Category Archives: Shopping

xkcd Hits It Out of the Park Again

Posted on March 30, 2012 by Michael Froomkin

xkcd: Reviews:

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Syms Is Closing

Posted on November 26, 2011 by Michael Froomkin

Where will I buy jackets and suits? Syms was a great barn of a discount house, an east coast chain of cut-price remainders and seconds on clothing. It had normal clothes, a great deal of wacky clothes, and a good if erratic selection of suits and jackets. The women’s clothes, but alas not the suits, had time-sensitive price tags. The longer the stock stayed in the shop, the cheaper it got.

You would think that a deep discounter of clothing, even if some of it was fairly fancy clothing, would thrive in a recession, but apparently not. One might argue that it sure must be one awful recession if it takes down even Syms. One report suggests that Syms’s problem was that it just wasn’t as big as some of its competitors in the designer clothing trade.

Then again, I remember talking to an old hand in one of the shops about a year ago, who was bemoaning how the stores just hadn’t been getting as good a selection of stock as when Sy Syms, the founder, was still alive. At the time I wrote it off as likely prejudice against having a woman (Sy’s daughter, Marcy) at the helm. Now, though, I wonder.

Meanwhile though, I’m running out of discount houses: Sussex and Moe’s closed in New York over a decade ago (I got married in a suit from Sussex). Will I have to…buy at retail? I think I’ve forgotten how.

Posted in Econ & Money, Shopping | 2 Comments

Opt-out of Verizon Marketing Your Location

Posted on October 13, 2011 by Michael Froomkin

If you have Verizon cell phone service opt-out of location marketing here. Note you will need to log in to your Verizon account, and then — get this — you’ll have to save your preferences three times, once for each of the three sections. Because saving just once would be too easy.

The three sections are: Customer Proprietary Network Information Settings, Business & Marketing Reports, and Relevant Mobile Advertising.

Found via Verizon Plans to Start Tracking Your Mobile Information – Instead of Freaking Out, Simply Opt-Out of It – Droid Life: A Droid Community Blog.

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Another Reason I Hate My Bank

Posted on October 3, 2011 by Michael Froomkin

I have been having a problem with the web site for my bank, which after many years of working OK suddenly decided a few weeks ago that it really didn’t feel like downloading my transaction information into Quicken any more.

Yesterday I finally broke down and called the bank to see if they could sort it out. I hate calling the bank because every time I want something it takes over an hour and I have to speak to three or more people. Indeed, I spent five minutes with the first tech, then got escalated to Trish, a nice tech from Level 2 tech support. Eventually I was able to convince her that it actually wasn’t working. But her attempt to actually solve anything was frustrated by the fact that the bank, having just rolled out a redesigned of their entire web site yesterday, wasn’t actually serving many downloads because something had crashed.

So we made an appointment to talk on Thursday. Seemed like a positive experience on balance. But not so fast! Today I get a call from a different tech, informing me that Level 2 is not making appointments to talk to people, so the first tech would not be calling on Thursday. Yes, he called me when I wasn’t free to talk to say they wouldn’t be calling me when I was free to talk. And, oh yes, systems are still down, so no point doing anything today either.

On the positive side, the more-than-one-hour-and-three-or-more-people rule seems intact.

Posted in Shopping, Software | 2 Comments

Does This Mean What I Think It Means?

Posted on May 10, 2011 by Michael Froomkin

I’m looking at the detailed terms and conditions for the three-year “notebook protection with ADH” plan offered by CDW on a laptop which in fact has a manufacturers’ three-year warranty for defects in workmanship.

The attraction of the extra warranty is that it purports to offer some protection from accidents.

Coverage begins on the date of product purchase and is inclusive of the manufacturer’s warranty, Coverage includes Accidental Damage from Handling, 100% of shipping cost reimbursement for depot service if required, Coverage provided by Service Net.

Since this is a gift for an accident-prone person, that sounds attractive.

But, hey, I’m a lawyer, right, so I’m going to read the detailed terms and conditions. And in there I find this amazing paragraph:

3. ACCIDENTAL DAMAGE FROM HANDLING (ADH): ADH pertains to You if listed on the reverse side of this Contract. Your Product is protected against accidental damage from handling. ADH will end prior to the expiration date when We have, as a result of service provided to You, replaced Your Product or incurred costs under this plan and all other coverage equal to the original purchase price of Your Product (as indicated on your invoice). ADH only covers operational or mechanical failure caused by an accident from handling and does not include protection against normal wear and tear, theft, misplacement, negligence, viruses, reckless, abusive, willful or intentional conduct associated with handling and use of the Product, cosmetic damage and/or other damage that does not affect the unit functionality, damage caused during shipment between You and Our service providers and any other limitations listed in the Limitations of Coverage section. Any resultant damage from this type of treatment is NOT covered by this ADH program. The use of this coverage requires an explanation of where and when the accident occurred as well as a detailed description of the actual event. Failure to provide this information will result in claim denial.

I’ve read this three times now, and I’m having some trouble figuring out what sort of accident this covers. What would be an “operational or mechanical failure caused by an accident from handling” that is other than the excluded “normal wear and tear, theft, misplacement, negligence, viruses, reckless, abusive, willful or intentional conduct”? The exclusions seem to cover both negligence and willfulness. What’s left?

Whatever it is, they seem to think people will pay $152 for it.

Posted in Law: Everything Else, Shopping | 8 Comments

Shopping Horrors Await

Posted on May 8, 2011 by Michael Froomkin

Grant McCracken argues in The Coming Point-of-Sale Revolution that the future of in-store marketing is lots of perky people smiling at me. They might even punch me.

It is worth a read. But it also creeps me out as an idea. Just the thought of it — or is it the thought of me thinking about how I think about it? — makes me feel like (or think I’m thinking like) Lou Grant (starting at about 2:26 in the clip below).

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sNyj4FV56JY

Posted in Shopping | 1 Comment