There was a really interesting Wall Street Journal story recently about the psychology of gift cards.

According to the story:

So why have gift cards grown in popularity when we already have something better sitting in our wallets? The answer is a combination of consumer psychology and opportunistic retailers and card issuers. Consumers see giving cash as crass, and retailers have taken advantage of that to push gift cards.

So what do you think? Would you rather just get cash, or do you think that's a bit tacky? 

If you're looking for a holiday bargain on eBay, you may want to take note of a Texas merchant's blog post.

David Goldstein says that you can find a bargain just by misspelling the name of the thing you want.

Looking for a Playstation? Try "Playstaion" or "Palystation."

Ebay makes suggestions to buyers who are searching the site, he says. But no such courtesy is offered to sellers. And that can add up to a great deal. 

You can read his post here.

I found an interesting post over on The Consumerist Web site the other day. It was 10 confessions of a telemarketing insider. Having received plenty of telemarketing phone calls it was kind of interesting to read.

Here's the link... 

I love looking for weird economic indicators, and this one is a lot of fun.

New data from research firm Mintel shows that sales of potato chips have jumped 22 percent since the economy started to sour.

Those chips may make us feel better, but they aren't too good for the waistline. Maybe if the economy improves in the next few months, the annual beginning-of-the-year boost in business for gyms will be even bigger this January...

I know a lot of you love store brand products, so I thought I'd share this story. BrandWeek reports that the "private label unit share" rose to 22.8 percent. In English, that means that nearly 23 percent of the items purchased in stores were store brand, or private label, items.

Many retailers have been working hard to increase the number and quality of their private label offerings, and it is clearly paying off. So here's the question on my mind today: What's your favorite private label product, and why?

By the traditional definition, Craigslist isn't a retailer. It has no stores. Its service is free. If you asked most people, they'd say it's an online clearinghouse of classified ads.

Or would they? 

When BIGresearch asked more than 8,600 consumers in June which Web sites they shop most often, the California company showed up at No. 25 on the list. Amazon was No. 1. You can read more about the survey here. But I'm wondering what you think. Do you consider Craigslist to be just another shopping site? And how often do you use it to find items?

If you have a few minutes, read this excellent Wall Street Journal story about how retailers are planning changes to address America's growing elderly population. Retail executives are going through simulations of what it's like to shop when you are older. I would totally love to do that. Here's what this experiment might entail:

BUFFALO GROVE, Ill. -- Before walking into a Walgreens drugstore here, Todd Vang donned glasses that blurred his vision, slipped un-popped popcorn into his shoes and adjusted tape that bound his thumbs to his palms.

The get-up was part of an exercise designed to help retailers better understand the physical challenges facing elderly shoppers. Mr. Vang, a 42-year-old Walgreen Co. vice president, struggled to pick up a can of soup. "I can't imagine how this would feel if the store were crowded," he said.

I've always wondered about those work-at-home offers that promise you hundreds or thousands of dollars for seemingly tiny amounts of work.

Too good to be true, I assured myself.

Indeed.

I thought some of you might find this story by Consumer Reports interesting. And, there's a related piece by a reporter who intentionally signed up for several such offers just to see what would happen.

Some of you have asked me about Target's move to change it's store brand from the familiar Target brand with the bullseye logo to the new Up & Up brand.

If you're interested in what Target is up to and why, read this excellent piece from the Minneapolis Star-Tribune (Target is based in the Twin Cities).

Warning: it's long. But it's a good read, especially if you like to know the "why" behind what you see happening at the store.

I love reading the Consumerist Web site. It generally makes me laugh.

But this headline about a $1.99 data usage charge from Verizon got my attention in a hurry since I've been seeing it on my own bill and wondering about it.

Turns out, others have, too.

The Consumerist post refers back to a story from a Cleveland Plain Dealer writer who noticed the charge too. She spent six months trying to get it reversed. And when she published her account, she got 400 readers from her area with the same complaint. I'm guessing there are others around here, too. Fortunately, the story also includes some good tips on what to do about it.