Path: ...!local-2.nntp.ord.giganews.com!Xl.tags.giganews.com!local-4.nntp.ord.giganews.com!news.giganews.com.POSTED!not-for-mail NNTP-Posting-Date: Sun, 04 Aug 2024 15:40:30 +0000 From: Spalls Hurgenson Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action Subject: Re: Forget Mice... are you ready for subscription COMPUTERS? Date: Sun, 04 Aug 2024 11:40:30 -0400 Message-ID: References: X-Newsreader: Forte Agent 2.0/32.652 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Lines: 52 X-Usenet-Provider: http://www.giganews.com X-Trace: sv3-iDgoCMkI8HfT0Zcc/Nq7AfBoFRaDLiPXp7m/GVQ3iTyYPtlIvzdCdv2L3pHXnLQ/vuWT2xyY+yooAfl!1LkWCKd2WhBPNQtbMndZdttBAtztn+pBZyy5yshUZx5SaF/XkGyKY+tbMeMPRATcE/zTB9Ub X-Complaints-To: abuse@giganews.com X-DMCA-Notifications: http://www.giganews.com/info/dmca.html X-Abuse-and-DMCA-Info: Please be sure to forward a copy of ALL headers X-Abuse-and-DMCA-Info: Otherwise we will be unable to process your complaint properly X-Postfilter: 1.3.40 Bytes: 3426 On Sun, 04 Aug 2024 08:15:57 -0400, Xocyll wrote: >Spalls Hurgenson looked up from reading the >entrails of the porn spammer to utter "The Augury is good, the signs >say: > >> >>So, this idea has a little more meat to it. Computer manufacturer NZXT >>(they make boutique gaming PCs) wants to make PCs with a subscription >>(or perhaps rental) fee. Prices range from roughly $50 to $170USD per >>month (plus initial shipping costs), depending on what sort of >>computer you get. NZXT also promises "seamless upgrades" every two >>years and 24/7 support > >Not really anything new, it's been around for decades as "rent to own." > >Had a friend who did this, you end up with a substandard computer that >you paid about 3x it's value for. >But for people who don't have a few thousand to buy a new one with... > But NZXT isn't offering a lease-to-own option. It's just pay-pay-pay and miss-a-payment-and-no-PC-for-you. In fact, the subscription agreement is quite clear on this topic: "This subscription is not a rent-to-own program. At no point will Subscriber own the Rental Devices... even if Subscriber payments aggregate to more than the collective retail price for all services." Rent-to-own at least gives you an option to buy the computer; it's not much different from buying a PC on installments. Financially, it's still a bad idea for the consumer as you always end up paying more, but I get it; it can be hard to make that initial bulk payment, and with some items, it's absolutely necessary you get the goods NOW rather than wait until you've saved up. [I wouldn't count gaming PCs in this category though. You're much better off just putting your own money aside for a few months or years. If you really need a PC in the meantime, buy a $400 laptop (two months of FLEX payments), and then save up your 'real' PC] But you dont' get that option with NZXT Flex. You just get to keep paying and have nothing for it at the end. Still, I /could/ see NZXT Flex working... just not at the prices they're offering. Certainly not when their real competition is online streaming for a fraction of the cost. It's a bad deal all around. For the end-user, anyway.