Sabrina bit into a rodent skull and cut her gums while eating a bowl of cereal. The 100% natural, premium gourmet nutty cranberry maple granola she was trying to enjoy was purchased at a Hannaford in Maine and manufactured by Bakery on Main. Aside from selling the rodent skull, both Hannaford and Bakery on Main are handling the situation well.
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Ticketmaster Levies Entirely Believable $327 Per Ticket Convenience Charge
By 4.11.08
Ticketmaster charged reader Keith $655 in convenience charges for two tickets to tonight’s Rangers/Devils playoff game. Of course, the tickets in section 118 cost nothing, but we still won’t give them the benefit of the doubt. Ticketmaster boasts that special brand of evil that wouldn’t object to levying several hundred dollars in convenience charges to a free Raffi concert.
This Toys "R" Us Discount Is Of Dubious Value
By 4.10.08
Dylan writes:
I saw this today at the Toy”R”Us store in Elizabeth, New Jersey and though you folks would be interested. This Lego kit (the Exo Force Sentai Fortress Battle Set) has a sign that indicates its original price was $19.99 and that it is on sale for $69.98. The sign helpfully indicates that this is a savings of negative $49.
We’ve seen fifty-cent adjustments in the wrong direction, but fifty dollars? That’s pushing it.
Please Hold, The Terminator Army Will Be With You Shortly
By 4.8.08
I’m working on a Powerpoint to be delivered later this week about “the 5 things you can learn from a Consumerist” and I wanted to share this slide of with you guys. I think it expresses what we all sometimes think is underneath those shiny voices and looping musical medleys: a killbot army that wants to get you off the phone as soon as possible. “It can’t be bargained with. It can’t be reasoned with. It doesn’t feel pity, or remorse, or fear. And it absolutely will not stop, ever, until you are dead.”
Bear Stearns Bag Found At Knickknack Shop
By 4.4.08
I spotted a tote bag for Bear Stearns, the investment bank that recently nearly collapsed and JP Morgan Chase purchased, on sale outside a used goods store here in Brookyln. No doubt it was pawned off by one of the many recently liquidated Bear Stearns employees in the New York area (hey, that Tivo doesn’t pay for itself). I didn’t check the price tag, but it was probably more than $10, which is more than can be said for a share of Bear Stearns stock. Note the new Chase bank sign reflected into the store window.
This Bath & Body Works Doesn't Accept Cash
By 4.3.08
A.A. sent us these photos, and writes,
That’s the sign I saw at the Bath & Body Works store in a Tanger Outlet Mall in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. I didn’t go inside to find out if my legal tender was no good there or what, but I’m a fan of the site and thought y’all would get a kick out of the pics.
The U.S. Treasury says that’s fine, stores don’t have to accept cash. We’re just worried the people in Pigeon Forge know something about the U.S. dollar that we don’t.
Apologies For Poor Photo Choice Exercised In IDT Article
By 4.1.08
Part of our job here as we incorporate The Conglomerist into the fold of Haberdasher Communications (tagline: let’s keep it under our hat, shall we?) is to clean up some of the ethical missteps taken by The Consumerist, particularly with regards to its notoriously corrupt photo selection department. Dipping into the mailbag, Marc writes:
An avid reader of your website, I was a little bit concerned by the choice of picture to illustrate the “IDT Energy Scamming Spreads Past New York City” story.
Granted, the picture shows an IDT building in the background, but in the foreground are catenary wires, which are quite distinctive from power distribution wires…
Any Of These Phrases Should Have Alerted Staples That There Is A Problem Here. None Did.
By 4.1.08
(Thanks to Karen!)
Circuit City Designates Handicapped Parking Spots "Web Order Pickup" Zone
By 3.30.08
This Sprint Plan Lets You Talk For 1.9 Years Per Month. What?
By 3.29.08
BG’s Sprint plan lets him talk for 1,000,499 minutes per month and only costs $50. How did he find this stupefyingly amazing plan? Hit the jump for his story.
The 30 Cent Store
By 3.26.08
You know times are tough when the Dollar Store needs to hold a 70% off sale. That should be a line in a blues song. Maybe it’s an art installation making commentary on the current strength of the dollar.
Learn The Secrets Of Food Photography
By 3.25.08
The blogosphere is circulating a link to an awesome German food photography site today, which compares package photos of food with what’s inside for around 100 products. Sure, it’s all in German, but the Industrial Food Revolution is the same pretty much everywhere. We looked around for a good “secrets of food photography” and found this article at Photocritic which lists some of the staples any good food photographer has at every shoot, including motor oil, cotton balls, and brown shoe polish. Mmm!
Why Did The Tennessean Send This Bill For $0.08?
By 3.23.08
The Tennessean sent reader MP a bill for eight cents three months after he canceled his promotional subscription. MP has no intention of wasting a relatively expensive stamp to pay this trifle of a bill, but he would like to know: what could possibly costs eight cents?
Best Buy Charges $2 Premium For Inferior Open-Box Mouse
By 3.21.08
The Best Buy in Champaign, Illinois wants Andrew to pay $2 extra for a used mouse covered with someone else’s hand gunk. We see plenty of these open-box pricing bloopers and Best Buy employees are always fast to rush to the comments screaming “But it’s policy!”
Inside The Consumer Reports Testing Facility
By 3.19.08
Ever wonder how Consumer Reports figures out which products to recommend? For one, it takes mad science, like this echo-free room that sits on a different foundation from the rest of the building. I was up at the Consumer Reports HQ yesterday for a planning meeting related to a blogger’s conference they’re planning for June, and they were nice enough to give me a quick tour of their testing facilities. I snapped some 33 pictures with my cellphone camera. Check them out in the interactive photo essay gallery, inside…
OfficeMax Ships Spindle Of CD-Rs Without The Spindle
By 3.15.08
Hey OfficeMax, Bill ordered a spindle of CD-Rs, not a batch of CD-Rs carelessly dumped into a box without the spindle or any protective cushioning. Did you seriously think he wouldn’t notice or complain about the pell-mell packing job? Unsurprisingly, the CD-Rs are scratched and ruined. Bill isn’t pleased, but he’s taking the flub in stride.
Dell Won't Stop Sending Me Catalogs So I'm Burning Them
By 3.13.08
Even though I have asked them several times and waited several months, Dell won’t stop sending me catalogs, so I’m burning them. Every other company that sends me catalogs that I’ve requested to be removed from their mailing list has done it. I have called customer service on two different occasions and requested to be removed. I have gone to the special website on the back of the catalogs and requested to be removed. I have done this for both the sets of names and addresses they have on file for me. They don’t care. I tried to be nice but obviously that doesn’t work. So burn, baby, burn. It may not stop the mailings, but I felt better afterwards. Another image of Dell catalog immolation, inside…
Budget Demands $2,080.93 To Repair Preexisting Damage
By 3.9.08
Kevin noted on his Budget rental forms that his truck was covered with graffiti and other nicks and scratches before driving off the lot. As soon as he returned the truck, the lot agent pointed out a slew of damage and invited him inside. He said that Kevin had two options: pay $670 in cash immediately, or pay several thousand dollars to corporate later. Kevin paid the extortion fee, but now Budget’s corporate office wants $2,080 to repair, among other things, graffiti damage.
