An observation about Macs - are they misrepresenting their product?

[SuperDuck]

Rather than derail one of the several Mac threads going on right now, I figured I would do nicer thing and start my own thread.

Here's an interesting tidbit: The Macs that you demo in the store are upgraded versions of the ones you can buy - but they don't tell you that.

Example - the iMac. There are currently two screen sizes, and two flavors within in, the lower spec computer and the higher spec computer.

Go to the lower spec computer and check the Computer Properties. See how much RAM is in the computer.

In the three stores we have noticed this in (Illinois, Wisconsin, Alabama - my friend was down in 'Bama), all of the lower spec'd computers, which are supposed to have the slower processor and 1 gig of RAM have been upgraded to 3 gigs.

Me: "How much RAM does this computer have?"
Sales guy: "This is the lower end model with 1 gig of RAM."
Me, pointing to the screen: "Then why does this one have 3 gigs?"
Sales guy: "I don't know."

In each store they will swear up and down that their computers are normal. When confronted they'll all plead ignorance.

Could it be because they want the computers to run in the store nice and fast for their customer demos? That's a little bit of mirepresentation, if you ask me. (Kind of like the 'ol sawdust in a used car trick.)

Possibly. I don't know. Perhaps I'm being cynical. Maybe some Mac enthusiasts have a better idea of why that would be.

[disenchant]

Do you also think the picture of the cheeseburger at McDonalds looks anything like the squished flabby thing you get on your tray?

Or that your car can really zip around curves and skid to a perfect spin stop?

Or that the model home you look at with the tile floors and the crystal chandeliers will be the same as the base price advertised?

Most companies have their souped-up versions for display. It's so they can get you hooked and upgrade you at the register. "Now the computer you were on has 3gig of RAM but the one in the box has only 1gig so if you like how that machine over there works I suggest you upgrade to another few gigs."

"The car you test drove has leather interior and automatic seats, but our base model doesn't. Can I interest you in an upgrade?"

It's not misrepresentation, just an old selling technique. It would be misrepresentation if the sign said "this is what you get for this price" but then you didn't. I don't think Apple does that.

[eedre]

Hmmm... I'm shocked that a large corporation like Apple would lie!

I thought these companies cared about people!

[Josh Ryan]

If the salesman said the one with 3gigs ram had only 1 gig, that would be deceit. If he's just an idiot like most of the "techies" working in stores like that, then he;s just an idiot. It's a tough call.

[Webtroll]

Well in the commercials they lie about their OS being better than Vista.

No, wait, that's not a lie...

[SnoMan]

I can say that the Big Mac certainly does not live up to it's name in this day and age.

[elwood]

Originally Posted by disenchant

Do you also think the picture of the cheeseburger at McDonalds looks anything like the squished flabby thing you get on your tray?

Or that your car can really zip around curves and skid to a perfect spin stop?

Or that the model home you look at with the tile floors and the crystal chandeliers will be the same as the base price advertised?

Most companies have their souped-up versions for display. It's so they can get you hooked and upgrade you at the register. "Now the computer you were on has 3gig of RAM but the one in the box has only 1gig so if you like how that machine over there works I suggest you upgrade to another few gigs."

"The car you test drove has leather interior and automatic seats, but our base model doesn't. Can I interest you in an upgrade?"

It's not misrepresentation, just an old selling technique. It would be misrepresentation if the sign said "this is what you get for this price" but then you didn't. I don't think Apple does that.

But that's exactly what he said they did do.

[Geoff St. Germaine]

Originally Posted by elwood

But that's exactly what he said they did do.

Not really. They told him the lower end model came with 1 GB. The one on display had 3 GB which you can get, it just costs more.

[SuperDuck]

Originally Posted by disenchant

It's not misrepresentation, just an old selling technique. It would be misrepresentation if the sign said "this is what you get for this price" but then you didn't. I don't think Apple does that.

Thanks for the lesson on gullibility, disenchant.

As the above poster noted however, that is what they are doing. In each instance, the computer had a little sign next to it listing the specs. When checked, those that are actually on the computer do not match.

They are claiming a computer is running on 1 gig when in fact it is running on three. That's more than "slick advertising" like hamburgers, that's lying.

[Dan1099]

Originally Posted by disenchant

Or that your car can really zip around curves and skid to a perfect spin stop?

Apple aside, the cars in commercials are the cars you buy. It costs way too much to build up something different. Also, those cars CAN do that kind of thing, you just need to be a really good driver. Cars handle better than most people give them credit for, it's drivers that fail.

[elwood]

NM, SD already posted.

[john turner]

i always get a kick out of the mac/pc tv ads - talk about misrepresenting. if anything, the mac guy should be the dork, and the pc guy should be the cool looking one. and i own a mac .

for a while now i think apple has been all about style over substance - a large element of their business is predicated on the perception that they are somehow better than the "generic alternative".

[MakiSupaStar]

I'm a dork and I like my macs. If you don't like macs don't buy one.

[Marcury]

The specs on the card next to the computer are what you get out of the box. What is in front of you on display doesn't have to have the exact same specs in terms of Ram or Hard Drive capacity both of which are upgradables. The extra 2 GB of RAM IME would make no difference in the in store demo as there is no software or file sizes that could be run on a demo machine to use the extra.

If the guy on the floor doesn't have a good explanation for the discrepancies, that's just stupidity, but I'm not aware that is says anywhere that floor models are the same as specs when it comes to user installable upgrades.

[Mark Latimour]

Its perhaps a little "deceptive" and in advertising sense, but its not technically misleading or misreprentative in any legal sense that I am aware of. I am sure the practice has been thoroughly reviewed by Apple's lawyers. I suspect that the argument (and its fair to say) is that you are not buying the computer that the label is next to. You are buying the computer that is spec'd out on the label. The computer next to the label is there to give you an idea of the kind of computer you could be looking at, but its not guaranteed to be the same. Its just a demo machine.

For example wouldn't it also be misrepresentation by the same standard if the demo PC had a piece of software that wasn't on the OEM machine, or some songs loaded on iTunes etc?

Also, its no more misrepresenting than a Microsoft ad not showing the software slowing your machine down to a grinding halt, flashing the blue screen of death and you losing all your hard work, followed by 57 pop-ups and a massive amount of spyware and virus' landing on your computer. Is it?

[Atoz]

Originally Posted by john turner

i always get a kick out of the mac/pc tv ads - talk about misrepresenting. if anything, the mac guy should be the dork, and the pc guy should be the cool looking one. and i own a mac .

The Apple guy on those commercials is cool looking?

He's a much more massive dork than I am, and I'm pretty bad.

[MakiSupaStar]

Originally Posted by Atoz

The Apple guy on those commercials is cool looking?

He's a much more massive dork than I am, and I'm pretty bad.

Yeah, I'm not going to argue with that. How's your klingon coming along?

[Atoz]

Originally Posted by MakiSupaStar

Yeah, I'm not going to argue with that. How's your klingon coming along?

QaQ tlho' SoH

[SteveC]

Every car commercial shows you a beautiful car being put through it's moves. Shots of the interior. Happy, smiley people enjoying the ride. The price flashes - $19,985 - and you think sweet.

But wait, the small print on the bottom of the screne says actual model shown is the LXP super duper all accessory model with a list price of $39,995 - damn it!

[elwood]

Marketing. Gotta love it.