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Is This the Future of Consumer Journalism?

Last week, we examined what appeared to be a news story from USA Today touting discount site Temu.com. On closer inspection, however, that “story” may have actually been an advertisement, but it was not labeled as such.

This week we focus on another news story that popped up in MrConsumer’s consumer news feed recently. It was entitled, “The Nuclear Savings Rule: 10 Frugal Living Tips from the 1950s Era.”

It sounded like old-fashioned savings advice that might be of interest to Consumer World readers even today. Some enterprising reporter, I thought, must have done an awful lot of research to go back 70 years to find consumer tips from the ’50s.

Here’s that Go Banking Rates story to quickly browse — just look at the bolded tips.

AI Written Story GO Banking

Scroll down the story.

If you skip to the bottom of the story, there is a surprising editor’s note.

*MOUSE PRINT:

AI Editor's Note

Say what? This story was written by a computer using artificial intelligence and then fact-checked by a human editor. Wow! Or maybe I should say “oy.” Is this what journalism of the near future is going to look like — computers do the research and write the stories, and then a human double-checks them?

Please share your thoughts in the comments.

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Amazon Raises Free Shipping Threshold to $35 Depending on Location

You may now have to spend more at Amazon.com in order to qualify for free shipping if you are not a Prime member. (Prime members pay $139 a year for free shipping with no minimum order size.)

For years, as long as a non-Prime member made at least a $25 minimum purchase, you got free shipping. Now there is a new $35 minimum but it does not apply to everyone. Who has to pay more? Believe it or not, that seems to depend on the delivery address — the zip code where you live.

For example, if you live in downtown Seattle where Amazon is headquartered, free shipping comes with only a minimum purchase of $25. If you wanted to buy this test item, you would need to purchase two packages to avoid shipping charges.

Amazon in Seattle

*MOUSE PRINT:

But, if you live in the next city over in Bellevue, Washington, you would need a $35 minimum purchase and would have to buy three of them to get them shipped free.

Amazon Bellevue

The same is true across the country, in certain geographic regions and in some neighboring towns. So for example in New York City, Manhattanites are treated to the lower $25 threshold, while those in Brooklyn have to spend $35 or more.

*MOUSE PRINT:

NY shipping charges vary

Live in Beverly Hills? You get the $25 minimum. But reside in Westwood right next door and you will need a $35 purchase to get delivery there free.

If you call Lincoln, Nebraska home, you have to spend at least $35 now to get free shipping to your house. But, if you live in Omaha, just 58 miles away, your minimum purchase threshold is only $25.

In Massachusetts where MrConsumer lives, customers in Revere only need a $25 purchase to get free shipping, while those in Lynn, the next town over, have to spend at least $35.

We asked Amazon why they implemented the higher free shipping threshold in some areas. Is this some type of market test? Is this just the first step in extending the $35 minimum to all non-Prime members? Or are they planning to make this two-tier system permanent?

In a statement to Consumer World, a company spokesperson said, “We continually evaluate our offerings and make adjustments based on those assessments. We’re currently testing a $35 minimum for non-Prime customers to qualify for free shipping.”

It is unfortunate when consumers are still struggling with inflation and higher product prices that Amazon has chosen to pile on and charge for shipping that previously was free.

What do you think of Amazon’s change?

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WSJ Goofs Reporting Walmart+ Discount for Seniors

On July 20th, The Wall Street Journal published a story claiming that Walmart was offering a 50%-off discount on its Walmart+ membership program to recipients of various government assistance programs including those on Social Security. Wow!

Walmart+, which is regularly $98/yr, is similar to Amazon Prime giving members free shipping even on small orders and other benefits such as a free Paramount+ membership.

WSJ - Walmart+ half price for Social Security recipients

At just $49, even MrConsumer, who refuses to pay $139 for Amazon Prime, might consider a Walmart+ Assist membership. But being a good and suspicious consumer, he wanted to review the fine print terms and conditions first.

*MOUSE PRINT:

Walmart+ Assist terms

In that alphabet soup of government programs, Social Security is not listed. And even in Walmart’s press release announcing the Walmart+ Assist program, there is no mention of Social Security recipients being eligible for it.

So why in the world did the Wall Street Journal, right in its headline, say that those on Social Security qualified? The reporter, a summer intern at the paper, probably thought that SSI meant “Social Security” when in fact it stands for “Supplemental Security Income” — a program that provides monthly payments for those with disabilities or blindness.

But, within two hours of our writing to her, the headline was corrected, and a note about the error was appended to the end of the story.

New Headline

*MOUSE PRINT:

WSJ correction

So the lesson here is… if a news story sounds too good to be true, sometimes it is.