Shopping & Services

10 things you should not buy on Black Friday

Submitted by Andy Wise, Chief Consumer Investigator/Andy's Restaurant Scorecard

Monday, November 21st, 2011, 5:25pm

10 things you should not buy on Black Friday

Not every item will be at its lowest price on Black Friday. Not even close.

Lindsay Sakraida, features director for dealnews, wrote in one of her recent columns that these are the 10 items you should not buy on Black Friday:

* TOYS. Sakraida said toys typically are discounted deeper about two weeks before Christmas. For other guidance on good times to buy toys, click here.

* TOP-BRAND TV'S. Sakraida said Black Friday is fine for shopping cheaper TV's with deep discounts, but she said don't expect bargains on brand-name sets. For shopping the deals on the top brands, consider this advice.

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Consumer Reports: 5 steps to successful holiday returns

Submitted by Andy Wise, Chief Consumer Investigator/Andy's Restaurant Scorecard

Monday, November 14th, 2011, 6:31pm

Consumer Reports: 5 steps to successful holiday returns

Black Friday is two Fridays away.

Getting the deals is one thing. But getting an exchange, cash or credit when the deal turns out to be a dud depends on how well you follow Consumer Reports' five steps to a successful return.

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Wolfchase Galleria prepares for Black Friday

Submitted by Brooke Barrett, Action news 5 producer

Tuesday, November 8th, 2011, 11:37am

Bright and early on Friday, November 25, Wolfchase Galleria and Oak Court Mall will open at 4 a.m. for Black Friday, the official start of the holiday shopping season! They are promising lots of great bargains so make your plans now to start your Black Friday shopping.

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Santa Claus is coming to town

Submitted by Brooke Barrett, Action news 5 producer

Tuesday, November 1st, 2011, 12:07pm

Wolfchase Galleria announced Tuesday morning that Santa Claus will arrive in Memphis on Thursday, November 3.

Families are invited to be the first to greet Santa as he arrives from the North Pole.

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MCS auctions surplus equipment

Submitted by Jeramia Trotter, WMCTV.com

Tuesday, November 1st, 2011, 11:00am

You can get your hands on everything from commercial kitchen gear to office furniture when the city school system auctions off surplus equipment Saturday.

The Memphis City Schools’ auction will be held on Saturday, November 5, at 9 a.m., at its Mallory Warehouse, 1384-A Farmville.

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Making doctors bid for your health care

Submitted by Andy Wise, Chief Consumer Investigator/Andy's Restaurant Scorecard

Monday, October 31st, 2011, 10:53am

Get ready. It's going to happen.

You're going to require a medical procedure that -- surprise -- your insurance doesn't cover.

Consumer advocate, CNN and radio show host Clark Howard suggested you should register at the free site PriceDoc.com and get doctors to bid for your business.

"Health-care professionals offer lower-than-normal prices through this site to bring in new clients," said Howard, as told to consumer resource Bottom Line Personal magazine.

Howard said PriceDoc.com is most helpful with dental and cosmetic procedures. He said it's not unreasonable to expect discounts of 25 percent to 30 percent or more.

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Getting out of your cell phone contract

Submitted by Andy Wise, Chief Consumer Investigator/Andy's Restaurant Scorecard

Monday, October 24th, 2011, 1:47pm

Before I share this information, let me say I'm big into honoring contracts.

I'm big into both the company and the consumer honoring a contract. Two-way street, my friend.

A smart phone upgrade, like the release of the iPhone 4S, is not a legitimate excuse for breaking a cell phone contract.

However, USell.com (www.usell.com), a site that enables consumers to sell their gadgets for cash or trade-in value, offered these suggestions for getting out of a cell phone contract:

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