Things that baffle you? (1 Viewer)

[Malcolm R]

Coupons marked "do not double" or "not subject to doubling".

The manufacturer only reimburses the face value of the coupon plus a handling fee, so why do they care if the store wants to double the coupon? The extra 50 cents or whatever is coming out of the store's pocket, not the manufacturers. Why do they care if the store gives an additional discount?

 

[Aaron Silverman]

That won't stop the automatic doubling.

http://www.livingrichwithcoupons.com/2009/11/the-mystery-of-the-do-not-double-coupon.html

In some cases the manufacturer will cover the full $1.00 if that is something that has been agreed upon between the manufacturer and store. When a coupon says “Do Not Double” it simply means that the manufacturer will not cover that second $.50, so it’s at the stores discretion whether or not they will still double it.

What does all this mean to you as a consumer. Honestly, nothing. If your store doubles, then they should still double this “Do Not Double” coupon as the store is offering that extra $.50 (as in the case of the example I gave) as a store coupon whether they are being reimbursed or not.

 

[TJPC]

Why people buy, collect, and even pay extra for their Blu Rays or DVDs to come in a "steel" box. The only time I have purchased these is when there was no other option or they were in a bargain bin. I often have to replace cases that get broken spokes etc., but what do you do with these?
They remind me of those old "snap" cases which stick out like a sore thumb. I am always amused that the steel cases are advertised like a big thing. "Woo! For $2.00 more it comes in a tin box!"

 

[bmasters9]

"Unboxing" videos.

I can see why it might baffle you, but when it comes to some DVD releases, an unboxing video allows one to see a little more inside the release under consideration for purchase, so that one can see how the discs are packaged, if the cases are going to be easy or difficult to manipulate, etc. etc.; in that instance, I think they're useful.

 

[Johnny Angell]

Coupons marked "do not double" or "not subject to doubling".

The manufacturer only reimburses the face value of the coupon plus a handling fee, so why do they care if the store wants to double the coupon? The extra 50 cents or whatever is coming out of the store's pocket, not the manufacturers. Why do they care if the store gives an additional discount?

I think this is akin to the price fixing that some manufacturers do with their product. Posturpedic won't allow their mattresses to be sold and anything less the full retail. To me this is collusion between manufacturers and retailers and shouldn't be allowed.

Why people buy, collect, and even pay extra for their Blu Rays or DVDs to come in a "steel" box. The only time I have purchased these is when there was no other option or they were in a bargain bin. I often have to replace cases that get broken spokes etc., but what do you do with these?
They remind me of those old "snap" cases which stick out like a sore thumb. I am always amused that the steel cases are advertised like a big thing. "Woo! For $2.00 more it comes in a tin box!"

I've never understood the need for steel boxes. I don't seek them out nor special packaging. I have made some exceptions for EXCEPTIONAL packaging. I bought the Alien Egg, the absolutely beautiful steel boxes that the DVDs of the original King Kong and Forbidden Planet, and the Jurassic World set that had the Indominus and T-Rex (I'm nuts for dinosaurs and it dropped below $30). So, yeah, I'm opposed to special packaging...

 

[Johnny Angell]

Blu Ray packaging that stacks two discs one on top of the other. How cheap can you get?

 

[TJPC]

I totally agree with this. This is very usual for those of us who pay extra for the 3D version. Your not buying from "Biff's Movies" who sells from his trunk at the corner, but major manufacturers! You can't even re-box yourself in a new multiple Blu Ray case, because it won't fit in the cardboard slip cover. I have Blu-Rays that have the 3D version and flat version on the same disc. Can't they always do this if they are too cheep to spend the extra 5 cents for the proper case?

 

[TJPC]

I think this is akin to the price fixing that some manufacturers do with their product. Posturpedic won't allow their mattresses to be sold and anything less the full retail. To me this is collusion between manufacturers and retailers and shouldn't be allowed.


I've never understood the need for steel boxes. I don't seek them out nor special packaging. I have made some exceptions for EXCEPTIONAL packaging. I bought the Alien Egg, the absolutely beautiful steel boxes that the DVDs of the original King Kong and Forbidden Planet, and the Jurassic World set that had the Indominus and T-Rex (I'm nuts for dinosaurs and it dropped below $30). So, yeah, I'm opposed to special packaging...

I have two of those "special sets". Years ago I fell for buying the King Kong production diaries in a large oblong cardboard box that sticks out like a sore thumb, and I received a Wizard of Oz set in a big box with one disc and a lot of plastic junk I looked at maybe once on Christmas morning.
These remind me of advertising gimmicks from the early days of home video, like the "beautiful all colour lithographs suitable for framing" which came with the first release of the Star Wars VHS tapes.

 

[Stan]

That won't stop the automatic doubling.

http://www.livingrichwithcoupons.com/2009/11/the-mystery-of-the-do-not-double-coupon.html

Slightly off-topic, but automatic dialing (slight morph from doubling ). These companies call you, you answer and are immediately put on hold for the "next customer service representative".

Do people actually sit there on hold and wait? That is truly baffling. Not a chance with me, click and phone call is over.

You want to call me, then do it, don't let some robo-caller screen your calls because I won't be there when you decide to answer.

 

[David Norman]

Between caller Id and NomoRobo I never answer the phone unless I recognize who it is anyway. If someone calls I don't recognize then the answering machine/VM picks up and either I'll pick it up when you start talking or I'll call you back when I want to.

NomoRobo lets it ring once and 95% of the junk calls never get past the 1st ring. I changed my phone to where it only audibly rings on the second ring and it's amazing how few calls I get now. I counted up incoming calls one month and over 90% were junk calls . Since I often don't get to bed until 3am even those 1 rings used to drive me crazy in the morning.

DoNotCall registry of course only works for legal callers anyway so all the thieves just kept calling

 

[David Norman]

Auto spell correction and organizations that rely on the written word for their jobs.
Every day there is any incredibly bad typo that is missed, but every once in while one really jump out at you

Daylight Saving Time coming up Sunday with people 'losing' an hour of sleep.
Coming from the local TV news blurb related to general sleep issues
"New study show that 75% of Americans miss at least one day of work (and many up to 5 days) a year to catch on rest due to
sleep depravity."

 

[Carabimero]

I am baffled by those who do not backup their irreplaceable data and continually lose it. These days it's so easy to backup data that no one should ever lose anything.

 

[Aaron Silverman]

"New study show that 75% of Americans miss at least one day of work (and many up to 5 days) a year to catch on rest due to
sleep depravity."

Maybe they were talking about people who don't sleep well due to perverted dreams.

 

[Stan]

Between caller Id and NomoRobo I never answer the phone unless I recognize who it is anyway. If someone calls I don't recognize then the answering machine/VM picks up and either I'll pick it up when you start talking or I'll call you back when I want to.

NomoRobo lets it ring once and 95% of the junk calls never get past the 1st ring. I changed my phone to where it only audibly rings on the second ring and it's amazing how few calls I get now. I counted up incoming calls one month and over 90% were junk calls . Since I often don't get to bed until 3am even those 1 rings used to drive me crazy in the morning.

DoNotCall registry of course only works for legal callers anyway so all the thieves just kept calling

Never heard of NomoRobo, I'll have to check into that. Thanks.

I'm with you as far as answering the phone. Unless it's somebody I recognize, straight to VM, which often records nothing because it was a junk call. The Do Not Call thing worked for about a year, but I still get all kinds of crap phone calls that I just ignore. Don't even keep the ringers on my phones on, unless it's in front of me and I can see it light up, peace and quiet.

Have always been kind of anti cell-phone, but will be switching my number to a cell phone later this week and will have to adjust my behavior. Not a big talker, so going with a cheapo Trac-Phone with a few hundred minutes each month. Currently with CenturyLink, major ripoff, their charges are ridiculous.

 

[David Norman]

Never heard of NomoRobo, I'll have to check into that. Thanks.

It's really quite nice, but doesn;t work with all phone service types. I think it's mainly functional for VOIP phones, not cell or old fashioned landlines. Cell phones have other ways to help out.

I finally upgraded (or added) a smart phone about 18 months ago. I had been using an old flip phone for mobile and landline/voip for home -- other than the snickers from the younguns it never seemed to be an issue. 2 weeks on a single charge, no butt dialing, better call quality than smartphones, damn thing was nearly indestructible as many times as it was dropkicked in nearly 10 years. Texting was a PITA, but just another reason not to text. It stayed in my car most of the time anyway

Tracphone for me -- I got a 1200/1200/1200 deal with a year's service for about $80 via one of the deal sites. At the end of the year I had 1100 minutes, 1100 messages and about 1000mb data left so just rolled it over for another year for $50-60. For $5-8 a month I can live with it. I think there is a similar deal now for $50-60. In general I really haven't found a lot of use for it other than map services when I'm travelling. Most of the other stuff people do with the smartphone still are baffling to me -- not so much what they're doing, but why, and why it seems so indispensable to them

 

[Malcolm R]

It's really quite nice, but doesn;t work with all phone service types. I think it's mainly functional for VOIP phones, not cell or old fashioned landlines. Cell phones have other ways to help out.

I think it'll work for cell phones, but you have to pay a monthly fee. VOIP is free.

 

[Stan]

It's really quite nice, but doesn;t work with all phone service types. I think it's mainly functional for VOIP phones, not cell or old fashioned landlines. Cell phones have other ways to help out.

I finally upgraded (or added) a smart phone about 18 months ago. I had been using an old flip phone for mobile and landline/voip for home -- other than the snickers from the younguns it never seemed to be an issue. 2 weeks on a single charge, no butt dialing, better call quality than smartphones, damn thing was nearly indestructible as many times as it was dropkicked in nearly 10 years. Texting was a PITA, but just another reason not to text. It stayed in my car most of the time anyway

Tracphone for me -- I got a 1200/1200/1200 deal with a year's service for about $80 via one of the deal sites. At the end of the year I had 1100 minutes, 1100 messages and about 1000mb data left so just rolled it over for another year for $50-60. For $5-8 a month I can live with it. I think there is a similar deal now for $50-60. In general I really haven't found a lot of use for it other than map services when I'm travelling. Most of the other stuff people do with the smartphone still are baffling to me -- not so much what they're doing, but why, and why it seems so indispensable to them

I'm just looking for a basic phone. Don't need a smart-phone, don't need "apps", etc. Just waiting until they have flip phones back in stock. The butt-dialing thing drove me crazy in the past, so refuse to go with a phone where the keypad is always exposed. Might do some texting, but really becoming anti-technology. Don't need the latest/greatest gadget that's out there.

 

[Aaron Silverman]

One nice thing about getting our phone service through XFinity is that when we're watching TV, the caller ID info pops up in the corner of the TV screen. We don't even have to get up to check the actual phone unless we already know it's worth answering.

 

[TJPC]

I find smart phones masively usefull, but almost never make a phone call on them. On the other hand, I have a perfectly good desk top computer which I now only use for burning the occasional DVD or ripping a CD to iTunes.

 

[BobO'Link]

I posted this several years ago, maybe on HTF.

In the waiting room to see my doctor. Two tweens are on their phones, texting, etc. sitting three feet away from each other. Turns out they were texting each other

I always look for the good things in life, thought maybe one of them was deaf so it was a good way to communicate. Wrong.

Shut your f**king phones off and talk to one another.

A couple of years ago my boss told me he was taking his daughter and some of her friends to a soccer game - they were tweens at the time. They were texting each other in the same car! I asked him if they were afraid "dad" would hear something inappropriate if they just talked instead. He had no idea. I'd have been "bad dad" as I'd have immediately pulled over and collected the phones for the duration of the ride (it was a 2 hour trip).