56X CD-ROM sold (packaged) as 52X $19.99

[dajo]

Ok, not that hot a deal I guess, but anyway...

I'm building a system for my mother-in-law for Christmas. System's pretty decent - Duron 800 that'll do 1G, KT7 mobo, 256MB Crucial PC133, etc.

But we're out of money at my house since I've built 8 systems in less than two years. I needed a cheap CD-ROM so I got the Pine 52x at BestBuy because it was $19.99 after a $15.00 mail in rebate. I know it isn't going to be that good, buy my mother-in-law will probably use it once or twice a year, if that.

So, I open the box, look at the face plate, and it reads "56x". Pretty weird, huh?

Why would they pack a 56x CD-ROM in a retail box that reads 52x? A costly packaging blunder? Sending out their 56x CD-ROMs in 52x boxes by mistake? It doesn't make sense.

There isn't an audio cable, but I have plenty of those, and there is no driver, but I have generic drivers. I build systems (don't we all?), so I should be able to get it installed and running - not too much to CD-ROMs. I'm curious to see how it performs.

Anyway, I posted this mostly cause I thought it was interesting, but also in case someone might need a super cheap drive that doesn't have to be great. You can always take it back if you actually get a 52x CD-ROM in the 52x box...

 

[Om]

No note enclosed? This has happened to me once with a CD ROM drive and twice with HDD's, bought two different Western Digital's one long ago 10GB and got a 13GB in the box and a note saying congrats, a 20GB and got a 27GB in the box, again a note, and then a CD ROM drive that was a 48X but got a 52X. But always a note along with it telling me I've been upgraded just 'cuse. You are the only other person that I've heard from that this has happened to, thought I just had the Midus Touch or something. Well, congrats!

 

[SpankYoHine]

Just picked up the same from Best buy. Mine says 52x on the front. Good deal though.

 

[dajo]

Did you install yours yet? Did you have any problems with it?

 

[darth maul]

I have seen it happen with CD-RW's, regular CD drives, and hard drives. I guess they sometimes just need to fill a marketing niche, and all they have left is the upgraded model.

 

[chizow]

hehe I have two bumper stickers on my cd-roms:

one reads:

My other CD-Rom is a DVD player

the second reads:

My other CD-Rom is a CD burner

no need for a 3rd one, but I guess it'd read:

My other CD-Rom is just a silly CD-Rom

Chiz

 

[beezerdeals]

I'm an industrial engineer and I know for a fact that this happens quite often actually. The reason for this is usually caused when a manufacturer has a large overstock of a particular model and has already created the packaging for a "lower-end" model. If the models are close enough then the manufacturer would actually save money by packing the better model in the lower-end box and selling them than re-ordering new packages for the high-end models. Also, of course you have to consider how many items you have that fall into this category and the price difference between the models, but for CD-Roms and HDs, usually these costs are minimal. I mean, you could probably sell a 56X cd-rom for $5 more than a 52X cd-rom, but in reality it only cost you about $0.20-$0.50 more to manufacture the 56X model over the 52X model and packaging isn't as cheap as everyone tends to think it is.

Anyways, just figured I'd share since there were some posts about this "mistake". It's actually a smart, cost-saving technique by the manufacturer that benefits the customer and therefore both parties are happy.

BTW, good deal for a cd-rom if anyone needs and good post.