This deal started on 8-31-04 when:
Price drops to $380 and is reported on this forum:
Jaxidian 08/31/2004 10:08 AM
Bump for price drop from $435 to $380 - seems hot again!
With the possibility of a golden sample for $380
The following person jumps on this deal within the hour:
Glow 08/31/2004 11:09 AM
damn damn damn, ordered. g/fs gonna be pissed
The following people called to confirm the supply a few hours later:
oakleaf00 08/31/2004 03:31 PM
When I called this morning, Rick said that he wasn't able to physically check, but said they had 'plenty' of GT's in stock and he had no reason to believe that they weren't GS's. But that was 4 hours ago, and I don't know what 'plenty' really means. But more info's always good!
Shaotai 08/31/2004 05:55 PM
Actually, I just ordered one up here and the CSR verified that it is a Golden Sample...
We'll see when it comes in...
There is clearly no sign of low golden sample supplys on 8-31-04.
On 9-1-04
Another person is informed about the supply of golden samples
AmishPcFreak 09/01/2004 11:13 AM
The representative told me that the majority of the cards are the GS.
Later in the evening, the following person reports the following:
Jaxidian 09/01/2004 06:34 PM
I just talked to MonarchJoe for about 10 minutes and here's the scoop on things (past and present).
First of all, he said that their supply of GS are running out. Previously, most of their cards are GSs. Now, he said that less than 20% of the cards are GSs because of so many people ordering them. I asked him about actual numbers and he said that now he only has about 10 GSs left (total guesstimate). Still, he said that he is still TRYING to hook up the people who send in emails asking for the GS and give the non-GS to those who don't mention anything about it. But at this point in time, he's simply just running out and you should definitely expect to get the non-GS and be really happy if you land the GS.
Basically for almost 2 full work days(8-31-04 to 9-1-04), Monarch Computers had a healthy supply of golden samples based on the feedback of those members here who had called in. So far, the members who ordered on 8-31-04 has received a standard version. With the "majority" of the cards being golden samples, how is it possible that everyone who paid $380 is ending up with the standard version? Especially those who ordered instantly after this info. was posted?
When people started emailing the company asking if they would get a golden sample but got a short
unfriendly response of no guarantees.
Joe's response for the short replies
MonarchJoe 09/01/2004 07:15 PM
I apologize in advance for the brief response, I was trying to update everyone via the forums, here and
hardforum, about the situation as well as responding back to the 20 some odd requests for a GS card. I try to be more articulate than that in most situations!
Hmmm, he said he tried to keep everyone updated on the situation eh? Checking the hardforum, I see one thread called "Gainward GeForce 6800 GT 256MB $380" with 23 replies and here's Joe's:
MonarchJoe 08-31-2004, 02:39 PM
If it showed up with 22 dollars, it was probably due to the shipping option being listed as FedEx 2-Day. We do not charge sales tax. The eVGA card is currently $385 + whatever the shipping option you chose. And we have a bunch in-stock.
That doesn't seem like an update plus it was posted on 8-31-04 and has nothing to do with the golden
sample supply situation. So no, on 9-1-04 he was not busy keeping the people at hardforums updated and if you scroll back to all the posted on 9-1-04, most of the updates on the situation came from "the members", not joe. Maybe he was busy "responding back to the 20 some odd requests for a GS card"? How long does it take to respond to 20 emails when it's "We cannot guarantee that your order will be a Golden Sample card"?
Today Joe posts:
MonarchJoe 09/02/2004 10:51 AM
Well, I talked to purchasing the express my concerns over the GS pricing. So...
Where do you guys think it should be priced at?
Non-GS
GS
Which then the price was raised to $400 and HeroOfPellinor nicely addressed this matter. Kinda pointless to ask for a public opinon and then raise the price.
After this post, Joe vanishes for the rest of the day until he gets a phone call. I'm thinking it was Glow that gave Joe a good yelling:
Glow 09/02/2004 06:57 PM
They definately did not try to honor them. Joe told me on the phone it was random...
After receiving an unfriendly phone call, Joe decides to post again with more explainations.
Glow mentions that Joe told him there were over 100 geforce sold when priced at $380. Based on the view and size of this thread I pretty sure that the majority of the consumers are probably from this forum. The same thread at hardforums hardly generated any interest there. If no one gets a golden sample in tommorrow's shipment; it is likely that everyone who ordered from 8-31-04 to 9-1-04 did not get a golden sample. Even though Joe said some people got a golden sample from 9-2-04 orders, it doesn't matter cause orders placed on 9-2-04 and gets a golden sample next week doesn't even count cause the thread was already modified earlier to inform that the $380 deal was dead and it will be clearly obvious the company shipped some 9-2-04 orders with golden samples just so they can say some people got one.
The price drop on 8-31-04 from $435 to $380 seems like a business move to redirect some traffic to
themselves. At $380+shipping, this deal is less than a $10 difference from the Leadtek 6800GT for $395 with free shipping and leadtek has a much better bundle selection which has been available since 8-27-04 from the following anandtech thread here. I highly doubt they could have sold over 100 Geforce 6800GT without the incentive of the high possibility of obtaining a golden sample.
When checking resellerratings, notice the large volume of feedback, there is over 6 pages of reviews for the company just from 8-31-04(this number surpasses neweggs reviews for a one day period by a mile) before it jumps to a more realistic value of 8-26-04 to 8-23-04 in a page. The graphs also show that within a 7 month tracking period that august has the highest user input and in some cases the input is 3 times higher than the months. Check pricegrabber.com and notice it's a different story there, 33% with a negative view in the past 6 months and 41% negative view in overall time. 8-31-04 has the most very satisfied reviews and yet it's also the day with the mistake and miscommunications within the business. Go back and read all Joe's posts and you can tell not all the facts match up.
Every business can be shoddy at times. For those that are dissatisfied, return it for a refund and leave the appropriate feedback at pricegrabber.com and resellerratings.com. If you decide to return the item, Inform the members here of the return process such as hassles, 15% restocking fee even if the product hasn't been opened, etc.
Those of you that called and was informed you would get a golden sample but still got a standard GT, don't forget to thank Sales Rep ShoddyJoe, I mean Mon ar ch Joe Schmo.