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Registered: Feb 2002
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Posts: 15 |
 just be diligent
two office depots within a 5-mile radius of my home (three in the city, more a little further away, but free time was the limiting factor).
the first one had nothing but cradles and TONS of leather cases. i might have purchased a leather case for my visor deluxe, but i just want something to protect the visor and look stylish, not to hold my checkbook, cash, business cards, spare key, etc. i might have bought an extra/spare cradle, but they were only for the edge and prism (i think), so of value to me. great prices though. i asked the girl behind the customer service counter if all their handspring related merchandise was on the clearance table and she said "yeah, probably". taking her word for it i left asked where the other stores were located in the area. she directed me to the next closest one, so off i went.
the second one had the same selection. no modules (which is what i was looking for; that's the whole reason i bought my visor deluxe, besides the fact it was only $99 at tigerdirect.com  ), but plenty of leather cases and cradles. discouraged i decided to walk around the store just to see what there was. i had taken the time to drive to two different stores, so i figured i might as well take a few minutes to see what else office depot had to offer me. everything else in the store that i saw was overpriced compared to what i could pay online at a store like newegg.com. well, there was a good deal or two ($15 logitech optical usb mouse), but nothing that i needed/wanted.
then i happened upon a glass case in the middle of the store, where the high dollor items are kept under lock. and there it was: a lone targus stowaway keyboard for visors (pa-800u). there was no price on the box, or price tag on the shelf (as with all the other products), so i spoke to a passing "sales assistant" and she went to get someone to open the case and investigate. a different girl returned with a key but she couldn't get the lock to pop open. so she got the manager. (actually, she said she would get the manager's key, but instead she called the manager, but expecting her to specifically return, i wondered an isle or two over, played with the compaq ipaqs, not bad but my price point was/is $100, not $500, which is more than i paid for my used thinkpad, but i eventually met up with her and the manager, though i almost gave up and left.) there was no price on the keyboard, so the manager had the girl ring it up at the front of the store while the manager and i waited at the display. while she was gone i told the manager that i was more interested in any modules than this keyboard, but if they keyboard was a good deal i would buy it anyways. he confirmed that all the modules were sold out. she returned and said the keyboard was $50. i said that was too much for something i didn't even really want and thanks for looking up the price. the manager reminded me that even at $50 that was a very good deal. i told him that to me it wasn't worth that much (doesn't have much utility, which is the true value/price-point of a good/service; thanks economics 101  ). he said if the item was discontinued that he would discount it further. we all three went to the customer service desk and she rang it up. well enough, it was discontinue (actually, he said "non-restockable" or something like that meaning that the store was not carrying that product anymore, not that the manufacturer had discontinued the product; sorry for any confusion), so he said he would sell it for X. i told him, "make it Y and i'll buy it" (where Y = X - $5). he said okay, and i bought it.
moral of the story: not much available at some office depots, depending on what you are looking for. and you may have to be diligent if you want to find the deals. (but isn't that always the case.)
p.s. wondering how much i paid for it? you'll have to buy the receipt (and the still-sealed keyboard) from me to find out.  i'm selling the keyboard (as i never really wanted it but instead want to buy a pitech smartmedia memplug), and including the receipt with it for warranty/return/exchange purposes. (if it breaks within the targus 1-year warranty period, and you need proof of purchase, maybe to verify the warranty period, you can provide the receipt. if they ask why you aren't the one listed on the receipt, tell them it was a gift. just don't tell them how much you paid me for the receipt to get the keyboard as a "free gift".  ) trying to figure out how much i want to sell it for (taking into consideration the price of new/used stowaways & the cost of a memplug + 64MB smartmedia ), so keep an eye on the marketplace forum, or email me an offer.
unlisted(at)pobox(dot)com
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02-03-2002 04:16 PM
I'm so sad. Just came from the only Office Depot around me and they ran out last week! I missed out because I wasn't keeping up on my visorcentral readings 
Thank You!! SEARCH BY SKU!
cut to the chase
We give up!
He sort of acted like he never heard much about them and judging by the number of keyboards still under lock and key most of the other employees must be clueless too! It was hard to figure out how much really sold out quickly because Office depot in our area never really had a big variety of Handspring products to start with.
OD pricing tip
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