Holiday Gotcha's

Holiday shopping season is full of gotchas. Maybe it's the recession, with businesses trying to squeeze the customer for every last dime. The general rule is - you snooze, you end up with a wrong product at a higher price. Or even with no product at all.

A few examples from major retailers:

Best Buy has a great deal on flat TVs. However, the unit on display has different specifications (in small print, on the back), than the boxed TVs underneath that can actually be bought.

Macy's keeps mailing coupons every weekend, but most of these coupons do not work - things are either "not eligible" or "excluded". Or the coupon is good for 2hrs only the week before. Still, more are delivered every weekend.

American Airlines are pushing their new gift cards. These things are sold for real money, but are not nearly as valued. The cards are only good for some flights, can be redeemed up to 8 (why 8? why not just one, or an unlimited number?) per purchase transaction, and only for some of the American Airlines charges.

Apple store, the glorious Apple store, flat out refuses to even provide a price quote for the glorious new iPhone 3G unless given an SSN. And AT&T with their promise of unlimited talk time have a whole half-page of the tiniest small print where it is described in the most painful detail how exactly this "unlimited talk time" is going to be limited. Or else.