Mouse Print* – Page 94 – Exposing the strings and catches buried in the fine print.

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GoDaddy Offers Employees a Holiday Bonus, But…

January 17, 2021January 11, 2021 by Edgar (aka MrConsumer)

Just before Christmas, Internet service company GoDaddy apologized for not having a holiday party this year because of the coronavirus, but instead emailed employees news of a holiday bonus they could sign up for.

The email from HappyHoliday@GoDaddy.com directed employees to a link to sign up for the bonus, and presumably asked them to verify their identity by entering their official login credentials, etc. so the bonus could be processed.

A few days later the 500 or so employees who signed up got another email from the company.

*MOUSE PRINT: (details that were missing from the first email)

This time they were told the invitation was really a phishing test by the company, that they just failed it, and they would have to attend a remedial class on Internet security. And incidentally, there really was no company bonus this year.

Employees were livid and ultimately GoDaddy apologized for pulling this stunt so close to the holidays when money was short for many people.

[This story was originally reported by the Copper Courier.]

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Is It a Rebate or a Lottery?

January 9, 2021January 4, 2021 by Edgar (aka MrConsumer)

Since January is a big month for beginning healthy new year’s resolutions, it should not be surprising that vitamin companies are running big promotions to get you to buy their brand.

Among the offers being promoted heavily at various chain stores are ones that entice shoppers to buy $30 worth of vitamins to qualify for a $10 rebate. The rebate for Nature’s Bounty is running simultaneously with buy one, get one free (BOGO) sales at Walgreens, CVS, and other stores, and in fact are often promoted adjacent to one another.

So the question for bargain hunters is do they determine that you have met the $30 purchase requirement before or after cents-off coupons and free items are deducted? In other words, let’s say that vitamin X is $7.50 a bottle, and I buy four of them on a buy one, get one free sale, have I met the $30 threshold?

The initial answer from Nature’s Bounty may surprise you.

*MOUSE PRINT:

Great. What a surprise. They are looking at the gross price of the vitamins before deductions for coupons or free items… or are they? Read on.

*MOUSE PRINT:

Oops. Now they say forget what we just said, you can’t use this offer if you buy the vitamins on a BOGO basis. Why not say that upfront? And why do stores like CVS and Walgreens advertise the BOGO sale and the $10 back offer virtually side-by-side and make no similar disclosure?

Believe it or not, it gets worse. Let’s say you were unlike most shoppers and you did read the fine print of the offer on the Nature’s Bounty promotional website. You would have found a most unusual restriction:

*MOUSE PRINT:

Say what? This promotion is being advertised this week nationally in millions of newspaper RetailMeNot coupon inserts as well as the weekly circulars of major pharmacy chains, and the company is only going to honor 7,500 submissions?

Since when has buying vitamins and submitting a rebate become a game of chance? Paying a price for the chance of receiving money back is the definition of a lottery.

(We’ve written to the company and if and when we get a response, we will update this story.)

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Here We Downsize Again – Year-End 2020

January 10, 2021December 21, 2020 by Edgar (aka MrConsumer)

Final Week
Please Help Support Mouse Print*

Edgar Dworsky

For 25 years, Consumer World, the creator of Mouse Print*, has served readers with the latest consumer news, money-saving tips, and independent investigations. It is your generosity (and not advertising nor corporate contributions) that keeps Mouse Print* and Consumer World available as free consumer resources. So MrConsumer turns to you and humbly asks for your support again this year. Your gift will be most appreciated.

NOTE: The next new Mouse Print* story will appear on January 4.

Once again, it is time to spotlight another crop of products that are shrinking inconspicuously right in front of your eyes (and thus sneakily raising the price).

Downy Unstoppables

The bottles look the same size, but Downy Unstoppables went from 10 ounces down to 8.6. This is the second time the product has been made to weigh less. The first time in May 2019 the bottle went from 13.2 ounces to 10. That was a reformulation of the product to remove weight from each pellet. We are guessing the same thing was just done a second time.

*MOUSE PRINT:

Nathan’s Pretzel Dogs

Nathan’s made a dramatic change to their pretzel dogs. Instead of five in a package, they reduced the number to just four. Thanks to Dan K. for spotting the switch.

*MOUSE PRINT:

Charmin Ultra Strong

It took a while for P&G to get around to reducing the size of their “ultra strong” Charmin from 286 sheets to 264. Back in March, we reported that the “soft” version had already made the change. Thanks to eagle-eyed Richard G. for spotting this.

*MOUSE PRINT:

Publix Baby Shampoo

It is not just big brand names that downsize. Usually store brands will will shrink after their brand name counterparts have done so too. Two years ago, Tom G. reported that Johnson’s Baby Shampoo went from 15 ounces to 13.6. Now he discovered that his supermarket has done the same thing with their store brand.

*MOUSE PRINT:

If you spot a product that has been downsized, please take a sharp picture of the old and new one, including the net weight, and submit it to edgar (at) mouseprint.org . Thanks.

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