bountyhunter Posted September 1, 2004 Share Posted September 1, 2004 In case you were thinking of biting on those great offers from Best Buy on the e-machines computers because of the fantastic rebate offers.... 1) I just got ripped off by Best Buy because they advertise a $200 "Best Buy" rebate on a computer and monitor and then later I found out it was two separate rebates... and they only allow one rebate per household and you are not eligible for both, so it's false advertising. Screwed out of that $100 by Best Buy liars. 2) e-machines has an arbitrary rule that if they don't receive the rebate material back from you within 30 days of sale, you don't get paid.... even though the rebate offer is still valid for another six months (it is in the microscopic print on the bottom of the rebate receipt). I kept copies of all the original material, how I am I supposed to prove when I mailed it? Screwed out of another $150 by e-machines. 3) Junk: e-machine hardware must be really crap. I only use the computer to do e-mail and make MP3 CD's for audio, and the CD drive started malfunctioning about a week after the 30 days "return with no questions asked" period expired. So now it requires service return or fix it myself. Love this cheap junk, never buying e-machines again. There's a reason their prices are low. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raz-0 Posted September 2, 2004 Share Posted September 2, 2004 Best buy may drag their heels on rebates (ok, keep photocopies, and you'll likely have to call them), but they usually don't advertise falsely, at least for the B&M stores. The online store is a different matter. If one rebate was going to e-machines, then I'd suspect the other is for best buy. Either way, it might be worth taking the ad and the rebates to your best buy and make a stink about it to the manager. If they don't want to hear it, you can always file a complaint about it with your states attorney general. BB has been handed their derriere more than once in that manner, but to the best of my knowledge, it's been the online store each time. As for emachines... They are crap, I hope you didn't spend much. The sad thing is that the latest e-machines are actuall a lot better than they used to be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick Sweeney Posted September 2, 2004 Share Posted September 2, 2004 My wife and I decided that we needed a new machine before I took off to the World Shoot, so we can keep in touch via e-mail. We spring for an e-machine because of the great price. A day later, we still can't get the internal modem to talk to our ISP. (Just one of many problems.) After many frustrating phone calls, we find the one tech at the ISP who knows what's up. "Ditch the e-machine" he says. "Their modems aren't compatible with our system. And I don't know who's they do work with." Literally on the way to the airport, we have to drop off the machine for a refund. She gets a Compaq while I'm gone, and we've been more-or-less happy ever since. That was in 1999! Things haven't changed much, have they? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhgtyre Posted September 2, 2004 Share Posted September 2, 2004 I have serviced many E-Machines in the past and, at least a few years ago, the modems were almost always the cause of the problem. Usually I just replaced the modem and all was well. -ld Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SiG Lady Posted September 2, 2004 Share Posted September 2, 2004 Why on earth do people persist in manufacturing such crap when they know it's near-worthless...???!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raz-0 Posted September 2, 2004 Share Posted September 2, 2004 well actually it isn't worthless, many times it's a great value, provided you want to build your own computer. You catch a good sale, and it's a good discount on a CPU, hard drive, and ram. You throw the rest out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TriggerT Posted September 2, 2004 Share Posted September 2, 2004 Hmmm....I have an Emachine at home, and haven't had any problems with it. I DO use an external modem since I have a cable internet hook up. One thing is for DAMN sure, the Emachine is better than my HP at work that is running Windows ME. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flexmoney Posted September 2, 2004 Share Posted September 2, 2004 On an E-machine right now (and for nearly every post that I have made). I don't ask much of it...internet and scores...maybe a few easy speadsheets every so often. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bountyhunter Posted September 3, 2004 Author Share Posted September 3, 2004 Update: I climbed the food chain at Best Buy and found somebody who agreed that they should have paid both advertised rebates and that person now says my second check will be mailed... so I guess their policy is they pay both to the people who threaten to go to the attorney general about fraudulent business practice. Anyway, I'll assume for now Best Buy is going to make good, maybe they just screwed up. I am still furious at e-machines because I have never heard of a rebate offer that says "Good until 7-29", but has a tiny clause at the bottom of the endless terms and conditions section that says must be submitted withing 30 days... which I missed by a week. Bottom line, the rebate didn't expire, they just refuse to pay if you wait 30 days to send it in. It's the first time I ever heard of that, I didn't catch the microscopic print so I thought I had plenty of time as the rebate did not expire for another month. Kiss that money goodbye. I am annoyed that the top CD drive is already acting flaky, but glad I sprung for the $100 upgrade for the machine with two CD drives. The drive that does read and recording still works (knock on wood). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bountyhunter Posted September 3, 2004 Author Share Posted September 3, 2004 Why on earth do people persist in manufacturing such crap when they know it's near-worthless...???!!!! Actually, the funny thing is I work at a company that makes the reference designs for the voltage regulator modules (VRM's) that power Intel CPU's on their mother boards. Believe me when I tell you that not all mother boards are created equal. Intel asks us to develop a reliabe power supply design based on the CPU requirements and then they publish that design as what is required to power the CPU. In the old days when Intel had their own mother board division, those boards met the refernece design spec.... those days are long gone. Now, the Pacific Rim board schlockers start with the reference design and start removing the most expensive components (ceramic and tantalum capacitors) until the CPU starts screwing up and then add just enough to make it run. Problem is they also substitute garbage quality capacitors which dry out and lose their stuff with time. They also get taiwanese and Korean IC makers to knock off the voltage regulator IC components except they don't hold the same tolerances as ours do. A couple of years back a big name designer from one of our competitors did an expose on what the board makers were doing and how it affected (destroyed) expected operating life. Bottom line, PC hardwrae is so cheap now that nearly all of it is junk and they only hope that most of them will limp through the warranty before they poop on their shoes and go belly up. Next time you are downloading a file or running something and you get the old: "XYZ has unexpectedly quit. We must shut down now." message, it could be a software bug or it could be that twelve cents the board maker saved shaving money off the board cost. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bountyhunter Posted September 3, 2004 Author Share Posted September 3, 2004 Why on earth do people persist in manufacturing such crap when they know it's near-worthless...???!!!! The answert to WHY is actually complex.... the bottom line is that all products go through a honeymoon phase where they can keep selling new generations at higher prices by offering better performance. When your computer was running a 66 MHz processor, the new 166 MHz processor model was a huge improvement that you could feel and see when you worked. Now the garbage grade CPU's are running at least 2.8 Giga Hz and have hard drives that hold at least 40 G bytes of storage space. 99.999% of users will never need better performance, so the only way to get new sales is add features and cut costs. Hence, the bottom fell out of the price of PC's a few years back and now you get one with blinding speed and huge hard drive and two CD-ROMS etc for about $600 including monitor and speakers and printer... so, as to why they build worthless junk? The selling price point doesn't allow them to do anything else. BTW: cell phones are nearly at the same place. That's why they are "featuring" like crazy with cameras and text messaging... they are desperate to find ways to motivate you to buy a new phone and pay more than $50. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SiG Lady Posted September 3, 2004 Share Posted September 3, 2004 "well actually it isn't worthless, many times it's a great value, provided you want to build your own computer. You catch a good sale, and it's a good discount on a CPU, hard drive, and ram. You throw the rest out." Sounds like a scrounger after my own heart. Seems a shame we have to approach it that way, though... I do almost as well at garage sales and dumpster-diving. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TriggerT Posted September 3, 2004 Share Posted September 3, 2004 Why on earth do people persist in manufacturing such crap when they know it's near-worthless...???!!!! I will tell you why. Generally speaking the US public is CHEAP! They want something for nothing, and if you can fool them into thinking they are getting a great deal you can make a TON of money. The bottom line, that's why. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now