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Digital Domain - The Payments Were Automatic. Stopping Them Wasn’t. - NYTimes.com
Our Payments Were Automatic. Stopping Them Wasn’t.
By RANDALL STROSS
MY wife likes to anticipate things going awry. When she signed an auto lease agreement three years ago, she authorized the leasing company to pull its monthly payments directly from our checking account. But once the final payment had gone out, she gave me an assignment: cancel the automatic payment authorization with our bank. She was concerned that the payments would continue.
A world-class worrier!
Her premonitions came to pass, however. The week after she mailed her check to buy the car at the end of its lease and we thought that all was settled, we got a surprise: an extra, 37th monthly payment went to the leasing company. How was this even possible logistically? I had done as my wife asked and put in a preventative stop-payment request just in case with our bank, Citibank.
In an e-mailed response, Citibank attributed the failure to stop payment to a mistake made by an employee, “an isolated incident due to human error.” (It later restored the funds, but by that point the bank knew that its customer was a reporter; asked whether it was bank policy to always make customers whole when payment isn’t properly stopped, a Citibank spokeswoman declined to answer this or any other questions.) At least Citibank owned up to having made a mistake. The leasing company, U.S. Bank, said that no mistake was made: it asserts a right to withdraw payments indefinitely until it declares a lessee’s account closed.
When my wife called U.S. Bank after discovering the surprise debit, she learned that her check to buy the car had been deposited two days earlier but that a refund for the 37th payment had not yet been set in motion. The refund eventually came in an old-fashioned paper check, which didn’t show up until 22 days after U.S. Bank had processed the purchase check.
When funds transfer automatically as all parties wish and expect, we are well served. Automatic direct payments like those lease payments are but one small part of the vast electronic paym
Mass. seeks way to compel compliance on merchandise labeling - The Boston Globe
State seeks way to compel compliance on pricing
Fines aren’t forcing BJ’s to follow rules on labeling all items
By Jenn Abelson, Globe Staff | July 22, 2009
Despite racking up nearly $200,000 in state fines over the past two years, BJ’s Wholesale Club Inc. continues to ignore consumer pricing laws, according to state officials.
But the Natick warehouse chain may soon come under increased scrutiny as officials from the Massachusetts Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation and the Division of Standards plan to request a meeting with BJ’s to pressure the merchant to fix its practices. The law requires retailers to mark prices on individual items in their stores or take alternative steps to let consumers check prices.
The Division of Standards can fine retailers, but it is unable to force compliance through litigation without intervention from the state attorney general’s office - which the Division of Standards has sought twice over the past several years. In the most recent round of inspections completed this month, the Division of Standards fined BJ’s nearly $40,000 for 817 missing-price and 3 overcharge violations.
“There’s total noncompliance at BJ’s,’’ said Charles Carroll, deputy director of the Division of Standards. “We want to see compliance, but we can only do so much.’’
Emily LaGrassa, a spokeswoman for Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley, citing the agency’s policy, said she could not confirm or deny any investigation into BJ’s.
In a statement, BJ’s said it takes steps that include posting oversized item-price signs, providing scanners that allow people to check prices, and making store associates available to answer questions. “We work diligently to ensure that our members can easily view and/or obtain the price of any item offered in our Clubs,’’ the statement said.
BJ’s is one of several retailers, including pharmacy chain CVS, that have faced numerous fines for missing prices and overcharging violations. Unlike BJ’s, these other businesses make an effort to put prices o
Sub shop’s credit card surcharge is unappetizing, and illegal - The Boston Globe
Can sub shop really impose unappetizing credit card fee?
By Mitch Lipka
Globe Correspondent / July 19, 2009
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Q. For years, I have eaten lunch daily at a local sub shop with co-workers. We spend an average of $30 to $40 dollars per week. The other day, I went in there by myself and ordered a salad and cold drink and put the charges on my Visa card. I then questioned the owner about a 30-cent extra charge that was placed on my Visa. His policy is that any credit card order under $10 dollars gets charged the extra 30 cents. He does have a very small sticky paper on the cash register stating this charge. Is this charge legal?
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Chuck Mabardy
Cambridge
A. You are right to raise your hackles about this, even if it’s only 30 cents. By accepting cards, the merchant had to sign an agreement prohibiting surcharges or limits on their use. At least around here, it’s also forbidden by state law.
Massachusetts is among 10 states outlawing surcharges. Connecticut and Maine also do. That means not even a little sticky or an actual sign can make it OK.
Visa and Mastercard also make it plain to companies that accept their cards that they are not to charge card users extra. American Express does not have the same rules - unless Visa or Mastercard are also accepted. It is also not OK with credit card issuers to set minimums for credit card use (the merchant runs the risk of losing the right to process credit card transactions).
In businesses, such as gas stations, that do a high volume of credit card transactions - and have to pay the fees associated with them - there is an option to offer discounts for customers who pay with cash. It’s OK to offer a discount to cash customers, but not OK to charge more for using a credit card.
So, you’re right. Now, the question is do you want to get into it with the store owner? Are you ready to file a complaint with Visa? The attorney general?
Books of The Times - 'Free' and 'Cheap' - Chris Anderson’s ‘Free’ and Ellen Ruppel Shell’s ‘Cheap’ Consider the Surprising Profits of Things That Cost Nothing - Review - NYTimes.com
Absolutely, Positively Free ... if You Think You Can Afford It
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By JANET MASLIN
Published: July 5, 2009
Consider Ellen Ruppel Shell’s “Cheap,” Chris Anderson’s “Free” and the story of the one-cent Hershey’s Kiss. This story appears in both books, but the versions are different. Both come from the same source, but these two authors can’t even agree on what to call him. He is Daniel Ariely to Ms. Shell, Dan Ariely to Mr. Anderson, and the author of “Predictably Irrational” to both of them.
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Wired Magazine
Chris Anderson
CHEAP
The High Cost of Discount Culture
By Ellen Ruppel Shell
296 pages. Penguin Press. $25.95.
FREE
The Future of a Radical Price
By Chris Anderson
Illustrated. 274 pages. Hyperion. $26.99.
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Excerpt: 'Free: The Future of a Radical Price' [PDF]
The Long Tail (Chris Anderson's Blog)
Media Decoder Blog: Wired Editor Apologizes for Copying From Wikipedia in New Book (June 24, 2009)
Alison Shell
Ellen Ruppel Shell
Mr. Ariely did an experiment that used chocolate to dramatize the difference that a small shift in pricing could make. According to “Cheap” he offered his subjects a choice between the 1-cent Kiss and a 26-cent Ferrero Rocher hazelnut. At those prices the test subjects were divided 40 percent to 40 percent, with 20 percent opting for neither. Then the prices came down by one penny each, and 90 percent of the subjects took the free chocolate. Only 10 percent chose the higher-priced brand.
Off we go to “Free,” playing fast and loose with different facts and telling the story in somewhat zingier fashion. “Note: behavioral economists have limited budgets and limited time,” writes Mr. Anderson, the editor of Wired magazine and author of “The Long Tail.” “So a lot of their experiments involve a
Eco-friendly and cheaper, renting gains converts - The Boston Globe
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Consumers find fulfillment in renting
Eco-friendly and cheaper, trend gains converts
Cassandra Smith held four designer handbags that she rents. The pile on the floor are some she owns but doesn’t use. Cassandra Smith held four designer handbags that she rents. The pile on the floor are some she owns but doesn’t use. (Wilfredo Lee/ Associated Press)
By Tamara Lush
Associated Press / June 30, 2009
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MIAMI - Cassandra Smith spends $800 a month renting designer handbags and leases a luxury condo in downtown Miami. Environmentalist Zoee Turrill helped create a bike-sharing program at the University of Denver.
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Though they might seem to come from different ends of the consumption spectrum, they have something in common: They’re not buying things.
The rise of rental or borrowing services catering to everyone from fashionistas to environmentalists has even spawned a marketing buzzword: the “transumer.’’
It’s a lifestyle that’s “less about treasure and more about pleasure,’’ according to Reinier Evers of Trendwatching, an Amsterdam-based market-research firm that coined the term.
It almost seems anti-American to rent, rather than buy; a look at the popular reality TV show “Clean House’’ is a testament to Americans’ love of accumulating stuff. But Evers says that in this global recession, people are warming to the idea of renting, and not buying, certain goods - because of cost, ease, or space considerations.
“On the one hand, you have consumers who want to collect as many experiences and part-time possessions as possible,’’ Evers said. “And then there are transumers who value non-ownership for environmental reasons: to only use something when you really need it, which involves everything from renting to passing something on to the next person.’’
From rented Chanel sunglasses to the auto-sharing service Zipcars to fractional ownership of a jet to movies f
Wal-Mart aims to keep a new flock of customers - BostonHerald.com
Wal-Mart aims to keep a new flock of customers
By Associated Press | Tuesday, June 23, 2009 | http://www.bostonherald.com | Business & Markets
The recession steered a new type of customer to Wal-Mart — deeper in the pockets and suddenly looking for bargains. Now the world’s largest retailer has to figure out how to keep that customer when the economy recovers.
So Wal-Mart is bringing in more brand names, ditching scores of other products and even redesigning hundreds of stores to give them wider aisles, better lighting and better sight lines.
It’s more than just a cosmetic upgrade. That new breed of customer also spends about 40 percent more than the traditional Wal-Mart shopper, and the retailer senses an opportunity to accelerate its growth.
Take Aditya Krishnan, a 42-year-old lawyer from San Jose, Calif. He used to buy only light bulbs at Wal-Mart but now finds himself spending $150 a month there, including buying workout clothes he used to get at Macy’s.
"If I am able to get good stuff at Wal-Mart, and I am able to save money, why would I change?" Krishnan asked. "I am seeing better brands, and the shopping experience is better" than before.
Wal-Mart says that’s no accident. It’s placing a big bet on the redesign of most of its 3,600 stores, started last fall. This fiscal year, it plans to redo up to 600 at a cost from $1.6 billion to $1.7 billion.
The prototype for the remodeling includes lower shelves to make it easier to see across the store, better lighting and wider aisles. Expanded electronics areas will include interactive displays to test video games and portable gadgets.
The store now carries brands like Danskin and Better Homes and Gardens, and its electronics section now stocks pricier products like Palm Inc.’s well-received new Pre smartphone.
Whether it all works, Wall Street analysts say, depends in part on how quickly the behemoth retailer can remodel and keep shoppers satisfied. Concerns about how Wal-Mart will keep its momentum have sent its stock down 13 percent this year.
T
An App, the GoodGuide, Aids in Careful Shopping - NYTimes.com
On Web and iPhone, a Tool to Aid Careful Shopping
Jim Wilson/The New York Times
Dara O’Rourke created GoodGuide to evaluate products, sometimes searching via the bar code.
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By CLAIRE CAIN MILLER
Published: June 14, 2009
SAN FRANCISCO — These days, every skin lotion and dish detergent on store shelves gloats about how green it is. How do shoppers know which are good for them and good for the earth?
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Peter DaSilva for The New York Times
It was a similar question that hit Dara O’Rourke, a professor of environmental and labor policy at the University of California, Berkeley, one morning when he was applying sunscreen to his young daughter’s face.
He realized he did not know what was in the lotion. He went to his office and quickly discovered that it contained a carcinogen activated by sunlight. It also contained an endocrine disruptor and two skin irritants. He also discovered that her soap included a kind of dioxane, a carcinogen, and then found that one of her brand-name toys was made with lead.
And in looking for the answer, he hatched the idea for a company that used his esoteric research on supply chain management. “All I do is study this, and I know nothing about the products I’m bringing into our house and putting in, on and around our family,” Mr. O’Rourke said. But when he wanted to find that information, he could. Most consumers would struggle to do so.
Hence GoodGuide, a Web site and iPhone application that lets consumers dig past the package’s marketing spiel by entering a product’s name and discovering its health, environmental and social impacts.
“What we’re trying to do is flip the whole marketing world on its head,” said Mr. O’Rourke. “Instead of companies telling you what to b
Shoppers of the world, unite - The Boston Globe
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Shoppers of the world, unite
Collective-buying websites give individuals the power of the group discount
By Jenn Abelson
Globe Staff / June 14, 2009
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Here's one way to stop feeling guilty about shopping during the recession: Get on the computer and buy with friends - or even strangers - and receive deep discounts on local products and services.
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A growing number of websites are capitalizing on a new collective buying trend that offers promotions to groups of online shoppers. Over the past six months, two sites have launched that are tailored for the Boston area, BuyWithMe.com and Groupon.com.
These sites feature various promotions - from spa packages to whale watching tickets to health club passes - that are available to shoppers for a limited time if a certain number of consumers purchase the deal. Interested shoppers provide their credit card information and are only charged when the threshold is met. Merchants offering the promotions typically determine the number of discounts available and how many people are required to make the deal valid. These sites often are tied into social media networking, allowing consumers to share the deals through Facebook and Twitter.
Since it launched last month, BuyWithMe says it has saved consumers more than $80,000. The debut deal was a $285 Grettacole spa package marked down to $99.75, which included a massage, facial, manicure, and pedicure. Patriots Pro Shop in Foxborough offered a $64.95 Belichick sweatshirt for $34.47. Other promotions included a $20 gift card to UFood restaurants for just $9 and day passes for two at Rock Spot Climbing for $20 instead of the usual $72 price tag. Gretta and UFood required a minimum of 50 buyers, and RockSpot needed 15. All of the deals significantly exceeded the minimum, but BuyWithMe would not provide specifics.
Julianna Kaden, 36, of Wellesley, was one of the
Appraisal discrepancies put some home sales at risk - The Boston Globe
Appraisal discrepancies hold up some sales
Real estate slump, rule changes make it tough to establish property value
By Jenifer B. McKim, Globe Staff | June 10, 2009
Property appraisals, once a routine part of a real estate deal, are complicating home sales as the slumping market makes it difficult for appraisers to pinpoint values.
Surprising buyers and sellers, appraisers increasingly are setting home values lower than an agreed upon sales price or the amount required for a homeowner to refinance. The discrepancies are, in part, being caused by a paucity of recent home sales - making it challenging to properly compare prices - and sales of foreclosed properties, which can disproportionately depress neighborhood values.
As a result, sales and mortgage refinances are increasingly in danger of falling through, according to real estate agents and others in the industry.
"If you can't get a reasonable appraisal, it can tank the transaction," said Barry Nystedt, owner of Buyer Brokerage Realty in Wellesley. "It's very difficult when there are no direct comparable properties to set the value. It involves a lot of interpretation."
Barbara Shea McDonald, a real estate agent in Westwood, said the uncertainty is adding drama to deals in a market already tenuous due to nervous buyers and tight financing. "We hold our breath hoping that the appraisal will come out OK," she said.
In Chicopee, real estate agent Ray Authier said he recently had a deal almost fall through after the appraisal came in $4,000 below the agreed upon price of $165,000. Eventually, the buyer and seller agreed to split the difference, he said.
"If it is worth $161,000, it's worth $165,000," Authier said "We did put it together, but it caused both stress and heartache to both parties. . . . We are sweating out all the appraisals right now."
Jon Treon, a broker for Re/Max Executive Realty in Natick, said two of his pending sales were recently challenged because the appraisals came in about $10,000 lower than the agreed upon price, a last-minut
14 tips from the most frugal New Englander - Boston.com
Just by looking at the McFarlane house's toy room, one would assume they spend a bundle on toys. But the most expensive toy in there cost only $20. McFarlane purchases most of her children's toys off Craigslist or Freecycle, a nonprofit grassroots website where people give their old belongings for free to keep reusable items out of landfills.
Stores, brands tap into power of frugal bloggers - Boston.com
Stores, brands tap into power of frugal bloggers
By Anne D'Innocenzio, AP Retail Writer | June 2, 2009
NEW YORK --When Melissa Garcia was frustrated by Old Navy's scanty coupon offerings, she didn't just complain to the store. She vented on a message board tied to her blog consumerqueen.com, which is read by at least 30,000 people each month and now, increasingly, by corporate America.
Within weeks, chatter in the so-called mommy blogosphere led Gap Inc.'s Old Navy to begin issuing coupons several times a week, instead of just once a week.
Moms have always had marketplace muscle, but a new frugality driven by rising joblessness, housing woes and other economic problems has them exercising it like never before with the help of the Internet.
In this recession, their talk online encompasses everything from complaints to advice on coupon clipping, low-budget meals and family finance. But it's not just fellow moms who are following every post: Retailers and consumer product makers are listening, too -- and responding.
"We see (moms who blog) as a vital force for our brand strategy," said Gap spokeswoman Louise Callagy. "They are the voice of our customers, and we are working harder to develop and maintain their trust and respond to their feedback."
After picking up chatter on blogs that was advocating layaway purchase plans be restored at its namesake department stores, Sears Holdings Corp. brought them back over the holidays after a two-decade hiatus. And Sears' Kmart chain now accepts online coupons and has launched a Web site called Kmart.com /coupons that makes it easier to find specific deals, in response to chatter on mother-oriented blogs.
Companies and the bloggers themselves are mutually benefiting. Consumer product companies like home appliance maker Frigidaire and Unilever, maker of Suave shampoo, are hoping to enhance their brands by giving free samples of their merchandise to key women bloggers to test and chat about on their sites, though many bloggers say it's essential to disclose such freebi
Where the frugal mommy bloggers are - Boston.com
Where the frugal mommy bloggers are
By The Associated Press | June 2, 2009
The recession is clearly fueling the popularity of mother-oriented blogs that focus on penny pinching. But it's difficult to estimate how many there are because many female bloggers who used to limit themselves to such areas as gardening and weddings now include money-saving tips.
Jessica Hogue, research director of Nielsen Online, which has studied more than 10,000 parenting and mother-oriented blogs, believes about two dozen mother-oriented blogs that focus on frugality are influential. She ranks them based on how much chatter they garner, their volume of followers on Twitter.com and the number of times consumers link to them from other blogs, among other criteria.
Here are the top five mom-oriented blogs with a frugal focus Nielsen found most influential.
1. http://www.commonsensewithmoney.com:
Founder: Mercedes Levy, 34, mother of two boys, ages 4, 18 months.
Based: Sheboygan, Wis.
Background: Certified Public Accountant, holds an MBA. Stay-at-home mother. Started blog October 2007.
Focus: Rock-bottom deals.
Philosophy:"I wanted people to see that you can not only make it on one income but you can thrive on one."
2. http://www.5dollardinners.com
Founder: Erin Chase, 31, mother of two boys, ages 4 and 2.
Based: Dayton, Ohio
Background: Former high school math and science teacher. Started blog summer 2008.
Focus: Cooking and planning nutritious family dinners for less than $5.
Philosophy: "I buy EVERYTHING on sale and most non-produce/meat items with a coupon."
3. http://www.couponmom.com
Founder: Stephanie Nelson, 45, mother of two boys ages, 13 and 16.
Based: Atlanta
Background: Bachelor's degree in finance, 10 years' experience in sales and marketing with Procter & Gamble Co. and Marriott International Inc. Left corporate world 1995. Started blog 2001.
Focus: Slashing your grocery bill in half.
Philosophy: "Strategic shopping is not about changing the way you eat; it is about changing the way you buy the food y
More banks expand hours to open on Sundays - The Boston Globe
Bankers' hours expand to Sundays
Branches cater to time-pinched customers
By Todd Wallack, Globe Staff | June 1, 2009
Six days a week, Brad Rowe works as a carpenter. On Sundays, he heads to the bank.
Rowe used to have to scurry to the bank during his lunch hour, he said. But then TD Bank expanded its hours, a huge convenience for people like Rowe with hectic schedules.
"Sunday is my day to cash my checks and pay my bills," said Rowe, 25, after doing just that at a TD Bank branch in Seabrook, N.H., just across the Massachusetts border.
So much for bankers' hours. Some of the region's biggest financial institutions are expanding hours on Sundays to cater to busy customers who, even in the era of online-all-the-time, still want to be able to walk into a bank, whenever and wherever.
TD Bank, for example, plans to open 155 of its 161 branches in Massachusetts on Sundays, beginning Oct. 4, up from five branches today.
And Citizens Bank, which started opening seven-day-a-week branches in grocery stores a decade ago, said that nearly half of its 251 Massachusetts outlets are now open every day, and it is considering adding more.
Even federal holidays are no longer sacred. TD Bank, for instance, said it plans to observe just four holidays a year at the branches: New Year's, Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.
Several factors are driving the moves. Some customers work long hours or have grueling commutes, leaving little time for errands. Others like the convenience of being able to bank on their own schedule, not the bank's, and are used to being able to do everything else on Sundays. And some business owners say they can't wait until the next weekday to make change or to de posit a pile of checks.
"I would not bank at a bank if it was not open on Sunday. Period. End of sentence," said Mike Becker, a real estate agent and landlord who stopped by a Citizens outlet in the Danvers Stop & Shop last Sunday to withdraw money on his way to the beach.
Sunday banking hours would have been unthinkable several decades
Credit cardholders' 'bill of rights' doesn't mean it's OK to let down your guard - The Boston Globe
Credit cardholders' 'bill of rights' doesn't mean it's OK to let down your guard
By Linda Stern | May 28, 2009
Many in Congress have been patting themselves on the back for passing the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure Act, which they say created a "bill of rights" for cardholders. But there's another way to look at the legislation.
What lawmakers really did, besides codify a bunch of regulations that were already set to go into effect in mid-2010, was declare open season on consumers. It should last nine months, until the new law takes effect at the end of February.
At that time, card issuers will face restrictions on how and when they will be able to raise interest rates. So, starting about a year ago, they began raising interest rates preemptively. Don't expect that to change soon.
There are a number of other problematic practices that could get worse before they get better. Here's how to protect yourself:
Read everything carefully. The biggest complaint about card issuers is that they have been retroactively raising interest rates on existing balances. For now, they are required only to give a 15-day notice; you have to close the account or the new rate will be applied to your old balance. Other new charges and procedures - like increased monthly minimum payments - may be included in your statement or in separate mailings, so check the small print.
Keep your credit flowing. Card issuers are cutting credit limits on many consumers, even those with good payment histories and high credit scores. In some cases, as you pay off your balance, the card's limit comes down with it. Issuers are not required to notify you when they lower your limit, so check it on your bill every month - lest you get hit with a pricey over-limit fee.
Resist annual fees. Roughly one of every four credit card solicitations sent in the first quarter of 2009 were for cards with annual fees. Card issuers contend that when the new law goes into effect, they won't have any choice but to increase annual fees, es
Homeowners save money by doing the work themselves - The Boston Globe
DIY nation
When money's tight, we find out just how handy we are
By Don Aucoin, Globe Staff | May 26, 2009
Given her druthers, Margery Stegman would have preferred to spend a recent sunny Saturday shooting hoops with her teenage son. Here is how she spent the day instead: clearing out dead grass, branches, leaves and twigs from her large, heavily wooded backyard in Lexington, then hauling it to a mulch pile.
It was a job for which Stegman and her husband used to hire landscapers. The couple routinely paid $450 to $600 for fall cleanup and $300 to $450 for spring cleanup. Not anymore. The economic downturn has hit her graphic design company hard, and taken an even deeper toll on her husband's management consulting business. At the moment, paying for yard work makes no sense to them.
"It costs a fortune," said Stegman. "So I was like, OK, that's it. I'm doing most of it myself."
That refrain is heard more and more among homeowners. Amid a protracted recession, the middle class is rediscovering the pleasures and pains of manual labor. Whether it is a faucet that needs fixing, a lawn that needs tending, cracked bathroom tiles that have to be replaced, kitchen cabinets in need of refinishing, or a house crying out for a new coat of paint, "do it yourself" is the new mantra.
Hardware stores report a deluge of cost-conscious customers looking for do-it-yourself products and tools. "You name it, they're doing it," said Paul St. Jean, assistant manager at Aubuchon Hardware in Maynard. "Home repairs, small electrical jobs, replacing their own toilet. What they can do, they're doing it, if it's not too hard."
The data suggest that a growing cadre of do-it-yourselfers now consider "too expensive" more daunting than "too hard." An ongoing survey of 13,000 homeowners by the Florida-based Home Improvement Research Institute found that while there was a minuscule decline in the number of home-improvement projects in February and March compared with the same period last year, there was a steep 17 percent drop in the numb
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