The holiday season is upon us, bringing the jingling sound of money changing hands, as the rabid commercialism of the Christmas seasons effects even the purest of celebrations. Don’t get me wrong, I love this season, I always have…but the older I get, I grow more cynical about economics, retail, and the miserable life those who screw up their lives and end up with nothing. You don’t need to know me that well to know that I harbor little pity for those who piss their cash away, much less donate so much as an apple for a fruit basket to be sent to these leeches of society.
On the other side…the supply side of commercialism, I think things could use a little tweaking in my perfect world.
Take the genre of consumer electronics, for instance. Specifically, the computer industry. With the exception of a few small companies, most computer retailers (which shall remain unnamed), sell the consumer what he doesn’t need, or even want.
Take this scenario:
Mr. Consumer decides to purchase a new computer. Now Mr. C is only going to be using this system to surf the web, and upload/tweak pictures that he takes of his parrot. Mr. C really does not need a high end video card or sound card, a flat panel monitor or a 3ghz processor. However, he will need a good browser, photo editing software and solid anti-virus/anti-spyware apps. Chances are he will end up with a lot of software and components he doesn’t need, like wireless capability, office programs and little of what he really will use. Now he will end up paying extra for anti-virus, computer repair, and spend plenty of time talking to techsupport about slow-downs and computer issues, because the unconcerned retailer did not sell him what he really needed. If Mr. C had been a freelance movie director who wanted to edit his own short films, sell him something with advanced video editing technology. If he wasn’t going to go online with the system, leave out ethernet and modem hardware, and deduct that from his price.
Go to a restaurant and ask for a burger with no tomato, and they will never deduct that from your bill. Extra cheese? You can bet your pinky toe that they will charge at least .25 more for it.
Consumer America is flawed, even with all its advantages.
Have a happy holiday season. :)
