Chad's News

The linked article has the best days and times to buy 14 different products.

Link: http://www.billshrink.com/…

I’ve previously heard bad things about the Grand Canyon Skywalk, but the linked article has a very precise explanation of why you don’t want to go there during your vacation. One item being that it will cost you at least $75 per person. The Consumerist did some followup and verified that it’s as bad as the linked article says.

Link: http://travelonthedollar.com/…
(via The Consumerist)

A nice Wendy’s coupon is making the rounds via email, but it’s a fake.

Link: http://consumerist.com/…

If you have an older, less fuel-efficient car and are thinking about buying a new one, then the US government’s CARS program may be for you. It effectively raises the trade-in value of your clunker to either $3500 or $4500, plus whatever you can negotiate for the scrap value. My 1996 S-10 pickup qualifies and is normally worth about $1200, so this program can save some serious money.

Link #1: http://www.cars.gov/

Link #2: http://www.abcactionnews.com/…
(via digg)

Update: The program has been suspended as of midnight on July 30^th, because the government thinks it may have already run out of funds (based on pending sales).

Update #2: The US House of Representatives has allocated an additional $2 billion for the program. This still has to be approved by the Senate and signed into law. I’m not that impressed, however, considering that it took less than a week to burn through the initial $1 billion.

Update #3: An additional $2 billion has been added to the program. Note that CARS is popularly known as “Cash for Clunkers”.

Amazon has an affiliate program where members refer traffic to Amazon for specific products. The members get a percentage of sales made by the referrals. Regular Chad’s News readers will recall that New York state recently decided that an in-state affiliate was sufficient cause to require Amazon to collect state sales taxes on purchases by New York residents. Amazon is challenging this in court as being unconstitutional, but is collecting the tax in the meantime.

Now North Carolina is in the process of changing its tax laws, such that anything purchased through Amazon affiliates in that state would be subject to sales tax. Amazon has preemptively responded to this by shutting down its affiliates in North Carolina. This is an overreaction on the part of Amazon, but the company is very serious about not having to collect sales tax for states in which it doesn’t have a physical presence. State legislatures, however, are reasonably upset over the loss of significant tax revenue to internet retailers. Residents are supposed to voluntarily pay “use taxes” on internet purchases, but that rarely happens.

How this will all end is anyone’s guess. Amazon is up for the fight, however, and the final outcome will be decided in court.

Link #1: http://www.news-record.com/…
(via Slashdot)

Link #2: http://www.news-record.com/…
(via The Consumerist)

Update: Amazon has banned Rhode Island affiliates as well.

If you own a GM vehicle, especially one that’s under warranty or belongs to a soon-to-be discontinued brand, here are some answers on how the bankruptcy will affect you. On the plus side, if you’re up to taking a little risk you can probably get some good deals. All I can say is that I’ve had my Chevy truck for nearly 10 years, and I bought it used. Definitely got my money’s worth.

Link: http://consumerist.com/…

A journalist went “undercover” at a local Wal-Mart to see just how bad of an employer it really was. To his surprise, it was a positive experience. From my time at UPS, I know that labor unions absolutely hate Wal-Mart, so I was a bit surprised as well.

Link: http://www.nypost.com/…
(via Neatorama)

Quiznos is giving out a million coupons for free subs, today. Go to this link to sign up for a coupon.

When I call tech/customer support, it’s usually for an issue not covered by the automated phone system or the company’s website. So I need to speak with a human being. One strategy to skip past the automated system is to repeatedly press zero, but that doesn’t always work. Which is where the gethuman database comes in—it has specific instructions on how to reach a human being at a variety of companies.

Link: http://www.gethuman.com/

January was a good month for class action lawsuit settlements. Some of them have very broad participation requirements.

• Apple iPod Nano scratches
• Dell computers
• Bank of America overdrafts
• Vonage fax service

It doesn’t pay to be a repeat customer at certain online stores. Some internet shopping sites charge different amounts for the same product, based on whether you’ve previously done business with them. It’s possible to get significant discounts simply by deleting your browser’s cookies.

Link: http://consumerist.com/…

When shopping for sheets, I just assumed that higher thread counts were better. This is not necessarily the case, and some thread counts are outright deceptive.

Link: http://home.howstuffworks.com/…
(via Lifehacker)