They do. At least they do over here. I'd be somewhat surprised if they don't in your parts.
My personal experience is that cheap Chinese batteries leak more readily and worse than quality ones from Germany or USA, for example. But I still buy also the cheap Chinese ones...
You're also supposed to take them out of devices you don't plan on using for a while. The fact that they are in a circuit promotes leaking.
Yeah, I rationalised that one.. today was just a leakage of one that happened to be sitting at the bottom of a box.Originally Posted by Ryllharu
If it's not Isuzu-chan Mii~
Quit the medical field and get to work on supercapacitors. Revolutionize the world for us Buff.
In the wonderful province of Ontario we have this bullshit eco fee the provincial government tacks on to things like TVs, computers, etc. I bought a $300 LED and was charged a $39.50 eco fee and what makes it even better is the fact they included that fee in the taxable total so I essentially payed a tax on a tax.
There's also an electronics recycling fee in all products running on electricity in the EU. However, it isn't nearly as much as that! It's also not just an additional random tax with a bullshit explanation, because it ensures you can take your old, broken device to the shop where you get your new one, and they must take care of it appropriately with no extra charge. Or you can take old electronics for free to the municipal recycling centers.
Personally I think ours is an excellent system. Electronics are very worth it to recycle due to the rare earth elements and other stuff contained within. If you can get rid of them officially and "for free", because you have paid the recycling fee already no matter what, it leaves no excuse to dump them to the woods or something else nasty. Of course there are and will always be blistering idiots who no matter what carry their old stuff to somebody else's land instead; as long as there are humans on Earth, there will be idiots as well. At least this system ensures normal people don't be tempted to become idiots only to save a few euros.
A taxable tax is just laughable. I'd appeal that and ask for a reason for such a shitty system.
If it's not Isuzu-chan Mii~
We have the exact same system and for the same reasons which seem ecologically responsible. I was just really annoyed that was such a staggering amount, more than 13% of the cost of the TV...the $300 TV ended up to $383.62 after the eco fee and tax.
It wouldn't be as bad if the manufacturer shared in the fee since they produce these electronics that ultimately produce the waste. Though it seems like our provincial government is proposing to scrap the eco fees paid by consumers and put them onto the producers...but then the producers will just add it to the cost of the electronics so consumers will still end up paying for them in the end. Source.
Appeal to who, exactly? Corrupt politicians who have ZERO accountability? Or retailers who just shrug their shoulders and say they're forced to charge these fees by the government?
I don't remember the exact numbers, but my gut feeling is that for a 300 euros product it would be a few euros. It's not separated in receipts or price tags or such. In any case when it was introduced years ago, the prices certainly didn't jump up by any really significant amount. The fee is already paid by the manufacturers (or importers if imported from outside of EU). That fee directly funds the system to collect and process the old devices, so it doesn't dangerously go through the state.
I've never actually written to my local MP...though maybe I should.
As of right now I think the consumers share most of the burden of funding the recycling program...or it seems that way with the exorbitant fees.
Now matter how the system works, it's obvious the end users will pay - ultimately it's always the consumers. After your post I read a bit about the situation over here and interestingly enough it looks like that even though our fee is but a fraction of yours, it's still generating surplus, which is returned to the manufacturers and importers! Theoretically that should allow them to adjust prices down, but the pessimist in me believes it rather goes straight into the bottomless pockets of the stock owners. The law dictates the organization (which is basically a cooperation effort by the involved business) must have a reserve fund that will ensure six months of continued recycling even if something happened to make the normal funding model crash.
I have nothing to complain about. When I took a year ago a big load of old electronics and devices from collecting dust in my corners to the free recycling center, it felt rather good. But unless you had no recycling whatsoever before your outrageous fee appeared, and thus it's all built from nothing, then it's clear somebody (or something, like the state) is embezzling. If it all goes to the right purpose, I'd imagine it will drop at some point. Another possibility is that it's a fixed amount, not progressive like our. I believe that the more expensive and bigger the device you get here, the more the fee will be. According to some source I spotted the max is 25 euros. Perhaps if you buy some 3000 euros mammoth TV, the fee is up to 25€ for it.
Your local MP? It's not likely to do much, it it may help you in knowing you've done your bit in trying to improve the system, and the slack's on other people. It's just a vent, like how you write complaints to companies.
If it's not Isuzu-chan Mii~
Mail-in-rebates (MIR) - specifically, the most recent types of mail-in-rebates.
I purchased an ASUS product today that has a mail-in-rebate sale. I thought it was innocent enough until I realized the ingenuity involved with MIRs. It brings price discrimination to a whole new level. It tricks the consumer into thinking that a product is on sale, which encourages greater sales. You have to pay full price for an item you might not have otherwise bought if there wasn't a special going on. Then, the consumer has to take the time to register for the rebate online, print off the form, copy the receipt, and cut out the UPC, pay postage, and wait for a few weeks (excluding first-class shipping) to get what was offered a month ago.
Meanwhile, the retailer benefits from making a sale on a regular-priced item (full taxes too!), and the manufacturers count on the laziness of consumers to not send in the MIR. When I considered all the work involved for the $10 MIR, I thought I was wasting a lot of my time and effort, but my pride didn't allow the system to game me.
But then, it did.
The MIR I'll be getting back is through an Amex gift card instead of a check (no other choice)... I thought this was ridiculous. These MIRs are like a chain reaction - the expenditures for these products create more expenditures when you get a rebate. Now I'll have this extra piece of flimsy plastic to engage in more transactions where companies can make more money off of my purchases. Can't I just get a check and save my money that I was supposed to be promised in the transaction? What happened to the concept of saving money? Isn't that one of the main reasons why the economy turned to shit in 2008?
tl;dr:The capitalist system gamed me today through MIRs and I don't like it.
EDIT: Just realized that MIRs can be abused by company refunds with original receipts, inflation creeps up to you while you're waiting to get your money back, and the manufacturers have my personal information. They are truly one of the most underrated evils of our markets and I'm pledging to boycott all products with MIRs in the future.
Last edited by enkoujin; Mon, 06-24-2013 at 08:43 PM.
More accurately, the problem wasn't so much that people weren't saving money, but were borrowing money that they couldn't pay back (and institutions allowed such borrowing) right?
I haven't heard of these mail-in-rebates before, but they sound like a point system / loyalty-card system, except you have to work for it.
If it's not Isuzu-chan Mii~
You're definitely right - I really went off tangent on the issue.
Pretty much - leverage is definitely more on the retailer and manufacturer's side with this system in place.I haven't heard of these mail-in-rebates before, but they sound like a point system / loyalty-card system, except you have to work for it.
You shouldn't look at it like the MIR is the only reason you made the purchase. Is the product worth the price paid (ie full market price)? If yes, then the MIR is icing. If the product isn't worth the price, then don't buy it.
I know MIRs are mostly a scam, similar to gift cards, where the retailer/manufacturer relies on peoples' laziness to recoup costs or make profit. That falls back on consumers to not discard gift cards and to follow up on MIRs. If it's not worth your effort for the $10 MIR, then the product must be worth full price.
“For God will not permit that we shall know what is to come... those who by some sorcery or by some dream might come to pierce the veil that lies so darkly over all that is before them may serve by just that vision to cause that God should wrench the world from its heading and set it upon another course altogether and then where stands the sorcerer? Where the dreamer and his dream?”
I suppose the trick is that with rebates they can announce that the item is now $$ after rebate, giving the illusion that you're saving on the current product, while the point system makes the need for a future purchase to realise the saving more obvious. Putting a monetary value on the saving also makes it more concrete than earning "points".
Well done to marketing..
If it's not Isuzu-chan Mii~
I occasionally see those rebates on some products (though they are vastly more uncommon here than they seem to be in the USA) , but I have never bought any product that happened to have it active, so I never knew how troublesome they could be to cash in. Although I imagine it could also depend on the company you are dealing with.
I hope I never have to see one, ever. All the rebates here are done in-shop, at the cash register.
If it's not Isuzu-chan Mii~
That's strange. You'd think the likes of Canon or Microsoft, for example, had the same system everywhere since the same products are sold everywhere. Maybe your national laws forbid such rebates?
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