Wednesday, February 19, 2014

Do not shop at OfficeMax

OfficeMax should be totally familiar with the term shyster as that is what they are.
Here is one example. They have a sale - Paper Mate White Pearl Erasers 3-pack $2.49. Buy 1, get 1 at 50% off.

They also have Paper Mate Pink Pearl Erasers 3-pack $1.69. Buy 1, get one at 50% off.

So I bought two of each. Now I’m an accountant so I know how the math works:  White Pearl $2.49 x 1.5 = 3.74 for the two. Pink Pearl $1.69 x 1.5 = 2.54 for the two.

I was charged 2.99 each for the Pink and $2.49 less 1.25 = 1.24 each for the White.

How did the Pink at $1.69 jump to $2.99? So I was overcharged $3.44. So I was charged 25% more than I should have.

I went to the store to complain, the manager said it is because of mix and match. Nowhere in the ad or in the store did it say anything about mix and match. So buy one get one at 50% off is not true. They take 50% off the cheapest item. So if you by two items at $10 and two at $1 they take 50% off the two $1 items and not 50% off the $10.

So I called customer service to complain. She was familiar with this flim-flam which they call mix and match, and would not refund me the amount overcharged. So I have no intention of ever walking into an OfficeMax again due to these deceptive practices.

Is this the kind of store you want to deal with?


I have to laugh because their receipt says they are one of the world’s most ethical companies. That doesn't say much about the other companies. And if you have to say you are ethical, does it not reveal they are not?

Tuesday, February 4, 2014

Ghent Altarpiece in 100 Billion Pixels


Unbelievable. I have seen this before but never realized the amount of detail.


Fr. Z. reports:
They Getty Foundation collaborated to render the Ghent Altarpiece in 100 billion pixels. Yes, that’s billion with a b.
Go here.