Blog Archives for 2013

Before spending a tidy sum on another electronic device, think long and hard about whether you already own a gadget that does the same thing for less. Here's how to avoid wasteful, redundant electronics.

While fans of high-end fashion have long been privy to buying secondhand designer goods at a discount, the fashion consignment industry has gotten a big boost recently with an influx of specialized online marketplaces for vintage luxury goods. Not only does this trend offer greater opportunities for budget fashionistas to save money, but it ultimately exposes a greater audience to the potential for savings.

When Apple announced the new iPhone 5s last week, you might have wondered when we might actually find a deal on the latest iDevice. As it turns out, the iPhone 5s is already on sale — and on track to break all sorts of deal records.

While some celebrity endorsements rank as classic and classy (think of Ray Charles singing the praises of Diet Pepsi), there are a host of off-beat ads and pitches that seemingly defy reason. Inside are our favorite, nonsensical celeb endorsements, from Method Man rapping about Sour Patch Kids to Ozzy Osborne shilling for I Can't Believe It's Not Butter.

Are you tired of reading rumors about the latest technology? Sick of hearing insane hearsay about Apple, Grand Theft Auto V, Star Wars, and more? Well, neither are we! Hooray! That's why we put all the latest biz-buzz from the internet into one place, the Rumor Roundup!

The buzz around 4K TV has tapered off, but a new "hot" technology has emerged for consumers to consider — curved TVs. But despite all the fuss and flashy announcements, is there really a point to the curve?

If you read our site, you're probably more of a "tech person" than most people, but there's still a chance that you may have missed the news: Apple has announced two new iPhones. So why are some stores still charging a full $200 for the old one?

Since Apple has introduced the iPhone 5C and the iPhone 5S, our deal experts thought they'd take a moment to briefly talk about the wow-worthy features (if any) of these latest handsets.

Apple's new flagship smartphone, the iPhone 5S, made its debut today, but for the first time in the company's history, there was more than one smartphone announcement. Thus, shoppers looking for a new smartphone may be wondering which model is right for them; is the iPhone 5S worth the $100 premium, or can the iPhone 5C satisfy even power users? We compared both phones to find out.

Tiered loyalty programs, in which there are various levels of membership depending on how much a shopper spends, are all the rage amongst retailers. And while they offer some truly great perks, they could potentially be a costly endeavor for most consumers.

Did you know that you can save between 20% and 50% on a suit when you buy it online? Such a discount may be tempting enough to most shoppers, but before you opt into a BOGO suit sale, there are some things you need to know about buying suits online.

The hotly-anticipated e-commerce home for H&M took almost two years to arrive, and now it looks like shoppers may have to do even more waiting — to the tune of 2-week delivery times for their orders. Combined with some site design hiccups and unfavorable return policies, there may be reason to skip HM.com and just shop in-store at H&M instead.

The summer blockbuster season has come to an end, and while there were some notable success stories, there were also a handful of box office bombs that laid waste to Hollywood studio budgets — namely, Disney's The Lone Ranger. We decided to look at some other costly cinematic failures that put the tin in Tinsel Town, and make our own blown budgets seem trivial.

Are you tired of reading rumors about the latest technology? Sick of hearing insane hearsay about Apple, Benedict Cumberbatch, Virtual Reality, and more? Well, neither are we! Hooray! That's why we put all the latest biz-buzz from the internet into one place, the Rumor Roundup!

Sick of hearing about Miley Cyrus' demise? Rather stay informed with news that might save you time and money? Here then is our consumer news roundup! Inside: One man uses Promoted Tweets as a platform to solve his grievances with British Airways.

Amazon unveiled its Kindle Matchbook service this week, which will allow shoppers to download eBook copies of hard copy books they already own, either for a small fee or for completely free. It'll even retroactively apply to books that were purchased as far back as 1995 — when Amazon first started selling books.

Amazon announced its new Kindle Paperwhite eBook Reader yesterday, which offers improved performance in many ways. But given the fact that many resellers still currently have the original model in-stock, could it be that we will finally see a deal on the Paperwhite?

Whole Foods generally takes the (gluten-free and locally sourced) cake for pricey organics. But now, in order to appeal to more than just the average wealthy foodie, the grocer is holding flash sales and offering "buy one, get one" deals to draw in customers and make eating healthy more economical.

The self-help book market is a billion dollar industry, so why can you get so many of them for free on Amazon? No matter the answer, we've put together a hilarious selection of free self-help books that purport to help you help yourself in unique ways!

The average smartphone user now has 41 apps on his or her phone. And while we're all a fan of free and cheap apps, there are some paid apps that are worth the money. We turned to the experts to find out which iOS apps meet customer expectations and won't break the bank ... in most cases!

Are you tired of reading rumors about the latest technology? Sick of hearing insane hearsay about Xbox One, Apple, Star Wars, and more? Well, neither are we! Hooray! That's why we put all the latest buzz from the Internet into one place, the Rumor Roundup!

The latest iteration of Gmail automatically groups emails into three tabs: "Primary," "Social," and "Promotions." But while consumers may herald these new default organizational tools, some retailers and marketing gurus are becoming worried, and as a result, attentive shoppers stand to profit.

The Huffington Post has announced that as of next month they will no longer allow anonymous comments on their site. The hope is that this will limit trolling. In this brief — yet lively — video discussion, our experts ask: Are non-anonymous comments the key to a brighter Internet future?

Last week TiVo, the company responsible for revolutionizing the DVR market at the turn of the century, unveiled its highly anticipated new Roamio line — its first product upgrade in three years. With the company touting its new offering as the "best DVR ever," we've took to the reviews to see if the experts agree and if, in this age of countless streaming services, they think consumers even need a TiVo anymore.

While you may think that buying an unlocked smartphone means paying an absurd amount of money upfront, the truth is, there are plenty of unlocked smartphone deals around. So how long do you need to wait to find a deal on a new phone release?

The online shopping industry is exploding, and with e-commerce slated to generate $262 billion this year, brick-and-mortar stores are scrambling for a piece of the pie. From virtual dressing rooms to pimped out electronics stores, we've rounded up a few of our favorite (and not so favorite) gimmicky ways that retailers attract shoppers to stores.

From Augusta, Maine to San Diego, California, delicious American fare is everywhere. Unfortunately, we don't have bottomless stomachs — or wallets — so our travel plans to eat our way across America are progressing slowly. But, that's not to say we haven't dined on some of the most popular cheap eats in some of our favorite great American food towns.

Are you tired of reading rumors about the latest technology? Sick of hearing insane hearsay about Apple, Nintendo, Downton Abbey, and more? Well, neither are we! Hooray! That's why we put all the latest biz-buzz from the internet into one place, the Rumor Roundup!

Tired of being bombarded with a constant flow of unimportant information day in and day out? We're here to help sort through all the noise; like a real life cheat sheet, this handy roundup of consumer news from the past week highlights what's important for savvy shoppers to know. While some of these stories are just outright amusing, in many ways they can also help keep your wallet happy, too

Several high-end restaurants have implemented "no tip" policies. Instead of patrons leaving a tip at the end of the meal, these restaurants have increased their food prices by 15% to then pay their wait staff a higher salary. In this brief — yet lively — video discussion, our experts ask: Could a tip-less system work everywhere?

A superhero can expect to incur a few work-related expenses, and as the only founding member of the Justice League to not have superpowers, Batman understands that a real hero needs gadgets. As such, it costs Bruce Wayne approximately $134,735,100 to do all that crusading. While he can certainly afford it, we wondered if we couldn't help Batman cut back on his overhead costs.

Yesterday afternoon, Amazon experienced an outage that lasted about 40 minutes, forcing people to actually work while sitting at their desk. By some estimates, the mega-retailer might have lost out on as much as $4.6 million in sales.

Summer's last hurrah is almost upon us, but before you fire up the grill for one last cookout, you may want to jump online: September typically begins with a wave of discounts thanks to the culmination of back-to-school, end-of-summer, and Labor Day sales. We analyzed last year's trends along with current summer sales to find out what kind of bargains should you look for during Labor Day weekend.

So long as American highways have speed limits, there's no doubt that State Troopers will hide behind billboards with radar guns poised. For this reason, radar detectors remain popular with even modest drivers — but it can be hard to determine the differences between the variously-priced options.

Search for any name on Amazon and you will, not unexpectedly, get a page of results. But do these results tell you anything about your friend's personality? To test this theory that we just made up, we searched for a bunch of our employees' names and asked them to rate how accurate the results are.

Are you tired of reading rumors about the latest technology? Sick of hearing insane hearsay about Apple, Kidneys, Star Wars, and more? Well, neither are we! Hooray! That's why we put all the latest biz-buzz from the internet into one place, the Rumor Roundup!

Questions the reach of Big Brother are reaching an all time highs, as the government monitors phone calls, social networks and phone service providers sell their customers' data, and retailers track customer movement using WiFi. And now, retailers are tracking customer returns. But is a "return profile" an effort to prevent return fraud or just an invasion of privacy?

Locket, the Android app that launched with the promise of paying users a penny for every time they unlock their phone, has recently changed the terms of its service. And unfortunately for us, it means making less money.

For years, it has seemed like BlackBerry has been teetering on the edge of extinction. But, if Blackberry does go away, what does it mean to the cell phone marketplace? In this brief — yet lively — video discussion, our experts examine the effects that BackBerry's demise would have on the current mobile phone landscape.

Ever rush out your door to pick up the newest, shiniest gadget ... only to realize that the thing itself feels like it was rushed out the door? Take a stroll down Frustration Lane with us as we reminisce about a technologies that were less-than-fully-baked when released.

Some brands and companies have been especially effective at getting consumers to hand over their money. From ads for products that overcame major obstacles (like a Nazi-fueled background) to achieve popularity, to innovative campaigns that resulted in massive sales, these advertisements have earned their place on our list of the top 10 most effective ads.

Both Apple and Amazon are reportedly releasing new tablets this fall, and while that's great news for early adopters, it's even better news for bargain hunters. Based on our deal data from the last two years, we can expect to see new price cuts on today's current generation of tablets once the new models are announced. So how can you get your hands on a cheap iPad or Kindle Fire HD?

A few years ago the notion of being able to design (or download the blueprints of) a product and then manufacture it in your own home was mostly a pipe dream. But now the reality of 3D printing at home can actually save you up to $2,000 a year.

The recently-announced Motorola Moto X is being marketed as a new breed of Android smartphone that focuses on thoughtful design and usability features, rather than high-end specs. In many ways, it succeeds — and yet, it's still priced in line with other top-shelf phones like the iPhone 5 and Samsung Galaxy S4.

Are you tired of reading rumors about the latest technology? Sick of hearing insane hearsay about Apple, Ryan Batman, video games, and more? Well, neither are we! Hooray! That's why we put all the latest biz-buzz from the Internet into one place, the Rumor Roundup!

A wise cell phone repair guy once told us, "Plan for the day you're going to sell your phone the day you buy it." Why? Because everything you do to take care of it will effect how much you can sell it for after two years. If you play your cards right, you will likely fetch enough to pay for that next upgrade.

If you're like most HDTV owners, chances are you haven't touched your TV's video settings since the day you pulled it out of the box. But calibrating your HDTV and making some adjustments to the brightness, contrast, sharpness, and color can make a world of difference in your viewing experience.

Since many of us are inundated with information day in and day out, it can be hard to keep up with the news that will actually be important in our daily lives. So, like a real life cheat sheet, we've put together this handy roundup of consumer news from the past week. While some of these stories are just outright amusing, in many ways, they can also help keep your wallet happy, too.

One of the bargaining chips that cable channels have when negotiating new contracts with cable providers is the "blackout" — pulling their content from the provider until a better settlement is reached. In this brief — yet lively — video discussion, our experts examine the effects of a cable blackout on consumers.