Ann Taylor will no longer carry size 16 items in their retail stores. “But they’re keeping it online,” our tipster Dena observed. “In other words, ‘Hey, wide load! Stay out of our stores! Oh, but keep giving us your cash.'”
retailers
Reader Has Amazing Best Buy Experience
By 5.19.09
Our reader The_Lone_Gunman just had a great experience with the Best Buy in Irving, Texas. Snark fails us at a time like this, so we’ll just humbly print his email.
The Sort-Of Comeback Of CompUSA
By 5.19.09
We previously reported that CompUSA refuses to die, and has reappeared. What I never expected to see was an article in BusinessWeek touting the reborn CompUSA’s success.
Linens ‘N Things Returns From The Dead In Online Form
By 5.13.09 — Updated: 11.21.16
Linens ‘N Things is back. It’s an Internet-only entity for now, and sells higher-end items than the original incarnation. We’re talking $1600 linens and marble cheese-serving things here.
Circuit City Has Left Us, But Its Uniforms Live On
By 5.11.09
The Circuit City death watch is long over, but now there’s a way to preserve those memories forever—maybe even to outfit an entire troupe of Circuit City re-enactors. Reader chainofcommand02 was shopping in a grocery outlet store when he discovered several cases of Circuit City polo shirts. Yours, for only $1.00.
Abercrombie & Fitch Threatens To Sue Merchants In Hollister, California For Trademark Infringement
By 5.2.09
Taking a page out of Monster Cable’s playbook, Abercrombie & Fitch has threatened to sue merchants in Hollister, California who sell clothes bearing their town’s name. A&F claims that local merchants putting “Hollister” on their clothes will confuse notoriously inept surfers who can’t distinguish between a town and A&F’s Hollister Co. line. So what happens if the locals defy the upscale bully? According to David Cupps, Abercrombie’s general counsel and harasser-in-chief, “If they try, they would get a call and much more.”
Sears Loses Lawnmower, Shrugs
By 4.27.09
Tracy needed a new lawn mower, and ordered one online from Sears. Later that day, an email arrived announcing that the lawnmower was ready for pickup. For whatever reason, Tracy wasn’t able to make the 17-mile trip out to the store until more than a week later. The mower was….well, nobody quite knows what happened to the mower.
This Think Geek Sticker Clearly Wouldn't Fit In The Other Box
By 4.17.09
We may have to invent a new tag just to accurately describe how absurd Think Geek’s shipment to Micah in Ontario was. It was bad enough that the shipping was over $30, but that’s a consequence of stupid shipping options from the US to Canada. What really elevates this story to the top of the stupid shipping mountain is how they packed a sticker. But hey, at least the sticker didn’t get broken in transit. Update: Think Geek responds in the comments below (which is awesome because we felt kind of bad talking about a site we like so much).
NY Corks Selling Wine In Supermarkets Plan
By 4.9.09
Do you enjoy one-stop shopping? Do you love to pick up your groceries, Valium, cat litter, and a nice Cab Sauv all from the same place without the sheer slog of taking out your credit card a whole four times? Well, tough luck, because New York Governor Paterson has nixed his plan to sell wine at supermarkets. Why?
Is Buy.com Friendlier To The Environment Than Brick And Mortar Stores?
By 4.7.09
A study by the Green Design Institute at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh states that when comparing getting a flash drive from Buy.com versus a physical retailer, Buy.com ends up being about 30% less damaging to the environment. To reach their conclusion, the researchers compared transportation, packaging, warehousing, and energy usage both by the consumer and the retailer.
By 4.3.09
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The mice are all gone and the Pikesville Target is again open for business! [Baltimore Sun]
Rodent Infestation Forces Target To Close
By 4.3.09
A Target in Pikesville, Maryland “has been closed until further notice because of a rodent problem,” reports WBAL Baltimore. Target officials wouldn’t tell customers why they were closed—our tipster aishel says they told him it was for maintenance, and a person interviewed by WBAL says she was told it was a “water main problem.” Target’s corporate office, however, confirmed there’s a big mouse problem. Update: The store has reopened.
Best Buy Taking Over Circuit City Credit Cards
By 3.31.09
“Good news about your credit card account,” proclaims the letter Wilman recently received from Chase. Starting in May, you’ll be able to use that Circuit City card to make purchases at Best Buy. We think this is more like “mixed feelings” news, but on the plus side you won’t have an otherwise good credit card account closed (assuming you care about your FICO score). See the Chase letter below.
Office Depot Employee Claims He Photoshops Price Tags
By 3.17.09
Who needs to lie about inventory when you can inflate the price directly? LAPTOP has uncovered more dirty secrets of Office Depot employees being dishonest to customers, this time by altering price tags on clearance items to incorporate the cost of an extended service plan.
Gazaro Rates Gadget Sales Based On Historical Price Data
By 3.16.09
If you’re shopping around for a TV, computer, camera, or other consumer electronics gadget, you may want to add Gazaro to your online toolbox. The service, which is free but requires registration, tracks items that are listed on sale, then rates the sale price by comparing it to the item’s pricing history. It’s an easy way to quickly scan a list of current sales and see which ones are actually good deals. We like it, but there are still some areas that could be improved.
Office Depot To Employees: "Don't Lie About Inventory"
By 3.13.09
An anonymous Office Depot employee sent us this internal reminder from HQ that addresses this week’s allegations that associates and managers lie about inventory depending on the customer. Now the next time you’re told by an Office Depot associate that the laptop you want is out of stock, you can say, “Are you absolutely sure? Because I know you had a Sales Practices Reminder on March 12th about lying to customers.” And if a manager tries to get all up in, uhm, your grill area, you can say, “Don’t you have some tasks to go check off in your Task Manager?”
By 3.13.09
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Bank of America has launched a new cash-back reward program called “Add it Up,” where money is deposited in your bank account when you shop from partner retailers. For example, they offer 1% cash back on every dollar spent at Newegg, and 5% for every dollar spent at CompUSA. [Dallas Morning News]
Office Depot Employees Claim They're Told To Lie About Stock If You're Not Buying Extras
By 3.11.09
According to LAPTOP mag, Office Depot has implemented such a stringent sales quota program that the company has essentially broken the in-store laptop buying experience. If you don’t buy accessories and extended service plans, many associates will tell you the laptop is out of stock. Of course, this doesn’t happen at every Office Depot, but LAPTOP writes that they were surprised by the number of similar reports they received of it happening at multiple locations.
