Consumer News Features Archives

Do you guys remember New Coke? No? Well, there's a good reason why: when a current-generation product achieves monumental popularity, its successor very well may not. In fact, we can think of nine products and business initiatives that were total #fail-ures.

T-Mobile has long frustrated customers by carrying every other brand of smartphone but the iPhone. That is until the carrier brought aboard the iPhone 5 last month, at a discount to boot. But now a new 16GB iPhone 5 will cost you $629.99 upfront. What's up with that?

If you've ever wondered what happens to all those frequent flyer miles you accumulate — and why you sometimes can't track them all — you are not alone. Brian Kelly, aka "The Points Guy," set out to uncover the best ways to monitor and earn frequent flyer points.

Online-only retailers have much lower merchandise return rates than other merchants. But is this because web-only merchants are better at preventing returns than other companies, or is returning items to an online retailer too much of a hassle in the first place?

Through various means, network TV is coming to the Internet in the form of live streams. In this brief but lively discussion, our experts ponder the eternal question: What will it take to get you to watch live TV online?

Although it may seem strange to get health care at your local pharmacy or big-box retailer, it can actually be less expensive (and more convenient) than trying to make a doctor's appointment. So would you head to an in-store, walk-in clinic at Walgreens, CVS, Walmart, or Target?

Amazon's lack of profits in 2012 are mostly a result of the company's hefty investments and overall thin profit margins. And while no experts blame customers for not buying enough, it very well may be Amazon shoppers who will pay the price to make up for lost revenue.

The Senate approved the hotly-debated Internet sales tax proposal on Monday, which means the landmark legislation is on its way to the House. And if the House gives it the go-ahead, the landscape of online shopping may be forever changed.

YouTube is going to start charging money for access to select video channels, so we asked our panel of experts the eternal question: What would it take to get you to pay for YouTube?

Last week, PayPal announced a plan to expand its mobile wallet service to an estimated 2 million stores by year's end. But what are the consumer incentives behind leaving that easy-to-use credit card at home and instead reaching for a PayPal card instead?

The Electronic Frontier Foundation just released its annual "Who Has Your Back?" report, which offers an in-depth look at the digital companies that protect your data from the government — and its findings may surprise you. Looking at the privacy policies of ISPs, email providers, cloud storage providers, social networking sites, and more, it's become clear that not all of our online data is safely guarded.

JCPenney has changed so much in the past year, usually to the customer's dismay. The higher-ups know that shoppers are losing patience with the store, so in an attempt to make amends, JCPenney made a video apology and posted it on YouTube. Is it enough to get customers back to shopping in JCP stores?

Get This is a new app that lets you purchase items you see flash across the screen during your favorite TV shows. Currently only two programs are eligible for this real time product curation, but that didn't stop us from thinking about all the ridiculous things we'd like to own from our favorite TV shows.

If you can't get paid to shop, getting free stuff is the next best thing. And the Shop Your Way rewards program offers just that! A free service, members earn points on purchases and can put them towards discounts — and freebies — down the line.

Will your Mother's Day gift go down in history as an all-time-great? Probably not. But, check out these historically great Mother's Day gifts — from Greek gods to Elvis — and see what kinds of gifts for mom withstand the test of time.

Consumers' brand loyalty is declining at a steady pace. But can a mascot change that? "Oh yeah!" say the execs behind the new, more human Kool-Aid Man.

For many people, eating healthy is more than a challenge of willpower. It's a matter of cost. But what if someone actually paid you to buy more nutritious food? Would you choose meals that are leaner and greener? Some health insurance companies are betting eating habits would change.

After decades of ringing up customers' purchases on cash registers, retailers are now turning to tablets to check out shoppers. But this new system may have some major drawbacks for customers who easily feel pressured to make purchases.

Kmart released a video online to publicize its new free shipping offer, and it's gone viral; 13 million viewers have enjoyed hearing excited customers suggestively shout "ship my pants" a bunch of times. But some people don't find it so amusing. What do you think?

The trend towards offering a la carte flight services — with customers incrementally paying for everything from checked baggage to seat assignment and refreshments — has benefited the bottom line of many airlines. In some cases, this itemized approach has even offered passengers a wider array of relatively inexpensive flights. Yet, a number of industry experts believe that Samoa Air's "Fat Tax" pay-by-weight fee structure goes a step too far.

Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author of Friday Night Lights, Buzz Bissinger has spent more than $600,000 on clothes, and has bought 81 leather jackets in the past few years alone — one of them cost $22,500. Surely Bissinger could use some remedial education from the dealnews crew in Bargain Shopping 101, but he's not alone. Buzz joins the ranks of some pretty notorious celebrity over-consumers.

You might have been hearing a lot about the value of Bitcoins recently, and if you're like us, you might be thinking: What the heck is this thing, and why does everyone seem to care so much? As it turns out, it's an alternative currency that you should be hesitant to invest in.

If you hate your taxes, just imagine how celebrities feel! They must hate them, otherwise, why are so many of them in trouble with the I.R.S. for failure to pay? Inside, you'll find a list of the worst celebrity tax scofflaws!

Last week, T-Mobile announced it will carry the iPhone 5 and permanently do away with yearly contracts. The wireless carrier's "un-leashed" contract-free plans make it the first major U.S. carrier to offer the iPhone 5 with no annual service contract. So what's in store for customers who choose to take the seemingly budget-friendly and non-binding leap? Here's a look at the cost and caveats to signing up contract-free with T-Mobile.

Taxes. They're a bummer, right? Well, it turns out they used to be much, much worse. These five ridiculous taxes run the gamut from facial hair to wallpaper, and beyond.

Amazon and Google are not the first tech conglomerates to duke it out, but the search engine and eCommerce giant have notably ventured far beyond their original services. From online shopping to hardware and cloud computing, these two powerhouses now compete head-to-head in a variety of markets — often to the consumer's benefit.

If death and taxes represent two of life's certainties, then articles about taxes in the days leading up to April 15 come in a close third. And in this one, we've crunched the tax day numbers with enough exactitude to make your accountant jealous. Better yet, you don't need a sharp pencil or calculator to make sense of the facts and figures — past and present — that surround Uncle Sam's mandate.

Two recent conundrums involving digital comic books shed light on growing problems in the comic book industry. Are comic book companies really ready for the digital age?

Did you know that most eyeglasses stores and brands are owned by one large conglomerate, which charges exorbitant prices? Warby Parker is here to change all that, offering quality frames at door-busting prices.

There are two types of people, come April 1: Pranksters and Suckers. You want to be a prankster, but what do you do if you don't have the money to pull off an elaborate April Fools' Day prank? Check out our list of cheap pranks that you can pull on your friends with no money down, that's what!

The practice of showrooming and buying goods online instead of at a brick-and-mortar store is starting to really annoy retailers, and one merchant has decided to solve the problem by charging customers an entrance fee. Would you be willing to pay it?