I was flipping through channels and noticed that QVC was selling an iPad 2 and accessories for a whopping US$709.95. As a 16 GB WiFi-only iPad 2 runs US$399.99 now, that's a premium of US$309.96. They'd better be amazing accessories for that much money.
I recently saw something similar from HSN. It seems as though legitimate companies are taking advantage of people's ignorance in order to get some quick money. I'm not really so surprised by HSN--they do pressure sales, but QVC has been laid back about people shopping beyond their means.
Sad, isn't it? For a little more money, you could have two iPad 2 tablets.
Weird. ShopNBC has added the New iPad (third generation) with accessories for a Today's Special Value of $849. That's not much different than the other two, except that the iPad is $100 more and the price is for today only. I shudder to think about the regular price.
Well, all 3 channels now have the third generation iPad, which retails for US$499.99, with all their overpriced accessories. I can't imagine that the split payments are worth that much to buyers.
2012.08.19: HSN had iPad 3 available with some overpriced accessories for an additional $249, I believe, over the tablet price. That's somewhat better and for HSN shoppers, they would split it into 18 monthly, finance-free payments, which could be considered good, since they said it was something like $41 or $51 per month. I wasn't listening quite that intently because I was looking for other details. HSN is funny selling electronics because the hosts have diarrhoea of the mouth and don't think. She said something about it being "the best tablet Mac makes" and 30 seconds later said that it was "the best tablet iPad makes". I think the producer finally got her to say "Apple" but I'm sure that she forgot another 5 minutes later.
2012.11.04: One of the three channels is still selling the older, third generation iPad as if it's the newest, with the same bundle price. Actually, all three are probably doing it but I haven't spent much time in front of the TV to notice. QVC is probably the one I've seen since they're generally the one most overpriced to pay for their great customer service and return policies. Even getting the fourth generation iPad would be a rip-off at those prices, but they won't do that because they can't offer the new Lightning port chargers yet. Even as they make it sound as though these models are the newest you can find, they've announced that their supply is limited.
2012.12.21: QVC apparently ran out of the third generation iPads, so they're including the newest generation in their bundle. It seems it was an extra $300 but I didn't notice whether they had a charger or not, since there isn't a non-Apple legal charger for the fourth generation yet.
2013.01.19: I'm not sure where I saw this one but they were charging $349 for a Google Nexus 7 tablet, when the tablet is normally $249.99. They weren't offering a car charger, but a case (hard to find anyway, if it fits) and quite a few (probably free) apps for the extra money. I'm sure they're not worth it, but for people who can't get to stores, it might be acceptable.
2013.02.19: QVC has added the iPad mini to its collection, charging something like $220 extra for their wonderful accessories.
2013.12.03: ShopNBC has apparently changed their name to ShopHQ, but not their habits. They've had a long history, if you include their time as ValueVision. However, you have to be careful with all three of these channels. QVC seems to be pushing much harder than in the past, even though they've been a part of Comcast for a while. If ShopHQ is also under Comcast, due to the sale of parts of NBC, that would make for interesting confusion. Due to my mum's obsession with home shopping channels, I learnt way too much about it, which makes it much safer to shop the channels.
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