Yeah it's pretty ugly, but par for the course unfortunately.  Lots of car dealerships, timeshare companies, real estate agencies are doing it as well.  As the owner of a small business, I contemplated it (only in passing as I imagine the logistics would be staggering)  briefly.  I, like a lot of other companies, have payrolls to meet and count our sales from an ever shrinking fund of disposable income thats out there.  Ugly, but a financial reality none the less. But I get the point you're making...while Wal-mart is a scum sucking, evil, blight on the ass of small businesses everywhere, this is one of those things that, while repugnant to see (and even worse to contemplate doing yourself), is no different than what some existing companies are doing already (H&R block etc).  But good diary...