Marketers are always trying to convince consumers that shopping is fun. Some consumers even consider shopping to be something of a sport, perhaps even the modern-day national pastime. So why is it that, even in an era when we have access to more information than ever about products and prices, shopping for certain things is inevitably a …
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138 Money Tips: Smart Strategies for Dealing with Debt, Using Body Language to Land a Job, Selling (or Buying) Used Stuff, and More
Also, reasons why you’re unable to save, reasons why you should spend, mistakes that everybody should make at least once, and why you’re a sucker if you “lather, rinse, and repeat.”
Saving by the Numbers
Here are 20 new resources that, among other things, will help consumers to save money or spend it wisely, to enable folks to get good customer service or to do good in the world even if they’re broke.
News That’s Good and Bad for Consumers, the Economy, and the World
Sometimes, news and notable trends aren’t entirely good or altogether bad. They’re a bit of both. For example, should we be happy that unemployed support groups are flourishing online? I suppose we should—though we’d all be happier if there was no reason for such groups to exist.
Consumers Are Angry and Sick of Escalating Monthly Bills, But Just Can’t Quit Pay TV
It has all the makings of an unhealthy relationship. You know TV isn’t good for you. You know your pay TV provider is a bad partner, never asking what you what you want and forcing you to do all sorts of things you’d rather not—such as paying for well over 100 channels when you only watch something like 17. And you know that your pay …
Personalized Deals Coming to Groupon
Group-buying discount site Groupon is getting personal. Instead of offering one and only one daily deal to members in a given city, the site will select from a handful of deals and send you one you’re most likely to actually want.
Group-Buying Deals: When to Sign Up and When to Say No
There’s a big USA Today story that covers the online group-buying trend, which is undoubtedly a trend and not just something we journalists are pumping up in “next great” whatever fashion.
Rage Against the eBay-PayPal Machine
After the SF Chronicle published a very brief Q&A with PayPal president Scott Thompson, readers unleashed a slew of angry comments about eBay and its sister company, “Greedpal,” err, Paypal. Comments like: “Dishonest and insufficiently secure: the wave of the future!” and “Ebay + PayPal = Greed.” And: “ebay is now a giant flea-market of …
What’s Wrong with Online Shopping
Online shopping has plenty of pluses going for it: Compared to the in-store experience, the consumer can browse more quickly than strolling down the aisles, and can do so 24 hours a day, without ever having to head to the mall. But the experience is far from perfect, and I’m not talking about the obvious downsides, like that you can’t …
Anybody Want to Fight?
Tips for battling it out with debt collectors, TV-Internet-phone providers, the IRS, and more.
Is the Internet an Information Service or a Telecom Service?
And why should you care either way?
Enjoy Hulu for Free While You Still Can
The days of free TV shows on Hulu may be numbered. The online service is seriously looking into charging viewers a subscription fee of $9.95 a month if they want to continue having access to the most comprehensive range of programming, and the changes could occur as soon as next month.