PRS-650 Any chance to enjoy those promo for new sony?

[frquixote]

Originally Posted by katzki

- Consistency: TERRIBLE
(Sonystyle has a policy that they do not price match on bundled offers. However, a retailer such as www.abt.com has a policy to price match over their special bundle offer. Quite inconsistent and unfair. Nobody would purchase from sony directly, especially from sony stores.)

I am sorry you did not get to take advantage of the free lighted cover offer that is now popping up at so many of the independent Sony retailers. I cannot agree with your assessment regarding consistency since the special bundles are not a Sony offer, but are offers being made by independent Sony retailers in an effort to compete with each other and to mitigate the price differential between the Sony manchines and the Amazon machines. Such is the nature of a free market economy. It tends to get messy, but overall the consumer generally benefits. Markets in which monopolies or oligopolies exist tend not to have such pricing flexibility with the result that overall consumers tend to pay higher prices ala the Agency 5.

[tvuongpham]

I just called Vanns.com.. as I purchased my reader through them a few days ago (after I had returned the first one I purchased at Best Buy) .lol had to use that 100 GC .. lol

Anyhow..
Vann's was very generous and their customer service is shipping me the lighted cover free of charge.. Looks like Sony is really pushing their promotions.

Vann's customer service is smart, because the big picture is in the USA if purchase is <30 days I can return and repurchase the same item with the promo (Sony Book cover with lamp for Reader Pocket Editions PRSACL35L (Blue) )... and still be ahead.

Woohoo!!!

Nice to have the lighted cover as an option!!

[boxcorner]

Edited by boxcorner

[katzki]

Originally Posted by frquixote

I am sorry you did not get to take advantage of the free lighted cover offer that is now popping up at so many of the independent Sony retailers. I cannot agree with your assessment regarding consistency since the special bundles are not a Sony offer, but are offers being made by independent Sony retailers in an effort to compete with each other and to mitigate the price differential between the Sony manchines and the Amazon machines. Such is the nature of a free market economy. It tends to get messy, but overall the consumer generally benefits. Markets in which monopolies or oligopolies exist tend not to have such pricing flexibility with the result that overall consumers tend to pay higher prices ala the Agency 5.

I see your point, frquixote.
But you misunderstood my intention. I am not talking about SONY's legal duties but just am showing some apparent comparisons betwen sonystyle (or sony stores) and other independent retailers. I see SONY has a different policy on price match over bundling offers but it's quite worse compared to that of other retailers. If all the people recognize this difference, who will purchase any product from sony directly? Sony's customer care needs to be modified especially in price match policy since it increases customer dissatisfaction. Comparing between retailers and feelling bad about difference is a so natural response. If SONY cannot get the right message here, I guess they are ignorant of what their customers feel over their service. People who order products from SONY directly usually expects better service than from other independent retailers. But in reality, this expectation is reversed. What else can I feel over this?

PS. Also, please read AP2F22's reply above. (S)he got the $50 gift card through customer care of sonystyle. Even within the customer care of sonystyle.com, they lost consistency.

[katzki]

Originally Posted by AP2F22

After I found out about this promo today, I used the customer care link to ask for an accommodation for the 50 gift card. An agent just call me back and said that they will send me the gift card, however they will charge my CC $50 for the gift card, but will refund the 50 after it is shipped.

I purchased my 650 from sonystyle on September 21.

Thanks for sharing your experience, AP2F22. I guess your purchase date is almost same as mine. I left a comment about this matter on sonystyle's customer care service as they showed inconsistency even within their site customers. But I received an answer that I was given $20 credit despite that their policy is not to price match over bundled offers. In other words, they says "You got more than what you deserve." Very disappointed again.

If more people leave comments about this dissatisfaction over this matter, I guess, then SONY might change their price match policy in this time. I'm sure that their price match policy over this case is clearly wrong and defective to SONY's reputation and even to its profits. They will realize it soon.

[astra]

You are guys are ......very smart.
I would never dare to go back and demand my money back for whatever I paid. Just tough luck. In another month there might be a Christmas promotion 25% off.
IMO, it is the price early adopters or impatient customers pay. That's life.

[katzki]

Originally Posted by astra

You are guys are ......very smart.
I would never dare to go back and demand my money back for whatever I paid. Just tough luck. In another month there might be a Christmas promotion 25% off.
IMO, it is the price early adopters or impatient customers pay. That's life.

I understand and accept some cost as an early adopter (or pre-orderer). However, it is less than a month from its launch. I thought it was not an etiquette to have such promotions in that short periods. (Also, they have to expect people who returns their products to enjoy such promotions. That's what rational people do.)

Another mistake they made is their discrimination even in treating their own sonystyle customers. Someone got $50 gift card back after a claim, but someone like me could not get such benefit even though I claimed several times to the customer center. The game has changed as they treated their own customers differently. That's why I say they lost consistency.

IMO, Feeling unfairness is natural in this case. I'm sure that Amazon would treat this problem differently, at least fairly to their own customers...

[Bro Pete]

Astra, I believe you are right. Sony may have some great deals after Thanksgiving.

I think they are late releasing a new product and are having to scramble to cultivate a product awareness before the biggest shopping season of the year. It would be great to get a new cover or a discount, but we paid a premium to have something as soon as it was available.

For the next couple of months many people will be doing research on which reader to buy. In a year, the deal we did or didn't get from Sony will be of much less importance than having the best reader available. I wish that I had a free cover, but I am excited about getting my Sony Touch and learning all that my PRS 650 can do to enhance my reading experience.

[jackinca]

Local Borders store knew nothing of the promotion. Called Borders Customer Sv in Nashville,TN. yesterday.(10/19). Like magic the local Borders had several in stock, and purchased one. Had a 900 with light which i sold. Night and day difference in every respect. Light has three super bright LED, and works very well and is slick. Cover very attractive and not too big.

[Ayle]

Thanks for letting me know! I bought a prs650 at vanns, and should be receiving it Oct 25th (Prolly early november at my home in Chile, trough a speciallized carrier), I just called, the guy wouldn't match the price, even after I guided him trough the websites that have the offer, until I mentioned that someone in this forum had obtained the light cover, at wich point he got up, talked to someone and told me that i Would be getting the cover! And I usually never dare to go back and ask a match price, but i thought that I haven't even RECEIVED it yet, so I gave it a try. And it worked!
So thanks for sharing your experience!

[astra]

Originally Posted by Ayle

Thanks for letting me know! I bought a prs650 at vanns, and should be receiving it Oct 25th (Prolly early november at my home in Chile, trough a speciallized carrier), I just called, the guy wouldn't match the price, even after I guided him trough the websites that have the offer, until I mentioned that someone in this forum had obtained the light cover, at wich point he got up, talked to someone and told me that i Would be getting the cover! And I usually never dare to go back and ask a match price, but i thought that I haven't even RECEIVED it yet, so I gave it a try. And it worked!
So thanks for sharing your experience!

Well done

[Ayle]

Well I got rather upset (not angry at the dude XD, god forbid, I work in sales and I know how it can be) as he was basically giving me 2 options
-Leave it as I bought it
-Send it back, order it again from another store

So this forum already got me a free case (thanks!)

[Harborgirl]

I bought a 650 at Borders and, although no one at the store had heard of the promotion, they honored the coupon for a free lighted cover that I printed from this forum. Thank you to the member who provided it!
I love my 650. I got hooked on ereading by using the Kindle app on my iPad. Still love reading on the iPad but wanted to try e-ink so I bought a K3. Also wanted to be able to read in the sun, by the pool while on vacation. The Kindle is a good device but, to me, felt clunky and old school with the navigation buttons and cursor. I returned it and bought the 650. Love touch navigation and getting library books.

[katzki]

Originally Posted by Ayle

Thanks for letting me know! I bought a prs650 at vanns, and should be receiving it Oct 25th (Prolly early november at my home in Chile, trough a speciallized carrier), I just called, the guy wouldn't match the price, even after I guided him trough the websites that have the offer, until I mentioned that someone in this forum had obtained the light cover, at wich point he got up, talked to someone and told me that i Would be getting the cover! And I usually never dare to go back and ask a match price, but i thought that I haven't even RECEIVED it yet, so I gave it a try. And it worked!
So thanks for sharing your experience!

It's really good to hear that you got the benefits using the experience of this thread. Yeah... information is our strongest weapon

[katzki]

It's very nice to hear that many of you got the right information here and could enjoy the deserved benefits. People who do not know about the promotion or how others could price match from the retailers might just miss their fortune.

I am a sonystyle customer. But sonystyle didtnot price match over my prs 650 purchase although i urged that someone in this forum got the promotion after a claim. That was somewhat disappointing. They just refunded me $20 for their excuse. It seems that I have to be satisfied with $20 since I tried as much as I can. More efforts are useless and waste of time. It is not worth my time and energy.

I just let you guys know that, you can try a phone call to the store where you purchased the device and insist your rights. They might price match or not. It's up to your luck or up to the attitude of the retailer you are facing with. In my case, it did not work well. But if you are a sonystyle.com customer who purchased 350 or 650 before the promotion period, just try a phone call or leave a message to the customer care of the site. You might get full price match as someone in this forum did or $20 refund as I did. If you are satisfied enough with your device and don't want to claim on it, then just stay there. In fact, it was all about information that I wanted to deliver here. To make as many people as possibe claim their rights with proper information. (I thought it would eventually be helpful to all of us including me.)