Best Buy Swindles Customers With $30 PS3 Firmware Update

[Icehearted]

Best Buy Swindles Customers

At that point I realized I said "duh" out loud. Fun little place to poke around in, but Ive almost never bought a thing at that store. It's all so overpriced, seriously, I've seen two identical items at this and Target at the same strip mall and target was cheaper.

And those Geek Squad horror stories...*shudder*

 

[Unesh52]

Is that a lawsuit I smell? Or did someone order the garlic bread?

...why does a legal action smell like garlic?

OT: Somebody should call bullshit. If I weren't thousands of miles away, I sure would.

 

[Jaime_Wolf]

While I do love jumping on bandwagons, you all realise that this actually makes perfect sense, yes? Hard though it may be to believe, there exist people without internet access. Also, those people traditionally tend to buy consoles over gaming PCs.

BestBuy is offering a service to people who are otherwise incapable of updating their firmware. That service costs them time and resources and (perhaps more importantly) has value to potential consumers, so yes, it should and does cost money.

Let's also remember that while some games include the firmware update, you have to pay for those games too (and pay substantially more). What if you wanted the update, but didn't want any of the games that have it on the disc? What if at some point later there are games that require it, but don't put it on the disc because it's been out so long that people are assumed to have it (though to be fair the games with it on the disc would probably be cheaper by then)?

Edit: Geek Squad is still an abomination. It's not like we needed another scandal to prove that.

 

[Cliff_m85]

Nothing quite wrong. As you said, SOME game discs have the update. Next, we must think of those who do not have an internet connection. Like the Amish.

Then we must actually ask if people would really want to wait an hour before they can play their new out-of-the-box PS3. Absolutely not. So some would willingly toss $30 to have it ready to go immediately.

Think of it like a Buffet.

Sure you can go up and fix the plate of food yourself, but some are too obese and Amish to walk up to the buffet so they'd rather spend an extra $5 for someone to bring the food to them.

 

[Steve the Pocket]

Best Buy
BP
Wal-Mart
Exxon
McDonalds
Nestlé
Dominos
Chik-fil-A

I'm a harsh, harsh costumer.

Better add Bayer to that list. They've probably done more evil than most of those companies. (By the way, Domino's and Nestlé? Do tell.) Trying to cover up chemical explosions that are making countless people who live near their factories dangerously ill, deliberately selling drugs known to be tainted with HIV in Europe after they were banned from sale in the US, selling pesticides known to cause birth defects... the list goes on and on [http://www.cbgnetwork.org/4.html].

 

[Kryten1029a]

If stupid money is on the table then you might as well take it. If they were charging for the service and not doing anything, then I could see THAT as a ripoff. Otherwise, not.

@The Axon Hillock:
As for Activision, just google "Bobby Kotick quotes" or "Bobby Kotick is the devil".

 

[Psyco Slim]

The Best Buy I work at in Miami, what we do is put it in Spanish and Portuguese for South Americans along with the updates since most of them can't read English.

 

[Azaraxzealot]

as sad as this is, it's even sadder that when people KNOW that they can get it for free... they'll still pay because they FIRMLY believe that having someone else do it will make it better than if they did it themselves...

the ONLY possible explanation why you would have NO CHOICE but to pay for this is you have NO INTERNET in your ENTIRE neighborhood and have NO friends to help do it for you... in which case you live a sad existence

 

[Brad Shepard]

Ill put money down this is for parents that dont know jack crap about games and the consoles they play on.

 

[PettingZOOPONY]

Who really cares? If a person falls for it they deserve it.

 

[SimuLord]

I love Best Buy, mostly because I cut their salespeople off as soon as I've bought the individual item I came for.

As for stuff like a $30 firmware upgrade, well, "a fool and his money are soon parted" and "there's a sucker born every minute." No skin off my back if a company's smart enough to soak the stupid.

 

[VanityGirl]

Uhm.. Didn't they do something similar to this a while back?

 

[manaman]

As for the upgrades, yeah they can be a rip off. Still if they offer them for people that want to take it home and plug it in, and not wait an hour or more for the updates then I don't see a problem. A person is more then able to pay an extra $30 for that if they want. What I wouldn't like is if they tried to tell people it was a difficult process that they where "saving" them from doing.

Jesus Christ, they rip people off in so many ways. The last time I was in Best Buy I saw a sign saying that they'd "set up your ps3" for FIFTY DOLLARS. What the fuck?! That's fucking PLUGGING IN TWO CABLES FOR FIFTY DOLLARS!

Is their some policy where added store bonuses are given straight to the employees or something?

They offer that with any AV equipment. That same money will pay for them to hook up your new AV receiver and speakers. It's not that the people are stupid they are just brainwashed so to say. They get so used to telling people about the offers that pop up on their screens that they don't even bother thinking about them.

*adds Best Buy to boycotted companies list*

Let's see the list is now...

Best Buy
Activision

And...that's it.

Wal-mart

That one really depends on where you live. In the south, yeah I won't go to a Walmart, but here in Washington it's a different story. The stores are clean for a start. Target has the same reputation here that Walmart has in the south.

I used to work at Best Buy at the Geek Squad, though this was before they did these console firmware upgrades.

I applied, and applied to a regional repair center in the are when I was really down on my luck. I had twice the qualifications they asked for for either job. I am guessing nobody reads over the resumes and they have them all pulled up for review based on buzz words. I never bothered to reapply, things started to turn around. Man am I ever glad they didn't hire me.

 

[mrx19869]

AHAHAHHAHahahah sorry but if you are that stupid to buy this, then you deserve to loose 30$ ... way to go best buy...

 

[Sephiwind]

I'd like to point out to everyone that you are required to have a broadband connection to access PlayStation online. That means that people that have dial-up can't update the system to this is technically gear towards those types of people.

I mean really it is mostly a rip off but even though there are several ways to update for free there are idiots and lazy people that will be willing to pay for the update from them.

 

[dfphetteplace]

I've boycotted them for a few years now. This just reinforces my hatred of them.

 

[Elementlmage]

*adds Best Buy to boycotted companies list*

Let's see the list is now...

Best Buy
Activision

And...that's it.

My thoughts exactly.

Isn't this illegal? Are they at least telling people that the firmware update is free? Is there something we're missing here? Either way, this is ridiculous.

It isn't illegal, but it is a blatant and MASSIVE violation of the EULA. I wouldn't be surprised if Best Buy gets a stern talking to from Sony. I'm hoping the stop sending them stock for a month and I don't even own or want a PS3.

 

[Lord_Ascendant]

*quirks eyebrow*

there has to be a word for this

hmm


Anyways: Ion Cannon Targeted. Fire? Y/N

 

[The Axon Hillock]

Best Buy
BP
Wal-Mart
Exxon
McDonalds
Nestlé
Dominos
Chik-fil-A

Clearly somebody follows the media...And by follows I mean hangs on every word of...

If you are going to suggest that avoiding companies that have clearly done evil things to the favor of smaller businesses is passé, I'm going to have to ask you to step outside!