Registered: Jan 2001
Location:
Posts: 2

you guys have some balls for getting angry that *you* couldn't screw compusa... lol

Registered: Mar 2000
Location:
Posts: 27

well put.

Registered: Dec 2000
Location: Silicon Valley, California
Posts: 173

Not everyone was trying to "screw" compusa. Every single PDA I've bought until I purchased a Visor has been DEEPLY discounted. Otherwise, I would have never been able to afford one. I am a bargain-huntin' Betsy and frequently find deals which I would have thought were "too good to be true" if I had just read about them in the paper. I've never figured out why and when stores begin to get rid of merchandise. But, if I happen to be in the store when they're doing it, I count myself lucky. Just in the past two months, I've bought a $100 bracelet for $30; a $200 tv for $88 and a DVD player for $80. Each item did what it was supposed to do and was sold to me by employees of the store. I didn't do a lot of speculating--I just purchased the merchandise.

In short, it is not the consumers fault if a store makes a mistake. Every Sunday I see corrections published in the Sunday paper when ads have been misprinted. CompUSA could have done this if it was such an obvious mistake. They did not. The HQ could have ordered every store to pull and destroy the rebate forms. Didn't seem to happen. They could have removed Visor Prisms from the available stock so they couldn't be sold for the week. They did not.

Many people only found out about the uncertainty of the rebate when they began perusing the platinum/prism discussion board after purchasing their prism! Others were shopping for other things at the store (I was looking at the ThinModem whose rebate form was next to the Prism rebate forms) and noticed the discount.

Other stores manager to do damage control early enough and plainly enough to not screw their customers. If CompUSA was unable or unwilling or couldn't be bothered to do so, THEY should take the loss. They are the ONLY ones who know what the true status and conditions of the rebate were supposed to be. Consumers only had the rebate form and sales people to rely on.

Registered: Aug 2000
Location:
Posts: 11

I went to my local CompUSA here on Long Island yesterday and they had several books of the coupons. I took one to the PDA department and asked two different salesmen if the deal was real and were they aware of it. They both (independently) said they were very aware of it and it was a good deal. I said I heard rumors that the coupon was a mistake. They looked at me like I was weird and said no, this was a special rebate going on for just this week and is legit. I then asked if the purchase of the Omnisky modem was required or any other item and was told that this was not the case. They said they had sold a number of Visors this week with the coupon. On the other hand, my son went into the CompUSA is Syracuse, NY and there were no coupons. The employee he talked to said the only coupons he was aware of was for the Omnisky deal, and, in any case, he had no Omniskys in stock.

Registered: Jan 2001
Location: Midwest
Posts: 232

Re: Come on.

quote:

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Originally posted by Grant
Everyone realizes that CompUSA made a mistake. (deleted) Why would a company rebate almost half of the price on a new popular product? (deleted)

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Registered: Dec 1999
Location: Connecticut USA
Posts: 2682

Re: Re: Come on.

quote:

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Originally posted by DBrown
If they have something like this in the wings, you KNOW Prisms will be heavily discounted to get rid of them.

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While I like your optimism here , if this were true, wouldn't one expect to see all retailer's that carry the Prism, as well as Handspring itself, to offer similar deals? I believe this was simply an oops on the part of CompUSA... similar to the 24.99 Backup Module at Staples back in early December.

My only regret is that I've been laid up for the past week with a nasty bug and couldn't get out of the house to purchase my own Prism (I want one but refuse to pay $449 for it).

Oh, well, there will be other mistakes to take advantage of in the future.

__________________

God bless America, my home sweet home...

Registered: Aug 2000
Location:
Posts: 11

It is also possible that CompUSA had an overstock of prisms left after Xmas and decided to get rid of some by posting rebates in the rebate center of their stores. I noticed a lot of similar looking rebate coupons issued by CompUSA, not the manufacturer, for all kinds of computer hard/software. Since I never see any handsprings advertised for less than the "list" price at authorized dealers, it may be that CompUSA cannot advertise prims below the $449 price and, instead, used the in store rebate coupon as a way to reduce inventory, thereby not generally advertising a price below "market". Since this offer was good for only one week, it does not seem to me to be related to the Omnisky offer which has been going on longer and is offered by other dealers as well.

Registered: Jan 2001
Location:
Posts: 1

I bought the Prism in Sat. the 20th. The coupons were still up front, and the salespeople evidently knew about them. Today I called the store manager, who immediately agreed to extend the rebate and directed me to fax my receipt to him, and he said he would credit my CC with the $200 right away. He was very pleasant and totally agreeable, and I suspect he's had some instructions from HQ because I didn't have to explain much to him.

Registered: Dec 1999
Location: Connecticut USA
Posts: 2682

quote:

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Originally posted by Jaybrams
It is also possible that CompUSA had an overstock of prisms left after Xmas and decided to get rid of some by posting rebates in the rebate center of their stores

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God bless America, my home sweet home...

Registered: Jan 2001
Location:
Posts: 4

I just talked to Corporate - I followed the menu down to the overdue rebate option. The guy I spoke with said to his knowlege this rebate would NOT be covered by the rebate center and that everyone was being redirected back to the store's GM where they had made the purchase. I'll be calling my store ASAP.

Registered: Jan 2001
Location: Northern Virginia, U.S.A.
Posts: 36

same here

quote:

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Originally posted by TNhunter
I just talked to Corporate - I followed the menu down to the overdue rebate option. The guy I spoke with said to his knowlege this rebate would NOT be covered by the rebate center and that everyone was being redirected back to the store's GM where they had made the purchase. I'll be calling my store ASAP.

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Registered: Jan 2001
Location:
Posts: 8

I bought a new Prism in hopes of the rebate, but, after all these different posts and the different versions of stories, I called my local CompUSA and told the GM about the Rebate. He said he was aware of the mistake and that I can come in today and get my 200 refund....So, I'm darn happy now!!! I'd say start at the GM and go from there...

Registered: Jan 2001
Location:
Posts: 7

Hi jennifer,

are you from kentucky and which store gave you this refund? I got the run around at the one in louisville.


thanks

quote:

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Originally posted by jenniferfromky
I bought a new Prism in hopes of the rebate, but, after all these different posts and the different versions of stories, I called my local CompUSA and told the GM about the Rebate. He said he was aware of the mistake and that I can come in today and get my 200 refund....So, I'm darn happy now!!! I'd say start at the GM and go from there...

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Registered: Jul 2000
Location: Georgia
Posts: 79

It's about time

I just got a call from the operations mgr. at my local Comp USA and after an 4 days of fighting with the store I got my $200 instant rebate. HQ was closed over the weekend so when I called them this a.m. they said they were fully aware of the situation and would contact that store and let them know the situation about giving instant credit.

For those of you still fighting don't let up make them give you your rebate!!!

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Registered: Jan 2001
Location:
Posts: 7

I called CompUsa HQ and was told that the higher up know about the rebate and that as of Monday morning they have contacted the rebate center and that CompUsa will honor it and anyone who has sent it in should get something back. So, i'm relying this info base on what the customer representive has told me.


Icewindx

Registered: Jan 2001
Location: Northern Virginia, U.S.A.
Posts: 36

*sigh*

Wonder when they're going to all get on the same page? Here's three of us who called this morning and got different stories.

Did anyone see anything in the newpaper about this rebate story? The service rep who spoke with me asked if I'd seen it in the paper (question about rebate). This was for her clarification, she didn't come right out and say that it had been in the news.

Registered: Jan 2001
Location:
Posts: 8

I'm from Lexington KY and going tonite to get my rebate...

Registered: Aug 2000
Location:
Posts: 3

Now they want us to wait for the checks???

My wife called CompUSA HQ earlier today, and they referred her to the store manager. When she talked to the store manager (in Danvers, Massachusetts), he gave her a hard time. He said the rebate form was a misprint, and he refused to honor it.

I called HQ back, and said I wasn't pleased (to put it mildly!!), and wanted to know what I should do next. The woman I talked to told me that they are aware of the Prism rebate issue, and she said they have now been told that the rebate should be honored by the rebate processing firm, and I should receive my check in 6-8 weeks. She said if I don't get it after that amount of time, I should call 1-800-554-9838, ext. 6100 to check the status of my rebate. She also told me they are now encouraging anyone who calls to send in the rebate form and wait.

I was skeptical (after reading the other posts here), and said I was concerned that in 6-8 weeks I wouldn't get my check, and CompUSA wouldn't honor it at that point. She told me they will NOT forget it if there is a problem in 6-8 weeks, and they will fix it at that point if necessary.

Has anyone else called today and gotten a similar response? Should I call them back? What do you think?

Thanks,

Dwight Smith

Registered: Nov 2000
Location:
Posts: 10

I was told the same thing by COMPUSA HQ as icewindx. They said that they are going to honor the rebate, and if in two months we don't receive anything, we can then go after the GM with the help of HQ.

Registered: Oct 1999
Location:
Posts: 110

I was also told today by both the store manager and corporate HQ that the current decision is to have people go ahead and send in the rebate. On the other hand, a friend of mine went into another local store this AM and got the $200 credit (return, then resell at $249) instead. So who really knows.