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| Best Buy's 'Optimization' Is Officially a Huge, Evil Scam | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Jan 4 2010, 07:43 AM (328 Views) | |
| George K | Jan 4 2010, 07:43 AM Post #1 |
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Finally
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http://gizmodo.com/5439590/best-buys-optimization-is-officially-a-huge-evil-scam
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A guide to GKSR: Click "Now look here, you Baltic gas passer... " - Mik, 6/14/08 Nothing is as effective as homeopathy. I'd rather listen to an hour of Abba than an hour of The Beatles. - Klaus, 4/29/18 | |
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| Aqua Letifer | Jan 4 2010, 07:46 AM Post #2 |
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ZOOOOOM!
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Thank you for talking me into sticking with my decision to make my own boxes, Best Buy. ****ing **** what swindlers. |
| I cite irreconcilable differences. | |
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| John D'Oh | Jan 4 2010, 07:50 AM Post #3 |
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MAMIL
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The idea that you could double computer speed for $60 is pretty ridiculous. I hate these shops. |
| What do you mean "we", have you got a mouse in your pocket? | |
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| Aqua Letifer | Jan 4 2010, 07:53 AM Post #4 |
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ZOOOOOM!
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These days I just don't understand people who buy computers from retail stores and don't wipe them as soon as they get home, and reinstall the OS themselves. |
| I cite irreconcilable differences. | |
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| George K | Jan 4 2010, 07:58 AM Post #5 |
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Finally
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(at least) Two reasons: 1) They're afraid they'll screw something up. 2) The install discs are full of bloatware and adware as well - at least they were with any PC I've owned. |
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A guide to GKSR: Click "Now look here, you Baltic gas passer... " - Mik, 6/14/08 Nothing is as effective as homeopathy. I'd rather listen to an hour of Abba than an hour of The Beatles. - Klaus, 4/29/18 | |
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| John D'Oh | Jan 4 2010, 07:59 AM Post #6 |
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MAMIL
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I don't think most users would feel confident enough to do it. It's pretty easy, obviously, but until you actually do it, it's a pretty scary proposition. |
| What do you mean "we", have you got a mouse in your pocket? | |
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| QuirtEvans | Jan 4 2010, 08:17 AM Post #7 |
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I Owe It All To John D'Oh
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Well, I'll give you one good reason for buying a computer at Best Buy. A couple of Christmases ago, the Quirtlets got laptops for Christmas. Purchased at Best Buy, because that was where the best deal was ... including lots of online research ... at the time. About ten months later, the screen on one of the laptops went dim, and then died completely. Ax and John D'Oh will remember this, because the anguished Quirtlet asked them to fix it for her, after I was unable to do so. They had no better luck. I took it back to Best Buy. The Geek Squad geek looked at it for a few minutes, then told me he'd have to send it in. From that point on, I got regular e-mails from the Geek Squad about the computer. This is what's wrong with it, this is what we have to do, we're waiting for this part. A couple of weeks later, it was ready. New screen. Total cost: zero. All else equal, I'd buy at Costco (because they double the manufacturers' warranties). But they didn't have what I wanted. And the drop-off and pick-up at Best Buy was incredibly easy. |
| It would be unwise to underestimate what large groups of ill-informed people acting together can achieve. -- John D'Oh, January 14, 2010. | |
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| JBryan | Jan 4 2010, 08:24 AM Post #8 |
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I am the grey one
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Back in '96 I bought an IBM Thinkpad over the internet. It cost quite a bit relative to others I could have gotten but it really paid off a few months later when the motherboard died and I got a replacement in one day. In Beijing. |
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"Any man who would make an X rated movie should be forced to take his daughter to see it". - John Wayne There is a line we cross when we go from "I will believe it when I see it" to "I will see it when I believe it". Henry II: I marvel at you after all these years. Still like a democratic drawbridge: going down for everybody. Eleanor: At my age there's not much traffic anymore. From The Lion in Winter. | |
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| Aqua Letifer | Jan 4 2010, 08:35 AM Post #9 |
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ZOOOOOM!
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Thinkpads and Toshibas are notoriously expensive but for the most part, you get what you pay for. |
| I cite irreconcilable differences. | |
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| George K | Jan 4 2010, 08:36 AM Post #10 |
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Finally
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A guide to GKSR: Click "Now look here, you Baltic gas passer... " - Mik, 6/14/08 Nothing is as effective as homeopathy. I'd rather listen to an hour of Abba than an hour of The Beatles. - Klaus, 4/29/18 | |
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| Aqua Letifer | Jan 4 2010, 08:40 AM Post #11 |
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ZOOOOOM!
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Eh, it's true. Their netbooks especially are starting to compete nicely with ASUS, Acer, etc. |
| I cite irreconcilable differences. | |
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| Axtremus | Jan 4 2010, 08:42 AM Post #12 |
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HOLY CARP!!!
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Recently acquired a low cost, no frill CPU from BestBuy. Placed order on website, picked it up from a store later. No mention about buying any extra warranty or services. Pretty darn efficient. I'm pretty sure they'll try to sell me extra warranty and extra services if I buy the box off the shelf on the store, instead of pre-ordering and pre-paying on their website, though. I don't condone BestBuy/GeekSquad's sales tactics and service practices if indeed what's describe in the article is accurate. But, as Quirt observed, BestBuy does certainly things well, too. Just need to figure out what they're good at and where they suck, then do business with them in a way that only deals with what they're good at. The same can be said of Apple, Dell, Walmart, and just about any other company. |
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| Improviso | Jan 4 2010, 08:44 AM Post #13 |
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HOLY CARP!!!
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The old saying in our shop was, "IBM. You can buy better but you can't pay more." |
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Identifying narcissists isn't difficult. Just look for the person who is constantly fishing for compliments and admiration while breaking down over even the slightest bit of criticism. We have the freedom to choose our actions, but we do not get to choose our consequences. | |
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