Stardate 1014211141:
When the news of the $50 price drop on Xbox One consoles and bundles for the holiday came out, my mind starting swimming with ideas. Maybe, despite the initial crash, I could end up getting an Xbox One as well.
I had a plan of action to get it the cheapest I could. First, order the white Sunset Overdrive bundle for store pick up from Best Buy. Since I had a week to pick it up, I could order it the Tuesday it released and pick it up the next Sunday, when the price dropped. Then, return and rebuy with the lower price, and apply my coupon and mover's coupon (that may have cost me a lot to acquire).
I ordered the Sunset Overdrive bundle on the Tuesday it was released, and resisted all my urges to go pick it up. Supposedly it was possible to get the adjustment even if it was open, but I didn't want to risk it. On Sunday, I went and did they whole return/rebuy. It took a bit, since they were busy, but there was no fighting, and the CS lady got it all taken care of. Well, except for scanning my reward zone card, but I could fix that later I was told.
While I'm very happy with my deal, I know it's not the best. The next Saturday, there was a few hour period where you could also get the free year of XBox Live. It had some trouble stacking with the mover's coupon, since that is for 1 item, but I have a few years stored up already. I'm happy that I got a good price, and the bundle I wanted. Now to enjoy the sun(set)!
There's still the issue of the ticket, but I haven't heard back since I disputed it, so we will see how that goes...
< Part 5
Showing posts with label game trek. Show all posts
Showing posts with label game trek. Show all posts
Thursday, November 20, 2014
Thursday, November 13, 2014
Game Trek: The Next Generation (of Consoles) - Part 5
Stardate 1014210144:
During this time, I kept checking out Cowboom and Craigslist to see if anything in my range popped up. Then, two days after my pawn store debacles, Cowboom had a sale on PS4s for $100 off, making them $250 before tax. The one I snagged included everything but the manual and the wired headset. Sweet! Not as great as the under $200 people lucked into, but acceptable for me. Since I was a new customer, I could use the promo code for an extra $10 off. Not great, but why not save 10 extra bucks? Total with tax was about $265. I was very happy, and anxiously awaited when it would be delivered.
My buddy David also bought one, so he could return the one he got at the pawn shop. He paid for faster shipping so he could resume his Samurai Warriors 4 playing. His had the actual PS4 box, but the included charge cable was for the PS3. Whoops.
A week after my order, it finally arrived. It took a few extra days to actually ship, but somehow UPS got it to me in a timely fashion. I say "somehow" because UPS Ground is really, really slow. I assume most packages are walked to their destinations.
Anyway... I was excited and opened up the package. It didn't include the box, which I wasn't counting on (but would have been nice), and also didn't have the charge cable or hdmi cable it was supposed to. Hmmm. After asking some people and talking to David, I sent an email to Cowboom asking about them. They offered a partial refund, which I happily took. Buying those cables isn't expensive, but if they were supposed to be there, might as well take the discount.
I had cables I could use as substitutes, and tested it out to make sure it works. It did! I was super happy that I was almost the full way to getting into the current gen of consoles. Only one thing left to do...
<Part 4 | Part 6>
During this time, I kept checking out Cowboom and Craigslist to see if anything in my range popped up. Then, two days after my pawn store debacles, Cowboom had a sale on PS4s for $100 off, making them $250 before tax. The one I snagged included everything but the manual and the wired headset. Sweet! Not as great as the under $200 people lucked into, but acceptable for me. Since I was a new customer, I could use the promo code for an extra $10 off. Not great, but why not save 10 extra bucks? Total with tax was about $265. I was very happy, and anxiously awaited when it would be delivered.
My buddy David also bought one, so he could return the one he got at the pawn shop. He paid for faster shipping so he could resume his Samurai Warriors 4 playing. His had the actual PS4 box, but the included charge cable was for the PS3. Whoops.
A week after my order, it finally arrived. It took a few extra days to actually ship, but somehow UPS got it to me in a timely fashion. I say "somehow" because UPS Ground is really, really slow. I assume most packages are walked to their destinations.
Anyway... I was excited and opened up the package. It didn't include the box, which I wasn't counting on (but would have been nice), and also didn't have the charge cable or hdmi cable it was supposed to. Hmmm. After asking some people and talking to David, I sent an email to Cowboom asking about them. They offered a partial refund, which I happily took. Buying those cables isn't expensive, but if they were supposed to be there, might as well take the discount.
I had cables I could use as substitutes, and tested it out to make sure it works. It did! I was super happy that I was almost the full way to getting into the current gen of consoles. Only one thing left to do...
<Part 4 | Part 6>
Wednesday, November 12, 2014
Game Trek: The Next Generation (of Consoles) - Part 4
Stardate 1014210143:
I sent a text to my buddy asking if he's seen any PS4s or XB1s at his store, and price range. He says "yes" and "300". Cool, if I can bargain that down a bit, or at least top off at $300 after tax, it's in the accepted price range.
I go to his store and see a PS4 there. Problem is, the price is $350. I decide against it, but ask my friend about the discrepancy. Last he checked, they were $300, but he thinks they bumped it up because it's close to the holiday season. Fair enough.
So the next day I plan to drive by a few pawn shops to see what they have and pricing. Most were easy to locate, but few had either system. One did have a XB1 with Kinect, but it was $400. Not bad, but not great either. It had Titanfall taped to it, but I didn't ask if it was included, or just showing it as available. If included, it's a slightly better deal, but still not good enough.
One store was stupid hard to find. I passed where it should have been, and drove down the road about another mile before finding a decent place to turn around. Then, I saw the store, but not in time to turn in. So, I hit the next turn and attempt to go just beyond it and turn back. I bet you can see how this will go. No right turns until much later down the road. Then, on the way back, I couldn't find it again. Apparently, it was the fabled ghost pawn store. I chalk that one up as a loss and hit the remainder, with no results.
My friend then texts me and says they just got in a PS4. He talked to his boss and I can get it for $300 +tax. Not bad, but I needed under $300 after tax, so I tell him I'll think about it. He mentions that one of our other friends bought one from him yesterday for that price. Remember the one I saw in the second paragraph? Turns out my good buddy David bought it. Heh, small world sometimes.
<Part 3 | Part 5>
I sent a text to my buddy asking if he's seen any PS4s or XB1s at his store, and price range. He says "yes" and "300". Cool, if I can bargain that down a bit, or at least top off at $300 after tax, it's in the accepted price range.
I go to his store and see a PS4 there. Problem is, the price is $350. I decide against it, but ask my friend about the discrepancy. Last he checked, they were $300, but he thinks they bumped it up because it's close to the holiday season. Fair enough.
So the next day I plan to drive by a few pawn shops to see what they have and pricing. Most were easy to locate, but few had either system. One did have a XB1 with Kinect, but it was $400. Not bad, but not great either. It had Titanfall taped to it, but I didn't ask if it was included, or just showing it as available. If included, it's a slightly better deal, but still not good enough.
One store was stupid hard to find. I passed where it should have been, and drove down the road about another mile before finding a decent place to turn around. Then, I saw the store, but not in time to turn in. So, I hit the next turn and attempt to go just beyond it and turn back. I bet you can see how this will go. No right turns until much later down the road. Then, on the way back, I couldn't find it again. Apparently, it was the fabled ghost pawn store. I chalk that one up as a loss and hit the remainder, with no results.
My friend then texts me and says they just got in a PS4. He talked to his boss and I can get it for $300 +tax. Not bad, but I needed under $300 after tax, so I tell him I'll think about it. He mentions that one of our other friends bought one from him yesterday for that price. Remember the one I saw in the second paragraph? Turns out my good buddy David bought it. Heh, small world sometimes.
<Part 3 | Part 5>
Saturday, November 8, 2014
Game Trek: The Next Generation (of Consoles) - Part 3
Stardate 1014210142:
While reading the Cowboom thread, one user mentioned that he got his new gen systems cheap on Craigslist. I shook my head. How had I forgotten about that? So, I added a tab for Craigslist and would check that every few hours for both PS4 and X1.
Most wanted too much. Well, they might have been fair prices, but not for used stuff. A few were good enough for me to contact them... but they were duds too. One in particular, however, went above and beyond.
It advertised trading a "bang bang" for a PS4. There was a link posted in the ad, but you had to copy and paste it for it to work. I didn't, but the address had something firearm-related in it. Wow. More than likely not legal, but the dude (I assume) wanted to trade a Beretta pistol for a PS4. For meeting Craigslisters, it's always best to meet somewhere public, for safety. I don't know how safe it is when you know the other person is bringing a gun. Seriously, it seems way to easy to end up with both. I mean, either the guy bringing the gun holds up the other, or you trade the gun and then he holds you up. It's not really a win-win situation...but it is humorous.
Needless to say, Craigslist didn't pan out for the first week, and then I remembered by old co-worker/friend that worked a pawn store...
<Part 2 | Part 4>
While reading the Cowboom thread, one user mentioned that he got his new gen systems cheap on Craigslist. I shook my head. How had I forgotten about that? So, I added a tab for Craigslist and would check that every few hours for both PS4 and X1.
Most wanted too much. Well, they might have been fair prices, but not for used stuff. A few were good enough for me to contact them... but they were duds too. One in particular, however, went above and beyond.
It advertised trading a "bang bang" for a PS4. There was a link posted in the ad, but you had to copy and paste it for it to work. I didn't, but the address had something firearm-related in it. Wow. More than likely not legal, but the dude (I assume) wanted to trade a Beretta pistol for a PS4. For meeting Craigslisters, it's always best to meet somewhere public, for safety. I don't know how safe it is when you know the other person is bringing a gun. Seriously, it seems way to easy to end up with both. I mean, either the guy bringing the gun holds up the other, or you trade the gun and then he holds you up. It's not really a win-win situation...but it is humorous.
Needless to say, Craigslist didn't pan out for the first week, and then I remembered by old co-worker/friend that worked a pawn store...
<Part 2 | Part 4>
Monday, November 3, 2014
Game Trek: The Next Generation (of Consoles) - Part 2
Stardate 1014210141:
Skip forward a week or two, and I'm still bummed about the whole thing. Who wouldn't be? Not only could I not save $40 on the X1, but getting the coupons may have cost me $200. I happened across one of the CAG threads about Cowboom, and remembering that they sold cheap used consoles, decided to read up on it.
I was in some luck. There was a $100 off coupon for PS4s. They put about 1 or 2 in stock when they updated, so it was hard to snag one, but I might as well try. Their days rolled over at 10pm my time (central theirs), and that was the best time to get some.
To sweeten the deal, they dropped the price of some units to about $275 or so. With the coupon, it made it about $180 shipped. That's a crazy good deal and I wanted to jump on it.
Except, I was at Marcus' house that night. So, one of the big people pushing me to get one ironically may have kept me from getting one.
The next morning, the price went back up, so the coupon made them about $285 shipped. Still a decent deal, but I couldn't find ones that came with controllers. Factoring how much and when I could get a controller, I didn't feel it was a good enough deal. However, checking the thread so much did lead to another idea...
<Part 1 | Part 3>
Skip forward a week or two, and I'm still bummed about the whole thing. Who wouldn't be? Not only could I not save $40 on the X1, but getting the coupons may have cost me $200. I happened across one of the CAG threads about Cowboom, and remembering that they sold cheap used consoles, decided to read up on it.
I was in some luck. There was a $100 off coupon for PS4s. They put about 1 or 2 in stock when they updated, so it was hard to snag one, but I might as well try. Their days rolled over at 10pm my time (central theirs), and that was the best time to get some.
To sweeten the deal, they dropped the price of some units to about $275 or so. With the coupon, it made it about $180 shipped. That's a crazy good deal and I wanted to jump on it.
Except, I was at Marcus' house that night. So, one of the big people pushing me to get one ironically may have kept me from getting one.
The next morning, the price went back up, so the coupon made them about $285 shipped. Still a decent deal, but I couldn't find ones that came with controllers. Factoring how much and when I could get a controller, I didn't feel it was a good enough deal. However, checking the thread so much did lead to another idea...
<Part 1 | Part 3>
Sunday, November 2, 2014
Game Trek: The Next Generation (of Consoles) - Part 1
Stardate 0914210141:
I figured it would be awhile before I could jump into the new generation of consoles (XBox One and PS4) ever since they were released about a year ago. I was able to get a Wii U thanks to my wife's retail job, so that part was taken care of. Also, that was not the best idea in hindsight. More about that some other time.
Anyway, I didn't think I would be able to get one or both of the others this year, until my wife mentioned that she didn't want that to keep me from getting a review copy of something. We had some extra Paypal money, and if something panned out, I would get more. I would use it to get a PS4, and use something else to get an X1.
The plan for the X1 was pretty simple. Get two mover's coupons, use one to buy a prepaid Visa gift card, taking that down 10%. Then buy the console and use the second coupon, taking it down 10% again. So total for the white X1 would be 320+ tax or so. Good deal.
The thing for the extra Paypal money to get the PS4 fell through, so that option was off the table. Sucks, but at least I could still get one of the new gen systems.
Or could I? Two days before my coupon was valid, they changed it so it could no longer be used on a Visa gift card. So that's $40 that I wouldn't be able to save. Bad, but I might be able to recover from it. Well, until the other shoe dropped.
The next day, I get a letter in the mail. It has a speeding ticket from when I went to the Post Office to get the mover's coupon. That was pretty much the last nail in the coffin. So on top of not getting that extra $40 off, I might have to pay a $200 ticket. The universe definitely took a dump on my that time.
Part 2>
I figured it would be awhile before I could jump into the new generation of consoles (XBox One and PS4) ever since they were released about a year ago. I was able to get a Wii U thanks to my wife's retail job, so that part was taken care of. Also, that was not the best idea in hindsight. More about that some other time.
Anyway, I didn't think I would be able to get one or both of the others this year, until my wife mentioned that she didn't want that to keep me from getting a review copy of something. We had some extra Paypal money, and if something panned out, I would get more. I would use it to get a PS4, and use something else to get an X1.
The plan for the X1 was pretty simple. Get two mover's coupons, use one to buy a prepaid Visa gift card, taking that down 10%. Then buy the console and use the second coupon, taking it down 10% again. So total for the white X1 would be 320+ tax or so. Good deal.
The thing for the extra Paypal money to get the PS4 fell through, so that option was off the table. Sucks, but at least I could still get one of the new gen systems.
Or could I? Two days before my coupon was valid, they changed it so it could no longer be used on a Visa gift card. So that's $40 that I wouldn't be able to save. Bad, but I might be able to recover from it. Well, until the other shoe dropped.
The next day, I get a letter in the mail. It has a speeding ticket from when I went to the Post Office to get the mover's coupon. That was pretty much the last nail in the coffin. So on top of not getting that extra $40 off, I might have to pay a $200 ticket. The universe definitely took a dump on my that time.
Part 2>
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)