Magnetic toys that killed one boy and injured more than 2 dozen others are still available for sale in many Illinois stores according to Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan. The attorney general’s office found the recalled toys at several stores all over the state, and a Chicago Tribune reporter was able to purchase the toys Wal-Mart, Target and Big Lots stores in the northwest suburbs.
target
Target Tightens Return Policy: No Returns Over $20 Without A Receipt
By 5.7.07
Target is tightening up their return policy according to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. Currently Target doesn’t allow any cash/check returns without a receipt for items over $40, but in August that limit will drop to $20. Customers who bought their items with credit or debit cards will still be able to return items without a receipt.
Would You Buy Your Wedding Dress At Target?
By 5.4.07
Getting married? Target is launching a bridal collection by Isaac Mizrahi. The collection has “8 stunning looks in ivory, white and black,” and range in price from $9.99-$159.99.
Wiis At Target This Sunday
By 4.28.07
At least 60 Wiis will be arriving and selling at Target stores this Sunday, according to an inside source.
Target And Walmart Are The New Music Tastemakers
By 4.27.07
In past decades, deejays and music critics helped shape musical trends. Today, many music industry executives agree, the big boxes have become the new tastemakers. Even as compact disc sales fall, their choices dictate which CDs are widely available on store shelves across the U.S. Big boxes are the industry’s biggest distribution channel — and the rock, hip-hop, jazz and classical music titles they choose not to carry face drastically reduced chances of reaching mass audiences.
Target: Nintendo DS Lite On Sale With No Discount
By 4.24.07
Reader Colin writes us to share an email he sent to Target about their practice of marking items as “Sale”… with no actual discount. Colin writes to Target:
I’m currently in the process of shopping for a Nintendo DS, and have been keeping out for any kind of deals on the item before I buy it. Today I was in the Turnersville Target, and I noticed a big red SALE tag on the DSes. However, the price was still the usual $129.99. I asked the clerk at the electronics counter and he told me “Yeah, that just means it’s at the price in the flyer.” Quite frankly, the only word I can think of for marking an item with a SALE tag when it is not, in fact, at a sale price, is deceptive.
We thought this might have been an isolated incident in New Jersey, so we went to our local Brooklyn Target and sure enough, the Nintendo DS Lite is marked “Sale” even though there is no discount.
Duane Reade Sucks As A Pharmacy, Target Is Pretty Good
By 4.19.07
According to JD Power and associates survey of pharmacies, that blight on New York City, Duane Reade, placed last in the rankings of chain pharmacies. From the WSJ Health Blog:The results are based on an online survey of 6,543 U.S. consumers conducted last fall.
Religion On The Job
By 4.4.07
The law on this is Title VII of the U.S. Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits religious discrimination in the workplace. It requires employers to make “reasonable accommodations” for an employee’s religious beliefs — “reasonable” being anything that doesn’t create an “undue hardship” on the employer or on co-workers.
We think it’s great and wonderful and amazing that companies make these accommodations, but retailers should probably make sure there’s at least one friendly atheistic heathen-type cashier available at all times. Otherwise, at which register would we buy that gun that shoots pork-based birth control? —MEGHANN MARCO
Target Giddy Over Walmart's New York Defeat
By 4.3.07
The Minneapolis-based retailer views Wal-Mart’s move as “an opportunity,” but will take its time to find the right space at the right price, Jim Hogan, Target’s group vice president for New England stores, told M.B.A. candidates at Harvard Business School on Sunday.
Target is already alive and well in New York City, but has not yet made the move to Manhattan. —MEGHANN MARCO
Target Revises Return And Exchange Policy: Items With No Receipt Worth $100 $20
By 4.1.07
…people need to know about this. This policy change will increase customer inconvenience and dissatisfaction in order to stop the 1% of shoppers who collect $200 a year by gaming Target’s current return policy.
Target is not worried. They are telling concerned cashiers, who must explain the change to potentially angry shoppers, “of every 100 guests, one will be affected.”
Target Bikes Recalled For "Frame Failure"
By 3.29.07
If something is going to fail on our bike, the frame isn’t our first choice. The CSPC has issued a recall of two bikes, sold exclusively at Target for about $100. Triax PK7 and Vertical PK7 Bicycles have a frame that can crack “while in use, causing the rider to lose control and suffer injuries from a fall or collision.”
Target Corrects Their Mistake Because You're A "Nice Angry Person"
By 3.29.07
The ad reads: $24 Sale, Each Nintendo DS Games (fine print: Choose from over 30 titles to stuff their baskets! Includes all reg. $29.99 and above DS games.) To me, that ad says, if ANY DS game is $29.99 or over, then I get it for $24. Sound about right? Well, anyone who just answered yes would be wrong, including me.
Naturally, the game that Jared wanted to buy rang up at its normal (non-sale) price. No big deal, right? Jared thoughtfully brought the ad to show the manager. Oh, if it only were that simple…
Walmart Gives Up: No Stores For New York City
By 3.28.07
Frustrated by a bruising, and so far unsuccessful battle to open its first discount store in the nation’s largest city, Wal-Mart’s chief executive said yesterday, “I don’t care if we are ever here.”
Awesome Target Battery Sale: Regular Price $8.69 On Sale For $8.99?
By 3.23.07
Not that this is a big deal, but I thought it was funny.
Babies And Razor Blades Don't Mix
By 3.21.07
e was getting tired and she wanted to take the baby upstairs and put her in our bed so they could both get some sleep. I folded it up, brought it upstairs, and unfolded it on the bed. That’s when I saw it: the silhouette of a razor blade beneath the mattress cover for the Sleeper.
The rest of Ted’s email and more pictures inside…
Target Ships Couch With No Screws Or Legs, Wants You To Return It To The Store
By 3.16.07
This story is precisely why we’ve decided to avoid buying furniture from any store that doesn’t specialize in furniture. Christian and his wife bought a couch from Target and had it shipped to the house for $100. It turns out that “Target Ground” was really just UPS, and the 6 foot couch took no less than 3 boxes and 2 drop-offs for UPS to deliver in its entirety. Oh wait. They didn’t deliver it in its entirety because they forgot the screws and legs needed to put the couch together.
WSJ: Returning Things Is Hard
By 2.22.07
Working mom/WSJ reporter Suzanne Barlyn discovered it wasn’t easy to return a busted Tamagotchi. The Journal also tried to return a Target shirt that didn’t make it through the wash, a $13 camera from Toys “R” Us that broke after one use, a broken flat-panel TV from Amazon, a coat that didn’t fit from BabyGap, and an oversize duffel from L.L. Bean. At each turn, they discovered retailers tossing road-blocks in their way.
Who can blame them? Return fraud soaked retailers for an estimated $9.6 billion in 2006, according to the National Retail Federation. Returning stolen merchandise for a refund is the most flagrant offense, affecting 95% of retailers last year. Computer-generated, counterfeit receipts make the practice easier. So-called wardrobing — the unethical practice of returning nondefective, used merchandise — affected 56% of companies. About 69% of retailers have modified their return policies in response to fraud, according to NRF. Changes include shorter time limits, restocking fees and requirements for original packaging.
The Journal recommends making purchases with a credit card (paid in full each month,) since retailers look up purchases electronically. We agree, but for a different reason: credit cards allow you to dispute charges. Tell us about your fun experiences returning products in the comments. — CAREY GREENBERG-BERGER
