The other night I heard an ad for Blue Hippo, aka Blue Hippo Financial. They offer people with bad or no credit an opportunity to buy a computer, using their financing program. Hmmm. Most deals advertised like that have a catch where the person needing the service ends up paying more than they should. But...more than 5 times more? I did some digging:

Here's the catch: It's a Gateway computer system, worth about $3-400. By the time all payments are made on this system, the customer has paid over $2100. HOWEVER, get this: BEFORE SHIPMENT, this company requires the customer put down $99, then pay between $34.99 and $39.99, depending on the source, for three months. Yes, this is before it even ships. In other words, Blue Hippo has no risk. They get more than their cost covered on this unit even before it ships. Even Wikipedia, who I feel is a reliable source, says negative things about this company due to the above info.

Of course, the ad doesn't say that the system is basically paid for (that is, the seller's cost covered) before it ships. By the time you pay this off, the system is obsolete. You, of course, would be much better off saving the amount for a few months and buying from a reputable company.

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