If exploitation of ignorance were a crime, then Best Buy and its "Geek Squad" thralls would be hanged by the neck until dead. The latest way in which Best Buy is profiting from the stupid is by charging $30 for Sony's free firmware updates and hiding it as a service.
At least one Best Buy in Staten Island, New York, is selling PS3 Slims for $329.98, explaining away the extra thirty bucks as its fee for installing the latest PS3 firmware. Thirty bucks to confirm something that Sony will force every consumer to do anyway? You gotta admire the gall, at least.
The sad thing is, I bet thousands of idiot customers have already shelled out for this silly buggery.
Best Buy Sells Free PS3 Upgrades [DualShockers via Engadget]
Jim Sterling serves as reviews editor for Destructoid.com, head of the Podtoid podcast, and produces a number of news stories, original features, one-of-a-kind videos. With his passionate argumentative style, controversial opinions, harsh delivery, and dedication to brutal honesty Sterling is a name that you can't help but recognize.
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Contest:
12:40 PM on 10.05.2010 | 
I guess if destructoid was a plumping site, we'd have stories about how home depot is charging $99 to install a sink fixture, even though everyone on the site could do it.
Its the same reason a lot of people pay to get their oil changed as well. I mean, you have to be a dunce not to know how to do it, but for the extra $15, you dont have to get out of your car or get dirty.
What you did there, I see it.
http://kotaku.com/5363264/seriously-this-should-be-illegal
Oh, wait, is this one of those jokes hating on PS3 updates?
There's a difference between a job requiring an actual skill set, tools and knowledge as opposed to an automatic update that requires you to press X on the controller a few times.
brb, golden toilet needs polish.
the employees, the prices, the inventory.
This is ridiculous.
First of all, I would would never pay the "New" price for something that's been opened by someone other than me.
I've almost choked more than one Gamestop employee for trying to give me open copies of games at the new price.
If it's open it's not new motherfuckers!
Yes, I know they take skill, but that's not the point. The point is, its convenient for people that don't want to bother doing the job. Its faster, and less of a hastle for people who have no clue, or dont want to have a clue. If people want to trade for a task, I see no fault in bestbuy on capitalizing on it.
And, this isnt new for them anyway. They've been doing these things forever. I remember last year they were charging to set up the wii and 360. They also charge like $99 right off the bat to even take your computer in a diagnose it. Before fixing it.
As much as I hate that at gamestop as well, it actually is somewhat of a benefit to the customer. I mean, yes, in everyone's eyes, the game is not new, because i has been opened. But it IS new in the eyes of GS policy. So, if it fucks up, you can take it back and replace it with a new copy, it falls under the same rules as factory sealed games, etc.
But, I too, have wanted to choke some GS employees for that. Its not so much the pulling the disc out... as much as its the employees and how their attitude does a complete 180 when you tell them the game isn't new. I can only imagine how often they hear that, and how badly they want to tell everyone the truth, but a job is a job.
Luckily I work in the video game department, so I usually have control over making sure my customers don't buy it. Sometimes though, Best Buy will have a couple of PS360s that have already been "upgraded by Geek Squad" and the rest of the stock will sell out, so they'll only have the one, bad, choice.
It's basically there for the stupidest of stupid people, as a service to tweak settings they should be capable of figuring out if they're going to use the device anyway. Supposedly, except that they don't customize it for the individual- it's set as a grab and go item for "maximum convenience."
"They don't want to get home and have a lot of service updates. They want to play right away," says my manager, who completely overlooks the fact we don't pull the units and re-update them for every update, but rather only do it once... and who also overlooks the fact that there will be game-specific updates anyway.
Whats with the rest of the picture? I know Best Buy also does bundle deals... and looks like this deal might actually have more than what the story is alluding to.
It looks like this package comes with an additional controller, the firmware update, and a greatest hits ($29.99) game.
If that is the case... $330 isnt that bad.
Geek squad is and always will be a huge rip-off.
so if they get a 29.99 game along with a 299.99 dollar console for 329.98, doesn't that mean they save all of $0.02 (tax not included)?
Ssssssuper Ssssavings at your local Best Buy!
The goal is to convince someone who doesn't know (tipped off by the fact they brought it to Geek Squad) that their shit needs replacing, not fixing, and to sell them things they don't even need.
I'll give you $15 to do an oil change in my car! It's near impossible to do without hoisting up! I have, however, done the "plumping" of swapping pipes under the kitchen sink.
I can't believe anyone would pay $30 for someone to press X. This sentence required more work than a PS3 update would.
I have two cars, a dodge Caliber and a ford focus. The Caliber is the easiest car in the world to change, since everything is right up front... the focus, on the other hand, is made of devil parts. And I struggle with it every time I do the oil... even though I love doing it. The filter is up behind the engine, on the firewall side... >:( Luckily I just got some car ramps for $10 at a garage sale a few weeks back, so no more problems.
yeah, but with an oil change you are actually getting a service...a service that not everyone has the skill set, tools, or the time to do...PS3 update is something that anyone that is purchasing the product can do and it requires no certain skills or tools.
Not kidding.
As for the people who need to have their ram installed ..... I would argue they are simply too stupid to own a computer in the first place.