If you are ever looking to buy something buy it from Costco. Why? Cause they will let you return anything giving you the comfort you would not get elsewhere.

On Aug 10, my wife and I bought an HP mini Netbook. We thought it would come in handy. While this is not a review of the Netbook, I will tell you that we simply found the small size incredibly awkward for normal use, and the lack of an optical drive made life difficult at times (something I thought would not be an issue). We thought we would use it all the time but ended up barely using it all. Just last week or so ago it started to have major problems. Whenever we would try to boot it up it would hang on the HP Logo screen, and would require several On-Off switches, and popping the battery in and out a few times, before it would eventually boot up – not good. We were starting to regret having spend the $400+ on it.

I dug up our receipt for warranty purposes and found that it had been 95 days since we bought it. Turns out Costco has a 90 day return policy! So we figured, rather then sending it away to be fixed on warranty, we’d try returning it and wash our hands of this Netbook experience. I called Costco, explained the situation and that we were just a few days past the return policy expiry, and they said to bring it back, no problem.

So that’s what we did, we took it back, and they refunded our money in full with no questions, problems, or anything. What other business would do that? I can guarantee Future Shop and many of the other big box stores would never do such a thing!

Over the years my wife and I have spent thousands of dollars at Costco. We’ve bought mostly groceries, but also some big ticket items like tires and electronics. This fantastic customer service is just one reason we keep going back. By allowing us to return the Netbook, it just helps solidify our patronage to the store, and almost guarantees to them that they will recoup the small amount of profit they would have made from us had they not taken back the laptop.

Costco, thank you for kicking ass!

I have seen some crazy products out there. I have to say though, that HanderPants are right up there with the Uroclub.

If you are looking for that perfect gift for the person who has everything, then you need to order these! Makes a great xmas gag-gift also.

(this is all assuming that the product is actually real – a look at their website makes me think it might be)

The last time I checked it was the end of February – Boxing day is about 10 months away, but still, for some stupid reason, The Brick has their “Boxing Day” sale on now! What the F is that all about?

It’s NOT Boxing day! Hello Brick, get real already. Cant you wait till October like you usually do – sure its not boxing day then either, but at least its within a couple months.

Save the Boxing Day sale for Dec 26 – if you want to have a sale in February, call it a Valentines sale, or February sale, or “it’s almost spring” sale, or something.

You’re as bad as Walmart – putting up their Easter display on February 15th.

Okay, so I am sick and tired of seeing people park where they are not supposed to park. Parking in yellow zones doesn’t bug me so much, but parking in designated spots that are entitled for someone else sure does.

There is a reason that we have parking designated for specific purposes and when these parking rights are abused it just isn’t right. Why can’t we live in a society where people know how to drive – and park.

Loading Zones
If you do not have the right to park in one of those, then DON’T. I used to drive a big delivery truck for a living in downtown Victoria. There was nothing I hated more then some bozo parked in my delivery zone, it made my job a pain in the ass sometimes.

Disabled Parking
If you are not disabled, then get the heck out of these spots. Disabled spots are not only meant to help people due to their location, but also their size. Try getting a wheelchair in and out of a car when you are parked in a normal-width spot. There is a reason these spots are reserved.

Parking for Parent with Child
I used to think of these spots as a joke, until my daughter was born. Now I realize that they are actually very helpful. In this case, its largely about being close to the store. If its pouring rain and I have to run out to Wal-Mart for something, the last thing I want to do is park at the back of the log and get my newborn soaking wet – oh what fun that is. I don’t care if I get wet, but I also don’t scream when I am uncomfortable.

Please also note, that just because you have your 17 year old kid with you, that does not give you the right to park in these spots – see that picture of a baby buggy on the sign? If you kid is too old for a stroller, park elsewhere.

Senior Spots
Are you 65 or older? No? Keep out of these spaces. I find it annoying when I go to the grocery store and there are 10 empty senior spots between the closest everyone-space and the front door, but you know what, show some respect. Old people are slow, and if they have to park at the back of the lot they just may never make it home.

Fire Lanes and Police Spots
This seems like a no brainer. If I am in the store and fire breaks out or the place is robbed, I don’t want to burn up or get shot cause of some idiot who figures “well, I’ll just be a sec”. Keep out of these areas.

Well there is my little rant for the day. This rant was inspired by the owner of a smart car parked in the parent with child parking at Wal-Mart – with, that’s right, no child. Grr.

Have you ever paid “regular price” for anything? If so, you’re a sucker – and well, I guess that makes me a sucker too.

What is regular price? Well, it’s whatever price a retail store decides to stick on a product at any given time. Sure manufacturers set the MSRP (manufacturer suggested retail price) but stores are under no obligation to meet this price – it’s only meant as a guide.

You have to love the fact that just before a sale, the regular price seems to magically increase to make the sale price look better. When I was doing my Christmas shopping, one of the gifts I bought my wife was a new waterproof digital camera (The Olympus 850). The price has come down a ton since I first saw it about a year ago. Regular price last week at Future shop was $229. In their ad a week later they had it on sale for $199, BUT they also say “Save $50”. Last time I checked, that was actually a difference of $30, not $50.

Now if you called them on it, they may say, it was a flyer typo or something, but I have seen this happen time and time again, make the sale look better than it is by raising the regular price so people will be more likely to buy it. To me that equals a big time scam, and I am not so sure its legal.

(For the record I went to Walmart to buy it and they matched the Future Shop price – I hate Walmart, but I hate FutureShop more. I like London drugs (sometimes), but they wouldn’t match the price cause I wanted the orange camera and the one in the ad was black – Walmart didn’t care about the color).

Never, ever, buy anything that is not on sale, unless you desperately need it. Sales are stupid these days, they don’t make sense. Everything comes on sale at least once a month – what’s the point? All it does it cause us consumers to have no understanding of what regular price really is. If you pay regular price on anything, you’re getting ripped off because in a couple weeks it will be on sale again.

I have seen cases where the “sale” price is actually the MSRP – what’s up with that? Or better yet, the sale price is some stupid amount, say 5%, or 10%. Ten percent? That’s the best you can do? I can get 10% off just about anything at any time. Several years ago I used to work at Office Depot. Management gave us the authority to take 10% off the price of any item (some exceptions) for anyone, for just about any reason. If a customer walked in and wanted to buy a monitor but seemed unsure on the price, you could drop it 10% just like that. I can only assume that many other retail outlets have this authority given to their employees – and if they don’t, I can pretty much guarantee that management could drop the price for you.

Sure you’d have to take the effort to ask, but the mere fact that you can get it any time shows that the 10% “sale” price is not really a sale now is it. Give us a real sale, give us 50% off, or we’ll go to the store that will. It’s a recession people, these businesses will take just about any offer providing it is high enough for them to still turn a profit. If you walk they make nothing, if they drop the price, they make something.

I would be tempted to just move out to the woods in some secluded cabin with no contact with the outside world, hunting for my food, and burning wood to cook and keep warm. The problem is I like my stuff, I like my technology, and I like my modern conveniences. I guess I, along with everyone else living in the modern world, am prisoner to these retail stores and will be for the rest of my life.

BTW, Incase you are interested, this blog post was inspired by the photo below posted over at FailBlog.

Once upon a time, many years ago, I used to work at Office Depot. The retail days of employment are long behind me, but the job wasn’t bad. While we had our busy days, for the most part, the store seemed much quieter than the nearby Staples.

I always found it interesting that Office Depot advertised very little, where Staples advertises like crazy, and they seem to do a good job with it. I mean, who hasn’t heard of the slogan “that was easy”? Hell, they even sell the “easy button” from their commercials. What has Office Depot done that is memorable in advertising? I can’t think of a single thing – and I worked there for a few years!

Today I read that Office Depot is closing 112 stores in the US and Canada, cutting its workforce by 2,200 jobs. It seems that they are in financial trouble, and this is their band-aid solution. I have to wonder though, if they boosted their advertising, they may be able to boost their sales, and in turn allow those 2,200 people to not lose their jobs.

Christmas is just around the corner – Are you ready? My wife does almost all the Christmas shopping in our house, and is just about finished, with the exception of stockings. Her gift is sitting in the other room – she picked it up and paid for it. Its from me. Man shopping gets easier and easier the longer you’ve been married.

My responsibility is her stocking. Sounds pretty easy, but considering I probably wont get to it till – I dunno – the 24th, it will be a hectic challenge.

With Christmas morning exactly 3 weeks away – I thought what a perfect excuse for another poll.

So the question is:

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