The recent fuel price hike remains the talk of the nation, with ministers calling out Malaysians to change their lifestyles, get a part time job, not get a part time job... etc.
I on the other hand, believe in making wise decisions.
Today, let us discuss the importance of knowing our rights as consumers to have choices when purchasing, and today's case study just happens to be.......
Rapidshare premium accounts!
To the non-downloaders, Rapidshare offers a filehosting service for it's customers.
Basically, it acts like a 'digital bank' where we as users can upload our files and share them with our friends. It is the leading filehosting service on the internet along with MegaUpload, Mediafire, Sendspace etc.
Benefits of a Premium Account
There are several benefits for getting a premium account, especially if you're a hardcore downloader (leecher), armed with high speed internet connection (most probably unis' or offices').
We get to download using a download manager such as Internet Download Manager to get maximum speed on our downloads, download multiple files at the same time, and the best of all, having the ability to pause and resume our downloads accordingly.
Many downloaders are not happy with the image recognition protocol with Rapidshare, especially the 'kitties', not to mention the waiting time involved when downloading using a free account.
So, if you do have plenty to download (files hosted by Rapidshare.com) and the speed to do so, you might wanna consider a premium account.
Choices Choices Choices
Ladies and gents, it is important to know our choices whenever we buy something and the same principle applies with a Rapidshare Premium Account. So, what are the choices we have?
a) buying directly from Rapidshare.com
b) buying from an authorized reseller
c) buying from an unauthorized seller that isn't endorsed by Rapidshare.com (will not be discussed in this entry.)
Ultimately, whenever we purchase something, we ought to explore our options in order before deciding which actions to take, and in this entry, our benchmark will be a 30-days account from both the main and reseller sites.
i) Features
As we checked both sites, we seem to be getting the same item from the reseller or the main site, (8000 bonus points, 30 days account, same download limits and features), but at a different price!
ii) Prices & Payment
At Rapidshare.com, a premium 30 days account costs £6.99. Payment option is limited to PayPal only, and the transaction is completely automatic.
We will receive the account instantly after making the payment.
Meanwhile, as we take a look at The Alfosool's World,
The first and authorized Rapidshare reseller in whole Malaysia, the same package for a 30 days account costs....
RM55! Nonetheless, we have the option of using either Maybank or CIMB for payment.
However, after a closer look, apparently the reseller needs to manually confirm the payments by each customer, and the account will be emailed later.
As far as the price is concerned, when I bought an account at Rapidshare.com using my Tune Card for £6.99,
which is about RM 35.41*; less RM19.59 than our local reseller's selling price.
Summary
| Rapidshare.com |
Malaysian Reseller
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1) You need a PayPal account for payment.
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1) Payment can be made using Maybank and CIMB.
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2) 6.99 Euro for 30-days account (RM35.41*)
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2) RM 55.00 for a 30-days account.
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| 3) Instant account generation after the automatic payment. |
3) Payment has to be manually confirmed and the account will be emailed later. |
After weighing all the options and taking into accounts other factors such as PayPal availability and the convenience, we can make a sound decision that suits us best in every situation.
Do you have any personal experience when comparing items? Write to us or leave a comment!
We love to hear from you 
*The currency exchange rate accurate as of 10 June 2008.
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