Ripoffs

Best Buy’s Anti-Sales Trick People Into Overpaying For Computers

12:20AM May 25, 2010 | Adam Frucci

How’s this for scummy? Lately, Best Buy has been raising the price of and advertising one computer per week. People assume its on sale and get suckered into overpaying for items that drop in price the following week. More »


Computing

Did Apple Sucker Us With iPad Rush Shipping?

10:09AM March 31, 2010 | Mark Wilson

If you ordered your iPad by March 27th with expedited shipping, you should receive your iPad by April 3rd. If you ordered your iPad by March 27th with normal shipping, you should receive your iPad by April 3rd. Wait, what?? More »


Target Pulls A Best Buy, Offers A $US99 Video Game Setup Service

6:21AM January 9, 2010 | Adam Frucci

Do you hate plugging things into the wall? How about typing your name into some fields? Hoo boy, have I got a deal for you! Target is willing to do these arduous tasks for you for a mere $US99. More »


Gaming

Xbox 360 Wireless N Adaptor Costs An Absurd $US100

9:00AM October 6, 2009 | Adam Frucci

Want to get your Xbox 360 online using the fastest wireless protocol possible? Get ready to pony up an unconscionable $US100 on November 3, according to GameStop. Seriously, Microsoft? [Gamestop via Joystiq]


The Geek Squad’s Newest Racket: CD Ripping

9:40AM September 18, 2009 | John Herrman

Building on a proud tradition of charging for things that shouldn’t cost anything, Best Buy’s crack team of dudes will now rip your CDs, for the low low price of $US1 a disc. More »


Gadgets

Eight Of The Most Ridiculous “As Seen On TV” Gadgets

6:00AM August 22, 2009 | Sean Fallon

The pitch may claim that your life will be easier with 2 easy payments, but most As Seen On TV gadgets end up being a colossal waste of money. It’s a good thing Billy Mays isn’t around to see this. More »


Mobile

Nokla E81 (With An L) Nokia Knockoff Packs Plenty Of Swivel

1:40AM August 17, 2009 | Jack Loftus

If Nokia had ever followed through on that rumoured swiveling “E71-type handset” we heard about last April, it would probably have looked a lot like Nokla’s E81 phone here. In fact, Nokla’s betting a few people don’t know the difference. More »


Software

First IPhone App With In-App Purchasing: $US1 App, $US10/Month

11:20PM June 19, 2009 | Adam Frucci

Bad news: the first app to use in-app pricing in the App Store is a huge ripoff. Gokivo, is a $US1 turn-by-turn directions app. Want to actually use it? That’ll be $US1/minute, $US3/10 minutes or $US10/month. More »


Online

Sony Blatantly Rips Off Improv Everywhere For Crappy ‘Viral’ Ad

7:34AM February 7, 2009 | Adam Frucci

newVideoPlayer("/sonyvaiomann_gizmodo.flv", 506, 305,""); You’ve probably seen Improv Everywhere’s amazing Frozen Grand Central video — it’s gotten over 15,000,000 YouTube views. Apparently, so has Sony, because they totally ripped it off without asking permission or giving credit. Weasels.

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NYT: Text Messages Are an Even Bigger Ripoff Than You Thought

8:24PM December 29, 2008 | John Herrman

We all know that text messaging is overpriced, but the NYT has pulled back the technological shroud to find out that the prices aren’t just bad, they’re practically extortionate.

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