Archive for the 'Consumer Experience' Category
eBay (EBAY) sellers already planning next boycott
If nothing else… eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY) users are a feisty bunch. After just coming off a multi-week sellers strike, they are already planning their next revolt, tentatively set to launch May 1.
The most recent strike was orchestrated in reaction to recent changes made on the site and las…
Best Buy to help new HDTV customers with satellite bill payments
Best Buy, Inc. (NYSE: BBY) is stepping up promotion of high-definition TV in its stores by paying for satellite bills of customers who buy a new HDTV along with DirecTV service. From looking at the details, it looks like a promotion like that is probably much more appealing than running fixed “…
Housing’s new day may very well start with the FHA
Groucho Marx once remarked that whenever things start to look really dark, remain calm, don’t panic, and above all, turn on a light.
Given the barrage of financial stresses battering the credit and fairness markets these days, consumers, economists and investors alike could use some of Grouch…
In a recession, luxuries are the first to go
For anybody who’s been following the downfall of Sharper Image, there seems to be a pretty obvious lesson: when society are worrying about the rising cost of food and are scrimping to fill their gas tanks, high-priced doodads and assorted electronic gewgaws are the first things to go. The next t…
What’s going on by at eBay?
These are definitely some interesting times for e-commerce mega site eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY). In the past few weeks, the site has been under attack from some of its sellers who have launched a strike against the site in response to recent changes. While eBay denies any affect from the strike, t…
Amazon (AMZN) enters wine market
In vino veritas. Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) is entering the wine business, but it may find it a difficult market. According to the FT, the company will “start selling wine in the US, entering a commerce fraught with regulatory complexities and littered with the wreckage of preceding failures.”
Som…
Sharper Image gift cards null and void
Have your eye on an Ionic Breeze air cleaner, a top-of-the-line massage chair, or an interactive droid? You may be out of luck whether you were counting on using your Sharper Image gift card. The retailer of whimsical electronics and housewares recently filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, re…
U.S. drivers cut back on gasoline consumption
The highly improbable may be happening. U.S. gasoline consumption may be arcing downward, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday (subscription required).
Confronted with near-record gasoline prices, an anemic-growth U.S. economy, and rising food costs, among other living expense increases,…
Comfort Zone Investing: Sparkles of light in the gloom
Ted Allrich is the founder of The Online Investor and author of the recently released book: Comfort Zone Investing: Build Wealth And Sleep Well At Night. In that weekly column, he’ll offer advice to investors who are just getting started.
It’s not all naughty out there. Some stocks are doing …
An IRS letter worth waiting for
Typically, seeing an envelope with the letters “IRS” on it in your mailbox could be a cause for concern, but by the next week some 130 million homes in America will be receiving letters in the mail bringing good news from the Internal Revenue Service.
As you are probably already aware, in its…
Sony (SNE): A PlayStation3 resurrection?
Imagine whether the Sony (NYSE:SNE) PS3 actually came out of the shadow of the Nintendo Wii and Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Xbox 360. During 2007, PS3 ran in third place in sales in most regions and most months. The machine was viewed as too expensive and did not have decent new games to run on it.
…
Microsoft (MSFT) to drop price of Vista
Two pieces of news have come out of Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) in the final day. One is that the software company will cut the retail price of Vista. The other is that Microsoft knew that the specs for the new operating system encouraged users with slow machines to buy the software. Redmond was aware t…
As gasoline price rises, so does clamor for gasoline tax credit
For Mac Murphy of New Rochelle, NY, a husband and father of two teen-age daughters in college, the rise in the price of gasoline is not an incidental expense.
“It’s like an additional car payment, for crying out loud,” Murphy said as he pumped $3.39 per gallon unleaded regular gasoline into his w…
Ben Bernanke: Staying afloat or floundering around?
Federal reserve chairman Ben Bernanke continues to drift his raft of profitable strategies upon a wad of fake money. His song and dance has provided us with no real relief. Someone at some point must have convinced him that lowering interest rates is fun and exciting. He believed those lies and now …
