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I remember a few years ago getting invited to a Super Bowl party that a neighbor was throwing. The neighbor went out of his way to let us know that he was going to "purchase" a wide-screen TV and then return it after the game. He said this like it was something to be proud of...like he was "sticking it to the man" or something.

I didn't go and watched the game on my own big-screen TV that I purchased legimately and still own today.

I am also aware of many people buying portable DVD players, camcorders, etc., to bring on vacations so they can use them and get their money back later (those tips are all over the Internet) but I always thought that was a scummy thing to do.

I remember a few years ago getting invited to a Super Bowl party that a neighbor was throwing. The neighbor went out of his way to let us know that he was going to "purchase" a wide-screen TV and then return it after the game. He said this like it was something to be proud of...like he was "sticking it to the man" or something.

That was an episode of "Wings" where Brian did the same thing, only he destroyed it in the process. Funny show.

The neighbor went out of his way to let us know that he was going to "purchase" a wide-screen TV and then return it after the game. He said this like it was something to be proud of...like he was "sticking it to the man" or something.

I think this kind of thing is dishonesty, pure and simple. The really sad part is that there are businesses already set up to accommodate this kind of short-term use. Back when I was in school, I worked for one of the larger rent-to-own companies. They rented big screen TVs (back in the days when they were still huge monstrosities) and lots of other electronics as well as furniture of all kinds. A purchase contract would stipulate something like 15 months of payments of around $50-$60, but the contract clearly stated that you could end the contract anytime you wanted and have the store come and pick it up (with no hit to your credit). So, you could quite legitimately only want a TV for a weekend, sign the contract, pay one month's worth, have the store deliver it and set it up for you, then call the store a couple of days later and pick it up, all for the initial month's rent of $50-$60. And the best part is that you wouldn't be cheating anyone. That was actually the store's business model.