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[Top] [Computing
On A Budget]
[Credit Card Surcharges]
Computing On A Budget
Re-thinking Your Technology Investments
Part I - Budget PCs vs Custom
PCs
Not too long ago there were only
two ways to get a decent PC, either build your own or have one
built for you. In fact a person could earn a nice living
building, selling, and upgrading PCs. Today, things have truly
changed.
I believe that I heard the final
nail hit the coffin when Wal-Mart started selling a PC with
Windows XP for only $345 (now they even have one for $298). Sure
this PC was fairly limited, as in you can’t upgrade it beyond
adding more memory and a PCI video card, but the cost effective,
speed doubling upgrade has been gone for a long time. So what is
the advantage of upgradeability anyway? It had an Intel 2.4 GHz
Celeron processor, 256 megs of ram, 40 gig hard drive, DVD/CDRW,
Up Front USB 2.0, Media Reader, Modem, Network Card, keyboard,
Mouse, and Windows XP. All you needed was a screen and on the
same aisle was a 17” LCD monitor for $199.00. So let me get this
straight, I can have a decent PC with 17” LCD monitor for less
than $600? Try that combo at Dell and you are looking at a lot
more and you have to pay shipping. It pains me to say that the
first computer that I bought with my own money was $1600 and was
a Cyrix 486 33 with math co processor. It had a 14” CRT and 8
megs of ram with a 100 meg hard drive. To say we’ve come a long
way is an understatement.
So where does a PC like this fit?
Frankly, just about anywhere! Unless you have a specific need
for a feature that is not listed, it should do just fine. If you
are in a corporate environment and need XP Pro, or if you are
into PC Gaming, then obviously this is not the PC for you. But
if little Johnny needs a pc for his room so he and his sister
aren’t battling over the family PC, or if you want the kids to
have their own pc to keep yours separate, it is perfect.
Another perfect fit for this
class of PC is for the person that needs to upgrade their old
computer. When you do some math and realize that you will have
to spend about $200 in software and hardware upgrades to get
that old Windows 98 computer running XP, not to mention the
potential labor cost, it is not a far stretch to spend a little
more and get something that will be far better right out of the
box. I’ve steered more clients away from upgrades in the last 6
months than I thought I ever would. It is just not cost
effective anymore.
We have to change our thinking
about the PC. (Pssst.. I have a little secret.. Brand names mean
little to nothing anymore.) When I get 2 to 3 years of
uninterrupted use from my eMachines desktop, I have to wonder
why I would pay more for a Dell or other name brand. Sure there
are times when a specific need requires a larger investment in
that niche PC, but don’t be fooled into buying what you don’t
need. Most of the time that $300 - $400 Wal-Mart PC will do
everything you want it to do just as well as a more expensive
brand name PC.
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[Top] [Computing
On A Budget]
[Credit Card Surcharges]
Credit
Card Surcharges,
What is the "official" policy?
Part I - From The Consumer's
Perspective
I recently conducted business with a merchant that had the
following line at the bottom of their credit card payment form:
“NOTE: A 3% service charge will be added to any amount paid by
credit card in order to cover transaction fees.” I know that
these fees are in direct violation of Visa and MasterCard
acceptance policies, so why do they do it? And more importantly,
how do they get away with doing it time and time again. When I
brought it up to the merchant this was their response: “I
appreciate the information you gave me in the email. We offer
the usage of credit cards as a convenience to our clients.” Oh
yeah.. I just love the “convenience” of having to pay more for
something than I need to.
So what do Visa and MasterCard
say about it? Well, I spent ALL DAY trying to get an answer. I
called my own merchant service provider, who confirmed that it
is not permitted, but could not provide me the paperwork
outlining the official policy. I called Visa International, who
also said that it was non-complaint but yet could not produce
the paperwork. MasterCard was no different. In fact they said
that I have to call my credit card issuer and get the rules from
them. Good luck. I talked to several of my credit card providers
and NONE could prove, with documentation, that the practice was
against policy. I was beginning to think that I had been wrong
all along.
But then… I finally found the
actual policy manuals for Visa and MasterCard. Here is what they
each have to say about it:
Visa: NO Surcharging: Always
treat Visa transactions like any other transaction; that is, you
may not impose any surcharge on a Visa transaction. You may,
however, offer a discount for cash transactions, provided that
the offer is clearly disclosed to customers and the cash price
is presented as a discount from the standard price charged for
all other forms of payment.
MasterCard: A merchant must not
directly or indirectly require any MasterCard cardholder to pay
a surcharge or any part of any merchant discount or any
contemporaneous finance charge in connection with a MasterCard
card transaction. A merchant may provide a discount to its
customers for cash payments. A merchant is permitted to charge a
fee (such as a bona fide commission, postage, expedited service
or convenience fees, and the like) if the fee is imposed on all
like transactions regardless of the form of payment used. A
surcharge is any fee charged in connection with a MasterCard
transaction that is not charged if another payment method is
used. The merchant discount fee is the fee the merchant pays to
its acquirer to acquire transactions.
Now both of those statements are
pretty clear. So I got back on the phone yet again to talk to
Visa and MasterCard about how to avoid paying the merchant’s
imposed “service charge.” Guess what? There is basically NO
recourse at the time of purchase. My only course of action is to
dispute the service charge when I get my credit card statement.
Then VISA/MasterCard will go after the merchant at that time.
Most likely my card issuer will not require me to pay the
service charge. If the merchant continues charging a surcharge,
they could loose the ability to accept credit cards altogether.
So the next time you’re on eBay or at a store and the merchant
has the little “we charge a 3% service fee when you use your
credit card,” give them the option of doing the right thing. But
if they don’t, you DON’T have to pay it.
Today proved to me that the only
person truly looking out for my consumer rights is ME. Maybe
there are some people who have all the money they want and can
afford to spend more than they need, but as a self-employed
person doing all I can to survive, I’d rather not throw money
away to pay for someone else’s “cost of doing business.”
Links:
Visa’s Merchant policies and handbook
MasterCard’s Policy Handbook
*Just a note*
requiring a minimum amount or setting a maximum amount is
also against policy |
