Limited Time Offer...

Odd...

I saw an ad in a flyer this weekend which baffled me. I know that companies have gotten to the point where they cut down on any "extras" included with their products, for the most part to save money. Understandable. Except where those things they choose NOT to put in are actually required to use the item.

It doesn't really matter what the item was, but the important thing was, in the description of the item it said, "Act now and get a FREE AC Adaptor ($4.99 value!)" Wow. So, you're selling me this thing, and if I act now, I'll also get the ability to use it? Great. Because if I bought it at some other time and found out there was NO CORD in with it, you know... I might feel kind of screwed.

This, to me, is possibly the worst kind of sleazy marketing. You're making it seem like a perk to give people the AC Adaptor. It's not. It isn't like buying a Blu-Ray player that only comes with composite (yellow) video cables, because you can still use it, you just have to get a BETTER cable to get the best picture. It's not even like a Printer company selling you a printer but not putting in a USB cable, because they figure you're replacing another printer and don't NEED another USB cable. If I buy something, I need POWER. If it's not a battery-operated device (which this one is NOT) then of COURSE it needs a power cord!

It's not even like we could choose to use a different cable, or go to the store and buy a universal power cable - we live in America, land of the free, home of companies that can choose to shape their power inputs like tiny trapezoids. Or maple leaves. Or... the silhouette of Alfred Hitchcock. Good luck finding that on a Best Buy rack.

You can't even use another cable which may just HAPPEN to be shaped the same! Electronics have so many different power requirements, you could have a Laptop adaptor which supplies 12 Amps, which is the same size and shape as the AC adaptor for your coffee pot, but look out, the coffee pot only uses 6 Amps, so if you switch the two, that toxic smell you notice won't be your toast burning.

Selling a product in this day and age with no AC adaptor would be like selling a remote control with no buttons. Or selling a refrigerator and saying, "Act now and receive a one-month supply of cold air free!" Or hiring Jesse James for a day without Sandra Bullock to increase his star quality. Sure, the one will sit somewhere in your home and take up space, but without the other, they'll NEVER WORK.

It's not an unfair request to make. If you sell someone a thing... make sure they have what they need to make that thing work as advertised. Otherwise, you should change your ad from, "Super-fast laptop computer (memory not included)" to "Big rectangular paperweight."