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Will There Be Anything Worth Buying On “Super Saturday” This Weekend?

If they haven’t done so already, most online retailers will have closed their guaranteed-to-get-it-by-Christmas window by the time this weekend rolls around. So a number of bricks-and-mortar retailers will be having “Super Saturday” sales for those of us who haven’t finished buying stuff. Question is, will there be any be good deals?

CLOTHING

The discounts we’ve already seen on clothing this holiday season will likely continue. But the folks at DealNews say that those looking to pay the absolute bottom-dollar on clothing may be better served to either waiting until the post-holiday sales, or giving a gift card for these retailers so that the recipient can take advantage of those sales themselves.

HOME GOODS

January is the real time to buy furnishings on the cheap, and small appliances do tend to drop in price in the days leading up to Christmas.

“If you simply must shop department stores and the like for these items, keep an eye out for at least mild discounts of 20% to 30% off; in some cases, you may encounter sales that take up to 60% off, which would be especially noteworthy during this time,” writes DealNews, which warns against buying climate control appliances, like heaters, humidifiers, and air purifiers, as the site has detected an uptick in prices at this time of year for those items.

TOYS AND GAMES

Toys is another category that historically sinks in price as the days tick off the calendar. DealNews says that it has seen a large number of really good discounts on both toys and video games during the weekends before Christmas in 2012 and 2011, so this year should be no different.

“The deals were especially good for PC video game purchases, but we’re betting that the recent release of the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 will lead to big discounts on Xbox 360 and PS3 games this year,” writes DealNews.

by Chris Morran via Consumerist

Actual Grinch Steals Toys For Tots Donation Bin

toys Last week, two women showed up with a van to pick up the donations from the Toys for Tots bin at the volunteer fire department in a Virginia town. There’s nothing sinister about that, except that the women weren’t affiliated with Toys For Tots. Who were they? No one knows.

Police certainly would like to know. The area’s actual coordinator told TV station WTKR that many of the stolen gifts were “big-ticket items” that would have been kids’ major gifts of the season. Monday night, she worried that the toys might run out before every family in need stopped by.

“All they needed to do was ask for them, and we would have given them toys to meet their needs,” she said of the thieves.

The organization suspects that toys might have been stolen from other bins in the area, too.

Toys for Tots donation box stolen from Smithfield fire station [WTKR]

by Laura Northrup via Consumerist

SeaWorld Considers Legal Action Against DirectBuy Over “Free Vacation” Promotion

(Pam Muzyka)

People have been receiving mailers advertising a free three-day vacation to San Diego, including hotel room and SeaWorld tickets. In fact, the letter included what appeared to be a check from SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment. What these notices don’t mention is that you need to attend a 90-minute sales pitch, and more importantly that SeaWorld has nothing to do with the promotion.

The L.A. Times’ David Lazarus looked into it after a reader brought the mailer to his attention.

It was all very confusing. There’s the check-looking item included in the letter, complete with the SeaWorld logo.

Then on the back of the envelope it reads: “this promotion is sponsored by and is not affiliated with, nor an agent of SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment.”

As Lazarus points out, this is hopefully a typo, because it would be kinda difficult for SeaWorld to sponsor a promotion but not be affiliated with it.

And since no other company than SeaWorld is mentioned, who is actually behind the promotion?

Even calling the number on the envelope just led to the vaguely described “Promotions department,” which ultimately revealed itself to be a DirectBuy club in Long Beach, CA.

The phone rep told Lazarus that people are eligible for the three-day vacation if they attend a 90-minute sales pitch seminar for DirectBuy, which charges thousands of dollars for memberships access to supposedly low prices on brand-name furnishings, but which longtime readers of Consumerist know doesn’t always live up to its promise.

Pressed about which hotel in San Diego would be included in the vacation package, the DirectBuy rep mentioned two of the city’s nicer hotels, “or many others.” Of course, when Lazarus checked with the two named hotels, neither had any idea of any such deal with DirectBuy.

While the hotels were merely befuddled at being mentioned in association with the promotion, the folks at SeaWorld are not amused in the slightest.

“SeaWorld is not connected with this promotion,” a company rep tells Lazarus. “We are currently looking into the matter, as we take our brand and our trademarks very seriously.”

No one at the DirectBuy club supposedly attached to this promotion would return the Times’ calls, but DirectBuy HQ admits this mailer should not have gone out.

“We have reviewed the direct-mail piece in question and determined that it did not go through our direct-mail compliance protocol, is in violation of our ad policy and was not approved by our corporate marketing team,” a company rep explains.

This isn’t the first time DirectBuy has been connected with a questionable direct-mail promotion.

Back in 2011, a DirectBuy club sent out mailers with the Microsoft logo, saying “Final Notice” and offering either a Windows laptop or an Android tablet.

by Chris Morran via Consumerist

How To Not Suck… At Saving For The Holidays

(fredbrad33)

The holiday season is still in full swing, and we’re willing to bet you’re not done spending money yet. What’s more, some of you will be paying off your holiday spending on credit card bills for months to come; the holiday cheer followed by the January credit card bill blues. Break this nasty cycle by planning ahead for the next holiday season.

You can even make it a family affair by getting your loved ones to help.

Automatic Deductions

No, it’s not sexy (well, guess that depends on what excites you, and we here at Consumerist love anything that saves money), but automatic deductions are one of the best ways to save for any kind of goal.

Try saving in a Christmas Club account, which is simply a bank savings account that’s earmarked for holiday spending.

They’re not out of vogue yet. While you may not find availability at every bank, about 70% of credit unions still offer Christmas Club accounts, according to the Credit Union National Association.

You can arrange for small amounts to come out of your paycheck or checking account and be deposited directly into a Christmas Club account before you can spend it. If your banking institution doesn’t offer a Christmas Club, you can use any kind of savings account — just watch out for minimum balance fees.

Setting aside $10 a week (that’s two grande mocha lattes that most of us can honestly forgo) would give you $520 for next year’s festivities. Saving $25 a week would give you $1,300. That’s a lot of presents (maybe even one for yourself, if you’re extra nice).

The only negatives? The interest rates on these accounts are usually paltry, and most official Christmas Club accounts don’t allow withdrawals until November or later. Then again, that’s a good way to make sure you don’t spend the money on something else.

Spare Change

The coins you set aside in that jar on your kitchen counter or bedroom dresser can come in very handy for extra cash. Let it accumulate, then bring your moolah to a money counting machine (look ahead for the ones that don’t charge fees — they are out there) or ask your bank teller for those old-fashioned coin rollers (just make sure you don’t get charged a teller fee for seeing a real person).

Take your bounty and deposit it into an account that’s earmarked for the holidays, or if you trust yourself not to spend it, stick it in an envelope and put it away in a safe place at home.

Hold the Bills

While many of us think to dump those leftover coins in a jar to save for future use, we tend to keep small bills in our wallet (and sometimes spend them foolishly, because hey, it’s only a dollar, right?).

Resolve not to spend one kind of bill — a single for most of us, or maybe even a $5 note. When you get your denomination of choice back from a store clerk, add it to your holiday savings account. As long as you don’t touch that stash, you could have a nice wad of money to spend come next November and December.

Create New Savings

There are plenty of ways you can save money with everyday actions, from bringing lunch to work to making your own coffee to saving on utility bills.

Pick a spending target to trim and set aside your savings.

Quit Something

We’re certainly not going to tell you how to run your life, but if you decide to make a change, save the cost for the holidays.

Some ideas? Gym memberships, cigarette costs, take-out Chinese dinners, those fancy and pricey coffees, beer… Um, maybe not the beer, but you get the drill. Whatever you stop spending, start saving.

Check Your Rewards

If you use a rewards credit card, you may be able to redeem points for gifts that are fit for giving. Some cards also allow you to buy gift cards with your points. You can use those cards as presents, or, better yet, use them to buy holiday presents so you’re not adding to the balance on your plastic.

Celebrate Late, On Purpose

If you’re not able to see your family on the actual holiday, or even if you are, consider making the celebration late — on purpose — so all the gift buyers can take advantage of all those post-holiday fire sales at stores.

Plus, if you have to travel by air to see your loved ones, a holiday delay may allow you to benefit from the less popular travel dates.

Give Up Giving

Do you really need another ugly sweater, and couldn’t Aunt Marge live without that apron with a reindeer on front?

Many families decide to forgo the gift-giving for other adults, and they simply spend on the younger kids.

Or, because we know some holiday-lovers won’t want to give up giving entirely, consider a Secret Santa or grab-bag affair in which each participant only has to buy for one person — and set a budget.

Speaking of budgets…

Set A Holiday Budget Challenge

Challenge your family members to see who can come up with the best gift for under a certain dollar figure.

Sweeten the pot by having each participant add $5 or $10 or a master fund, and the person who comes up with the most creative gift under your agreed-upon spending limit gets the bounty at the end.

If you win, you could set the cash aside for next year’s holiday savings.

Still speaking of budgets…

Create Your Own Limits

If you can’t get your family to play along with spending less, you can still do it on your own. Long before you step foot in a store to buy anything, make a list, and check it twice. Make sure you’re only buying gifts you must, and then, make sure you stay within a predetermined dollar range so you don’t break the bank — again.

Create an Experience

The holidays are supposed to be about being around loved ones (no matter how much it can hurt). So rather than sit around with full bellies and a mess of wrapping paper, get together and create an experience instead of buying presents.

Maybe you can join together — financially and physically — to cook dinner for a needy family. Or spend time in a local soup kitchen. Or visit people in a nursing home who don’t have family nearby for the holiday.

Spread some holiday cheer, gosh darn it!

In conclusion, what’s a holiday spending story without a little Dr. Seuss?

“Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn’t before! What if Christmas, he thought, doesn’t come from a store. What if Christmas … perhaps … means a little bit more!”

Have a topic you’d like to see covered in How To Not Suck? Or maybe you’re an expert who would like to share your insight with Consumerist readers? Send us a note at notsuck@consumerist.com.

You can read Karin Price Mueller’s stories for The Star-Ledger at NJ.com, follow her on Facebook, and on Twitter @kpmueller.

DISCLAIMER: Any websites, services, retailers, or brands mentioned in the story above are only intended as some of many options available to consumers, and do not constitute an endorsement by Consumerist, Consumerist Media LLC (CML) or its staff. Per Consumerist’s No Commercial Use Policy, such information may not be used by others in advertising or to promote a company’s product or service. In addition, this policy precludes any commercial use of any of CML’s published information in any form, or of the names of Consumers Union®, Consumer Media, Consumer Reports®, The Consumerist, consumerist.com or any other of CU or CML’s publications or services without CU or CML’s express written permission.

by Karin Price Mueller via Consumerist

American Airlines Employees Will Vote On The Post-Merger Plane Paintjob

What’s old is new again, or what’s new will still be new?

It seems like only 11 months ago that American Airlines debuted a brand-spanking new paintjob — or “livery” as it’s called in the industry — and that’s because well, it was only last January that the company gave its planes a facelift for the first time in 40 years. But a lot has happened since then, namely its merger with US Airways, so things are about to change yet again.

This time around, Doug Parker, the new chief executive of American Airlines Group, is letting the employees vote on what the 1,500 aircraft will look like. Because apparently when American switched out its logo last year and put a U.S. flag design on the tail of planes, not everyone was pleased.

One US Airways attendant tells the Wall Street Journal’s Corporate Intelligence blog that while she likes the newer look, “I’m probably one of 10 people who do.”

CEO Parker told employees on Monday that workers will have two tail options to vote on: The newer, striped tail, or one with the AA logo on it like it used to be in the past.

But the old buffed-silver livery on the fuselage can’t come back, because of the materials used in some of the US Airways fleet and new planes that have been ordered. The new American logo of what looks kind of like an eagle’s beak bisecting a red-and-blue wing will also have to stay.

“However you may feel about the new livery and branding, the fact is it would be irresponsible for us to start over from scratch,” Parker said.

But if workers do vote for the old AA logo on the tail, that could be a bit of an issue, Parker says.

“The problem with this design is that it contains two different logos,” he writes in the letter to employees. “Brand experts tell us this is not ideal, that we should stick with just one. But if our team members decide they would like to keep AA on the tail of our airplanes, we will manage just fine.”

That being said, he also adds that so far as his preference goes, “I honestly do not care.”

The public will have a say as well, or at least American/US Airways are asking people to voice their thoughts on Twitter by tweeting with the hashtags #switchtail or #keeptail. But the official vote will only be up to employees, who can vote until Jan. 2.

Our people will vote on our livery’s final design. Keep the flag or switch back? Tell us: #keeptail or #switchtail http://t.co/gYflpHMugm—

US Airways (@USAirways) December 16, 2013

Airborne Democracy: American Airlines Crew Vote on Plane Colors [Wall Street Journal]

by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

Look Out For Counterfeit Rainbow Looms, Which Are A Thing

Rainbow Loom has reportedly sold 3.5 million rubber band weaving kits, but it’s not enough. There’s never enough of the hot toy of the year. That’s why we were surprised–but not all that surprised–to learn that there’s a brisk trade in counterfeit Rainbow Looms out there.

If you don’t happen to know any kids under age 12 or so, the Rainbow Loom is the new hotness in the craft and toy world. Rather than the cotton potholders you might have loomed as a kid, the kit uses small rubber bands and a crochet-like hook to create designs that range from simple band bracelets to elaborate 3D sculptures and even accessories like cell phone cases and hats. All out of rubber bands.

One product that looks like a knockoff, Walmart’s Wonder Loom, really does come from the company. Others? Well, apparently they’ve proliferated so much that there’s a twelve-page PDF document on the Rainbow Loom web site that outline how to identify fakes. Consumers may not be able to tell the difference until they open up the kit…and maybe not even then.

One Consumerist reader reports buying what turned out to be a counterfeit Rainbow Loom at a mall kiosk, and learned that no one particularly cared: the patent holder is overwhelmed, and the mall management was indifferent. The kiosk did take the loom back for a refund, though. That was nice.

Rainbow Loom’s creator weaves success from playtime inspiration [Crain's Detroit Business]

Danger of counterfeits and how to spot them [Rainbow Loom]

by Laura Northrup via Consumerist

Grout Bully, Rollie Eggmaster, Jay Glazer’s Perfect Punch, Lexus IS 250 Make List Of Year’s Worst Products

Our colleagues at ShopSmart recently published an expansive round-up of the year’s best products, which is all really good and helpful information. But what picqued our interest was the magazine’s shorter list, covering everything from questionable infomercial products to big-name luxury brands, of the worst products on the market in 2013.

Some of the spotlighted “Losers” in the January issue of ShopSmart include:

The Grout Bully

You’ve probably seen the infomercial, where this product magically turns filthy tile grout bright white (or a number of other colors, if that’s your desire), but ShopSmart says it’s really nothing but “Wite-Out for gross grout” that’s just masking the filthy reality.

The Rollie Eggmaster (apparently also known as the Rollie Vertical Cooking System)

Cooking an egg is pretty easy and doesn’t really require much in the way of specialized cookware, but if you want to spend $30 on a heated tube that slowly turns a traditional breakfast food into egg-on-a-stick, then we guess this might be the device for you. Tip: Any product that talks about how simple it is to use, but also requires a special cleaning brush, maybe isn’t so simple to use.

The folks at Rollie know that you have secretly been craving warm egg on a stick for years.

Jay Glazer’s Perfect Punch

While we enjoy NFL reporter Jay Glazer’s inside info on pro football, his mixed martial arts training system, which is apparently just some gloves and tension bands, hasn’t gotten much love from the Consumer Reports family. First, CR testers found that Perfect Punch was repetitive, inadequate, and may have negatively affected users’ punching form. Now it’s made ShopSmart’s worst of the year list. While the product says you can get ripped in just 15 minutes a day, ShopSmart says “the only thing you’ll be ripping is your hair out.”

Lexus IS 250

So far, all the products we’ve mentioned from the worst-of list have been of the late-night infomercial variety, but here’s a car that isn’t just prime-time, but a well-known luxury sports sedan that will set you back around $36K. ShopSmart’s take on the car doesn’t exactly slap a red-ribbon on it, calling the IS 250 “a super-cramped, stiff-riding car without much get up and go.”

Some other products making the worst of the year round-up include, Sherwin-Williams Duration Home Interior Paint, Rust-Oleum NeverWet, the Sandra by Sandra Lee 53156 blender (which could “barely crush ice”), and the $150 EarHero earphones, which are marketed as the “world’s safest earphones,” but which scored an astoundingly low 6 out of 100 for “sound quality… so bad that all you’ll hear is your own voice screaming because you paid $150.”

You can check out the entire best and worst products list in the January issue of ShopSmart.

by Chris Morran via Consumerist

Blendspace: crea píldoras formativas para tus clases

via Educación tecnológica http://villaves56.blogspot.com/2013/12/blendspace-crea-pildoras-formativas.html www.bscformacion.com

Airport Security Guard Makes Diving Catch To Save Baby From Falling On His Head

Whoops-a-daisy.

While it’s probably highly likely that there are babies tumbling or falling down somewhere in the world at any given moment — babies do not have the best balance, after all — it’s not so often that one witnesses a bystander diving in to save a tippy toddler just in the nick of time.

An observant airport security guard in Poland is being lauded for his quick reflexes after security footage shows him diving to the ground to catch a kid, whose father had set him down on the screening table next to him, reports The Telegraph (linked video autoplays, you can also watch below).

“I noticed the child was sitting on the table and he looked a bit off balance, and then he began to fall forward,” said the guard. “I was standing four to five meters away and I realized I had no chance of stopping him fall so I just threw myself along the ground with my arms outstretched. It was an instinctive reaction.”

If you’re thinking that perhaps parents need to pay particular attention to their kids and maybe not trust that they’ll just stay where you put them, well, plenty of people get distracted in the screening line, the guard adds, so he’s always paying special attention to children’s safety.

“This is a warning to all parents: you can never predict what a young child is going to do,” an airport spokesman says. “But it also shows the airport staff not only check to see if anybody is carrying dangerous items but also care for the wellbeing of the passengers.”

The guard received a special bonus for his actions, but he says he’s no one special.

“I don’t feel I’ve done anything heroic,” he explained. “I’m just glad the child wasn’t hurt. He started to cry when I caught him but his mother soon calmed him down.”

Hero security guard saves baby from airport fall [The Telegraph]

by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist