Very Legal but definitely unethical... 1

Recently I started paying more attention to the really small print on a EULA or a contract or a warranty card etc. And as expected I started to find so many things which one would never realize, unless of course , one reads the fine print.

Disclaimer: I am not waging a war against anyone :D

BestBuy is a place that I frequent. Not necessarily to buy, but to look at all the new toys :P, though I end up buying mostly from the store, that is definitely not the intention. I still like the store a lot but recently have become wary of a lot of things.

An experience that I am definitely not happy about is buying laptops from them (online or in-store).

ASUS definitely makes good laptops and I am a big fan of the RoG line. I cannot buy something without first actually looking at it physically, so I went to BestBuy to look at an ASUS laptop, liked it and of course bought it even though I was unhappy with some options not provided :D.

Bluetooth module- It is a $15 add-on option (internal) which BestBuy chose not to take. Its legal, disappointing but definitely not unethical. However it was puzzling that a store which sells electronics and whose loyal customer base is mostly gadget crazy population thinks Bluetooth isn't a great option. Of course the sales associate offered a free suggestion to buy a rocketfish micro Bluetooth adapter for about $40 (Meritline sells it at times for $2)

Then there are "supposedly better" Geek Squad treated laptops where they install an antivirus and supposedly clean up unwanted programs (I can vouch that they do not clear all unwanted programs). It is helpful for some customers, I don't need it and guess what there are very few laptops in the store that are not "treated". Guess too much free time for Geek Squad. And of course you pay an additional $70-$150

Anyway coming back to the unethical stuff. I didn't accept their homegrown service option from Geek Squad, (I believe that I know more than them about a laptop, you may call it arrogance, but it is what it is :D), also because the warranty from ASUS would cover me for a year.

As a proud owner of an ASUS RoG laptop, I registered the product online at ASUS' website. --SHOCKER-- I am not eligible for ADW (ASUS' accidental damage waiver for when I pour coffee on to the laptop :p). It is provided free with all of their laptops, but of course BestBuy actually cancelled that program on the laptops that they sell and try to convince customers to buy their Geek Squad program which costs about $300. The ADW fine print is here. Incidentally, only 3 retailers opted out and of course all three have their own versions of the ADW. Now this, I think is perfectly legal but grossly unethical. Denying what should be mine for free and offering to sell the same for about 300 bucks. And you are not privy to this information till you actually go and register for the ADW.

It is a long post but then equally greater was my frustration :D Though I am a little happy cuz its vented. But not opting for a Bluetooth :o .... c'mon... If I never use ftp and still have the capability on my laptop, why did they think I don't want Bluetooth on my laptop :o

By the way, I was not buying a BestBuy laptop, I was buying an ASUS laptop. BestBuy was not the selling point, ASUS was. Darn it, BestBuy has DELL and HP laptops too, why would I buy a BestBuy laptop? arghhhhhh.....