Hey everyone,
Thinking on buying my first car, I'm from LATAM and well my specific country is very very expensive.
To make it short, planing on buying a couple of options:

1 Toyota Corolla Used 2021-2022 $26,000 USD Average Price. Basically only LE Trim. CVT

2 Toyota RAV4 2018 Automatic 4x2 2000cc (Non CVT, Real Automatic)

3 Toyota Yaris (For you North Americans we still got it!) 1500cc non-turbo, 4 disc brakes.

4 Hyundai Accent with IVT transmission (Is just a CVT with chains instead of rubber belts, arguably better) 1.5 non-turbo. Rear drum brakes.

5 Suzuki Vitara 4x2 GLX. 1600cc (Non CVT, Real Automatic)

The Yaris is the cheapest option, it has 7 airbags and is just what I need, cheap to maintain, good on gas, light and easy to drive.
"Problem" is... It's made by Daihatsu (Usually manufactured in Thailand or other South Asian Countries) Daihatsu was shutdown in Japan months ago but recently re-opened 2/4 factories so they are back in production. Toyota apologized and everything got re-organized management wise so seems to look up.
Car is very simple, nice enough to not look crappy and cheap. Inside is not the best but not terrible, but hey, it's a Toyota!
Does anyone have a 2023-2024 Toyota Yaris, also known as Vios/Ativ in other South Asia areas that could talk about reliability, issues, assembly and other subjects? Thanks a lot.
If you don't own a Yaris/Vios/Ativ, which one would you buy? I really don't need anything fast, I literally just need to go buy groceries at Walmart but I cannot drive a tiny egg car.

Hey All, A new month is upon us and I've compiled a carefully curated selection of top-notch laptops spanning various categories (Top Performance RTX 40 series, Mid Range & Budget Gaming Laptops+ Video Editing, Professional & Student Laptops). While reviewing this list in search of a new laptop, Please don't hesitate to inquire or propose any laptops you believe deserve a spot in these categories. You can leave a comment in the comment section to the bottom section of the page.
​
✨📌💻✨ ACTIVE LAPTOP DEALS✨📌✨
General Use Laptop Deals

Name & Link	Specifications	Prices
Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3	Ryzen 3 7320U, 8 GB RAM, 256 GB SSD, 1080p 15.6" Display	$299.99
HP 15-ef2015nr laptop	15.6" (1920 x 1080) FHD IPS Display - AMD Ryzen 5 5500U, AMD Radeon Graphics, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD	$339.99
HP 15 15-fc0010nr (2023) Laptop	FHD Display, AMD Ryzen 3 7320U, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD, AMD Radeon Graphics, Windows 11 Home	$363.49
Lenovo IdeaPad 1i	15.6", Intel Core i5-1235U, 8GB RAM, 512 GB SSD, Cloud Grey, Windows 11.	$379
ASUS Vivobook 16	16” WUXGA (1920X1200) 16:10 Display, AMD Ryzen™ 5 5625U, AMD Radeon™ Graphics, 8GB RAM, 512GB SSD, Fingerprint Sensor, Windows 11 Home	$442
ASUS Vivobook Go 15	15.6” FHD Display, AMD Ryzen 5 7520U Processor, 8GB RAM, 512GB SSD, Windows 11 Home	$489
ASUS Vivobook 16" Laptop	Intel i7-1255U, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD, FHD+ 16" Display	$499
Dell Inspiron 15 3530 Laptop	Intel i5-1335U, 16 GB RAM, 512 GB SSD, 1080p 15.6″ 120Hz Display	$580.77
Samsung Galaxy Book3	15" Laptop (2023): Intel i5-1335U, 16GB RAM, 256GB SSD, 1080p 15.6" Display.	$579.99
ASUS VivoBook 16 Laptop	16” WUXGA (1920 x 1200) 16:10 Display, AMD Ryzen 9 7940HS, AMD Radeon™ Graphics, 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD, Windows 11 Home	$694.49
ASUS Vivobook S 15 Laptop	Intel Ultra 7 155H, 16 GB RAM, 1 TB SSD, 2.8K 15.6" 120Hz OLED Display	$749
ASUS ZenBook 14 Laptop	14" FHD+ (1920x1200, WUXGA+) 16:10, 60Hz, 400-nits, 500-nits HDR, 100% DCI-P3, Pen Support, Glossy Touch, OLED Display, Core Ultra 7 155H, Intel Arc Graphics (8 X Cores), 16GB DDR5 RAM, 1TB SSD.	$799.99
Acer Swift Go 14 Intel Evo Thin & Light Laptop	14" WUXGA (1920 x 1200) IPS Touchscreen, Intel Ultra 7 Processor 155H, Intel ARC, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD, Win11 Home	$799.99
Lenovo IdeaPad Pro 5i	16" Laptop: Intel i7-13700H, RTX 3050, 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD, QHD+ 16" 120Hz IPS Display	$799.99
Acer Swift Go 14 Laptop	Intel Ultra 7 155H, 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD, 2.8K 14" OLED 90Hz Display.	$799.99
Apple 2022 MacBook Air Laptop with M2 chip	13.6-inch Liquid Retina Display, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD Storage, Backlit Keyboard, 1080p FaceTime HD Camera. Works with iPhone and iPad; Midnight.	$849
ASUS VivoBook S 14	14", FHD+ (1920 x 1200, WUXGA+) 16:10, 60Hz, 400-nits, 600-nits HDR, OLED Display, Intel Core Ultra 9 185H, 16GB LPDDR5 RAM, 1TB SSD	$899.99
HP Envy x360 15 inch Laptop	FHD Display, Intel Core i7-1355U, 16 GB RAM, 1 TB SSD, Intel Iris Xe Graphics, Windows 11 Home, 15-ew1199nr (2023),Silver	$919.99

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
​
Gaming & Productivity Laptop Deals

Name & Link	Specifications	Prices
ASUS ROG Flow X13 Touchscreen Gaming Laptop	13.4" FHD+ (1920 x 1200, WUXGA+) 16:10, 120Hz 7ms, 500-nits, 100% sRGB, IPS Touch Display, Ryzen 9 7940HS, AMD Radeon 780M, 16GB DDR5 RAM, 512GB SSD.	$749.99
ASUS TUF A16 Gaming Laptop	16" 165Hz FHD (1920x1080) Display, AMD Ryzen 7 7735HS, Radeon RX7700S, 16GB DDR5 RAM, 512GB SSD, Windows 11 Home.	$749.99
HP Victus	15.6" FHD 144Hz, Intel i5-12500H, RTX 4060, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD	$799
Lenovo IdeaPad Pro 5i	16" Laptop: Intel i7-13700H, RTX 3050, 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD, QHD+ 16" 120Hz IPS Display.	$796
Acer Swift X SFX14-41G-R1S6 Creator Laptop	14″ Full HD 100% sRGB, AMD Ryzen 7 5800U, NVIDIA RTX 3050Ti Laptop GPU, 16GB LPDDR4X, 512GB SSD, Wi-Fi 6, Backlit KB, Amazon Alexa, Windows 10 Home	$851
Lenovo Legion Slim 5 Gaming Laptop	16" FHD+ (1920x1200, WUXGA+) 16:10, 144Hz, 300-nits, IPS Display, Ryzen 5 7640HS, RTX 4060 (100W), 16GB DDR5 RAM, 512GB SSD.	$899.99
Lenovo Legion 5	15.6" WQHD (2560x1440) 165Hz, , 100% sRGB, Ryzen 7 7735HS, RTX 4060 (140W), 16GB DDR5, 512GB SSD $869.99	$969.99
Lenovo Legion Slim 5 Gen 9:	16" QHD+ (2560x1600, WQXGA+) 16:10, 165Hz, 350-nits, 100% sRGB IPS Display, Ryzen 7 7735HS, RTX 4070 (140W), 16GB DDR5 RAM, 1TB SSD. Now: ;	$1,092.24 after selecting ZIP Payment and applying the coupon ZIPLENOVO at checkout. 🔥
Acer Nitro 5	Intel i7-12650H, RTX 4060, 16 GB RAM, 1 TB SSD, 1080p 15.6" 144Hz IPS Display	$1,099
Acer Nitro V	15.6" FHD IPS 144Hz Display, NVIDIA RTX 4060 (140W), Intel i9-13900H, 16GB DDR5 RAM, 512GB SSD	$1,099.99
Acer Predator Helios 16 Gaming Laptop	Intel i7-13700HX, RTX 4060, 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD, QHD+ 16" 165Hz IPS Display	$1,129.99
Lenovo Legion Slim 5	16" Laptop: Ryzen 7 7840HS, RTX 4060, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD, QHD+ 16" 165Hz IPS Display	$1,129.99
ASUS VivoBook Pro 16 Laptop	16” Display, Intel Core i9-13900H, NVIDIA® GeForce® RTX™ 4060, 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD, Windows 11 Home, Quiet Blue	$1,199.99
Gigabyte Aorus 15 Gaming Laptop	Intel i7-13700H, RTX 4070, 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD, 1440p 15.6" 165Hz IPS Display	$1,299
Acer Predator Helios 16	Intel i7-13700HX, RTX 4060 (140W), 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD, QHD+ 16" 165Hz IPS Display	$1,399.99
XPG Xenia 15G Gaming Laptop	15.6" 144 Hz FHD display, Intel Core i7-13700H CPU, 32GB DDR5 RAM, 1TB SSD, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 (140W), Windows 11 Home	$1,469.99
ASUS VivoBook Pro 16 OLED Laptop	16” OLED Display, Intel Core i9-13900H CPU, NVIDIA® GeForce® RTX™ 4060 GPU, 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD, Windows 11 Home, Quiet Blue, K6602VV-ES94	$1,498.99
ASUS Vivobook Pro 16X Laptop	16" 3.2K (3200 x 2000) OLED 120Hz, Intel i9-13980HX, RTX 4070, 16GB DDR5, 1TB SSD, Win11 Home	$1,499.99
Acer Predator Helios 16 (Cert. Refurbished)	16" QHD+ (2560 x 1600, WQXGA+) 16:10, 240Hz, 500-nits, 100% sRGB IPS Display, Intel i9-13900HX, RTX 4080 (165W), 16GB DDR5, 1TB SSD.	$1,546.99
ASUS Vivobook Pro 16X Laptop	16” 16:10 Display, Intel Core i9-13980HX CPU, NVIDIA® GeForce® RTX™ 4070 GPU, 32GB RAM, 1TB SSD, Windows 11 Home, Earl Grey, K6604JI-AS99.	$1,703.11
ASUS ROG Strix G18 Gaming Laptop	; 18" 240Hz QHD+ DCI-P3 100% 500 nits IPS display, Intel Core i9-13980HX, 16GB DDR5 RAM, 1TB SSD, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 8GB Graphics, Mux Switch	$1,769.99
GIGABYTE AORUS 17H	17.3" FHD (1920x1080) 16:9, 360Hz, 100% sRGB, IPS Display, Intel i7-13700H, RTX 4080 (150W), 16GB DDR5 RAM, 1TB SSD.	$1,849
Acer Predator Helios 16	16" QHD+ (2560 x 1600, WQXGA+) 16:10, 240Hz, 500-nits, 100% sRGB, Intel i9-13900HX, RTX 4080 (165W), 32GB DDR5 RAM, 1TB SSD	$2,049.99
Acer Predator Triton X 17" Laptop	Intel i9-13900HX, RTX 4090, 64GB RAM, 2TB SSD, QHD+ 17" 250Hz IPS Display.	$2,638.99

NB: Gaming Laptops are also great choices for editing, rendering, and heavy productivity tasks due to the power of the GPU, speed of the CPU and the quality display of the screen they posess.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
📌✨ Recommended Listings For: Video Editing & Content Creation Student Laptops 📌✨

Name & Link	Specifications	Prices
Acer Swift X SFX14-41G-R1S6 Creator Laptop	14″ Full HD 100% sRGB, AMD Ryzen 7 5800U, NVIDIA RTX 3050Ti Laptop GPU, 16GB LPDDR4X, 512GB SSD, Wi-Fi 6, Backlit KB, Amazon Alexa, Windows 10 Home	$851.40
Acer Swift X Intel Evo Thin & Light Creator Laptop	16″ WUXGA 100% sRGB, 12th Gen Intel i7-1260P, Intel Arc A370M, 16GB LPDDR5, 512GB Gen4 SSD, Killer WiFi 6E AX1675, Windows 11, SFX16-52G-73U6	$899.99
HP Pavilion Plus 14-eh1299nr	14'' 2.8K OLED Display, 13th Generation Intel Core i7-1355U, 16 GB RAM, 1TB SSD, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2050, Windows 11 Pro	$967.95
ASUS VivoBook Pro 16	16” Display, Intel Core i9-13900H CPU, NVIDIA® GeForce® RTX™ 4060 GPU, 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD, Windows 11 Home	$1,199.99
ASUS Vivobook Pro 15 Laptop	15.6" FHD (1920 x 1080) IPS 144Hz, AMD Ryzen 9 7940HS, NVIDIA RTX 4060, 32GB LPDDR5X, 1TB SSD, Win11 Home	$1,279
ASUS Zenbook 14 Flip Ultra Slim	14" 4K (3840 x 2400) OLED Touchscreen, AMD Ryzen 7 6800H, AMD Radeon Graphics, 16GB LPDDR5, 1TB SSD, Win11 Home	$1,399
ASUS VivoBook Pro 15X Laptop	144Hz 15.6” FHD Display, AMD Ryzen 9 6900HX Mobile CPU, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 GPU, 32GB DDR5 RAM, 1TB PCIe SSD, Windows 11 Home	$1,783.13

​
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
📌✨ Recommended Listings For: Student, Professional & General Use Laptops 📌✨

Name & Link	Specifications	Prices
HP Pavilion Laptop (2022)	15.6" FHD (1920 x 1080), AMD Ryzen 5 5500U, ‎AMD Radeon Graphics, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD, Long Battery Life, Windows 11.	$402
Lenovo IdeaPad 3 Laptop	14.0″ FHD (1920 x 1080) Display, AMD Ryzen 5 5500U Processor, 8GB DDR4 RAM, 256GB NVMe TLC SSD Storage, AMD Radeon 7 Graphics, Windows 11 Home, 82KT00GVUS, Abyss Blue	$422
Acer Aspire 5	14" WUXGA (1920 x 1200) IPS ComfyView, Intel Core i5-1335U, Intel Iris Xe, 8GB LPDDR5, 512GB SSD, Thunderbolt 4, Wi-Fi 6E, Win11 Home	$499.99
Dell Inspiron 15 3530 Laptop	Intel i5-1335U, 16 GB RAM, 512 GB SSD, 1080p 15.6″ 120Hz Display	$580.77
Lenovo Flex 5 Laptop	14.0″ FHD (1920 x 1080) Touch Display, AMD Ryzen 5 5500U Processor, 16GB DDR4 RAM, 256GB NVMe SSD Storage, AMD Radeon Graphics, Windows 11 Home, 82HU00JWUS, Graphite Grey	$618
ASUS Vivobook 16	16” WUXGA (1920 x 1200) 16:10 Display, Intel Core i7-13700H CPU, Intel Iris Xᵉ Graphics, 8GB RAM, 1TB SSD, Windows 11 Home	$849.99
HP Envy x360 15 inch Laptop	FHD Display, Intel Core i7-1355U, 16 GB RAM, 1 TB SSD, Intel Iris Xe Graphics, Windows 11 Home, 15-ew1199nr (2023),Silver	$919.99
Acer Swift Go 14	Intel Evo Thin & Light Laptop, 14" WUXGA (1920 x 1200) IPS Touch, Intel Core i7-13700H, Intel Iris Xe Graphics, 16GB LPDDR5, 512GB SSD, Win11 Home	$949.99
ASUS VivoBook S 15 OLED Slim Laptop	15.6” FHD OLED Display, Intel Evo Platform, Intel Core i7-12700H CPU, 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD, Windows 11 Home, Indie Black	$999.99
ASUS VivoBook Pro 14 OLED Laptop	14” 2.8K OLED Display, AMD Ryzen 7 6800H Mobile CPU, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 GPU, 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD, Windows 11 Home, Quiet Blue	$1,199.99

​
​

Those crackers I like that you raised the price on by 50%, well thanks for lowering them back to the regular price.
I used to buy them at No Frills, but they raised the price by over 100% and they never seem to put them on sale. It's definitely one of the reasons why I stopped shopping there or other loblaws stores. They were a small part of my purchase today and it was great to see Walmart still committed to delivering value to the consumer.

When it rains, it really heckin' pours!
We were in the direct path of the tornado(es). My partner's car had a cracked windshield, and unsafe to drive. My car WAS fine, but the alternator drained the battery in the Walmart parking lot after we ordered food online. A very nice man jumped the battery and we went to pick up the food. I drove around the parking lot while my partner waited for it to be done because if I had stopped pressing the gas, the car would die. Had to turn the AC off, had to turn off the music, had to unplug the phones. When the food was finally done, we drove home and at least it wasn't raining bc we wouldn't have been able to turn in the wipers. I will admit I had to turn off the headlights on our road haha. Parked in the parking lot and turned the baby off for a good bit.
Thinking I need a new alternator and battery. Any mechanic recommendations are appreciated, bonus if mobile and/or reasonably priced. Thanks!

So at my local Walmart they have a Garfield display for merchandise due to the new movie coming out. I tried to ask the manager if I could have the display when they were done, I'd even be willing to make a donation or pay of it's a reasonable price but they said they couldn't. Does anyone know of a Walmart in Pennsylvania (preferably the western side or middle of the state near i80) or the eastern border of Ohio that might be willing to give the displays out for a donation or something? I have been a massive Garfield fan for years, so I was really hoping to find one for my collection.

Even clothing at Walmart is expensive these days. Thrift stores are also marked up to the same price as buying new. Does anyone have recommendations of where to find affordable clothing?? Men’s, women’s, children’s, whatever.

Hi - I'm Paul and I follow the e-commerce industry closely for my Shopifreaks E-commerce Newsletter. Each week I post a summary recap of the week's top stories, which I cover in depth with sources in the full edition. Let's dive in...
___
STAT OF THE WEEK: Kohl's sales have shrunk by $2.3B since 2019. During that same period of time, the company lost 1.3M customers who no longer shop with the retailer.
___
BigCommerce is exploring a sale after attracting takeover interest, according to sources who chose to remain anonymous due to the confidentiality of the information. The sources said that BigCommerce asked investment bank Qatalyst Partners to solicit interest from potential buyers that include private equity firms, but that the discussions are at an early stage and no deal is certain.
___
Squarespace announced that it will be going private in a $6.9B all-cash deal with private-equity firm Permira, who agreed to pay $44 per share (a roughly 30% premium). Although Squarespace never lost 90% of its share price like BigCommerce, it has experienced a tumultuous time on the market since its IPO in May 2021 — opening around $49.50 and at times trading in the low $20s. Shares rose nearly 13% to $43 in pre-market trading upon release of the news.
___
ByteDance filed a lawsuit in US federal court seeking to block the new law that would force the sale or ban of the app within the country. The lawsuit challenges the law on constitutional grounds, also citing commercial, technical, and legal hurdles, as well as opposition from Beijing. Legal experts say the legal battle will play out in the courts in coming months and likely will reach the Supreme Court.
___
OpenAI unveiled its newest model, GPT-4o, designed to turn ChatGPT into a digital personal assistant that can engage in real-time, spoken conversations and interact with users using text, screenshots, photos, documents, and charts. The new version of ChatGPT also has memory capabilities, which means it can learn from previous conversations. It will be available to both unpaid and premium customers alike. OpenAI also announced that it would be launching a desktop app with the GPT-4o capabilities, giving users another platform to interact with the technology outside of a web browser.
___
Amazon launched in South Africa last week, marking its first marketplace in sub-Saharan Africa, and bringing its total number of marketplaces worldwide to 22. To launch the new marketplace, Amazon is offering free delivery on first orders and on subsequent orders above R500 (about $27), access to 3,000 pick-up points, status updates via WhatsApp to track orders, 30 day refunds, and 24/7 customer support. The marketplace was supposed to launch in the country in 2023, but got delayed due to changes in priorities within Amazon.
___
In an unlikely partnership, Instacart is partnering with Uber Eats to expand into the restaurant delivery business. Instacart will add a new tab for restaurant delivery to its app in the coming weeks, the listings will be provided by Uber, and the food will be picked up and delivered by Uber Eats drivers. Customers will receive the same prices on both apps and Instacart will receive an affiliate commission on orders. It's a strange partnership though given that Instacart and Uber Eats actively compete on grocery delivery. Are they planning to merge? Uber says no.
___
Apple's advertisement for its latest iPad Pro sparked criticism for showing an animation of musical instruments, paint cans, cameras, record players, and other symbols of creativity being crushed by a giant machine, with the output being the new iPad Pro, which the company says is the thinnest Apple product ever. In this context, “crushing” was supposed to symbolize “consolidating” and “compacting” — with the visuals meant to showcase how the new iPad Pro puts the power of all these tools into the hands of creators in one thin device. However online commenters criticized the ad as insensitive and as symbolizing a “destruction of the human experience.” The ad hit the web on Tuesday, and by Thursday, Apple issued a mea culpa and apologized for the campaign.
___
Google is encouraging merchants to enable conversion annotations on their Google Shopping ads, which offer social proof that highlight a product's popularity. Conversion annotations like “best selling” or “3K shopped here recently” would provide visual cues about a product’s popularity or sales performance directly in the ad unit. Annotations like these are par for the course with e-commerce retailers including Amazon, Walmart, and Temu, which all employ similar tactics. They can provide valuable info for shoppers and also help with conversions. However they also open data privacy concerns, given that Google is not the actual retailer or marketplace selling the items, so a merchant would have to share this purchase history data from their e-commerce platform with Google — which technically most already do by giving access to GA4.
___
Shein is attempting to join the National Retail Federation as it pursues regulatory approval to go public in the US. The company believes that NRF membership would boost its chances of receiving SEC approval. However so far, Shein has been rejected numerous times. An anonymous source familiar with the matter said someone with heavy influence at the NRF is strongly against the Shein's admittance. However board members who spoke to CNBC said that Shein's membership application hadn't come up in meetings, and that they aren't involved in deciding which companies are granted access.
___
Amazon is leading the way with selling home goods, capturing 18.8% of consumer home furnishings spending, compared to Walmart's 7.3% market share. Notably, Amazon’s gains in the furniture category come in spite of the company’s decision to phase out two of its three furniture brands last year.
___
Stanley, which is projected to do $750M in sales this year, up from $73M in 2019, after seeing its water bottles become a status symbol thanks to TikTok, is now expanding into trendier accessories. The company is launching a line of bags called the All-Day Collection which include a mini cooler, backpack cooler, and Quencher Carry-All, designed for someone to sling their Stanley over their hip.
___
Jack Dorsey left the Bluesky board and deleted his account on the service he helped kickstart, claiming that Bluesky was “literally repeating all the mistakes” he made while running Twitter. Dorsey says he never intended Bluesky to be an independent company, but rather, an open source protocol that Twitter was supposed to be the first client of. He also confirmed that he is financially backing Nostr, another decentralized Twitter-like service popular among crypto enthusiasts and run by an anonymous founder.
___
Amazon is deploying 50 electric trucks in California, which it claims is the largest EV fleet in the country, as part of its mission to eliminate pollution from its global operations. The trucks will be integrated into first-mile operations, moving goods from container ships at the ports to fulfillment centers, as well as middle-mile operations, transporting packages from fulfillment centers to delivery centers.
___
Wix launched a new tool called AI Portfolio Creator, which allows a user to upload and organize large-scale image collections, select the type of portfolio they want, and then have the AI tool sort and generate a portfolio with clustered images, recommended titles and descriptions, and personalized layout options.
___
Amazon is now requiring all dietary supplements to be verified by a third-party testing, inspection, and certification organization — which is something that not even the FDA requires. Amazon is the largest supplement retailer in the US ahead of Walmart and Target, and its new requirements are expected to put more pressure on the industry, which is being scrutinized more than ever.
___
Alibaba is revamping its flagship retail website Taobao for the first time in seven years with a focus on providing a smoother search and buying process. The website overhaul comes ahead of the 618 sales event, China's second-largest annual shopping event. A few weeks ago I reported that Eddie Wu, the CEO of Alibaba Group, would now be directly overseeing its domestic e-commerce arm which includes Taobao and Tmall Group, and it sounds like he's hitting the ground running with his new responsibilities.
___
Amazon is hosting its first-ever Amazon Book Sale, a new shopping event starting on May 15th that offers up to 50% off print best sellers and up to 80% off Kindle Books. The six day shopping event will exclusively run in the US, and Prime-membership is not required to take advantage of the deals.
___
FTX reported that nearly all of its customers will receive the money back that they are owed, two years after the cryptocurrency exchange imploded. The company owes about $11.2B to its customers and estimates that it has between $14.5B and $16.3B to distribute to them. The caveat is that customers will receive the USD value of their holdings at the time of the exchange collapse, and not the actual crypto holdings themselves, which means that they'll miss out on all gains during the past two years during which BTC went from around $16k to now over $60k. Better than nothing though, that's for sure.
___
800,000 consumers in Europe and the US were duped into sharing card details and other sensitive personal data with a network of fake online designer shops operated from China, which comprised one of the largest scams of its kind with 76,000 fake websites created. The scammers used expired domains to host its fake shops in order to help avoid detection by websites or brand owners, and more than 1M orders were processed in the past three years alone.
___
Beyond Inc, which owns Bed Bath & Beyond, Overstock, and Zulily, reported that its Q1 net loss swelled to $72M from $10M a year ago, while its operating loss widened to $58M from $8M. The company's active customers grew to 6M, up 26% from nearly 5M a year ago, however, its average order value dropped to $173 from $220 a year earlier.
___
TikTok will begin automatically labeling AI generated content when it is uploaded from certain platforms like DALL.E 3, Adobe Firefly, Photoshop, and Microsoft Copilot. TikTok will also start attaching Content Credentials to content, which will remain on the media when downloaded, allowing other platforms to read the metadata.
___
eBay is testing an Add To Cart button in search results that opens a Quick View window, allowing buyers to skip the listing page. Technically the button should probably not be labeled “Add To Cart” since it doesn't perform that action, but rather, displays a quick view window with three buttons: Buy It Now, Add To Cart, View All Details. Sellers are worried that buyers will miss crucial details in the product description that may lead to increased returns and negative feedback.
___
Amazon is planning to launch its fleet of drones in Tolleson, Arizona, but the city's extreme temperature is hampering its efforts. Drones can't operate in temperatures exceeding 104 degrees Fahrenheit, a temperature that Tolleson crosses for a full three months of the year.
___
A US district judge dismissed X's lawsuit against Bright Data, a data-scraping company accused of improperly accessing X system and violating X terms and state laws when scraping and selling data. The judge basically said that if X owned the data, it could perhaps argue that it has exclusive rights to control it, but then X wouldn't be able to enjoy the safe harbor of Section 230, which allows the platform to avoid liability for third-party content. Can't have it both ways!
___
Nintendo is discontinuing its X integration for the switch on June 10th, which means users will no longer be able to post screenshots or videos to the platform from their device. The drop in support also affects games like Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, which had game-specific options to send out tweets. Microsoft Xbox dropped support for X in April 2023 and Sony Playstation dropped the service in October 2023 due to the increase in X's API access fees.
___
Amazon claimed that its recordable incident rate — a metric that comprises all injuries requiring “more than basic first-aid treatment” — at its US warehouses has improved by 24% since 2019. However the National Employment Law Project challenged Amazon's injury data in a report last week, claiming that Amazon's overall injury rate in 2023 was 71% higher than that of other employers in the sector at 6.5 cases per 100 workers.
___
Amazon Ads announced three new advertising formats for streaming TV including shoppable carousel ads, interactive pause ads, and interactive trivia ads. Amazon did not say when the new ad types would officially launch, but noted that it will formally present them at a presentation on May 14th.
___
Meta is rolling out an expanded set of generative AI ad tools that can create full image variations with text overlays, expand images to fit across different aspect ratios, and generate alternate versions of headlines and other ad text. The features will become available globally to advertisers by the end of the year.
___
Square introduced a tool called Square Kiosk to allow self-service ordering at fast food restaurants. The device is a combined software, hardware, and payment solution that allows customers to select exactly what they want with customization options, upgrades, and add-ons.
___
The European Parliament announced new measures to make packaging more sustainable and reduce packaging waste in the EU, including reduction targets of 15% by 2040 — which sounds far away but is only 16 years away?! As part of the new rules, the EU will set maximum empty space ratios for e-commerce transportation, ban certain single-use plastic packaging types, and beverage distributors and take-away food will have to offer consumers the option of bringing their own container.
___
Indians who pre-ordered Teslas in 2016 are giving up and seeking refunds of their deposits after Elon Musk canceled another visit to the country last month. Disillusioned Tesla enthusiasts in India say they will now buy a car from the company only if they see it in a showroom, or they'll buy a different electrical vehicle from a company that actually exists in the country.
___
Target is limiting its Pride Month collection to select stores this year instead of rolling out the merchandise nationwide like it typically has for the past decade, due to backlash the retailer experienced last year. Last May customers in certain stores knocked down LGBTQ+ merchandise displays, angrily approached store employees, and posted threatening videos on social media from inside the stores.
___
E-commerce spending from Jan 1 to April 30, 2024 rose 7% YoY to $331.6B, according to Adobe Analytics. One trend Adobe identified during the period is a shift of online spending to purchasing the cheapest goods across personal care, electronics, apparel, home & garden, furniture, and grocery.
___
Plus 7 seed rounds, IPOs, and acquisitions of interest, including Shopify's acquisition of Peel, a tool that integrates with a merchant's tech stack including Klaviyo and Recharge and helps them analyze their sales data to improve customer retention.
___
I hope you found this recap helpful. See you next week!
PAUL Editor of Shopifreaks E-Commerce Newsletter
PS: If I missed any big news this week, please share in the comments.

Hi - I'm Paul and I follow the e-commerce industry closely for my Shopifreaks E-commerce Newsletter. Each week I post a summary recap of the week's top stories, which I cover in depth in the newsletter. Let's dive in...
___
STAT OF THE WEEK: Kohl's sales have shrunk by $2.3B since 2019. During that same period of time, the company lost 1.3M customers who no longer shop with the retailer.
___
BigCommerce is exploring a sale after attracting takeover interest, according to sources who chose to remain anonymous due to the confidentiality of the information. The sources said that BigCommerce asked investment bank Qatalyst Partners to solicit interest from potential buyers that include private equity firms, but that the discussions are at an early stage and no deal is certain.
___
Squarespace announced that it will be going private in a $6.9B all-cash deal with private-equity firm Permira, who agreed to pay $44 per share (a roughly 30% premium). Although Squarespace never lost 90% of its share price like BigCommerce, it has experienced a tumultuous time on the market since its IPO in May 2021 — opening around $49.50 and at times trading in the low $20s. Shares rose nearly 13% to $43 in pre-market trading upon release of the news.
___
ByteDance filed a lawsuit in US federal court seeking to block the new law that would force the sale or ban of the app within the country. The lawsuit challenges the law on constitutional grounds, also citing commercial, technical, and legal hurdles, as well as opposition from Beijing. Legal experts say the legal battle will play out in the courts in coming months and likely will reach the Supreme Court.
___
OpenAI unveiled its newest model, GPT-4o, designed to turn ChatGPT into a digital personal assistant that can engage in real-time, spoken conversations and interact with users using text, screenshots, photos, documents, and charts. The new version of ChatGPT also has memory capabilities, which means it can learn from previous conversations. It will be available to both unpaid and premium customers alike. OpenAI also announced that it would be launching a desktop app with the GPT-4o capabilities, giving users another platform to interact with the technology outside of a web browser.
___
Amazon launched in South Africa last week, marking its first marketplace in sub-Saharan Africa, and bringing its total number of marketplaces worldwide to 22. To launch the new marketplace, Amazon is offering free delivery on first orders and on subsequent orders above R500 (about $27), access to 3,000 pick-up points, status updates via WhatsApp to track orders, 30 day refunds, and 24/7 customer support. The marketplace was supposed to launch in the country in 2023, but got delayed due to changes in priorities within Amazon.
___
In an unlikely partnership, Instacart is partnering with Uber Eats to expand into the restaurant delivery business. Instacart will add a new tab for restaurant delivery to its app in the coming weeks, the listings will be provided by Uber, and the food will be picked up and delivered by Uber Eats drivers. Customers will receive the same prices on both apps and Instacart will receive an affiliate commission on orders. It's a strange partnership though given that Instacart and Uber Eats actively compete on grocery delivery. Are they planning to merge? Uber says no.
___
Apple's advertisement for its latest iPad Pro sparked criticism for showing an animation of musical instruments, paint cans, cameras, record players, and other symbols of creativity being crushed by a giant machine, with the output being the new iPad Pro, which the company says is the thinnest Apple product ever. In this context, “crushing” was supposed to symbolize “consolidating” and “compacting” — with the visuals meant to showcase how the new iPad Pro puts the power of all these tools into the hands of creators in one thin device. However online commenters criticized the ad as insensitive and as symbolizing a “destruction of the human experience.” The ad hit the web on Tuesday, and by Thursday, Apple issued a mea culpa and apologized for the campaign.
___
Google is encouraging merchants to enable conversion annotations on their Google Shopping ads, which offer social proof that highlight a product's popularity. Conversion annotations like “best selling” or “3K shopped here recently” would provide visual cues about a product’s popularity or sales performance directly in the ad unit. Annotations like these are par for the course with e-commerce retailers including Amazon, Walmart, and Temu, which all employ similar tactics. They can provide valuable info for shoppers and also help with conversions. However they also open data privacy concerns, given that Google is not the actual retailer or marketplace selling the items, so a merchant would have to share this purchase history data from their e-commerce platform with Google — which technically most already do by giving access to GA4.
___
Shein is attempting to join the National Retail Federation as it pursues regulatory approval to go public in the US. The company believes that NRF membership would boost its chances of receiving SEC approval. However so far, Shein has been rejected numerous times. An anonymous source familiar with the matter said someone with heavy influence at the NRF is strongly against the Shein's admittance. However board members who spoke to CNBC said that Shein's membership application hadn't come up in meetings, and that they aren't involved in deciding which companies are granted access.
___
Amazon is leading the way with selling home goods, capturing 18.8% of consumer home furnishings spending, compared to Walmart's 7.3% market share. Notably, Amazon’s gains in the furniture category come in spite of the company’s decision to phase out two of its three furniture brands last year.
___
Stanley, which is projected to do $750M in sales this year, up from $73M in 2019, after seeing its water bottles become a status symbol thanks to TikTok, is now expanding into trendier accessories. The company is launching a line of bags called the All-Day Collection which include a mini cooler, backpack cooler, and Quencher Carry-All, designed for someone to sling their Stanley over their hip.
___
Jack Dorsey left the Bluesky board and deleted his account on the service he helped kickstart, claiming that Bluesky was “literally repeating all the mistakes” he made while running Twitter. Dorsey says he never intended Bluesky to be an independent company, but rather, an open source protocol that Twitter was supposed to be the first client of. He also confirmed that he is financially backing Nostr, another decentralized Twitter-like service popular among crypto enthusiasts and run by an anonymous founder.
___
Amazon is deploying 50 electric trucks in California, which it claims is the largest EV fleet in the country, as part of its mission to eliminate pollution from its global operations. The trucks will be integrated into first-mile operations, moving goods from container ships at the ports to fulfillment centers, as well as middle-mile operations, transporting packages from fulfillment centers to delivery centers.
___
Wix launched a new tool called AI Portfolio Creator, which allows a user to upload and organize large-scale image collections, select the type of portfolio they want, and then have the AI tool sort and generate a portfolio with clustered images, recommended titles and descriptions, and personalized layout options.
___
Amazon is now requiring all dietary supplements to be verified by a third-party testing, inspection, and certification organization — which is something that not even the FDA requires. Amazon is the largest supplement retailer in the US ahead of Walmart and Target, and its new requirements are expected to put more pressure on the industry, which is being scrutinized more than ever.
___
Alibaba is revamping its flagship retail website Taobao for the first time in seven years with a focus on providing a smoother search and buying process. The website overhaul comes ahead of the 618 sales event, China's second-largest annual shopping event. A few weeks ago I reported that Eddie Wu, the CEO of Alibaba Group, would now be directly overseeing its domestic e-commerce arm which includes Taobao and Tmall Group, and it sounds like he's hitting the ground running with his new responsibilities.
___
Amazon is hosting its first-ever Amazon Book Sale, a new shopping event starting on May 15th that offers up to 50% off print best sellers and up to 80% off Kindle Books. The six day shopping event will exclusively run in the US, and Prime-membership is not required to take advantage of the deals.
___
FTX reported that nearly all of its customers will receive the money back that they are owed, two years after the cryptocurrency exchange imploded. The company owes about $11.2B to its customers and estimates that it has between $14.5B and $16.3B to distribute to them. The caveat is that customers will receive the USD value of their holdings at the time of the exchange collapse, and not the actual crypto holdings themselves, which means that they'll miss out on all gains during the past two years during which BTC went from around $16k to now over $60k. Better than nothing though, that's for sure.
___
800,000 consumers in Europe and the US were duped into sharing card details and other sensitive personal data with a network of fake online designer shops operated from China, which comprised one of the largest scams of its kind with 76,000 fake websites created. The scammers used expired domains to host its fake shops in order to help avoid detection by websites or brand owners, and more than 1M orders were processed in the past three years alone.
___
Beyond Inc, which owns Bed Bath & Beyond, Overstock, and Zulily, reported that its Q1 net loss swelled to $72M from $10M a year ago, while its operating loss widened to $58M from $8M. The company's active customers grew to 6M, up 26% from nearly 5M a year ago, however, its average order value dropped to $173 from $220 a year earlier.
___
TikTok will begin automatically labeling AI generated content when it is uploaded from certain platforms like DALL.E 3, Adobe Firefly, Photoshop, and Microsoft Copilot. TikTok will also start attaching Content Credentials to content, which will remain on the media when downloaded, allowing other platforms to read the metadata.
___
eBay is testing an Add To Cart button in search results that opens a Quick View window, allowing buyers to skip the listing page. Technically the button should probably not be labeled “Add To Cart” since it doesn't perform that action, but rather, displays a quick view window with three buttons: Buy It Now, Add To Cart, View All Details. Sellers are worried that buyers will miss crucial details in the product description that may lead to increased returns and negative feedback.
___
Amazon is planning to launch its fleet of drones in Tolleson, Arizona, but the city's extreme temperature is hampering its efforts. Drones can't operate in temperatures exceeding 104 degrees Fahrenheit, a temperature that Tolleson crosses for a full three months of the year.
___
A US district judge dismissed X's lawsuit against Bright Data, a data-scraping company accused of improperly accessing X system and violating X terms and state laws when scraping and selling data. The judge basically said that if X owned the data, it could perhaps argue that it has exclusive rights to control it, but then X wouldn't be able to enjoy the safe harbor of Section 230, which allows the platform to avoid liability for third-party content. Can't have it both ways!
___
Nintendo is discontinuing its X integration for the switch on June 10th, which means users will no longer be able to post screenshots or videos to the platform from their device. The drop in support also affects games like Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, which had game-specific options to send out tweets. Microsoft Xbox dropped support for X in April 2023 and Sony Playstation dropped the service in October 2023 due to the increase in X's API access fees.
___
Amazon claimed that its recordable incident rate — a metric that comprises all injuries requiring “more than basic first-aid treatment” — at its US warehouses has improved by 24% since 2019. However the National Employment Law Project challenged Amazon's injury data in a report last week, claiming that Amazon's overall injury rate in 2023 was 71% higher than that of other employers in the sector at 6.5 cases per 100 workers.
___
Amazon Ads announced three new advertising formats for streaming TV including shoppable carousel ads, interactive pause ads, and interactive trivia ads. Amazon did not say when the new ad types would officially launch, but noted that it will formally present them at a presentation on May 14th.
___
Meta is rolling out an expanded set of generative AI ad tools that can create full image variations with text overlays, expand images to fit across different aspect ratios, and generate alternate versions of headlines and other ad text. The features will become available globally to advertisers by the end of the year.
___
Square introduced a tool called Square Kiosk to allow self-service ordering at fast food restaurants. The device is a combined software, hardware, and payment solution that allows customers to select exactly what they want with customization options, upgrades, and add-ons.
___
The European Parliament announced new measures to make packaging more sustainable and reduce packaging waste in the EU, including reduction targets of 15% by 2040 — which sounds far away but is only 16 years away?! As part of the new rules, the EU will set maximum empty space ratios for e-commerce transportation, ban certain single-use plastic packaging types, and beverage distributors and take-away food will have to offer consumers the option of bringing their own container.
___
Indians who pre-ordered Teslas in 2016 are giving up and seeking refunds of their deposits after Elon Musk canceled another visit to the country last month. Disillusioned Tesla enthusiasts in India say they will now buy a car from the company only if they see it in a showroom, or they'll buy a different electrical vehicle from a company that actually exists in the country.
___
Target is limiting its Pride Month collection to select stores this year instead of rolling out the merchandise nationwide like it typically has for the past decade, due to backlash the retailer experienced last year. Last May customers in certain stores knocked down LGBTQ+ merchandise displays, angrily approached store employees, and posted threatening videos on social media from inside the stores.
___
E-commerce spending from Jan 1 to April 30, 2024 rose 7% YoY to $331.6B, according to Adobe Analytics. One trend Adobe identified during the period is a shift of online spending to purchasing the cheapest goods across personal care, electronics, apparel, home & garden, furniture, and grocery.
___
Plus 7 seed rounds, IPOs, and acquisitions of interest, including Shopify's acquisition of Peel, a tool that integrates with a merchant's tech stack including Klaviyo and Recharge and helps them analyze their sales data to improve customer retention.
___
I hope you found this recap helpful. See you next week!
For more details on each story and sources, see the full edition: https://www.shopifreaks.com/bigcommerce-for-sale-openai-gpt-4o-instacarts-unlikely-partnership/
What else is new in e-commerce? Share stories of interesting in the comments below (including in your own business) or on shopifreaks.
-PAUL Editor of Shopifreaks E-commerce Newsletter
PS: Want the full editions delivered to your Inbox each week? Join free at www.shopifreaks.com

I used to ride all the time, then we moved somewhere that was not safe/conducive to biking very much and in that time my bike (Trek 3700, I think was the correct model) got stolen so I kind of stopped caring about it. Last year we got a camper and have been camping in more and more bike friendly campgrounds as well as living somewhere that I can ride more, so I am wanting to get back in to biking. I have been looking for used bikes, because I dont want to spend a ton of money on one when there will be times it will be unattended at campgrounds but, there are 2 tiers of used bikes around here very cheap bikes/old bikes that need a lot of repairs (sub-$200) or more bike than what I need and feel comfortable sending for this use case (+$1000). The 2 bike shops we have left in town do not deal in used bikes at all and most of what they carry are $1500 and up. I have been doing some research on some new bikes but am unsure about where to go. Ideally I would like to stay under $500 and Google searches have been pointing me to a walmart bike (Ozark Trails G.1 Explorer ) and I am not sure how I feel about it, the reviews have been pretty positive for the price point and really, if I only get a year out of it that will give me some time to save and figure out what I want, but then again I have been down that cheap bike route before and they always seem to be more headaches than they are worth. So I am looking to see what the thoughts are around here about it for my use case. At this point I just want to get riding again. thanks!

I apologize for my English in advanced. Let me give you context. I live in Texas, I was insured with Allstate for almost 2 years, but recently my insurance went up and I decided to switch insurance to State Farm because they offer a better price. I did the entire proccess of switching insurance online. Before I did the switch I contacted my current insurance ( Allstate) to let them know that I was going to switch, the person recommended to first pay for the new insurance before canceling my current one and that’s what I did. I got the policy with State Farm on May 2nd, and after that I canceled my policy with Allstate the following day, May 3rd. I got the receipt for my payment, the website prompt me to create an account and I download my new insurance card. Two days after this, I was driving to my nearest Walmart, I put my indicator to switch lanes, and as I was entering the Walmart parking lot (70% of the length of the car was inside the parking lot) a car hit me in the back right corner of my truck (bumper-to-bumper, some damage on my back bumper, and damage on the headlight and front bumper of the other person) . The person pulls over, apologizes and he tells me that when he saw me it was too late for him to brake. We called the police officer and he completes the police report. I was in the belief that it was not my fault, but one week later when I get the police report the determination of the officer is that it was my fault due to an illegal lane change. The officer tells me that there is a solid line on the road there indicating not to do a lane change, but I took pictures of the road on the day of the accident, and the city was fixing the road (putting new asphalt) and the solid lane was not painted at the moment. I call my insurance to do the claim, and they inform me that at the moment of the accident (May 4) my insurance was not effective. I told my insurance that I did the change of policy on May 2nd and that I had the payment receipt to prove it. The insurances tells me that the effective date for my insurance started on May 5, even when I did the payment on May 2nd. The insurance card has an effective date of May 5th that I failed to see. The website never informed me that I had to wait 3 days for my insurance to be effective. What are my options? Is there any way that I can do something to make my insurance cover the cost for the accident? Is it possible to disagree with the determination of the police report? Or to request a police report amendment? Thank you in advance for your advice.

Hello all! I plan on going to a couple flea markets and yard sales this summer and this will be my first time selling! I am looking for advice on pricing. I will mainly be selling clothes, purses, and shoes. NWT, NWOT, and used. I have sizes ranging from xs-4x. A lot of mall brands such as american eagle, hollister, etc. I have a lot of target and walmart brands as well. I don't want to individually price every item because I have hundreds of items. I was wondering if I should do certain racks/tables/bins certain prices or make specific items a set price(ex: all dresses, x amount of $) or if I should just make all clothes one price, all shoes one price, and all bags one price. Also what would you suggest I price items at? I know people will haggle so I am prepared for that but I want a base idea of what I should be pricing things. Any other advice about flea markets or yard sales in general is welcome as well! Thank you so much in advance! 😁
Edit: I am in Southeast Pennsylvania about an hour and a half(55ish miles) northwest of Philly if that helps since I know pricing sometimes depends on region!

Warning: I will not message you first. If you were messaged by someone claiming to be me you are in the process of being scammed.

You can download the WesternUnion app and send the payment from your phone and I will pay the fees.
Desktop Users: Comment on this post and Click here to start a trade App Users, please include the following in your PM (Remember to comment on this post as well):

• Type of card(s) and amount of each.
• What payment method you accept.
• How you acquired the GC and why you're getting rid of it.

Crypto^4, Paypal^1, Apple Pay, Chime, Cashapp, Varo, Venmo, and Western Union
I only have Steam as a substitute for cash payments in gift card trades.

Want ↓	Cash or a Gift Card ↓	Crypto4 ↓
Apple	60%3	NA
Amazon.ca	50%	50%
Amazon.co.uk	50%	50%
Amazon.com	70%	55%
Amazon.de	50%	50%
Amazon.es	50%	50%
Amazon.fr	50%	50%
Amazon.it	50%	50%
Amazon.jp	30%	30%
Arrow Films	65%	60%
Barnes & Noble	50%	50%
Baskin Robbins	60%	60%
Best Buy	25%	25%
BJ's (not BJ's restaurant)3	60%	NA
Bloomingdales	50%	50%
Burger King4	60%	NA
Clothing Shops (Small Boutique)	contact me	contact me
Dell3	60%	NA
Delta gift cards3	65%	NA
Delta Sky Miles3	PM me	NA
Delta Vouchers3	65%	NA
Dicks Sporting Goods 3	PM me	NA
Disney Plus	PM me	PM me
Dunkin Donuts3	60%	NA
eBay	70%	70%
Fandango3	10%	NA
Five Guys3	60%	NA
Gamestop	60%	60%
Gas Station Cards3	PM me	NA
Gyft	70%	70%
Half Price Books	50%	50%
iTunes3	60%	NA
J crew	40%	40%
JCPenney	25%	25%
Jersey Mike Subs3	60%	NA
KFC3	60%	NA
Khols	30%	30%
Macys	35%	35%
Magazines.com	40%	40%
McDonald's 3	60%	NA
Microsoft3	60%	NA
Moe’s Southwestern Grill3	60%	NA
Nintendo Eshop3	70%	NA
Nordstrom	50%	50%
Panera bread3	60%	NA
PSN3	60	NA
PSN Plus 12 month3	NA	NA
Saks Fifth Avenue	50%	50%
Sears	50%	50%
Sephora	50%	50%
Speedway (must be able to use on fuel)3	80%	NA
Staples	50%	50%
Starbucks US only	55%	55%
Steam3	60%	NA
Subway 3	PM me	NA
Taco Bell	60%	NA
Target	50%	50%
Urban Outfitters	50%	50%
Vudu3	50%	NA
Walmart	60%	60%
Wendys3	60%	NA
Xbox (gift cards)3	60%	NA
Other Clothing Stores, Gas Stations, Grocery Stores, Restaurant, & Fast Food gift cards	PM me

¹ When paying via PayPal, I can only send payments via Goods and Services, thus you will be charged a fee. If you'd rather not face this fee there are plenty of alternatives. ² Larger denominated gift cards preferred. ³ PayPal is the only payment option. ⁴ All crypto payments come from Coinbase. Any fees associated with it are built into the price.

What I don’t buy:

• Amazon.au
• Bass Pro Shop
• buffalo wild wing
• California Pizza Kitchen
• Canadian tire
• Cold Stone
• Dairy Queen
• Fanatics
• Giant Foods
• Google Play
• Grub Hub
• Gymshark
• Hilton Honors
• Hot Topic
• Krispy Kreme
• old navy/gap/banana republic
• Patxi's pizza
• PSN Canada or UK
• publix
• Raceway
• Scheels
• Shell Gas Stations
• Spotify
• Starbucks Canada
• Tractor supply
• Xbox Canada or UK
• Xbox live gold

Any fees are built into the price.

Selling

I have:
Up to $1000 in Amazon.com (can be broken up into smaller denominations) and am selling at

• 85%: WesternUnion, Wise, Airtm (You can download the WesternUnion app and send the payment from your phone and I will pay the fees.)
• 90%: LTC

Up to $500 in eBay (can be broken up into smaller denominations) and am selling at

• 90%: WesternUnion, Wise, Airtm (You can download the WesternUnion app and send the payment from your phone and I will pay the fees.)

Up to $500 in Apple.com ($15 and $50 denomination) and am selling at

• 90%: WesternUnion, Wise, Airtm (You can download the WesternUnion app and send the payment from your phone and I will pay the fees.)

Important: before you send your codes please make sure your account is secure (if your password is not uniqe it's best to assume your account has already been compromised. Scams where compromised accounts are used to leverage reputation to scam an unsuspecting user, used to steal codes during the middle of the trade, and steal unused gift cards the victim was saving for later are increasingly commonplace. If you have any concerns as to your account's security, please reset your password now and force logout of all sessions. Thanks

Warning: I will not message you first. If you were messaged by someone claiming to be me you are in the process of being scammed.

You can download the WesternUnion app and send the payment from your phone and I will pay the fees.
Desktop Users: Comment on this post and Click here to start a trade App Users, please include the following in your PM (Remember to comment on this post as well):

• Type of card(s) and amount of each.
• What payment method you accept.
• How you acquired the GC and why you're getting rid of it.

Crypto^4, Paypal^1, Apple Pay, Chime, Cashapp, Varo, Venmo, and Western Union
I only have Steam as a substitute for cash payments in gift card trades.

Want ↓	Cash or a Gift Card ↓	Crypto4 ↓
Apple	60%3	NA
Amazon.ca	50%	50%
Amazon.co.uk	50%	50%
Amazon.com	70%	55%
Amazon.de	50%	50%
Amazon.es	50%	50%
Amazon.fr	50%	50%
Amazon.it	50%	50%
Amazon.jp	30%	30%
Arrow Films	65%	60%
Barnes & Noble	50%	50%
Baskin Robbins	60%	60%
Best Buy	25%	25%
BJ's (not BJ's restaurant)3	60%	NA
Bloomingdales	50%	50%
Burger King4	60%	NA
Clothing Shops (Small Boutique)	contact me	contact me
Dell3	60%	NA
Delta gift cards3	65%	NA
Delta Sky Miles3	PM me	NA
Delta Vouchers3	65%	NA
Dicks Sporting Goods 3	PM me	NA
Disney Plus	PM me	PM me
Dunkin Donuts3	60%	NA
eBay	70%	70%
Fandango3	10%	NA
Five Guys3	60%	NA
Gamestop	60%	60%
Gas Station Cards3	PM me	NA
Gyft	70%	70%
Half Price Books	50%	50%
iTunes3	60%	NA
J crew	40%	40%
JCPenney	25%	25%
Jersey Mike Subs3	60%	NA
KFC3	60%	NA
Khols	30%	30%
Macys	35%	35%
Magazines.com	40%	40%
McDonald's 3	60%	NA
Microsoft3	60%	NA
Moe’s Southwestern Grill3	60%	NA
Nintendo Eshop3	70%	NA
Nordstrom	50%	50%
Panera bread3	60%	NA
PSN3	60	NA
PSN Plus 12 month3	NA	NA
Saks Fifth Avenue	50%	50%
Sears	50%	50%
Sephora	50%	50%
Speedway (must be able to use on fuel)3	80%	NA
Staples	50%	50%
Starbucks US only	55%	55%
Steam3	60%	NA
Subway 3	PM me	NA
Taco Bell	60%	NA
Target	50%	50%
Urban Outfitters	50%	50%
Vudu3	50%	NA
Walmart	60%	60%
Wendys3	60%	NA
Xbox (gift cards)3	60%	NA
Other Clothing Stores, Gas Stations, Grocery Stores, Restaurant, & Fast Food gift cards	PM me

¹ When paying via PayPal, I can only send payments via Goods and Services, thus you will be charged a fee. If you'd rather not face this fee there are plenty of alternatives. ² Larger denominated gift cards preferred. ³ PayPal is the only payment option. ⁴ All crypto payments come from Coinbase. Any fees associated with it are built into the price.

What I don’t buy:

• Amazon.au
• Bass Pro Shop
• buffalo wild wing
• California Pizza Kitchen
• Canadian tire
• Cold Stone
• Dairy Queen
• Fanatics
• Giant Foods
• Google Play
• Grub Hub
• Gymshark
• Hilton Honors
• Hot Topic
• Krispy Kreme
• old navy/gap/banana republic
• Patxi's pizza
• PSN Canada or UK
• publix
• Raceway
• Scheels
• Shell Gas Stations
• Spotify
• Starbucks Canada
• Tractor supply
• Xbox Canada or UK
• Xbox live gold

Any fees are built into the price.

Selling

I have:
Up to $1000 in Amazon.com (can be broken up into smaller denominations) and am selling at

• 85%: WesternUnion, Wise, Airtm (You can download the WesternUnion app and send the payment from your phone and I will pay the fees.)
• 90%: LTC

Up to $500 in eBay (can be broken up into smaller denominations) and am selling at

• 90%: WesternUnion, Wise, Airtm (You can download the WesternUnion app and send the payment from your phone and I will pay the fees.)

Up to $500 in Apple.com ($15 and $50 denomination) and am selling at

• 90%: WesternUnion, Wise, Airtm (You can download the WesternUnion app and send the payment from your phone and I will pay the fees.)

Important: before you send your codes please make sure your account is secure (if your password is not uniqe it's best to assume your account has already been compromised. Scams where compromised accounts are used to leverage reputation to scam an unsuspecting user, used to steal codes during the middle of the trade, and steal unused gift cards the victim was saving for later are increasingly commonplace. If you have any concerns as to your account's security, please reset your password now and force logout of all sessions. Thanks

I live in a relatively small town and we don't have any small family owned grocery stores which I would prefer to be shopping, I was wondering if I could get some advice on which of these stores are best for my money to go to. We do have a local farmers market on Saturday mornings in town, but they've been caught many times with grocery store stickers on the fruits.. and cost organic homegrown prices... so I'd prefer not to go there.
Some non-Loblaws options in town are: Walmart Food Basics Almost Perfect (no milk or produce sold here, and stock is always changing as it is a store which sells damaged or expired goods for much less than normal price - so I can't only shop here) Metro Bulk Barn M&M Food Market Giant Tiger Sobeys Foodland
I do also have a farm-owned farmers market option as well, but it's a 45 minute drive. So if none of the other options make sense for produce, I could spend more and go there.
These are really the only options in town with there being many Lowblaws owned stores. I am wanting to really not shop at any Metro or Sobeys owned stores either - so just not sure which of these options is best for the boycott and looking for some answers!
Thanks!

Traders are still in the dark about when the Federal Reserve might start cutting interest rates. Even two new inflation data points this week may not provide much more clarity. The producer price index is out Tuesday, and the consumer price index is on Wednesday. The CPI in particular has been sticky this year. A large part of that comes down to housing costs, which haven't slowed as much as the Fed might have hoped, but it could also be statistical noise -- and housing counts for a lot less in the Fed's preferred inflation gauge, the personal consumption expenditures index. Also of note is that labor market data have been heavily revised this year, making them a bit harder to decipher. And Morgan Stanley has identified another issue -- the seasonal adjustments to the inflation data could be a bit off, making inflation appear hotter in the first half than it will in the second half of the year. If this all seems confusing, you're not alone. Fed officials are also struggling to get a clear idea of what's happening. There will be plenty of updates on their thinking, though, with almost a dozen speaking events this week. That includes Chair Jerome Powell on Tuesday. Here's the bigger picture. Inflation probably is still slowing, even if the data look bumpy. Consumers' savings piles from the Covid-19 pandemic are gone, making them even more price sensitive than they used to be. Retail sales figures and earnings this week from Walmart and Home Depot will add more color there. Pay particular attention to what executives say about the outlook, they've got their fingers on the pulse. And Fed officials may well indicate they would like to cut rates, even if the data won't allow them to yet. That's a good sign for investors, even if the first reduction isn't imminent. -- Brian Swint *** Join Barron's senior managing editor Lauren R. Rublin and deputy editor Ben Levisohn today at noon when they discuss the outlook for financial markets, industry sectors, and individual stocks with 22V Research's Senior Managing Director, Head of Technical Strategy John Roque . Sign up here.
Retail Earnings to Illustrate Consumer Spending Patterns Retail earnings and sales reports this week will tell economists how consumers are coping with higher prices for groceries and other essentials and overall household spending. The Census Bureau reports April retail sales data on Wednesday, Home Depot reports earnings on Tuesday, and Walmart reports on Thursday. -- On Wednesday, economists expect the Census Bureau to report a 0.4% increase in retail and food-services sales in April, to $712 billion , from March's 0.7% gain and the third monthly gain since January. Without autos and fuel, core retail sales are expected to rise 0.25%.
-- Walmart 's more than 10,600 stores worldwide and its increasing grocery sales helped compensate for declining sales of discretionary items such as clothing and electronics. Analysts expect Walmart to report adjusted earnings of 51 cents a share and revenue of $159.4 billion .
-- Grocery prices have risen more than 25% compared with prepandemic levels, BofA analysts said. Placer.ai said first-quarter visits to Walmart rose 3.9% from a year earlier, with an influx of higher-income shoppers. Walmart last month launched its Bettergoods private-label products to boost profit and compete with national brands.
-- Home Depot 's first-quarter visits slipped 1.1% amid caution about expensive home renovation projects, Placer.ai said. Home Depot has seen lower demand for new projects such as flooring, countertops, and cabinets. CEO Ted Decker told analysts in February that the retailer has a neutral look on housing for 2024. What's Next: Wedbush analysts said Home Depot 's more cautious 2024 forecast was realistic given the "choppy sales trends" due to a delayed spring, still-high mortgage rates, and a slow housing recovery. Analysts expect first-quarter earnings of $3.60 a share on revenue of $36.7 billion . -- Janet H. Cho
Inflation Reading This Week Could Confirm Downward Trend When the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports the April consumer price index on Wednesday, it could potentially confirm that inflation has begun declining after three straight higher-than-expected readings. That could increase optimism that the Federal Reserve might reduce interest rates in September. -- The Federal Reserve Bank of New York today will release its April Survey of Consumer Expectations for inflation, after three straight months of reports that consumers' expectation for year-ahead inflation was 3%. A similar survey from the University of Michigan climbed to 3.5% last week.
-- Expectations for a rate cut increased after the Bureau of Labor Statistics' April jobs report showed that the U.S. added 175,000 jobs, lower than the 235,000 expected, and a huge drop from March's 315,000 gain. Unemployment rose to 3.9% from 3.8% in March.
-- The BLS' April producer price index out Tuesday is expected to show a 2.2% annual increase, down one-tenth of a percentage point from March. Core PPI excluding volatile food and energy prices is forecast to increase 2.3%.
-- Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee told The Wall Street Journal that housing hasn't behaved the way economists expected. Market rents aren't slowing as quickly despite the record number of new apartments because demand has risen from higher immigration, more hiring, and rising wages. What's Next: Fed Chair Jerome Powell could update his views on the U.S. economy and rates on Tuesday when he appears on a panel with Klaas Knot , the head of the Dutch central bank, who is also a member of the governing council of the European Central Bank . -- Janet H. Cho and Nicholas Jasinski
Arm to Launch AI Chips Soon, Report Says Arm Holdings , the U.K. -based chip maker best known for its involvement with Apple 's iPhones, has plans to launch its first artificial intelligence semiconductors next year. -- The company, which listed in New York last year but is still controlled by Japan's SoftBank, is setting up an AI division and will have a prototype in the spring of next year, Japan's Nikkei news agency reported.
-- It could be a big step forward for Arm if it can get a foothold in the AI-chip market, which is currency dominated by the likes of Nvidia , Advanced Micro Devices, Qualcomm, and Intel. It's especially important as Apple has yet to unveil much detail about how it will integrate AI into most of its products.
-- Last week, Arm reported earnings that were slightly ahead of estimates and gave guidance roughly in line with expectations. That wasn't good enough for investors. Coming into Monday, the shares were down 1.7% over the past five days and 27% lower than three months ago. Still, the stock is up 45% since Jan. 1 . What's Next: While Arm appears to be arriving late to the hype around AI, there could still be plenty of room for it to benefit. However, the bar for success is getting higher. Big names such as Nvidia have slumped as investors increasingly need earnings and guidance that far exceed expectations to push shares up. -- Brian Swint
Apple Workers at Maryland Store Vote to Authorize Strike About 100 Apple employees at the company's first unionized store in Towson, Md. , have voted to authorize a strike against the tech company after negotiating with Apple management for more than a year over unresolved workplace issues. A date for the potential strike hasn't been announced. -- The Coalition of Organized Retail Employees , part of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers , became the first of 270 U.S. Apple stores to unionize in June 2022 . Workers cited issues with work-life balance, unpredictable scheduling practices, and inadequate wages for the area's cost of living.
-- Members of the negotiating committee of the Apple union in Maryland , called IAM CORE for short, said they sought to send a clear message to Apple and secure tangible improvements for all employees. An Apple representative could not be reached for comment.
-- An independent survey of Apple employees in response to its Workers Rights Assessments found a "concerning pattern of alleged illegal behavior," including probably unlawful terminations of employment and collective punishment of workers trying to organize industrial action. Another report by Jenner & Block law firm was also critical of workers rights at Apple .
-- The union said it has been negotiating with Apple since January 2023 , but the two sides still disagree over hourly wages, overtime, scheduling, and shift premiums. Apple workers in Oklahoma City, Okla. , separately voted to unionize in October 2022 , joining the Communications Workers of America . What's Next: The vote means the union's bargaining committee can call for a strike at any time, potentially becoming the first U.S. Apple employees to walk off the job. The next round of contract talks between Apple and the IAM CORE is scheduled for May 21 . -- Janet H. Cho

~E-commerce market~ is anticipated to grow at a considerable CAGR of 12.9% during the forecast period. The market growth is driven by the strong and steady growth of internet users and rising awareness related to online shopping, increasing online product launching, low price due to bulk purchases, and so on. In addition, an increasing number of exclusive products in the market and lower prices of goods due to the direct distribution channel and economies of scale further contribute to the growth of the global e-commerce market.
Get Free Sample link @ https://www.omrglobal.com/request-sample/e-commerce-market
E-commerce includes buying and selling raw materials, products, services, or any kind of goods and services through an electronic medium (internet) by the consumer, retailer, and business. Whereas, e-commerce retail is the exchange of goods and services between an online retail company and consumers (generally end-users). The e-commerce transaction can be of different types such as business to Business or B2B (Cisco, Alibaba), Business to Consumer or B2C (Amazon, Walmart), and Consumer to Consumer or C2C (eBay). E-commerce sales for businesses have been steadily increasing, and with the migration of virtually all transactions to digital due to the COVID Pandemic, global sales through e-commerce sales channels such as websites and online marketplaces increased overall in 2020.
full report of E-Commerce Market available @ https://www.omrglobal.com/industry-reports/e-commerce-market
· Market Coverage
· Market number available for – 2024-2030
· Base year- 2023
· Forecast period- 2024-2030
· Segment Covered- By Source, By Product Type, By Applications
· Competitive Landscape- Archer Daniels Midland Co., Ingredion Inc., Kerry Group Plc, Cargill
· Inc., and others
Market Segmentation
Global E-Commerce Market by Model Type
o B2B
o B2C
Global E-Commerce Market by Product Type
o Electronics
o Apparel
o Healthcare
o Beauty and Personal Care
o Pharmaceuticals, and Nutritional Products
o Others
o Home Furnishing Products
o Books
o Grocery
Regional Analysis
o North America
o United States
o Canada
o Europe
o UK
o Germany
o Italy
o Spain
o France
o Rest of Europe
o Asia-Pacific
o China
o India
o Japan
o South Korea
o Rest of Asia-Pacific
o Rest of the World
Company Profiles
o Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.
o Amazon.com, Inc.
o ASOS PLC
o eBay Inc.
o JD.com
o Qoo10 Pte. Ltd.
o Rakuten Group
o Shopify
o Snapdeal Pvt Ltd.
o Walmart Inc.
The Report Covers

• Market value data analysis of 2022 and forecast to 2030.
• Annualized market revenues ($ million) for each market segment.
• Country-wise analysis of major geographical regions.
• Key companies operating in the global e-commerce market. Based on the availability of data, information related to new product launches, and relevant news is also available in the report.
• Analysis of business strategies by identifying the key market segments positioned for strong growth in the future.
• Analysis of market-entry and market expansion strategies.
• Competitive strategies by identifying ‘who-stands-where’ in the market.

For More Customized Data, Request for Report Customization @ https://www.omrglobal.com/report-customization/e-commerce-market
About Orion Market Research Orion Market Research (OMR) is a market research and consulting company known for its crisp and concise reports. The company is equipped with an experienced team of analysts and consultants. OMR offers quality syndicated research reports, customized research reports, consulting and other research-based services. The company also offer Digital Marketing services through its subsidiary OMR Digital and Software development and Consulting Services through another subsidiary Encanto Technologies.
Media Contact:
Company Name: Orion Market Research
Contact Person: Mr. Anurag Tiwari
Email: [info@omrglobal.com](mailto:info@omrglobal.com)
Contact no: +91 780-304-0404

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0CDP6518S/ref=ox_sc_saved_image_2?smid=A1JIUYKA8QS5H6&psc=1&mid=ATVPDKIKX0DER
This deal is back, I believe it is slightly cheaper now at $34.99.
Not sure if this is available for everyone, but I have an additional coupon/deal from Amazon where if I buy 2+ I get 3% off so if you buy 2+ (if you have the coupon) it's technically around $33.99. This is the 2nd lowest price from Amazon (ATL is $33.50)
Walmart also has this deal, except it is non-returnable and arrives May 20th (also no possibility of a coupon)
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Magic-The-Gathering-Lost-of-Caverns-Ixalan-Bundle-8-Set-Boosters-1-3-lb/5048225211?wmlspartner=wlpa&selectedSellerId=0
Edit: For reference, on TCGPlayer, Set Booster Boxes are $129.34/30 is $4.31/pack before tax. Buying 4 of this bundle with coupon is $135.76 ($139.96 - $4.20) which comes out to $4.24 per pack but comes with the Jurassic Park card, promo card, dice, lands, etc..
Edit 2: Just realize Set Booster Boxes are $109.99 on CSL so yeah if you want a full booster box maybe look at CSL.

At this point I only shop locally, or if need be, at walmart. I don't go to Dominion (loblaws in newfoundland) at all anymore because the prices are mad. But I would sooner go to Dominion than sobeys becayse their prices are bloody ridiculous (for example 7.99 for a 5 pound bag of potatos), and they are heavily leaning in on the scene cards as well.
So don't just boycott loblaws, boycott sobeys too.

I collected as a child in the late 80s to early 90s. A lot has changed since then. I been doing some research on todays football card collecting and noticed that cards are sold in boxes similar to how they were during my childhood. However, I remember buying only a couple (I think they were called wax packs) packs at at time for like 50 cents to $1 each. If you wanted, you could buy the entire box which would usually consist of 30-36 packs per box which was pretty nice. However, fast forward to today, and I see most boxes, whether it’s blasters, hangers, or mega boxes to have a very sad 6 packs on average. With some as little as only 4-7 cards per pack. What the hell happened? Lol is this normal? Are there still boxes with 30-36 packs in it? Or are those days long gone. Of course I see the prices of cards way more as well and I guess that is adjusted to inflation but 6 packs? Are we even able to buy cards by the packs at retail stores or do you have to just buy the box? But again, 6 packs is sad cause that’s like super quick to open. Maybe I’m just old school. But also wanted to know where and when is the best time to buy these boxes of cards? Do you guys just wait for the release date to go to the stores to buy out all the cards to get it before scalpers? I see a lot on sale on ebay and amazon but I assume they are flipping it at a higher price. What do these blasters, hangers, mega boxes, prizm, etc… retail for? When are they released to the stores? Is target and walmart the best places to buy these? Is it better to buy a whole case of boxes? Should I go straight to the manufacturer for better pricing by buying in bulk? Not sure I can afford it of course but still curious.
Sorry for all the questions. I’m still learning and would appreciate anyone’s expertise in this matter. Thanks for the help.