Are you getting CONNED? - Random thoughts#6

Most of us have a tendency to buy expensive stuff. There is a myth which makes us believe, "that if its more expensive its got to be better." Sadly, it may not be true in many cases. 

You can say the same for most branded** stuff. While the branded goods do maintain a good quality level - but is it worth paying for it through your nose? In engineering and manufacturing we have – what we call an acceptable level of quality control. The manufacturers do not wish to achieve perfection in quality – but they manufacture to an acceptable level that strikes a balance between the cost of production and quality. This is specially applicable for mass produced goods. If this was not done - all products of a middle class household would be out of reach  for them. A good example - a good quality brand of ceiling fan today that costs around Rs 1400-1700, could cost about 10 times if the quality level was made such that it could last and perform for a life time.

(** branded - the implication here is of the upmarket, luxury and expensive brands. For example Citizen, Seiko, Titan etc. are quality brands for watches, and they maintain a good level of quality - but they would not fit the label whereas Omega, Raymond Weil, Chopard, Rado and Patek Philippe etc. would called the branded ones for this purpose)..

The prices of branded products have absolutely no rational relation to the cost of production, but have managed to psyche the buyer and have created an image of aristocracy and give the message that he/she "has arrived", if he is seen sporting such products. All those who believe in the rat race will naturally scoff at what I have to say - but you must remember that it is your own hard-earned money, and you should have the right to decide how to utilize it; do not give that right to a 'brand'.

Let me come back to the main subject of getting conned...

Here is a part of an actual web page of the Amazon.com. Read the customer reviews below and you will be able to appreciate the gullibility of the individual, no further comments are required.

HDMI CABLE 2M (6 FEET)

FROM DVI GEAR

List Price:

$39.99

Price:

$2.20

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

Ships from and sold by UnitedIntegral

86 new or used available from $0.01

Average customer review: 

Product Description

Hdmi cable Provides the most reliable signal transfer the purest picture.Unlike most HDMI cables, Inspire Audio video cables use individual, shielded twisted pair wires for unsurpassed video signal.

Product Details

Color: black

Model: POTHHDMIH2M1

Dimensions: 1.08" h x 1.08" w x 72.00" l, .24 pounds

Native resolution: 1080p

Features

HDMI audio / video cables are ATC certifie

Provides the most reliable signal transfer for the purest picture.

Unlike most HDMI cables, Inspire Audio video cables use individual, shielded twisted pair wires for unsurpassed video signal.

CUSTOMER REVIEWS

Why pay out the wazoo when you can get this cable?!?!

"OK - here's the story. I was going to buy a Toshiba HDTV. I had picked it out already and was ready to purchase it and that was when I found a promotion at a local retailer that if I bought a Toshiba HDTV then I can get $200 off of any of the Toshiba HD DVD players. The HDA2 was normally $399 but was on sale for $299 and with the $200 off I got it for $99!! You can't beat that!

Well, I got that on Tuesday and it was an unexpected purchase. I asked the person at the store how much the HDMI cable would be so that I can hook it up as soon as I get home. He said, it's a Monster Cable and it costs $124.99! Whoa! I went up to the shelf and saw the sticker that said $124.99 on it and on the sticker it said "Financing Available"! What?! I'm not going to pay more for the cable than I did for the DVD player! These guys are crazy!

I told the guy "You are nuts if you think I'm going to pay that amount" and I logged onto Amazon and purchased this HDMI cable I'm doing the review for. I paid, with shipping, less than $9 for it. I was a little worried about it though - I'm sure that there must be a difference between the $124.99 cable and the $9 cable. So, I took the test. I went and purchased the $124.99 cable (mostly because I was too anxious to try out the new HD DVD player and couldn't wait for it to arrive). I plugged it in and of course the HD DVD I played looked absolutely amazing! The very next day I got the $9 cable (pretty fast shipping by these guys by the way) and I hooked it up. I was worried what I would find but when I started watching the same HD DVD that I watched the night before on the $124.99 cable I could notice NO DIFFERNCE WHATSOEVER between the two cables' results. So I returned the $124.99 cable.

You will not be sorry if you purchase this cable over the other ones in the major retailers. Don't let them tell you "it's a better quality cable" or anything like that. This cable is built very well - you can just tell when you hold it in your hand that it was made well. You don't get the fancy plastic packaging that you have to tear into with a knife and cut your fingers on though (oh what a bummer!). Get this cable. It's great!

The only thing you will want to research is that I have seen in some literature that there are two different kinds of cables. I think there is a special one for 1080p DVD players (dont' quote me on this). So do your research before purchasing just to make sure that this is the correct "type". As far as build quality - picture quality, for use with an upconverting DVD player as well as the Toshiba HDA2 HD DVD player, it's an absolute steal.

Price performer! 

"HDMI is a digital signal. That means it's all or nothing--not like analog where you may have degradation due to signal loss, crosstalk, radio frequency interference, etc. As long as you have a decent HDMI cable to transmit the digital bitstream from point A to point B, you're set. I just purchased the new Sony Bravia S-series 32 inch LCD TV. To go with it, I trashed my old Apex with the missing remote and got a deal on a Sony DVP-NS70H upconverting DVD player that can synthesize "extra" lines of resolution. The player can send 720p or 1080i signal to the TV. (Current DVDs are 480p; that standard will change eventually with Blu-Ray and HD-DVD.) I knew that the upconversion feature only works through a digital connection, so I'd need to get an HDMI cable. Started checking prices and, no surprise, they were all over the place. Some were in the $100 range. Despite mild skepticism, I decided to try the cheapest one. This little beauty arrived in 3 days in a plain brown wrapper and a clear plastic bag. The cable is surprisingly robust, with nice build quality, supple insulation, and good connectors. I started to feel vindicated. So I plugged it in, put Harry Potter in the DVD player and WOW!! The DVD player and TV did their magic. Spellbindingly great picture and sound. I haven't tried a component analog connection--those cables are REALLY expensive and quality matters more there--so I can't compare component versus HDMI. Bottom line: this is an unbeatable price performer for around $10 incuding shipping. And no, this is not an April Fools joke."

These two customer reviews need no elaboration.

Buying and shopping on the internet is also not free from con-men. There is an interesting read of the UK police website, how this can happen and why you need to be alert in order to avoid falling into the trap. 

There is a second category of people who are vulnerable to the con-man. The people who are greedy and fall for 'get rich quick schemes'.

Remember the emails in which you won a lottery (without buying a ticket); the mails that required you to be able to help a Nigerian or some other individual who has inherited millions of dollars or gold and she needs your help to get the money out of the country; a rich widow who liked your profile; the girls from Russia or Ukraine seeking husbands outside their country, because the men in their own country are like sloth bears; donations for charity - maybe small amounts multiplied by millions of recipients; websites conning fans in 2010 World Cup ticket fraud; bogus websites are conning hundreds out of their holidays; telemarketing sales; identity theft; fake job offers; phishing mails and web sites. A good suggested read is http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advance-fee_fraud, and the various links from there. The internet and mass mailing software has made this very easy and you have to be doubly vigilant. Of course, you must not forget the god men who are still conning the entire gullible mankind in the name of a non-existing god and religion that is meant to exploit by trying to book a seat for them in the imaginary heaven or afterlife.

(The various built link links in this article can be useful if you wish to explore and know more)

It is the greed and the desire of the individuals for the get rich schemes that generally makes a person susceptible to the con-men.

Remember, there are no free lunches.