The HD rip off.

[igator99]

I was price shocked when I went to BB & CC looking for an HD reciever. I didn't buy one today because the freaking HDMI cable was more than the reciever. I thought it might be intresting for us to share stories of how stores are using the HD craze to rip people off. I went to radio shack after buying my HDTV and the manager tried to sell me special HD coaxial cable that was twice the price of their normal coax. Then she tried to sell a special super HD antenna. I told the lady I purchased the exact same antenna about seven years ago. I almost bought a plasma TV at BB and the salesman tried to sell some super surge protector for $175. He assured me that I would need it. I found a similar one at K-Mart for $50. Go price TV stands at CC & BB and you will see they are like $200. I found a similar one at Target for $60. The salesman at CC told me these were specially constructed to hold the weight of the HDTV! LOL! Look at DirecTV's 2 year commit for activating an HD box. They know we want and it seems everyone is trying to stick it to us. I love the OTAHD I get now. It is awesome. I just find it funny how these stores are trying to rip everyone off.

 

[Jimbo]

The salesman at CC told me these were specially constructed to hold the weight of the HDTV! LOL!

Gee if ya take a look at alot of these TV's , they way about 60lbs., I certianly hope a ordinary TV stand will hold at least that

Jimbo

 

[spectrumsp]

Go to Walmart...you can get a 6' HDMI for about $29...

 

[raoul5788]

Go to Walmart...you can get a 6' HDMI for about $29...

www.svideo.com and www.monoprice.com have them for much less than even that.

 

[Beavis]

I got my 6' HDMI cable from Sam's Club for $15.

 

[bhelms]

To a large extent, it's called capitalism, and it's what made our country great. Just like the $7.00 beers at a ballgame - if folks are willing to pay the price then it's not a rip-off. And to be sure, sellers will continue to charge those prices as long as there are customers willing to pay them!

To me a rip-off is when salespeople outright lie to a customer to get them to spend that money, and that's a different story. But I have to believe a lot of those sales folks are not truely lying (at BB for instance they don't get commission, so what's the incentive for a bold-faced lie?) - they have just been "brainwashed" into believing their over-priced add-on products are essentials for best performance, and they are doing their jobs by carrying the company message. They're ignorant and they don't care. I for one could not work at a place like that since I know those products are grossly overpriced. If a customer brought a $100 cable to me at the register, I'd go ahead and complete the transaction, but if a customer aked me the difference between that $100 cable and one he saw on-line for $15, then I'd have to say, "In honsety - not much except the price." I'd probably lose my job over that, though...

Obviously most readers of these threads are saavy shoppers and know that they can buy most accessories for a lot less that the stuff the "specialty" retailers push on us. In every market it pays to shop around, and I have no sympathy for those who don't take the time to educate themselves about product value before they plunk-down their hard-earned bucks. But as P. T. Barnum was credited to have said - "There's a sucker born every minute - and two to take 'em...!"

 

[igator99]

To a large extent, it's called capitalism, and it's what made our country great. Just like the $7.00 beers at a ballgame - if folks are willing to pay the price then it's not a rip-off. And to be sure, sellers will continue to charge those prices as long as there are customers willing to pay them!

To me a rip-off is when salespeople outright lie to a customer to get them to spend that money, and that's a different story. But I have to believe a lot of those sales folks are not truely lying (at BB for instance they don't get commission, so what's the incentive for a bold-faced lie?) - they have just been "brainwashed" into believing their over-priced add-on products are essentials for best performance, and they are doing their jobs by carrying the company message. They're ignorant and they don't care. I for one could not work at a place like that since I know those products are grossly overpriced. If a customer brought a $100 cable to me at the register, I'd go ahead and complete the transaction, but if a customer aked me the difference between that $100 cable and one he saw on-line for $15, then I'd have to say, "In honsety - not much except the price." I'd probably lose my job over that, though...

Obviously most readers of these threads are saavy shoppers and know that they can buy most accessories for a lot less that the stuff the "specialty" retailers push on us. In every market it pays to shop around, and I have no sympathy for those who don't take the time to educate themselves about product value before they plunk-down their hard-earned bucks. But as P. T. Barnum was credited to have said - "There's a sucker born every minute - and two to take 'em...!"

Yes what you are saying is true. We do live under a capitalist system and thus far that is the best system in the world. I bet the North Koreans don't sit around talking about the difference between cables and their prices. I'm just stunned at the massive attempt to stick it to customers looking for HD. It is almost like they think we are all a bunch of little kids that will steal the change in Moms purse to go hit the arcade. I like HD and I'm willing to pay a little more for it but at outrages prices I'll wait or go shop around. I disagree with you a bit in there is a point where capitalism turns into simple greed and can push the boundaries of being crimminal. When Katrina was bearing down on Southeast Louisiana a gas station on a major road out of New Orleans was charging $15 a gallon. I only use that example to show capitalism at its worse. I see the new HD DVD players are going around for a 1,000. That is way to expensive for me. I'll wait till the prices come down. I just threw out an DVD player of mine that broke. It was the first one I ever bought and I thought I was getting a great deal when a bought it for 200. Now they cost what? 30 - 50 dollars? Great thing about capitalism is that competition will drive prices down.

 

[Gen Custer]

I was in PC Richard & Son which is an electronics retailer here in NEw York. They had a Monster cable display with i think it was shrek running on 2 identical LCD screen.s Of course the monster cable screen had a much cleaner picture. When I went around to the back of the sets, the monster cables were connected with component inputs while the other set was hooked up using composite video outputs. This is unfair and a total rip off as you think you're only seeing the difference in 2 cables when they actually change the type of input trasnsmission..

 

[mlb]

I'd file a complaint with the attorney general of NY and with the Better Business Bureau. That is total crap, someone should be fired for that.

 

[fab9876]

@#$@$!!

Now I'm really mad......not fair for the average person who doesn't know much about HDTV

 

[ScottL]

I'm not saying the practice of selling accessories at huge markups is right, but it is simply the result of the consumer looking for the best deal out there. I spent my college years working in a camera store and the same thing happens there. he electronics are so price sensitive because they are advertised in the magazines and on the internet for such low prices, they stores are selling them at cost, or near cost. They then try to make upi their lost margin with overprced accessories and extended warranties. Camera stores sold the camera ato,or even below, cost to make huge profit on the accessories like skylight filters, cases, etc. Then they made even more on the film and processing.

I am not excusing the retailers and their practices, but they do have to make a profit and the profits aren't in the electronics themselves.

 

[mlb]

That doesn't give you the right to false advertise, which essentially is what is going on here. They are deliberately degrading the signal to help push their overpriced product.

 

[bhelms]

Now I'm really mad......not fair for the average person who doesn't know much about HDTV

There are always those that will be taken advantage of. Sometimes higher authorities need to intervene, i.e., by regulation, like when what's being sold is harmful to you. This is NOT one of those situations! The "average person" needs to educate himself before making any kind of investment. There are plenty of ways to do that, including reading these forums in the case of HD. Welcome, BTW...!

Even tho' HD has been around for quite some time (I saw my first HD system in Japan in '93) it's still in its honeymoon period as far as "new" technology goes. We early adopters will always pave the way for others by paying the high prices and making the early mistakes. (I paid almost $1K for my first hi-fi VHS VCR in '84 - At least I didn't go Beta!) As long as we realize that we can either have it now at that higher price, or wait a bit for the prices to come down and problems to be solved, then we are making a conscious decision. I still consider that an educated decision for the most part. It's probably pretty rare that we let ourselves get screwed-over by the scam artists.

That being said, some of the examples given above are indeed criminal and those responsible should be prosecuted...