Saturday, December 26, 2009

The Day After Christmas

Yup, time for RETURNS!!

"Holiday returns can carry hefty price" by Megan Woolhouse, Globe Staff | December 15, 2009

Before unpacking that new netbook computer or digital camera this holiday season, make sure you really want to keep it. There could be a price to pay just for opening the box.

A state survey set to be released today shows that a growing number of retailers are imposing fees on returned goods, especially electronics, even if the product is not damaged. The charges, known as restocking fees, range from 10 to 60 percent, depending on the merchant.

So some pimply-faced kid can put it back on the shelf?

The hefty return penalties are a surprise to many consumers, like Barbara Wallace of Boston, who bought a $549 laptop computer for her granddaughter at Best Buy in Dorchester yesterday.

Yeah, like the surprise you get when you open a newspaper and find it's s***.

And WTF is with the Boston Globe pimping for Best Buy?

If her granddaughter decides to return the computer because it is not the one she wants, her grandmother could be out $80. “They didn’t say anything to me about that,’’ Wallace said of the restocking charge. “I don’t like it.’’

You see, I'm the kind of guy who would get angry and not get a refund, leave the merchandise there, but never go there again even if I have to pay more.

Under state law, merchants must post return policies prominently. But Massachusetts, unlike some other states, does not regulate how much merchants can charge to deal with exchanges and returns.

When you really get down to it, you realize what a stinking state this this is.

Retailers defend restocking fees as a way to combat fraud. For example, they say, the charges discourage someone from buying a high-definition television to watch the Super Bowl and returning it the next day, expecting to get all their money back....

Really, WHO DOES THAT!!

I mean, come on, stop it with the lame excuses for rip-offs!!

How come corporations are such profit-gouging assholes in our business-friendly capitalist country, 'murka?

Besides, I'd rather watch a movie.

Jon Hurst, president of the Retailers Association of Massachusetts, said one reason businesses charge fees for returns on electronics, rather than merchandise such as clothing, is because televisions and computers are big-ticket items that lose value quickly because the technology changes so rapidly.

And thus you are NEVER HAPPY and ALWAYS in a state of MUST UPGRADE to MORE EXPENSIVE and "better."

And CUI BONO, readers?

“The merchant can’t sell it for the full value,’’ Hurst said.

So when does the f***ed-over consumer ever enter into the mix?

What about QUALITY DEFECTS and CRAP PRODUCTS?

Despite shoppers’ irritation with return fees, Hurst said, they are actually “proconsumer’’ as long as they are made clear to customers beforehand. Otherwise, all consumers end up footing the bill for return losses in the form of higher prices....

Glad I didn't buy any of that crap this year.

Deirdre Cummings, legislative director at MassPIRG, a consumer advocacy group, said that a decade ago only a few stores charged a fee for some returns, as a way to cover their expenses. Now, she said, more businesses assess the fees and sometimes profit by calculating the charge based on a percentage of the purchase price. “They’re making more money off the consumer than they have in the past,’’ she said.

But we are ALL IN THIS TOGETHER and EVERYBODY WINS, blah, blah, blah!!

I'm sorry I bought you s***, kiddo.

Barbara Anthony, Massachusetts' undersecretary of consumer affairs, said that if consumers believe that a store is not properly publicizing its return policy, they can complain to the state’s Consumer Affairs Office. She said her office may also forward a complaint to the attorney general for investigation.

Yeah, the state will help you (ugh)!!!

“Consumers have to be trained.... ’’

Like a DOG?

How you like the ELITIST, ZIONIST INSULT, 'murka?

--more--"

And WHY SHOULD WE HAVE to be TRAINED to detect DECEPTION from BUSINESS in our "consumer-friendly" system?

Turns out it was a false alarm (like so much of the hot fart mist MSM).

"Stores may ease return policies; Handful of big box retailers relax rules on unwanted gifts" by David Migoya, The Denver Post | December 26, 2009

The tight economy is loosening the restrictive return policies of some large retailers, making it a bit easier to bring back that thingamabob you hoped you wouldn’t get this year but got anyway.

With nearly 1 in 5 people anticipating returning a gift even before opening them on Christmas, according to a Consumer Reports poll, some stores are gearing up for the post-holiday crunch....

You mean, after the holiday tanking by 25% from two years ago?

Less gifts to return, folks.

While a handful of retailers - primarily the big box stores - are making returns easier, the National Retail Federation says about 80 percent of retailers have maintained their return policies. Another 17 percent have chosen to tighten the rules, according to Edgar Dworsky, founder of the Internet resource site Consumer World....

So this FEEL GOOD about the returns is about 3% of the MARKET??!!!

I think this business feature is an AGENDA-PUSHING DECEPTION, folks!!!

“But unexpected restocking fees may still surprise some shoppers.... You need a lawyer to unravel this all,’’ Dworsky said.

Un-flipping-real!

**********************

And the Scrooges are making clear their return policies are strict. Many will not accept any opened boxes on items such as cameras and software - in part to avoid fraud - and others won’t accept returns without the original store receipt. Despite the simpler return process at some outlets, experts warn that shoppers should still be wary of a few retailer tricks designed to grab a few more holiday bucks.

I thought BUYER BEWARE was for those "uncivilized" -- read dark- and brown-skinned people -- markets in foreign places, Americans! But THEY ARE HERE in your BASTION of ECONOMIC FREEDOM!!!!

Yup, businesses want to GRAB a FEW MORE BUCKS while YOU ARE STRUGGLING to SURVIVE!!!

The fees are to cover the cost of processing a return, putting it back on the self, and any revenue the store’s lost because it can’t sell it as new. The fees get steeper if the store is one that accepts the box after it’s been opened....

Don't you love how the PAPER makes EXCUSES for PROFIT-GOUGING BUSINESS, American consumer?

It is key for consumers to be aware of a store’s return policy at the time of purchase....

They should put a sign up: BEWARE, consumer subject to screwing.

This is one reason I was never interested in the economics classes.

But history doesn't lie, right?

Problems with a return? Ask for the store manager first before contacting the consumer protection division of the state attorney general’s office.

Yeah, DON'T BOTHER the STATE even thought the statie above said you should!!!

--more--"

Okay, I better get started with my returns.

Jose Felix, who shoveled a drift on a sidewalk in Des Moines yesterday, may be back at it today. Blizzards are predicted to hit parts of North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Wyoming, Minnesota, Iowa, and Wisconsin through today.
Jose Felix, who shoveled a drift on a sidewalk in Des Moines yesterday, may be back at it today. Blizzards are predicted to hit parts of North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Wyoming, Minnesota, Iowa, and Wisconsin through today. (Charlie Neibergall/Associated Press)

Maybe not.

"Storm wreaking havoc in Midwest, Plains; Residents dig out but are bracing for more snow" by Dinesh Ramde, Associated Press | December 26, 2009

MILWAUKEE - Residents across the Midwest and the Plains who made it home for Christmas were digging out yesterday after a fierce snowstorm, while those who spent the night in airports and shelters tried to resume their journeys.

The National Weather Service said blizzards would hit parts of North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Wyoming, Minnesota, Iowa, and Wisconsin through today. The storm had already dumped significant snow across the region, including a record 14 inches in Oklahoma City and 11 inches in Duluth, Minn., Thursday.

Yeah, GLOBAL WARMING, right.

Sections of interstate highways were closed in several states, and meteorologists warned that roads across the region remained dangerous. Slippery roads have been blamed for at least 20 deaths this week as the storm lumbered across the country from the Southwest....

Yes, readers, the FART-MISTERS LIES are FATAL!!!

They are not just earthy-crunchies out to save the planet by giving you a fart tax.

They are DANGEROUS!!!

I hope CITIES and TOWNS didn't SKIMP on the SNOW BUDGETS because government shill scientists and Al Gore told them global warming was threatening the planet!

Crews were working to restore power to thousands of customers in Nebraska, Oklahoma, Kansas, Illinois, and Iowa....

Good Lord, it's FREEZING OUT THERE and a BLIZZARD to BOOT!!!!

The 14 inches of snow in Oklahoma City broke a record of 2 1/2 inches set in 1914.

It didn't just break it, it OBLITERATED and SMASHED it, folks!!!

That is MIND-BOGGLING and should just about close the leak on the fart-misting propaganda and deception.

The previous record for Christmas Eve in Duluth, which has gotten more than 22 inches in two days, was a “paltry’’ 3 inches set in 1893, said Kevin Kraujalis, a National Weather Service meteorologist.

Yeah, I'm not going out. I'll return the stuff next week.

By the time the storm is over, it could be one of the 10 worst in Duluth’s recorded history....

With each sentence the fart-misters are exposed.

Heavy winds producing snow drifts as deep as 5 feet....

Then I couldn't get out of the house!!!

--more--"

Now about that HOLIDAY CRUNCH!

"Signs of tough times linger; US consumers are spending, but with caution, and a focus on relieving debt" by Ann Carrns, Globe Correspondent | December 26, 2009

.... Such tight-fisted attitudes....

Certainly the little, insulting, elitist, agenda-pushing Globe puke is referring to BANKS and LOANS, right?

Oh, that is YOU, out-of-work and foreclosed-upon consumer?

Ross Gittell, a University of New Hampshire professor and forecast manager for the New England Economic Partnership, said even if consumers felt confident that things were going to significantly improve, most lack the means to spend aggressively....

Maybe I'll start lacking the means to pay for a Boston Globe come January 1st, 2010, huh?

I'm tired of the insults, which means I don't read this piece just looking at a web site.

In fact, as the New York Times could attest by their visitor traffic logs, I don't visit the web site at all after a while.

The drop in housing values in many areas means homeowners cannot borrow against their property to raise cash, as they did for most of the past decade. And tighter credit means they can’t use plastic as easily, either.

So WHERE DID ALL THAT BAILOUT and LIQUIDITY $$$$ GO?

Right into BANKSTER'S POCKETS, 'eh?

A recent study conducted by the National Foundation for Credit Counseling found that consumers are eager to pay down debt.

That can't make the ever-expanding debt-inducing bankster's happy!

They want to GET PAID and have you BORROW MORE at the SAME TIME!

The online survey asked consumers what they would do with extra $500, and of the roughly 8,500 people who responded, 77 percent said they would use the money to pay down debt rather than buy holiday gifts.

NOT ME!!

That money would be MINE!! I would then decide what to do with it, and paying down debts wouldn't be one of them.

That suggests consumers’ desire to avoid debt will also curb their spending, said Gail Cunningham, spokeswoman for the Silver Spring, Md., foundation, which accredits consumer debt counseling agencies nationally. “When things are going well, we tend to put our finances on autopilot,’’ Cunningham said. “Now that the party’s over, those who went to the party are experiencing a hangover and are trying to rectify the situation.’’

The party is FAR FROM OVER for the BILLIONS in BONUSES BANKS!!!

Related: Occupation Iraq: The Party's Over

America Moves the Party to Afghanistan

Yeah, the PARTY GOES ON for WAR LOOTERS, too!!!

--more--"

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