If you want to find the best deals and sale items, it’s wise to head directly to the back of the store and work your way up to the front. [More]
retail
What Was The Smartest Purchase You Ever Made?
By 7.12.10
Last week, we asked you to reveal those moments when realized you’d been making a big mistake as a consumer. Today, we want to lighten it up and talk about those times that make you most proud. [More]
Walmart Defeats Chicago, Plans To Open Up To 21 Stores
By 6.26.10
Like a big city pimp waiting to pick you up off the ground when times get tough, Walmart was able to establish its first stores in Chicago through guile, perseverance, and a few meaningless reassurances. Smaller stores! $0.50 pay raise! Union-built! These are the meager concessions that led Chicago to sell-out their local retailers. [More]
American Apparel Dress Code: Yes To Disco Pants, No To "Expressive" Makeup
By 6.25.10
It’s well known that American Apparel likes the models in its ads to wear as little as possible. But what about the company’s sales staff? Turns out the dress code for AA retail workers is strict — and kind of dull. No tattoos, no piercings (well, one earring per ear for the girls), and no boots. What’s in? Sperry Topsiders, knitted sweaters and pleated shorts. Is this American Apparel 2010 — or J. Crew 1980? [More]
Clusterfracas of Stove Delivery Incompetence Loses Best Buy a Customer
By 6.23.10
Add “delivering a stove” to the list of things Best Buy is not very good at. Heather bought one from them, then was subjected to various delays and bogus fees, and now has to wait for Best Buy to “trick” its system into giving her a refund for a fee she should never have been charged in the first place. Here is the email she sent CEO of Best Buy, Brian Dunn, explaining the series of events leading up to her decision to never shop at Best Buy again: [More]
Everything Old Is For Sale Again
By 6.13.10
While Walmart’s clothing department is going back in time a decade with its decision to focus on its historically strong underwear, socks and tee shirt market other, more fashion-forward brands and retailers are going back a lot further for their latest lines. [More]
Walmart Admits "We're Not a Dept. Store," When It Comes To Fashion
By 6.11.10
While Walmart may currently be the most popular shopping destination in the country, it still hasn’t shaken the stigma among many clothing customers of being a place you go for cheap sweats, underwear and tee shirts. And after years of trying to remove that taint, the retail behemoth has thrown up its hands and admitted defeat. [More]
If Your Clothes Shrink After Washing, That's Not Hollister's Problem
By 6.4.10
Roger would like the readers of Consumerist to know that clothing retailer Hollister, part of Abercrombie & Fitch, doesn’t stand behind its products at all. He writes that he ordered a pair of shorts online, which shrank significantly after the first time they went through the laundry. (Yes, he followed the care instructions.) The company refused to remedy the problem or issue Roger a refund, because the shorts weren’t returned in their original, untouched, tags-on condition. Wait, isn’t that the point? [More]
Why Am I Punished For A Forever 21 Cashier's Mistake?
By 6.4.10
Kat tells Consumerist that she had an odd experience while shopping at Forever 21. The store accidentally charged her twice for an item that was on clearance–no returns. In most retail establishments, this isn’t a problem. But at Forever 21, based on Kat’s experience, all the chain can offer you is store credit instead of a refund of the overcharge. Kat wanted the money returned to her account. [More]
Reach Best Buy's Executive Resolution Team
By 6.2.10
If you have an issue with Best Buy that you’ve tried and tried and tried and tried to resolve using normal customer service methods, to no avail, try pinging this guy on their executive resolution team: [More]
Anyone Want To Buy Radio Shack?
By 6.1.10
Radio Shack, oh, I’m sorry, “The Shack” is on the auction block. Private equity groups like Blackstone Group are bidding for it, and Best Buy could be a possible secret contender as well, according to the Post. I guess that scheme to dominate the market by knowing the zip code of every battery purchaser didn’t work out so hot. (Thanks to Gary!) [More]
Target Says You Are Buying Crap You Don't Need Again
By 5.19.10
Target’s first quarter profits were up and things are looking better for the retailer’s troubled credit card division. The secret to their success? Consumers are buying more “discretionary merchandise,” which is retailer speak for ” various bullsh*t like video games and cheap designer clothes that you don’t technically need to survive.” [More]
Walmart Manager Hates It When You Donate Loss Leaders To Homeless Shelters
By 4.27.10
At Walmart, no good deed goes unpunished. Lisa said she tried to buy up a bunch of health and beauty supplies at Walmart to donate to local homeless shelters, and instead got a lecture in economics from the shift supervisor. [More]
Uniqlo Paying Record $300 Million For Fifth Avenue Spot
By 4.20.10
Retailers around the country may be shuttering branches and going out of business, but New York’s Fifth Avenue is apparently recession-proof. Setting a record for a New York retail lease, Japanese clothing retailer Uniqlo will pay $300 million over 15 years for a spot on Fifth Avenue and 53rd street. [More]
Apple Bans Man From Ever Buying Another iPad
By 4.19.10
Apple has banned a blogger from buying any more iPads. Ever. Like, for the rest of his life, he is not allowed to buy a single one. He will die an old man, still clutching the same iPad, forbidden from ever upgrading. Porkay? [More]
Apple Store Goes On Security Lockdown When You Try To Buy A Laptop
By 4.5.10
What would you think if this happened to you? This guy, Owen JJ Stone, says he walked into the Apple Store to get a laptop, and when he asked for a specific model, security went on lockdown. People were touching their ears, saying code words, and blocking the exits. [More]
Holy Crap, This Mall Is Underwater
By 3.31.10
It’s been raining quite a bit on the east coast and especially, it seems, in Rhode Island, where the state’s second largest mall is under 2′ of water. [More]
Watch Out, The J.C. Penney Security Guard Has A Gun!
By 3.30.10
If security guards start carrying guns at department stores, I’m going to stop referring to them as rent-a-cops. Not because they’ve suddenly jumped up on my respect-o-meter, but because they might open fire. At a mall in Virginia last Sunday, a J.C. Penney security guard pursued a shoplifter into the mall parking lot and fired a gun into the air. The shoplifter was arrested, and the police confiscated the guard’s gun. The store won’t say whether it was owned by the guard or issued by management. [More]
