You're thinking, "Good! I can buy more stuff with less money!" This is true, but the problem is that if everyone can buy more stuff with less money — what motivation is there to manufacture more stuff? Ah-ha. Troubling, isn't it?

From the NYT:

“We’re looking at a pretty deep recession now,” Mr. Behravesh said. “ All of a sudden, any pricing power that companies might have had is gone. You’re going to see discounting like crazy going on. All kinds of sales. You’re going to see all kinds of prices being slashed.”

With consumers pulling back, many analysts are expecting a difficult Christmas shopping season. Retail sales, for example, were down 2.8 percent in October from September, and 4.1 percent from October 2007 as consumers pared their spending.

In Wednesday’s report, even excluding volatile food and energy prices, prices dropped 0.1 percent in October. It was the first such decline in more than two decades and raises the specter of deflation as the economy contracts and demand for goods and services across the board plunges.

“This month it’s more than slowing, it’s outright contraction,” Mr. O’Sullivan said. “And yes, if you extrapolate that, it’s deflation.”

For those of you wondering what deflation is — you can click here for a bleak explanation.

Consumer Prices Fall by Record Amount [NYTimes]
(Photo: Ben Popken )

And let's not forget the exorbitant booking fee for using miles for one of our tickets. The actual FLIGHT was only $280 round trip per ticket, but with the booking fee TO USE THE MILES TO PURCHASE A TICKET, we wound up paying over $500.

When Dean tried to convert the two tickets into travel vouchers, the airline charged him another $300. And that, readers, is when the airline killed off one of their better customer relationships.

For a trip that requires two roundtrip tickets priced at $280 each, or $560 before taxes, United managed to tack on over $800 in additional fees:

Dean doesn't have a permalink to his post—it's just up on the "News" section of his front page—so we're reprinting it below for posterity:

There seems to be a trend with me lately - it seems that, without fail, if I am on the phone with United Airlines, it's going to end in me cursing them out.

First, let me point something out. I used to be a devotee to United Airlines. For years, when we had trouble flying on American or Delta or *shudder* Southwest, United was always there as our rock - flights were usually smooth, we got decent service, and life was good. We signed up for frequent flier cards, (Even got a free upgrade to First class from L.A. to Chicago once) and I got a credit card that would give me bonus miles with them. I also had sort of a soft spot for them in my heart, given that my Grandfather worked maintenance for them for most of his life in San Francisco. After his memorial, I wound up taking a bunch of his old United memorabilia home with me, and I'm always going to treasure it, no matter what.

But coincidentally, that particular flight was where the love affair started to go south. See, it was around June, and it was when they started adding on fees for the second checked bag - which we didn't know about until we got to the gate, of course. I understood, to a degree - fuel prices were at an all-time high, and the airlines had to make up for the difference somehow. But I do clearly remember mentioning to the gate agent that "Heh... you KNOW those fees aren't going to go away when fuel prices come down again." How right I was.

Now, of course, fuel has dropped to the lowest price it's been in YEARS, and have they removed the fee? HA! They went one step further... because in early October, we booked a flight home so we could spend Christmas with our families. During that phone call, I discovered that not only had they added a fee for the FIRST checked bag (WHO flies without checking at least ONE bag?!) but they had increased the pet-in-cabin price from $85 per direction (It had previously been $75 the year before) to ONE HUNDRED AND SEVENTY-FIVE DOLLARS per direction. Considering we'd be taking Selphie both ways, that adds up to MORE than the price of a ticket - just for the privelege of putting a dog carrier under the seat in front of us. And let's not forget the exorbitant booking fee for using miles for one of our tickets. The actual FLIGHT was only $280 round trip per ticket, but with the booking fee TO USE THE MILES TO PURCHASE A TICKET, we wound up paying over $500. The pet-in-cabin charge would be paid at the gate, of course. And don't forget the roughly $80 extra we would have to pay just to check our bags. This was the first instance where the phone call ended in extreme profanity.

Now, of course, we're MOVING BACK to California. We no longer have need for a flight from Austin to Sacramento. So, I decided to call United and see if it would be possible to convert the tickets into travel vouchers that we could use at another time. Certainly, said the reservations agent! There's only a fee of $150 per ticket to do so.

THREE HUNDRED DOLLARS?! FOR YOU TO PRESS A FEW BUTTONS AND CHANGE SOME INFORMATION IN A COMPUTER?! Needless to say, that phone call did not end in a civil fashion. I don't care if these people aren't personally responsible for these fees. They're representatives of United, and as such, they deserve to hear what I have to say. Take your fees and shove it.

And so, here and now, I officially renounce United Airlines. Call it whatever you want. A denouncement. A boycott. I don't care - the long and the short of it is this - I will never willingly fly United again, and I would urge anyone to whom customer service is important to boycott them as well. And not just United - I pledge, here and now, to never fly on another Star Alliance airline, either - domestically, this means no flying on US Airways. (Not exactly a huge loss) And I'm going to keep this up until United elects to rescind their fees for the first and second bags, and until the silly fees like $175 for a pet-in-cabin go away. But I'm not silly enough to think that the actions of one man are enough to get something done. That's why I'm calling on you guys.

I'm sure I'm not the only one furious with United Airlines for the treatment I've recieved - I'm sure many, many others have had the same experiences. Tomorrow, I will be writing up an actual, paper letter and sending it off to United, and I encourage you to do the same. If you feel so inclined, their mailing address is as follows:

Customer Relations
WHQPW
United Airlines
PO Box 66100
Chicago, IL 60666

Whether the fees go away or not is immaterial. I'm just pissed that United has $500 of my money that I'm never going to see again, and they're holding it hostage unless I pay an ADDITIONAL $300 to make use of it sometime in the next year. And so, I'm going to throw in my one profanity in this entire post - I say this so that people like my mom who don't really care for profanity can stop reading now.

Fuck you, United Airlines. You just lost a devoted customer.

Real Life Comics (Thanks to Arthur!)
(Photo: Getty Images)

I visited my hometown of Kingston, PA this past weekend. While there, I checked out one of the local, non-chain (I think?) dollar stores called Dollar Surplus. They carry your typical dollar store fare — children's toys, plastic kitchen utensils, socks, goofy ceramic figurines, holiday decorations, and the obligatory wall full of Trisonic batteries and electronics.

The signs in the store's window advertise everything as a dollar. While poking around to see if I could find anything useful, I found over ten exceptions to the "dollar" rule, all hand-written in market on index cards... No more extension cords or pot-bellied frog lamps for only a buck.

From Consumer Reports:

Throughout the Northeast, skyrocketing fuel costs have lit a fire under the firewood business. The demand is sparking severe shortages ahead of the home-heating season, says Sarah Smith, forest-industry specialist at the University of New Hampshire cooperative extension. "If I called up 10 folks in the firewood business and asked them for a cord of dry wood, they'd all laugh," she says.

The firewood shortage started this summer, when soaring oil prices motivated more people to consider heating their homes—or supplementing their oil, natural-gas, electric, or propane heat €”with wood. "The loggers and firewood producers who were predicting and processing wood based on their usual demand couldn't accommodate all these people, many of whom hadn't burned wood in the past," says Smith.

CR has some tips for those of you who are wood shopping this fall. Most important? Make sure your chimney is in good condition, but don't get scammed by disreputable chimney liars.

Firewood and wood pellets become a hot commodity [Consumer Reports]
(Photo: saramarie )

Note: if you can't view the GOOD site, click here for the full graphic.

"Gas Prices" is issue #4 in the free "GOOD Sheets" series from GOOD and Starbucks. Each issue focuses on one topic, and unfolds from a square about the size of a CD case into a large graphic that explores the topic in stats, pics, and captions.

This week's topic is the price of gas, while last week's was immigration. Tomorrow a new one hits the stores on "The State of America's Schools."

"Getting Gas" [GOOD]

The insider writes:

I work in a Walmart store in KY, and I'm writing in to let you know that my store has raised the prices on all of its cell phone chargers by almost 50%. These price changes were automatically put into effect in our system by Home Office. This, I feel, is in direct response to Hurricane Ike.

Here in KY, we didn't get the rain, but we did get high winds on Sunday morning, which knocked out power to some 300,000 people here. The next day when we opened, people bought every car charge and battery we had because they were still without any power. Now today all of our car chargers go up nearly 50%. In fact, every charger, car or wall, in our store is a flat $19.00, when car chargers were $10.00 and wall chargers were $15.00 yesterday. This is hardly a coincidence, and it's so blatently obvious to our customers. I can't believe Walmart would do something so totally against their own mantra of Save Money, Live Better. This is more like "Raise Prices, Screw Suffering Customers!"

It could be a coincidence, maybe not. Either way, the timing is certainly suspicious.

(Photo: chasingfun)

Without further ado...

America's Most Stressful Cities:

10. Philadelphia, PA

9. Providence, R.I.

8. Salt Lake City, Utah

7. Cleveland, Ohio

6. San Diego, Calif.

5. San Francisco, Calif.

4. Los Angeles, Calif.

3. Detroit, Mich.

2. New York, N.Y.

1. Chicago, Ill.

The magazine considered unemployment rate, expensive gas, high population density and relatively poor air quality as its criteria for what made one city more stressful than another.

Chicago has a 7.3% unemployment rate, the eighth most polluted air in our ranking and in city where everybody drives to get around, a gallon of gas costs a nickel under $4 dollars.

Omitted from the calculations:

America's Most Stressful Cities [Forbes]
(Photos: Meghann Marco & Meghann Marco)

...if you’re in the market for a TV now, prices are already pretty compelling. Prices for L.C.D. and plasma sets have gotten so competitive, that the market for rear-projection sets has moved into only the biggest size screens, a trend that analysts predicted last year.

[...]

But for those looking for more down-to-earth sizes in thin form factors, LCD or plasma is the way to go. To get the best price, you may need to shop online. When I compared online prices for some L.C.D. and plasma models with prices at two of the top consumer-electronics “big box” retailers, Amazon and other online stores beat brick-and-mortar stores every time.

When you add in no shipping and no sales tax–often available from many sites–the cost difference can be substantial.

We snagged a decadently large Samsung set from Amazon two years ago. Not only did Amazon beat every retail store's price, but the tax-free DLP was delivered straight up to our apartment by a shockingly professional delivery company. The experience was better than the usual retail nightmare in every possible way, something we'd gladly repeat.

For the Best TV Prices, Stay Online [Bits]
TVs & HDTVs [Amazon]
(Photo: fab4chiky)

If you're one of those people, at least you have an out if you bought it in the last 30 days. Right on the page where you can add the iPod to your cart, they say that "with our 30/30 Guarantee on most products, you can be assured of complete satisfaction and the lowest available price, or your money back!" We confirmed with a very nice CSR on the phone that the guarantee applies to iPods, so good luck with that. Maybe you can spend that recaptured $100 on some Monster Cables.

(Thanks to Scott!)

When we wrote last month about the financial hardships facing 99 Cents Only, we questioned their CEO's idea of raising prices above the $1.00 threshold:

Of course, breaking their 99-cent promise—the core of their branding—would be risky, not to mention expensive (think of all the signage they'd have to change).

Congratulations on staying somewhat true to your core values, 99 Cents Only. We anticipate a flood of emails from consumers angry at being denied their hundredth of a cent.

Top Price Jumps to 99.99 Cents at 99 Cents Only Stores [NBC] (Thanks to Sunny!)
(Photo: greenwenvy08)

From Sara Lee Corp.'s new ad campaign with The Walt Disney Co.'s "High School Musical 3: Senior Year" to Kraft's new pizza commercials preaching "DiGiornonomics," consumers should expect to be blitzed by food advertisements in the next year.

Many major food makers are promising boosts to their advertising in the new fiscal year or reporting their spending is up in the most recent one. Their ads seem to be hitting a variety of outlets, including print, television, in-store promotion and the Internet — which marketers say helps them hone in on consumers and get the most bang for their advertising buck.

Analysts say it makes sense, even as these companies grapple with high prices for oil, corn and grains.

Consumers aren't going to change what they eat as they pull away from restaurants, said Harry Balzer, vice president of consumer research firm the NPD Group, and an expert on American eating patterns. They're just going to look for bargains, and that can mean changing brands.

"It's very hard for us to change our behavior. If we like ice cream, we're going to continue eating ice cream," he said. "Now the question is going to be what brand you're going to buy."

Remember, the Grocery Shrink Ray goes wild over brands. Savvy consumerists know to resist the advertising, and will see this as an opportunity to reaffirm their unending allegiance to the lowest price.

Foodmakers plan big ad campaigns in down economy [AP]
(Photo: GirlReporter)

Perhaps surprisingly, some of the items at Whole Foods are competitively priced. The Times compared the prices of items at Whole Foods, Trader Joe's, and ShopRite (a typical grocery store in the Northeast). They found that the basic items at Whole Foods—like organic milk, organic carrots, cage free eggs, and natural peanut butter—were lower or comparatively priced. As for the budget tours, Whole Foods advises customers to buy items on sale, and stock up on $1.50 tofu.

Whole Foods Looks for a Fresh Image in Lean Times [NYT]
(Photo: Adam Lawrence)

Or something like that.

The Commission approved the controversial merger last night on a 3-2 party-line vote. The nation's only two satellite radio operators have agreed to abide by several voluntarily conditions:

• Consumers will be able to purchase small a la carte packages.
• Third parties will be allowed to design and sell their own receivers.
• Sirius-XM will soon rollout an interoperable receiver that can receive signals from both companies.
• 4% of the new conglomerate's channels will be reserved for public interest programming.
• No price hikes for three years.

The two Democratic Commissioners were receptive to a merger, but voted against the deal after the companies refused to offer strong consumer protections.

"I was hoping to forge a bipartisan solution that would offer consumers more diversity in programming, better price protection, greater choices among innovative devices and real competition with digital radio," Adelstein declared. "Instead, it appears they're going to get a monopoly with window dressing. We missed a great opportunity to reach a bipartisan agreement that would have benefited the American people."

Last week, Adelstein told reporters that he'd back the proposed union if the two parties honored a six-year price cap, include digital radio in all tuners, and "make one-quarter of their satellite capacity available for public interest and minority programming."

Both Sirius and XM received their satellite radio licenses from the FCC in 1997 under the condition that they never merge.

Satellite Radio Merger Approved [Washington Post]
Report: FCC set to approve XM Radio-Sirius merger (updated) [Ars Technica]
PREVIOUSLY: XM-Sirius Merger Will Double Monthly Prices?

ShopSmart [Official Site]

Dear MyGallons Member,

We developed the MyGallons program because, like you, we wanted to help solve the problems caused by the rising price of gasoline. We are proud of what we created and look forward to providing you with this innovative service in the very near future.

Due to difficulties with a key supplier, we are unable to deliver the service we promised to you at this time. We apologize for the delay. You will be receiving a refund on your credit card for 100% of the membership fees that you have previously paid.

To express our sincere thanks for your loyalty and support, once we secure a new payment network, you will enjoy the benefits of the MyGallons program free of membership charges for your first year.

Rest assured, we are working diligently to secure a relationship with a new national card processing company. We will keep you updated every step of the way as we overcome the challenges we face together.

Sincerely,

Steven Verona
Founder and CEOMyGallons LLC

The whole MyGallons saga began when the media fell all over themselves about the gasoline hedging start-up, prompting the BBB to investigate the company's ability to process transactions at the pump.

The BBB found that MyGallons.com had no contract with a processor, telling Consumerist that USBank, the company that was touted in MyGallons.com's press release, had ultimately declined to participate.

MyGallons.com posted a notice claiming that USBank backed out. The BBB nevertheless issued a poor rating to MyGallons, because despite their lack of contract to process transactions, the company was still collecting membership fees. Later, the BBB met with MyGallons and revised their rating to NR (no rating) after the company agreed to suspend accepting new memberships.

Boy, that was one hell of a press release, wasn't it?

I was in the grocery section of my local Super Target today and noticed the pricing for Heinz Ketchup. They had a 2 for $4 "deal" for the 32oz bottles (64 ozs total) which I almost just threw right into my cart until I saw the 64oz bottle for $3.39. The exact same quantity of ketchup, but one is $0.61 cheaper. Had I not been an avid reader of this site, I might have been suckered into the 2 for $4 deal without even looking at the prices. Thanks Consumerist! Every penny counts these days, and you just save me 61 of them!

If you spot any deals that aren't really deals, snap a picture and send them to us at tips@consumerist.com.

1. Make a list and stick to it. Lists focus your shopping and are the single best way to save money.
2. Compare unit pricing, not box size. As with good things, good prices sometimes come in small packages.
3. If you only need a handful of items, use a basket, not a cart. Empty space cries to be filled.
4. If it's not on your list, don't pick it up. According to Paco Underhill in Why We Buy: “Virtually all unplanned purchases…come as a result of the shopper seeing, touching, smelling, or tasting something that promises pleasure, if not total fulfillment.”
5. Shop at the edge of the store. That's where the healthier, cheaper items hide.
6. Disavow brand loyalty and swear allegiance to the lowest price.
7. Consider generics. You usually get the same quality, without the unnecessary branding.
8. Learn to love coupons. With practice, you can buy almost $150 worth of stuff for $5.
9. Make one big shop, rather than several small ones. You'll save on gas while inoculating against wasteful spending.
10. Buy from bulk bins. Why pay for packaging and marketing when you can reach right in and scoop out exactly what you need?
11. Check your receipt. Don't let an errant scan ruin your hard work.
12. Shop alone. Science shows that we spend more when we're with company.
13. Track your spending so you can see what's eating your money. Committed receipt hawks can spot price cycles to help guide their shopping.
14. Eat a meal before shopping. Shopping on a full stomach tamps down impulse spending and keeps you focused on your list.
15. Shop without a car. Nothing limits spending like knowing you'll have to carry your goods home.

Saving at the Supermarket: 15 Great Grocery Shopping Tips [Get Rich Slowly]

(Photo: Getty)

Consumers are gouged an extra $0.40 on average.

"My little girl drinks between two and three gallons of milk a week,” said Queens Democratic Councilman Eric Gioia. “And when you're being overcharged 40, 50 cents per gallon — I'm going to be okay, but there are a lot of families, if you've got a number of kids, that it can be really difficult."

If you're thinking "$0.40? That's nothing!," you're not alone. Potential mayoral candidate and supermarket billionaire John Catsimatidis also supports gouging local business:

"The supermarket business is a dying breed in the New York area," Catsimatidis told amNewYork. "Fifty percent of the supermarkets in New York City have gone out of business in the last 6 or 7 years because they didn't charge enough."

"[Speaker] Quinn should take Economics 101. It's inexcusable that an official of the city of New York would just try to panic people."

He's right, you shouldn't panic. If you see a grocer selling milk for more than $3.93 a gallon, or $2.01 per half gallon, call the state's special anti-price-gouging hotline, at (800) 554-4501.

Report: Majority of Sellers in City Are Overcharging for Milk [The New York Sun]
Catsimatidis Sour On Quinn Milk Report [The Daily News]
(Photo: Getty)

Holiday travelers paying more for gas [CNNMoney]
(Photo: nsub1 )

The starting point for comparison is 1996, when Congress deregulated the telecom industry, ostensibly to spur competition. Startups and cable companies quickly trammelled the telecoms' ability to dictate prices, but nobody emerged to take on cable.

Kevin J. Martin, chairman of the F.C.C., said in an interview that since 1996, when Congress increased competition in telecommunications, prices have dropped for many other services.

“We’ve seen the opposite occur in the cable industry,” he said. “The dramatic increases in pricing we’ve seen are one of the most troubling issues from a consumer point of view.”

In 2007, average monthly revenue for each Cablevision subscriber was $75, up from $65 in 2005, according to SNL Kagan, a research company. At Time Warner it was $64, up from $54.50.

The industry isn't changing its prices or practices because consumers aren't changing their habits.

“I work eight hours a day facing a computer. When I come home, the last thing I want to do is mess with another computer,” said Eric Yu, 24, a college student in San Francisco who pays around $80 a month for cable.

Mr. Yu said he watches only a handful of channels, including some in high definition like National Geographic. But to get them, he has to pay for a premium package. “I just pay the bill and try to forget about it,” he said. “It lessens the pain.”

Well, some are...

Evelyn Tan, 22, a friend of Mr. Yu, takes a different approach. She pays Comcast $33 a month for Internet access and does not get cable television — but she does watch TV programming.

In fact, she watches ABC shows like “Desperate Housewives” and “Gray’s Anatomy,” which are free on the Web. When she wants to watch shows or movies that are not readily available online, she says she easily pirates them. “I would not pay for cable TV at all,” she said.

A la carte programming isn't coming anytime soon, but the monopolistic anti-consumer juggernaut Verizon might provide some relief as it elbows its way into the television business. While Verizon is no better than its cable competitors, its arrival opens a brief window for competition by allowing consumers play one giant against the other to eek out slight savings on cable programming.

Of course, those slight savings might only bring your rates closer to what you were paying two or three years ago. Neither the Times nor the FCC think cable is worth the cost. What do you think?

Cable Prices Keep Rising; Customers Keep Paying [NYT]
(Photo: Getty)

As many as 8,500 of the nation’s 170,000 service stations have old-style meters that need to be fixed — about 17,000 individual pumps, said Bob Renkes, executive vice president of the Petroleum Equipment Institute of Tulsa, Okla.

At Chip Colville’s Chevron station in this eastern Washington town, where men in the family have pumped gas since 1919, three stubby, gray pumps were installed when gas was less than $1 a gallon. They top out at $3.999, only 30 cents above the price of regular gas at Colville’s station.

"In small towns, where you don’t have the volume, there’s no way you can afford to pay for the replacements for these old pumps," Colville said. "It’s just not economically feasible."

The pumps will have to be retrofitted with new meters that go up to $4.99, but experts say that this puts a lot of strain on the old pumps.

Old Gas Pumps Can't Handle Ever-Rising Prices [Boston Herald]
(Photo: AP)

The bill would also ban textbook makers from jacking up prices by bundling unnecessary CDs and other extras. Finally, schools would be required to publish a list of required books long before the start of classes so students could avail themselves of the free market and ferret out the cheapest prices.

Faculty should also be doing their part. Instead of assigning two expensive books and using just a few chapters of each, professors should order custom books with only the chapters they intend to assign.

Congress, though, should do what it can, because mounting textbook prices are one of a number of factors that are pushing higher education further out of reach of many young people.

That Textbook Costs How Much? $200? [NYT]
Make Textbooks Affordable [Campaign to Reduce College Textbook Costs]
H.R. 4137 - The College Opportunity and Affordability Act of 2007 [THOMAS]
Write Your Senator
Write Your Representative
PREVIOUSLY: How To Write To Congress
(Photo: Getty)

Okay, so it's not like more expensive gum causes cancer or anything, but we thought you'd like to know why Wrigley's is bragging about their new packaging in the near future. From Brandweek:

When asked if the package shrink would turn consumers off to the product, Paul Chibe, Wrigley's vp North American consumer market-gum, said consumers wouldn't care if they were getting 15 sticks of gum instead of 17 sticks. "To them the value goes up because they're getting a better tasting product in a better package. Price is not the way the consumer is looking at this," he said.
 
Brian Morgan, senior research analyst at Euromonitor, Chicago, concurred: "[Package shrink] is the strategy that has been used in many categories to accomplish a price increase without consumers really noticing or to smooth over the negative reaction."
 
Morgan added that, in the gum category more so than in other categories, consumers would likely respond positively to slimmer packaging: "Packaging innovations like that do make a difference, independent of what that does to the price."
 
Though the new packaging is, in effect, a price increase, Wrigley is hailing it as a packaging breakthrough. "Consumers like the fact that [the envelope] is slim, sleek; it feels very contemporary," said Chibe.

Michael Roskell, 33, a technology project manager from Jersey City, N.J., said he and a friend from high school periodically visit electronics stores. While Mr. Roskell expresses interest in buying an item, his friend acts as though he is dissatisfied with the price and threatens to leave.

"We play good cop, bad cop," Mr. Roskell said.

In February, he said, the friends got $20 off a pair of $250 speakers at 6th Avenue Electronics in the New York area. Earlier, he and the same friend negotiated to buy two 46-inch high-definition Sony televisions at P. C. Richard & Son, a New York-area electronics chain.

List price: $4,300. Price after negotiation: $3,305.50.

"My parents never did this," Mr. Roskell said. "But once you get it, you realize there's a whole economy built on this."

The strategy can even work when buying pants. At least it did for David Achee of Maplewood, N.J., who said he went to a Polo Ralph Lauren store in the SoHo neighborhood of Manhattan last month and became interested in a pair of pants on the clearance rack for $75. He told the salesperson that he had seen a similar pair on the Internet for $65, adding that he thought the pair on the rack looked worn (even though he did not really think so). He got the pants for around $50, he said.

Among his other tactics, he said, he sometimes threatens to walk out of a store and go to a competitor, as he did recently to get a price break on a drum set at a music store. But, mainly, he relies on researching prices and coming armed with information — prices he finds on the Internet and in ads from competitors.

"You can negotiate, but you have to do your research," said Mr. Achee, who works for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. "When I'm bargaining, I'm bargaining with information."

Of course none is this groundbreaking or new; it's just becoming more accepted and widespread. What are your best haggling tactics? Share in the comments.

At Megastores, Hagglers Find No Price Set in Stone [NYT]
PREVIOUSLY: The Rebirth Of Haggling?
Pick Up Some Haggling Tips At HowToHaggle.com
(Photo: Getty)

Our house uses Skippy Peanut Butter, but i just found out they changed their jars from 18 ounces to 16.2 ounces for the same price. I know 2 ounces is not a huge amount of peanut better, but still.

I have noticed this same thing with Quilted Northern. I don't know what the price used to be but i noticed while shopping at sams club now you get less quilted northern than you used to.

RELATED
"Brawny Paper Towels Shrink By 20% While Price Goes up 6%"

Today at the store I picked up some Brawny paper towels. Specifically, the 8 roll pick-a-size ones. I try to use paper towels only for really messy stuff like coffee grounds and stuff. These are nice since the area of each towel is smaller than most other ones, so I don't have to use a big towel for a small spill. Anyway, I noticed they changed the package design, as well as that the price increased from $5.98, which is what it's been for the 6+ months I've been buying this brand, to $6.36.
 
After I got home I compared the dimensions listed on the package to those listed on the previous package of Brawny 8 roll pick a size paper towels that I purchased. On the previous package of Brawny paper towels that I purchased it says that each roll has 110 2-ply paper towels and a total area of 403.3 square feet. On the new package of Brawny paper towels it says that each roll has 88 2-ply paper towels and a total area of 322.6 square feet. So the price went up 6%, while the number and area of the paper towels on each roll decreased by 20%.
 
On the package of the new Brawny paper towels it claims that they're now softer & thicker. I don't know who cares about the softness of paper towels, and if anything the new ones seem less soft. They do seem slightly thicker, though, although the difference is minimal.

RELATED
"General Mill Will Decrease The Size Of Cereal Boxes, Raise Prices"
"Dial Full Force Soap Bars Now 10% Smaller"
"New Taller Honey Nut Cheerios Box Is 15 Oz Lighter"
"Cadbury: Our Eggs Aren't Smaller, You Are Bigger"
"Charmin Rolls Out Shorter Ultra Big Rolls"

So we took our five year old to an Applebees in Charlotte, NC last night for his fifth birthday. He ordered their "mac & cheese" and when it arrived we noticed that it did not have the usual breadstick. We asked why and were told that corporate felt that "they weren't healthy for kids" so they have been dropped from the menu. So the dinner cost the same as before, just that the kids get less. Very nice.

Then the real kicker. He wanted chocolate cake for dessert. I told the waitress that it was his birthday but when they started coming out with the cake there was no candle. I asked that they put one in. They went back into the kitchen and came back out five minutes later - again no candle. They sang the song and he ate his cake. I asked "why no candle?" and was told that "Applebees doesn't supply birthday candles anymore. If you want a candle in your cake, you have to bring your own." Amazing. Things are so tight that they can't put a candle in a five-year olds' cake. I guess every penny counts today.

(Thanks to Glenn!)

UPDATE: After reading the negative vitrol posted in the comments, Glenn sent in the following clarification:

Chris, it appears the my original post yesterday was completely taken out of context by the vast majority of those that posted comments in response. I was not upset that we didn't get a candle. My five year old was not upset. It was simply a candle. Not a big deal. I didn't feel that Applebee's "owed" us a candle. We stuck one in a cupcake for him at home and there was no issue. The point I was trying to make was that chains such as Applebee's must be hurting financially if they are cutting back on things such as bread and candles. They told me that they used to supply them and now they aren't - I just found that interesting that a chain as big as Applebee's is looking so closely at small things, such as candles, to save a few dollars. I understand that every expense impacts their bottom line, but things must be worse than we thought if they are proactively removing candles from their kitchens.

And as far as the bread, again, I just found it interesting that it used to be part of the kids meal, but now they have removed it, while keeping the price the same. If McDonald's removed fries from their "Happy Meals" but didn't drop the price, I am sure that people would complain that they are paying the same but getting less. That was all I was trying to say. My son got along just fine without the breadstick. He wasn't upset.

As for taking my kid to Applebee's for his birthday - he turned five. He likes their "mac & cheese." As a parent, I just wanted my kid to be happy on this birthday. Nothing more, nothing less. It certainly doesn't make me a bad parent. Is Applebee's the best restaurant in the world? No. Are there better places to go? Yes. But he asked to go there, and it wasn't a big deal. It was his birthday. I wish the people that posted responses would either remember what it was like to be 5, or had a 5 year old of their own. When you have a young kid, you do end up going to restaurants like this. That is why they are called "family friendly."

(Photo: jemsweb)

(Thanks to Erin!)

"Blue iPod Nano" [sdppro]

The reader, Patrick, had a little chat with an Apple rep and tried to get him to go off script and admit the true discount, but Josh was too crafty:

You are chatting with Josh, an Apple Expert
Hi, my name is Josh. Welcome to Apple!

Josh: Good afternoon.
Josh: How may I help you today?

You: why is the refurb iphone 8gb listed with an original price of 599 and a your price of 349?

Josh: One moment while I research that for you.

You: are those the right numbers seeing as the 8gb sells for far less new

Josh: One moment please.

You: ok thank you

Josh: You're welcome.
Josh: The original price was $599.

You: 8gb phone original prices are $399 though? [Patrick pasted a link to the 8gb Apple iPhone for sale on the Apple site]

Josh: Not quite.
Josh: The original price was $599.
Josh: They were re priced at a later date.

You: oh so it is more crafty marketing wording than a mistake on the website?

Josh: Let me explain...
Josh: The 8GB original price was $599.

You: i understand completely i just believe it to be a misleading way to sell a customer a refurbished phone at $349 when you can buy the phone new for $399 or even $499 for a better version

Josh: OK.

You: and i don't hold it against you it's just personally i would rather buy new for only $50 more
You: so i was just wondering if the prices were off at all

Josh: I completely understand.

You: but thank you for clarifying

Josh: My pleasure and thank you for asking.
Josh: This refurbished model was probably the older $499 version. [Consumerist: What? We're confused.]

You: is there a difference in the models?

Josh: The only difference was the price.

Please, Apple, just be honest with us. A lot of us like your products and keep wanting to buy them. Why, just tonight this writer watched a CNET video clip of how to set up multiple screens on the iPhone and got iPhone fever all over again, eight months after it came out! Please just be honest.

(Thanks to Patrick!)

(Thanks to Eric!)

(Thanks to Jay!)

China's Inflation Hits American Price Tags [NYT]
(Photo: DCvision2006)

It was the largest drop in more than 16 years and marked the 10th consecutive month of price depreciation and 23 months of decelerating returns.

"No matter how you look at these data, it is obvious that the current state of the single-family housing market remains grim," said Robert J. Shiller, chief economist at MacroMarkets, in a statement.

According to Schiff, one factor that will drive prices lower is a change in buyer psychology. "The prices that existed were completely artificial, a function of speculators who are no longer in the market," he said. "Some buyers thought they were going to get rich."

Today, however, that demand has all but disappeared. "More people want - or have - to sell," said Schiff, "because prices aren't going up, so buyers have to look at the actual cost of owning a home."

Our Comcast bill arrived in the mail on the 9th of this month and after a brief discussion, and a phone call to my father-in-law (asking him how he like his satellite service,) we decided we'd had enough. While I dialed Direct TV, my wife dialed Comcast. It would be our team effort to free ourselves from the service provider we'd loathed for so long. We were running into the arms of what we felt would be a kinder, gentler television provider."

When I first spoke with a DTV CSR I wanted to name my father-in-law as our referral. When asked for his account number, I didn't have it and I needed to call him. She (the CSR) told me that I could finish signing up first, then call back with his information at any time. She also told me that my installation could be done the next day. I was very excited.

The next day came, I took off work, no technician came. When I called DTV I was told that I was mistaken and a technician would be out in one week.

My next call to DTV was to follow up with my father-in-law's account number for the referral. I was shocked to hear that what I was trying to do would not be allowed. I was told that notes would be made in my account, but my father-in-law may not receive any compensation.

On the 17th the technician arrived. His name was Chris, and he's the best representation of Direct TV I've dealt with. He was prompt, professional, and I genuinely felt like he cared. He explained to me that because it was a windy day he wouldn't be able to do the installation until a later date. I was so moved that he came out to deliver this message to me in person that I couldn't be upset with him over this bad news. I was told to expect a call to reschedule and would most likely have TV again within the next couple days.

Today, after having not received any call to reschedule, I called to inquire. As it turns out, I have already been rescheduled without my knowledge for January 2nd. I needed the CSR to repeat the date. I simply couldn't believe it. She told me I could call my local dispatch office but there was nothing she could do.

I called the dispatch office to find that they couldn't do anything for me other than put my name on a "cancellation list". I hung up the phone in disbelief. I thought about it "25 days without service" and apparently there's nothing that anybody can do about it.

Finally, I called DTV customer service for the last time. Calmly and politely I exclaimed that I'd like to cancel my order. Then I hear nothing but silence from the other end. "are you still there?" I ask "yes, I'm still here" the CSR responds. Immediately I hear a loud tone followed by dialed numbers. I'm being re-connected elsewhere. A very chipper voice asks who she has the pleasure of speaking with, and I get to tell my story all over again. "Surely the premium service we provide will be worth the wait" she responds. I explain to her that I've had a taste of this "premium service" and I'd like no more. At this point I'll beg for my DVR back from my local Comcast office. I'll bet they'd have me hooked up in a couple of days. I go back on hold for what seems like an eternity before she returns to ask me if I'd like her to cancel my pending order. "Yes" I reply. "Will I be mailed a a confirmation of my cancellation?" "No, you're order was simply 'pending'" she says.

How true, and at that moment I realized that after spending this much time in anticipation of my new service, I never became more than just one of the thousands of "pending" contracts on Direct TV's plate.

Having finished typing my story, I'm asking myself why I felt the need to send this email in the first place. I suppose I just needed to "unload" and "get it off my chest." I feel better.

Jerry

So who deserves your business? Figure out who offers the features you want, and then haggle for the best price. To steel for a return to Comcast, pour yourself a stiff drink, read our confessions of a CSR, and prepare to tap our list of escalation numbers.

(Photo: scentzilla)

From the New York Times:

The base subway and bus fare will remain $2, but an overwhelming majority of riders — who use unlimited-ride MetroCards or get a discount for buying multiple rides at once — will have to pay more, starting on March 2. The costs of unlimited-ride cards will rise to $81 from $76 for the 30-day card and to $25 from $24 for the 7-day card; a new 14-day card will be sold for $47.

The bonus for regular pay-per-ride cards will be reduced to 15 percent from 20 percent, but the threshold for receiving the bonus will also be reduced, to $7 from $10. With the bonuses in place, the average cost of a bonus ride will rise to $1.74 from $1.67. The express bus fare ($5) and the cost of a 7-day express bus pass ($41) remain unchanged.

Board Approves Subway and Bus Fare Increase [NYT]
(Photo:Maulleigh)

(Photo: quentinr)

Dear Comcast Customer: At Comcast, we strive to bring you the highest quality services and programming available. During the past year, we've invested in technologies that offer you even more variety, choice, and control. Take a look at some of the changes we've made, and those to come! ... Due to increased investments we are making in technology, programming, and customer care to bring you the best services and value that we can offer, effective January 1 2008, or with your first billing statement of 2008, certain of our service, installation, and equipment prices will change.

(Thanks to Brandon!)