Who thinks the decision I made was a good one?

"If you need to finance a $400 (kinectless ?) game console...... you don't need one then." - kingvas78

Exactly. The Xbox One (with Kinect) is less than a weeks pay.

 

Aaron's doesn't have them on their website yet was looming to see what the price would actually be

 

I actually did this many years ago when I first got a 360. I had been out of work for a long time and when I finally got a job, the first thing I did was go to Rent-a-Center and get a 360 for $10 a week. I saved up my money for a few weeks, went to Gamestop
and bought a brand new one.

I then took the rented one back to the store to return it. I told the guy it was because I was buying a new one. He says to me "Well you can bring this badboy home right now for....<checks computer>... ONLY $950!" I responded with "Why on earth would I spend
$950 on your used console, when I can go buy a brand new one for $400?"

He looked at me like I just called his mother a filthy name. Then he looked around to see if anyone heard me. Then he just says "Thank you, sir. Have a nice day". So let this be a lesson to you. It's cool if you need to rent one for a little while, just
get rid of it and buy a new one as soon as possible.

 

@goth vapirella Depends on a persons pay really.

 

My girlfriend and I stopped at Aaron's a few months ago during a grand opening; never been in a rent-to-own place before. You are either borderline autistic, REALLY bad with money, or VERY impatient, to even consider this option. You'd be better off saving
for one.

$10.00 a week x 52 weeks is $520.00. Now times that by a 18 month lease and you're at $780.00. Now this was for a 4Gb 360 with Kinect (This was a few months ago and don't recall seeing a X1.).

Insanity!

Peace, J.R.

 

The problem with rental places like that (from personal experience thanks to an ex-wife) is that they are (mostly) for people who have had their credit ruined or don't have/can't get credit for whatever reason. That's why they're heavy on the 'no credit
check' aspect. As someone pointed out already, the 90 days same as cash is the best deal they will likely offer and even that will likely be a nice chunk more than just getting it at a local retailer.

Overall, it is a bad idea. I've done the math on a few things that interested me in the past and every time I have, it has worked out that I'd be paying at least 2.5 X what I could walk into the nearest Wally World and pay straight up cash for it. You really
would be better off and save (a lot) if you just save the $ and buy it elsewhere. Of course, that means you couldn't walk out of the store with it today... a fact that places like Aarons loves to exploit.

Just as a side note, for those who like to come into these kind of threads and say things like 'If you can't afford to buy it, you shouldn't get one' or 'You should reassess your priorities'. You may have a fair point... you may even be right. You might
even have the best intentions... but it really doesn't come across that way. More often than not, it just comes across as condescending.

In short, (IMO) it's just poor character. OP asked if it was a good idea... easy enough to answer that question and even give advice on other alternatives without being judgmental or implying financial shortcomings. It's OP's decision on whether s/he can
or should ultimately afford a new gaming console or not. Nobody else's. Just sayin'

 

deedles - he could be borderline autistic because he made a bad financial decision? : / People make bad financial decisions every day and it could be for a variety of reasons that have nothing to do with autism. It could be that he's just inexperienced
with financial matters. We all do dumb things when we're young adults. One day he will probably be like "Wow, I can't believe I rented that Xbox One. : ( "

 

@OP - generally renting to buy (and using credit - unless you intend to and can pay it off straight away) is BAD.

When I was young I got stuck in a spiral of debt - I was lucky enough that family bailed me out, but since then I don't EVER buy on credit (unless I am CERTAIN I can pay off the amount before any interest is charged). The only loan I have is my mortgage,
but I'm lucky as I'm a high earner.

I do know what it's like to be less well off and struggling to buy things you want - but I learned the hard way....things you want aren't always the things you need.

 

I wish my family could have bailed me out but I suffered in silence for many years paying off debt that accumulated out of seemingly nowhere. The OP should take our advice and return that X1 if he wants to be smart about his money. Save up some money until
Christmas and you'll probably get a nice bundle deal.

 

I walked into a similar store a couple years back looking for a decent TV. I knew going in that my total cost would be high, but what I didn't expect was the initial price to be INSANE. The TV I wanted, I had already priced at a couple different stores for
around $400.

Well, being a rent-to-own store, they didn't have the base prices listed, only the monthly payments, and total cost. It was refreshing to see the total cost right on the price tags to be honest. (Not sure if this is a law, I'm in Canada BTW)

When I saw the total cost, I was a little shocked, especially knowing the base cost of the TV. It was $1600 if I recall. So I asked the salesperson if they could tell me what the base cost is of the TV. They had to go to a computer to check. It was $800!
Double what other stores were selling it for!

They get you twice, first on the cost of the item, then on the interest. It's no wonder these places stay in business even though you may not see too many people going in. They probably only need a few customers a week to cover all their costs.

Needless to say, I walked out and did without it for a while until I could muster the cash to buy it. I believe I even found a sale and saved $75 bucks too!

EDIT: Oh, and I asked if they would price match the initial cost knowing what it goes for in other stores, and they refused.

 

Bad move OP. And if you've figured up their minimum weekly/monthly payment X the number of months to pay it off. You'll see why.

 

I am afraid I have to agree with the majority here. Bad idea. You are going to end up paying at least two times the value of the system.

That is a bad financial decision because you are just throwing money away. Take it back and set the rent money aside. Sure, you will not have an XBO for a while, but you will have more money to spend on other stuff.

 

Apparently I have said nothing in this thread......

 

Apparently the OP doesn't care about our advice despite asking for it.