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Friday, May 04, 2007 |
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Monday, June 27, 2005 |
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Wednesday, June 22, 2005 |
The study, "Open to Exploitation," found nearly two-thirds of adult Internet users believed incorrectly it was illegal to charge different people different prices, a practice retailers call "price customization." More than two-thirds of people surveyed also said they believed online travel sites are required by law to offer the lowest airline prices possible. ... The Internet empowers careful shoppers to conveniently compare prices and features across thousands of stores. But it also enables businesses to quietly collect detailed records about a customer's behavior and preferences and set prices accordingly. Changing prices is generally lawful unless doing so discriminates against a consumer's race or gender or violates antitrust or price-fixing laws.
5:22:02 PM 
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Tuesday, April 19, 2005 |
Amazon.com knows things about you that you may not know yourself. Though plenty of companies have detailed systems for tracking customer habits, critics and boosters alike say Amazon is the trailblazer, having collected information longer and used it more proactively. It even received a patent recently on technology aimed at tracking information about the people for whom its customers buy gifts.
Some privacy advocates believe Amazon is getting dangerously close to becoming Big Brother with your credit card number. "They are constantly finding new ways to exploit personal information," said Chris Hoofnagle of the Electronic Privacy Information Center, an Amazon nemesis since 2000 after the company changed its privacy policy to allow sharing of personal information with companies it buys or partners with. More recently, the Seattle-based virtual retailer has launched a Web search engine, called A9, that can remember everything you've ever searched for — and the site reserves the right to share that information with its retailing arm. Amazon also funds a Web site called 43 Things. It seeks to link people with similar goals, such as getting out of debt.
11:15:35 AM
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Thursday, March 10, 2005 |
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Wednesday, March 09, 2005 |
Thousands of smokers are getting letters from state and local tax collectors demanding they pay up for their Internet purchases. Collecting sales taxes on goods bought from mail-order and Internet businesses has frustrated state and local governments for more than a decade. The Supreme Court ruled in 1992 that states could not force businesses outside their borders to collect their sales taxes unless the companies have stores or headquarters in those states. The ruling spared such businesses from having to comply with the tax codes of 45 states — and the District of Columbia — that levy sales taxes.
Many states are collaborating on a uniform tax system that would make it easier for online retailers to collect sales taxes on goods they sell. The Streamlined Sales Tax Project would let retailers determine the proper state and local tax rates by entering the customer's ZIP code. The project has been enacted or partially enacted in 20 states.
Sheila Hansen of Manhattan says she got a letter from the city demanding $900 in unpaid taxes on 50 cartons of Kool Milds she bought over three years. Hansen says the city reduced her bill to $750 after she pointed out record-keeping errors. But last week, she got another bill — a $525 claim from New York state. "I was totally shocked," she says. Hansen says she stopped buying cigarettes online and quit smoking before she got the first bill. "My biggest beef is, unless they go after every single person that buys anything on the Internet and doesn't pay taxes, it's not fair," she says. "Right now, they're only targeting smokers." [Sheila, let's leave well enough alone!.]
10:46:59 AM
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Wednesday, February 16, 2005 |
The Internet has helped bring back "swampland" sales in Florida as companies portray fairly worthless property as good investments, taking advantage of unwary out-of-state buyers. Some of the lots are actually underwater.
6:19:14 PM
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Monday, February 07, 2005 |
Company backlash strikes gripe sites By James McNair, The Cincinnati Enquirer Quick-tempered Americans really lose it when they've been had as consumers. Increasingly, they are taking out their anger on strongly worded Internet gripe sites. Take a look at www.MyVWLemon.com, which boasts 2,000 members and about 15,000 message board postings from Volkswagen buyers.Many such sites exist. But a growing number of consumers around the nation are eliciting an unexpected response from the companies they're assailing: lawsuits and legal threats. As companies find their names and logos besmirched on Web gripe sites, they unleash allegations ranging from trademark violations to defamation.
5:31:17 PM
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Less than a month after announcing a price hike
that enraged small business owners, eBay Inc. said it would reduce some
fees and promised to improve customer service.
The online auction giant said in a Web posting
Sunday it would credit $15.95 — the cost of a one-month subscription —
to small business owners who operate "eBay Stores" in April. EBay also
announced it would reduce the minimum fee for inexpensive auction items
from 30 cents to 25 cents, starting Monday morning.
5:17:11 PM
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Saturday, December 11, 2004 |
The publisher of Consumer Reports launched a free Web site Thursday to do for prescription drugs what it has already done for cars, refrigerators and other gadgets: rate them on safety, effectiveness and cost.
7:18:30 PM
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Monday, November 08, 2004 |
eStudentSave.com has partnered with hotels.com, the well-known and trusted Web-based travel reservation site. [Warning! An audio messgae kicks off when you hit the site with no way to turn it off.]
7:17:32 PM
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Saturday, October 23, 2004 |
Fraud-based Web sites that purport to sell products and services but really only harvest credit card accounts and other personal information are on the upswing, Websense Security Labs*, an Internet content management vendor said Monday (10/11/2004). According to Websense Security Labs, fraud sites outnumber those associated with phishing, a much better-known scam.
Although such fake sites resemble phishing sites -- both try to dupe users into divulging confidential information -- this new category uses a different ploy. Rather than get people to a site by telling them that their credit or bank account needs adjustment, these scams promise merchandise or a service at phenomenal prices. "Fraud sites don't target a specific brand, like phishing attacks and sites do," said Dan Hubbard, the director of security and technology research for Websense.
* an arm of Websense, a provider of content blocking software for enterprises
4:33:18 PM
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Thursday, October 21, 2004 |
Travel sites want to help you find a cheap trip. But is cost the only factor to consider?
6:27:27 PM
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Startup Affini launched a free email service on Wednesday that will eventually pay users to receive advertisements. Initially, the service will work similarly to other "whitelist" email services such as Mailblocks, which allows members to pick and choose who they want to correspond with. In a few weeks, however, Affini will charge companies about 15 cents each to send advertisements to users, who will be able to opt in to the service.
The idea of paying for spam has circulated for years, prompting strategies designed by independent consultants as well as IBM's research team. Most have used some sort of authorized whitelist to determine legitimate emailers, and then offered some form of a token or cash payment to let advertisers into the system. Affini's model will start off as a token model. The tokens will be exchangeable for cash at a later date, in what Chang said would be a matter of weeks. At the launch, users will receive 1,000 points just for signing up, worth about $10 during the cash conversion, he said. A user can block all spam, or opt in to the payment system. Affini members won't pay to send messages, but will have the right to charge a fee for receiving a message from anybody outside the network – individual or commercial sender alike. If the recipient so chooses, he can waive the fee and also invite the sender into the network. At some point, Affini will allow users to alter the initial fee, allowing them to charge a dollar, for example, to receive unsolicited mail.
4:43:41 PM
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A surprising number of items on eBay are available for just one cent. So where is the profit? (Hint: Watch those shipping charges.)
3:32:32 PM
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Tuesday, October 19, 2004 |
Business 2.0, trying out a new technology, has basically put the whole magazine online. You can read, it flip through it and if possible crash-test this little effort of ours. link to get the magazine
2:20:26 PM
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A discussion about third party credit card processors - they don't require an Internet merchant account and they are cheap and easy to use. When a business grows, purchasing a merchant account has to be considered, but until that time, third party credit card processors are, usually, the optimum solution because they are cheaper as long as the total monthly value of the sales is low (usually under $1000). Also provides a list with some of the most popular third party credit card processors.
2:08:09 PM
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Monday, October 18, 2004 |
Martha Reeves, former lead singer of Martha Reeves & the Vandellas, says eBay left her open to identity theft by posting a contract on its Web site that showed her Social Security number and signature.
9:56:06 PM
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Thursday, September 23, 2004 |
For each product category, ConsumerSearch offers:
- All The Reviews Reviewed: Our ranking and descriptions of all the top reviews, complete with links;
- Full Story: Our complete analysis of who the experts are and what they say;
- Fast Answers: Our listing of the top-rated products, according to the experts.
ConsumerSearch employs a network of more than 50 writers and editors, including former writers for Consumer Reports, PC Magazine and The New York Times; a Wall Street research analyst; and talent from dozens of major magazines and newspapers. ConsumerSearch is adding content weekly, and we hope to cover 800 product categories within our current format.
PC World declares ConsumerSearch the best source of expert product reviews on the Internet, the Wall Street Journal dubs ConsumerSearch a publisher of "uber-reviews," and Yahoo! Internet Life names ConsumerSearch an "Incredibly Useful Site". See our Press & Awards page for more.
6:00:13 PM
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Tuesday, September 21, 2004 |
AOL PassCode uses SecurID, a token-authentication technology developed by RSA that features a keychain-size device that generates and displays a unique six-digit numeric security code every 60 seconds. AOL customers who sign up for the service enter their account password and the current device code in order to access their account. If the authentication server system validates the code, the user can access the AOL account. If not, access is denied. AOL contends that SecurID provides a higher standard of protection through a two-factor authentication system commonly employed by financial institutions, technology companies and other enterprises. AOL PassCode is offered for a one-time fee of US$9.95 for each device, plus $1.95 to $4.95 per month, depending on the number of screen names on the account that are secured to a PassCode device. [Finally! A big step up in security by a major provider albeit at a premium. The future is at least "two-factor" authentication.]
9:17:33 PM
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Last year, more than $24 billion in goods were sold on eBay. While that signifies that more people have an easy way to sell all manner of goods, newspapers are watching their classifieds business get slowly eaten away.
Now, newspapers all across North America are finding they have a way to kill several birds with one stone, thanks to a service from CityXpress, of Vancouver. Many papers now conduct online auctions of their own, helping local retailers sell products from auto parts to furniture and even land, while also building new advertising relationships with those retailers and rebuilding some of the business lost to the eBays and craigslists of the world.
4:50:30 PM
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Sunday, September 19, 2004 |
We found no indication that the larger, more credible, retail sites were the source of credit-card information leaks. Web sites like eBay, Amazon, Office Depot, Best Buy, Sears, and many others appear secure. At least, none of the online purchases recorded in any of the credit-card lists we found contained purchases from major retailers.
It was the mom-and-pop shops, home-based businesses, and smaller companies that showed vulnerability, apparently from ignorance or a lack of professional I.T. resources.
"To get around consumer-security and fulfillment concerns, Internet startups and small businesses will have to align themselves with more credible marketplaces like eBay, Amazon, and Yahoo.
In the meantime, Web-site owners may want to employ a few simple fixes to make sure their critical files and their customers' personal information are not so easily found by search engines.
8:03:48 PM
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Friday, September 17, 2004 |
Over objections from some drug companies, the Bush administration unveiled a new feature of a federal Web site on Wednesday comparing prices for similar brand-name drugs that can be used to treat conditions like high blood pressure, high cholesterol, arthritis and allergies.
4:21:44 PM
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Friday, September 10, 2004 |
More than 80 percent of consumers prefer to make their travel arrangements online according to a report from Feedback Research. Of those surveyed, 59 percent had recently purchased travel online.
6:10:19 PM
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Sunday, September 05, 2004 |
AP - Hate it when you fill 'er up and, five minutes later, spot another station selling gas for a nickel a gallon cheaper?
9:46:08 PM
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An interesting site by the name of Best Web Buys attempts to save you a little on your purchases. Best Web Buys searches from about 60 online stores to find you the best deal. The various retailers have ratings, which were voted on by consumers just like you. By viewing this rating, you can get a sense of what the retailer is like. You can request that they add a retail site to their list. There's a Hot Deals section on the left hand side of the page. You may find some bargains there that you didn't know about.
9:04:47 PM
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Wednesday, September 01, 2004 |
Radisson Hotels & Resorts this week starts allowing guests to check in via the Internet up to a week before arrival. The industry is giving guests ways to use their electronic gadgetry to minimize waiting or to otherwise enrich their lodging experience. Now available or in the works: electronic, calorie-tabulating menus in hotel restaurants; Wi-Fi-enabled roaming check-in clerks; and recharging cradles in rooms for Apple iPod personal music players.
3:56:59 PM
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