How do they get away with it??????

Alfie · 29 Sep 2009 at 20:35

I'm sick of seeing 3 year old hardware in major chain stores (please don't mention names) at insane prices. 9800 series GPU's at over 200 quid and a DVD drive from LG i bought off overclockers for 18 quid getting flogged at 50!!!

Should this be aloud? Should we complain to trading standards?

Problem is, the major stores can shift the stock because they lie to naiive customers.

Makes me sick!

Discuss...............

Kennysevenfold · 29 Sep 2009 at 20:37

Haha, well people who have no clue about hardware will buy these sort of things, thinking they have got a bargin

Azagoth · 29 Sep 2009 at 20:37

Alfie said:
Discuss...............

Again?

SkeeterUK · 29 Sep 2009 at 20:38

I hate companies that do that. Should be a law saying what the min and max price any product should be.

Ross1234 · 29 Sep 2009 at 20:38

not min price!!!!

dangerstat · 29 Sep 2009 at 20:39

Look into my post, not around the post, look into the post.

1,2,3 your under

these goods are "whicked cool and right top spec like" and not repeat not old stock.

*click* and your back.

NOTHING TO SEE HERE!

monkentage · 29 Sep 2009 at 20:43

SkeeterPSA said:
I hate companies that do that. Should be a law saying what the min and max price any product should be.

That sounds dangerously communist tbh.

meghatronic · 29 Sep 2009 at 20:45

SkeeterPSA said:
I hate companies that do that. Should be a law saying what the min and max price any product should be.

=Supply... demand. Capitalism. Stupid public.

Etc...

LeJosh · 29 Sep 2009 at 20:46

Well the 4850 is average at about £100 but I've saw much worse cards like you say getting sold above that. Quite outrageous.

I was at a "trade in" shop and they had a plain ol' cd drive labelled as a blu-ray drive, for the life of me I couldn't see anything stating it was a blu-ray drive and they had it at like £50 pound. There abouts, quite mad.

Abz · 29 Sep 2009 at 20:47

throw a petrol bomb through the window

Johnny Girth · 29 Sep 2009 at 21:31

Free market.

Also, idiot tax.

Don't see any problems.

reflux · 29 Sep 2009 at 21:35

Yeah there were 4850s in a major store for £150, supposedly on sale, the other day. Given the terrible advice these places give out as well, i rage at them on a regular basis.

LeJosh · 29 Sep 2009 at 21:38

reflux said:
Yeah there were 4850s in a major store for £150, supposedly on sale, the other day. Given the terrible advice these places give out as well, i rage at them on a regular basis.

£50 quid would get you a 5850. :eek:

And probably laughs in the face of its little brother.

G-MAN2004 · 29 Sep 2009 at 21:41

There's nothing wrong with it. It's called business.

The Halk · 29 Sep 2009 at 21:47

As much as I don't like the idea of an "idiot tax" or people being taken advantage of, the cure is worse than the disease.

Can anyone suggest a way in which maximum prices could be regulated, that would not insert a large layer of extra cost to either the taxpayer or consumer?

There are already countless points of reference for people to find out information on PC parts. If someone chooses not to spend time researching it then it really is their fault.

Manufacturers cannot label products with an expiry date. Nor can they come up with some kind of scale that could be used to compare items which would last anywhere near a decade.

If someone doesn't have internet access then they can pick up a magazine and read that instead.

philjohn · 29 Sep 2009 at 21:52

What if you absolutely need something that day? Your only option is a place like that.

People who aren't that knowledgable also want to be "guided" into what to purchase, which is a trick missed out on by a lot of online hardware retailers - how about a live support chat if you need it to ask questions on?

QlimaxUK · 29 Sep 2009 at 21:54

ah it aint all that bad really, its those high prices that brought me to OCUK and this forum, so happy ending there

The Halk · 29 Sep 2009 at 21:55

philjohn said:
What if you absolutely need something that day? Your only option is a place like that.

Then you ask the guy for assistance. If what you buy does what you ask for, at a price you are happy with then job done.

If it doesn't do what you asked for, you get a refund.

EdGey · 29 Sep 2009 at 21:57

meh, doesn't effect me, my friends (mostly), or my family. sorted

Werewolf · 29 Sep 2009 at 22:21

Simple answer to the op's question is I suspect turnover, and people not knowing to look around.

I say turnover as I suspect a lot of the large stores will buy in large quantities in theory to get a discount on the cost per unit, then sit on them until either they are sold, or so out of date that they can't possibly shift them and have to mark them down for clearance (probably in part because prices aren't adjusted on existing stock until it comes time to clear the shelves).

Somewhere like OCUK will generally (I'm guessing) only buy enough stock of most lines to last maybe a couple of weeks of expected sales and re-order if need be daily, thus they don't have much half forgotten stock sat on the shelves for months/years, and are able to adjust to the change in pricing/costs much faster.

There isn't anything wrong with it, as such (it is a business after all), but it does rely on people not knowing what they are looking to buy/need and not doing any research.