Archive for the ‘Shopping’ Category

Has Black Friday jumped the shark?

Wednesday, November 18th, 2009

I mean, it's still there and all, but does it really mean anything? And if it does mean something, what more can retailers do that they already haven't? WalMart Stores, Radio Shack, The Apple Store, Best Buy, KMart, Kohl's, Toys "R" Us, and Target have already had their Black Friday ads "leaked."   ...

Where is that extra French hen?

Wednesday, November 11th, 2009

(If you have a true love, then you have thirty of them from last Christmas! Most people really only need twenty-nine French hens.) Regifting this year is up.  Way up. A Consumer Reports survey found that a little over a third (36%) of American adults said they'd recycle a gift this ...

Why the tip jars are coming out

Tuesday, October 6th, 2009

Liz Pulliam Weston had an article today on the new tip-jar economy -- that new business practice of putting out the tip jar, raising the "customary" tipping percentage, and adding other tip-like fees that are no longer discretionary, but mandatory. Her take regarding the tip jars was, in essence:  Ignore the ...

Ladies: Can someone tell me precisely why I’m out of touch on this point?

Friday, September 18th, 2009

OK, so I'm reading the July, 2009, issue of U.S. News & World Report that my mother-in-law left the last time she visited, and I happen on an article called "Frugal Forever?" written by Kimberly Palmer, senior editor at U.S. News and blogger at Alpha Consumer.  (She had several articles ...