Walmart.com doesn’t want to talk to you, so they’re disconnecting their phone as part of their new “Customer Contact Reduction Program.”
online
New Farecast Service Tells You Whether That Hotel Rate Is Really A Deal
By 9.13.07
Farecast.com is testing a great new feature that evaluates a hotel’s given rate, then tells you how much of a deal it really is when compared to past quotes and fares at similar hotels, says the New York Times:
The $179 rate for a room at the Hyatt Regency was listed as “average” because it was 28 percent more expensive than rates at that hotel on the same date in past months, according to Farecast. It was also 13 percent more than recent Friday-to-Monday stays at the same hotel.
Ready To Give Up Paper Books Yet? Amazon & Google Hope So
By 9.8.07
The “promise” of e-books is so old it’s got hair on it, but now two online giants are stepping up to the plate with their own spin on how best to sell books digitally. Next month, Amazon will finally release its long-rumored Kindle, an e-ink reader which will wirelessly connect to Amazon via EVDO, so you can purchase books even more easily than new iPod Touch owners can buy songs while they’re at Starbucks. And before the end of the year, Google will start charging for full online access to some digital copies of books in its database.
Use Online Real Estate Broker, Get Back 2/3 Of The Sales Commission
By 8.12.07
A contributor to Kevin Kelly’s “Cool Tools” site writes that they saved $15,000 on a recent home purchase in California by using Redfin, an online real estate broker that lets you do most of the grunt work of finding a new house, then steps in to help with the paperwork at the end for a greatly reduced fee. We’ve discussed Redfin before, but thought it was interesting to read a user’s personal experience with it.
Circuit City Rep Offers Refund Of $389, Now Is "No Longer In The Dept" And Won't Help
By 8.8.07
Josh realized he forgot to click a “web only special” link when ordering something from CircuitCity.com, so he suspected that his order was not processed correctly. He called customer service as a precaution and sure enough, because he didn’t click the link they said he wouldn’t be getting the the deal and there was nothing they could do about it.
Like Food, But Not People? Order Online
By 8.7.07
For all of us out there who are hungry but antisocial, the New York Times today presents an overview of online food ordering services. The benefits are obvious – it’s fast, (usually) more accurate, you can place an order the day before, and you don’t need cash. Lots of chain restaurants are now offering it (Pizza Hut, Subway, and Papa John’s are some examples), but there are also a few special websites that aggregate menus from multiple restaurants (after the break).
AirTran's Disingenuous "System-Wide Summer Sale"
By 6.19.07
Monday, AirTran announced a so-called “System-Wide Summer Sale.” FareCompare.com looked at the price history and found that instead, AirTran had raised prices, then lowered them, calling the delta a “sale.”
Get Free Access To Times Select Using Your College Email Address
By 5.31.07
If you have access to your college email address, you can get access to the New York Times “Select” articles from their archive without those pesky five-dolla charges.
Use Typos To Get eBay Deals All To Yourself
By 5.29.07
Not every eBay seller throughly spellchecks their listings, a little fact you can exploit to buy stuff for cheaper, says Kiplinger’s:
Sell Your Old Cellphone Online
By 5.21.07
Here’s an alternative to throwing away your old cellphone, selling it on ebay or craigslist, or donating it to charity.
Retailmenot Coupon Site Redesigned: Prettier, More Useful
By 5.16.07
Retailmenot, the online coupon site built by the same fine folks behind BugMeNot, have kicked up their design and usability with a fresh new look.
Sears Tells You Your Order Is In Stock, Even If It's Not
By 5.14.07
Here’s a good way to lose customers. Tell them that their order is in stock and ready to be picked up, even though it is not. Hey, at least they came in, right? Maybe they’ll buy some gum on their way out of the store… forever.
Infomercialscams.com Exposes TV Snakeoil
By 4.24.07
Is the product in the informercial a scam? Probably, but you can check Infomercialscams.com to be sure. There users post reviews about infomercial companies. It’s not just trashing, readers can also post a “defend” if they feel the company is wrongly accused. A ticker by each company keeps track of the number of complaints lodged.
Which Online High-Yield Savings Account Is Best?
By 3.23.07
There’s been a raging “online savings account” debate going on at Get Rich Slowly, resulting in a valuable discussion in the comments.
UPDATE: Best Buy Still Using Its Secret Website
By 3.19.07
I have read on your website about deceptive practices involving Best Buy where they advertise one thing on their website for a price, and then it is different when you go in the store.
Best Buy Confirms The Existence Of Its Secret Website
By 3.2.07
In the wake of an investigation launched by the Connecticut Attorney General’s office, Best Buy has finally admitted that the now-infamous “secret intranet” (used to mislead in-store customers about BestBuy’s online prices) exists. The website looks identical to BestBuy.com…except for the prices.
