Should be Illegal

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daragon

Limp Gawd
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Feb 17, 2005
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I recently decided to get a wireless card for my laptop so it'll be useful for something when I take it to class. I, of course, checked newegg first. I'm just going to be surfing, maybe a bit of research, so all I need is a simple card with all the crazy security my university uses. I found this card.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833124192
$20 not bad at all

But this would be the second card I'll have tried to put in this laptop. The first caused the system to lock up until it was removed. (The same card did that to every laptop I put it in, so I figured the card was crap). Anyway, to avoid this problem again I wanted to get the same card from a retail store so i could return it if it didn't work. So I decided to check the Fry's website to see how much the same card is at their store.

http://shop3.outpost.com/{ogpAWW3oA...w-TUexT4Q**.node3?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG
$50!!


That's a 150% markup, 100% if you count shipping. That should be illegal.
 
Obviously it is going to be a lot higher at Fry's, they have buildings and people to pay for.
 
It is called overstock buddy and they do what they have to. The same card at best buy is like 55 bucks of something.
 
That isn't bad at all. I just bought a new window regulator for my car ('99 alero). I called up the dealer to get a price so i could fix it without waiting. They said it was $170.00......without the motor!!! Then if you want the motor, which is kinda useful to make the window work as mine was shot to, you had to fork out another $202.00. That is a total of $372.00 for an absolutly worthlessly built regulator.

So I went online and found the exact same one for $74.99 with $6.00 for shipping which would be a total of $80.00. If I am right taht is a $465% increase. I ended up buying one for $140.00 shipped which is much better quality then the original OEM version.
 
daragon said:
I recently decided to get a wireless card for my laptop so it'll be useful for something when I take it to class. I, of course, checked newegg first. I'm just going to be surfing, maybe a bit of research, so all I need is a simple card with all the crazy security my university uses. I found this card.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833124192
$20 not bad at all

But this would be the second card I'll have tried to put in this laptop. The first caused the system to lock up until it was removed. (The same card did that to every laptop I put it in, so I figured the card was crap). Anyway, to avoid this problem again I wanted to get the same card from a retail store so i could return it if it didn't work. So I decided to check the Fry's website to see how much the same card is at their store.

http://shop3.outpost.com/{ogpAWW3oA...w-TUexT4Q**.node3?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG
$50!!


That's a 150% markup, 100% if you count shipping. That should be illegal.
Click to expand...

lol...you really want to bitch and moan.....check the pricing of video cards. bet you'd find a 7300gt for over $150. or places STILL selling 6600 varients for over $150.....or 7800's for $300

what they do isnt criminal.

1.) they have to pay for their building
2.) they have to pay their employess
3.) they have to make a profit
4.) people will buy it anyways
5.) just because there are some smart people out there, doesnt mean they have to be catered to.
6.) you dont have to buy it.
7.) its a free market

every once and a while i hit up frys for one of their good deals. and i'll make my way to the video cards if i need a laugh
 
That is a total of $372.00 for an absolutly worthlessly built regulator.
Click to expand...

The windows regulator in your '99 Alero is worth more than the '99 Alero. You should just call the insurance company and say your car is totalled.
 
They might have a large amount of stock that they purchased at a higher price. It happens.

I agree - car dealerships are terribly guilty of unfair markups as are diamond retailers.

Camera memory - now there's a product which sees various degrees of markup!
 
OP:
I have to ask- is your laptop an Inspiron 6000, perchance?
Click to expand...

No, it's a Compaq of some kind. My dad gave it to me when he said it "broke". I re-installed windows and charged the battery and it worked fine.

1.) they have to pay for their building
2.) they have to pay their employees
3.) they have to make a profit
4.) people will buy it anyways
5.) just because there are some smart people out there, doesn't mean they have to be catered to.
6.) you don't have to buy it.
7.) its a free market
Click to expand...

I'm aware of all that, and I don't intend to buy from Fry's. It's still wrong to take advantage of stupid/ignorant people, but that's how our system works i guess.

Makes me wonder what I could get other things for if I knew where to shop....
 
I currently work for one of the larger office supply chains, and I handle a lot of the products in such a way that I see what it costs the company to actually purchase them. Your average markup in a retailer for electronic goods is 20%~. Some products more, some products less. (Non electronics goods like notebooks and paper clips are closer to 50-70% markup.)

That said, some of the higher end products companies will deliberately lose money on. If you buy a laptop or precon desktop in a retail store, if there's any kind of sale on it whatsoever, they're losing money on your purchase. My store gets an average of $50 profit on every $1000 laptop sold at normal price. That means the manufacturer charged us $950 for it. The employees are expected to get you to buy software, warranty plans, peripherals, etc., in order to turn a profit. Printers, the same thing applies, but to the manufacturer, not the retailer. Every HP printer I sell, HP loses money on, which they recover VERY quickly with ink purchases. (Ink manufacturers have upwards of an 80% markup BEFORE they sell it to the retailers. The amount of money they make is obscene.)

Goods that you're going to see a lot of markup on at retail locations are going to be those with little to no attachment opportunity. What are you going to sell with a video card to compliment it? Motherboard? PSU? Well, maybe the latter, but honestly, anyone who's buying a video card specifically already knows what they need, and you're not likely to get anything else for them.

Newegg and other online stores cut out a lot of the middlemen, and you pay the costs of shipping. They're able to go well below retail because of this -- they only have to pay for logistics, limited customer support, and website development. Depending their operation, they may have a tech team that repairs damaged goods so they can resell them as OEM or open box products at a discount, saving them even more money. Most manufacturers will only refund 60-75% of the money they charged us whenever we send them back a product. If you returned your laptop because you didn't like the look of it, it costs my company ~$200+. Some companies offset this with restocking fees. (Mine doesn't, but that's the reason those exist.) Open box resales is infinitely preferable to this, but it often can't be done inside a retail store -- it's a taboo to try selling a product that way with anything less than a 30% discount, which is just as bad as the original fee.

In the end, most markups are reasonable, but you can almost always do better by avoiding retailers altogether. To shop retail is to pay the price of immediate convenience.
 
This would be a great topic for General Mayhem, but, unfortunately is off-topic for GenHard
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