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$400 Free From Microsoft for Californians
Jon writes "California and Oregon residents can get out of the 3 yr commitment to MSN and keep the $400 rebate available at Best Buy, OfficeMax, Office Depot and Staples." If anyone can confirm that this actually works I'd like to hear it, but if nothing less, its pretty amusing.
Or better yet, if every Californian does this, we'll have $14 billion, which we can use to make a competing company to write better software. Say, "Macrosoft".
--- Dirtside | "Spirituality" is the irrational belief in the supernatural
"Destroy science and religion. Science would re-emerge exactly the same; but not religion." - Penn Jillette, paraphrased
I think Microsoft may just wait until some slightly higher profile person does this and then challenge it in court and make a public example of them. Remember you may not matter but that dosn't mean that they are not paying attention to you.
Slashdot social engineering at it's finest
Let's see...
MS-DOS 6.0...$90
Windows 3.1..$90
Windows 95...$90
Windows 98...$90
90+90+90+90=$360
I'll take the 40 bucks and we'll call it even.
Would our California and Oregon bretheren be willing to buy the rest of us cheap computers and upgrades? There's a $100 a piece in it for ya, and we'll pay shipping.
Hmmm, it's getting very interesting. First we had to buy our computers and ISP subscriptions. Now we can get free computers for ISP subscriptions and free Internet access with the purchase of a computer. Dare I speculate that free PCs and free access are next? Well, at the cost of personal information. Hmm.
-- What you do today will cost you a day of your life.
you mean I could buy a large piece of MicroSoft software ... and actually end up paying what it's really worth?
A copy of the rebate form can be found here:m snoffer/contract_co_reb.asp
http://www.staples.com/products/themes/microsoft/
I noticed the words "advance" and "lend" are used. Sounds like MS wants their $$ back if you cancel early. Notice how they don't use the word "rebate" so when you ask them if early cancelation affects the rebate they can answer "No" because its a loan not a rebate. (Did that make any sense?) Microsoft offered this deal last year with Viewsonic monitors. A post on www.deal-finder.com indicated that MS wouldn't allow you to take advantage of the rebate if you canceled. I don't think MS is dumb enough to give away $400. But who knows?
Accually, for a good SCSI drive, that price is just about right. (Note: the price of SCSI is way inflated for what it should be, but I digress).
Here is the fine print from the Best Buy ad -- as you can clearly see it states that CA and OR residents aren't responsible for paying back anything if they cancel!
INSTANTLY SAVE UP TO $400 ON ANY COMPUTER (excludes prior purchases) WHEN YOU SIGN UP IN STORE FOR UP TO 3 YEARS OF MSN INTERNET ACCESS AT JUST $21.95 A MONTH. Details of the MSN Instant Credit Program for Best Buy. The MSN Instant Credit program requires: (1) the purchase of a personal computer, notebook, or built-to-order PC, (excludes prior purchases), totaling in excess of the selected credit amount (sales tax will apply to the total purchase price including mail-in rebates and add-ons, as applicable) from Best Buy between January 2, 1999, and February 29, 2000; (2) selection of a 36-month membership to MSN Internet Access ($400 credit), 24-month membership ($225 credit), or 12-month membership ($100 credit) at the rate of $21.95 per month plus applicable taxes; (3) in-store signup at the time of purchase; (4) a valid major credit card (Visa, MasterCard, Discover/Novus, American Express accepted; Best Buy credit card or debit cards cannot be used with this offer); and (5) acceptance of the MSN Internet Access member agreement. The credit card will be automatically billed $21.95 each month. You are not obligated to continue as an MSN Internet Access member for any particular length of time; however, if for any reason whatsoever you do not continue for the period of time associated with the purchase credit that you have elected to receive, you agree that MSN will charge your credit card for the entire amount of the purchase credit immediately upon termination or cancellation of your MSN Internet Access account; provided that if you are a resident of California or Oregon you will not be required to repay the credit amount. Your social security number is required for processing your credit. You must be 18 years old or older to qualify for the MSN Instant Credit Program. Offer valid only on new MSN account established in store at time of PC purchase. MSN Internet Access is available only to users of the Windows® 95 or 98 operating systems. MSN Internet Access is available only for personal non-commercial use. Local phone and/or long distance toll charges may apply. It is the customer's responsibility to check with a local phone company to determine if access numbers are local. Local market network activity and capacity may affect access availability. MSN is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation. In the event that we are unable to register you for Internet service on the date of purchase, we will offer a mail-in rebate for the same amount. Additional conditions and restrictions apply. See product offer and store for additional details.
That's the whole problem with these rebates. It's the people that don't know better that are being duped. They'll realize the mistake later when they find out in a year that cable or DSL is better, but they can't get out of the contract without forking over $400.
Yes, maybe Microsoft is getting a ton of sign-ups now by people that don't know better, but what about later when people realize they can drop MSN for better Internet Service? That's when we'll start seeing people bow out. Of course, with MS' investments in Cable and Telco, maybe they'll have it in place so that people won't need to leave MSN for the faster access. Then they don't need to worry.
-BrentA friend of mine recently decided to give this a try. Pending his results, I may do the same. He decided to go to http://www.freemonitors.com, which tells you all about the MS - Viewsonic rebate, and has a complete copy of the terms and conditions per MS. The part that everybody's excited about:
"if for any reason whatsoever you do not continue for the period of time associated with the credit that you have elected to receive, you agree that you will repay MSN the amount of the credit immediately upon termination or cancellation of your MSN Internet Access account; provided that if you are a resident of California or Oregon you will not be required to repay the credit amount."
Whew. That was a mouthful. Anyway, it's there. Plain and simple. I wouldn't doubt that they only give you 12 dollars a month for the rest of forever, but it's still kinda cool if you live in CA or OR.
Sure, I have a thankless job. That's okay. I have a lot of (non
From the application: Only one credit per address will be allowed. Multiple credit requests will not be accepted.
When we got there, the salesman said that it was out of stock. My sister asked if any other stores had it. The salesman went away to check, and came back and said no. I asked about a rain check, and the salesman said it was discontinued. I pointed out that since they advertised it without any restrictions like "quantities are limited" or "while supplies last", that they would have to make good on it. He went to fetch the manager, who asked if we would be satisfied with a different computer. I said sure, as long as it was comparable.
After a long wait, the manager produced a much better HP Pavilion (faster CPU, more memory, bigger hard drive, and a CD-RW) which listed for $300 more. She discounted it by $350 to match the price, including the $50 OfficeMax rebate that had been offered on the other CPU. My sister got a much better system for the same $429 price. And when we set up the computer at her office, we found that there was a $50 rebate coupon from HP for the CPU inside the box!
Anyhow, while I was studying the flier about the MSN rebate, I noticed the language about CA and OR residents. When we opened the actual MSN signup envelope, we found that it included two separate legal agreements, one for residents of CA and OR only, and one for everyone else. I don't have them here to study in detail or quote, but a quick glance seemed to confirm that if I made a purchase myself that I would receive the rebate but not be obligated to continue the service, and would not have to repay the rebate.
I almost bought a second computer of the same type for myself. It looks like I could have gotten the same nicer HP Pavilion as my sister (without the monitor and printer) for about $99 plus CO sales tax plus $21.95 for one month's MSN service. I didn't do it because I didn't have an extra $600 at the time, and I was doubtful that it would make a good Linux box since it uses some strange combination modem and sound card.
So I don't have proof that CA and OR residents can take MSN for $388, but it sure looks that way. Even if it's legal, I haven't convinced myself that it's ethical.