I have already created the misconception that these tickets are hard to get. I was smart enough to take it this far, I don't suddenly get dumb. I don't tell you I have 50 tickets left. I tell you I have 2.

And when I offer them to you for face value, since it's so close to show time, you'll thank me for giving you a deal.

Sure, if NOBODY buys the overpriced tickets. But that's never going to happen. They don't need to sell all the tickets to make money.

I buy 100 tickets, and post them to sell at 3x their original price.

I need only 34 suckers to recoup my costs.

Any more than that is profit, even if I eat the tickets I don't sell.

Say I sell half the tickets at the inflated price. This is not the 'market value' of those tickets, as you can't sell the full 100 at that price. But if I sell 50 at 300% of their cost, I make a 50% profit on my investment.

Now that you have made your bank, you can sell off any remaining tickets BELOW COST and reap more profits. Of course, you do this low-key to maintain the illusion that you were at one time selling a high-demand commodity.

The fans who really want to go and can pay are screwed. The fans who want to go but can't justify paying 3X the cost are left disappointed.

Telling the world to be more aware is not going to end simple, minor accidents such as this.

They are artificially deflating the supply by buying up the tickets in bulk.

Tell me, B. Did you vote for DeBeers in the last round?

Girl calls home from college. "Mom, Dad, I have some bad news. I'm pregnant. I was so distraught when I learned, I cried for 2 days, and didn't study for an exam. So I cheated on it, got caught, and am on academic probation."

Mom and Dad reply, "What? Really?"

Girl: "No, not really, but I did flunk Calculus. See? It's not as bad as it could be!"

As much as we hate it, I don't see many options for developers. There has been copy protection on games since PC gaming began. I still remember looking up words in the manual to play Death Queen of Krynn, or cheese types to play Monty Python.

But the worst part is, these protections do little to prevent piracy anyway. A cracked version will be created, doing an end-around of the DRM. Sure, it's harder than going to the library to photocopy the manual, but the distribution is easier.

His best bet is to use the honey and forgo the vinegar. Try to work something out with the cruise line. Perhaps they'll allow him to reschedule his trip for when either he turns 25 or his wife turns 21. I know other items are already paid for, but they should have cancellation policies as well.

If the cruise line won't work with them, perhaps they can somehow, with the power of the interwebs, find another couple on the cruise who would be willing to act as chaperone. There may be legal implications to this, however, and may also not be a good idea. Should his wife get drunk underage, the 'chaperone' might be held responsible.

There is only one thing I can see that can help the guy...did he have to give his age and his wife's age when booking? If so, the agent should have made him aware of the policy.

-Monty Brewster

Demand payment for items used to save the life of a customer and look like a greedy tool.

Option 2:

Take an $18 dollar hit to your bottom line, give the woman a free low-end glucometer, and act like a real human being.

I'll take the option 1, please, with a side of public shame and humiliation. I'll pass on the option 2, which comes with free advertisements for my store and 4 loyal customers, one who needs expensive diabetic supplies.

Oh, and that news story is the exact reason I hate video news. Over dramatic, overbearing, and it took me 5 minutes to find out how much the store stood to lose from the event.

I also like the nurse's phrase, 'a rapid amount of time.'

But bravo to the people who worked well together in an emergency.

That was the year the Bears won the Superbowl. The Patriots beat the Dolphins in the AFC playoffs, scored on their first drive in the Superbowl, then got trounced.

What do the Challenger and the Patriots have in common? They both look good for the first minute and a half.

What's the difference between the Challenger and the Patriots? The Patriots at least made it past Miami.

Less than half a dollar to physically take a letter and have it delivered to the doorstep of anyone in the entire US still sounds like a pretty good deal to me.

Read down a few articles and start lobbying with the direct marketing association if you want to fight the perpetual, glacier-like rise of postage costs.

Oh, to answer your question, though. NEVER.

Purdue = University

Go Boilers

The cost of the box/envelope is included in the delivery charge.

So the USPS can't tell if you are recycling like Gary, or stealing like others are surely doing.

I wasn't mad until I received the shipment, in a padded legal-size envelope, accompanied by their catalog.

I paid for them to ship me their catalog.

It went directly into the trash. I refuse to buy from them again.

I agree. Business in the modern world would suffer severely without air travel. Luxury is not the right word in this case. I extended my argument to far.

It is a convenience, but it is NOT required for a reasonable standard of living.

@Scuba Steve:
AT&T provides many ways to make a payment without a fee. Don't want the fee? Pay in a different way, or don't use the luxury.

Just don't raise MY rates to pay for your special payment method because you think you can afford a cell phone, but can't afford a bank account.

AT&T wants to keep rates low, so they charge these fees to those who use the additional services.

Exactly the way airlines are doing it with luggage. To ensure their advertised fare is as low as they can get it, they add fees to the extra baggage.

By your logic, dry cleaning at a hotel would be included as ongoing costs of doing business. So those who utilize this service should be getting it for free, and we all should pay for it with an additional $10 a night on our room rate.

The hair dryer and the iron? Yes, their costs are included in your room rate. Putting your socks in the plastic bag to have housekeeping wash them? That is not.

You don't NEED to cross the ocean.

And as far as cell phones, just because something become ubiquitous and is owned by a majority, doesn't take it off the 'luxury' list. Cable TV, iPods, etc. are luxuries.

You don't need a cell phone to maintain a 'reasonable standard of living'.

To staff a payment center to accept cash payments costs money.

To staff a call center to accept payments costs money.

An automated system to collect your payments costs money too, but not as much as staffing a human.

If the people who use these services don't pay for them directly, we all would pay for them indirectly through higher rates. What's wrong with making those who want to use a service pay for it?

I have always been on the fence about fees for extra bags on airplanes, but this is pushing me to the 'in favor' side.

I am flying tonight, with only a carry-on. I won't be paying an extra bag fee. But if other people on my flight had extra bags, and didn't pay the extra bag fee, I'd be paying for their extra baggage weight in my fare.

I hate the 'nickel and dime' aspect of it, but in some cases, it makes sense to charge the people who need the extra service/luggage/support instead of making the rest of us pay for it for them.

And don't bother with the 'affects the poor' argument. Cell phones and airfare are luxuries.

There's a reason the phrase 'possession is 9/10th of the law' exists.

And as other posters have said, it's still an issue between Apple and FedEx. It was never at any point 'your laptop'.

The part of this logic that doesn't make sense is that they required you to contact Apple.

My suggestion. Contact Apple and just tell them you didn't get your computer. Let them track it down and resolve it.

"What does that say?"
"No bare feet."
"What does THAT say."
"No fighting."

Makes me want to load up and plan Death Knights of Krynn!

That cop stringing the yellow tape is the spitting image of my F/MU.

Does Consumerist have a "pay per post" payment scheme for writers?

Actually, I think they do. Though I don't think this is some grand scheme of Theresa's to get you to click through a second article.

If they still do not give you the ticket, cancel it, charge back, and buy a new ticket direct from the airline.

IANAL, but I would guess that you could sue them in small claims court for the difference between the original ticket and any additional fare on the new ticket.

State as much in the letter that you plan to do so. It might be enough to get them to cough up the ticket.

Oh, IA DEFINITELY NAL in Sweden.

I said to my dad, "Why's a guy who drives a new Caddie worried about a $25 oil change?"

My dad responded without missing a beat, "Frugality is probably what led the guy to be able to afford a new Caddie."

Very true, dad. Now, had I only followed such advice.

Once.

My experience? $50 computer game for $40, plus a $10 gift card. It was a deal that brought me back into a CC for the first time in years.

Couldn't find someone to check me out.

Once I did, game rang up at full price.

He voided the order, rang it at the right price, but the total still came up $10 more than it should have.

He told me that $10 was for the gift card.

I had to explain why I shouldn't be charged for a free gift card.

He told me I had to go to Customer Service.

I waited a CS while "service" agent gabbed on the phone to another store.

She couldn't help me, and I had to wait for a manager

All the while, there was floor-shaking bass coming from the audio department.

I want Vivid and Penthouse to push for a $5 tax next! Unlimited access to all known prOn?

I'd never leave the basement!

Then, for those inevitable 'down times', how about a $5 tax for unlimited access to all known books.

Then, give me a $5 tax for all known video games.

Where does it end?

Now, if the tv would actually WORK for more than a day without going out for no apparent reason, I'd be a happy camper.

As it stands, I'm pretty pissed with them at the moment. My tech appointment is this afternoon.

I just went to look at the auction. Some pieces that stood out and made me laugh:

In scrolling text "Buy with confidence. Call Michael at 402-802-2272"
So much for confidence, Mikey.

In a Title field in the auction, "Lowest price on eBay."
Seems the low price was meant to be a draw to the auction.

In the About Us "Our Dealership has built a reputation on providing courteous, honest service. Our customers appreciate the way we do business, and we know you will too."
Ha! That's classic.

I just went to look at the auction. Some pieces that stood out and made me laugh:

In scrolling text "Buy with confidence. Call Michael at 402-802-2272"
So much for confidence, Mikey.

In a Title field in the auction, "Lowest price on eBay."
Seems the low price was meant to be a draw to the auction.

In the About Us "Our Dealership has built a reputation on providing courteous, honest service. Our customers appreciate the way we do business, and we know you will too."
Ha! That's classic.

Though I have been a subscriber for little over a month, so that's probably a factor to consider.

I am looking forward to this delivery method. I can already do it through my computer hooked into my receiver, but this would hopefully allow for 5.1 or 7.1 sound, instead of the stereo sound from my sound card.

#2 and #3 suck, but until we find a system where health care fairies deliver medical services to everyone for no cost at all, the call has to be made.

...unless the hospital and doctors want to do this pro bono. But I doubt they want to do that. Doesn't that make them just as evil?

If every procedure was paid for every patient, regardless of the cost and the chance for success, we'd all be paying a large multiple of what we are paying for our own health care.

If it is nationalized, someone still has to pay for it, and it'll still be you.

Someone suggested instead of protesting, start a collection. That's a great idea, if only for the fact that YOU get to start deciding if it's worth sending YOUR money for an expensive procedure that has little chance of having any prolonged benefit.

I do feel for anyone going through this.

But the saddest part of all of these stories is that we have the nerve to complain that incredible life-saving procedures are available to us, but we can't pay.

What a miserable country we live in where people have performed fantastic medical advances, but were too dense to make it affordable by everybody.