Easy button my arse!

So late last week I made the devastating discovery that the LCD screen on my digital camera had cracked and leaked. The camera still worked fine using the viewfinder (old school baby!), but without the LCD screen, I was unable to see how much memory or battery I had left, and couldn't take advantage of some key features (like altering the exposure or converting to black & white or sepia tone).

I had initially planned on getting it repaired, however I quickly discovered that this is both costly and time consuming (one place told me it would take them a WEEK just to give me an estimate, and at least an additional week to actually do the repairs). Based on my research, between parts and labor, the repair would cost in the range of $100. I own a Canon PowerShot SD700. Upon browsing the Internet, I came to discover that the Canon PowerShot SD750 (a slightly better model) is being sold for $199. I also came to realize that I have a $20 Staples gift card. And I never shop at Staples. Thankfully, the camera was being sold at Staples, so with the gift card I could get it for $179.

Then i did a little thinking, and decided to check up on their price match guarantee. Indeed, they will match any competitor's price, as long as the item is available in the competitor's store (as in, they won't match website exclusive deals). I obsessively searched every retailer I could think of, and the lowest I could find was Wal-Mart, which was selling the camera for about $169. So with the $20 gift card, we're now down to $149. Then I get home, and what do I see on the kitchen counter? A $25 "Spend your Economic Stimulus Payment on us!" discount card for items over $100. Yes! We're now down to $124!

So, what's with my "easy button my arse" title? Well, according to the Staples website, the camera was available at my local store. Upon going there, I discover that no, indeed the item is NOT there. But, they assure me, the item is at one of the stores a couple towns down. That store is somewhat on my way to work, so while heading to work this morning, I decide to drop by there. Well, the fine people at that store (who actually were pretty helpful) take FOREVER to tell me that, no, indeed they do not have the camera at their store. I ask them if they would mind checking to see if it's in any of the other stores in the area. While checking, they tell me that the computer is indicating that they DO have the camera here. They check again, but to no avail. They then tell me that there are apparently four still available at a close by store, which is, thankfully, still on the way to work.

I go to THAT store, and thankfully they actually did have the item, and they did match the price without incident. I also decided to splurge and purchase a $10 protective case, to hopefully avoid the screen from ever being damaged again.

Nevertheless, their two main ad campaigns of "Yeah, we've got that" and "That was easy" both proved to be astronomically inaccurate.

As a side note, I find it funny that whenever I told somebody the LCD screen is broken, but that the camera still works fine using the viewfinder, people would act as if the camera is completely useless. In fact, when I used it this past weekend and people were forced to use the viewfinder instead of the screen, they were practically incompetent. Do people not realize that, what, five or so years ago, this is how you took pictures? It's as if somebody looking at a land line phone, picking it up, holding it up to their ear, and wondering how on Earth the item is used.