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Consumer Alert: Rite Aid Selling Smoke Machine Fuel Containing Antifreeze
Rite Aid is selling antifreeze-laced fog juice, the substance that is atomized and turned into a gas by smoke machines, and doesn't seem to care too much, reports reader Jennifer.Instructions available on making your own smoke machine fuel specifically forbid using ethylene glycol, as it is a deadly poison.The distributor, Harry at First Imperial Trading Company, told Jennifer that ethylene glycol was a "harmless food additive." (He somehow must have it confused with propylene glycol...)When Jennifer contacted the CPSC, they referred it to Rite Aid, who referred it back to the manufacturer. The local Rite Aid, however, did agree to take the bottles off the shelves, but what of the 5,000 other Rite Aids?

Sam's Club: Adventures In Receipt Check Refusals Continue
Rich in Michigan writes that a Michigan Sam's Club employee foiled his efforts to circumvent the receipt-checking line.I was detained in a Sams Club receipt-checking line today. When I attempted to steer my cart around the line and out the exit door, an employee with a nametag of 'Linda' stepped in front of my cart and asked me to surrender my receipt. When I asked if I was being detained, she assured me that I was...At this point, she took the receipt out of my hand, checked it (there were two items in the cart), I left the store. I'm not exactly sure if what went on was legal or ethical, but I damn sure know that it was terrible customer service.You know, in all this receipt-checking kerfuffle we've mentioned that places like Sam's Club can insert mandatory receipt-checking clauses in their contracts, but we've yet to see one proper, and darned if we can't find a copy of their membership agreement online. Scavenger hunt: provide us with a copy of a store's, any store's,...

Thrift: This frugal mother keeps all the ketchup ...
This frugal mother keeps all the ketchup packets she ever gets from fast food places, puts them in a kitchen drawer, and when the ketchup bottle runs out, spends an hour with a funnel and scissors, refilling the bottle. Imagine how much more money, in real dollars and health costs, she could have saved if she forwent fast food in the first place. [ Wisebread via Blogging Away Debt]

Religion: Annual Islamic Convention Is A Muslim Shopper's Dream
The annual Islamic Society of North America convention, which was held this past weekend in Illinois, is the largest on the continent—this year approximately 40,000 people attended to take part in panel discussions and seminars. It's also a bastion of shopping stalls offering every Muslim product imaginable, which leads the UK's Guardian newspaper to wonder whether it has become "more about shopping than spirituality."The huge convention centre was packed with 333 stalls catering for the modern Muslim's every need, including a digital Qur'an audio player, festive Ramadan lights, a pre-packed funeral kit, halal jerky and a mobile phone application that provides daily prayer times for more than 12,000 cities worldwide.It's a straw man argument, apparently, because the article provides no source for the criticism that the convention is too materialistc. Instead, it mostly offers quotes from attendees who share their enthusiasm for what's on offer and say the convention...

Everything's $1? Just Take It: Over a dozen shoppers perused the aisles ...
Over a dozen shoppers perused the aisles of an unstaffed Dollar Tree store on Labor Day after a door lock malfunctioned. The lights were on and shopping music was being piped in, but there was nobody at the registers, which led a suspicious customer to call the authorities. [seattlepi.com]

Airline Suckage From Around The Globe: "Officials at Nepal's state-run airline ...
"Officials at Nepal's state-run airline have sacrificed two goats to appease Akash Bhairab, the Hindu sky god, following technical problems with one of its Boeing 757 aircraft, the carrier said Tuesday." It also fixed the plane in a more mechanical way, but has declined to say what was wrong with it. [Reuters]

Agitprop: Anti-Wal-Mart Show Discounted By Critics
Sure, it's a clich, but the closest New York City residents are going to get to the Wal-Mart experience is... a musical! Yes, with singing and dancing! After a year of retooling to transfer it from its semi-professional beginnings in Wisconsin to its latest incarnation Off-Broadway, "Walmartopia" opened this week to mostly poor reviews.The husband and wife team behind the "musical on a mission" have cited the books "Nickel and Dimed" and "Selling Women Short" as sources, but it might just be better to read the books, based on reactions to the show, which include descriptions like "ham-handed satire" and "bland and witless."As far as effective agitprop goes, it looks like South Park still holds the award for most entertaining spin on the pleasures and dangers of the super-mega-corporation. Or, as one review puts it, "Bad art never helped anyone's cause."Resources:"Selling Women Short" at Amazon"Nickel and Dimed" at Amazonwalmartopia.com"Attention, Shoppers: Anguish in Aisle...

Complaints: EECB Forces US Air To Help Stranded Marine With Dying Grandmother, But Not In Time To Say Goodbye
"Kurtto henri.dawes@usairways.com cc douglas.parker@usairways.com, anthony.mule@usairways.com, airconsumer@ost.dot.gov, ben@consumerist.com date Aug 23, 2007 5:08 PM subject Distressing travel not yet completed Ms. Dawes,My dilemma, which I am hoping that you can resolve satisfactorily, is of an urgent nature.My (step)son, a newly graduated US Marine, is stationed in California. My mother, his grandmother, has been ill for a long time, but earlier this week she became terminal. We let him know what was happening, and he arranged for Emergency leave through his command and the Red Cross."The earliest flight he could get was your flight #2793 on 8/22 from Palm Springs CA leaving at 9:00PM, connecting through Las Vegas, and arriving at 7:06AM at JFK airport. His ticket is #3721440267926.The flight was overbooked and they were going to put him on another flight that would have arrived at 9AM in Newark. Something else occurred and they didn't put him on that flight. If they had...

Travel: Flight Delays Will Only Get Worse, Say Experts
The New York Times looks at the country's most consistently late airplane—American Airlines Flight 1659, from Newark to Chicago—and asks industry professionals about the rapidly deteriorating quality of air travel in the United States. The short answer: it will take at least a decade to upgrade air traffic control systems to handle the new super-busy runways, so unless airlines stop "maximizing" their profits by scheduling flights so closely together or we build more airports, this is the new modern way to travel.What can you do to limit how much this affects you, short of not flying until 2017? Avoid Newark airport, which "has more than half of the chronically late flights." And try checking out flight histories at FlightStats or FlightAware (both covered previously here at Consumerist).Resources:FlightStatsFlightAware"Most Flights Are Late, and It May Only Get Worse" (New York Times)(Photo: Getty)

Complaints: Verizon Keep Spraying Our Sidewalks With The Same, Three, Permanent, Dots
David would like to know if Verizon Fios techs can't afford glasses. Otherwise, why would it be necessary to spray paint their sidewalk three times within the past year? The dots are supposed to indicate where to dig up to install the vaunted "last mile" of information HOV lane, but it really seems like overkill. After all, it's not like they need to be concerned about the dots deteriorating. "It never goes away," David writes us. "Brushes, power washing, passage of time -- nothing."The spray marks the route of the Fios wires, so the techs know where to dig when a customer requests a node connection.David muses that the need to keep spraying in the same spot is to, "demonstrate that the wires buried under the sidewalk have not crawled away since the last time they graffitti'd the neighborhood..I understand the concept of imminent domain, and "all your sidewalks are belong to us" and all, but this is effed up."Surely, your readers have some ideas on how to shame these guys so...

Impotent Government: Mattel's Reputation With The CPSC Is Officially Crappy
Mattel is being investigated (again) by the CPSC over the timeliness of its latest batch of recalls. According to the WSJ, Mattel knows it is required to inform the agency within 24 hours of receiving information about a defect that could cause injury—it just doesn't do it because it thinks its not fair.Mattel Chairman and Chief Executive Robert Eckert said in an interview that the company discloses problems on its own timetable because it believes both the law and the commission's enforcement practices are unreasonable. Mattel said it should be able to evaluate hazards internally before alerting any outsiders, regardless of what the law says.By mandating that companies immediately report any incident that could conceivably expose a hazard, the commission's "standard might apply to almost anything," Mr. Eckert said. "It's very easy for anyone to apply the word 'could' backward," he added.The CPSC doesn't agree. "It's a statute; it's clear," said Julie Vallese, the commission's...

Get What You Pay For: USDA Says Some Organic Milk Is A Rip-Off
If you're going to pay twice as much for milk because you like the idea that the cows have a yard to play in—that's your business—but you'd better be getting what you pay for. According to the USDA one "organic" milk producer that supplies milk to Wal-Mart, Costco, Target and Safeway has been cutting corners.From Fortune:Aurora Organic Daily, a private company based in Boulder, Colorado, says it never broke any rules. But Aurora, which operates large-scale organic farms in Colorado and Texas, signed a consent decree with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, promising to clean up its act."We're doing a transformation - cows reduced, pasture increased, all animals organic from birth and a significantly increased commitment to research," says Clark Driftmier, vice president of marketing at Aurora.An Aurora farm in Plattsville, Colorado, for example, which once had as many as 4,200 cows, will reduce that number to 1,250, even as most of the farm's buildings and paddocks...

Fewer Technicians: Comcast Testing "Do-It-Yourself" Phone Install Kits
Let's face it, you are probably smarter than your last Comcast technician—at least, you probably think you are.Comcast's new telephone self-install kit is for you, smarty pants. Comcast saves money, you save aggravation. (This is where you cross your fingers and pray that what we say is true.) Comcast tentatively plans to charge customers $250 for three cordless phones that link to their cable modems. The total time from opening the box to getting a dial tone is 30 minutes or less, Avgiris said.``It's for the customer who says, `I want the service, and I want it now,''' said Avgiris. Subscribers who want their wired phones to work still need a service call by a Comcast technician. Let's just hope it works. Install kits are being tested in San Francisco and are coming soon to Boston, Denver and Comcast's home town of Philly.Comcast Tests Do-It-Yourself Install Kits for Phones [Bloomberg](Photo:Spidra Webster)

Vehicles: September Is Last Month To Qualify For Hybrid Vehicle Tax Credit
If you're still thinking of purchasing a hybrid vehicle this year, time is running out to get in on the Alternative Motor Vehicle tax credit. We pointed out the official IRS schedule of expiring credits back in March, and now you've got less than 30 days to score a small credit (currently 25% of the original credit amount) on a Toyota or Lexus hybrid—after September 30th, the credit disappears for good. Honda tax credits may be cut by 50% after September 30th, but the verdict's still out on this one. Other AMV credits will continue to exist for a while; for example, alternative fuel vehicles will score you a credit until at least 2010, while fuel-cell vehicles can qualify for credits as high as $12,000 until at least 2014. Which is good, considering that only one car so far meets either category—the Honda Civic GX and the not-available-for-purchase 2006 Honda FCX, respectively.But remember, if you're subject to the alternative minimum tax, the credit won't apply."Tax...

Bargains: Fall Is The Best Time To Buy Cars, Jeans, Wine And More
Did you know that the best time to buy wedding dresses is in November, right after Thanksgiving? For many items, fall is the best season to make a purchase, says SmartMoney's "Deal of the Day" section. This includes wine and cars in September, jeans and toys in October, sneakers in November, and those bargain-basement wedding dresses right before December begins: "The dynamic of the wedding industry is that most people get engaged at Christmas, and most people who are planning [a wedding] get distracted by the holidays," says Alan Fields, co-author of "Bridal Bargains." The result: very lonely bridal-shop owners anxious for business. Now we know what everyone's getting for Christmas! "Best Time to Harvest Deals in Autumn" [SmartMoney](Photo: Maulleigh)

Chinese Poison Train: More Mattel Lead Painted Toy Recalls Tomorrow
Toy-giant Mattel will recall yet more toys covered in deadly lead-tainted paint, the AP reports.Anonymous sources indicated a Fisher-Price toy and its accessories and a Barbie playset would be the recalled items, and the recall would number into the hundreds of thousands.We're not surprised. As we predicted on August 18th in a post commenting on a video Mattel's CEO made after their last recall, that as companies audit their suppliers more intensely, they're going to find more defects.Mattel to Announce 3rd China Toy Recall [AP] (Thanks to super5at)(Photo: AP)

Credit Cards: Opt Out Of USAA's Arbitration Clause
USAA dropped a goose-egg in my mailbox today, a letter informing that there's a new arbitration agreement being added to my AMEX contract. Lovely, I just love being stripped of my rights to a trial with due process. I'm disappointed that USAA, which is otherwise renown for their customer service and concern for their customer's well-being, would resort to this chicanery. Maybe AMEX is making them do it, I dunno. (update: A reader with a USAA Mastercard writes that he received an arbitration notice as well).In any event, the notice also says that I have until October 15, 2007, to opt out of the arbitration agreement without penalty simply by signing and mailing in a form, an option I will most certainly be exercising.

PSAs: Welcome, i-Caught Viewers
Hello to those coming to our site after watching us on ABC's i-Caught!Think of us as your new, daily, consumer action handbook. We give you tips for becoming a smarter shopper, as well as tools for fighting back when a company screws you over.Here are some of our stories on videos mentioned in the broadcast:Macbook SmasherBeware of Brad BensonRobert Mckee taped his Delta flight being stuck for 7 hours on the runwayMattel's online video apologyHere's a bit about us:How can I send you a video? You can upload it to a site like YouTube, Revver, or Vimeo, and email the link to tips@consumerist.comHow do I send you a story/tips/question? Email us at tips@consumerist.com. We can't promise a post, but we will read.What's the deal here?How can I become a commenter?How do you decide what stories to run?

Organic: Whole Foods Mocks FTC By Actually Lowering Prices In Colorado Stores
Now that the Whole Foods organic supermarket chain has finally completed its acquisition of former competitor Wild Oats Markets, it's time for the horrible price gouging we were warned about to kick in. That's why today Whole Foods announced a permanent price reduction at all Wild Oats stores in the Rocky Mountain Region, and stated that all Wild Oats stores in its hometown of Boulder will remain unchanged. Wait—what? Of course, this amounts to mostly a publicity stunt (or goodwill gesture, depending on your level of cynicism); at least one Wild Oats store in another part of the country has already been closed.One of the more interesting announcements following today's completed tender offer is that the company plans to pursue "a new experimental concept called Whole Foods Market Express, featuring a value-oriented product mix, grab-and-go offerings."Value-oriented products? Lower prices? Maybe the gouging will happen next year. It always takes a while for these acquisitions...

Shopping: Morning Deals
AT&T: Pay-As-You-Go Motorola RAZR V3 for $79.99Teva: Sandals Clearance $10.90 Women's, $14.90 Men's, + Free ShipFree bag of Dunkin Donut's ground coffeeHighlights From DealhackB&H Photo: Kodak EasyShare V1003 10MP Digital Camera $175Snapfish: 4x6 Photo Prints only 9 Cents Each with CouponEddie Bauer: Include a Pair of Pants and Save 20% off Entire OrderHighlights From BargainistRalph Lauren: Last Chance Sale up to 70% offAltrec.com: Garage Sale 25% off couponPep Boys: $10 off $50 or more coupon

Health: Vaginal Surgery Is All The Rage—But Is It Worth It?
Labiaplasty is exploding in popularity, but consumers aren't always thinking about the possible risks involved, says the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists—which is why they issued a warning to the public last week that these are not "accepted" or "routine" procedures."What we're concerned about is that there is no safety or efficacy data for these procedures," says Dr. Cheryl Iglesia, director of Female Pelvic Medicine and Reconstructive Surgery at Washington Hospital Center in Washington, D.C. "There are no studies in peer-reviewed journals that show long-term outcomes."The number of overall cosmetic plastic surgeries has surged more than 400 percent in the past decade, and in the past few years labiaplasty has emerged as one of the most popular procedures. Although there are sound medical reasons for the procedure, it's being requested more these days for solely cosmetic reasons, which has the OB/GYN organization worried enough to speak out about it.Newswe...

Defects: Dell Laptop Catches Fire In Shanghai Office
Just when you thought it was safe taste to eat a pomegranate... a Dell laptop catches fire and self destructs! This time, on 9/03, in a Shanghai office. We're guessing a defective battery is the culprit, thus illustrating the perils of ignoring global product recall announcements.More pictures in the indecipherable forum where they first appeared: ??????Dell???????????????????????? [Hi-PDA via The Raw Feed]

Recalls: Various Barbie?? Accessory Toys (lead), Fisher ...
Various Barbie?? Accessory Toys (lead), Fisher Price Big Big World 6-in-1 Bongo Band toys (lead), Fisher-Price Recalls Geo Trax Locomotive Toys (lead), NettoCollection "Moderne" and "Loft" Cribs (entrapment, strangulation), d-Scan Jubee Bunk Beds (collapse). Mattel's CEO appeared in a new apology video, featuring shots of people in lab coats going through the motions of testing toys (we like how the guy in the beginning nods his head as he writes down a figure, nice lil piece of overacting there).

How To: 13 Step Method For Buying A Car While Controlling The Sale And The Price
Commenter Keter posted a completely kick-ass 13 step guide to buying a car while maintaining total and absolute control over the sales process. It was so good we're lifting it and posting it to the front page.1. Pick the exact make and model of car you want.2. Call around first anonymously (such as calling from work on your lunch hour), and get prices. Tell them you are calling everybody, and the best deal wins. Write down the prices you are given, and note any difference in packages.3. Pick the dealership you think you want to do business with based on the results of this phone call. Price should not be the decider -- demeanor and gut feel should be....4. Go to the dealership you absolutely NEVER want to do business with. Nail down the details on the options -- go for "loaded," then whittle it down to find the approximate prices for each option. Make a detailed list with prices. Mark the options you must have and those can do without.5. Do your research online and compare your...

Swell News: 8 Airlines Raise Fares
Despite what may be the most frustrating summer ever for airline travelers, 8 airlines have decided to raise their fares. Why? Jet fuel prices are up 24% this year. Southwest started the fare raise by upping their prices from $1-$10 each way on Aug 31. "American Airlines, United Airlines, Continental Airlines Inc., Northwest Airlines Corp. and US Airways Group Inc. matched the fares over the weekend, spokesmen said. Delta Air Lines Inc. and AirTran Holdings Inc. raised prices to a lesser extent," says Bloomberg.This will be the 10th fare raise this year. Only JetBlue and Alaska Air abstained from the latest increase.Southwest leads way as 8 airlines raise fares [Baltimore Sun](Photo:Ack Ook)

Health: First Consumer "Popcorn Lung" Case Found
A Denver man who snarfed microwaved popcorn at least twice a day for over a decade has been diagnosed with the first consumer case of "popcorn lung" an asthma-like condition that results from over-exposure to popcorn fumes, NYT reports."When he broke open the bags, after the steam came out, he would often inhale the fragrance because he liked it so much," Dr. Rose said. "That's heated diacetyl, which we know from the workers' studies is the highest risk."Dr. Rose measured levels of diacetyl in the man's home after he made popcorn and found levels of the chemical were similar to those in microwave popcorn plants. She asked the man to stop eating microwave popcorn."He was really upset that he couldn't have it anymore," Dr. Rose said. "But he complied."Now the man has lost 50lbs and his lungs have gotten better. Moral of the story: Don't OD on popcorn, freakazoids.Doctor Links a Man's Illness to a Microwave Popcorn Habit [NYT]PREVIOUSLY: Microwave Popcorn May Cause Lung Damage(Photo:...

Gas: FTC Says Gas Was Expensive Last Year Because Of Market Forces, Not Price Gouging
You can stop worrying about whether or not you got screwed by the gas industry. The Federal Trade Commission announced late last week that they've found no evidence of price gouging during 2006, when the average price of gas rose above $3 per gallon. Or as one oil industry spokesman puts it (tactlessly, for a spokesman), "It's difficult for the average American to understand market forces, but that is what's ultimately in play with this industry." The FTC said high gasoline prices in the spring and summer of 2006 were caused byregular seasonal effects from increased demand in the summerincreases in the price of crude oilincreases in the price of ethanolreduced production by refinersdamage to refineries from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005increased demand for gasThe lone dissenting statement, from Democrat Jon Leibowitz, is brief enough to include in its entirety here (or you can download a pdf copy with footnotes from the FTC website):The oil industry, which posted record...

Clean Up Your Act: American Airlines Fined Again For Unsafe Work Conditions At O'Hare
American Airlines was fined $231,000 back in June for unsafe work conditions at Chicago's O'Hare airport. The conditions included fall hazards, electrical and fire hazards, hygiene issues, blocked exits and storage of oxygen and acetylene cylinders. Now American Airlines has been fined a second time by OSHA—and this time it'll cost them $227,500. From the Daily Herald:Citations have included a lack of warning signs or labels on previously identified asbestos-containing materials, which could exposure employees to that hazardous substance; hearing conservation; confined space entry; respirator issues and failing to inform employees of the presence of hazardous chemicals and labeling many of those chemicals; and failing to maintain Hepatitis B declination forms.Since 2004, OSHA has inspected American Airlines 66 times at locations nationwide, with 37 inspections resulting in citations. Its O'Hare hub has been inspected 10 times since 2000, with five inspections resulting...

Furniture: Reach IKEA Executive Customer Service
For some consumers, it seems IKEA wants them to also build their own customer service. But hex wrenches can't effect a warranty repair. If calling the general customer service number doesn't help you out, these methods may help you lob your issue into their laps.Connect to IKEA US Customer Relations Manager Office and also pull up a company directory that goes off of the first three letters of the last name: 610-834-0180Email addresses for US top management. The four letter system may work for other employees, or firstname.lastname@memo.ikea.com. Try both.(Photo: jgodsey)

Subprime Meltdown: Pending Home Sales Plummet 12% In July
Pending home sales plummeted in July—dropping 12%—the steepest drop since the pending sales index was created and nearly 5 times what analysts were estimating. ``The housing market is bad and is going to stay bad for some time,'' said Zach Pandl, an economist at Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. in New York, who predicted a 3 percent drop. ``This number does not look good for existing home sales for August.''The median forecast was for a decrease of 2.2 percent, according to a survey of 26 analysts. Estimates ranged from a drop of 4 percent to an increase of 1.5 percent....President George W. Bush on Aug. 31 said he will let the Federal Housing Administration, which insures mortgages for low- and middle-income borrowers, guarantee loans for delinquent borrowers. The new program will allow homeowners with a good credit rating who can't afford their current payments to refinance into FHA-insured home loans. Let's hope all those subprime borrowers have good credit. Wait...

Reverse-roofie: Beware Viagra's Possible Love Side Effects!
And now, an article for the men. Dang!—it turns out Viagra has a sneaky side effect of making you feel love and not just arousal whenever you take it. In lab studies, it increases the amount of oxytocin in rats, which is a hormone associated with "feelings of love," including nursing and childbirth as well as sexual pleasure. (This should not be confused with the drug OxyContin, which does something else entirely, and which tends to be widely abused by lab rats in the midwest.)What's the point of chemically induced party sex if it's just gonna lead to willful monogamy? And if it turns out to have the same effect in humans, can Pfizer be found legally responsible for failed marriages that were initiated by drug-induced false love? Are these even scientifically literate questions? No, they are not. On a more serious note, however, it may indicate that drugs like Viagra could be used for other purposes—the article suggests "to promote social bonding," but that sounds...

Good Intentions: Washington D.C. Gives Away Uncool, Defective Condoms
We're sure that Washington D.C. meant well when it started giving away free condoms in order to help stop the spread of H.I.V. in the US city with the highest AIDS rate. One problem: The condoms suck. From the Washington Post: Volunteers concerned about why interest had dropped began asking people who had picked up the condoms. They were told about packets ripping in purses or bursting open in pockets. As a result, recipients said they had little confidence that the condoms would offer protection.In addition, expiration dates on some of the Chinese-made condoms were illegible."People were saying, 'These packets aren't any good,' " said Franck DeRose, executive director of an organization called the Condom Project, one of those involved in the grass-roots distribution system. Well, that's really disappointing. Consumers also don't like the way the package looks. It's emblazoned with the slogan "Coming Together to Stop HIV in D.C." We nominate those words as the very last thing...

Taxi Strike 2007: 80% of taxi drivers stayed home because of ...
80% of taxi drivers stayed home because of a strike in NYC, causing long lines and general grumpiness in an already grumpy city. [New York Times]

Fashion Police: Southwest Airlines Thinks Your Outfit Is Inappropriate
According to the Union-Tribune, Southwest airlines objected to an outfit worn by a 23 year-old Hooters waitress. Southwest went so far as to ask the woman the leave the airplane. So what was she wearing? A "white denim miniskirt, high-heel sandals, and a turquoise summer sweater over a tank top over a bra."My god! Alert the TSA and the local police! We can see leg!She had a doctor's appointment that afternoon in Tucson, where temperatures had topped 106 all week. She arrived at Lindbergh Field wearing a white denim miniskirt, high-heel sandals, and a turquoise summer sweater over a tank top over a bra. After the plane filled, and the flight attendants began their safety spiel, Ebbert was asked to step off the plane by a customer service supervisor, identified by the airline only as "Keith." They walked out onto the jet bridge, where Keith told Ebbert her clothing was inappropriate and asked her to change. She explained she was flying to Tucson for only a few hours and had brought...

Food: Starbucks To Stop Using Monsanto Milk
By the end of this year, Starbucks will no longer serve dairy products that contain Posilac, aka rBGH or rbST, the growth hormone manufactured by Monsanto, says a Reuters article. The company was already well on its way to cutting rBGH out of its menu—as of last month, 72% of their dairy comes from rBGH-free suppliers. According to a letter sent by Starbucks to Food & Water Watch (which has heavily campaigned against the synthetic hormone), "By December 31, 2007, all of our fluid milk, half and half, whipping cream and eggnog used in U.S. company-operated stores will be produced without the use of rBGH." According to the article, 30% of dairy cows today are given Posilac injections to increase milk production, and Monsanto (previously discussed here and here) has countered that the decision will have negative effects on dairy farmers who rely on Posilac for their business model. The synthetic hormone hasn't been proven to have any negative health effects on humans—which...

Videos: Clip Of Meghann On ABC's i-Caught
newVideoPlayer("con_cuaght.flv", 475, 376);Here's the segment from last night's i-Caught featuring Consumerist's Meghann Marco talking about how consumers are using online videos to express their grievances.We think the online video can be effective escalation tool, as it were, as long as you've made reasonable efforts to contact the company and exhausted normal channels. The guidelines for making a good complaint still apply. That said, everytime you make a consumer complaint video, a new kitten is born.

Personal Finance: Cars Cost Half Of A Family's Income
Bankrate is reporting that the average new car will cost half of the average family's income. How depressing! The average price for a new car is $28,200 in 2007, meaning that the average family has to work about 25 weeks to afford the car. It sounds bad but it's nowhere near as awful as it used to be in the 1990s when families were working 31 weeks a year to afford a new car. So how much should you really spend on a car? According to advice from Edmunds.com, it's probably less than you think."People waste all kinds of money when purchasing and owning cars. It's a depreciating asset. There's no way to get around that," Reed says. "So right from the get-go you will lose money, but the question is: How much? You want to control the bleeding."Reed is fairly strict about how much money people should spend on a car. He says a good rule of thumb is 20 percent of income. This means someone who buys a $20,000 car should be making $100,000. Yay for used cars.Cars cost half of family's...

Polls: Has "Super-Capitalism" Outmoded Democracy?
Heard some interesting commentary this morning on the Leonard Lopate show by former Secretary of Labor Robert B. Reich on why he thinks "super-capitalism" has outmoded democracy.He posits that Americans are increasingly disengaged from the democratic process and people are more concerned about prices than creating a stronger social fabric... So the question we beg is...Gawker Media polls require Javascript; if you're viewing this in an RSS reader, click through to view in your Javascript-enabled web browser.

Stocks: Historically, September is the worst month ...
Historically, September is the worst month for the S&P 500. Now we don't feel so bad about our portfolio. [All Financial Matters]

Schadenfreude: iPhone Price Chopped Already, 8GB $200 Cheaper
Hey, early adopters! You've been screwed! Again! Steve Jobs announced at his keynote speech today that the 8GB iPhone is getting a price chop and the 4GB is going away completely, according to our sister site Gizmodo.Consumerist always advises that eager beavers take a moment to relax and think before running out to buy the next new thing. As former Consumerist editor Joel Johnson once said: "Stop buying this crap. Just stop it. You don't need it. Wait a year until the reviews come out and the other suckers too addicted to having the very latest and greatest buy it, put up a review, and have moved on to something else."So, the next time you feel the need to wait in line to get a pretty new gadget remember that you could have saved $200 bucks by waiting, uh, about 2 months, and 8 days. Give or take. 8GB iPhone Price Cut by $200, 4GB iPhone Gone [Gizmodo](Photo:Gizmodo)

Badvertising: Great Moments In Commercial History: Apple
It has the power of at least 2 computers! It can run over 10,000 different programs! It comes with everything you need to hook it up to your TV! You can take it home for under $1300!We like watching ads for outdated technology. It reminds us not to spend tons on money on soon-to-be obsolete junk, and also makes us feel happy that technology is so much better than it was in 1984. And just because we love you, here's one about something new called "the internet" and an old Mac/PC ad:If you'd like to nominate a commercial for our weekly series "Great Moments In Commercial History" send us an email at tips [at] consumerist [dot] com. Be sure to put "Great Moments In Commercial History" in the subject. To see other commercials that have been featured in the series, click here.

Xbox: "Bill Gates, You Suck"
Dan Jouver, a self-identifying southern Floridian, is yet another customer experiencing Xbox's notorious Red Ring of Death product failure, multiple times, but unlike others, he is eventually driven to destroy his Xbox on-camera in a series of exciting scenarios.See, Dan wants to play Tiger Woods, Madden, Need For Speed, and GTA... so he plays them with his broken XBOX. It's a process that involves large pieces of plastic and metal become smaller, multiple, pieces of plastic and metal.That's in the second video, below. The first video, above, is his expression of frustration with the warranty repair process in the typical "straight to camera" mode, but the eponymous conveyance of his true feelings, and the appearance of what looks like a recalled Fisher-Price toy in the background, raise it above the quotidian.

Fast Food: Krispy Kreme Is In Serious Trouble
For a place that makes some pretty damn good donuts, Krispy Kreme isn't quite as good at managing their money. The troubled donut maker will close about half of its 15 Chicago-area stores and its Illinois franchise will enter Chapter 11 bankruptcy. From the Chicago Tribune:Sweet Traditions [franchise] abruptly shut down its three tollway oasis locations in May, citing high rent and low foot traffic.Schlegel said the company had been obligated to pay leases at a total of seven oasis location, even though it had shuttered three and had not built stores at the other four."We were needing to get out of those leases," Schlegel said. Bankruptcy allows companies to void unwanted leases.Schlegel said some corporate practices at Winston-Salem, N.C.-based Krispy Kreme had also hurt her company.At one time, the company required its franchisees to build large factory stores, where all doughnuts are made on site. The stores cost about $3 million each, Schlegel said, a large capital investment...

It's Your Mess, You Fix It: A disgruntled mother, overwhelmed by the ...
A disgruntled mother, overwhelmed by the sheer number of toys to check against the lead paint recall list, throws them all in a trash bag and brings them to Mattel headquarters to let their employees sort them out. [CNN Video]

Bioshock DRM Backlash: Just when we thought the Bioshock DRM fiasco ...
Just when we thought the Bioshock DRM fiasco was going away, a 2k Games rep told a customer that he needed to buy the game for each user account on his PC. "The other way to view this, is one USER has purchased the game. Not the whole family. So why should your brother play for free?" [2k Forums via Digg]

Religion: Annual Islamic Convention Is A Muslim Shopper's Dream
The annual Islamic Society of North America convention, which was held this past weekend in Illinois, is the largest on the continent—this year approximately 40,000 people attended to take part in panel discussions and seminars. It's also a bastion of shopping stalls offering every Muslim product imaginable, which leads the UK's Guardian newspaper to wonder whether it has become "more about shopping than spirituality."The huge convention centre was packed with 333 stalls catering for the modern Muslim's every need, including a digital Qur'an audio player, festive Ramadan lights, a pre-packed funeral kit, halal jerky and a mobile phone application that provides daily prayer times for more than 12,000 cities worldwide.It's a straw man argument, apparently, because the article provides no source for the criticism that the convention is too materialistc. Instead, it mostly offers quotes from attendees who share their enthusiasm for what's on offer and say the convention is...

<![CDATA[everything's $1???or Just Walk Out With It]]>: Over a dozen shoppers perused the aisles ...
Over a dozen shoppers perused the aisles of an unstaffed Dollar Tree store on Labor Day after a door lock malfunctioned. The lights were on and shopping music was being piped in, but there was nobody at the registers, which led a suspicious customer to call the authorities. [seattlepi.com]

Airline Suckage From Around The Globe: "Officials at Nepal's state-run airline ...
"Officials at Nepal's state-run airline have sacrificed two goats to appease Akash Bhairab, the Hindu sky god, following technical problems with one of its Boeing 757 aircraft, the carrier said Tuesday." It also fixed the plane in a more mechanical way, but has declined to say what was wrong with it. [Reuters]

Bioshock DRM Backlash: Just when we thought the Bioshock DRM fiasco ...
Just when we thought the Bioshock DRM fiasco was going away, a 2k Games rep told a customer that he needed to buy the game for each user account on his PC. "The other way to view this, is one USER has purchased the game. Not the whole family. So why should your brother play for free?" [2k Forums via Digg]

It's Your Mess, You Fix It: A disgruntled mother, overwhelmed by the ...
A disgruntled mother, overwhelmed by the sheer number of toys to check against the lead paint recall list, throws them all in a trash bag and brings them to Mattel headquarters to let their employees sort them out. [CNN Video]

Fast Food: Krispy Kreme Is In Serious Trouble
For a place that makes some pretty damn good donuts, Krispy Kreme isn't quite as good at managing their money. The troubled donut maker will close about half of its 15 Chicago-area stores and its Illinois franchise will enter Chapter 11 bankruptcy. From the Chicago Tribune:Sweet Traditions [franchise] abruptly shut down its three tollway oasis locations in May, citing high rent and low foot traffic.Schlegel said the company had been obligated to pay leases at a total of seven oasis location, even though it had shuttered three and had not built stores at the other four."We were needing to get out of those leases," Schlegel said. Bankruptcy allows companies to void unwanted leases.Schlegel said some corporate practices at Winston-Salem, N.C.-based Krispy Kreme had also hurt her company.At one time, the company required its franchisees to build large factory stores, where all doughnuts are made on site. The stores cost about $3 million each, Schlegel said, a large capital investment...

Schadenfreude: iPhone Price Chopped Already, 8GB $200 Cheaper
Hey, early adopters! You've been screwed! Again! Steve Jobs announced at his keynote speech today that the 8GB iPhone is getting a price chop and the 4GB is going away completely, according to our sister site Gizmodo.Consumerist always advises that eager beavers take a moment to relax and think before running out to buy the next new thing. As former Consumerist editor Joel Johnson once said: "Stop buying this crap. Just stop it. You don't need it. Wait a year until the reviews come out and the other suckers too addicted to having the very latest and greatest buy it, put up a review, and have moved on to something else."So, the next time you feel the need to wait in line to get a pretty new gadget remember that you could have saved $200 bucks by waiting, uh, about 2 months, and 8 days. Give or take. 8GB iPhone Price Cut by $200, 4GB iPhone Gone [Gizmodo](Photo:Gizmodo)

Badvertising: Great Moments In Commercial History: Apple
It has the power of at least 2 computers! It can run over 10,000 different programs! It comes with everything you need to hook it up to your TV! You can take it home for under $1300!We like watching ads for outdated technology. It reminds us not to spend tons on money on soon-to-be obsolete junk, and also makes us feel happy that technology is so much better than it was in 1984. And just because we love you, here's one about something new called "the internet" and an old Mac/PC ad:If you'd like to nominate a commercial for our weekly series "Great Moments In Commercial History" send us an email at tips [at] consumerist [dot] com. Be sure to put "Great Moments In Commercial History" in the subject. To see other commercials that have been featured in the series, click here.

Xbox: "Bill Gates, You Suck"
Dan Jouver, a self-identifying southern Floridian, is yet another customer experiencing Xbox's notorious Red Ring of Death product failure, multiple times, but unlike others, he is eventually driven to destroy his Xbox on-camera in a series of exciting scenarios.See, Dan wants to play Tiger Woods, Madden, Need For Speed, and GTA... so he plays them with his broken XBOX. It's a process that involves large pieces of plastic and metal become smaller, multiple, pieces of plastic and metal.That's in the second video, below. The first video, above, is his expression of frustration with the warranty repair process in the typical "straight to camera" mode, but the eponymous conveyance of his true feelings, and the appearance of what looks like a recalled Fisher-Price toy in the background, raise it above the quotidian.

Personal Finance: Cars Cost Half Of A Family's Income
Bankrate is reporting that the average new car will cost half of the average family's income. How depressing! The average price for a new car is $28,200 in 2007, meaning that the average family has to work about 25 weeks to afford the car. It sounds bad but it's nowhere near as awful as it used to be in the 1990s when families were working 31 weeks a year to afford a new car. So how much should you really spend on a car? According to advice from Edmunds.com, it's probably less than you think."People waste all kinds of money when purchasing and owning cars. It's a depreciating asset. There's no way to get around that," Reed says. "So right from the get-go you will lose money, but the question is: How much? You want to control the bleeding."Reed is fairly strict about how much money people should spend on a car. He says a good rule of thumb is 20 percent of income. This means someone who buys a $20,000 car should be making $100,000. Yay for used cars.Cars cost half of family's...

Polls: Has Super-Capitalism Outmoded Democracy?
Heard some interesting commentary this morning on the Leonard Lopate show by former Secretary of Labor Robert B. Reich on why he thinks "super-capitalism" has outmoded democracy.He posits that Americans are increasingly disengaged from the democratic process and people are more concerned about prices than creating a stronger social fabric... So the question we beg is...Gawker Media polls require Javascript; if you're viewing this in an RSS reader, click through to view in your Javascript-enabled web browser.

Stocks: Historically, September is the worst month ...
Historically, September is the worst month for the S&P 500. Now we don't feel so bad about our portfolio. [All Financial Matters]

Food: Starbucks To Stop Using Monsanto Milk
By the end of this year, Starbucks will no longer serve dairy products that contain Posilac, aka rBGH or rbST, the growth hormone manufactured by Monsanto, says a Reuters article. The company was already well on its way to cutting rBGH out of its menu&mdash;as of last month, 72% of their dairy comes from rBGH-free suppliers. According to a letter sent by Starbucks to Food & Water Watch (which has heavily campaigned against the synthetic hormone), "By December 31, 2007, all of our fluid milk, half and half, whipping cream and eggnog used in U.S. company-operated stores will be produced without the use of rBGH." According to the article, 30% of dairy cows today are given Posilac injections to increase milk production, and Monsanto has countered that the decision will have negative effects on dairy farmers who rely on Posilac for their business model. The synthetic hormone hasn't been proven to have any negative health effects on humans&mdash;which is why the FDA doesn't...

Videos: Clip Of Meghann On ABC's i-Caught
newVideoPlayer("con_cuaght.flv", 475, 376);Here's the segment from last night's i-Caught featuring Consumerist's Meghann Marco talking about how consumers are using online videos to express their grievances.We think the online video can be effective escalation tool, as it were, as long as you've made reasonable efforts to contact the company and exhausted normal channels. The guidelines for making a good complaint still apply. That said, everytime you make a consumer complaint video, a new kitten is born.

Fashion Police: Southwest Airlines Thinks Your Outfit Is Inappropriate
According to the Union-Tribune, Southwest airlines objected to an outfit worn by a 23 year-old Hooters waitress. Southwest went so far as to ask the woman the leave the airplane. So what was she wearing? A "white denim miniskirt, high-heel sandals, and a turquoise summer sweater over a tank top over a bra."My god! Alert the TSA and the local police! We can see leg!She had a doctor's appointment that afternoon in Tucson, where temperatures had topped 106 all week. She arrived at Lindbergh Field wearing a white denim miniskirt, high-heel sandals, and a turquoise summer sweater over a tank top over a bra. After the plane filled, and the flight attendants began their safety spiel, Ebbert was asked to step off the plane by a customer service supervisor, identified by the airline only as "Keith." They walked out onto the jet bridge, where Keith told Ebbert her clothing was inappropriate and asked her to change. She explained she was flying to Tucson for only a few hours and had brought...

Reverse-roofie: Beware Viagra's Possible Love Side Effects!
And now, an article for the men. Dang!&mdash;it turns out Viagra has a sneaky side effect of making you feel love and not just arousal whenever you take it. In lab studies, it increases the amount of oxytocin in rats, which is a hormone associated with "feelings of love," including nursing and childbirth as well as sexual pleasure. (This should not be confused with the drug OxyContin, which does something else entirely, and which tends to be widely abused by lab rats in the midwest.)What's the point of chemically induced party sex if it's just gonna lead to willful monogamy? And if it turns out to have the same effect in humans, can Pfizer be found legally responsible for failed marriages that were initiated by drug-induced false love? Are these even scientifically literate questions? No, they are not. On a more serious note, however, it may indicate that drugs like Viagra could be used for other purposes&mdash;the article suggests "to promote social bonding," but that...

Good Intentions: Washington D.C. Gives Away Uncool, Defective Condoms
We're sure that Washington D.C. meant well when it started giving away free condoms in order to help stop the spread of H.I.V. in the US city with the highest AIDS rate. One problem: The condoms suck. From the Washington Post: Volunteers concerned about why interest had dropped began asking people who had picked up the condoms. They were told about packets ripping in purses or bursting open in pockets. As a result, recipients said they had little confidence that the condoms would offer protection.In addition, expiration dates on some of the Chinese-made condoms were illegible."People were saying, 'These packets aren't any good,' " said Franck DeRose, executive director of an organization called the Condom Project, one of those involved in the grass-roots distribution system. Well, that's really disappointing. Consumers also don't like the way the package looks. It's emblazoned with the slogan "Coming Together to Stop HIV in D.C." We nominate those words as the very last thing...

Taxi Strike 2007: 80% of taxi drivers stayed home because of ...
80% of taxi drivers stayed home because of a strike in NYC, causing long lines and general grumpiness in an already grumpy city. [New York Times]

Subprime Meltdown: Pending Home Sales Plummet 12% In July
Pending home sales plummeted in July&mdash;dropping 12%&mdash;the steepest drop since the pending sales index was created and nearly 5 times what analysts were estimating. ``The housing market is bad and is going to stay bad for some time,'' said Zach Pandl, an economist at Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. in New York, who predicted a 3 percent drop. ``This number does not look good for existing home sales for August.''The median forecast was for a decrease of 2.2 percent, according to a survey of 26 analysts. Estimates ranged from a drop of 4 percent to an increase of 1.5 percent....President George W. Bush on Aug. 31 said he will let the Federal Housing Administration, which insures mortgages for low- and middle-income borrowers, guarantee loans for delinquent borrowers. The new program will allow homeowners with a good credit rating who can't afford their current payments to refinance into FHA-insured home loans. Let's hope all those subprime borrowers have good credit....

How To: 13 Step Method For Buying A Car While Controlling The Sale And The Price
Commenter Keter posted a completely kick-ass 13 step guide to buying a car while maintaining total and absolute control over the sales process. It was so good we're lifting it and posting it to the front page.1. Pick the exact make and model of car you want.2. Call around first anonymously (such as calling from work on your lunch hour), and get prices. Tell them you are calling everybody, and the best deal wins. Write down the prices you are given, and note any difference in packages.3. Pick the dealership you think you want to do business with based on the results of this phone call. Price should not be the decider -- demeanor and gut feel should be....4. Go to the dealership you absolutely NEVER want to do business with. Nail down the details on the options -- go for "loaded," then whittle it down to find the approximate prices for each option. Make a detailed list with prices. Mark the options you must have and those can do without.5. Do your research online and compare your...

Clean Up Your Act: American Airlines Fined Again For Unsafe Work Conditions At O'Hare
American Airlines was fined $231,000 back in June for unsafe work conditions at Chicago's O'Hare airport. The conditions included fall hazards, electrical and fire hazards, hygiene issues, blocked exits and storage of oxygen and acetylene cylinders. Now American Airlines has been fined a second time by OSHA&mdash;and this time it'll cost them $227,500. From the Daily Herald:Citations have included a lack of warning signs or labels on previously identified asbestos-containing materials, which could exposure employees to that hazardous substance; hearing conservation; confined space entry; respirator issues and failing to inform employees of the presence of hazardous chemicals and labeling many of those chemicals; and failing to maintain Hepatitis B declination forms.Since 2004, OSHA has inspected American Airlines 66 times at locations nationwide, with 37 inspections resulting in citations. Its O'Hare hub has been inspected 10 times since 2000, with five inspections resulting...

Furniture: Reach IKEA Executive Customer Service
For some consumers, it seems IKEA wants them to also build their own customer service. But hex wrenches can't effect a warranty repair. If calling the general customer service number doesn't help you out, these methods may help you lob your issue into their laps.Connect to IKEA US Customer Relations Manager Office and also pull up a company directory that goes off of the first three letters of the last name: 610-834-0180Email addresses for US top management. The four letter system may work for other employees, or firstname.lastname@memo.ikea.com. Try both.(Photo: jgodsey)

Health: First Consumer "Popcorn Lung" Case Found
A Denver man who snarfed microwaved popcorn at least twice a day for over a decade has been diagnosed with the first consumer case of "popcorn lunge," an asthma-like condition that results from over-exposure to popcorn fumes, NYT reports."When he broke open the bags, after the steam came out, he would often inhale the fragrance because he liked it so much," Dr. Rose said. "That's heated diacetyl, which we know from the workers' studies is the highest risk."Dr. Rose measured levels of diacetyl in the man's home after he made popcorn and found levels of the chemical were similar to those in microwave popcorn plants. She asked the man to stop eating microwave popcorn."He was really upset that he couldn't have it anymore," Dr. Rose said. "But he complied."Now the man has lost 50lbs and his lungs have gotten better. Moral of the story: Don't OD on popcorn, freakazoids.Doctor Links a Man's Illness to a Microwave Popcorn Habit [NYT]PREVIOUSLY: Microwave Popcorn May Cause Lung Damage(Photo:...

Gas: FTC Says Gas Was Expensive Last Year Because Of Market Forces, Not Price Gouging
You can stop worrying about whether or not you got screwed by the gas industry. The Federal Trade Commission announced late last week that they've found no evidence of price gouging during 2006, when the average price of gas rose above $3 per gallon. Or as one oil industry spokesman puts it (tactlessly, for a spokesman), "It's difficult for the average American to understand market forces, but that is what's ultimately in play with this industry." The FTC said high gasoline prices in the spring and summer of 2006 were caused byregular seasonal effects from increased demand in the summerincreases in the price of crude oilincreases in the price of ethanolreduced production by refinersdamage to refineries from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005increased demand for gasThe lone dissenting statement, from Democrat Jon Leibowitz, is brief enough to include in its entirety here (or you can download a pdf copy with footnotes from the FTC website):The oil industry, which posted record...

How To: 13 Step Guide To Buying A Car While Controlling The Sale And The Price
Commenter Keter posted a completely kick-ass 13 step guide to buying a car while maintaining total and absolute control over the sales process. It was so good, that we're lifting it and posting it to the front page.1. Pick the exact make and model of car you want.2. Call around first anonymously (such as calling from work on your lunch hour), and get prices. Tell them you are calling everybody, and the best deal wins. Write down the prices you are given, and note any difference in packages.3. Pick the dealership you think you want to do business with based on the results of this phone call. Price should not be the decider -- demeanor and gut feel should be....4. Go to the dealership you absolutely NEVER want to do business with. Nail down the details on the options -- go for "loaded," then whittle it down to find the approximate prices for each option. Make a detailed list with prices. Mark the options you must have and those can do without.5. Do your research online and compare...

Swell News: 8 Airlines Raise Fares
Despite what may be the most frustrating summer ever for airline travelers, 8 airlines have decided to raise their fares. Why? Jet fuel prices are up 24% this year. Southwest started the fare raise by upping their prices from $1-$10 each way on Aug 31. "American Airlines, United Airlines, Continental Airlines Inc., Northwest Airlines Corp. and US Airways Group Inc. matched the fares over the weekend, spokesmen said. Delta Air Lines Inc. and AirTran Holdings Inc. raised prices to a lesser extent," says Bloomberg.This will be the 10th fare raise this year. Only JetBlue and Alaska Air abstained from the latest increase.Southwest leads way as 8 airlines raise fares [Baltimore Sun](Photo:Ack Ook)

Defects: Dell Laptop Catches Fire In Shanghai Office
Just when you thought it was safe taste to eat a pomegranate... a Dell laptop catches fire and self destructs! This time, on 9/03, in a Shanghai office. We're guessing a defective battery is the culprit, thus illustrating the perils of ignoring global product recall announcements.More pictures in the indecipherable forum where they first appeared: Dell [Hi-PDA via The Raw Feed]

Recalls: Various Barbie Accessory Toys (lead), Fisher ...
Various Barbie Accessory Toys (lead), Fisher Price Big Big World 6-in-1 Bongo Band toys (lead), Fisher-Price Recalls Geo Trax Locomotive Toys (lead), NettoCollection "Moderne" and "Loft" Cribs (entrapment, strangulation), d-Scan Jubee Bunk Beds (collapse). Mattel's CEO appeared in a new apology video, featuring shots of people in lab coats going through the motions of testing toys (we like how the guy in the beginning nods his head as he writes down a figure, nice lil piece of overacting there).

Shopping: Morning Deals
AT&T: Pay-As-You-Go Motorola RAZR V3 for $79.99Teva: Sandals Clearance $10.90 Women's, $14.90 Men's, + Free ShipFree bag of Dunkin Donut's coffee beansHighlights From DealhackB&H Photo: Kodak EasyShare V1003 10MP Digital Camera $175Snapfish: 4x6 Photo Prints only 9 Cents Each with CouponEddie Bauer: Include a Pair of Pants and Save 20% off Entire OrderHighlights From BargainistRalph Lauren: Last Chance Sale up to 70% offAltrec.com: Garage Sale 25% off couponPep Boys: $10 off $50 or more coupon