How to get the best deals online: CBC's Marketplace consumer cheat sheet

If you've been too busy this week to keep up with health and consumer news, CBC's Marketplace is here to help.

Plus: Sears sales scrutiny and Uber's security breach

CBC News Posted: Nov 26, 2017 5:00 AM EST | Last Updated: November 26, 2017

CBC Marketplace testers Nadia Rashwan, left, Grant Leclerc and Ali Minton check prices on hotels at various websites. The results depended on where you are, what device you're using, and who the website thinks you are. (CBC)

Miss something this week? Don't panic. CBC's Marketplace rounds up the consumer and health news you need.

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Sears sales scrutiny

Some Sears shopping sleuths peeled back the price sticker at Sears liquidation sales and found cheaper prices hiding underneath. And an employee came forward to say he was told to mark up some prices after the sales began. So the Competition Bureau wants to know what's going on, and is asking the liquidators in charge of the sales for answers.

The Competition Bureau is looking into alleged price mark-ups during Sears Canada liquidation sales, says a new report. (Nathan Denette/Canadian Press)

Kid-friendly filter fail

Those kid-friendly filters may not always work. One Vancouver woman with two kids was alarmed to discover this. Her Netflix account was set to "Older Kids and Below." But when her nine-year-old son started typing a search for Power Rangers, Netflix suggested the movies After Porn Ends and Revenge Porn. She was not impressed. (Netflix has since fixed that error.)

When Cadi Jordan's kids were searching Netflix for Power Rangers episodes, the results included offerings such as After Porn Ends. (Cadi Jordan)

Uber's security breach

Uber was hit by hackers. But they can't confirm how many Canadians were affected. The breach includes personal details on 57 million Uber users worldwide, including names, email addresses and phone numbers. Uber said it paid hackers $100,000 last year to destroy the dataand decided not to report the breach. Canada's privacy commissioner is looking into it.

Uber is coming clean about its coverup of a year-old data breach, but CEO Dara Khosrowshahi says there's no evidence the stolen information has been misused. (Eric Risberg/Associated Press)

Customer disservice?

A Bell Canada employee says she was required to use high-pressure sales tactics on every call. She says she had to sell services to people who called in with billing or service complaints in order to hit sales targets, even when she knew that they couldn't even use what she was selling. Bell says this is "completely unfounded and untrue."

Bell call centre employee Andrea Rizzo says she had to take a stress leave because of the constant pressure to meet sales targets or face possible termination. (Tina Mackenzie/CBC)

The Instant Pot'sBlack Friday hype

Instant Pot mania is taking over. The Canadian-developed electric pressure cooker has a cult-like following: A quarter of a million people bought the pots on Amazon's Prime Day; Black Friday was expected to double that number. Who knew that everyone would be clamouring for pressure cookers?

Do you know someone who lined up to get an Instant Pot? (CBC)

We need your help

Are you cleaning out your closet and donating your stuff to charity? If you plan to bring them to a retailer with donation bins, we want to hear from you. Email Tyana.Grundig@cbc.ca.

What else is going on?

Cigarettes may get more expensive. Cigarette taxes are currently about 68 per cent of the retail price. A report for Health Canada recommends boosting them to 80 per cent.

Zara worker woes. Unpaid Zara garment workers, who sewed pleas for help into clothes, say they still haven't seen a cent.

This week in recalls:

PlanToys Baby Gyms could be a strangulation hazard. And Ikea is reminding people about its recall of 29 million Malm dressers after an eighth child died.

Exposing price discrimination

Your personal data like your search history, social media profilesand what device you use can give companies clues about what they can charge you online. In our test, we reveal how websites offer customers different prices for the same product depending on your digital footprint.