Dell Rights its Wrong?
Directed to a FW thread by Shaya, I discovered that Dell has reversed its initial decision (to only honor the two rebates on drives that were already shipped), deciding to honor all of the orders (and rebates) for orders placed during the "mistake" (9/25-9/27). I ordered on 9/26. :)
There was a reversal letter that Dell sent out (see "Continue Reading..."), but I didn't get (at least not yet). In many ways, I'm not surprised - when they sent out the "official" "cancellation" email, I got it days after other people.
While my order is still stuck in "Delayed" mode, I sent an email to Dell CS, who responded that it's just the backorder issue, but it will be shipping. :)
It's amazing how much discussion there in on FW (e.g. 1, 2, 3, 4)
Dear Valued Customer,
After further consideration, we have determined that the $200 in rebates will be honored on eligible purchases of 200 GB Western Digital hard drives ordered etween September 25, 2003 and September 27, 2003. Due to the verwhelming response to this promotion the Western Digital hard drive will ave twenty one days lead time before the item ships.
If your order has shipped before we could cancel it and you wish to return it at Dell's expense, please contact the Customer Care department at 1-800-624-9897. Should you wish to keep the drive, please be aware we will be honoring $200 in rebates on the drive. A revised rebate form will be posted as soon as it is available and we will be posting revised instructions for submitting rebate requests and will be extending the submission deadline. We apologize for any inconvenience this has caused. However, your order will proceed and we will make every effort to have it ship as soon as possible.
Dell Notification Team