Independent Retailers - The High Street Rip Off

Posted on 25 Sep 2009 at 14:17

I had to admire the salesman's blind optimism, too, as he claimed that this machine would be future-proofed for "three or four years" - which, given its poor CPU and meagre graphics, seems to be unlikely.

Going for the kill

My final visit, to a store called Electro Centre, featured the most blatant up-selling attempt I'd seen. The first two laptops offered seemed perfectly sensible: both were HP Compaq machines, both cost under £350 exc VAT and both had adequate processors, plenty of RAM and a decent amount of hard disk space.

Within minutes, though, he'd moved on to a far more luxurious machine - a £522 Sony VAIO VGN-NS30E. As with the £599 Toshiba Satellite, it looked nicer than what I'd been offered so far but, thanks to its Core 2 Duo processor, 3GB of RAM and 250GB hard disk, was broadly in line with what I'd seen elsewhere for hundreds of pounds less.

So, why should I buy an expensive VAIO rather than a cheaper HP, Acer or Asus? According to the slick salesman, it's all about the brand name. He assured me that Sony machines have a "lower break down ratio" and that he often advised customers that "if you're confused, go for Sony", citing that you "can't go wrong" with a VAIO laptop.

I suppose the fact they're normally at the thick end of expensive helps when you're working on commission, too.

While every shop I visited stuck to my budget, at least initially, I found that my cash would always stretch further online: a Sony VAIO VGN-NS20E/S, similar to the model that I saw at Electro Centre, costs only £374 from www.laptopsdirect.co.uk, and the A-Listed Acer Aspire 5735-584G25Mn costs £348 from www.simplyacer.com and includes a decent processor, widescreen TFT, 250GB hard disk and all the mod-cons you'd expect.

Compare this to the Tottenham Court Road experience: ageing laptops for high prices and up-selling salesmen eager to sell me laptops that were far flashier and more expensive than what my made-up mum needed. Its bright lights and plethora of tech emporiums may look tempting, but my advice is simple - tread carefully.

Avoid the high-street rip-offs

Author: David Fearon

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