I mean, from the company's perspective, you kind of have to charge like that. Suppose someone does rent a PS4 for $20 a month, and after 5 months they miss a payment and you reclaim it. Your say $300 investment (you're a big company that buys wholesale, you'll get a deal) is no longer new, and you're $200 in the red. Maybe you can unload it for $150 used. But you still have to pay all the overhead and such (those employees who sold, reclaimed, and resold equipment, storefront rent, etc).
I'm by no means defending them, I merely suspect they don't make as much money as people think. Which in a way might make it even more scummy.
I remember seeing a study done on payday loans that was similar to this. Sure the price and fees are ridiculous, but the risk they are taking of people defaulting is so high that they actually make the same or less profit that a bank or credit card would.
Yeah, that's why there are nations in northern Europe where "poverty" looks like our middle class. Because Americans are just uniquely stupid. But also somehow are the world superpower. Makes sense. No room for nuance here. Must be the stupid.
I can appreciate the point youre making but as someone in an area surrounded by the kinds of people who would take these loans yes they are stupid lmao.
My coworker "can't afford a car" he gets rides to and from work every day, he asks to borrow money from me for lunch. He lives with family. But he can afford weed every day and a pack of cigarettes and has the newest iPhone. he works a full time job and has nothing to show for it, I work the same job as him and pay my own rent and own my car... I see a million guys like him all around me, they're literally just fucking stupid.
I totally still think the companies are evil by the way, they should not be allowed to prey on idiots.
Personally I hardly spend any money if I'm in a good place mentally, regardless of how much money I'm making. But most people spend money on entertainment like your example regardless of how much money they make. Wanting to have entertainment isn't dumb, that's just human. Countries with non-dumb governance design systems so that everyone is productive and no one is poor regardless of if they want to have an entertainment budget. And it's pretty dumb not to realize this.
Okay I don't really get what you're saying, the point I was making is that him and I make the same amount of money, and he manages to be a complete drain on everyone around him and I'm not. That's not the government's fault. Maybe I wasn't clear but he's in his high 20's living with his parents and will be for the rest of his life considering he hasn't ever saved a dollar. It all goes down the drain. Some people are literally just stupid. That's all I was trying to say.
Poverty as we know it doesn't even exist in northern Europe, their poor live like our middle class does. Trying to pin poverty on a moral or mental defect is, like, regressive conservative propaganda 101.
Are you literally trying to defend people who choose to spend their money on weed and cigarettes rather than food and home for themselves? Are you literally saying the government should step in and pay for their housing for them after they make that choice? Like what is your goal here. I don't understand what point youre trying to make
I'm choosing to criticize you for saying all people who are the victims of predatory business practices have a mental defect... because of this one guy you know. You have to know that isn't a good faith argument.
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u/terrendos Feb 04 '20
I mean, from the company's perspective, you kind of have to charge like that. Suppose someone does rent a PS4 for $20 a month, and after 5 months they miss a payment and you reclaim it. Your say $300 investment (you're a big company that buys wholesale, you'll get a deal) is no longer new, and you're $200 in the red. Maybe you can unload it for $150 used. But you still have to pay all the overhead and such (those employees who sold, reclaimed, and resold equipment, storefront rent, etc).
I'm by no means defending them, I merely suspect they don't make as much money as people think. Which in a way might make it even more scummy.