Computers are big sellers during the Christmas shopping season and this year is no exception. Desktop and laptop computers, netbooks and all of their accessories are flying off the shelves. But, if you think that retailers are raking in the dough because of computer sales, you are wrong.
Computer sales used to be handled mainly through small, independent retailers, stores that only dealt in one marketplace: computers. These independent stores also had a strong focus on customer service, driven by owner-operators who actually had a personal stake in their store’s success. Over the years, the landscape has changed. Big-box retailers like Best Buy now dominate the retail computer sales world, and offer much more than just computers. The computer “expert” that sold you your laptop this week may be the clothes-washing machine or car stereo expert next week.
Profit margins on computer sales are not enough to keep big-box stores like Best Buy in business, which has driven many retailers to turn to the shady, high-profit-margin practice of “the upsell.”
Imagine if you will, that you are at a new car dealership and you have decided which car you wish to buy. You’ve seen the price posted in the window and are sure that’s the car for you. Suddenly, the salesman shifts gear from “isn’t this a great car” to “this won’t be a great car until you pay $1,600 extra for the special rust-proof undercoating and fancy trim package.”
You’ve just experienced the “upsell,” where salesmen try to sell you a bunch of things that you don’t really need on top of an already-expensive item. Extended warranties, special “optimization” services, bundled hardware packages (“But, I don’t need a new printer!”) and bait-and-switch tactics: that’s what the new-computer buying experience is turning into at big-box retailers.
Part of this morning’s reading material was a story I found on TheBigMoney.com about Best Buy selling unnecessary extended warranties and “optimization” services for new Apple Mac laptops. Specifically, the author’s mother had been bamboozled into spending $340 for such crap, on top of what was already a $1,200 computer. Mom didn’t know any better, and in the face of hard-sell tactics from the pimply-faced college-aged computer “expert” saleskid, was conned out of $340 that could have been spent on something more worthwhile.
I have personally witnessed and refused many such upsell schemes at all of our local big-box retailers; Best buy is not the only one. Lest you think I am picking on them, I actually like Best Buy, because when I go there, I know they will usually have what I need. However, I also know from experience that there are only one or two people in each department that really know what they are talking about; the rest of them only know how to talk you into buying things.
Trust me, extended warranties are rarely a good deal for consumers, but they are a huge money-maker for retailers. I have also rescued many of my customers who had the forethought to call me, often from the store itself with the salesman standing right there, and ask, “Dave, do I really need a …..?”
For the uninitiated, it may not be easy to resist such seemingly well-informed and aggressive tactics. Certain sales people at certain retailers won’t even approach when they see me coming, because they know ahead of time that their upsell schemes won’t work on me. My advice is that, if you don’t know much about computers, take someone shopping with you that does, if for nothing else than moral support in resisting the upsell. Sometimes, people will ask me to go computer shopping with them, which I gladly do. Many times, people call me and simply say, “Dave, go buy me a new computer; you know what I need.”
If you are going to buy a new computer, and, indeed, anything these days, arm yourself with the resolve to resist the upsell techniques that you will most definitely encounter. For more education on the subject, go to Google and search for “big-box upsell;” for even more fun, Google for “best buy upsell.”