Newsletter Archives

• Making the world safe for online shoppers

  Posted on March 4, 2024 at 02:45 CST by Max Stul Oppenheimer • Comment in the Forums

  

  ISSUE 21.10 • 2024-03-04

  LEGAL BRIEF

  

  By Max Stul Oppenheimer, Esq.

  Today’s online shopping technology cannot quite match the in-person, brick-and-mortar experience.

  Multiple photos, detailed descriptions, and videos can go a long way toward helping purchasers compare products and pick the one that fits their needs, but current technology can’t really replace the ability to try on clothes, shake a product for loose parts, or check the bytes on a flash drive to make sure they match your color scheme.

  Online shoppers have had two tools that help close the gap: the availability of free returns and online reviews by other purchasers.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (21.10.0, 2024-03-04).
  This story also appears in our public Newsletter.

  Legal Brief Federal Trade Commission, Free Returns, FTC-2023-0047, Newsletters, Online Reviews, Online shopping

• Mad at costly Grinch bots? Get yourself a free one.

  Posted on December 13, 2021 at 02:44 CST by B. Livingston • Comment in the Forums

  PUBLIC DEFENDER

  

  By Brian Livingston

  This year’s global supply-chain crunch is making numerous electronic items go in and out of stock at retailers, and the problem has been made worse by “Grinch bots,” automated tools that some operators use to snap up whatever hot tech and toys may momentarily become available.

  Some worried tech buyers — and a few desperate parents of kids who “need” this year’s must-have toy — have tried to subscribe to their own Grinch bot (formally known as a shopping bot). But the services can cost $99 per month plus initiation fees, and they offer no guarantee you’ll actually score the items you want.

  Read the full story in the AskWoody Plus Newsletter 18.48.0 (2021-12-13).

  Public Defender Newsletters, Online shopping, Public Defender

• Technology in a pandemic

  Posted on July 27, 2020 at 01:15 CDT by Tracey Capen • Comment in the Forums
  

  COVID-19

  By Susan Bradley

  We all have good years and bad, but 2020 has been rough on everyone.

  The pandemic has damaged world economies, caused untold disruptions to our education systems, put millions in financial peril, and tested our ability to socialize responsibly — and it’s not over yet.

  In the face of those difficulties, I’ve been impressed and encouraged by how people have adjusted their personal lives, their work, and their businesses. And much of that adaptation involves technology. Interestingly, quite a bit of that tech is not based on Windows.

  Read the full story in AskWoody Plus Newsletter 17.29.0 (2020-07-27).

  AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Privacy, Security AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Digital signatures, Online shopping, Video conferencing, Virtual socializing