Upgrade your [broken] jetBook to a Sony PRS-350 for free or nearly free

[Kralik]

Takes a bit of waiting but it's a great deal!

By combining the Sony Rewards Card offer ($100 in rewards credit) and $75 trade-in, I was able to get a brand new PRS-350 and case for my broken jetBook. Though you should be able to do just fine with a normal one. Here's what to do (what I did):

1) Sign up for a free rewards account at SonyRewards.com.
2) After signing in, you will see an offer for a Sony credit card and $100 in rewards on the right side of the page. This is an increase from the standard $50 offer. If you don't see the offer (just verified with my brother today that it is still there), you can also search around online to find the link. Sign up for the credit card. Both my wife and I were instantly approved, but YMMV.
3) If your CC app was approved, fill out the Sony recycling form and print a shipping label. Get it in the mail ASAP. They have to receive your jetBook by December 31st. It took about a week for them to receive mine and issue the coupon. I'm not sure what would happen if they received it after Dec. 31st, though.
4) ... wait ...
5) The recycling coupon will probably be emailed to you before your new card arrives. When the new card arrives, activate it and attach it to your Sony Rewards account. You might also call Sony to verify the 10,000 points offer (I did just to double check).
6) Your recycling coupon is good until 01/31/2011. Now you have two options:

Impatient Option: - Charge now, refund later
Place your order on SonyStyle.com using your new credit card. The purchase will add your 10,000 rewards points. You can now submit a "Purchase Credit Option" to have Sony reimburse you with a CC statement credit after around 60 days. Sony Customer Support says that if you have paid off your account in full, you will have a positive credit card balance and can ask them to cut you a check. Alternatively, you could just spend it (it is a CC after all).

Patient Option: - Gift card now, buy later
Make a purchase of at least $1 on your new Sony card to add the 10,000 reward points. From SonyRewards.com, you can redeem those 10,000 points for a $100 SonyStyle.com gift card. Once you get the gift card (expect a 2 week wait), you can place the order with your $100 GC and $75 credit. This might be pushing the 01/31/2011 deadline, though.

Price breakdown:
At full retail price, the PRS-350 is $179.99 - $75 - $100 = $4.99. Nice! But assuming there is another sale between now and Jan 31st, you can do better.

I used the Education/Campus store and got:

+$134.99 - PRS-350 on sale
+ $31.49 - PRS-350 cover
- $75.00 - Trade-in coupon
--------
= $91.48 - Total Charged to CC

And the $91.48 will be covered with 9,148 of my 10,000 points. Furthermore, my wife and I each have been getting about $4/week playing the WoF/Jeopardy games which will cover lots of eBook purchases ($400+/year). It only takes about 10 minutes/week.

[Seabound]

One can trade in just about any eBook reader, not just a jetBook, for the $75 credit that Sony offers through their recycling offer. I'm not trading in my jetBook, but I did (hesitantly) send in my old eBookwise.

.

[Kralik]

They taken both my old eBookwise (local store) and BUSTED jetBook (mail-in; multiply-cracked and black screen). Local store said no cracked screens but YMMV.

I posted this in the jetBook forum simply because of my own positive experience and the fact that the jetBook probably has a lower resale value than most other e-ink based readers. I doubt I could have sold my jetBook for $75 even WORKING.

[spensar]

If you have a busted e-reader, that's a good deal. I returned a Sony and got a Libre Pro because I didn't like the feel of the Sony, but that's just me.