radio shack
I want to update, but I don't really have anything to say. Normally in this situation, I just wouldn't say anything. My previous entry, however, was just as useless as anything I could write here, if not moreso. So you're getting an update. Enjoy!
I spent most of the weekend not getting a Handspring Treo 270 from Radio Shack. Back in Belleville, I saw that they had it on for "$99 after rebate with 24 month subscription," which didn't sound terribly bad, relatively speaking. I went on Thursday and actually talked to the sales person about it. The sales person, however, led me to believe that it wasn't, in fact, a mail-in rebate, but a credit to your wireless account, and the credit that would give you the "$ 99" was, in fact, only on a two year subscription. Furthermore, the monthly subscription would likely be at least $50. I grabbed a bunch of brochures and ran away.
I did some research online and reasoned that I could probably get a $30ish subscription that would be good enough for what I wanted it for. And I decided that I'd have to argue with sales people, pointing out the discrepencies with the sign and hoping I could rangle out some sort of deal on the basis of false advertising being bad. But... I couldn't bring myself to talk to a sales person again. I went to two other Radio Shack outlets in town (neither of which had the $ 99 thing advertised) and back to the original one three times. In the end, I gave up, convincing myself I didn't really want the stupid thing in the first place.
Does this story have a moral? No. I'm just a dork.