I used to work in Best Buy and it was never much of a problem. Sure there are some real cheapskates that do it, and others who intend to but are too lazy to return the TV. Not only that, but the poorest of consumers (and the ones who seemingly would be most likely to do this) pay in cash. Generally speaking, these consumers don't have the means (savings/credit) to front the price to "rent" the TV in the first place. The more affluent consumers who use credit cards to pay, can generally afford to either buy the TV, or run up the debt on their credit cards when they're too lazy to return it. Of course there are exceptions to these things, but these are the general trends I've observed over many years.
It would be detrimental to sales for honest consumers if they were faced with a restrictive return policy for a couple of months surrounding the Super Bowl. I think lots of these people would simply put off the purchase until the policy was no longer in effect. The suits and bean counters that make decisions about stuff like this would certainly have tightened things up if they were losing money, so it's safe to say they're not. While I certainly hate that some people do crap like this, it would be worse for business if they changed the policy.
Now that we've thrown 'em off the trail, use the form below to get in touch with the people at Engadget. Please fill in all of the required fields because they're required.
I used to work in Best Buy and it was never much of a problem. Sure there are some real cheapskates that do it, and others who intend to but are too lazy to return the TV. Not only that, but the poorest of consumers (and the ones who seemingly would be most likely to do this) pay in cash. Generally speaking, these consumers don't have the means (savings/credit) to front the price to "rent" the TV in the first place. The more affluent consumers who use credit cards to pay, can generally afford to either buy the TV, or run up the debt on their credit cards when they're too lazy to return it. Of course there are exceptions to these things, but these are the general trends I've observed over many years.
It would be detrimental to sales for honest consumers if they were faced with a restrictive return policy for a couple of months surrounding the Super Bowl. I think lots of these people would simply put off the purchase until the policy was no longer in effect. The suits and bean counters that make decisions about stuff like this would certainly have tightened things up if they were losing money, so it's safe to say they're not. While I certainly hate that some people do crap like this, it would be worse for business if they changed the policy.