How much trust do you put into those 5-star reviews on Amazon, or glowing reviews on any e-commerce site, for that matter? Smart online shoppers know to thoroughly research a product before forking over part of a payday, but when a $10 Kindle cover boasts a 4.9 rating out of nearly 5,000 reviews, would you really be suspicious of shenanigans in a sample size that large? Perhaps you should be.
Zappos, the online apparel shop acquired by Amazon in July 2009 for $928 million in stock and cash, began alerting millions of customers over the weekend that it was hit hard by a data breach that may have granted cyber crooks access to sensitive account information, including the last four digits of any credit cards on file. The database that stores full credit card information and other payment data was not affected or accessed, the company said.
Newegg, the second largest online-only retailer in the U.S. (Amazon is No. 1) and the go-to vendor for many do-it-yourself (DIY) system builders, provided a bit of rare insight into its operations by announcing its best-selling computer components and consumer electronics products this holiday shopping season. The list is broken down by category and includes sales starting on Black Friday on November 23, 2011 and continuing through December.
By all accounts, most folks should be chilling out and winding down right about now. We’re smack-dab in the midst of the holidays, it’s Friday, and even if you don't care about Christmas, the imminent vanishing of dozens of overly festive TV commercials should bring a smile to your face. Speaking of commercials, did you see Best Buy’s “Game On Santa”? As it turns out, Santa won in the end – and you lost. Best Buy recently began notifying some customers that their online orders – even ones made as far back as November – won’t be fulfilled. To quote the lady in the commercial, it’s awkward.
Time is running out if you still haven't slid any presents underneath the Christmas tree (for those of you who celebrate the holiday), and you have even less time if you prefer to shop online. But it's not too late to snag a Kindle online, not yet anyway. Amazon is offering free two-day shipping -- a deal normally reserved for Prime members -- to customers who order any Kindle device, including the Kindle Fire, by 8PM PT on December 21 (tomorrow).
Even though Thanksgiving weekend and Black Friday are behind us, the Christmas shopping season - and the retail madness it brings - marches steadily along. Frenzied bargain hunters and a multitude of confusing, competing offers can turn "the most wonderful time of the year" into a shopping nightmare if you aren't prepared. Where are the best deals, and what is the best way to find those deals while on the go? Enter ShopSavvy.
In this day and age of the Internet, it seems increasingly silly and obsolete to awake at an ungodly hour, stumble out of bed, drive across town in the cold, camp out in a long line, and then make a mad dash to the electronics section hoping you don't get trampled to death in the process, all in the name of Black Friday. Some of the best deals are only found in brick-and-mortar stores, that's true, but online shoppers are proving to be more than just a group of also-rans.
Forget all the talk about a down economy and lack of disposable income for a moment. None of that seemed to affect Amazon, the online giant who peddled more Kindle devices this past Black Friday than ever before. Overall Kindle sales jumped four-fold compared to last year, and the popular Kindle Fire tablet remained the best selling product across all of Amazon since its introduction 8 weeks ago, Amazon said.
Up until this point, the whole NFC/Mobile payments craze have largely been focused on smartphones, since, well, you’re more likely to have a cellphone than a notebook on you when you’re shopping. But hey, what about e-shopping? Intel and MasterCard just announced that they’ve teamed up to make Ultrabook a little more “Ultra” by adding mobile payments to the support list for the ultraportable laptops. You’ll still need your cellphone, though.
Back in 2010, Google made Groupon an offer it was able to refuse. The sultan of search reportedly was willing to pay $5 billion for the online coupon site, and all Groupon's founders had to do was sign the paperwork, cash out, and laugh all the way to the bank. Imagine the audacity of rejecting a multi-billion dollar offer, because that's exactly what Groupon did and you know what? It may have been the right move.Connect with MaximumPC
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