So I go in to pick up a cheapo laser printer. Checking them out I'm approached by a baller with two big ass fake diamonds in his ears asking if i need assistance. I say not really, just looking at the printers. He hangs around until I grab a printer. At which point he comes up and asks if i need toner. I say no. He says I do because they ship with starter cartridges that only have 10% of the toner in them. I still say no. He then offers to show me the USB cables. I say I already have a box of them. He says they won't work because Brother uses a proprietary system. I tell him I still don't need one. Then for the big sell...he starts by saying "now I'm not trying to sell you something here, but you really need to get the extended warranty for this printer. Its only $12 and covers blah blah blah...." I say no thanks.

Observations:

1) The starter cartridge doesn't come with 10% toner. The sticker on the cartridge says it prints 1500 pages, vs the full 2500 pages. More like 60% buddy.

2) As we all know, there is no propriety USB system for cheap ass Brother laser printers (is there one for any printer? I've never seen it). Not to mention, they actually charge $30 for their standard A-B USB cables. Awesome.

3) I was at the store for another 30 minutes picking up stuff, and was asked by two additional random sales people "Hey, need an extended warranty for that printer?" as I'm carting the box around. And of course the cashier tries to push it as I try to pay.


These people didn't upset me in any way, I just felt sorry for them. Especially the baller who feels his only way to advance in life is to lie left and right to sell overpriced accessories. I'd expect this kind of behaviour from one of those shady NYC camera places, but not an office supply chain.

6/2/2006 10:17:15 AM

i stab them and run

6/2/2006 10:21:52 AM

The sad thing is they don't make any extra money for pushing all that stuff, but they sure as hell will get fired if they don't.

6/2/2006 10:29:22 AM

Yeah it isn't his fault, he will just get bitched at by his manager if he doesn't do all that stuff.

6/2/2006 10:36:30 AM

^ You can still shoot them though. They should understand that dodging bullets from frazzled customers is part of the job.

6/2/2006 10:38:05 AM

http://www.tigerdirect.com/retailstores/raleigh.asp?CMP=ILC-NC

6/2/2006 11:23:08 AM

all that shit is ppretty much the norm anywhere u go. i'm wondering what effect it would have if poeple started complaining to store directors and mangers about their associates being too pushy about warranties and attachments.

6/2/2006 11:37:48 AM

everyday I'm hustlin
everyday I'm hustlin

6/2/2006 11:39:06 AM

yeah, just about any retail place you work today has some shit you need to sell someone.

i don't know how interested anyone here is, or if NCSU/UNC have them, but Duke has a suprlus store with a whole bunch of shit that's hardly old at all. My friend's dad is a physicist there and they update all the computers every 2ish years and everything else gets dumped at the Surplus Store. They have office-y type furniture too, and other things. A loooong time ago, my friend got Trajan Langdon's old warmup jacket or whatnot for $15 only because it had a teeeeeny little Coke stain on the sleeve that couldnt be dry cleaned out.

6/2/2006 12:03:27 PM

Meh, if you're looking for a cheap laser printer, you can get a konica minolta 1350 series printer for 99 bucks at the bookstore, and just get the USB cables at big lots if you don't want to spend too much.

It's this one for 99.95 :

http://printer.konicaminolta.com/products/monochrome/pp1350w/index.asp


or this color one for 350.00 (250.00 after mail in rebate):

http://printer.konicaminolta.com/products/color/mc2400W/index.asp

Supposedly usb cables are going to drop to about 8 bucks from 20 before back to school too.

[Edited on June 2, 2006 at 12:51 PM. Reason : ]

6/2/2006 12:37:37 PM

the manager at the ink place on hillsborough st said to always go with an HP printer. They are usually pretty cheap printers, but the ink is where u save money. You will spend in ink on another printer what you can buy an HP with. also they are reliable for a long time

(not my advice although i do have an HP printer, but its what the ink guy said)

6/2/2006 1:03:42 PM

i like my brother all-in-one...i haven't had any problems with it and after 8 months of fairly steady printing (averages to about 5 pages a day) i still have the original cartridges (they use this injector-looking thing...4 cartridges total...and they come in a box of all four or individual and are just about the lowest priced ones i've seen)

6/2/2006 1:35:49 PM

Eh, I know most people don't like Lexmark but I got an X83 (scanner/copier/printer) about four years ago and it has never failed me.

6/2/2006 2:10:26 PM

I did not know Best Buy bought Staples.

6/2/2006 3:20:48 PM

i see where you are coming from in this thread

BUT

its not that hard to keep saying no and minding your business

in fact i prolly woulda fucked around with the baller dude

6/2/2006 3:41:20 PM

^ yeah buts its kinda hard to go about your business when they're constantly pushing shit on you.

6/2/2006 5:50:53 PM

i woulda said like shit man i'm broke as fuck as it is, i'm just getting the printer and thats IT

6/2/2006 5:53:28 PM

problem with that is i dont look broke...my diamonds are real.

6/2/2006 6:01:12 PM

hmmmm let me think of something right quick

6/2/2006 6:02:37 PM

People can always IM me if they need a nice laser printer for cheap.

6/2/2006 6:54:45 PM

Quote :

"yeah buts its kinda hard to go about your business when they're constantly pushing shit on you."

I hate that shit.

I went in Gamestop a couple of weeks ago, found the game I wanted, and went to the counter. Should've been a quick trip; there was just one guy ahead of me.

So then I have to wait 10-15 minutes while the bastard at the register tries to cajole him into joining their little club, followed by the talk about buying "extended coverage" for his purchases, and putting down pre-orders. Finally I get up there, and he tries to do the same thing to me. Fucker just would not listen to "no." It pissed me off to the point where I'm not going back to that store.

6/2/2006 6:59:49 PM

Reminds me of when I watched a sales guy at TigerDirect try to talk some dude into buying a new laptop. Turns out the internet doesn't work on those old Pentium III laptops.

6/2/2006 7:51:15 PM

If somebody told me some shit about a regular USB cord not working with a printer, I would ask to talk to his manager.

6/2/2006 8:22:02 PM

good point

but the manager would probably be proud of the employee for runnin game on you

6/2/2006 8:40:38 PM

you should have just said "enough of this crap" and handed back the printer

maybe you could go back and do it for fun

6/2/2006 8:42:47 PM

Quote :

"the manager at the ink place on hillsborough st said to always go with an HP printer. They are usually pretty cheap printers, but the ink is where u save money. You will spend in ink on another printer what you can buy an HP with. also they are reliable for a long time (not my advice although i do have an HP printer, but its what the ink guy said)"

Err... no. Ink is not where you save money. If you're buying "ink" at all you're being ripped off. Laser printers are the way to go and brand really doesn't matter. I've had brother, hp, samsung, and konica minolta laser printers at various times and they've all been awesome.

Sure, some (like konica and HP) have better toner costs, but realistically you'll probably only ever buy 2-3 toner replacements in the life of the printer unless you print massive amounts on a regular basis.

6/2/2006 9:34:27 PM

I used to work retail.


It's shitty, but selling that extra bullshit is how most of those types of businesses "grade" their employees.


The shittiest part about it is how the "up-sell culture" has crept in to every fucking facet of American life.

You see it when you go to get your oil changed, when the dude tries to force the $79.99 transmission flush down your throat at 30,000 miles.

You see it when you go to Best Buy and buy a hard drive that has a warranty from the manufacturer for 3 fucking years already and they try to sell you some bullshit.

You see it at the bookstore when they try to get you to sign up for some god damned email list so they can spam you on a daily basis in exchange for "discounts."



and people wonder why online shopping has really exploded

6/2/2006 10:30:27 PM

Quote :

"You see it at the bookstore when they try to get you to sign up for some god damned email list so they can spam you on a daily basis in exchange for "discounts.""

Huh? What the heck are you talking about?

[Edited on June 2, 2006 at 11:21 PM. Reason : ]

6/2/2006 11:20:00 PM

Man, go to Borders and buy a book. You'll see what I'm talking about.

6/2/2006 11:26:16 PM

Eh, I work at BN and we only get member e-mail addresses to send them discounts, and thats if you want them. don't know about spam crap though. it seems like whenever I am anywhere, there's never really a "discount" it's more of "Spend $150, save $25" a crappy one. Like at Chick Fil A! How it's always like... Buy a Sandwich and Fries to get the free coke.

6/3/2006 12:39:39 AM

jcrew also now tries to grab your email address

its pretty easy to tell them no thanks

6/3/2006 4:03:13 AM

Anytime anyone asks for my name or addy I give them a fake one. I get spam mail to Johnny Stinner all the time! Especially since I'm told I won't be sent mail like this. Just because your boss tells you thats what it's for... unless you have it IN WRITING.... then you're gonna sell it.

6/3/2006 7:01:55 AM

EVERYONE asks for your phone number now, thanks to the do-not-call list (if you give it to them, they have the right to call you now)...

It blows my mind - I've never seen ANYONE decline to give them their phone number. people are such sheep

6/3/2006 7:42:53 AM

I just say no.

6/3/2006 7:59:09 AM

it's easier to give them a fake phone number

6/3/2006 10:20:49 AM

Quote :

"it's easier to give them a fake phone number"

between that and fake email and mailing addresses, i don't think any obnoxious company has my information...i have 7 pairs of those oakleys (the fake ones, i suppose) from when i was a freshman and all you had to do was sign up for a credit card...i NEVER gave them anything even resembling my real information

6/3/2006 10:58:58 AM

^You signed up for a credit card using fake information? I'm pretty sure that's illegal. And all for a $1 pair of sunglasses.

I've got fake phone numbers/names/addresses all memorized for other situations. Radio Shack used to always ask for that crap, and they looked at me like an idiot when I wouldn't give them anything.

6/3/2006 11:04:40 AM

If any girls care,

if you give Victoria's Secret your phone number, all they send you is coupons for free panties, and $10 Birthday gift cards and catalogs.

Of course, they send it to whoever's name is under that number in the phone book - my dad has gotten so many "Free Very Sexy Thong!!!" coupons.

6/3/2006 11:12:54 AM

Quote :

"Man, go to Borders and buy a book. You'll see what I'm talking about. "

Ahh, when you said "the bookstore" I thought you meant THE bookstore.

6/3/2006 12:41:07 PM

Sorry, I forgot about the campus bookstore

6/3/2006 4:00:45 PM

Meh, well I wasn't sure if you meant the official bookstore, or near campus bookstores or something. I have received spam (with fraudulent headers) from packbackers before so I wouldn't have been suprised if you meant them or something. For some reason though, when someone says "the bookstore" I don't really think of barnes and noble. They're their own kind of monster.

6/4/2006 3:39:56 AM