Tronix Country - nice place to visit, but you can't afford to live there

Commercial on XM/Sirius Radio goes something like this: "Need a high-level laptop, but you can't afford it? Afraid you'll be turned down because your credit is bad? Call Tronix Country- if you've got a Checking Account and can afford payments of just thirty dollars a week, we'll get you that laptop you need, PLUS exciting free gifts! Call now, you will NOT be refused!"

Ahem. Here we go again with yet another commercial which preys on people with little, no or bad credit who are easily convinced that they "need" stuff they simply can't afford. No doubt their houses are already filled with junk someone on another commercial told them they simply MUST have. This time, some middleman has decided to buy a bunch of Dell and HP Laptops and sell them at a preposterous markup to these gullible dopes.

The testimonials are a riot- "Ah'm really enjoyin' mah laiptop." "I just love my new laptop, and I tell everyone, if you need a computer, Tronix Country is the place to go." Yeah, Tronix Country is the place to go if you can afford to have $120 sucked out of your bank account every month for god knows how long (but it's a fair assumption that you are going to pay at LEAST a 50% markup on a laptop of limited quality- and don't think they spare these suckers on the shipping and handling chargers, not to mention the warranties.)

I'm willing to bet that an $500 laptop that you "need" but can't buy in a conventional manner because your credit cards have long since been maxed out or cancelled is going to cost you $1600 through Tronix Country. And you'll pay for shipping, even though Dell ships pretty much all it's equipment free. And the warranty will include a nice big markup. Thirty bucks a week doesn't sound like so much to people who have a steady job- but when you are a year into the deal and your laptop is out of date, and you are still seeing that money automatically deducted from your checking account, the reality is going to hit home mighty hard.

(And those "free gifts?" A set of ginzu knives, perhaps? A genuine Clapper? Nope- they include a plasma tv and a printer, which is included in your paid shipment- which means you get them after you've paid for the computer. Which means, of course, maybe a year after you started making those astronomical payments. Considering that you can buy a printer off the shelf at Staples for under $60 these days, and a plasma tv for maybe $400, you most likely find yourself shelling out $1600 for about $960 worth of electronics. And don't forget what I'm sure are outrageous shipping and handling fees. )

Do yourself a favor. Stay away from Tronix Country, Rent-A-Center, Check Cashing Services, and Rapid Refunds (I'm sure I'll be posting about them as April 15 gets closer.) All these "conveniences" are designed to squeeze money out of the gullible and the impatient. If you can't afford a laptop, you can't afford a laptop. Save your money until you can pay for one outright. Crossing into Tronix Country is easy- getting out is a very expensive proposition.