Hey gang! Exciting MindField Online cashout news for the New Year!
We are excited to announce two new cashout options! Starting in first week of January 2013, you will be able to request cashout with a Sam’s Club or WalMart Gift Card. Just click through to cashout and you’ll see the icons listed among the options available. Both options will require the same $5.00 threshold as PayPal.
Yay, more options! Happy New Year!
First of all, I don’t hate the practice of regifting as much as the idea that they had to make up a word for it. (English major rant!) But it looks like regifting is here to stay.
You get a gift, and it’s not to your liking because the giver is clueless or you’re a stupid selfish baby (see previous post.) What do you do? If you don’t want to stand in line at the WalMart service desk (because you have a life) you just might hold on to that bamboo steamer or necktie organizer and pass it along to the next victim a loved one next year.
And, the survey says you aren’t alone.
Regifting, once a social taboo, is gradually gaining in acceptance. According to a nationwide consumer-spending survey by American Express, 58% of people believe it is OK sometimes to regift an item. That figure rises for the holiday season, when 79% of respondents said they believe regifting is socially acceptable. The survey, which polled about 2,000 people last year, found that nearly one-quarter of consumers said they regifted at least one item the previous holiday season. Wall Street Journal
Sorry, Wall Street Journal – 79% favorable is not “gradually gaining acceptance.” Regifting, once relegated to the slums of “white elephant” gift exchanges, has gone legit. Which totally takes the fun out of my all-time, always-a-hit white elephant gift: Butt Paste!!
That’s comedy gold right there. Anyway, what do you think about regifting? Let us know, and have a great weekend!
Once upon a Christmas, I gave someone close a copy of the LIFE magazine from the day she was born. Mind you, the special day was in 1959. I sent away to an antique publications house in New York two months in advance, and paid $40 for it.
On Christmas Day, she opened the package and… just didn’t get it. She was polite about it but I could just tell, you know?
Well, according to a study in a recent Journal of Experimental Psychology…
The adage “It’s the thought that counts” was largely debunked. Gift givers are better off choosing gifts that receivers actually desire rather than spending a lot of time and energy shopping for what they perceive to be a thoughtful gift. The study found thoughtfulness doesn’t increase a recipient’s appreciation if the gift is a desirable one. In fact, thoughtfulness only seemed to count when a friend gives a gift that is disliked. Wall Street Journal
So, we really only want what we want. They say the only sure way to satisfy someone is to force them to make a list, and then buy something on it. And this is my defense in the previous example. I went the “thoughtful” route because she was TERRIBLE about making a wish list, always has been. After that, I switched to gift cards.
Oh well… if you are thinking that this is just one more sign of what stupid selfish babies we all are, I have to say that I don’t disagree. Read the article, and tell us what you think!
* the “errand” joke isn’t mine. I would credit it if I could remember who said it!
Caution: mind-numbing statistics ahead! Discover card has released their annual Holiday Shopping Survey. The survey looks at how much we are spending, on what and for whom. It also has a list of what men and women would most like to receive. Here’s a boildown…
I was going to say I made up those last two, but it was actually O. Henry.
Who are we buying for?
Where are we shopping?
What affects our buying decisions?
And the most important question…
What do we want?
Men top 5:
1. Gift cards, 2. Money, 3. Consumer electronics, 4. Games/video games, 5. Apparel
Women top 5:
1. Gift cards, 2. Money, 3. Apparel, 4. Jewelry, 5. Tablet or e-reader
I always say “read the original article for more info” like I am the boss of you or something. But those Top 5’s are actually Top 10’s in the original, and I’m glad I found them! Also, notes on gender: as a great philosopher (Sinbad) once said, “women be shoppin, y’all!” But this article really shows how women are just better at it. Finding bargains, comparison shopping… it was really interesting. Anyway, read the original article for more info! And have a great weekend!
(photo: 123rf.com)
It’s a common complaint about cable TV: to get the channels you want, you have to buy a bunch of channels you will never watch. It’s called Bundling and, if you don’t like it, you are invited to come down to our dirty, depressing office next to the check cashing place and drop off your cable box.
So, it’s a little ironic that the cable (and dish) companies are now the ones complaining about bundling.
Time Warner Cable CEO Glenn Britt has made no secret of his distaste for the bundles of channels his and other cable companies are forced to accept in order to carry the few channels that customers actually watch. Now, says Britt, it’s time to actually do something about it. The Consumerist
Now is the time, you see. Not all these years we have been screaming to cut the bundle, but now, because the cable guys are losing money. They have reached the point where they can’t pass any more of the cost on to us. Time Warner lost 140,000 subscribers in the past quarter alone.
If I had been a Time Warner customer, I would be among the 140K. Nothing personal, it’s just dollars and cents. I did the math, cancelled my subscription and went with a Roku box, digital rabbit ears, Netflix and Hulu. I am saving $100 a month, but your mileage may vary. And there are drawbacks like waiting, sometimes a while, for shows to land on Netflix or Hulu.
How about you? Do you feel, as Springsteen once said, “there’s 57 channels and nothing’s on?” Would you ever cut the cable?
There is a popular image of retail “customer service” as a call center in some faraway land filled with people you can’t understand, yet somehow their names are Chad or Stacy. (An image, I believe, that retailers don’t mind perpetuating if it keeps you from calling.) But, somehow people still use the telephone.
So how was their experience on Black Friday, one of the toughest shopping days of the year? The Consumerist reports on a survey:
The survey, conducted by the folks at STELLAService, looked at the 35 largest online retailers — most of which are websites for major bricks-and-mortar stores — to determine how these companies performed at responding to phone and online chat requests. Consumerist.com
The results:
2012 Top 5:
JCPenney :22 sec, Office Max :30 sec, Amazon :59 sec, Target 1:05, Gap 1:33
2012 Bottom 5:
HSN 5:46, Dell 8:49, Walmart 11:20, TigerDirect 12:14, Costco 12:34
Read the article to see all the results. Did you call any customer service on Black Friday? How was your experience?
And, for the record, MindField Online uses home-grown customer service talent. If you can’t understand them, it’s just because they are from West Virginia! 😉 Have a great weekend!
(photo: apartmenttherapy.com)
The watchdogs over at Consumer Reports have cracked open the suggestion box and put together their annual Naughty and Nice list for the holidays. The list includes input from CR staff and Facebook fans. There were 100 nominees, and CR narrowed it down to the 10 best and worst.
Companies were dinged for hidden or tricky fees, fine print, and unfriendly practices; others were lauded for generous and outstanding customer service.
And to keep it fair, the list looks specific policies and practices such as hidden fees, return policies, etc. “They’re jerks!” doesn’t make the cut!
Anyway, here are some of the more famous names on the list, with an eye toward holiday shopping:
Nice: Home Depot, Honda, Kohl’s, Nordstrom, Red Wing Shoe Co.
Naughty: CompUSA, Forever 21, Abe’s of Maine, Vonage, Tiger Direct
There are many other examples of policies – good, bad and mindless – at the original article, so check it out! Do you have any examples?
Speaking of nutty hidden fees, remember this post about RyanAir?
That’s French for “Black Friday,” because I am sooo clever! Anyway, after you’ve done your combat shopping, please head over to the MindField Online Facebook page and give us a report of what you’ve seen. Big crowds? Craziness? Better or worse than you expected? Let us know…and have a great weekend!
(photo: the churchofnopeople.com)
By the time we meet again, you will be ignoring this space and engaging in hand-to-hand combat at the mall. So, to kick off your battle planning, here are some gift idea links from around the web:
CNBC has this year’s top gadget gifts
Good Housekeeping picks this year’s best toys
Consumer Reports likes these electronic gifts
Help for Parents has a Top 10 gifts for kids list
Digital Crave picks the 5 best cell phones
Ask Men has a top 10 for her (relax, it was written by a woman!)
And hey, who’s hungry? Planning your Thanksgiving Day feast?
Consumer Reports names the best stuffing mixes
Epicurious picks the best frozen pumpkin pies
Here are the top 5 cranberry sauce recipes (from 2010, but hey)
Hope this helps! Have a great Thanksgiving Day. Remember to actually, you know, give thanks. And be careful on Black Friday- I don’t want to see you in a riot on YouTube!
(photo: wetcanvas.com)
The holiday season is all “peace on earth, goodwill toward men” and whatnot. But that feel good junk doesn’t fly in the world of retail – especially not between Amazon and Wal-Mart! Earlier this year, Wally dumped Amazon’s e-readers (Kindle, etc.) Why sell a device that gives you access to the competition’s online store?
Well, success is the best revenge, as they say. And a Bloomberg analysis tells the tale of the tape regarding toy prices this season – toys being the most popular item that accounts for the most spending.
In a comparison of 125 randomly selected toys conducted on Nov. 8, Amazon had lower prices than Wal-Mart on 44 percent of the items, while Wal-Mart had the advantage on 13 percent. The remaining had the same price tag. Wal-Mart beat Target, Kmart and Toys “R” Us on more than 80 percent of the toys. Bloomberg.com
Wal-Mart and Amazon basically swapped the #1 and #2 slots from last year.
The study says that, in general, retailers will have better inventory than last year. Right now, Amazon is fully stocked on those 125 items, while Wally was out of about 3%. But don’t get complacent! Last year, on December 21, Amazon was out of stock on 1% of the items, while Wal-Mart and the rest were down by 40%.
So, how about you? Have you bought your toys and electronics (the other big draw) online in past years? Will you start this year? Let us know!