Last year, Snap, parent company of the app Snapchat, introduced a whimsical single-purpose product. Its Spectacles, originally available only from vending machines in a few major cities, cost $130 and record 10-second video clips to be posted on Snapchat. That’s it. Somehow, the company claims to have sold 150,000 of these devices. [More]
sunglasses
Online Eyeglass Vendor Who Threatened Customers Arrested Again For Running Another Bogus Store
By 5.26.17
You may remember the bizarre tale of Vitaly Borker, the man who served three years in prison for trying to boost his Google search ranking by harassing his customers online. Federal prosecutors say he’s back at it, once again selling eyewear on the internet, and allegedly bullying customers who dare to ask for refunds. [More]
Two Women Steal Merchandise Worth $7,000 In 1-Minute Sunglass Heist
By 6.19.15
How long does it take to scoop up $7,000 worth of merchandise from a Sunglass Hut store while employees aren’t looking? According to this surveillance video released by the police in San Francisco, about just over a minute. Two suspects working together were in and out of the store in that amount of time, slipping pricey merchandise into their tote bags and then zipping out the door before employees could stop them. [More]
A Screen Capture Is Not Legally Binding Proof Of An Online Description Change
By 10.17.12
Should a screen capture be legally binding in any way? We like to think that taking a screencap of a great price or another problem is a foolproof way to hold on to evidence, but there’s a small flaw in that plan. It’s called “image manipulation.” Or, to use a trademarked term, Photoshop. This is probably the reason why Amazon refuses to take the screencap that Anthony took of a sunglasses description as rock-solid proof that they had an error in their listings. He says that he grabbed the image for a different reason, but was glad to have it when Amazon claimed that the sunglasses he bought as polarized were actually non-polarized. [More]
I Sent eBay Buyer A Pair Of Sunglasses, They Sent Me Back A Brick
By 8.14.12
Someone bought a pair of sunglasses from Nataly on eBay. That happens. Usually it’s a good thing. The problem for Nataly was that the buyer claimed to be unhappy and wanted to return the sunglasses, even though she had a strict “no returns” policy. Thanks to eBay’s strict pro-buyer stance, she was ordered to send the customer a refund. In return, they sent her a package back. That package did not contain the sunglasses. [More]
Sunglass Hut To Customer: Italy And China Are The Same, Don't Be Picky
By 8.31.10
Brett tried on a pair of “Made in Italy” Ray-Bans at a Sunglass Hut and liked them, but they were the display model so he had to come back to pick up his own a few days later. When he did, he discovered that the real pair he bought said “Made in China,” and in his opinion they felt lower quality. [More]
Luxottica Customer Service Is Just As Broken As Your Sunglasses
By 7.20.10
As we noted last week, Luxottica is the company behind pretty much all eyewear on the market these days, and you know what that means when it comes to customer service: if you don’t have to compete to keep your customers happy, why bother? That’s why Patricia is facing a ridiculously high repair fee, but can’t get through on the provided phone number to tell Luxottica to cancel the repair. In fact, every time she calls she’s put on hold and then disconnected. [More]
6 Reasons Why Designer Sunglasses Are A Rip-Off
By 7.15.10
I don’t know about you, but when I go out in the sun, I’ll only wear a pair of hugely oversized $500 Dolce & Gabbana shades so that I’m easily recognized by the paparazzi. But apparently, says the Wall Street Journal, I need not have spent my entire month’s paycheck on my designer specs. [More]
HD Sunglasses Use The Power Of Stupidity To Increase Real World Resolution
By 9.23.09
Did you know your eyes have probably been viewing things in only 480 vertical lines of resolution? Thankfully someone out there isn’t as stupid as the rest of us, and realized that if our television sets can be upgraded to HD, so can our eyeballs. At least they can with the help of these special sunglasses.
ALDO: Sorry For Sending Wrong, Broken Sunglasses, Here's Free Shipping (But No Refund)
By 11.6.08
I ordered some sunglasses from ALDO. They arrived in a bubble-mailer, with a broken bridge. They were also the wrong color. I filled out their online return request and selected “defective” from the dropdown box. A couple days later they replied with their compensation “offer” – free shipping off my next order. Um, no. Making their offer even less satisfactory, ALDO just sent me a separate email general promotional email with a coupon code for free shipping. So I replied back describing the situation in more detail and asking point-blank for a full-refund. If they don’t give me a refund, I’ll do a chargeback.
Morning Deals Round-Up
By 2.7.06
• Amazon continues the inexplicable price drops flash memory cards, with the SanDisk 1GB Ultra II Secure Digital card for $59, the SanDisk 1GB Ultra II CompactFlash card for $60, and the SanDisk 1GB Memory Stick Pro Duo card for $59.
