Why don't retail stores ever have the best stuff? - EVO 4G Accessories

Call me old-fashioned, but I LIKE buying stuff in retail stores. Lots of reasons:
1) I can try the product on to check for comfort.
2) I can get a sense for quality and fit n' finish.
3) If it breaks or I don't like it I can EASILY return or exchange it.
4) Instant Gratification - Face it, waiting for a week to get something you bought today SUCKS.
That being said, it seems that most of the really cool stuff is never available in stores. For example, over-the-head bluetooth headset with boom mic.
I work from home and LIVE on the phone. Before unlimited long distance was free, my phone bills would run about $3000 a month, just to give you an idea. It is very important that I have a lightweight, long-lasting headset. It MUST have a boom mic as my clients don't like it when I sound like I'm on a speakerphone as with most bluetooth headsets. I don't care if it isn't sleek and pretty - I never wear it outside the office - I am 100% into functionality.
Anyway, headsets of this nature have been out for about a year. You would THINK somebody with a retail store would carry them, but no. My local possibilities are:
BestBuy
RadioShack
Target
Walmart
Sam's Club
Office Depot
Office Max
Staples
Nobody. Not one of these stores carries this product. God I wish we had a Frye's here in this town. Frye's completely rocks.
Now I have to order online and cross my fingers the product doesn't suck.

i'm the opposite, I hate buying at retail stores.
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App

I am with the OP here. I travel from place to place around the country in the cellphone industry and most times I don't know where I will be 3-7 days from now. So ordering online is iffy at best for me. I also don't want to pay the gouging prices for overnight shipping to make up for it. So I must buy from a B+M store. On the rare occasion that I know where I will be I have bought online, but most times its just not possible for me.

I think I have figured out why this is.
Go to the BestBuy website. It seems all of the coolest, most current stuff is available online only. Why would they do that?
Well you figure the more sophisticated shopper that wants the latest thing will be shopping online. More of the customers who go to retail stores are less sophisticated users rather than enthusiasts.
So they sell the goid stuff online and ship out all the old tired stuff to sell to consumers who don't know any better.
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OneStepAhead said:
i'm the opposite, I hate buying at retail stores.
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Yah same here

I agree with the OP, I prefer retail stores for my gadgets. It allows me to look them over (online photos are never accurate, try it out, not have to deal with annoying/unreliable mail delivery, and in the end get the instant gratification of taking it home immediately...
Sent from my HTC EVO using XDA app

Frye's only goes so far though too. It all depends we got s huge one and at times it is a god send and others it is as hit or miss as the regular options. But agreed, variety and such some **** just cant be got around certain places.
So yes I too enjoy the immediate purchase / use of most things and honestlyas far as online purchases go, some are more suited for as much than others.
SWYPED from my SUPASONIC

Probably has to do with the fact that Americans are so obsessed with the lowest price they don't even care about the product quality.
This is evident by the surge in Chinese goods being sold at the rate it is.
Usually "the best" isn't cheapest.
Also, retail stores have a limit in space, unlike online.
Thus they have to be more picky on what they carry.
So, of course, they are going to pick the big sellers. [Especially cause they have more overhead having to pay people to run the stores as well]

Its because 90% of the in store shoppers are average electronic consumers. Hell you'd crap if you saw how many people dont update theyre androids and are still on 1.5. These items your looking for are specialty items and not used by the average shopper therefore they dont sell so we dont carry them. Stores have to buy a certain amount of a product to carry it and most items like this dont sell fast enough. After a few months the stores pay a stocking fee on what isnt sold. Online however doesnt have these limitations which is why they stock these items. They get them from the manufacturer on a per basis order.
I work at BB and would love these specialty items but our group of buyers is a minor percent of shoppers.

mitchellvii said:
God I wish we had a Frye's here in this town. Frye's completely rocks.
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There's a Fry's near my home and another near near my work and I'm equally frustrated with both of 'em! I just don't understand how anyplace can have so much of what I want yet so little of what I need.
I still shop there a lot, but it almost always involves compromise.
I call it the Home Depot business model.
Pete

But I guess you can't beat Amazon for price. You also have he benefit of lots of user reviews. However even that can be confusing because one user will rate the product 5 stars because it does xyz so well and another user will rate it one star because it sucks at xyz
Oh well. I really need to buy an over the head bluetooth headset with boom mic and I can't decide on which one. Lots of people seem to like the Emerson product.
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I guess what amazes me is that Charlotte NC is the 9th largest city in the USA and we don't have a single enthusiast technology store. No TigerDirect, no Frye's. It blows :-(
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Try living on an island lol
We are not too bad tho, shipping Something is something else. I have had problems with that. Had something shipped to my parents house in VA and im still waiting for them to ship it. Its been over a week since they got it.
But yeah,i do like buying from a store, returns alone are less of a pain.....But I have been buying a lot online. Mostly things I cant find locally or good deals.
Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk

I think it is bcause the store do not want to get stuck with something that doesn't sell fast.
As someone said earlier, not eveyone is willing to put out money for quality stuff. Lower priced item sell faster. Stores want something that will come in and out

Basic economics. It is cheaper to sell online than it is to sell out of a brick-and-mortar store. They may charge the same price at both locations, but anything they sell online has a massive difference in the profit margin. They don't sell, or at least keep much stock for the most desirable items in-store. This allows the store to direct people to the website when the store "runs out of stock". Straight and simple increase in profit.

I hear you. There is almost an entire untapped market for specialized electronics. All the big box carry the same old consumer neutral stuff. Its got to the point for me where Best Buy is the only place I can really get anything, and there selection is not that great.

it all boils down to overhead. A brick and mortar store has lots of it. Staff, real estate, utilities, etc. are all expensive. In order to recoupe these expenses you put on the shelves things that you will sell a lot of. Ever store has to make so much money for every square foot of floor space. Each shelf has an income it must make inorder for the store to be profitable. This makes "Specialty" the key word. It is an item a specific few will be looking for not the masses. If you take up space on your floor with an item that you are not going to sell very many of you are wasting valuable space and going to get stuck with product you cant move.
Pierceye said:
Basic economics. It is cheaper to sell online than it is to sell out of a brick-and-mortar store. They may charge the same price at both locations, but anything they sell online has a massive difference in the profit margin. They don't sell, or at least keep much stock for the most desirable items in-store. This allows the store to direct people to the website when the store "runs out of stock". Straight and simple increase in profit.
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This makes no sense and it sounds like you have a conspiracy issue. No store would ever not stock what sells well. There is no guarantee that the shopper is going to go home and buy from your website. It is too easy to comparison shop on the internet and I guarentee you that you will not find that Best Buy (or any other B&M store) is the best price on the web. It just boils down to certain items will cost a store money if they sit on the shelves due to the income that can be made if something else is there.

cmdaily said:
No store would ever not stock what sells well. There is no guarantee that the shopper is going to go home and buy from your website. It is too easy to comparison shop on the internet and I guarentee you that you will not find that Best Buy (or any other B&M store) is the best price on the web. It just boils down to certain items will cost a store money if they sit on the shelves due to the income that can be made if something else is there.
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We actually do that at Staples all the time. We want more and more customers ordering online. They will advertise a chair on sale and even if we have it in stock they encourage us to get the customer to order it online at our kiosk. They say it gets customers more used to ordering online and conditions them to shop online at home. If they order online from in the store we can help them if they need it, and next time they order they may bypass us altogether.
Margin is much higher on online items and returns are less likely.
Sent from my HTC Vision using telepathy and unicorn dust.

Switch to an Iphone and you'll pretty much find any accessory you could ever want, even at your local Walgreens. That's because it's the new, hip phone that all the kids want. Seriously though, sometimes, the local little cell phone shops are the best for quirky, non-mainstream stuff. There a place by me, about 30 minutes away that just has a crap ton of cell phone accessories. If I just can't wait, or I'm not sure what I want, I just drive out there.

sinistersai4d4d said:
We actually do that at Staples all the time. We want more and more customers ordering online. They will advertise a chair on sale and even if we have it in stock they encourage us to get the customer to order it online at our kiosk. They say it gets customers more used to ordering online and conditions them to shop online at home. If they order online from in the store we can help them if they need it, and next time they order they may bypass us altogether.
Margin is much higher on online items and returns are less likely.
Sent from my HTC Vision using telepathy and unicorn dust.
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Say what?????? You do realize by doing what you described your working yourself out of a job? If they bypass the store your revenue goes down as well as your labor allowance which means your not needed and im sure the ceo would be very pleased by your willingness to help his wallet.
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Related

High demand for second hand Rhodiums?

Hello all,
I have my Rhodium(vodaphone TP2, unlocked with stuff) up for sale in the marketplace as I am rocking a HD2 now:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=670836
It is waiting for a good offer:
I have had people offering me silly cash for this nearly mint device (£100???)
Now I am thinking, is it really worth so little?
Most of the Rhodiums up 4 sale are in the US and around $300. I guess that we have too many phones in the UK available on a free contract.
I want £150 at least for it and need to get rid of it asap.....
Has anyone bought one recently in UK? What did you pay for it?
Is there any hope I might get some cash back on this now unloved device?
Kind regards all //
The HTC Desire has really killed sales of previous generation phones and the inexperienced/new user is now wowed by Android or Iphones.
Many people are also wary of buying second hand phones as one person's description of 'mint' may not be another person's idea (not saying anything at all about your advert here BTW, this is just a general point).
Many people are also frightened by scare stories of buying second hand phones
Branded phones can be a 'put-off' too even though they are only really cosmetic issues (although some people may worry about unlocking etc. and be concerned that it may not work with their sim when it arrives and then can't return it)
The rhodium is a super device, but there is only a very small market for them as only the smallest percentage of the phone buying public is even aware of the phone and then when added to the points above, I am not surprised that you are getting low offers, but I can also understand how disappointing this would be for a seller.
I went through something similar when selling my touch HD as I wanted it to go to someone who would love it as much as I did!
I think you have 2 options here;
Wait for someone who is looking for a rhodium and you can meet up in person (thus negating all the general points above)
Flog it to somewhere like CEX who might give you a decent (ish) price for it;
http://www.cex.co.uk/products/Phone... Touch Pro2, Vodafone Good Condition&mode=buy
Shame you are in London though, as I would have taken a look at this if you had been nearer to sunny Gloucestershire
Best of luck with your sale
Spud
i haven't looked into the prices for a used touch pro 2 but whenever I try to sell something online, i always get "low-ballers" THey email you some excuse that they're a student, just lost their job, just had a baby, etc and are tight on cash and want to only pay a quarter of the price i'm asking.
Its just the way things are, if you need to sell it asap, maybe lower the price a bit, but if i were you, i'd stay firm on your asking price until someone that has the money and knows the value of the device goes ahead an purchases it.

Best buy doesn't sell Windows Phone 7 phones?

I was at best buy and that's what the guy said. I used to use the Arrive but went back to Android and my mom has an Android phone. We were looking for another phone for her and a guy came up to this associate and asked if they had any windows phone 7 phones and he said they don't carry them in store but they could order him one if he wanted one.
That's messed up if Best Buy doesn't carry them in the store...because the average person won't just buy a phone without looking at it. I mean yeah, you have 30 days but most people would rather avoid the hassle. The associate's also don't know that much about the phones either and I mean, you can't really fault them on that if they don't all of the phones that they could possibly sell in the store... I just find that kinda weak.
90% of the time you get a better look at the phone in a carrier store than at lolBestBuy, anyways.
If you have a Best Buy there, you have carrier stores not far off. Go look at the phones there. They're probably the same price, too, in most cases.
worstBuy ain't worth **** anymore
Yeah, that is bad of BB. Oh well, I now know to avoid there on my next phone (barring something awesomesause comming out, it will be a windows phone).
Sent from my NookColor using Tapatalk
Welcome to the world of anti-WP7 bias.
bestbuy has wp7 at all my local stores. I call fud.
only two devices, but they're on display and powered up, running demos which can be exited for normal use.
Best Buy around me carries them, all phones all carriers in the US that have WP7.
ohgood said:
bestbuy has wp7 at all my local stores. I call fud.
only two devices, but they're on display and powered up, running demos which can be exited for normal use.
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Best Buy in SoPo Maine has no WP7 phones on the floor. Not fud.
TIGGAH said:
Best Buy in SoPo Maine has no WP7 phones on the floor. Not fud.
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It is fud, because it makes a blanket statement based on anecdotal evidence. Some Best Buy stores don't stock WP7 phones, others do. That is a different statement from "Best Buy doesn't sell Windows Phone 7 phones" (which implies that it is a company-wide issue).
Ironically, it was a Best Buy store display (and a Best Buy employee) that convinced me to look seriously at WP7 in the first place.
Best Buy rarely has working models on the floor.
Best Buy's in Oregon have them, seen them at multiple stores
Yep, that's my point, exactly. People keep chiming in with "Best Buy does this" or "Best Buy doesn't do that" based solely on what they observe in their local store.
Best Buy is a large international chain of over 1,000 stores. While it is clear that some (possibly even many) of them are not giving WP7 a fair shake, that isn't true for all of them. As I already mentioned, it was a Best Buy sales drone who convinced me to even look at WP7 in the first place.
RoboDad said:
Yep, that's my point, exactly. People keep chiming in with "Best Buy does this" or "Best Buy doesn't do that" based solely on what they observe in their local store.
Best Buy is a large international chain of over 1,000 stores. While it is clear that some (possibly even many) of them are not giving WP7 a fair shake, that isn't true for all of them. As I already mentioned, it was a Best Buy sales drone who convinced me to even look at WP7 in the first place.
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+1
The title is wrong on every level. All best buys sell wp7 phones. Some don't carry models on the floor.
title should read, "my local best buy doesn't carry a wp7 model on the floor"
I find that most sales associates stand behind Android and feel that everybody should have one. Most are pretty bias and dont really take the customers use of the phone in consideration and they feel Android is the answer

SimplyElectronics

www.simplyelectronics.net
Anyone lost their money from them?
I actually bought twice from them in the past but this time it's been more than 2 weeks and my order still shows New. A friend told me that his order is still new after 40 days. I know they will ship it at some point in time, maybe 2-3 months but I was actually thinking to cancel the order. On the other hand it's about 100EU cheaper than anyone else. All those issues with HOX also made me cool down and add a plus on those thoughts and I'm also making thoughts for SG3.
I know, all review sites on Internet have them very low rated (one star) but still they are by far the cheapest.
Any of you guys lost his money from them?
I didn't personnally buy from them but when i was planning to i did a little a search and found that it's really not recommended, some product arrive very late others never.
Yeah, when I saw those reviews I just didn't care anymore... I'd rather pay 100€ more and actually receive the product than to pay less and get burned...
Now th big concern is if you cancel or not. I've seen that most people who lost their money is when they attempted to cancel orders or claiming funds. That gives them the chance to "confuse" things and keep your money while not sendingany product. Here's the question: to cancel or not to cancel?
I'm a gambler so, I'll take my chances and play heads or tail. I'll give some more days though but in the meantime I recommend that noone uses them. I guess that some people, like myself, don't learn from our past mistakes.
andreasy said:
Now th big concern is if you cancel or not. I've seen that most people who lost their money is when they attempted to cancel orders or claiming funds. That gives them the chance to "confuse" things and keep your money while not sendingany product. Here's the question: to cancel or not to cancel?
I'm a gambler so, I'll take my chances and play heads or tail. I'll give some more days though but in the meantime I recommend that noone uses them. I guess that some people, like myself, don't learn from our past mistakes.
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in our country they sell the HOX 700 euros so they are poushing us to buy throu ather countrys
i wish one day they will come to there senses and sell things in a more logical prices
I ordered an HTC Desire HD from them last year. It was taking ages and I cancelled the order. They only cancelled it after 2 weeks chasing them about the cancellation. Finally, after a couple of weeks and tons of emails and threats I got a refund. They have awful support and I do not recommend ordering from them.
Not to mention that the product comes from Hong Kong, so you will need to contact HTC to check if they cover warranty.
I bought my LG Optimus 2x from them, it took ages to arrive but it did in the end. It was a hell of a lot cheaper than everyone else too. Heard some bad things about them so I probably wouldn't use them again though.
Sent from my HTC One X using xda premium
I bought 2 cameras from them till date and they both arrived in time as described. The 2 purchases were a year apart. The second camera though had a European battery charger. Apart from the above I haven't had to use warranty on either indicating the items must be genuine.
Mind it - for whatever good or bad reason, I hadn't researched anywhere before buying from them. Had I known about their reviews, I would not have bought from them.
My friend recently purchased ipad2 from them but cancelled it before they despatched and got refunded without any hassle.
Don't know what to advice you but hope the above experiences shared help.
Sent from my HTC One X using XDA
Not worth the trouble!
Just come across this post and thought I'd share my experience (to back up the thousands of others you can find on the net) about how ridiculous SimplyElectronics are as a company and to avoid them if you care for your sanity.
I placed an order for a Galaxy Nexus on 30/06/12, enticed by the low price and 'expect delivery in 2-4 days' advertisement. After 6 days of the order being stuck at 'New' (which I found out means that they haven't even processed the order, it means they have accepted your offer of purchase, which means that they take the money out of your bank, and then do nothing for a while) and after sending a few emails asking why my order hadn't been processed even though the Live Stock Report said there were plenty in stock, I decided to cancel my order on 5/06/12. They asked me why, I explained that I needed the phone as I work offshore and was going away, and had ordered it elsewhere from a more efficient company. They said they understood my decision and my refund request had been passed to the relevant department. I left it for a few days. Then when 10 days later the money hadn't been returned I started emailing them again. I have now been sending emails daily asking for my refund, yet 24 days after cancelling my order I'm still receiving apologetic emails saying they're trying their hardest.
I guess the short version of my warning to others is this is not a company you should conduct business unless you have the patience of a God. I know from looking around other sites I'm not the only one who has been a victim of their incompetence. I'm sure they have 10's of satisfied customers all around the globe, I just wish I'd done more reading first. If you can find the product elsewhere that costs slightly more than they are selling them for, pay the extra, it will save you alot of time.
Matt JWF said:
Just come across this post and thought I'd share my experience (to back up the thousands of others you can find on the net) about how ridiculous SimplyElectronics are as a company and to avoid them if you care for your sanity.
I placed an order for a Galaxy Nexus on 30/06/12, enticed by the low price and 'expect delivery in 2-4 days' advertisement. After 6 days of the order being stuck at 'New' (which I found out means that they haven't even processed the order, it means they have accepted your offer of purchase, which means that they take the money out of your bank, and then do nothing for a while) and after sending a few emails asking why my order hadn't been processed even though the Live Stock Report said there were plenty in stock, I decided to cancel my order on 5/06/12. They asked me why, I explained that I needed the phone as I work offshore and was going away, and had ordered it elsewhere from a more efficient company. They said they understood my decision and my refund request had been passed to the relevant department. I left it for a few days. Then when 10 days later the money hadn't been returned I started emailing them again. I have now been sending emails daily asking for my refund, yet 24 days after cancelling my order I'm still receiving apologetic emails saying they're trying their hardest.
I guess the short version of my warning to others is this is not a company you should conduct business unless you have the patience of a God. I know from looking around other sites I'm not the only one who has been a victim of their incompetence. I'm sure they have 10's of satisfied customers all around the globe, I just wish I'd done more reading first. If you can find the product elsewhere that costs slightly more than they are selling them for, pay the extra, it will save you alot of time.
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So you bought something tomorrow and are still waiting for it?
I think you mean 30/5/12
Sent from my HTC One X
700€? Why u. Didn't buy from expansys, I'm sure they will ship for your country. It's from france
mitas35 said:
in our country they sell the HOX 700 euros so they are poushing us to buy throu ather countrys
i wish one day they will come to there senses and sell things in a more logical prices
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Sent from my HTC One X using xda app-developers app
It's a lottery, do a bit of googleing, there's forums dedicated to pissed off customers.
EclipseX said:
700€? Why u. Didn't buy from expansys, I'm sure they will ship for your country. It's from france
Sent from my HTC One X using xda app-developers app
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becouse i think about possible problems with the device
I've posted on Facebook, Google + and anywhere else I could think of after my recent attempt to get a One X from them.
Web showed stock, blurb said dispatched & delivered in 3 to 8 days. Took my money immediately and then the problems started.
Used Barclaycard fraud department to get my money back while I fought SE for a refund. 13th May to today spookily enough to get my refund.
God knows how many calls & emails...
DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY!!!!
And if you already have, use your card company to get your money back.
Just stop right here. If any manufacture start too sell massively obviously some phones will have problemes like 10%. If you see the most popular phones have problemes.
I've got mine and its a model ht23 without any problemes its the first hox I have and the only.
And with expansys you will have internacional warranty for 2years and houses for support on your country. Trust in expansys!
mitas35 said:
becouse i think about possible problems with the device
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Sent from my HTC One X using xda app-developers app
EclipseX said:
Just stop right here. If any manufacture start too sell massively obviously some phones will have problemes like 10%. If you see the most popular phones have problemes.
I've got mine and its a model ht23 without any problemes its the first hox I have and the only.
And with expansys you will have internacional warranty for 2years and houses for support on your country. Trust in expansys!
Sent from my HTC One X using xda app-developers app
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hmm and what about oll these negative posts??
I did indeed NerdGuy, sorry! But working with Simply Electronics the months just seem to blend into each other it takes that long. I was told today that my refund will be with me within 7 days, I'm neither holding my breath nor stopping the daily emails, after 27 days of asking I fail to believe they'll pull their finger out any time soon.
I learnt the hard way also over a month to get my 500$ back. Since then anything expensive I buy in person regardless if it's $100 cheaper online.
Sent from my HTC One X using xda premium

Your 2 cents on Piracy

Recently I saw that apps are now discriminating against root users(not allowing download/play). Do you think if apps would universally start doing this, would it cut down piracy or just push more root users to download illegally?
I for one believe it will have the latter effect, what do you guys think of this?
AT&T SGS3
TEAM BAKED ROM Blackbean 5
Ktoonsez KT747 Kernel
Medical MJ supporter
I think if ppl would just stop acting so self-entitled, and stopped stealing ****, this would not even be an issue... Unfortunately - the world is full of idiots.. Only takes a few to ruin a good thing for all of us.
Dankest said:
Recently I saw that apps are now discriminating against root users(not allowing download/play). Do you think if apps would universally start doing this, would it cut down piracy or just push more root users to download illegally?
I for one believe it will have the latter effect, what do you guys think of this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So what are some example apps that are denying access if your phone is determined to be rooted? I've never run into one, and I can't imagine any popular app would resort to something so easily worked around.
(the workaround: temporarily move/rename the 'su' binary out of the PATH to "hide" it, since that's the method almost all apps would use to detect if you're rooted.)
To install a pirated app is allow unknown sources...anyone can do it, idk why they are discriminating....
Sent from AT&T SGS3
zmore said:
So what are some example apps that are denying access if your phone is determined to be rooted? I've never run into one, and I can't imagine any popular app would resort to something so easily worked around.
(the workaround: temporarily move/rename the 'su' binary out of the PATH to "hide" it, since that's the method almost all apps would use to detect if you're rooted.)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Look up chaos rings by a little company called square enix. Looks like they are trying to crack down on app piracy(maybe Cuz of ff3 pirates?).
AT&T SGS3
TEAM BAKED ROM Blackbean 5
Ktoonsez KT747 Kernel
Medical MJ supporter
I could care less about that kind of stuff if companies want to do that then they don't deserve my business or anybody else's business for that matter. Then just watch how fast the companies change their ways when nobody is buying their products
Galaxy SIII via XDA premium
some people cant afford to buy certain apps, like a 99$ navigation map for example. There are many different points of views...
Apple deserter said:
some people cant afford to buy certain apps, like a 99$ navigation map for example. There are many different points of views...
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So ppl can afford $400 - $600 (retail) and $200-ish smartphones, $50 - $100 a month contracts... yet they can't afford a $0.99 app.... please... that's total bs.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using xda premium
G-Man. said:
So ppl can afford $400 - $600 (retail) and $200-ish smartphones, $50 - $100 a month contracts... yet they can't afford a $0.99 app.... please... that's total bs.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using xda premium
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Well said... I set up my "online" credit card for Google Play at $100. Its been like over an year now, n I still have cash left in it... And not one pirated app on my phone. Most of the apps are like a $ or two... and they are more like 1 time buying with free updates for life (well, many of them).
All it takes is a $ or 2 for an you love... so what's the big deal when you are paying like $100 something each month to the cell phone service provider.
Apple deserter said:
some people cant afford to buy certain apps, like a 99$ navigation map for example. There are many different points of views...
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Think about what you just said.
"...stealing is justified because the person who wants to steal feels that they are unwilling to pay the cost for the item...there are many points of view..."
Yeah...and the entitlement mindset "you have something that I feel that I'm entitled to and I don't care if I do something that's wrong...all that matters is that I get it...."...that's a point of view.
I've never understood people who use this rationale....stealing is stealing no matter how you justify it to make yourself feel better while you are doing it.
Apple deserter said:
some people cant afford to buy certain apps, like a 99$ navigation map for example. There are many different points of views...
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What's the threshold for stealing? If it were only $50 then it wouldn't be ok? $25? If you can't afford a new car you couldn't just go steal one and have it be ok. And everyone knows "You wouldn't download a car."
If I don't want to pay what it's offered for then I just do without. People should look into dropping their entitlement complex.
On another note, I don't buy into the whole "It's not available in my locale" argument. Maybe I just don't fully understand it being in the US. I've seen many ways to fool your phone/the market to seeing a new locale (for free), and most apps I've ever bought have a direct buy version anyway.
Doesn't say anywhere that you have to pay for the apps. Me downloading an apk isn't theft. The original copy is still left intact. Pirates raid ships and steal. They don't make copies.
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bootloopz said:
Doesn't say anywhere that you have to pay for the apps. Me downloading an apk isn't theft. The original copy is still left intact. Pirates raid ships and steal. They don't make copies.
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Really?
bootloopz said:
Doesn't say anywhere that you have to pay for the apps. Me downloading an apk isn't theft. The original copy is still left intact. Pirates raid ships and steal. They don't make copies.
Sent from the future on my Galaxy S4 using Tapatalk 3
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If the app isn't offered for free by the developer and you obtain a copy without paying then you're stealing. If you want a warm fuzzy because you're stealing something that can be copied then go ahead and tell yourself that. You are still taking money out of the dev's pocket through theft.
Nick D said:
If the app isn't offered for free by the developer and you obtain a copy without paying then you're stealing. If you want a warm fuzzy because you're stealing something that can be copied then go ahead and tell yourself that. You are still taking money out of the dev's pocket through theft.
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This argument only stands if you intended to buy the app in the first place and if there weren't so many cases in which piracy increased sales rather than decreased them.
Of course, the opposite is true as well. There are a number of games out there where it was simply more prudent to pirate the game if you wanted to, you know, play it whenever you wanted (Cough, Ubisoft games, cough).
I understand that some people are morally outraged by piracy... but much like so many other things in life, not everyone is. I used to pirate like nobodies business.. but now that I make more money, I typically only pirate the game if I am unsure about it and it doesn't have a demo. If I like it, I go buy it. If not, I get rid of it. I also typically pirate games that have an obscenely restrictive DRM embedded... not because I want to play it but just because screw those guys for putting it in there. DRM increases piracy, not hinders it.
However, copyright infringement is not theft. It is not stealing. Nothing is removed from anywhere. No money is removed from the dev's pockets because it was never there in the first place. If the item couldn't be pirated, that person wouldn't magically have more money because a whole lot of the people that pirate do it because they can't afford it in the first place.
Not to mention, there are companies who don't consider piracy a bad thing: http://www.gamespot.com/news/angry-birds-dev-says-piracy-may-not-be-a-bad-thing-6349485
Not to mention all of these industries who are trying to fight piracy so hard are doing it in the utterly wrong way. People pirate movies? Ok, rather than make movies easy to obtain online and permanently owned just like a dvd copy... they make it abnormally difficult, with higher prices and restrictive licensing and DRM. They make movie ticket prices skyrocket. In short, they make it annoying as all hell to acquire a legitimate digital copy. On the flipside, you can go to google, type in the name of a movie (Say... I dunno, The Avengers), pull up a torrent site, hit download and bam, you now have a digital copy without drm you own.
Music is much the same way, though it is improving. It isn't a whole lot better but I have forsaken pirating music and simply listen to Pandora or Spotify.
TV shows are in the same bracket as movies. It would be so simply to, the night of or the day after showing a new episode, put it up for sale for a dollar or two for people to buy and own. Make it quick, cheap and simple and people will FLOCK to it. But they don't. So everyone just goes and watches Hulu or pirates it.
Games are a more unique sector. They have numerous methods of easily obtaining the games but these methods are getting more restrictive, with licensing and "If you piss us off, you lose everything you bought from us" rules. Origin does this, Steam... yeah, not a very good thing. Why spend all that time worrying about that if you only play single player? Just go pirate it, then nobody can take it from you, right? So we have easy methods of quickly obtaining games, but they keep adding on to their list of rules and restrictions. Steam is the best of the bunch and even they will remove all access to the hundreds to thousands of dollars of games you spent if you break a rule. Even they don't allow anything but arbitration suits. You know the times that most games make the largest amount of sales and profit on Steam? During the Summer Sale and Winter Sale. Dev's love those sales because sales skyrocket to the moon and beyond. Their profit skyrockets for a few weeks. These sales make it obvious what the problem is for a lot of people... money. Is it worth the money? Yeah... less games are these days than ever. Yay, $64.94 after tax for a new game... with 4 hours of gameplay! Awesome, I totally feel that was worth my money! I am definitely going to go buy Gears of War 2 now for another 4 hours of fun!
Is piracy wrong? According to society, yes. Is it even remotely as harmful as the corporations play it out to be? Not hardly.
Forbes:
"This is a negotiation where at any time, your customer could just go download the damn movie for free, and they’re doing you a favor by even considering picking it up legally. And you have the nerve to think it’s on YOUR terms? That’s not how negotiation works. It may not be right, but it’s reality, and they have to face it.
Yet movie companies threaten to put Netflix out of business by charging them huge amounts of money to have access to their content. Netflix is in the forefront of the war on piracy, and the studios don’t even seem to understand it. It’s incredible."
Nick D said:
And everyone knows "You wouldn't download a car."
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Yes. Yes I would. If I could, I most certainly would.
Everything in the world should be open source. Open source coding languages are being used to code these apps. For the most part. So why is it right for someone to charge money for something they built using free software? If I were a dev, I'd open up all my code to the community so we can all improve upon it.
Sent from the future on my Galaxy S4 using Tapatalk 3
I used to pirate apps...when i was a dumb teenager with little money. Now, i buy ALL my apps, how hard is it to pay 0.99$ for most apps, or even 5$ for the most premium, you not only get regular updates and you also say thank you to the guy that spent time and money to bring you something cool. If people were not so lazy or had higher goals in life than working for a fast food or grocery store, maybe they'd didn't care to pay that little price. The only thing i still pirate is movies, and it's strictly for convenience because here in Canada, our Netflix sucks pretty bad, our video store rent movies for 1/4 of the price of buying it new, and i live a good 30 minutes away from the closest video store. So i have no choice to download if i want to see a movie. But i regularly go to the theaters.
polish_pat said:
I used to pirate apps...when i was a dumb teenager with little money. Now, i buy ALL my apps, how hard is it to pay 0.99$ for most apps, or even 5$ for the most premium, you not only get regular updates and you also say thank you to the guy that spent time and money to bring you something cool. If people were not so lazy or had higher goals in life than working for a fast food or grocery store, maybe they'd didn't care to pay that little price. The only thing i still pirate is movies, and it's strictly for convenience because here in Canada, our Netflix sucks pretty bad, our video store rent movies for 1/4 of the price of buying it new, and i live a good 30 minutes away from the closest video store. So i have no choice to download if i want to see a movie. But i regularly go to the theaters.
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You just said pirating is for dumb, broke teenagers. Yet, you pirate movies. You can't have your cake and eat it too. Whether you pirate a 99 cent app, or a $40 bluray, you're still a pirate.
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bootloopz said:
You just said pirating is for dumb, broke teenagers. Yet, you pirate movies. You can't have your cake and eat it too. Whether you pirate a 99 cent app, or a $40 bluray, you're still a pirate.
Sent from the future on my Galaxy S4 using Tapatalk 3
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I believe that he is saying that he would buy the movies if it wasn't such an inconvenience where he lives.
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Question for anyone who works at Sprint!

Are you guys forced to push the sale of screen protectors and cases?
I went to a corporate store thinking the experience would be a lot better but it ended up being more uncomfortable than the non-corporate store I went to right after. The employees at the corporate store just would not let it go when I said no. I walked away to take a call for ten minutes, and they started to push my sister into getting them (invisible shield and a $30 dollar case). I went to a non-corporate store right after and the experience was the complete opposite. The employee respected our decision and he provided the best possible experience I could have had with Sprint since he wanted to make sure when we got the survey call we would have a positive response.
Is this standard practice? This was my first experience with such a push from the employees so I was a little irritated and figured I would ask.
Kinda depends upon the store and how you handle yourself. People generally don't try to sell me ****. And for the most part all the Corporate stores I've hit have been cool.
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Well seeing is how we get paid for that yes(also part of keeping our job) but being pushy is kind of an individual trait I've had co workers push **** til my ears bleed. It just all depends on your definition of pushy, I have had customers call me pushy but I only ask one time if someone says NO I don't waste my time on that topic no more
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I wasn't pushy about it but I could usually convince customers to buy something, especially protective cases and bluetooth headsets. We sold some stupid stuff at our store (like neck lanyards, "zip up" ear buds, and $5 plastic baggies), so I would generally stay away from that stuff.
I could tell if they didn't want to buy something. Some you could do a little prodding, but mostly, they've made up their minds.
Unfortunately it comes with the territory (job). Any sales-type job is fraught with such sales tactics. If they don't push certain things, they get rained down on by superiors. I used to work such a job and it's just the way it goes..
the reps job is based on pushing and selling accessories, tep, outlook premium, new acts. they also have techs pushing accessories, tep and lookout premium now.
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yes reps do get paid on those sales..but also when you see so many phones come back with physical damage it should be instinctive for rep to want some type of protection on a nice new $500-600 phone. Of course, there is an art to selling and if an employee is overly pushy without reading cues of customer then that is annoying..pretty sure third parties don't push accessories mainly new acts
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