6 ways retailers trick you into buying more crap

Sat, 15 Dec 2012 16:00:00 +0000

Happy holidays! Tis the season for family togetherness, holiday parties, cold weather, and for the majority of us, shopping. So this is a good time of year to take a look at why we buy what we buy, and how stores manipulate us in order to get every dollar they can out of our pockets.

Even the savviest shoppers can be tricked into buying things they don’t want or need. There’s no need to feel foolish; the retail industry spends an inordinate amount of time and money figuring out the science (yes, it is a science) of how to sell the most stuff. But it is a good idea for consumers to know what they're going into, especially around the holiday season, when stress levels are running high and stores are packed with shoppers spending money left and right.

Though far from a comprehensive list, here are six tactics retailers use to get you to part with your hard-earned dough.

1. Holiday ploys: The scents and sounds of the season.

Will Obama harsh Washington and Colorado’s high?

Fri, 07 Dec 2012 21:48:00 +0000

Since it became clear last month that recreational marijuana initiatives would pass in Colorado and Washington, the big question has been: Will the feds come after these states?

Under federal law, recreational marijuana use is still illegal. But now that the American people (in two states, at least) have made it clear they support legal recreational marijuana use, the Feds have to make a choice about whether to lay down the law – the federal law, that is -- or respect voters' choices.

The New York Times had a story yesterday about this issue. It noted that “the Obama administration has been holding high-level meetings since the election to debate the response of federal law enforcement agencies to the decriminalization efforts.”

Salon.com > Lauren Kelly

6 ways retailers trick you into buying more crap

Will Obama harsh Washington and Colorado’s high?