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Consumer

Is Ticket Scalping Fair?

by Luke Landes

Parents are complaining about the high price of tickets for Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus concerts thanks to scalpers. Like any popular event, whether a concert or sporting event, ticket brokers buy tickets early on — somehow — and resell them with a huge mark-up. Is it fair? I don’t think so, but not for the typical ... Continue reading this article…

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Sports Team Disappointment: A Customer Service Issue?

by Luke Landes

It never struck my mind when the Mets blew their chances of October baseball this past weekend, during their downward spiral in the last several weeks, or even following the game I attended during which the team lost, that I should call the ownership and complain about the service provided to me as a paying ... Continue reading this article…

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The Great Pumpkin and Pumpkin Economy

by Sasha

Yesterday, at the local CSA farm I belong to, I couldn’t help but smile at the young boy who dragged his mother eagerly round and round the bins of big orange pumpkins which were part of our share for the week. “Are you the Great Pumpkin? Are you?” he’d announce, addressing the giant orange orbs ... Continue reading this article…

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More $4 Generic Drugs at Wal-Mart

by Luke Landes

About a year ago, Wal-Mart announced the store would be offering generic prescription drugs at prices a fraction of what you can get in other pharmacies, and that caught my attention.

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How Many Earths Would it Take to Sustain You?

by Luke Landes

If everyone on Earth lived like me, it would take more than 7 Earths to support our world’s lifestyle. A new game from NPR gives you an idea of how difficult it would be to support a world where everyone lives like you.

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An Education in High Definition for the Novice

by Luke Landes

Best Buy is campaigning for better consumer education in High Definition to prevent store returns. Customers apparently purchase flat screen televisions and expect the complete high definition experience immediately upon hooking up their system with the same old equipment and cables. Despite the lack of knowledge, I don’t think an entire “education program” is necessary. ... Continue reading this article…

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When to Sell Your Car

by Luke Landes

Yesterday, I mentioned you can save $31,000 over 10 years by keeping your car rather than selling it with your eyes on the “new hotness.” But there are certain times you just shouldn’t hang on to “old and busted.” Consumer Reports has some suggestions for when you should say goodbye. It needs repairs costing more ... Continue reading this article…

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Save $31,000 Over 10 Years

by Luke Landes

Consumer Reports says if you keep your car for ten years after the first five years, rather than buying a new car like most car owners, you will save $31,000. There are a few assumptions in the report to create this calculation. The car in question is a Honda Civic EX, and it is assumed ... Continue reading this article…

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Upgrading My Living Room Entertainment, Part 1: Television

by Luke Landes

As of Monday, calculating how much I had spent on televisions, DVD players, and other entertainment equipment was fairly easy. I “inherited” a JVC receiver and large JBL speakers from my father when he upgraded. When a friend and roommate of mine moved to Seattle several years ago, I purchased his 27 inch CRT television, ... Continue reading this article…

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I Got a Relatively Good Deal on Bedroom Furniture

by Luke Landes

I have been struggling for the past month or two to find decent, basic bedroom furniture for a good price. I’ve tried the department stores (JCPenny, Macy’s and Sears), Ashley Furniture, Raymour & Flanigan, Peir 1, and some other stores, but everything was out of a reasonable price range or was horribly cheap. After expressing ... Continue reading this article…

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An Example of Excellent Customer Service

by Luke Landes

KMC from Advanced Personal Finance shared a stroke of genius by a USAA customer service representative. When he called the bank to undo a theoretically costly mistake, the representative offered to fix the problem in a way he didn’t even know was possible. While KMC simply wanted to un-cancel his oldest credit card, the employee ... Continue reading this article…

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Top Ten Used Cars Under $10,000

by Luke Landes

Updated: Here are the Top 10 cars of 2008 and the Best American Cars of 2009. If you have $10,000 available to spend on a car, cars.com has suggestions for you with a recent top ten list. Here’s their methodology: [W]e crunched retail values for late-model used cars and factored in reliability ratings, safety equipment ... Continue reading this article…

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Dangers and Benefits of Dollar Stores

by Luke Landes

My girlfriend is a fan of some dollar stores, notably Dollar Tree, while I can take them or leave them. In a good dollar store, you can find everyday items with high enough quality to be sufficient at a price you don’t mind spending. At the other end of the spectrum, dollar stores are able ... Continue reading this article…

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Back to the Dealership for Regular Maintenance and More

by Luke Landes

My 2004 Honda Civic is quickly approaching 75,000 miles, and it’s time to take it in for some maintenance. I haven’t been to the dealer since my maintenance at 20,000 miles a little over two years ago. Since then I’ve been getting my oil changes and tire rotations at the local Pep Boys. I’ve used ... Continue reading this article…

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Is a Wal-Mart Back-to-School Sale Newsworthy?

by Luke Landes

Last year, I asked whether a CNN article describing a sale at Wal-Mart was newsworthy. At worst, it seems like free advertising. Some commenters pointed out that Wal-Mart’s actions, as the world’s biggest retailer, are important indicators for the economy. Wal-Mart’s public relations agents are too busy defending the company’s image, so I suppose it’s ... Continue reading this article…

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Think You Pay High Fees?

by Luke Landes

UBS apparently offers some investment accounts for which the fees can constitute an effective $8,800 per trade. They’ve been sued by the New York Attorney General and will now pay $21.3 million to settle those charges. I can’t help but wonder, taking all the fees charged in the 3,000 affected accounts, and subtracting the $21.3 ... Continue reading this article…

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My Car Gets 15 Miles Per Chicken

by Luke Landes

If you’re tired of complaining about gas prices, no matter who is doing the complaining, you may be happy to hear about a new alternative fuel. Chicken fat (tallow) is the latest product to be considered for biodiesel. Tyson is hoping that the technology works out; corn prices increased to follow its energy-related demand, and ... Continue reading this article…

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Stupid Investment of the Week: Rich Dad Academy

by Luke Landes

Related: Analyzing a Kiyosaki cornerstone: Is Your Home an Asset or Liability?. Chuck Jaffe, a writer with MarketWatch, set his sights on the Teach Me to Trade seminar last year, and ordained the event his “Stupid Investment of the Week.” This year, he attended Robert Kiyosaki’s “Rich Dad Academy,” and came to the same conclusion. ... Continue reading this article…

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The Issue of Gas Prices: Complainers vs. Complainers

by Luke Landes

Just like any major media issue in this country, the issue of gasoline prices has two sides: those who complain about the prices, and those who complain about the complainers. The facts support both sides of the argument. Simply, gas prices have increased sharply over the past few years, but are still less than prices ... Continue reading this article…

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Whole Foods CEO Internet Scam

by Luke Landes

The Chief Executive Officer of Whole Foods, John Mackey, has been posting on internet message boards, promoting his company’s stock (example) and pointing out the faults of others in the same category (example). I find it unlikely that a few messages affected the stock’s price to a significant degree, but that’s not the point.

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