Junk Mail
A colourful slip of paper came through the letterbox this morning, inviting me to save £129 if I bought a BOSE® WAVE® music system with Multi-CD Changer before April 15. Plus, as a special bonus, I could have free UK delivery and pay in four easy instalments.
Usually these advertisements come with a 'no need to pay now' or 'phone this number for more details' small print at the bottom, so you can't tell exactly what the things cost. But this was different, it was an order form complete with space for credit card details. And a price.
The BOSE® WAVE® music system with Multi-CD Changer is a neat looking device. It plays CDs and MP3 CDs too. It has an AM/FM Radio and a credit-card sized remote control that you can lose easily. It probably has a timer function so that you can use it as an alarm clock.
Even after that £129 discount, it costs the eye-watering sum of £599.
That's $1039.47 US, $1211.56 CAN, $1454.67 AUS or $1666.26 NZ according to those nice people at XE.com
£599 for a machine that play can four CDs back to back.
Who actually needs to listen to four CDs back to back? Die-hard Wagner fans, I suppose. But even so, is it that hard to get up every seventy minutes or so and change the CD? We used to have to do it every twenty-five with LPs* and put up with snap, crackle and pop. No wonder the average arse size is going up.
$1039.47 US for a machine that can play Radios 1,2,3 & 4. In Stereo. That thousand bucks doesn't even buy you a DAB digital receiver, so you can't get Radios 5,6,7,8 & 9.
$1211.56 CAN for an alarm clock radio with CD player. I've got an alarm clock radio with CD player already. It was free when I ordered some stationery supplies from Viking Direct.** True it doesn't look as cute as the BOSE® WAVE® music system with Multi-CD Changer, and I'm certain its sound quality is pants in comparison. Neither does it have a remote control, let alone one that's credit card sized. But it does it's job well enough.***
So who actually buys this miracle of sound engineering? Plenty of people must do, since Professor Bose is a rich man. When I bought the Batmobile, one of the options was a BOSE® Stereo with Subwoofer. At £600 extra I declined, sticking with the standard fit stereo, but apparently it's one of the most popular options. So people are prepared to pay rather silly amounts of money for that slanty logo and a slightly better sound.
I used to be an audio geek. I've got a stereo system that gives me a beautiful sound from my old vinyl records, and stunning music from CDs. I built it up, component by component, over many years, and it cost what seemed to me a fortune at the time, but never anything approaching $1454.76 AUS. It's all in boxes in the loft right now. The speakers are too big for this house and I find I listen to most music on my PC. Quite often I'll put on a pair of headphones if I want noise - I guess I'm just not the rebel I used to be.
Which leaves me wondering why anyone would pay $1666.26 NZ for a CD player. Other than to say to their friends when they come around: 'Look, I'm wealthy enough to buy these funky designer products. Aren't I cool!' Yapping dog that I am, I can't help being very cynical about the whole thing.
On the other hand, I bought a car that's as much a fashion statement as a means of transport, so who am I to complain? Perhaps I'd better take them up on that four easy payments option.
* yes, I am that old.
** and they delivered them next day, for free.
*** actually, some would say it doesn't since I often sleep through my wake-up hour of the Today programme.
Usually these advertisements come with a 'no need to pay now' or 'phone this number for more details' small print at the bottom, so you can't tell exactly what the things cost. But this was different, it was an order form complete with space for credit card details. And a price.
The BOSE® WAVE® music system with Multi-CD Changer is a neat looking device. It plays CDs and MP3 CDs too. It has an AM/FM Radio and a credit-card sized remote control that you can lose easily. It probably has a timer function so that you can use it as an alarm clock.
Even after that £129 discount, it costs the eye-watering sum of £599.
That's $1039.47 US, $1211.56 CAN, $1454.67 AUS or $1666.26 NZ according to those nice people at XE.com
£599 for a machine that play can four CDs back to back.
Who actually needs to listen to four CDs back to back? Die-hard Wagner fans, I suppose. But even so, is it that hard to get up every seventy minutes or so and change the CD? We used to have to do it every twenty-five with LPs* and put up with snap, crackle and pop. No wonder the average arse size is going up.
$1039.47 US for a machine that can play Radios 1,2,3 & 4. In Stereo. That thousand bucks doesn't even buy you a DAB digital receiver, so you can't get Radios 5,6,7,8 & 9.
$1211.56 CAN for an alarm clock radio with CD player. I've got an alarm clock radio with CD player already. It was free when I ordered some stationery supplies from Viking Direct.** True it doesn't look as cute as the BOSE® WAVE® music system with Multi-CD Changer, and I'm certain its sound quality is pants in comparison. Neither does it have a remote control, let alone one that's credit card sized. But it does it's job well enough.***
So who actually buys this miracle of sound engineering? Plenty of people must do, since Professor Bose is a rich man. When I bought the Batmobile, one of the options was a BOSE® Stereo with Subwoofer. At £600 extra I declined, sticking with the standard fit stereo, but apparently it's one of the most popular options. So people are prepared to pay rather silly amounts of money for that slanty logo and a slightly better sound.
I used to be an audio geek. I've got a stereo system that gives me a beautiful sound from my old vinyl records, and stunning music from CDs. I built it up, component by component, over many years, and it cost what seemed to me a fortune at the time, but never anything approaching $1454.76 AUS. It's all in boxes in the loft right now. The speakers are too big for this house and I find I listen to most music on my PC. Quite often I'll put on a pair of headphones if I want noise - I guess I'm just not the rebel I used to be.
Which leaves me wondering why anyone would pay $1666.26 NZ for a CD player. Other than to say to their friends when they come around: 'Look, I'm wealthy enough to buy these funky designer products. Aren't I cool!' Yapping dog that I am, I can't help being very cynical about the whole thing.
On the other hand, I bought a car that's as much a fashion statement as a means of transport, so who am I to complain? Perhaps I'd better take them up on that four easy payments option.
It is kind of cute, though.
* yes, I am that old.
** and they delivered them next day, for free.
*** actually, some would say it doesn't since I often sleep through my wake-up hour of the Today programme.
Comments
I'm not speaking from experience, but I heard Stuart still has a collection...
Or was that 8 mm video?