$99? - Never mind that

[virginian]

Originally Posted by Cthulhu

Based on MechChic's post, am rather demoralised about the arrival of my device.
SONY is willing to give me $100 worth of books that I can find elsewhere, with no mention of the other credit for copyrighted books on Connect, and the response "it should be there in two weeks" does little in the way of confidence in customer service.
Ah well. Cannot complain too much. If I *were* to receive a $50 credit for Connect store books, my Reader would have been free, save $10 in shipping and handling.

Well, why don't we start calling Sony support claiming the original $50 credit for the Connect store books? May be it will work.

[Cthulhu]

@ Virginian:

I have every intention of making a stink if it comes down to it. However, the important thing to not here is that NONE of us have RECEIVED our Readers yet. At least, I have not, and I have exhorted other members to inform us when they do receive theirs.

If SONY rewards keeps track of Customer Service calls, they will know that I have phoned 4+ times regarding my card and my order, so no one should be surprised when I phone again. However, I am resigned to waiting, perhaps one more week, before the irate phone calls begin in earnest.

I am keen to have the Reader in my hot little hands. If I get free readable swag great, but if SONY has pulled a shell game on me, I will not be overly offended. (No one likes a sore winner, and for $60.00, the Reader is a winner)

[junkml]

I just noticed something interesting. I went into the sony rewards site (vainly hoping to see that my reader had been shipped) and I noticed that the reader is now listed for 16000 points. With being able to buy points at $.01 that would mean that the reader would only be $160, right?

This would seem to be pointing to a significant drop in price. Does anyone think that that will trickle down to the retail offerings?

[ericastillwell]

Does anyone know how to buy the Sony protection plan with the $49 Reader deal? (I would NOT like to repeat my broken screen debacle, and $49 for 2 years coverage including "handling accidents" seems reasonable).

-Erica

[sea2stars]

"If you purchased your new portable electronics product within the last 60 days and did not purchase a Service Plan, call us today at 877-865-SONY to learn about your options."

I found that at this part of the Sony site; under Discover and then Service Plans. It looks like you can also click on Pricing and then enter all the pertinent info to purchase a extended warranty; name, where purchased, when, serial number. I guess the Reader would fall under PE ESP $250-$500.

[Lov2Read]

It has 13 days since my order and still no shipping information, no deduction of points, no charge to my card, no updates, no news....nothing.

[Cthulhu]

@ Lov2Read:

Then for you, today is the day to phone SONY Rewards and start screaming at them. Will be doing the same myself come Friday (I ordered mine on a Sunday, but somehow people do not think that Sat & Sun exist in the shipping metaverse).

Why should people awaiting their Readers complain and cajole?
1. There was absolutely *no choice* in the shipping. I have no idea who is sending it, how much it really cost, and there was/is nothing I can do to give them extra money to expedite the order.

2. We were told "you will have it in two weeks." The company's official response, from Customer Service was "two weeks is a worst case scenario." How long can it really take to process an order for one device and ship it to an address in the United States? Two weeks with no additional information save "it is in processing" is absolutely unforgivable, and smacks of incompetence.

3. If there is a problem with delivering the Reader to us, SONY Rewards, why not inform us of it, especially when several of us have contacted the company. Why dissemble instead of being honest and stating it will take longer than expected?

Regardless of receiving any manner of credit from the Connect store, waiting two weeks for a product I ordered--especially a mass-produced electronic device--is unbelievable!

Sorry to rant.

[Cthulhu]

An Update:


So either a. I listen extremely poorly, b. the people at SONY Rewards are inept, or c. the people at SONY Rewards are liars who keep changing their story.

The last time I spoke with a customer service agent, asking about the status of my order, was informed that it is "processing" and that the entire ordeal of waiting for my cool e-ink device was two weeks from order date. I ordered mine electronically on a Sunday, so that means the kids would have to get it to me tomorrow, or make somebody schlep packages on a day of rest.
I spoke to "Tim" a few minutes ago, and the *new* story is that PROCESSING takes two weeks, and shipping another four to five days! When I expressed my displeasure, he had naught to say but "sorry." When I informed him that I was sad I would miss the Connect Store credit he said "no you won't." He could not understand that 29 JULY + 5 days = 3 AUG.

Like I said, maybe these folks are not lying, maybe they are just dumb.

This is not about getting the credit, really. This is about ordering a product, expecting the product, being told when the product will arrive, and then having the story changed every time I ask for an update.

I really do apologise for all the ranting, but at least here maybe there is some commiseration.

[darkstar]

I ordered card on july 4, got card and ordered Reader July 11, and just got the Reader today , July 26th ( had got shipping notice July 23). Serial number 4673x, which is a little older stock then what are being sold from SonyStyle, which I believe are in the 522xx numbers. The reader came Priority Mail, no shipping # given in advance. Screen is a little less nice then the 522xx series(higher contrast, less ghosting), but that may be luck of the draw .

[Lov2Read]

I ordered mine on July 13th. I have heard nothing. No shipping info, nothing. When I called this afternoon, I got the same exact story as Cthulhu.

[hokie]

@ Cthulhu

Technically tech support is right, you won't lose the credit. But they've changed the deal since the thread was started.

Originally: $50 credit for anything + $149 worth of Classics. Expires 31 Jul.

Now: 100 Classics, $199 value. Expires 30 Sep.

Ethical Dilemma: I ask again, is anyone considering buying the eReader retail, getting the $50 credit, then just returning the one from Rewards when they finally ship? I think I'll be doing just that this weekend.

[Cthulhu]

@ Hokie:

Regarding the credit, it is a bit of a shell game. Everything that I see now mentions the "classics." This means that SONY took public domain books and formatted them for their device, in their own format. While this does involve work and energy, it is nothing that I cannot do on my own, so it is essentially worthless. Since DMCA, inter alia, prevent me from getting copies of currently copyrighted material gratis, the $50 credit for the "current" titles is the only offer of value (to me).


@ Darkstar: Congratulations! At the very least, I know that this is not a scam. Happy reading, and again I'm glad someone gets to claim that credit.

[Foxymoron]

Hi, I seem to have gotten my shipping confirmation just now. I made my order on the 14th so hopefully others will be receiving their confirmations as well.

[imaredr]

Just checked my email and I received shippment confirmation at just before 5pm central time. i ordered on the 15th. As far as the credit goes, I don't really care, there's not a great selection on Connect. I buy my books from Fictionwise. I do understand how everyone feels. It is the principle of the thing. As far as the 100 classics go, it will be good for those folks who don't know how to format, or the ones that don't want to go through the pain and hassle.

[Snassek]

I ordered on the 13th and I still have not received any shipping emails.