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Showing posts from December 26, 2010

Holiday crazy

It's all about the next chance to merchandise these days. Today we saw our first in-store Valentine's day display. And milliseconds after the 14th, I'm sure the Easter displays will go up. It's 'tarded. The shops just want every day to be a holiday-based sale even when the day in question isn't a holiday.

Renew now. Renew now. Renew now.

We subscribe to Consumer Reports - a magazine geared at independent consumer advice, and our subscription runs out in April every year. For the six months leading up to the renewal date, we get spammed weekly with snailmail and email desperate to get me to renew. Last offer. Last chance. Lock in your price now! American magazines always print your renewal date in the address box both on the magazine and in the reminders. So every week, we get an envelope urging us to act right now before it's too late, with "Apr 2011" printed next to it. I'll renew in April, just like I've done every year. I bet CR could save a boatload of their money if they just stopped sending renewal reminder out to everyone. Since October this year, I've torn up and thrown away 12 of them so far and it's not even 2011 yet.