Normally I love to see events professionals quoted in the newspaper, but I cringed when I read this article in yesterday's Boston Globe about people who buy something, use it, then return it--essentially, getting free rental on stuff. Particularly galling, to me, was quotes from an event coordinator named Jimmy Deignan, who likes to buy LCD projectors to use for meetings, then return them and get his money back, rather than actually rent the things. He actually doesn't seem to see anything wrong with it (and was the only one who let the writer use his last name--at least the others seemed to feel some shame attached to the practice since they didn't want to admit to it in public under their full names). From the article:
In November, rather than spending $600 to rent a LCD projector for a business presentation, the Holden resident purchased one at Staples, then returned it a few days later and got his money back.
The way Deignan sees it, he is just a smart shopper: He gets the things he needs, uses them for as long as he wants, and saves money. But to retailers, this is wardrobing, a practice they say is unethical, damaging to their bottom line, and increasingly common...
"There's lots of times when I buy stuff that someone's bought before. When I rent something, I'm taking good care of it," said Deignan, who works as an event coordinator. "And, it made me look good when I saved my company $600 in rental fees for the projector."
I know rental fees for AV equipment can be ridiculous, but this does not speak well for the profession, IMHO.