Consumer World

If your car has been stolen or totaled, your insurance company has to figure out what its value was just before the incident. Many national insurance companies rely on a "CCC One" appraisal report, which some allege unfairly values your car at sometimes thousands of dollars less than its true value. Here's the story from NPR's local Boston station, WBUR.

30 Wacky (But Fascinating) Product Secrets Revealed

carrots You know those baby carrots you buy in one pound bags at the supermarket? They are actually not baby carrots at all but rather long thin carrots sculpted and cut into short pieces. And how about Mr. Clean Magic Eraser. It is just a melamine sponge you can buy for pennies from AliExpress. Here are dozens more little product secrets.

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TV Bargain Segments Come With Catches, Sometimes Junky Products

We recently wrote about bargain segments on morning network TV shows like GMA that look like regular program content but really are not. In fact, they are mini-infomercials because the programs get a cut of every sale and don't clearly disclose that secret to viewers. (See original story.) Now, the Associated Press says some of the merchandise sold on those segments is junky and has a no-returns policy.

Consumer World Original

Mouse Print* -- Magellan GPS Takes a Shortcut on Lifetime Benefits

Free lifetime map upgrades for your GPS unit is a great benefit. But one company has a (not so) funny way of defining "lifetime." That is our Mouse Print* story this week.

Consumer World

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Bargain of the Week

Last Chance: iPad 9.7" - $120

This is a repeat of an offer that Comcast made this fall that was supposed to end on 12/31. If you are a Comcast triple play customer, you may be eligible to buy a 128-gig, 9.7" Apple iPad (current generation) for a crazy low $120 (billed at $5 a month for 24 months). Apple's regular price is $429! Offer ends February 28.