This article serves as a comprehensive guide to help you navigate the often murky waters of computer buying. It's a cautionary tale, born out of a personal experience of being scammed, and a subsequent quest to uncover the deceptive practices in the computer industry. This guide aims to arm you with the knowledge you need to avoid being duped and to find the best computer deals available.
In the summer of 1997, I was swindled out of $2800 by a fraudster who "sold" me a Gateway laptop online. The details of the scam are too painful to recount, and admittedly, it's a bit embarrassing to have fallen for such a con. However, this unfortunate incident sparked a personal mission to expose the deceptive sales tactics in the computer industry and to find the best computer deals worldwide.
I immersed myself in computer manuals, specifications, and ads, scrutinizing anything that even remotely resembled a PC. My brain became a radar for computer-buying information. This newfound knowledge and expertise led me to become the Head Purchasing Manager for a global non-profit organization with over 7000 members, responsible for purchasing computer equipment for branches in South Korea, Russia, the Philippines, China, Japan, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Europe.
During this journey, I discovered some underhanded, and in some cases, illegal tactics that computer vendors use to swindle customers out of their hard-earned money. Here are some of the most common deceptive practices:
Bait and Switch: Vendors lure customers with the promise of low prices, only to reveal higher prices once the customer has arrived at their store or website. They justify this by claiming that the advertised price was last week's price or that the price doesn't include certain components or peripherals.
Bankruptcy Routine: Some vendors open a 'new' computer outlet, sell products for a few months, ship only a portion of the orders, then declare bankruptcy, taking most of the customer's money.
Opportunistic Pricing: Mail order companies frequently change their prices and specifications. They employ experts to determine exactly how much the market will be willing to pay for a specific model.
Delayed Shipments: Some firms charge your credit card and ship your order within a week. However, since it's a legal requirement that the goods are shipped to you within 30 days, it could take all of 30 days before your goods leave their warehouse. And you may not be able to cancel your order.
Shared Memory: As a cost-cutting measure, some systems are designed for the video card to share memory with the system itself, not having its own dedicated memory. This means that a system advertised with 64 MB RAM and a 4 MB card only has 60 MB of free RAM after the video card's requirements.
What You See Isn’t What You Get: Due to the frequent non-availability of various components, the machine you receive may not be the exact machine you ordered.
Before you rush to the nearest "reputable" computer store, be aware that these big players also have deceptive practices. They hire professional salespeople who know exactly how to manipulate, entice, and close the deal. Unless you're savvy in computer buying, you could easily fall prey to these tactics.
Do you know, for instance, the best day of the week to buy a computer for the best prices? Or the secret to saving at least $500 on your next computer purchase? Or when it's okay to buy "clones" or generic brands? My friend, Mark Joyner, and I reveal these secrets and more in another article located [here](http://www.roibot.com k_cbsr.cgi?cbsrfreecontent).
Despite the potential pitfalls, there are happy endings in the world of computer buying. With the right knowledge, you can secure huge discounts on computer prices. I recently bought an IBM Thinkpad T20 with all the bells and whistles at about $1400 below the listed price! Beating the computer bullies at their own game is indeed the best revenge.
