The number of overcharging violations – defined as charging more at the register than the price in an advertisement, on a shelf sign, or on the item itself – soared to 711, from 425.
prices
Sears Fails Third-Grade Math
By 5.2.09
Quick, what’s 2 x 15? Did you get 40? No? Then you’re apparently overqualified to run Sears’ website.
Consumer Reports Offers Tips For Saving On Pet Food
By 4.24.09
The Consumer Reports Health Blog has some good suggestions for pet owners who might not have quite as much money to spend on their animals as they used to.
Kodak Gallery Improves Its Photo Storage Policies, Becomes A Valid Option Again
By 4.18.09
We recently trashed Kodak Gallery, and rightly so, for providing the least value of any online photo storage/printing service. Now we take that back, because with a simple change to their terms, they’ve suddenly become a viable choice again—provided you meet a couple of conditions.
Why Is Comcast Charging Spanish-Speaking Customers The Same Price For Slower Service?
By 4.17.09
UPDATE: We’re bad at Spanish. See below. We came across a Twitter user who, while browsing Comcast’s internet prices, discovered that the Spanish-language version of the site offers reduced speeds at the same prices as the higher speeds seen on the English version of the site. What the hell?
Consumer Prices Fall For The First Time Since 1955
By 4.15.09
Grab your nearest economist and hold them tight, prices are falling. The Labor Department says that the obsessed-over Consumer Price Index fell 0.4 percent for the year — the first annual drop since 1955.
Probably At 4 Cookies The Real Savings Kicks In
By 4.10.09
Edward found this sign at a Subway shop in NYC. We appreciate that they’re doing the addition for us.
69 Cent Tracks Are Hard To Find On iTunes Music Store
By 4.8.09
MP3newswire.net browsed through not-quite-hits from past decades on the iTunes Music Store to see where these fabled 69 cent music tracks are hiding. He tried the Katydids, Camper Van Beethoven, the Lyres, Rock and Roll Trio, but found nothing below 99 cents. Then he went back to be-bop and blues recordings of the ’40s—nope. Finally, he looked at songs from Ada Jones, a recording artist from 1893 to 1922. Everything was still 99 cents.
iTunes Raises Prices To $1.29 For Popular Music Tracks
By 4.8.09
Say what you will about Apple’s dominion over the music industry, but for a while now they’ve maintained an artificially low market for music tracks by forcing labels to sell songs for 99 cents each. That era is over: in exchange for moving to a higher bitrate and going 100% DRM free (hooray) iTunes has officially introduced “variable pricing” (boo), which means each track may cost 69 cents, 99 cents, or $1.29—it all depends on the song and the label. It looks like Amazon has introduced variable pricing as well, although it’s mostly holding to the 99 cents threshold for now. Amazon’s tracks, by the way, have always been free of DRM.
Duane Reade May Want To Rethink The Instructions On Their Generic Sandwich Bags
By 4.4.09
Duane Reade wants you to compare their store brand sandwich bags to Ziploc’s bags, and you should, because Ziplcoc’s bags are $0.50 cheaper.
This Subway Sub To Salad Conversion Is Pretty Expensive
By 3.27.09
Reader Will sent us the above picture and asked why we thought it would cost so much more to substitute a plastic bowl for a piece of bread.
Kodak's Overpriced Photo Site Will Delete Your Photos If You Don't Spend Money
By 3.23.09
Kodak Gallery is a poor choice for online photo storage. As of this month, they’ve changed their storage policy so that now you must spend a minimum amount—$4.99 or $19.99, depending on whether you’re under or over 2GB of storage—every 12 months or your pics will be deleted. By comparison, Shutterfly has no minimum spending requirement and unlimited storage.
Have Airlines Run Out Of Annoying Fees?
By 3.21.09
So, it’s not exactly good news, but between the toilet tax and priority boarding fees, Reuters thinks that airlines may have run out of “perks” worth excluding from a ticket’s base price. The bad news? All those new airline fees aren’t going anywhere. American Airlines, which last year pocketed an extra billion in “ancillary revenue,” calls them “a pretty big success story.”
Best Buy Not Honoring Price Match Guarantee
By 3.18.09
Not to be outdone by all the negative publicity Office Depot is getting over their “not in stock” lies, Best Buy stores in the New York area have been uncovered refusing to price match TV prices in accordance with their official policy. When pressed, the sales associates said that the TVs weren’t covered due to imaginary exclusions that aren’t included in the official policy language. An employee at one of the stores gave in, but then made up a new imaginary policy that said free delivery would cost $100.
This Pringles Super Stack Size Traps The Math Illiterate
By 3.12.09
The Super Stack can of Pringles on the right looks super big and super packed full of chips. It only has 12% more snack inside, though, while it costs 25% more of your money. Luckily, if you’re not handy with division or don’t have a calculator or phone with you, just look at the price per pound on the tags below. And never trust packaging!
Gas And Ingredients Are Cheap, So Why Are Grocery Prices Rising?
By 3.3.09
With the the cost of ingredients, gas prices, and interest rates dropping, why are food manufacturers continuing to hike prices and shrink products? According to the L.A. Times, supermarkets don’t know, but they’re as pissed as we are.
Verizon Isn't Really Sure How Much Their DSL Service Costs
By 1.31.09
Brian begged and pleaded but Verizon simply wouldn’t tell him how much his DSL would cost after taxes and fees, unless he signed a one-year contract. The customer service representatives staffing Verizon’s operation centers claimed that it was too difficult to figure out all that math nonsense for every jurisdiction. When Brian pushed and insisted that surely they had to know how much their service cost, he was told that “there wasn’t anyone in Verizon that knew the answer.”
Retail Multiple Personality Disorder Strikes at Walmart
By 1.29.09
Reader Jeff is confused. He wants to purchase a laptop from Walmart. Upon Perusing his website from home, he saw a nice Acer Netbook for under $300. Of course, upon walking into the store, he was confronted with a slightly higher price. Luckily, he talked to the nice customer service representative and quickly price matched the in store item to the online price and Jeff walked out a happy customer.
