UK Christmas Discount

[Halk]

Reported in El Reg today Sony are paying the VAT for customers on certain products in the run up to Christmas.

http://www.reghardware.com/2010/10/2...tmas_campaign/

It doesnt' say which Readers are included, it does say selected readers though.

This is the Sony site for it - http://www.sony.co.uk/hub/1237479399273 which apparently from tomorrow will list the offers.

I'm after a 650 to replace my 600, so I'm going to see what comes in tomorrow. £242 is the price including VAT from Pixmania, under the best circumstances that would be £206 with the VAT taken off. Call me a cynic but someone usually takes a slice of these things!

[Halk]

The info is up now. Pixmania aren't included. I'll edit this message if I find a nationwide retailer that sells the 650.

Asda - Don't sell it.
Argos - They don't say which one they sell, but the specs are for the 600 not the 650 (weight). It looks like they have the 350 though (but I haven't checked properly).
Best Buy - Don't sell it.
Comet - Don't sell it.
Costco - Don't have an online store.
Currys - Don't sell it.
HMV - Only list the 600 not the 650


And I gave up and did a google products search... and Waterstones sell it for £199. They are on the list. "Very" sell it as do WHSmith but neither of them are on the list.

Waterstones would seem to be the best place to get it.

Remember that the price advertised is the price _including VAT_ so to take it off you can't just remove 17.5% you have to divide by 1.175 to bring it down to the right price. That is £170. Sony have a different calculation, they say they will refund 15% of the cost of the item, which has exactly the same result. Waterstones do free delivery. Edit : But they do not do free courier delivery and require you to take courier delivery on readers, so you simply have to pay the £5 or go to a physical store to buy it.

Edit : In the UK we don't get the amount of rebates that the US does. In the US rebates are very frequently grounds for people getting screwed by the T&Cs and losing out on it. I'm certainly no expert but here's some things to watch out for (having read Sony's T&Cs)

1) One per household. Can't get a pocket reader for you and for your wife. They seem to allow a touch and a pocket.(Section 6)
2) UK residents only - sorry Europeans. (Section 2)
3) You need to send it to them by end January 2011. (Section 5)
4) Only the 650 and 350 are included. NOT the 600. (Section 7)
5) Authorised resellers only. It does say Play and Amazon are covered, but I'm pretty sure buying from one of their merchants would result in no rebate. (Section 8)
6) They can withdraw it at any point. Check their website just before you buy to make sure it hasn't ended (Section 19)
7) You can't claim cashback and return the item to the retailer - I have no idea how they can police that. (Section 9)
8) You need to send them the original. Proof of postage isn't enough, they can say they didn't receive it. They say to keep a photocopy, but that's no use since if it's lost in the post you've lost the original. There is no way around this. They can shred your receipt and no matter if you photocopied and kept proof of postage as they suggest you cannot get a rebate. Just have to trust them over it, and hope they don't have someone dodgy handling the rebates.

Edit : Tesco also sell it. The black is out of stock, the silver is in stock. The price is slightly lower at 199.07. Delivery with Tesco is currently free if you spend £50 and it's free up till the 2nd of November.

John Lewis also sell it. Their standard delivery is free on anything £30 or over, but they don't let you add something out of stock to the basket, and it's out of stock there.

So at the moment the cheapest is the Silver from Tesco, and coming in about £6 more expensive is the black from Waterstones (their inept online order form is broken in my browser).

[astra]

So, you think it is a scam? I am planning to purchase one on Waterstone's then claim VAT. Do you think they are going to accidentally loose my receipt?

How do you know what retailers are authorized? Initially I was planning to buy it on sony.co.uk. Is it an authorized retailer?

[elcreative]

Halk, are you a Conspiracy Theorist as well??? I've come across paranoid but... This is a perfectly legitimate offer... walk into Waterstones, check the display (even gives you the price before and after rebate), get leaflet, buy it (pay by card and you get TWO receipts) and follow instructions...

Oooh wait... now we've got your money, we'll shred everyone's receipts and deny all responsibility ???? Hey, that's a perfectly normal set of T&Cs... called CYA especially when dealing with extreme paranoids I mean to say, "How unreasonable... only one per household... you can't claim the refund and then return the unit for your money back (or commit fraud as it would otherwise be known), UK (Europeans) only!!!! VAT is a European Tax!!! and it's time limited as well as only including the latest eReaders!!!! etc, etc for

[Halk]

I don't think it is a scam. I just think their terms and conditions are so much in their favour there's a slight chance you'd lose out. Enough complaining though and it'd get sorted I guess, Sony are not a bad name!

The link to the Sony site links a PDF file which lists all the authorised retailers doing the discount. Be aware that it seems not all authorised retailers are doing it.

Sadly Waterstones annoyed me by sitting on my order for a full 24 hours before processing it. I placed the order at 9.30am on Thursday and it sat at processing until Friday before they processed it. They also have not given me a tracking number, which is what I expect as a minimum if I'm paying for courier delivery. Add to that their site doesn't work properly and you have to open an account without placing an order and then place the order for it to accept an address. First and last time I order from Waterstones!

If Sony had them in stock I'd order from them and pick it up myself.

[Halk]

Originally Posted by elcreative

Halk, are you a Conspiracy Theorist as well??? I've come across paranoid but... This is a perfectly legitimate offer... walk into Waterstones, check the display (even gives you the price before and after rebate), get leaflet, buy it (pay by card and you get TWO receipts) and follow instructions...

Oooh wait... now we've got your money, we'll shred everyone's receipts and deny all responsibility ???? Hey, that's a perfectly normal set of T&Cs... called CYA especially when dealing with extreme paranoids I mean to say, "How unreasonable... only one per household... you can't claim the refund and then return the unit for your money back (or commit fraud as it would otherwise be known), UK (Europeans) only!!!! VAT is a European Tax!!! and it's time limited as well as only including the latest eReaders!!!! etc, etc for

You've completely misunderstood my post and painted me as some kind of nutter. Also you've used all the punctuation up, there's none left for other people to ask a question or make an exclamation now.

[elcreative]

Stuff happens, they had some system problems... everyone does... I'd have stopped using the internet for purchases if I discontinued a retailer every time a site had problems... by all means complain, hey, sometimes it gets you some form of compensation, for the rest, "What do you expect from human-programmed computer systems?"

Originally Posted by Halk

I don't think it is a scam. I just think their terms and conditions are so much in their favour there's a slight chance you'd lose out. Enough complaining though and it'd get sorted I guess, Sony are not a bad name!

The link to the Sony site links a PDF file which lists all the authorised retailers doing the discount. Be aware that it seems not all authorised retailers are doing it.

Sadly Waterstones annoyed me by sitting on my order for a full 24 hours before processing it. I placed the order at 9.30am on Thursday and it sat at processing until Friday before they processed it. They also have not given me a tracking number, which is what I expect as a minimum if I'm paying for courier delivery. Add to that their site doesn't work properly and you have to open an account without placing an order and then place the order for it to accept an address. First and last time I order from Waterstones!

If Sony had them in stock I'd order from them and pick it up myself.

[elcreative]

Sorry but the post spoke for itself!!!!!!!!!

Originally Posted by Halk

You've completely misunderstood my post and painted me as some kind of nutter. Also you've used all the punctuation up, there's none left for other people to ask a question or make an exclamation now.

[Halk]

You're still unable to understand me it seems.

This thread is to make people aware of Sony's Christmas offer, which for people in the UK is a very good one.

Rebates in the US are the cause of a great number of woes where people lose out. Third party companies processing the rebates are dodgy, and I've seen many, many threads on forums where people have lost out through sharp practice in the T&Cs.

I thought it would be helpful for people if I posted what I noticed on the T&Cs when I read them before buying. I always read the small print. There's certain things about this offer that it woudl be helpful for people to know. The only complaint I have with Sony is the part I've marked in bold, which is a cynical anti-consumer T&C which would be unenforcable in court. Sadly it would never be worth taking to court.

I have no idea what you're doing in this thread other than trolling and making personal attacks, however if you are thinking of buying a 650 or 350 and you're a UK resident then I hope it's helpful, otherwise I've nothing more to say to you.

I am not a conspiracy theorist. I do not believe 11th September attacks were by the American government, I do not believe in faries or ghosts or UFOs or Jesus, gods or divine beings. I am quite sure there was a moon landing. There is no new world order, Her Majesty the Queen is not a lizard. I do believe that people who use excessive punctuation are mentally subpar, you may consider that a conspiracy if you choose.

[elcreative]

Let's see... sense of humour/sarcasm failure... I actually confirmed the VAT rebate offer in another thread a day or two ago, your original comments come across as implying the principle aim of T&Cs is to make an offer then find a way to renege on it. Oh yes, we're not in the US with third parties handling the deal...
My comments were meant to counter this implication and included various smilies to show semi-humourous response... as for trolling and personal attacks, why would I bother...

Please forgive me if you regarded the comments as a personal attack... I sometimes forget that not everyone has a sense of humour or recognises gentle sarcasm. The use of multiple punctuation is accepted practice in English grammar to highlight/exaggerate a point and the use of ellipsis is also accepted practice for a more "stream of consciousness" post rather like "talking" as opposed to strict sentence construction.

As an owner of multiple eReaders, thank you for your thoughtful assistance although you did manage to get astra worrying about the rebate being a scam!

[astra]

Guys, peace!

[mediax]

Originally Posted by Halk

1) One per household. Can't get a pocket reader for you and for your wife. They seem to allow a touch and a pocket.(Section 6)

I don't know if the T&C have been changed since you posted, but it now says no more than two identical products per household.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by Halk

Rebates in the US are the cause of a great number of woes where people lose out. Third party companies processing the rebates are dodgy, and I've seen many, many threads on forums where people have lost out through sharp practice in the T&Cs.

The only rebates I do these days are online ones. Nothing to get lost in the mail. If a rebate offer requires me to mail in stuff, then I won't make the purchase.

[Halk]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

The only rebates I do these days are online ones. Nothing to get lost in the mail. If a rebate offer requires me to mail in stuff, then I won't make the purchase.

I was literally about to buy a 650 anyway, I happened across the article while reading The Register, had I not seen the article I'd have ordered anyway.

It arrived today though, and the difference between the 600 is stark. It's white not grey, the shine from the screen is gone, and the feeling that it's deep under glass is gone too.

Sadly it's about a cm or two shorter, which means the rather excellent case I have (i-nique.com saddleback) doesn't fit properly. I don't mind paying for a new case assuming they make one though, the stand on the back of it makes it very good.

I didn't get a receipt from Waterstones, instead I got a despatch note. I'm nearly certain that will do the job, but I'll find out when they reply to my rebate request.

[astra]

Originally Posted by mediax

I don't know if the T&C have been changed since you posted, but it now says no more than two identical products per household.

It was like that from the beginning.