NZXT Scam

[sethmatrix7]

On the original subject, I haven't watched the video but it seems GN is making a real habit of these "takedowns" documentaries, they should probably stick to hardware reviews.

Ah yes, exposing anti-consumer practices is now "takedowns". There it is, the dumbest thing I'll read on the internet today. Somebody exposes something that could potentially harm the finances of you or others in the enthusiast tech community, and you can't see it.

 

[DeathtoGnomes]

Whataboutism.

You may not like the guy, and he can certainly get a little silly at times, but the work they've done exposing anti-consumer practices is unparalleled in the enthusiast tech space.

There really isnt a popular watch-dog group out there.

 

[rv8000]

It is a fair point though. "XX SUCKS" is much less helpful or interesting than "XX SUCKS but here is an option that doesn't suck" or "XX SUCKS and here are a bunch of other that also sucks and this is why they suck and what we can do about it". I wouln't call it "bad journalism" because I wouldn't call it journalism at all. I haven't watched the video though so I might just be talking out of my ass but that is my assesment of most of these things.

It’s really not though.

How is it not journalism? Most people know Steve is an asshat at the best of times, but that doesn’t change the material, research, and explanation of the issue and covering it all with live commentary from a lawyer who actually deals with the language/cases/legality of contracts.

It feels like the majority of “discussion” here is made with the bias and focus that Steve is a piece of work, and some how HE is the the bad guy for shinning some light on a shitty thing some company is doing.

Side note, you shouldn’t be leasing a gaming pc ever… that idea in of itself is taking advantage of users/consumers who likely have no idea what they’re getting themselves into and or reading the contracts/legal documents.

 

[Vya Domus]

Ah yes, exposing anti-consumer practices is now "takedowns". There it is, the dumbest thing I'll read on the internet today. Somebody exposes something that could potentially harm the finances of you or others in the enthusiast tech community, and you can't see it.

I just don't care that much about this type of stuff and his channel is clearly taking a turn into this direction, I'd rather have someone else cover this.

 

[lexluthermiester]

they had monetized videos on the subject

Are you kidding? Monetized video's are not really were the money is for channels like J2C and GN. Sponsorships are. So yes, they might make a bit of money from views, but Jay has lost a sponsor. That hurts the pocket-book more than any single monetized video can compensate for.

It takes a smart man to recognize smart people.

No it doesn't...

oh this is NZXT fault 100%, I'm not "blaming" either one. My point (already stated above about GN) is these guys may be losing sponsor money but they are raking in youtube add dollars with this NZXT scandal. Jay already hit 440k views, that's his last three videos combined.

As referenced above, monetization of any single video can not compete with or offset a sponsorship long term. Just throwing it out there...

 

[dirtyferret]

As referenced above, monetization of any single video can not compete with or offset a sponsorship long term. Just throwing it out there...

he lost what 23k from NZXT? You can make anywhere from $1 to $4 per 1k views on youtube. He has 2m views in two days. Plus, he may already have another advertiser lined to take their place and possibly for more money.

 

[lexluthermiester]

You can make anywhere from $1 to $4 per 1k views on youtube.

This proves you don't have a YT channel. It's really not that much. Maybe $.35 per 1k views and that depends on the ads-viewed percentages.. But we are getting off topic...

Plus, he may already have another advertiser lined to take their place and possibly for more money.

That's possible but not a guarantee. Times are tough currently..

 

[dirtyferret]

This proves you don't have a YT channel.

our company does, all informative and how to videos for our products. Never seen anything so low as "$.35 per 1k views"

That's possible but not a guarantee. Times are tough currently..

look, you are entitled to your opinion on the subject and D-gnomes and I are entitled to ours.

 

[freeagent]

I might be the only one who thinks he's a good kid lol.

I guess not a kid anymore.. with that grey.. but he means well.

And also means to make some money.

I don't want to drop names, but I can think of a couple of guys who are worse with their opinions on the toob, and people love them.

Not I though

 

[dirtyferret]

@freeagent , you and I offer our opinions for free every day on this forum. Where's our statue?

 

[freeagent]

I mean, I don't expect my opinion to be taken too seriously, after all they are like something else we all have

But if I am wrong, I hope someone would call me out, as much as that sucks, we need it sometimes

 

[y2faulty]

woodward and bernstein be damned, with all the money they made from that mess!

 

[Hecate91]

I know you know, it was more rhetorical aimed at people like...


dig it up? I already named all the outlets who previously had written about NZXT rentals in this thread and their articles date back to the summer so the story has been out there for several months already. Steve/GN received 2.2m views in just two days (for comparison his previous video has 350k views and is a week old) and he specifically made the video over an hour so that's a lot of ad dollars he's receiving. If you want to give him a sticker for the article, go ahead that's fine (by no means am I siding with NZXT) but he's not losing any money on this. In fact he will have plenty of cash to go xmas shopping even after you take out the lost ad revenue from NZXT. You don't need to have stayed at a holiday inn express to take that deal every single day.

Then all of the outlets reporting on it didn't get enough attention from the tech community, or NZXT themselves because soon after GN published the video NZXT put up the "oops we got caught we'll fix things" type of corporate message on their twitter page. I don't get the concept of GN is bad because he monetized the video, putting the video together, renting the PC, doing his own research and hiring a lawyer costs money. But regardless of what you think of Steve, his advocacy towards the tech community is a good thing, and calling out companies for doing bad things has gotten some companies to change their policies.

 

[lexluthermiester]

our company does, all informative and how to videos for our products. Never seen anything so low as "$.35 per 1k views"

Then take a closer look. Regardless, this is not about Youtubers and their finances, it's about the bad behaviour of NZXT.

look, you are entitled to your opinion on the subject and D-gnomes and I are entitled to ours.

Sure, you bet. The only question is, do those opinions have merit? To that I would suggest that "persons" who have looked into this issue, have examined the information & evidence and are calling out NZXT on their wrongdoing have a bit more credibility than people defending same. Just throwing it out there..

 

[eidairaman1]

Perhaps I am too simple to understand all the nuances of the video.

I understand only simple and basic things, for example that most companies are immoral, they need to be controlled by legislation, they obey the law only if they really have to, if they break the law and are fined, they contest the fine, even though they know perfectly well what they did and that the fine is just, etc. In that point of view seeing somebody bashing a company because it is immoral is amusing.

When somebody wants to educate consumers that some service is bad, they should just compare it to competition. Use relevant and understandable criteria for comparison. Have logical and fair method for the comparison. Be very careful about collecting and processing data and document everything to have defense ready for the case they are sued for defamation, damages, etc.

If NZXT is the only company in the US renting computers, they have THE BEST service available. Also, when comparing it to bank loans, not everybody can get any reasonable loan to get the PC. Also the terms and conditions of the rental and bank loan are different in many other ways than just about who is eligible to get them.

The video could have been just a nice, friendly educational video to teach consumers the best way to get a computer, when they dont have money for it, in which a particular service did not do well at all. That is enough. There is no need for this drama and immature attacks.

You're deflecting.

I don't have prime but I thought if you make a certain amount of purchases per year shipping becomes more cost effective when you don't want to wait a couple of weeks for a package?

Amazon keep changing the rules

I mean, I don't expect my opinion to be taken too seriously, after all they are like something else we all have

But if I am wrong, I hope someone would call me out, as much as that sucks, we need it sometimes

I took you to the train station

 

[Dr. Dro]

I posted about this to amazon sub on reddit. was banned from the group and suspended for 5 days. nothing new. I love having battles with people on reddit. its like my 10th profile I have to remake for being permentantly banned.

I have never bought prime and dont care to with their rising prices. but they try. they do try. I lmfao though. theyre like "hey in 2024 you spent $52 for shipping, get prime" and im like "bsh, aint no way in hel im paying you $150 to get $50 off shipping" lmfao. I wait and vulture watch for free shipping on products. I follow prices on keepa dot come. if I dont have to give bezos an extra cent, I wont give him a squirt of pess. I do wish he opened a tru competitor store to alx (I have never nor will use temu. too many shady things there) I hate buying from aliexpress. the sellers scam you too much. then alx thinks youre scamming them and ask for proof they scammed you. with amazon, returns are no questions asked.


only payed attention to them the last few years but vaguely so. its when you scroll through YT feed I might have seen their name but I never took interest in them. theyre like the garbage ocz company. came and went. I can say that I have a HUGE list of companies I dont buy from, and yet theres always someone to buy from that has what you need. let them fall. who cares. I feel those who got screwed are a bit supid and naive. tody there is no reason to get scammed. post your question "is it legit" and everyone will help. you make your own bed

Don't beat yourself up over it, Reddit is an echo-chamber. Absolutely no dissenting opinions are tolerated over there. That said, it's not really fair to put Amazon in the same basket there, I think Amazon Prime is one of the few subscriptions that are worth it no matter what - of course, if you have the habit of ordering things online. It gives you many benefits and it's probably one of the, if not the best customer loyalty program for any store out there.

The free shipping alone makes up for savings worth many times what I pay them yearly for the service. The Prime Gaming freebies are also very welcome, and even the single Twitch sub that I throw a streamer's way the only time I ever go on Twitch once a month. Mom enjoys the Prime Video thing. The regular discount on books I need for my law course also help me plenty, as does the kindle service - all of which I get at mostly no extra cost.

It's very much optional, but say, if you mean to have even one shopping season, I think the prime membership is more than worth it. It's certainly better than say, the membership for Sam's Club yearly...

 

[Todestrieb]

Ah crap, here we go again...

- I have watched the whole video and ended up really fed up by GNSteve's delivery of his jokes. The jokes themselves would be very funny if not for the delivery. I would prefer a version where Steve delivers in a less maniacal manner, or better, a text version.

- That said, I'm both entertained and horrified by NZXT's practices in the video.

- If one have to rent a PC for, say, >6months, it's extremely likely just buying a new PC is less costly than NZXT's offer. I'm sure there were payment plan options on the DELL ads on the local PC magazines 20yrs ago. Those offers are a bit harder to find now in my region, and their websites says "contact our sales now", and I'm not saying DELL / Alienware offers the best options, but sure these are better options than NZXT's bloody scheme (even when I assume naively NZXT will arrange the upgrade every years) without paying all at once right?
(GN did say buying a new PC every few years costs much less than NZXT in longer term, and with payment plans...)

- There are no rent-a-computer services on my region that I have heard of, but..
for actual gaming usage, I'm throwing random things out there, but something like a used 1070 sounds more reasonable with limited money. For actual high-end-ish gaming usage, lack of money means compromises. if one can't afford it, just don't, I guess.

- I'm also kinda sure ad payouts from Youtube/Google are potato even for something as huge as LTT when compared to sponsored ad payouts. That said, Sponsored ad payouts are loosely proportional to subscribers and view counts. GN can recoup a fraction of a lost sponsorship deal and the legal advice fee from a kinda viral video, but it's unlikely he doesn't lose money in short term. In long term who knows.

 

[DeathtoGnomes]

Sponsorships are.

news flash. They...make...money...

No it doesn't...

are you saying you're not smart?

Times are tough currently..

There, the speculation I was waiting for... but directed at NZXT

 

[DirtyDingusMcgee]

So, it's just like all rent-to-own stuff. A scheme to keep you paying for something you should have bought outright. I can't imagine many people here would be interested. I've never liked NZXT anyways.....going back to those butt-ugly alien looking cases they used to make me build stuff in. If it breaks them, oh well. If it doesn't, perhaps they will learn a costly lesson...stranger things have happened. Not a dime of my money will be involved either way.

 

[lexluthermiester]

There, the speculation I was waiting for... but directed at NZXT

Ok, but is that an excuse for scummy crap like this?

 

[evelynharthbrooke]

I just don't care that much about this type of stuff and his channel is clearly taking a turn into this direction, I'd rather have someone else cover this.

Also watch your mouth.

Maybe don't try and dictate what YouTubers cover or don't cover? It's not your YouTube channel. Therefore you have no right or authority to dictate or decide how Gamers Nexus is run. I mean this as nice as I can but please stay in your lane. If you don't like the direction they're going in, it's not like you have to continue watching them, you can very easily just watch someone else.

 

[DirtyDingusMcgee]

Ugly as sin....Yuck!

 

[Dr. Dro]

View attachment 374387

Ugly as sin....Yuck!

Those go back quite a bit before my time but the space-age theme of the early 2000's cases have aged rather decently I suppose, even if it comes off as tacky and low-effort today. The sad thing is that case has more metal in it than 10 modern cases like the one my PC is currently built on. They were clearly built to last.

 

[AleXXX666]

I always thought they were kinda scummy.

This for sure proves it lol.

they were OVERPRICED, yet, nice looking stuff. Both MBs and cases.

 

[Ayhamb99]

What a piece of garbage journalism is this again!

Crapping on one company doing a thing without comparing how other companies do the same thing???

Why did not he do a review of "PC lending services" in the US and rationally compare their parameters? Why does this always need to be a dramatic attack?!

All I can say is that frequently changing parameters of a product/service is not good for consumers at all. That is obvious. Consumers get something and a day after that the service improves, that pisses people off.

What is wrong about two versions of a product having two differents specs? When they are clearly openly listed?

What is wrong about offering an expensive service? Consumers decide if they want to use it or not, consumers compare it to the competing offerings and they decide what service to use.

GN’s harsh and blunt criticism is entirely justified when NZXT is running a PC lending program so predatory that it's somehow worse than a loan shark. People would literally lose less money borrowing from a mafia loan shark and buying the PC themselves than subscribing to this service, and they actually get to keep the PC. It’s that bad.

Instead of whining about Steve’s tone again, how about you focus on the companies actively exploiting customers with outrageous, unethical practices? GN isn’t doing this for fun—they’re calling out bad actors to protect consumers. If you’re more upset by how it’s being delivered than the fact that people are getting ripped off, you need to reevaluate your priorities. Your personal vendetta isn’t helping anyone.

The video could have been just a nice, friendly educational video to teach consumers the best way to get a computer, when they dont have money for it, in which a particular service did not do well at all. That is enough. There is no need for this drama and immature attacks.

If your definition of 'drama' is GN being harsh and unrelenting in their video, then you're completely missing the point. The reason GN is being harsh/blunt and direct is because NZXT is getting away with predatory practices that harm consumers. If GN softened their tone or ‘played nice,’ these scams would continue without consequence. It’s not about creating drama; it’s about ensuring companies are held accountable. Complaining about the harshness of the message is just deflecting from the real issue—these companies are exploiting people. Whining about 'drama' and shooting the messenger does nothing but distract from the fact that someone needs to stand up and call out this behavior in a harsh manner.

If you correlate being harsh with creating drama, then you’re an idiot. Sometimes, being harsh/blunt and direct is necessary to get the point across, especially when it comes to criticising companies for predatory/scummy business tactics. If you think that’s 'drama,' then maybe you need to grow up and understand that not everything needs to be sugar-coated to be effective.