The Juggle Zone: Bargain Blog

Why is it that hotels feel obligated to charge fees for things that don't cost anything. For example, at a hotel I stayed at recently, phone call costs were as follows:

Local Calls - $1.58 for up to 60 minutes* Calling Card Calls - $2.00 for up to 60 minutes* Toll Free Calls - $2.00 for up to 60 minutes* Directory Information - $2.50 per call Long Distance Calls - billed at AT&T rates and are subject to a surcharge plus applicable taxes *Calls longer than 60 minutes are subject to threshold billing.

Now, let's analyze this.
1) $1.58 for a local call? Most places have unlimited calling plans, and even if they don't, locals calls are ~$.15
2) Calling Card Calls and Toll Free Calls are the same, as far as I'm concerned - they're all toll free. Toll Free! So what's with the $2 charge?
3) Directory Information Calls cost maybe $.75 in most places. I was once in a hotel that charged nothing for toll free calls and ~$1 for directory information calls. I called 800-555-1212, and they charged me the directory information fee. I fought it, and they credited it back, but that was nuts!
4) If you were to make a long distance call at this hotel, it'd be a mystery as to how much you'd be charged, as they don't provide actual rates. At least they're straightforward with the fact that whatever the long distance rate that you get charged is, it will include a surcharge, plus taxes. Of course odds are you'll also pay hotel taxes on your entire bill, and get taxed twice.

Posted by dwallach at 1:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

Some people can only take 1-2 hits, at best. Others a few more. But who can take 40,000?

The Juggle Zone: Bargain Blog - that's who!

Lucky visitor #40,000 seems to have been 62.253.112.106, who's search for e18 error canon won him/her ... nothing but info!

Posted by dwallach at 3:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

I dropped someone's kids off at the airport on Sunday. Being nice, I parked the car and took them into the terminal. During check-in I asked if they could give me a pass to get through security, so that I could take them all the way to the gate. (I'd seen others with such passes in the past.) The CSR told me she'd do it as a courtesy, but that it is just that - a courtesy - and she doesn't have to. OK, thanks.

My pass looked much like any boarding pass (but without a seat assignment), and had a big "*S*" on it. As we entered the security area, the TSA employee checking ID highlighted the "*S*" part. Weird.

As we passed through security, the TSA guy said to me, "You've been randomly selected for a secondary search." Lucky me, and random my @$$! While I understand that in theory I could be sneaking stuff in for someone with an actual seat, what's the point of searching me if I can't get on a plane anyways?

Posted by dwallach at 11:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

For no clear reason, I woke up around 5 am this morning. I happened to check my email (and FW), and found a thread indicating that up to $61.70 was to be made. I took a look and found that Amazon was selling the Linksys WPC11 Wireless-B Notebook Adapter for $19.13, with a $25 rebate. The A9 discount took off another $.30 per card. With a limit of 10 rebates, there was easy potential for making over $60. So I ordered. I wanted 10, but for no clear reason Amazon limited orders to no more than 3 cards. Solution: two 3-card orders and two 2-card orders (you need at least 2 cards to qualify for free shipping).

Meanwhile, Amazon seems to have spent much of the day canceling orders. There were numerous reports by early orderers (of which I was not one) of shipments and tracking numbers, but many many others were reporting cancelled orders. Thus far, mine aren't cancelled.

Posted by dwallach at 11:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

It's good I didn't wait much longer to sell my iPod. Apple just announced new lower prices - $269.99 for the 20GB iPod (lower than I sold mine).

I got this info from FW, but I can't confirm it as anything official anywhere...

Posted by dwallach at 12:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

As of 8:04 pm CT, "Package information transmitted to FedEx" in Marion, IL! Estimated delivery date for my Cruzer is June 30, 2005.

Posted by dwallach at 9:26 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

I just got an email stating that my Cruzer order is "ready to be shipped" with a tracking number. Of some concern was the presence of a new order number, indicating that they might have cancelled my last order and re-ordered. A quick check of my credit card account shows that no new Circuit City charges have been authorized, however.

Posted by dwallach at 4:27 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

I Hate bureaucracy. Hate, with a capital "H." This time, it's the New York City Department of Health Division of Vital Records - Corrections. We've been working on getting our son's birth certificate corrected (the hospital made numerous errors) for months! I sent in the latest correction request several weeks ago, only to have it returned for the following "Miscellaneous Reject Reason."

"Both Parents must submit a current signed photo ID with expiration date to further process your application.TB.

Examined by,
Tracy XXXXXXX"

Well, Tracy, get your reading glasses out. As per step #1* of the instructions on Page 1 of the Application for the Correction of a Birth Certificate [VR 172 (Rev 1/03)], I submitted a copy of both of our licenses. What more could you want!?

Frustrated, I tried calling. The phone number listed on the rejection letter, 212-788-4541, states "Welcome to Verizon's voice messaging service. If you want to leave a message, please redial the number of the person you are calling, starting with the area code. If you have a mailbox on this system, please press the pound key. For some helpful information press 0." Pressing 0 did not provide me with any helpful information. More frustrated, I called 311. I was transferred to the Department of Health, placed on hold, then told I had to speak to the Division of Vital Records - Corrections (no duh!), transferred, put on hold. When a human finally answered, I told her the situation, she asked who had processed it, and then told me that Tracy is "new." I was then told to resubmit to her supervisor, Ms. O'Neil. Lucky me. More postage wasted, and lots of tax dollars down the drain.

I'll think I soothe myself to sleep tonight with the thought that Tracy will get fired. That would be suitable.

*Step 1: "All persons requesting changes to a birth record in person must present a current, signed photo identification such as a driver's license. If applying by mail you must submit a photocopy of your identification. Without identification your application will be rejected."

Posted by dwallach at 2:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

We were at The Children's Place yesterday, and upon checking out were given a set of 3 reusable coupons (1 for us, two for "friends") for 15% off (valid 7/21/05-9/12/05). The online code is BBS75. It's not the first time they've had coupons like these.

Posted by dwallach at 10:49 AM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

Amazon is now selling The Penguin Classics Library Complete Collection. For 2005, the Penguin Classics Library Complete Collection consists of 1,082 titles, all great works of literature totaling nearly half a million pages.

From Edwin A. Abbott to Emile Zola, the 1,082 titles in the Penguin Classics Complete Library total nearly half a million pages--laid end to end they would hit the 52-mile mark. Approximately 700 pounds in weight, the titles would tower 828 feet if you stacked them atop each other--almost as tall as the Empire State Building.

Of course you'd also need about 55 bookcases to hold all the books, plus a reinforced floor to support the weight. But if you're dropping $8K on books, what a few more?

In general, shipping for an order this large would be high, very high. With Amazon you might wonder if they offer free shipping, which they don't (Special Shipping Information: This item is not eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping.). But shipping was only $3.99 when I went to check out. And the π/2% Instant Reward was $125.51!

Thanks to Reader Shaya for the link.

Posted by dwallach at 10:38 AM | Permalink

It turns out that Circuit City does pricematch club stores like Costco, Sam's Club, etc.

From: Customer Care <customercare@cc.circuitcity.com>
To: [address withheld]
Subject: Re: Other from [address withheld] (KMM1430456I9552L0KM)
Date: Fri, 15 Oct 2004 03:25:19 -0400 (EDT)

Dear Jae:

Thank you for writing to Circuit City.

I understand that you want to know about our Price Match policy.

Please note that Circuit City stores will match/beat advertised warehouse club prices (Costco, Sam's, etc.) under our Price Match Guarantee.

Our Price Match policy states that, if you have seen a lower advertised price from a local store with the same item in stock, we want to know about it. Bring it to our attention, and we will gladly beat their price by 10% of the difference. Even after your Circuit City purchase, if you see a lower advertised price (including our own sale prices) within 30 days, we will refund 110% of the difference.

Our policy applies only to advertised prices. It does not apply to special offers or promotions, including rebates, free with purchase offers, and special financing. In order to take advantage of our Price Match Plus Guarantee, you must visit or call your nearest Circuit City store.

If you need assistance in finding your local Circuit City store, please check our web site Store Locator. This feature can help you find the locations and phone numbers of the closest Circuit City stores in your community.

To access our Store Locator:

- Visit http://www.circuitcity.com
- Locate and click on the tab marked "Store Locator" at the top of the page
- Type your "Zip Code" or enter your "City" and "State" and click on the ?find? button.

I hope the above information is useful.

Thanks again for writing to Circuit City. Your continued patronage is important to our company. We hope to have the occasion to serve your future consumer electronics, home, office and entertainment needs.

Sincerely,

Nirav S.
Customer Support Coordinator
Contact ID Number: 710639

Original Message Follows:
------------------------
EMAIL_ADDRESS: [address withheld]
DATE_SENT: 10/14/2004
TIME_SENT: 06:29:43 PM
SENDER_NAME: Jae
SELECTED_OPTION: Other
PHONE_AREA_CODE:
PHONE_EXCHANGE:
PHONE_BASE:
PHONE_EXT:
MESSAGE: Hi,
I'm trying to get my local Circuit City(CC) to pricematch my local Sam's. Can you please tell me if CC can pricematch items which are more expensive at CC.

Posted by dwallach at 9:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I'm annoyed. Very annoyed. My attempts at renewing my subscription via Ebay have not worked out well. The first place canceled my order (and refunded my money), but at a point so late that I could barely renew in time to ensure no lost issued. The new place I chose claimed my first issue would be July, which should have delivered by now, and hasn't been. The max wait time of 12 weeks has passed, and I have nothing to show for it. So I left negative feedback for the seller, mplace-yourplace. I also sent them an angry email. We'll see if either garners a response.

Posted by dwallach at 12:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (1)

When toting the little one on hikes in the past, we used to use a Snugli® Front & Back Pack Soft Carrier we received as a baby gift, and it worked great, and was reasonably comfortable. Now that he's bigger, and we're planning another trip worthy of toting, we pursued a larger pack. We did consider the Snugli brand Cross Country™ Internal Frame Carrier, but found it had a few drawbacks. Specifically, it weighed a significant amount more than other packs and had uncomfortable tabs sticking up near one's shoulders (such that leaning one's head in just the wrong direction could be rather painful). But the biggest drawback was just how "Snugli" it was - the baby is held so close to the adult that neither is comfortable.

When we tried on the Kelty Tour, we knew we found our carrier. It was so light it felt like nothing at all. Our son was comfortable in it both on the ground and on our shoulders. Since the baby is held a few inches from the adult (instead of directly leaning on the adult as in the Snugli), there is much more opportunity for air circulation and cooling.

The challenge of finding a good deal on a Kelty led me to plan what may be my last attempt at a Chase LPG. Since the places with the best prices charged for shipping, and the places with free shipping had price around those of the cheapest plus shipping, I order from a place with free shipping and will try to PM using LPG to the cheapest places. It should be pretty easy, but who knows what new made up rules they have over at LPG headquarters.

Posted by dwallach at 12:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I placed a follow-up call to CC to check whether my Cruzer had actually come in. When I was told it hadn't, and probably wouldn't, I wasn't surprised, but pushed them to get it from another store. After a few minutes of checking, Norrie offered to have it sent from their e-ship facility. That was fine with me, as long as my rebates wouldn't get messed up. She assured me they wouldn't, I asked that she note that in my "ticket" (order record), which she (claims) she did. It should arrive in a few business days.

On the plus side of things, many FWers have posted that they have been told by SanDisk CSRs (e.g. Caroline #3001 and Dawn #2932) that both rebates will be honored! The instructions are to send the original UPC with offer #10654, and a copy with offer #2932.

I could still try a PM to such stores as B&H Photo ($74.99), making this drive better than FAR!

Posted by dwallach at 11:18 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

My blog is linked to from:
http://www.matchdeal.com/category/hotdeal/bargain%20sheet.htm

It's not clear why, but the page seems to be auto generated.

Posted by dwallach at 6:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

No news is usually good news, but since I hadn't heard from CC about my USB drive, I gave them a call this evening to check on the status of my item. After a 10+ minutes phone call (mostly spent on hold while "Melissa" researched it), I found out little. Basically, it's still OOS, but with a new ETA of tomorrow (instead of last Tuesday).

Posted by dwallach at 6:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Costco is selling art. Fine art. Expensive art. Like "Atelier De Cannes" by Pablo Picasso, Original Crayon Drawing 1958, $129,999.99

Good prices, supposedly, but expensive nonetheless.

At least they include free shipping, albeit ground.

From the item description:

Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) is widely considered to be one of the greatest artists of the 20th century. This versatile, Spanish born artist was an expert painter, printer and sculptor. He mastered various mediums, and is most renowned for pioneering the Blue and Pink Period and the Cubism movement. Today, six of the top ten most expensive and coveted paintings are by Pablo Picasso.

My conversation about this with a friend who is a lawyer-to-be:

David: just what you needed
LTB: fake?
David: for $130 grand, I sure hope not
LTB: I would love a Picasso
LTB: seems cheap for a real Picasso
David: free shipping!
LTB: 130K and you get UPS ground?
David: yeah well, that way they can dump a heavy box on it and ruin it
LTB: good thing
David: From the item description:
Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) is widely considered to be one of the greatest artists of the 20th century. This versatile, Spanish born artist was an expert painter, printer and sculptor. He mastered various mediums, and is most renowned for pioneering the Blue and Pink Period and the Cubism movement. Today, six of the top ten most expensive and coveted paintings are by Pablo Picasso.
So, he mastered various mediums, but chose to color with a crayon...
LTB: are there lifetime returns on this?
David: dunno
LTB: Are you questioning Picasso? or the authenticity of a Picasso sold on Costco.com?
David: picasso
LTB: well then you are an idiot
David: you're welcome to your opinion, and I, mine
David: this "drawing" is a piece of kindergarden work
LTB: I think your appreciation of art needs work, even if this drawing is not one of his best works
David: to each his own
David: tell me, what does this piece say to you?
LTB: I will not comment unless I see it in person
David: lol, you are a sheep
LTB: you are annoying
LTB: I am a big fan of Picasso, even if he did churn out a huge amount of product
LTB: you have no appreciation for art
David: no, I just define art, and it's value, a bit differently
LTB: so what do you value?
LTB: Communist realism?
LTB: do you know any artist you like?
David: I don't judge artwork by artist, but by appeal to my taste
LTB: so what appeals to your taste?
LTB: although, it is possible you have none

Posted by dwallach at 2:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Well, it doesn't exist in the land of Google, at least. I tried to find an address in Google Maps located on Central Park South, but all Google did for me was list two wrong options:

160 Central Park W, New York, NY 10023
160 Cathedral Pky, New York, NY 10026

I then tried listing the street as W 59th (which is what it is called where it doesn't run next to Central Park, and it "worked."

I reported the bug to Google. Maybe, for the benefit of mankind, they'll fix it. Their automated response upon submission is:

Thank you

Thank you for bringing this to our attention. With 4 million miles of roads in the U.S., there's a lot to keep straight. We hope to have this location back on the map again soon. Should we need any additional information, we'll follow up with you shortly. Although we're unable to send personal responses to every email, we do read all the feedback we receive and use it to improve the accuracy of our maps. We appreciate your patience and understanding.

Posted by dwallach at 10:10 AM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

It was a calm Sunday morning. I was checking my email, scanning FW, when all of a sudden I came across the a thread entitled SanDisk Cruzer Mini 1GB $12.99 AR @ Circuit City. The text of the OP was simple: "Unfortunately, several rebates need to be mailed. Not available for delivery, but was able to order for in-store pick-up. Link". I followed the link, and indeed, the drive was listed at $12.99 after what turned out to be 4 rebates. An unbelievable price, I quickly opened a FatCash window, clicked the CC (Circuit City) link, added it to cart, and checked out. It wasn't available for delivery so I chose in-store pickup at the only nearby store with stock. I instantly got an email informed me that it was ready for pick-up.

The math worked out as follows:
$104.99 (regular price) - $14 (sale) - $78 (4 rebates) = $12.99 + $7.62 (tax on $90.99) - $1.97 (FatCash) = $18.64! Considering I can't recall ever seeing a 1 GB USB drive for under $50 (e.g. the Lexar drive), and that the retail price for this drive is 10x this price, it's unbelievable! As soon as I finished ordering I IMed a few friends, emailed my brother, and gave a printout to a neighbor who was in the market for one.

We had a birthday party to attend, and upon returning planned to run some errands which would bring us near the CC. We stopped at home, picked up some toys to return and checked our messages. One was from the local CC - the drive was OOS, but they would order it if I called them back.

I did, and spent 10+ minutes getting passed around as they tried to verify that it was indeed OOS, and that they could order it. At the same time I was checking the FW thread and found out that the item was no longer on CC's website (which I confirmed myself). Meanwhile, I finally thought I was getting somewhere when they were transferring me to customer service, until the phone was answered "Verizon Wireless, how may I help you?" The Verizon CSR tried to transfer me, but instead disconnected me, so I called back, finally reached a CC CSR who took hold of the case and told me she'd call me back in 10 minutes. Two hours later she called to tell me she could cancel my order and place a new one for me. NO! I yelled, as the order had to be placed online for some of the rebates, and since CC had taken the item off their website, I wouldn't be able to reorder online.

She claimed my order is still intact, and that she wouldn't delete it, and that I could check in later in the week or two following, but I'm running out of faith that I'll actually get it.

My brother tried to order, but he was too slow - it was already taken off the website. My neighbor succeeded, and chose a different (further) store for pick-up. While she hasn't yet gone, she hasn't gotten a cancellation phone call either.

Posted by dwallach at 12:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBacks (1)

I was in Rite Aid last week, and quickly scanned the ad. I noticed that Duracell batteries were on sale for 2 packages (e.g. 4 AA/AAA or 2 C/D)/$6, plus they had a $1 coupon off 2 packages, limit 1. (There was no stated limit on the sale price.) I decided to get 2 packages, and headed for the battery section. When I got there I discovered that they also had a variable rebate:
$3 for a $10+ battery purchase or
$6 for a $14+ battery purchase or
$10 for a $20+ battery purchase.

Two packages would cost $8.98 retail, $6 sale, $5 after coupon. I had no idea which amount would be used for calculating the rebate value, so I began running through different options in my mind, with different size packages (trying to determine if any of the larger packs were more cost effect than the smaller sale packs). Complicating things were two issues: 1) I was in a rush, and 2) I wasn't sure they'd honor the sale price on more than two packs. In fact, I was pretty sure they wouldn't.

I ended up grabbing 5 packages (I'm not sure how I came to that number), and checked out. They rang up the batteries, and the way their register works, it was unclear what price things were ringing up for. The coupon didn't ring up right either - the register didn't seem to accept it, so the clerk had to do an override.

When the purchase went through, I wasn't sure what they had charged me. It wasn't until I got home that I had a chance to analyze the receipt and found that they had charged each pack at $3, as desired, plus taken off $4.49, the retail price of a package, instead of $1, for the coupon.

With great curiousity, I submitted the rebate online, and just this morning found out that it's a $6 rebate.

The final cost on these batteries is as follows:
$11.77 (including tax, after coupon) - $6 (rebate) = 5.77, or $0.2885 per battery. Usually when I buy batteries I get them for around $0.50+tax, so I'm pleased.

Posted by dwallach at 8:43 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I use unique email addresses for most things that I sign up for, and can easily tell when my email address has been given/traded/sold/etc. away (and by whom). Overstock has done it twice, and now Ebates has as well. They suck!

UPDATE: Reader Lippy inquires as to whether their reserved the right to sell email addresses. The short answer, No. The long answer:

Their TOS include the following "relevant" paragraphs. I added the bolding.

DISCLOSURE OF ACCOUNT INFORMATION

22. You authorize Ebates to disclose to third parties information you have provided, or information that Ebates has obtained about your Ebates account or shopping behavior: (i) to agents of Ebates or its affiliates, such as independent auditors, consultants or attorneys; (ii) to comply with government agency or court orders or requests; (iii) in providing aggregated and non-personalized marketing services for an advertising or merchant partner, or (iv) where it is necessary for redemption or transfer of your cash back rewards. Further, you authorize Ebates to receive any account information from any Affiliate Merchant including, but not limited to information regarding the Qualified Purchase such as the products ordered, the order number, the time and date the Qualified Purchase occurred, the email address entered for the Qualified Purchase. You agree to hold the Affiliated Merchant harmless for any information disclosed to Ebates. If you choose to download the Moe Money Maker™, you allow Ebates to collect, use and sell non- personalized marketing information regarding your visits and purchases to internet commerce sites.

23. By signing up for membership at Ebates, you agree to let us email you shopping-related emails as well as communications related to your account administration (e.g. that we've added money to your account, that we are mailing you a check on a certain date, etc). You can opt-out to any or all of our marketing emails. We send three different types of shopping-related emails: The Savings Newsletter, Bonus Offers, and Specials and Coupons. Each of these can be unsubscribed to separately, or you can unsubscribe to all our promotional emails in one step. Just head to your account page and hit the 'click here to edit your profile' link and you'll see all the options. Alternatively, you can unsubscribe to any or all promotional mailings by following the unsubscribe link on any of these emails. Since we need to communicate account information with you in order to run your account, you can't unsubscribe from account information emails. But rest assured that we don't send account emails unnecessarily. These are not promotional emails, and are only used to notify you that a check is on the way, that we put money in your account, that we need a mailing address to send your check to, that we mailed you a check and it returned to us as having a bad address, and so forth. If you don't wish to ever hear from us, even if just to hear that we tracked your purchase and awarded you a cash back reward, you can close down your account by contacting customer service. But frankly we'll be quite offended.

Posted by dwallach at 12:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBacks (0)

You must order by catalog number. (Regular links do not show the sale price.)

385746-VR Black wire mesh CD holder - $2.74 ($10.98 reg)
199984-VR Memo Books - .89 ($3.58 reg)
200006-S8 Memo Books - .89 ($3.58 reg)
199992-S8 Memo Books - .89 ($3.58 reg)
200014-S8 Memo Books - .89 (3.58 reg)
412775-VR Yellow Highliters - .62 ($2.48 reg)
412783-VR Asst Highliters - .62 ($2.48 reg)
393382-VR Bulldog Mag clips - .92 ($3.68 reg)
229690-VR 8" Scissors 3-pak - $1.99 ($7.99 reg)
480112-VR Gold Jumbo paperclips - .69 ($2.78 reg)
218420-VR Desktop Filerack - $1.59 (6.37 reg)
121715-VR Plastic clipboard - .99 (3.98 reg)
510399-VR Cube Clips - $3.19 ($12.78 reg)
380292-VR Poly string envelopes top open - $2.14 ($8.57 reg)
380293-VR Poly string envelopes side open - $2.14 (8.57 reg)
650499-VR Anchor pen - .69 ($2.85 reg)
481323-VR Satin Binder Clips - .92 ($3.68 reg)
237610-VR White Scratch Sheets - .88 ($3.55 reg)
458240-VR Liquid Glue pens - .39 ($1.58 reg)
506873-S8 Carton Cutters - $2.99 ($11.99 reg)
486111-S8 32CD Wallet - $2.19 ($8.98 reg)
486112-S8 64CD Wallet - $3.29 ($13.48 reg)
382956-S8 Mouse Pad - .62 ($2.48 reg)
382954-S8 Mouse Pad - .62 ($2.48 reg)
382957-S8 Mouse Pad - .62 ($2.48 reg)
382952-S8 Mouse Pad - .62 ($2.48 reg)
382955-S8 Mouse Pad - .62 ($2.48 reg)

All items have a limit of 5 per customer.

Posted by dwallach at 11:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Staples has some Fuji Photo Paper* FAR this week. About an hour ago they sent me an email about it. But it's OOS. I complained, but got no where. The guy just kept telling me to try again later in the week. So that I'll do.

*20 Packs of the following:
Fuji Premium Plus Photo Paper, 8 1/2" x 11", 20/Pack (569127)
Fuji Premium Plus Photo Paper, 4" x 6", 20/Pack (569126)
The rebates seem to allow two of each.

Posted by dwallach at 1:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

I'm still around, just been busy lately. More posts to come later.

Posted by dwallach at 12:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I was ordering 2 cameras and 2 memory cards for each. There was a $70 off $450 coupon available, and I also had a $35 concession coupon that I wanted to use up. Though the two coupons wouldn't stack, since the criteria for the $70 coupon could me met with 2 cameras and 1 card, I was able to order 1 memory card separately, and use the concession coupon. However, when I placed the memory card order, I forgot to use the concession coupon.

I had two main choices:
1) Contact Dell and try to get the coupon added
2) Place a second (third) order with the concession coupon, then cancel the first (second) order.

I decided to go with option #2. When I tried to cancel, I got the following response from Dell:

Dear Mr. Wallach,

Thank you for contacting Dell's online consumer Customer Care.

Mr. Wallach, I understand that you wanted to cancel the order.

I apologize but at this point we are unable to cancel your order, as the order has been sent to the vendor to fill and ship and cannot be cancelled at this point. Hence I request you receive the delivery of the order and then get back to me and I will initiate a request to credit your account for the Digital Card.

However, as a customer care courtesy and in appreciation of you being a valuable customer, I am offering you a discount coupon of $35.00, which you are welcome to use in your next online purchase from our Software and Accessories department. I hope you will be pleased with this offer and send me the confirmation at it?s earliest. Upon receiving confirmation, I will provide you the coupon code.

I sincerely hope that our future service opportunities will be nothing less than your complete satisfaction. Once again, I thank you for your time and patience. They are both greatly appreciated. We value you as our customer and your satisfaction is very important to us.

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to assist you. I hope to have addressed all your concerns to your satisfaction. Your case number for this interaction is XXXXXXXXX. Please keep this number for your records. It will help us keep track of this issue so we can better assist you if you have any further questions or concerns about your order.

If you have any further questions or concerns

Please visit us at:

www.DellCustomerCare.com

Again, thank you for choosing Dell Online Consumer Customer Care and
have a nice day.

Respectfully,

Rajesh

From a purely language-logic standpoint, without making basic business assumptions, what do you think Rajesh meant?

1) Item will be refunded? [Yes or No]
2) Item will need to be returned? [Yes or No]
3) $35 Concession coupon will be issued? [Yes or No]

Post your interpretations below.

Posted by dwallach at 8:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

Department of Environmental Protection Urges That Fire Hydrants Remain Closed

Free Hydrant Spray Caps Available

Commissioner Emily Lloyd of the New York City Department of Environmental Protection urged New Yorkers today to not open fire hydrants illegally during the current heat wave. Hydrants can be opened legally with a free, City-issued spray cap.

“Hydrants are for fighting fires, and should be used responsibly,” said Commissioner Lloyd. “Illegally opened hydrants can lower water pressure, causing problems at hospitals and other medical care facilities, and hindering fire-fighting by reducing the flow of water to hoses and pumps. Also, children can be at serious risk, because the powerful force of a open hydrant without a spray cap can push them into oncoming traffic.”

The penalty for opening a hydrant without a spray cap is $500. To report illegally opened hydrants or other water or sewer complaints, call the City’s 24-hour help line at 311.

Hydrants can be opened legally if equipped with a City-approved spray cap. One illegally opened hydrant wastes up to 1,000 gallons of water per minute, while a hydrant with a spray cap only puts out around 25 gallons per minute. Spray caps can be obtained by an adult 18 or over, free of charge, at local firehouses.

UPDATE: Thanks to reader Shaya, the following links:
Hydra Shield® Security Cap
Hydra-Shield® Spray Cap

Posted by dwallach at 11:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The next Staples Customer Appreciation Week will actually be two weeks: 7/31/05 - 8/13/05. The 12% coupon is already available for download

Posted by dwallach at 2:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Spend $79 on Pampers Products, Get $30 Off a Future Purchase at Amazon.com

Simply spend $79 or more on Pampers products offered by Amazon.com between June 1 and June 30, 2005, and we will e-mail you a promotional certificate for $30 between August 11 and August 25, 2005. This offer applies only to single orders of $79 or more consisting of products offered by Amazon.com. It does not apply to products sold on our site by third-party merchants or through third-party areas such as Amazon.com Marketplace, Auctions, or zShops.

The promotional certificate will contain a code good toward the purchase of products offered by Amazon.com. After receiving the promotional code by e-mail, you will have 30 days to apply it toward a purchase. Your promotional code will expire on September 26, 2005.

Posted by dwallach at 9:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (1)

I have an old Palm IIIxe. It has served me well since around January 2001, as I recall. It was one of my first FW deals, before I even knew what FW was. (Shaya told me about the deal - I ended up ordering one for me and one for my mom.)

Over the last few weeks it has been acting up, and started getting into such a crashed funk that I had to do heavy duty resets in order to revive it. I'd restore and reinstall everything, only to have it crash again. After a few crashes I noticed a pattern - it would crash when the alarm sounded. Frustrated, and with nothing to lose, I took the Palm apart. I cleaned the entire thing out as best I could (there was lots of dust/lint in it), and put it back together.

So far so good! Though I don't seem to have snapped it back together 100% (the right side is a bit loose), it does work, and the alarm has sounded several times - with no crashing!

Now I get to put off upgrading for another arbitrary amount of time. (I had a similar experience in the past. My Palm used to randomly reset while in my pocket. Frustrated with it, I shook it, only to find that there was actually something loose inside. I shook it some more, and eventually managed to ease the small piece of mystery material out of the Palm. After that, it stopped crashing.)

Posted by dwallach at 12:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (1)

These evil wastes started as floppy disks, which weren't so bad considering you could format them and reuse them. As their program became more bloated, CD-ROMs more prolific, and CDs cheaper, they switched to ... CDs. Now they're useless - the CDs can't be reused, and yet they come at you from every direction. In the mail, in stores, etc.

In an apparent attempt to gain attention*, AOL frequently changes shipping containers. They have used DVD cases, thin plastic mini-cases, metal tins of varying sizes, and even simple paper/cardboard mailers. The latest packaging I've seen is possibly the strangest. A hard cardboard box, roughly square, with a flat coming off the top that magnetically stays in place thanks to a conveniently place magnet in both the flap and the side of the box. Given that no one would ever use this box for anything, why bother with the magnet?

Regardless, my dislike for their ever-present CDs got the ol' brain juices flowing, and I thought of a way they might just stop sending them out.

Though this idea would work best if actually carried out, the mere rumor of the following "problem" would suffice. If AOL CDs loaded with viruses suddenly entered the marketplace, the negative publicity that would certainly follow would surely cause AOL to re-think their mass-mailing program, if not end it altogether.

Of course the numerous legal issues involved in actually carrying out this plot, or even spreading the rumors, are an issue to be reckoned with, ones I'm not interested in tackling myself.

*Or because they have exhausted the world's supply of various types of CD cases.

Posted by dwallach at 10:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

YUCS (my host) has a hard drive ... problem a few days ago. It's taken Shaya a few days to get everything straightened out, but things are up and running again, though DNS updates may take a few days.

Posted by dwallach at 1:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)