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October 28 2011
My. God…
October 20 2011
Our connected colleagues at Consumer Reports are out with their latest electronics shopping survey, and online stores ranked higher than brick-and-mortar shops in almost every respect. Winners include Amazon.com, Newegg.com, Crutchfield.com and BHPhotoVideo.com.
"Our survey shows that consumers are getting more and more comfortable making electronics purchases online -- even big-ticket items like TVs," said Paul Reynolds, electronics editor at Consumer Reports.
No other category of store can match this one for pleasing customers in almost every respect, including selection, prices, and buying ease.The more innovative websites find ways to provide personal advice similar to what you'd get at a great walk-in store or from a chat with friends and family. The outstanding Crutchfield includes access to advisers whom you can select by background to assist you with your order, via phone or online chat. Amazon.com offers among the largest number of user reviews for electronics products, all well organized. ...
B&H's website was the only retailer that got our top rating for selection, and Newegg got the only top rating for prices
Electronics chains can be useful, according to Consumer Reports, "when you can't wait to buy an electronics item such as an accessory" But the survey "found Best Buy and RadioShack to be no better than middling in most respects."
Although warehouse stores like Costco, BJ's and Sam's Club ranked high for pricing, they were dinged by readers for product selection and customer support. Independent retailers ranked high for customer support, but lower for price. The only walk-in store that matched the mom-and-pops for support: the Apple Store.
Where to buy electronics, best online stores and electronics stores [Consumer Reports]
July 13 2011
It may not be a full-fledged instance because it's not in a physical store, but a recent email promo by Pier 1 is at very least a warning shot that Christmas Creep season is upon us. They recently sent around an email featuring a large snowman. It said, "You can now scratch "get an early start on Christmas" off your to-do list. Preview holiday fun before it even gets to our stores."
Christmas Creep is the phenomenon where every year stores start stocking Christmas supplies and presents and advertise for the holiday shopping season earlier and earlier each year. With much of the country in a deep broil right now, this Pier 1 email is definitely very creepy. It gives me the shivers. Which is great for beating the heat! So, thanks, Pier 1!
Pier 1 Email (Thanks to James!)
May 24 2011
The Brooklyn Flea Market at Fort Greene is full of curios and hidden treasures curated by a heterogeneous band of impassioned vendors. You can, and should, get money off the asking price but you'll have to muster up the courage and convince the person working the table you're worthy of a bargain. Ying Ying Li made a beautiful video interviewing both the sellers and buyers in this bazaar to glean some tips:
First off, know that the vendors figure that you're going to haggle. Ergo they add in a "haggle factor" to the price already. If you're not negotiating down off at least that, you're overpaying. So buck up!
Part of the gameplan is ingratiating yourself with the vendor. Jumping into a pricewar right away is a good way to tick the vendor off. If you can convince them that you're part of the cognoscenti and that you're cool and chill, they're more willing to relax on the price. Ask questions about the item. What is its provenance? What materials went into it? Who made it? Appear interested, but not too interested and you can start greasing the deal-making.
When it comes to the money, there's different strategies. Some veteran shoppers say they start at half off and work upwards. Some vendors say that 20-25% off is reasonable, but over that you're going to offend them.
Another word about prickly vendors: if you ask them "what's your best price" and then you keep haggling after that, some of them find that offensive. They gave you their best price in good faith and then you keep trying to chisel them. It may be just business but part of this business is following flea market etiquette. Learn it and work it, or get locked out of a good price. That's just business.
What are your flea market strategies? Sound off in the comments.
May 13 2011
If your cupboards are anything like mine, they're filled with food you have no intention of eating anytime soon and enticing snacks that you wish weren't there. The reason you've got too much food is you were able to mindlessly toss too many extra items into your cart or basket.
27 and Frugal offers an easy suggestion on how to slash grocery costs and excess food -- only buy what you can carry.
The technique may nullify some savings by causing you to make more trips to the grocery store, but definitely forces you to buy only the necessities.
What's the most m\ystifying food you keep around, and how long has it been there?
Only Buy What You Can Carry [27 and Frugal]
February 28 2011
Turns out that the plastic tags and twists on loafs of bread aren't just for looking pretty, they are coded to indicate what day the bread was baked on, writes Wise Bread. The most commonly-used code for 5-day a week delivery is is blue for Monday, green for Tuesday, red for Thursday, white for Friday, and yellow for Saturday. It's a nifty "and now you know" factoid, though it probably won't save you from getting a stale loaf, because the shelf stockers for whom the code was designed are already doing that for you.
Breaking the Bread Code: How to Get the Freshest Loaf [WiseBread]
Soured Dough? [Snopes]
February 07 2011
A mother of a four-year old child has filed a class action lawsuit against delicious hazelnut spread Nutella. In her complaint, the mother says she was as "shocked to learn" from her friends "that Nutella was in fact not a 'healthy,' 'nutritious' food," as advertised, "but was instead the next best thing to a candy bar."
In ads that for the spread that the suit calls "misleading," Nutella is said to be part of a "tasty yet balanced breakfast." The mother claims Nutella "contains dangerous levels of saturated fat," and "over 55% processed sugar." These ingredients, "significantly contribute to America's alarming increase in childhood obesity" and can cause type-2 diabetes, heart disease, and other "serious health problems," the suit claims.
Or you could just figure that choco-spread isn't a salad and should only be used in moderation...
Nutella faces lawsuit over 'healthy' claims [The Globe and Mail]
January 10 2011
Google Goggles for iPhone recognizes ads, solves Sudoku puzzles
Your iPhone just got a little bit smarter thanks to some help from Google. As reported by MacStories, a new version of the Google Goggles component of the iPhone Google Mobile App is available for downloading, and this update does something pretty impressive -- it can help you solve those pesky Sudoku puzzles you love to torture yourself with. By using Goggles to take a picture of the puzzle you are working on, you can now take all the hard work out of figuring out the answers.
In addition to the new Sudoku-solving abilities, this update also can scan any printed advertisement and return web results for whatever product or service the ad is for. Goggles can now recognize print ads "appearing in major U.S. magazines and newspapers from August 2010 onwards," a major upgrade from the way it worked in the past when it just enabled users to search the Web by taking pictures with their mobile device.
I have been using the Amazon barcode scanner and Red Laser on my iPhone for what seems like forever, and Google Goggles' ability to scan and look up any ads I am interested in seems like another helpful feature to do my comparison shopping with.
Click on Read More to check out video of Google Goggles solving a Sudoku puzzle.
[via MacStories]
Continue reading Google Goggles for iPhone recognizes ads, solves Sudoku puzzles
Google Goggles for iPhone recognizes ads, solves Sudoku puzzles originally appeared on TUAW on Mon, 10 Jan 2011 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
January 03 2011
Reader Nathan spotted these confusing sale signs at a Belk and can't figure out how much off he's supposed to get. Can you?
November 25 2010
Picture by: Unknown
September 30 2010
Shopper club cards might be part of an Orwellian masterplan to scrutinize your purchasing habits, but they also have another, less well-known use. Zach says that after an evening of drunken frolicking around New York, he lost his keys. A month later, this showed up in his mailbox.
Someone had found the keys and dropped them off with A&P, who tracked down Zach using his shopper club card data and mailed them to him. He was very grateful, writing, "I thought it was a very nice gesture on their part."
Turns out this is pretty standard practice, most club cards have a notice on them that says "if found, please return to" (the supermarket they're from). Nice to know that it works.
September 27 2010
A pack of crooks has been on a four-year spree where they drill a hole in the pneumatic tube that takes money from the checkout to the cashroom and suck it right out the safe using a high-power vacuum.
The criminals, called the "cambrioleurs aspirateur" or "Vacuum Burglars," have only target the Monoprix supermarket chain in Paris, hitting 15 different stores in the past four years.
"They spotted a weakness in the company's security system and have been exploiting it ever since," a company spokesperson told The Sun. "It is clearly time Monoprix addressed this loophole and changed the way it guards its money."
Yeah, after 4 years I think it's about time.
Robbers Clean Up With Vacuum [The Sun]
September 21 2010
Christmas Creep is in high gear at Tyson's Corner Mall in Mclean, Virginia, where they actually have a whole store dedicated it.
"My favorite part is the sign on the right indicating that a Halloween store will be coming "later," writes tipster Nick. We have to agree. Don't think it's Christmas Creepy enough? This picture was actually taken on August 21st.
September 15 2010
Self-serve wine tanks could be hitting American supermarkets within a year. These 500 and 1,000 liter mechanical kegs dispense wine into whatever container the shopper brings with them.
By getting rid of the packaging, the wine can be shipped much cheaper. The savings get passed on to you with lower prices, and supposedly the wine tastes pretty good too.
Fill 'er up!
Fill 'er up: self-serve tanks bring wine to French supermarkets [Dr. Vino]
La Cuve, Réserves Précieuses [Official Site (in french)]
April 23 2010
While always preferred, buying organic is often cost-prohibitive and, with some produce, sometimes less important. Heidi Kenney's downloadable Dirty Dozen Cheat Sheet makes that split-second decision on whether to spend that extra 20 cents a pound on organic bananas or organic strawberries a little easier.
The convenient, credit card-sized guide separates 27 common fruits and veggies into two categories, those that usually have a low pesticide content and those that don't.
Kenney, the crafter also known as "My Paper Crane" for her anthropomorphic plushies, uses kawaii-style illustrations based on the Environmental Working Group's more extensive list, which they offer as an iPhone app.
April 20 2010
Elizabeth Brooks, a professor at Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia, has some advice for people trying out makeup when they're out shopping. As most people know, makeup can harbor bacteria and viruses, and shared testers are the worst offenders: Brooks tested hundreds of makeup counter samples for a study and found 100% of it was contaminated with things like staph, strep, and E. coli.
Here's what she told the Los Angeles Times:
- Avoid trying jar lotions and only test ones you can squeeze or pump out.
- Clean the surface of the tester with a tissue or a tissue dipped in alcohol before trying it.
- Don't use communal makeup brushes; the ones made from animal hair are especially hard to keep clean.
- Ask for disposable brushes or pads to apply makeup. Brooks says every counter they tested had these things behind the counter, but not on public display.
- If you insist on trying out lipstick, first debride it with a disposable applicator.
- Avoid any makeup testers that come in contact with the eyes, nose or mouth.
"Handle those store makeup testers with care" [Los Angeles Times]
Maybe Soup is currently being updated? I'll try again automatically in a few seconds...
