[clug] Windows Tax refund and ASUS

[Nathan Rickerby]

On Fri, Jun 12, 2009 at 03:27:24PM +1000, Ian Bardsley wrote:
> Andrew Janke wrote:
>> Anyone been successful at getting anything back from ASUS?  A search
>> or two would say no and an initial phone call I made to them would
>> insinuate no.  "if it is not fit for purpose, return whole machine to
>> where you bought it, ASUS do not do whitebox sales".............
>>
>>
> I reckon that anyone expecting to get a refund on unwanted M$ product  
> supplied with new hardware from any manufacturer is dreaming.  I don't  
> really understand how M$ manage to intimidate manufacturers into  
> adopting the attitude that you can have anything that you like as long  
> as it comes from M$ but I suspect that it is strongly associated with  
> volume rebates on licence fees.
>
> However, all is not lost.  If you plan to buy a new computer it is not  
> too difficult to transfer a part or all of the value of an unwanted,  
> pre-installed operating system onto the seller by  following these  
> simple rules.
>
> 1...Buy only from a supplier who is prepared to negotiate on price.
> 2...Be prepared to walk away from any purchase where price is not  
> negotiable by at least -15%
> 3...Be disciplined with regard to your buying policy and never compromise
> 4...Be prepared to spend as much time securing the best possible price  
> as you would researching the best product to buy.

Given that the people who try and get refunds, usually go to a lot of
effort and the refunds are only for a small amount, I don't think they're
doing it because they want $COST_OF_OS off the purchase price.

Negotiating the retailer down may allow the buyer to believe they haven't
paid for a copy of Windows but MS will still get their money for it.
The retailer is the one who will lose out and that doesn't really help
the situation much.

What would be much better is supporting anyone willing to market a
Windows free machine.  I would happily pay more for a computer if I
knew the manufacturer had not bought a licence for it (does that mean
I should buy an Apple?).

Nathan