~~~~ Brag & Moan ~~~~

[amdskip]

Moan: rma'ed an ibm hard drive deathstar, got the same exact model back

 

[BentValve]

I got a nice black AMD t-shirt in the mail the other day...I cannot remember which but I am sure it came
from one of the many surveys or whatever that I have filled out here at Anandtech.
Its the first time I have yielded a t-shirt. Thanks Anandtech!

 

[BigSmooth]

Kind of a brag and a moan... I was looking for an elliptical exercise machine. I found one I liked that I could afford, a ProForm CrossTrainer 700. I wanted to get it at GI Joe's (a local sporting goods store) because I had a $25 giftcard.

Anyhoo, I did a little research and the regular price at GI Joe's was $399. This was actually the same as the sale price at Sears and Gart Sports. Better yet, it was on sale at GI Joe's for $349.

Still better, when I went to GI Joe's to pick it up, they were having a 'customer appreciation weekend' with 20% off coupons.
The coupons stated "Buy $50 of merchandise at regular price and get 20% off your ENTIRE PURCHASE*." The footnote noted the exclusion of certain brand names such as Oakley.

So I thought, hey, that's a good deal. I'll throw in a regular-priced Coleman Stove for $60 and then I'll qualify for the 20% off so I'll get a nice % off the elliptical as well. So I grab the stove and have them get the elliptical out of the warehouse, but when I go to check out, they refuse to include the elliptical with the 20% off.

I explained that the coupon clearly states that once you qualify for the 20% off, it is good for the ENTIRE PURCHASE (it said entire purchase in large, capital letters). It says you have to buy a minimum of $50 worth of regularly priced items, but that's it. The exclusions in the footnote said nothing about sale prices being ineligible as part of your 'ENTIRE PURCHASE'.

The manager tells me that it's only supposed to be 20% off of regularly-priced items and that I'm misreading the coupon. I told him that no, I'm not misreading the coupon. If that is the intent of the coupon, it is written incorrectly. He maintains that I am misreading the coupon and that's all he'll say.

I didn't get upset (although I was a little ticked) but I said, OK, forget that. Then I realized that the elliptical would actually be cheaper if I bought it at full price minus the coupon ($320) instead of on sale, no coupon ($350). I checked the dates and the coupon expired after the sale on the elliptical was over.
So I asked if they could just ring it up at full price and let me use the coupon. Again, no dice - that was "against policy". They realized that I was correct but said I would just have to come back after the sale was over. I wasn't too happy at this point because it was Friday and I wanted to set the thing up over the weekend (not to mention having to make another trip out to their store), but they still refused.

Anyways, I came back on Sunday after it was no longer on sale, used the coupon and the gift card, and ended up paying $295, at least $100 less than I would have paid elsewhere. A good deal, but it really should have been better. I felt like they did not honor the terms of their coupon and even after I dropped that issue, the manager would still not accomodate my request to buy the elliptical right then and there. I think for customer service's sake he could have at least overridden the sale price so I could have just bought the thing right away.

Anyway, my rant has gone on long enough.

 

[RossMAN]

Which GI Joes?

 

[clarkmo]

Originally posted by: plk21
OK, best Buy question for you all... feel free to smack me if this is the wrong place to post it.

Saturday, I bought a creative nomad ZEN MP# player at my local best buy (300 - 10% = $270).

Today, the first day i'e really listened to it for any length of time, I noticet that there was a hardware problem (headphone jack was messed up). I returned it, they were out of stock, and was told I'd have to wait until another one came in (next week). So now I have no MP3 player and they have my $$$.

A friend, who used to work as an assistant mgr at a Meijer, said that at most retail stores, if the item is not in stock, they'll replace it with the next better model, but you have to ask, they won't volunter the info.

So, the question is, have any of you ever heard of this policy? Does it work at Best Buy? I'm pretty bummed that I don't get to keep my MP3 player for a road trip this weekend, and if they'll upgrade it, I'll go for the deal. Only question is, what's an upgrade (Next best model?)
That sounds normal but is not required. Go back to the store and let em now that you found a similiar player and need your money back so you can purchase it, unless they have something they want to substitute. They should do that for you, if they wan to keep the sale.

Thanks,
PK

 

[ku]

OK!! I've been going to Best Buy DAILY for the past 2 weeks trying to get the PNY gf4 ti4200 deal... I'VE YET TO GET IT YEt. The store has been out of stock since and hasn't gotten any more. Tommorow is my last hope. If someone reads this and feels like saving someone from committing suicide, please PM me if you know of a good deal. THANKS

 

[BigSmooth]

Originally posted by: RossMAN
Which GI Joes?

The one off of Cedar Hills in Beaverton.

 

[rocadelpunk]

a little old : P

but i got the wd 120gig se for 80 bucks retail.

and i got the mx700 for 16.99 (that was a pain in the ass though...actually both of these were a pain in the ass)

but i'm very happy : )

 

[DUKAT1]

OK, I have come here today to BRAG!

Just made a purchase at OfficeDepot.com.

Item # Unit Description............................................................................................Our Price.Order Quantity
421791 each SHREDDER,P600C,CHARCOAL...................................................................$4.44 ........1
442827 each PNY 256MB DDR Memory Upgr................................................................$44.84 .........1
290441 each PNY SDRAM Memory Upgrade For Desktop Computers, 128MB, PC133 .$34.99 .........1
SubTotal: $84.27
Tax: $3.56
Delivery: $0.00
Misc.: -$25.00
Total: $62.83
Less $45 in Mail in rebates = $17.83 after tax.

Called OD and had them adjust price of "290441" to in-store price of $27.84, savings of $7.15 + tax = $7.58

Net cost = $10.25. Sounds like a great deal, but if you look closely it's a supercalifragilistikexpialidocious deal!!!

Notice the first item, shredder "421791". On their web site here for $102.52. This item was on closeout a while ago, available at this $4.44 price for in-store pick up only. I had it in my cart, but the closest store to me that had it was a 3 hour round trip. However, I left it in my cart at that price, and it was still there today when I went to order (for delivery). Lo and behold, it let me order it!
Add the postage for the rebates and the total cost is still only $10.99.

 

[BHeemsoth]

Brag: I got a Vivitar 3665 2mp digital camera for $50.50 at staples!

Not a bad clearance price for a 2 megapixel camera w/ 3x optical zoom.

Ahh the perks of getting the clearance tags before the customers...

 

[Noner]

This year I have :

Won 6 Cordless Duo keyboards from Logitech!

Recived a 299.00 leather chair for 25.00!

Bought Xp Pro for 35.00 from MS!

Bought Office XP Pro for 70.00 from *edit.. local school*

Used many many 15 off 30 and 10 off 20 and 5 off 10 coupons...

got for FREE :

1 APC Batt backup

1 USB Keyboard light

NUMEROUS Ebooks

1 APC Surge Arrest Pro

*Official Playstation padded cd holder and subcription to PRERELEASE GAMES for testing.

enough posters to wallpaper with..

enough cd's to target practice for YEARS

HORRIBLE EYE STRAIN FROM READING EBOOKS

many many others..

-WOO HOO for me.. and you.

 

[Glendor]

I'm having the WORST experience with KnowledgeMicro.com.

First, I placed an order on Friday that had two XPCs that were supposed to have free shipping, and three smaller items. After I placed the order I noticed that shipping for a CPU, CDRW, and keyboard was a little high at $45. I contacted them and explained that they charged me shipping on the two Shuttle XPCs when they shouldn't have. I asked them to refund the difference to my Bank Card. They wrote back and said that it would have only been free shipping if I had ordered them seperately! I wrote back and said "just ship them seperately then, I don't mind getting three packages." Monday morning, checked my email and found out they CANCELLED my order, and suggested that I place three seperate orders so I can get the free shipping. Crap! That shipping delay caused me to miss a deadline I committed to. I told them they screwed up, and about the problem they caused me. I couldn't reorder the parts because the returned funds had not been credited to my bank yet, and since I'm not made of money, I couldn't reorder till the funds were there. In the meantime, I tried desperately to find the parts I needed at other online sites as cheaply as I could get them at KnowledgeMicro.com. I couldn't even come close. I had to deal with them again. Tuesday, the funds were back, and I placed three seperate orders. Wednesday afternoon, they tell me that one of the items are out of stock. I tell them to just credit my account the cost of that item and ship my order, or give me an equal value, similar item, and SHIP MY ORDER. Two hours later I get another email saying that they made a mistake (duh!) and actually had what they told me they didn't have, and it was actually a firewire cable they were out of. I said Fine, just ship me the next size smaller cable, but SHIP MY ORDER!. Thursday morning; another email, this one saying do you want the 6' or 14' firewire cable (!!!!!!). OMG!!!!!!!!!! These people are idiots! I will NEVER deal with them again, EVER! They have not done any of the things I asked them to, to speed up communication (i.e.: C.C. my home email address, or call me on my cell phone), and they have made no apology for the delays, and have not offered me any kind of discount for thier mistakes. I would have to say they have shown the least amount of concern for Customer Service I've ever seen.

Just a warning to the rest of you... :disgust::evil::frown::gift::frown::evil::disgust:

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~~~~ Brag & Moan ~~~~ continued here.