $15K To Pay For Strangers’ Walmart Layaway Items
By 12.5.14
It’s that time of year again, when generous folks around the country pop in to their local retailers and plunk down a pile of cash to make strangers’ holidays happier by paying for their layaway purchases. This time, some secret Santa in Ohio left a substantial $15,000 gift under shoppers’ trees. [More]
Kmart Insists Customers Should Have No Layaway Problems At Closing Stores
By 11.3.14
Right now, there are two seemingly incompatible things going on in Kmart stores: the retailer is pushing layaway contracts for the holiday season, and also closing many stores. While the company insists that this should not lead to customer confusion, it took a while for some stores to get on-message. [More]
Kmart Clarifies Layaway Rules For Closing Stores, No One Tells Kmart Employees
By 10.17.14
Earlier this week, we shared with you the complaint of some Kmart customers in Ohio who placed items on layaway before learning that the store they had visited was about to close. This affected their payoff date and payments, but a Sears Holdings representative contacted media outlets sharing this story and explained that this is not Kmart’s policy. Unfortunately, nobody bothered to tell people who work at this Kmart. [More]
Layaway Customer At Closing Ohio Kmart Told To Pay Up Before Store Closes
By 10.15.14
Kmart started its Christmas-themed advertising back at the beginning of September, with an ad promoting its layaway program. Only after the holiday layaway season kicked off, Kmart announced a fresh round of store closings. This included two stores in Ohio, which have told customers that they have to pay off their layaway accounts by November 1st. UPDATE: The deadline may indeed not be November 1st. [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]
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]
