report on climate change
Navigation

I’d tell you the details, but they’re just too painful torelive. And frankly, I feel more than a little embarrassed forbeing conned.

After that distasteful experience, I embarked on a personalcrusade not only to expose the deceptive sales practices in thecomputer industry, but also to scour the globe for the bestcomputer deals in the world.

I voraciously read computer manuals, specs, ads -- andscrutinized anything that even remotely resembled a PC. My brainbecame the Geiger counter for computer-buying information.

As a result, I’ve become the Head Purchasing Manager for aworldwide non-profit organization consisting of 7000+ members –in charge of purchasing computer equipment for overseas branchesin South Korea, Russia, the Philippines, China, Japan,Indonesia, Malaysia, and Europe.

But I’m getting ahead of myself. Flashback to 1997.

Back then, I learned quite a few things about computer-buyingthat very few people on this planet know about. I’m going toreveal some sneaky -- and in some instances, illegal -- thingsthat computer vendors do to bilk you out of your hard earnedcash.

1) Bait and Switch - Computer vendors generally resort to anymeans to get you to their website or store first. The mostcommon way is to lure you there with the promise of the lowestprices. When you fall for the bait, and visit their website orstore, you’ll find that their prices are higher than theyadvertised. They feed you the story that the advertised pricewas last week’s price, or that price doesn’t include thiscomponent or that peripheral. Vendors do this because, in thehighly competitive business of computer sales, this is sometimesthe only way they get a shot at showing you their wares. Then,they do the usual song-and-dance routine: “But while you’rehere, have I got a deal for you…” hoping you won’t go lookingelsewhere.

2) Bankruptcy Routine - This trick consists of opening a ‘new’computer outlet, selling product for a few months, shipping onlya portion of the orders, and then declaring bankruptcy andtaking most of the customer’s money. The people who do this arereal crooks, and typically engage in this practice many times.

3) Opportunistic Pricing - This is something very few peopleknow about. Mail order companies change their prices andspecifications regularly. They have a complex pricing policywhere they employ experts whose only job is to determine exactlyhow much the market will be willing to pay for a specific model.

4) Delayed Shipments - Some firms charge your credit card, andship your order within a week -- but since it is a legalrequirement that the goods are shipped to you within 30 days, itcould take all of 30 days before your goods leave theirwarehouse. And you may not be able to cancel your order. Theyare, of course, earning interest on your money.

5) Shared Memory - As a cost cutting measure, some systems aredesigned for the video card to share memory with the systemitself and not to have its own dedicated memory. Therefore asystem with 64 MB RAM advertised with a 4 MB card has only 60 MBof free RAM after the video card’s requirements. On budgetsystems, this is common but you should be told about it. Youcould end up buying a computer that has 64 MB of RAM and thenfind that you only really have 58 MB -- and you can't run aprogram that needs 64MB.

6) What You See Isn’t What You Get - As the components that gointo a machine are numerous and constantly changing, you mayfind that the machine you receive is rarely the exact machineyou ordered. These differences are caused by the frequentnon-availability of various components. Additionally, some bigname mail order firms’ sales reps get into the habit of"forgetting" what price they gave you for the equipment youasked for – and, as a result, you get sent a system that’smissing parts that you wanted.

Now, before you go running to the first “reputable” computerstore thinking it’s your safest bet, you have to know that thosebig players also have a slew of deceptive practices up theirsleeves. Furthermore, they go to great lengths to hireprofessional salespeople. Quite frankly, unless you’re one ofthe small percentage of people who possess computer-buyingsavvy, you are putty in the hands of trained computersalespeople. They know exactly how to manipulate you, enticeyou, allay your fears and, most importantly, close the deal. Howabout you – are you a trained computer buyer?

Do you know for instance….

…what day of the week it’s best to buy a computer to get thebest prices?

…the closely-guarded tactic to saving at least $500 on your nextcomputer purchase?

…what advertised feature you should never pay a single dime forwhen buying a computer?

…when it’s OK to buy "clones" or generic brands?

…why you should beware of advertisements that scream “FreePrinter”, “Free Scanner” and “Free Software”?

My friend, Mark Joyner, and I reveal those secrets for free inanother article located here:

http://www.roibot.com k_cbsr.cgi?cbsrfreecontent

I don’t want you thinking there are no happy endings in theworld of computer buying. It's absolutely mind-blowing whatastronomical margins some firms make on PCs, and how incrediblysimple it is for buyers to get huge discounts on those prices -if they know how.

Epilogue: I have a recent success story of my own to tell. Ijust bought myself a new laptop -- a beautiful IBM Thinkpad T20with all the bells and whistles at about $1400 below listedprice!

All I can say is, beating the computer bullies at their own gameis the best revenge.

About the author:Helen Cho is the author of “Computer Buying Secrets Revealed!”,the only book of its kind that shows how anyone can save atleast $500 on their next computer purchase:http://www.roibot.com/tk_cbsr.cgi?cbsrfreecontent

Additional Resources Doujin Of The Ending To Doraemon By Roberto Bell Putting a smile on every kids face for almost 4 decades is Doraemon. Forget about Hello Kitty, here you have a cat, a robotic cat that opened children’s mind, exercised imagination and all the while Read more...

Additional Resources Tsunami - The Lessons Of Nature By Hirini Reedy, Thu Dec 8th In today's uncertain world, we are once reminded of the awesomepower of Nature. The tsunami tidal waves that hit Southeast Asiashowed the power of Nature and the fragility of human life. Yetamong Read more...

We strive to provide only quality articles, so if there is a specific topic related to climate change that you would like us to cover, please contact us at any time.

And again, thank you to those contributing daily to our climate change website.

Schools to Help Needy Students]]>

Even if people stopped pumping out carbon dioxide and other pollutants tomorrow, global warming would get worse, two teams of researchers reported yesterday.]]>







A sampling of noteworthy presentations yesterday at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, taking place in Washington this weekend.]]>



All college freshmen who live in dorms should be vaccinated for meningitis, a government panel recommended yesterday, reversing policy of the past. The panel is also advising doctors to give the shot to all 11- and 12-year-old children and recommending that it be provided to at least 4 million children eligible under the federal children's vaccine program.]]>