Back in June, General Motors hit the mark where it had officially recalled more cars during the 2014 recallapalooza than it had sold in the United States during the past seven years. While that comparison was startling and put the sheer enormity of the company’s many recalls into perspective, it apparently wasn’t something the company or consumers worried about, as a new report points out that the company still managed to sell a record number of vehicles last year. [More]
sales
Going Shopping? Here’s Where You’ll Find September Deals
By 8.29.14
Do you plan to spend your Labor Day weekend shopping? If so, there are certain things that you’ll find great deals on as the calendar flips from August to September. Our power-shopping colleagues down the hall at Consumer Reports recommend looking for gas grills, digital cameras, bicycles, and small electronics. Our friends over at Rather-Be-Shopping would add mattresses, baseball equipment, pool toys, and model year 2014 cars to that list. [Rather-Be-Shopping] [Consumer Reports] [More]
If You’ve Got Two Land Masses That Need Connecting, Oregon Has A Bridge To Sell You
By 8.14.14
Isn’t it annoying when you’re on one side of a body of water and you can see the opposite bank, and you really want to get over there but alas, there’s no stretch of metal and concrete to bear you to the other side? Well, have I got the bridge for you. Or rather, Oregon has one and it needs to sell it. [More]
Find Out If Your State Has A Back-To-School Sales Tax Holiday This Month
By 8.1.14
Earlier today, the calendar flipped from July to August, and kids everywhere groaned with the realization that they will soon have to be going back to school. But the even louder grousing you’re hearing this morning is from parents envisioning their bank accounts being drained by purchases of backpacks, clothes, pencils (do kids even use those anymore?), and those individual packs of tissues that will never be used but you buy anyway. What some of these parents don’t know is that a number of states have sales tax holidays in August — many of them starting today — to ease the burden of back-to-school spending. [More]
TiVo E-Mails Me Coupon Code, Reserves Right To Remove Discounts After Order
By 7.31.14
When TiVo was offering a great price on their Roamio DVRs, reader Victor thought that his mother-in-law could use one. He thought about it, put one in his virtual cart, and then took some time to decide. Like many retailers will do, TiVo sent him an e-mail with a $50 off coupon to entice him back. How could he resist? He placed the order, and that’s where things started to go wrong. [More]
Here’s What You Should And Shouldn’t Buy In June
By 5.28.14
Every store and every industry has its own cycle of sales, and by timing your purchases just right, you can take advantage of them. There are two different things to keep track of: the ways that sales cycle every year, and also current trends in retail. [More]
7 Items You’ll Find The Best Prices On During May
By 4.30.14
Our price-tracking colleagues down the hall at Consumer Reports keep track of when the best discounts appear on a variety of items. As we get ready to flip over the calendar page to celebrate May, what will you be able to find the best deals on in the coming month? [More]
N.Y. Atty. General: You Can’t Hold A Going-Out-Of-Business Sale If You’re Staying In Business
By 4.22.14
The funny thing about a going-out-of-business sale? That means your store is actually going out of business, and thus needs to offload its remaining products before it does. It’s not a time to get everyone to rush over and buy new stuff just because sales are sluggish. That’s why New York State Attorney General Eric “Spiderman” Schneiderman went after a furniture store holding bogus sales while still staying in business. [More]
Can’t Find A Coupon Code For Online Stores? Just Ask
By 3.6.14
When you’re shopping online, you probably perform a cursory search online to find out whether the e-retailer you’re about to buy from has any coupons available online. Sites for sharing coupon codes like RetailMeNot are great to check quickly. What should you do if your search comes up empty? Don’t despair. Like brick-and-mortar retailers, online stores might have your back when you don’t bring your own coupons. [More]
Target Clarifies Confusing Sign: Cleaning Products Are 50% Off, Not Free
By 2.20.14
We are thankful to Target, because they have alleviated our existential angst. Okay, it’s their weird signage that caused the existential angst in the first place, but we’re still very happy that they cleared things up for us, for our readers, and for Target shoppers everywhere. [More]
This Petco Coupon Excludes Everything I Would Buy At Petco
By 2.18.14
Pet owners: if you had a 25% coupon code for Petco, what would you load your cart up with? Food? Litter? Toys? Treats? If you’re using a current coupon that the retailer has for online shoppers, only half of those things are eligible for the discount. Oh, boo. [More]
This Toys ‘R’ Us Sign Is True: One Cent Is Over $0
By 2.14.14
Just because something is literally true, retailers, that doesn’t mean you have to put it on a sign. Especially when you’re advertising a sale that is barely a sale at all. [More]
What Purchases Should You Make And Avoid In January?
By 1.2.14
Are you in the market for a new television, some furniture, a gaming console, or new winter clothes? It might seem like the post-holiday sales frenzy is the perfect time to shop for all of these items, but that isn’t necessarily the case. [More]
You Can Have Any Pizza, As Long As It’s Cheese Or Pepperoni
By 12.13.13
Brandon discovered this great deal at Whole Foods: customers can get “any” hot pizza to take out for only $10…as long as it’s cheese or pepperoni. The grocer’s understanding of the word “any” is obviously a little bit fuzzy here. [More]
Motorola To Redo Cyber Monday Sale On Wednesday After The First Try Didn’t Go So Well
By 12.3.13
For all the patient boys and girls out there who were waiting to get a $150 discount on an off-contract Moto X yesterday, your efforts might’ve felt a bit wasted when Motorola’s Cyber Monday deal never even got off the ground. Due to the crushing weight of shopper traffic on the purchase page, Motorola Mobility couldn’t pull its sale off, and instead has rescheduled the deal for Wednesday at noon EST. [More]
Groupon Decides To Just Go Ahead And Give Stuff Away With New Freebies Program
By 11.20.13
It’s been awhile since we’ve heard anything about Groupon, but it appears the company — which has struggled with both unhappy customers and ticked off retailers — is trying to take a new tack. It’s launching a service called Freebies, which is exactly what it sounds like: A whole bunch of free stuff. [More]
What Do You Shop For In November?
By 11.12.13
Our power-shopping colleagues over at Consumer Reports don’t just test every product you can think of: they also keep track of what’s on the market and when is the best time to buy certain things. Looking over their November list, we wondered: what do Consumerist readers shop for during this month? [More]
