Tag: shopping
Mockery Greets Dr. Oz’s Hilarious Campaign Video Of Fake Grocery Shopping (VIDEO)

Mockery Greets Dr. Oz’s Hilarious Campaign Video Of Fake Grocery Shopping (VIDEO)

Carpet-bagging” Republican U.S. Senate candidate Dr. Mehmet Oz is being mocked for a video that shows him in a supermarket shopping for ingredients for crudité, and complaining that the ingredients – totaling he says about $20 – are too expensive, and President Joe Biden is to blame.

The video comes amid his new financial disclosure that puts the upper end of his wealth at over $400 million, which would make him one of the richest Senators if elected.

Dr. Oz, as he is commonly known, is a television host who, despite being a longtime New Jersey resident, is running for a seat in Pennsylvania. Oz is a hydroxychloroquine-pushing TV doctor widely known for promoting pseudoscience and fake treatments. He has endorsed many products, about half of which a 2014 report showed had no evidence to support their claims.

“I’m doing some grocery shopping, I’m at Wegner’s,” Oz says on camera, possibly meaning Wegman’s, “and my wife wants some vegetables for crudité. Right? So, here’s a broccoli. That’s two bucks, well, that’s a ton of broccoli there. There’s some asparagus. That’s $4. Carrots. That’s four more dollars. That’s $10 of vegetables there, and then we need some guacamole. That’s $4 more. She loves salsa, yeah, salsa there. $6? Must be a shortage of salsa. Guys, that’s $20 for crudite, and this doesn’t include the tequila. I mean, that’s outrageous. We got Joe Biden to thank for this.”

President Biden does not set the price of carrots, asparagus, guacamole, or salsa.

Oz was quickly mocked.





Printed with permission from Alternet.

Getting Started: 4 Tips For Last-Minute Holiday Shopping

Getting Started: 4 Tips For Last-Minute Holiday Shopping

By Carolyn Bigda, Chicago Tribune (TNS)

With Christmas just a few days away, , you may be rushing to finish your shopping — or just getting started on your list.

According to market research firm NPD Group, 18 percent of consumers wouldn’t start their shopping until the last week before the holiday and another 21 percent were only half done buying gifts in early December.

With so much shopping left to do in such a short amount of time, snagging a deal will require some creativity.

“Are the deals going to be as plentiful as they were just a few weeks ago?” said Marshal Cohen, chief industry analyst at NPD. “Yes and no. There will be plenty of deals, but the longer you wait the less likely you are to get the sizes and styles you want.”

With that in mind, retail pros suggest that procrastinators use these shopping strategies:

––Stay flexible. This holiday season, there is not a must-have gift that only a few retailers have for sale.

“Basically, stores all have the same items,” Cohen said.

But this late in the shopping season, your selection will be more limited. “The wireless headset you want might not be available in black, but it will be in blue,” he said. To check off everything on your shopping list, be flexible.

––Check for new deals daily. Cohen also noted that given the lack of new or must-have products, retailers are likely to continue running promotions up until Christmas.

“No retailer wants to risk having you shop somewhere else,” he said. “Unless stores across the board are doing so great in terms of sales, which is not happening, you’re going to continue to see deals.”

But promotions could vary from day to day. If an item you want isn’t on sale, it may pay to wait a day or two to see if a discount is offered.

“More than in past years, we’re seeing retailers change their promotions,” said Casey Runyan, managing editor at Brad’s Deals, which scours the Web for store offers. “They’re throwing up a bigger percent-off code one day or dropping the minimum spend for free shipping another day.”

––Opt for in-store pickup. If you’re shopping online, keep in mind that, generally, free shipping was available only on orders made by Dec. 18, if not earlier.

If you missed the deadline, check to see if in-store pickup is available. With this feature, you shop online but pick up your item in store free and often on the day of purchase.

“At this point, pretty much every major retailer offers some type of in-store pickup option,” Runyan said. But, she cautioned, it might not be available for all products.

––Go for gift cards. If you can’t find the right size or color, or your gift won’t be shipped in time, consider giving a gift card instead.

This year, many stores and restaurants are offering promotions on gift cards — say, throwing in an extra $20 when you buy a $100 gift card — more so than in previous years, said Benjamin Glaser, features editor at DealNews, which tracks store promotions.

To find a list of such offers, go to www.dealnews.com (click on “All Deals,” then “Gift Cards”).

Or head to your local gas station. Runyan says she has found that local gas stations tend to offer big discounts on gift cards.

A gift card may seem impersonal, but it’s often better than the alternative.

Cohen said” “Procrastinators are out there grabbing what everyone else is grabbing, thinking it must be good. It usually makes for some interesting presents wrapped under the tree.”

ABOUT THE WRITER

Carolyn Bigda writes Getting Started for the Chicago Tribune. yourmoney@tribune.com.

©2015 Chicago Tribune. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Photo: William Murphy via Flickr

 

3 Best And Worst Things To Have Delivered To Your Home

3 Best And Worst Things To Have Delivered To Your Home

By Valencia Higuera, GOBankingRates.com (TNS)

Work and family obligations keep people busy. Sometimes, there just isn’t enough time to shop for things you need. Fortunately, modern conveniences make ordering products and services and requesting home delivery easier than ever.

But just because home delivery is available doesn’t mean you should have everything shipped to your house. Here is a look at some of the best and worst things to have delivered to your home.

BEST THINGS TO HAVE DELIVERED TO YOUR HOME

DIAPERS

Diapers can burn a hole in your budget. According to the National Diaper Bank Network, “diapers can cost $70-$80 per month and babies need between six and 10 diapers per day.”

So you can expect to pay an average of between $840 and $960 on diapers per year. Buying disposable diapers from a nearby grocery store or discount club can be faster, but you might save more buying online and having diapers delivered to your home.

Kyle James, owner and founder of Rather-Be-Shopping.com, has raised three kids and describes himself as a “total money-saving coupon nerd.” He said having diapers delivered saved him a lot of money.

“The first thing I would do is find coupons,” said James. “I typically ended up at Diapers.com because I could find a money-saving coupon — typically $10 off a case — and combine it with a site-wide sale and get free shipping right to my door step.”

He said he always ended up with a lower price than what he would have gotten shopping at Costco or Wal-Mart. “Plus, the convenience of having them show up at your doorstep was a huge plus for our busy family,” he said.

APPLIANCES

If you are purchasing new appliances for your home, such as a refrigerator, stove or washer and dryer, you can avoid a delivery fee by picking up the item from the store yourself. But if the retailer doesn’t charge much for delivery, have the appliance delivered and let someone else worry about the heavy lifting.

Freelance writer and columnist Anna Renault said she had a new refrigerator delivered to her house in August. “For an additional $50, the delivery men also removed the old, broken 27-year-old fridge,” she said.

Some retailers do not charge a fee at all. For example, Best Buy offers free standard delivery on major appliance purchases of $399 and up, plus free haul-away of your old appliance.

MEAL DELIVERY SERVICES

Having ingredients or meals delivered to your home is an option if you don’t have time to grocery shop. Sign up for a service, make your selection and choose your delivery time. If you prefer to cook your own food, order and have the ingredients for a meal delivered to your home.

Companies that offer this service include Blue Apron, Plated and HelloFresh.

You can also get entire precooked frozen meals delivered from services such as MagicKitchen, Family Chef and Home Bistro.

If you prefer to have groceries delivered, check with your local supermarket. Or, use a service such as AmazonFresh, Instacart or Google Express.

WORST THINGS TO HAVE DELIVERED TO YOUR HOME

APPAREL

Just about every clothing retailer has a website that gives customers the option to shop online. This is convenient, but items might not meet your expectations. When it comes to shoes and apparel, James discouraged delivery of any item you haven’t tried on.

“If you’re shopping online with a brand that has sizing you’re unfamiliar with, you could end up with costly return costs, as sizing these days really varies from brand to brand,” James says. “Avoid if you can.”

TIME-SENSITIVE ITEMS

Home delivery can work for many items you do not need right away. Delivery, however, can be risky for time-sensitive items. For example, if you’re buying tickets to an event, there is always a chance that the tickets will not arrive in time.

“It’s probably safer to get them by email or pick them up at the box office,” said Benjamin K. Glaser, features editor with DealNews.

FRAGILE ITEMS

No matter how much packaging a retailer puts inside a box before shipment, there is a chance that fragile items will break before arriving at your home. Examples can include dishes, vases and picture frames.

The retailer might offer free replacement, but there is still the hassle of shipping the item back and waiting for the new one to arrive. “If you can get glassware at a store and carry it home, it could decrease the chances of receiving a broken item,” said Glaser.

Valencia Higuera writes for GOBankingRates.com (), a leading portal for personal finance news and features, offering visitors the latest information on everything from interest rates to strategies on saving money, managing a budget and getting out of debt.

© 2015 GOBankingRates.com, a ConsumerTrack web property. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Photo: quijonido via Flickr

 

Shopping Doesn’t Have To Be A Drag

Shopping Doesn’t Have To Be A Drag

First there was “Black Friday.” Then there was “Cyber Monday.” The holiday shopping markers plod through the calendar like a procession of Groundhog Days. The big difference is that Punxsutawney Phil the groundhog sometimes offers surprise. Will he see his shadow this year or bite his handler?

The latest retailing news predictably relates the change in consumers’ shopping habits — the move from bricks-and-mortar stores to online merchants. The convenience of online buying and an aversion to crowds are the usual explanations, and they no doubt play a part.

But there’s another reason for the change in shopping habits. It’s the change in selling habits. The mall-ification of America has made shopping a bore.

From 1970 to 2009, retail space in America grew by 54 percent. Almost all that new square footage went into malls populated by chain stores featuring the same layout, the same signage, the same merchandise made in the same low-wage countries. Once inside a chain outlet, shoppers can’t easily tell whether they’re in Columbus, Ohio, or Birmingham, Alabama.

Of course, many of us still go to malls. It’s not always easy to find socks or running shoes elsewhere. However, one no longer has to patronize Circuit City for electronics, which is why Circuit City is gone.

This is not a bah-humbug to shopping. I love shopping. This is a bah-humbug to sameness.

And though the convenience of online shopping is undeniable, the inconveniences can be understated. Will you be home when the package arrives? If the item turns out to be defective, whom do you call? Even if the cyber-merchant offers a liberal return policy, it’s still a pain to rewrap and lug the box to the post office or parcel service.

The item in the delivered box may turn out to be quite inferior to the consumer fantasy represented in pixels. And though this may be nobody’s fault, the red seen on the screen is often very different from the red reality.

My closets and shelves contain some items with which I would never have left a physical store. These were borderline disappointments — products I didn’t entirely adore but that were not so off base that they merited the hassle of a return.

Conventional malls do try to impart the holiday cheer of our lost Main Streets, still portrayed in Christmas movies as American dreamscapes. But installing some lonely chairs and cafe tables, overhead twinkles and the occasional restaurant where a human actually serves you usually isn’t enough to get the magic going.

So commercial real estate developers are trying to “reimagine” the mall experience. As The Wall Street Journal reports, a developer in York, Pennsylvania, has taken down a mall’s roof and made a plaza. Another in Fort Worth, Texas, is leaving some old oak trees at the center of a project, linking the grove to a walking trail along the Trinity River. Yet another in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, has taken down a mall building, built “streets” and incorporated a hotel and offices.

Many downtowns once given up for dead, meanwhile, are attracting small retailers selling more unusual and curated goods. And they’re hosting one of the most ancient and popular retailing phenomena ever — farmers markets.

As malls try to make themselves more resemble these downtowns, a common-sense question arises. Why don’t the stores just move back downtown? Well, those who frequent revived downtowns often complain that the chains already have.

But that’s what we call a high-class problem. Let the Banana Republic move next door to the quirky little shop selling hand-knit sweaters from Tibet. Together they’ll attract the shopping and reveling public — and better resist the online onslaught.

And they’ll make shopping fun again.

Follow Froma Harrop on Twitter @FromaHarrop. She can be reached at fharrop@gmail.com. To find out more about Froma Harrop and read features by other Creators writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Web page at www.creators.com. COPYRIGHT 2015 CREATORS.COM

Shoppers take part in Black Friday Shopping at a Target store in Chicago, Illinois, United States, November 27, 2015. REUTERS/Jim Young