Best Buy Tells Time Warner Customers to Ditch VoIP > Best Buy is so crappy...

Best Buy is so crappy...

I find irony in Best Buy suggesting people dump Time Warner's VoIP. I have always viewed it as the more expensive, lower featured, over hyped product.
Much like Best Buy.

Maybe there is some merit to it, though. Yeah, I don't shop at Best Buy (why would I when NewEgg and Monoprice are awesome?) but I presume you know what happens to the signal levels when folks start running more than one modem on a single drop, right? I still feel this is a ploy to push something though, as typical with Best Buy.

I have to side with this one since I'm in agreement that the rental fee is silly, especially if you have a phone modem that could give Internet. No sense making the phone modem free if it is not used for Internet. Still costs money and they are after all, DOCSIS 2.0 units without a router in this area still so they won't go for much either way. The Ubees are another question however, as I think Time Warner has some DOCSIS 3.0(?) Phone modems going around that also have built-in routers too. In essence, cancelling the phone is along the line of saying "We don't need this free phone modem that could give us Free Internet" while taking away the extra money Time Warner would get for having Phone + Internet on an account.

reply to swintec
I love shopping at Best Buy. 95 percent of my gadgets come from Best Buy with a few exceptions like my iPad (since Verizon Wireless set up a payment plan so I could buy my most recent iPad in two payments by paying part of the cost up front and paying the rest on my bill) and cell phones (prefer to buy directly from a carrier owned store). Bought grandma a TV and a computer at the Biddeford Best Buy (too bad they closed and I have to go to Maine Mall to buy grandmas gadgets).

I'd be devastated if Best Buy failed.

I personally don't like shopping online because they hit you with shipping and you have to be home to sign for the package. I like going to the mall as you get instant gratification from your purchase, just go to the mall and pick up what you want and go home and unbox it. No sorry we missed you slips on my door from UPS or damaged shipments.
--
Romney-Ryan and Scott Brown are the Right Choice as they are Hope & Change you can count on.

If you haven't heard, BB isn't doing too hott in terms of money. Amazon and Wal-Mart both are out selling them with no problems. Especially when Best Buy operates over 3 different pricing systems to rape their customers. People also avoid shopping in places that use high-pressured sales reps.== Best Buy.

reply to IowaCowboy
Best Buy is great for showrooming, and while I have spent a fair amount of time and cash there, most of the time I buy online. In the past two years I’ve saved probably $2,500, with a combo of eBay, Amazon and Tiger versus Best Buy. Best Buy sold my TV for $2900. I got it on Tiger for $1800, no tax, free shipping. Not only did I save $1100 straight up, but that’s almost $255 in tax money I cheated out of the county and state. Just this month I bought a new tablet ($500). Got it from Amazon. I saved almost $45 in tax. Last week I ordered the Jawbone Big Jambox on eBay. $270, which is $30 below what BB has it for and a $25 tax savings. I saved over $200 on my APC Home Theater Power Center. Saved a decent amount on my 3D Starter Kit and a couple extra pair of 3D glasses as well. Among a bunch of other stuff, but those are the purchases that come to mind. Most of the stuff I buy is higher end gear and is only sold at Best Buys that have Magnolia centers of which only 1 out of the 4 stores in the area is Mag.

And no, if a signature is required for delivery of a package, you can always leave a note for UPS or Fed Ex and tape it to the door saying you can’t be home for the delivery and that it’s okay to leave the package. I’ve done this plenty of times. Instant gratification is a bullshit response when you can save some serious $$$ by buying online. And the only thing I can remember paying shipping for in recent times for anything I ordered on line was a case and screen protectors for my Walkman, and those had to be imported from Japan.
--
For the future of our nation, we must unite and vote out the terrorist known as Hussein Obama. Come November 6 2012 we must remove the socialist pig out of office and get our country back on the RIGHT track.

This is a bit off topic but why do you think you "cheated" the county and state out of tax money? Things are changing but at the moment, you aren't required to pay taxes on Internet purchases. Here in Missouri we are supposed to voluntarily report sales activities in excess of $2,000 per calendar year and pay a sales/use tax but I haven't known anyone to track their out-of-state purchases much less file them and pay the tax.

Perhaps I'm being sensitive because of all the political campaigning regarding "paying for a tax cut" which is a little like your statement about cheating. However, it's just an odd spin on allowing us to keep what we already have. Maybe it sounds good to the audience they target but it really grinds my gears.

We pay plenty of taxes and there's no reason to feel we are cheating or getting some kind of government handout when we get to keep what we already have.

Dude relax. It was a sarcastic snipe. I’m sure this money grubbing state of NY could tax the air we breath if they could and I’m sure the asshats in Albany feel cheated that millions and millions of dollars in tax revenue are being lost by people who buy items online as opposed to brick and mortar stores. No, I don’t feel like I’m actually cheating this thieving state, and even if I did I could careless. Fuck them!
--
For the future of our nation, we must unite and vote out the terrorist known as Hussein Obama. Come November 6 2012 we must remove the socialist pig out of office and get our country back on the RIGHT track.

Just remember that when the state has to cut services you need due to LACK OF MONEY.

I don't use any service from this stupid state. Besides we already pay some of the highest taxes in the country. If the asshats in charge really care about NY State, let them take a pay cut from their over inflated salaries. And living in Upstate NY, it’s not like tax money that comes from this area even stays here. It all gets funneled down to that rat hole called New York City. Personally, I get a lot of joy when I buy items online knowing I’m not helping to fund this state and the leaches that run it. Again, fuck them, fuck them to hell!
--
For the future of our nation, we must unite and vote out the terrorist known as Hussein Obama. Come November 6 2012 we must remove the socialist pig out of office and get our country back on the RIGHT track.

reply to Steve Mehs
I live in Massachusetts and they are the most corrupt state in the union. They got money for all of the waste in beacon hill (overpriced and under qualified consultants, throwing money at failing schools, and various other forms of waste) but there is no money left to fix the roads (our roads are worse than those in a third world country).

My most recent MacBook Pro was bought tax-free at a Best Buy in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.
--
Romney-Ryan and Scott Brown are the Right Choice as they are Hope & Change you can count on.

reply to rradina
Because if he were to purchase those items at Best Buy he'd have to pay sales tax. by buying them online and at vendors that have no real stores, he does not have to pay taxes. Thus he "cheated" the county/state out of sales taxes. Although many states now show that you claim those on your personal taxes just don't get caught.

reply to Smith6612
It's easy enough to understand why they are doing this. Phone service is still a growth market, with tens of thousands of potential new customers even in small markets. Internet service is not, it's as mature as a market can be. You can bet this fee will be coming to the VoIP customers in the future, as that market matures.

I'm not familiar enough with their VoIP technology to know if it uses an industry standard or something propitiatory? Do modems even exist on the open market that would be capable of connecting to their VoIP system? If the answer is no, then it would seem they have their customers between a rock and a hard place.

Frankly, I'm not sure why people even subscribe to their VoIP product. It's no more reliable than any other VoIP solution, yet costs a great deal more. If you care about reliability you'd go with POTS. If you care about cost why not go with one of the cheaper VoIP providers, or just go wireless-only?

reply to Steve Mehs

NY Residents are now charged and have been charged sales tax on Amazon since June of 2008 or 09. Here’s the key if you want to avoid sales tax on there. Don’t buy items from Amazon directly, but rather the third party retailers that use the Amazon Marketplace Network, or whatever they call it. For example, last month when I ordered my Sony Xperia tablet, I bought it and the accessories I wanted from a third party retailer on Amazon called ‘Video & Audio Center’. They are based out of California, so CA residents would get charged sales tax, but everyone else doesn’t. Just like eBay, makes sure you look at the seller ratings, and read a few comments from other buyers to make sure your buying from a reputable seller.

Before I order anything on Amazon, I always look at the prices of the item I’m interested in from all the sellers on their network and look at the final price including shipping, if there is any, and then see if the reseller charges tax in NY. I forgot what I bought last year, Amazon themselves was changing $5 below MSRP, a third party was charging $5 above MSRP, but there was no tax on the third party so I paid the extra $10 for the item but saved I think $40 or $50 in tax.

And yes, NY and CA are probably the worst two states in the union as far as this stuff goes. Just look at gas prices, California is always the highest, but NY isn't far behind.
--
For the future of our nation, we must unite and vote out the terrorist known as Hussein Obama. Come November 6 2012 we must remove the socialist pig out of office and get our country back on the RIGHT track.

reply to Crookshanks

quote:

---

Frankly, I'm not sure why people even subscribe to their VoIP product. It's no more reliable than any other VoIP solution, yet costs a great deal more. If you care about reliability you'd go with POTS. If you care about cost why not go with one of the cheaper VoIP providers, or just go wireless-only?

---

People have been claiming Vonage would be out of business by now and are not going anywhere any time soon. The same with Clear they have customers and are still making $$$. Vonage has cut down a ton of money being wasted, like those nice post cards they'd send out, and all of the TV ads. You may see an ad here and there but for the most part they don't really advertise anymore besides word of mouth. and TWC DP is actually powered by Sprint Wholesale in most of their areas.

Ooma has a great product, its cheap because well, they have people behind them with $$$$ the same as Magic Jack and they've been around for a few years as well and don't look like their going anywhere.

The only thing that may go anywhere is the standard landline and DP companies from the MSOs if they don't learn to compete on price. They're starting to price their product right up their with a regular land line so why would I want to buy from TWC when I can go to AT&T and be priced the same, and actually CHEAPER if I bundle something else with it?? TWC DP- $55 after taxes generally in Ohio. AT&T One Rate Unlimited - $50 after taxes in most of Ohio. Why wouldn't you take AT&T?

reply to Steve Mehs
The problem with eBay is now its hit and miss to leave neg feedback on sellers and buyers.

reply to Steve Mehs
You sir are a patriot.

Perhaps states which gripe about losing sales tax revenue to online purchases should rethink their tax structure so that offline taxable purchases are once again a competitive option.
--
Romney/Ryan 2012 - Put a couple of mature adults in charge.

reply to Steve Mehs