An alert reader noticed that something looked fishy on the Sam’s Club order screen when he was ordering new checks—if you decide to order double the number of checks, your price-per-box magically goes up the tiniest bit. We figure the amount is so small that most people don’t even notice it, or they notice it but figure they’ll still save time and shipping so it’s worth the 3-5 cents extra. Still, it’s a sneaky thing for a bulk discount store to do.
prices
KFC Is Sneaking Extra Profit From Bigger Orders
By 2.7.08
If you’re planning on buying some Hot Wings from KFC in Colorado Springs, Colorado, your cheapest option is to buy them in sets of six no matter how many you want. KFC charges you slightly more per wing as you buy more—”Guess they just hope nobody’s good at quick math,” our reader Jay writes.
Stuff From China Could Cost 10% More
By 2.1.08
Long the land of low low prices, the prices on consumer goods imported from China could rise by as much as 10 percent this year. What’s changed in China?
Record Decline In U.S. Home Prices
By 12.26.07
It was the largest drop in more than 16 years and marked the 10th consecutive month of price depreciation and 23 months of decelerating returns.
DirecTV Just As Incompetent As Comcast
By 12.22.07
“I was one of the majority when it came to being fed up with Comcast. However, unlike most, I never had any of the customer service nightmares so often reported on consumer sites. My dissatisfaction with Comcast was purely based on what I felt was unfair pricing.
NYC Subway Gets More Expensive For Most Riders
By 12.19.07
NYC’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority voted to raise subway fares today.
Leaks: CompUSA's Going-Out-Of Business Discount List
By 12.12.07
We’ve got the CompUSA internal discount list for their going out of business liquidation sale. The discounts are mainly 10% and 20%, with some 5% and 30% in there. Audio hardware, mounting brackets and the like, is 30% off. Just because they’re imploding doesn’t mean they don’t have some pride, as least for now. They’re entitled “opening discounts,” so perhaps will keep dropping week by week until all the stock is gone. Looks like for now they’re using the same close-out strategy as when they closed down most of their stores before: offer crappy deals and advertise the heck out of it.
By 12.7.07
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Turkey subs from Subways in Manhattan now cost $11.03! [East Village Idiot]
Comcast Raises Prices In Washington, With A Smile
By 11.30.07
Comcast is raising its prices in Washington, DC. Basic cable is going from $13.45 to $15.24, Digital Classic $11.96 to $14.95, Digital Premier from $110.10 to $115.45. If a tech has to come out to your home, the fee will go from $19.95 to $29.95. Relocating an outlet, however, dropped from $24.95 to $21.35.Best of all is the charming paragraph on the letter introducing the bill changes.
Save Negative $0.91 On Sears Treadmills
By 11.20.07
Trixare4kids writes:
I went down to Sears today in Oakland, California, and as I am walking by the treadmills this caught my eye. The sale price on this treadmill is .91 cents higher than the original price. Someone at Sears needs a to re-take basic math.
Actually, the portion of this sign that says, “save” bears no relation to the rest of the sign. It’s just a general reminder to all of us in life that it’s important to save things. Like receipts, memories, and rare stamps.
Gas Prices Could Rise By 20 Cents In The Coming Weeks
By 11.13.07
USAToday is reporting that gas prices could jump by $0.20 in the coming weeks as retail prices catch up to the recent surge in oil costs.
By 11.5.07
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The awful drought in Georgia is helping the pecan crop. We smell a pecan farmer conspiracy. Not really. [Associated Press]
Too Much Rain In Illinois, Pumpkin Prices Are Up
By 10.31.07
Our home state of Illinois is the largest producer of pumpkins in the US (Yes, we really do think that’s cool, ok?)
By 10.30.07
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Cablevision will raise the cost of its average video package by 4.7% starting in December. It says the cost of its Internet and digital phone services will remain the same through 2008. [Reuters]
Best Buy Charges $10 More For Opened Hard Drive
By 10.30.07
It’s always important to check the price tags in the store to make sure you’re not getting ripped off. Alan writes:
I was in Best Buy yesterday, purchasing an external hard drive at Best Buy, and caught this little pricing glitch. Nothing like paying an extra $10 and not even getting the original packaging or the “new out of the box” feeling.
Hey maybe that’s the fee for insuring that there’s actually a hard drive inside instead of ceramic bath tiles.
IKEA's Swedish Math
By 10.25.07
Know how it’s usually cheaper to buy in bulk? After markdowns at the West Sacramento IKEA, you’ll save $4.92 if you buy the poster and frame separately.
Study Shows Shoppers Will Pay More Than Necessary For Fair Trade Goods
By 10.23.07
A new Harvard study shows that shoppers—at least the crazy rich ones who frequent ABC Carpet and Home in New York City (if you’ve ever been inside ABC, you know the sort of people we’re talking about)—will not only gravitate toward products labeled “fair trade” over identical but unlabeled products, but will buy even more of them when the prices are raised.
