Confirmed: Subsidized Xbox 360 Bundle + Monthly Fee

[exfileme]

Microsoft is offering a subsidized Xbox 360 bundle for $99 and an additional $14.95 per month, but only at Microsoft Store locations.

Confirmed: Subsidized Xbox 360 Bundle + Monthly Fee : Read more

 

[phamhlam]

Before all the idiots come out saying this is a rip off. $1 today =/= $1 in 2 years. Yearly commitment are nice because you can spend your money on other stuff instead of dropping it all on one purchase.

 

[Marco925]

I dunno, $459 for a Console with 2 years of xbox live for what i can buy at best buy for $419 unsubsidised?

[citation][nom]phamhlam[/nom]Before all the idiots come out saying this is a rip off. $1 today =/= $1 in 2 years. Yearly commitment are nice because you can spend your money on other stuff instead of dropping it all on one purchase.[/citation]
Perhaps, however, i don't think our price indices and inflation will rise by 25% in the next two years. It'd be cheaper to buy it Now.

 

[allenpan]

free 2 years warranty included, perhaps?

 

[darkchazz]

so they are trying to milk it for all its worth before releasing the new xbox

 

[DirectXtreme]

[citation][nom]darkchazz[/nom]so they are trying to milk it for all its worth before releasing the new xbox[/citation]
If Microsoft is trying to milk the XBOX 360, they're doing a pretty bad job. I don't understand the point of a coupon code and why it has to be restricted to a physical Microsoft store, which, as the article stated, don't exist in every state across the country yet. Putting the subsidization offer online works too.

 

[captaincharisma]

and Microsoft continues to come up with way's to rip people off with the xbox 360

 

[Guest]

[citation][nom]Marco925[/nom]I dunno, $459 for a Console with 2 years of xbox live for what i can buy at best buy for $419 unsubsidised? Perhaps, however, i don't think our price indices and inflation will rise by 25% in the next two years. It'd be cheaper to buy it Now.[/citation]

It doesn't matter what you think about inflation. Fact is that $1 today is a different commodity than $1 two years from now. Assuming a market rate of 10%, that first dollar is worth $1.10 two years from now. Keep adding these up and you'll soon learn that $419 today is the same as $459 in two years (give or take). 419*1.10 = 460.9

 

[blazorthon]

[citation][nom]gnookergi[/nom]It doesn't matter what you think about inflation. Fact is that $1 today is a different commodity than $1 two years from now. Assuming a market rate of 10%, that first dollar is worth $1.10 two years from now. Keep adding these up and you'll soon learn that $419 today is the same as $459 in two years (give or take). 419*1.10 = 460.9[/citation]

Beyond that, not everyone wants to throw over $400 money into one thing all at once. Some people would want to spread the cost around one or two years, or else they might have to save up until they can spend that much at once and still have enough money left over for an emergency. If I don't have a great salary and/or I live in an expensive area, then I might have to wait at least one or two months by saving money up like this. Getting it now and spending a little more money over two years (even without inflation) might be more preferable than waiting.

 

[Guest]

Its probably a decent deal if you were likely to get the gold membership anyway...

 

[maikerser]

Awesome.

 

[TheKurrgan]

If this article is correct, the 14.95 per month price for XBL is different than a normal XBL subscription...
That said, the math breaks down as follows:
99 for Xbox bundle
14.95 x 24 for XBL sub.
Total=457.80
Out Right purchase:
299 for Xbox bundle
5.0 x 24 for XBL sub. (Price off the Xbox Live website if purchased for 2 years)
Total = 419.
For those who are for sure going to use the XB/XBL service for 2 years, its not an awful deal. Considering thats 200 less dollars one pays up front, but spends very little more over the course of time.
I'd not say this is a rip off, but MS is cashing in on the service motif of cellular providers for tablets and telephones.. (And really, why not?) If all goes well, it represents a 10% increase in revenue for microsoft over 2 years..

 

[hragarand]

This is for the person who does not have the $400+ dollars up front - they put down a down payment down of $99, and then finance the rest over 24 months at a rate $14.99 per month - home and car loans come to mind.

 

[rosen380]

"Fact is that $1 today is a different commodity than $1 two years from now. Assuming a market rate of 10%, that first dollar is worth $1.10 two years from now. Keep adding these up and you'll soon learn that $419 today is the same as $459 in two years (give or take). 419*1.10 = 460.9"

Well, sure, if inflation is really that high. CPI has gone up that 9.5% in the last 4.5 years, so you are probably more than double counting inflation.

Tack on that I can get 1 year of XBox Live Gold for $50 from Target, Walmart, etc and the XBox for $275 from Target.com, it is really $375 vs $459, a 22.4% difference-- which is more than inflation over the last 8 years...

Figuring 3% inflation, in today's money it is $375 [assuming you buy two of those $50 subs immediately to 'lock in' the price] vs $449.

If you happened to have a way to invest the difference, at 26.5% annual interest, then you are roughly break-even with inflation included. Granted if you did, then you would have so much money you'd probably be buying a gold plated and diamond encrusted XBOX [or atleast the 250GB version ]

There were rumors that it would also include a '$50 value' two year warranty, which would have brought the two closer, but then again, Target offers a three year warranty for $29.

There were other rumors that Netflix and/or Hulu Plus would also be included. Like with the warranty that would have helped atleast make the deal moderately justifiable.

I would vote for save $20 per week, for the next 11 weeks and just buy the thing outright [with one year of XBox Live]

 

[Guest]

xbox 360 with kinect was $250 a few weeks ago
12 month xbox live has been $36 and cheaper in the past

 

[techtre2003]

[citation][nom]blazorthon[/nom]Beyond that, not everyone wants to throw over $400 money into one thing all at once. Some people would want to spread the cost around one or two years, or else they might have to save up until they can spend that much at once and still have enough money left over for an emergency. If I don't have a great salary and/or I live in an expensive area, then I might have to wait at least one or two months by saving money up like this. Getting it now and spending a little more money over two years (even without inflation) might be more preferable than waiting.[/citation]

And that's exactly how people wind up in financial trouble. They have to have something they don't need NOW rather than saving a month or two. If you don't have the money to spend on a luxury item or if the purchase may put you in a financial bind; don't buy it. OR, if you just have to have an Xbox360 SO badly spend $200 on a basic bundle and go from there; or better yet find one on Craigslist for even less than the $99 down you'll be paying for this "deal".

 

[blazorthon]

[citation][nom]techtre2003[/nom]And that's exactly how people wind up in financial trouble. They have to have something they don't need NOW rather than saving a month or two. If you don't have the money to spend on a luxury item or if the purchase may put you in a financial bind; don't buy it. OR, if you just have to have an Xbox360 SO badly spend $200 on a basic bundle and go from there; or better yet find one on Craigslist for even less than the $99 down you'll be paying for this "deal".[/citation]

Ahh yes, people definitely go into financial trouble from $14.95 a month. Very hard to pay such expensive rates like on the house and car.

 

[rosen380]

Well, I'd argue that since you're essentially getting a $176 loan payable over 24 months at 26.5% interest, that it is more the kind of thing to get you into financial trouble than a house where you probably are only paying 4% interest.

If you are willing to pay 26.5% interest to save less than $200 up-front, I think you probably also OK with paying the minimums on credit card balances and such. So, this probably won't be the straw that broke the camels back, but likely a contributor a long with other poor financial choices.

That said on the credit card thing-- if you plunked down $375 on your 19.9% credit card and you paid $19.07 per month, it would be paid off in 24 months as well. So, for $4 more a month, you don't even have to lay out the $99... Or, layout the $99 and it'll cost you $14.04 per month to pay it off in 2 years.


"If you don't have the money to spend on a luxury item or if the purchase may put you in a financial bind; don't buy it. "

Well, lets say hypothetically the deal was $15 plus $15 per month. Now the two deals both work out to about $375, so it would be something like an interest free loan [and figuring in inflation, even a small gain]. If I can get a 0% car loan, I'm sure as hell not putting a penny more down than I absolutely need to!

---
The bottom of the line is that this is a bad deal because it is a bad deal, not because it is stretching out the costs of a luxury item.

 

[techtre2003]

[citation][nom]blazorthon[/nom]Ahh yes, people definitely go into financial trouble from $14.95 a month. Very hard to pay such expensive rates like on the house and car.[/citation]

That's exactly the thought process I'm talking about. Just $14.95 a month. And that necklace they have to have now is just $20 a month. Then "oh wow the new Ipad is out, I can get it and pay just $30 a month". All this adds up until they have a couple hundred dollars in monthly payments for stuff they don't NEED. Then something happens (illness/injury/job loss/etc..) and that disposable income they would have is tied up in those monthly payments. THAT's how people run into financial trouble.

And rosen, I agree on the car loan; I wouldn't (and couldn't) put out that much money on a car especially if I could get 0% financing. However, for me a car isn't a luxury item; I live in a rural area and work is 20 miles away. Also, that's a pretty big leap in price from an XBOX to a car.

I'm not trying to pick on anyone but the mentality of today is to just "buy now pay later" and that has gotten a LOT of people into trouble; our own government included.

 

[blazorthon]

[citation][nom]techtre2003[/nom]That's exactly the thought process I'm talking about. Just $14.95 a month. And that necklace they have to have now is just $20 a month. Then "oh wow the new Ipad is out, I can get it and pay just $30 a month". All this adds up until they have a couple hundred dollars in monthly payments for stuff they don't NEED. Then something happens (illness/injury/job loss/etc..) and that disposable income they would have is tied up in those monthly payments. THAT's how people run into financial trouble. And rosen, I agree on the car loan; I wouldn't (and couldn't) put out that much money on a car especially if I could get 0% financing. However, for me a car isn't a luxury item; I live in a rural area and work is 20 miles away. Also, that's a pretty big leap in price from an XBOX to a car. I'm not trying to pick on anyone but the mentality of today is to just "buy now pay later" and that has gotten a LOT of people into trouble; our own government included.[/citation]

No, the fact that they don't keep track of their finances well enough is what gets people into trouble. If I don't have $350 or $400 or whatever it would cost to get an Xbox 360 right now, but I'm not stupid enough to not keep track of my finances and thus I know that I can afford $99 now and $14.95 a month for two years, then I'll get it if I want it and there will not be a problem. Even if you fail to pay, what's M$ going to do? Cancel your Live subscription and send angry letters?

If I know that I can afford to get either a new console or a new iPad as a subsidiary, but not both, then I won't get both (I wouldn't buy either, but you provided the examples). It's that simple. If someone does get both when they can't afford both, then that's their own fault and they obviously shouldn't be allowed to handle their own finances if they keep doing something like that.

People (or governments) getting into trouble with something like this are completely at fault for their actions. They screwed up. If they didn't make sure that they can afford everything, then they should have made sure that they could afford it before buying.