The problem is not getting the info you need, it’s matching up what you know to what is displayed in the store. Often, the info displayed in most box stores about the TVs they sell is on some sort of small card, and it often is either incorrect, matched to the wrong product, or incomplete. You may know everything about the model you want, but actually making sure the model you are looking at or buying is in fact that model is not that easy, at least in my experience.
To be clear, not every TV in the 7 series is clearly better than every TV in the 6 series for Samsung. They do have different feature sets. For example, if you cared about curved, you might prefer a 6500 over a 7000, even though they’re roughly the same sticker price. Alternatively, maybe the 7 series might be a '15 model while the 6 series is a '16 model.
“It’s complicated” is fair, but just because there is a 6 series and a 7 series in the next row for the same price, doesn’t categorically mean fraud or even scam.
If anything, I’d say consumers are better armed then ever, simply do to the ability to do a quick search on your phone. Pre-internet, it was a lot easier for sales guys to techno-bable there way into a sale.
EDIT: what Ginger_Yellow said.
Especially since I read it as “Freud”.
I was a bit concerned.
Absolutely. Fraud is pretty specific. Selling you a TV with a seven series label but with a six series in the box, knowingly, is fraud. Trying to upsell you to an eight series or sidetrack you to a NoNameo 4000 brand because you have a ton of them in the warehouse is just retail.
I’m not sure I understand this complaint. Regardless, are you saying that they intentional jumble things up to confuse consumers? I look at the model number on the box and google that, funky little store placards be damned.
Maybe you go to stores that are better than the ones I go to. The models displayed on, well, the displays, often don’t have easily visible model numbers, as they are on the back with the serial number and FCC info. The placards on the front can say…anything, and at Best Buy, or the equivalent, seem to be sometimes randomly placed. Sure, once you get the actual box you are buying you can verify you’re getting what you are getting, but often, that is brought up to the check out line and unless you are quite vigilant, you will have already paid for the thing before you actually get a close look at the box, which a flunky will no doubt be wheeling out to your car on a trolley or which will be delivered at a later time by the setup team.
All I’m saying is that in every single place I’ve been TV shopping, it’s been a confusing environment filled with dozens of nearly identical looking televisions with names composed of nearly interchangeable alpha-numeric characters, often displayed in ways that make it hard to to tell what designation goes with what TV on display. Yes, if you are diligent, as you should be, you can figure it out, but it is decidedly not set up to insure clarity of information for the casual shopper.
If you are not sure of the model number why the hell dont you just ask? Tell them you have done your research and you want to know the manufacturer’s model number before deciding. It really is that simple. If they dont know or cant help you, get a manager or find somewhere else to shop. You are not a hostage. If you do not want to get taken at a big box store, grow some balls. Sorry to be so blunt but it baffles me that people are so willing to allow salespeople to steamroll them.
I’m still confused by TheWombat’s problem. Are you saying that’s fraud or just incompetence on the part of the stores in making/placing placards?
I’ll be honest, I’ve never gone into a store intending to buy model X and then end up stymied by lack of the ability to find or identify X, even though the store has the product.
Frankly, it sounds like the setup up for a late night infomercial to sell you some sort of super-specialized thing like the ones that keep all your food from tumbling out of your pantry when you crack the door open.
I find that the stores don’t all have easy access to the serial number they are wall mounted and you can’t see the serial and the card doesn’t show all relevant information. they don’t have the full range to view, they have old mixed with new, they have some sizes missing and the sales advisors lack any sort of knowledge and are happy to sell you whatever.
What should happen is you go in to a store and can clearly see if it’s a new or older generation and clearly see the differences in the models and the reason why the prices are what they are.
It is far to easy to say with a bit of research or effort you can get it right, many people aren’t in to tech, aren’t in to spending hours on the web ensuring they get it right for us tech savvy people it’s not too bad but when my mum or dad or grandparents need a new TV it’s a pain in the arse, it was 2 weeks ago when my 96 year old grandma needed a new TV and the shop is trying to sell her smart TV with curves and an older version or one that doesn’t meet her simple needs. Now it’s useful I can support her and get it right but even for me it was a total pain having to spend time doing that exercise rather than turning up at the shop with her and making a simple informed choice on spending £350.
It certainly is not like that in the UK that I have come across recently.
Obviously a 96-year old is going to struggle with tech purchases, but in general I find it hard to sympathise too much with people who aren’t willing to do a little bit of research before laying out hundreds of pounds. If you just put yourself in the hands of salespeople you’re going to get ripped off, end of. That’s their job, to make you spend more money than you should.
Again what is a little, I mean it’s more than 30 minutes it’s a fair few hours of time you never get back. I always view time as very expensive especially spare time. There is a few enough hours in the day for many as it is.
Really no one is asking for sympathy just to be looked after fairly and reasonably without being ripped off. While it may never happen it is not unreasonable to hope it can. For me it is one of the main reason why I shop in certain shops and don’t touch others ever and if more people did this we would soon help get the service we deserve.
It’s funny really if we get bad service or food at a restaurant we rarely go back but general shopping many seem happy to be treated like crap and go back for more yet there is plenty of choice out there.
Sure. For £350 and a device that will last half a decade or more, that’s not much time. But then I’m the sort of guy who will research £20 gizmos for an hour.
Eh, why bother. I’ll delete my little screed.
I’m just saying that for most people retail shopping isn’t fun, and research, while I agree it’s necessary (and I’m obsessive about it myself) isn’t something the average shopper dives into with relish. It’s one thing to say, yeah, caveat emptor, but another to seem to glory in the failings of the less dedicated.
I’m certainly not glorying in it. I’m saying a) certainly for anything over £100 then a little bit of research (even outsourced to your younger relatives) is not much to ask, and b) putting yourself in the hands of salespeople is asking for trouble, for very obvious reasons. The most you can reasonably expect from them is that they won’t lie to your face, and even that is probably too much in practice. We can complain about anti-consumer sales practices all day, and there should be (and in many jurisdictions are) laws against the worst practices, but nobody should be walking into a shop intending to spend hundreds of pounds without having done any research beforehand.
I’m still pretty sad that this thread isn’t dedicated to actual modern fraud, like the phone scam that tries to trick you into saying certain keywords that can be recorded and remixed to be used against your accounts elsewhere, or, I dunno, holistic medicine and shit. Though I guess the latter isn’t exactly a modern innovation of hucksters!
The one I heard most recently is they call and ask if you can hear them. You say yes and they record it. The recorded yes is then used to authorize just about anything.
I don’t have anything that is authorized by my specific voice imprint for the word yes. Are you aware of anything like that? If not, sounds like a stupid scam or a rumor.
- record people saying “yes”
- ?
3)profit!
The much more common one is when they call telling you there is a problem with your card, then ask you to “verify” all the information for said card, which they can use to their heart’s content.
There were a few TV news segments on it here. A woman was interviewed who lost money because of it. A quick search brings up this article.
Also:
I did want to include the broader view on what we are facing to be honest…I do remember it mentioned in some movie once, that once we get closer to the meltdown, the amount of fraud increases…
So, no, I didn’t say things that were technically illegal or fraudulent, but I find them morally shameful practices…
We are definitely heading into real crime related fraud aswell, Nigeria letters was just the start…
For the longest time I saw this almost as third world aid, stupid people being separated from their money…but its getting more convoluted and dangerous, eventually even the best of us are going to have to become either a blatant cynic or paranoid to be able to safeguard…
These are not health signs.