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Hidden Fees Discovered For "Free" Windows 7 Upgrade

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the nothing-is-free dept.

An anonymous reader writes 'Thousands of recent computer purchasers who are expecting to receive free upgrades to Windows 7 when it is released on October 22 may be surprised to learn that some big computer makers are quietly tacking on hefty processing fees as high as $17 to mail out those disks to some buyers.' How about they process $0 to click a link and download a file?

7 of 406 comments (clear)

  1. similar to Snow Leopard by InsertWittyNameHere · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Similar to paying $9.99 for going from Leopard to Snow Leopard (if you bought a Mac with Leopard recently).

    It's annoying but it's not hefty.

    And in this (Win7) case the price seems to be a manufacturer thing and not a MS thing. Ranging from $0 to $17.

    1. Re:similar to Snow Leopard by gbarules2999 · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I agree. On the dial-up our neighbors have next door, it would take a good month to download Windows 7. I may be a biased Linux user at times, but blasting Microsoft for the OEMs that are sending out DVD's seems a bit backwards. Perhaps that price is a bit high, but hey, look on the bright side - an OEM is giving you a disc of Windows for once, and they're not charging full price for it.

    2. Re:similar to Snow Leopard by commodore64_love · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Yeah except Microsoft and the stores are saying Win7 is a free upgrade. Misleading and deceptive. Like when I visited a car dealer and "won" an 1 gigabyte MP4 player for "free". Yeah the actual item may have been technically free, but the S&H cost $30 so basically I paid for it.

      I returned it and now I'm going after paypal to get a refund, since the battery only lasted 15 minutes. What good is that?

      --
      "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." - historian Evelyn Beatrice Hall
    3. Re:similar to Snow Leopard by Dunbal · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Yes because it costs nothing to dedicate floor space and people to package and label and track products, and make sure they get on the right UPS/FedEx truck.

      Sure, it could be built into the item's cost, but it doesn't cost the same to ship an item to New York or to Zimbabwe. Which is why it's usually listed as a separate charge. But hey, if you feel "ripped off", then don't buy it.

      --
      Seven puppies were harmed during the making of this post.
  2. $0 to click and download a file by Xest · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Because of course the infrastructure to serve 3gb of data to each customer doesn't cost anything?

    Not that I'm defending the practice of charging for a free upgrade, free upgrades should be free, postage free too, but suggesting doing it digitally means there would be no cost is ignorant. In the UK with the extortionate costs of bandwidth I think posting a CD first class via Royal Mail might in fact be cheaper.

    A lot of people would just want to stick the Windows 7 DVD they receieve through the post in the drive too. Downloading an ISO and knowing how to burn an ISO rather than copying the file across like they do usually when writing CDs (if they've ever even written one before) would be too much for some users.

  3. Re:Digital distribution has been needed for a whil by MBGMorden · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I think that exposes the truth of copyrights to consumers a bit too clearly for corporate comfort.

    Windows has traditionally been about receiving the product. You go to the store, give them that ungodly sum that they charge, and then come home with your shiny box and DVD. Now, online distribution is coming up, and Microsoft likely will go that way, but allowing them access to the whole thing before buying a key puts the issue into the spotlight too much. They've already downloaded the system for free, and now they'd be paying several hundred dollars for a code to unlock it. At that point even the simplest minded consumer will put together that all they really paid for was that key and the other stuff costs really nothing (which has always been the case, but it's not been so obvious).

    If Microsoft only allows a download after paying the fee then there's still some level of abstraction. IE, the consumer feels like they're buying at least a big file.

    Just my take on the issue anyways.

    --
    "People who think they know everything are very annoying to those of us who do."-Mark Twain
  4. Because transportation wants to be free! by Savior_on_a_Stick · · Score: 5, Insightful

    "Shipping and Handling" is a scam in whatever form it takes. This is especially true when those charges are excessive.

    Yes - charging shipping to pass along a variable, customer dependent charge is outrageous!

    Get back under your bridge.