Selling it August 2010: Goofs, glitches, gotchas, and howlers

In this report: Overview

Selling it

Last reviewed: August 2010

This article appeared in
August 2010 Consumer Reports Magazine.

Tiny entrance to the Magic Kingdom

"I purchased this thinking it would cover the entire door as the photo showed," a reader wrote. "They must have had a very small front door."

A small door poster of Disney princesses

More like 'Buy 2.4 and Save'

Old Spice deodorant sticks really stuck it to an annoyed buyer, who sent the photos above. In the package, at left, the two smaller sticks are sitting on a cardboard platform.

Old Spice deodorant sticks are set atop cardboard inside of a package to make all three seem the same size

Can't wait for the bad news

So would a $40 increase from RCN, a digital-service provider, be twice as great?

RCN service ad claiming, 'Now you can enjoy the same great services for only $20 a month more than you are currently paying.'

Manwich math

“A ¼ cup serving of Manwich sauce provides ½ cup of vegetables, “ the label says. How is that possible? We checked with a customer-service rep and … it's all in the cooking. “Half a cup of tomatoes,” she said, “equals one-quarter cup of sauce once simmered down.”

Going, going, gone

Perhaps the paper should have run these ads separately.

A funeral home ad on top of a pain creme ad that reads, 'Go Painlessly'

Make your dog a guinea pig

"I don't know," a reader wrote. "This seems like one of those times it would be good to test the product on animals!"

Dog shampoo that claims to have not been tested on animals

Lost in translation

Here are the first instructions for working a puzzle cube. (There are several more steps, but we'll spare you.) As a reader said, "If you can figure out how to put it together—that's magic!"