PayPal Eggxasperation
So PayPal sent the following e-mail out to consumers with the words, "Get 20% Cash Back. For a limited time at select merchants."
(Image courtesy of PayPal)
Bargain Hunter Jerry jumped on the deal, as did many, many, many others, apparently. Here's his report about Cyber Monday Blues:
Which is worse: Spending the night in the cold outside a big box store on Black Friday only to find out that the guy in front of you got the last of whatever item dragged you out there in the first place. Or: Finding a great deal online on Cyber Monday only to discover later that you may not get the promotional rebate that actually made your purchase a real deal?
The latter is what thousands are mulling over this week after a promotion by PayPal and several online retailers seems to have soured.
PayPal was offering a 20% rebate of up to $50 for shoppers at about two dozen online merchants who completed their transaction via PayPal. The rebate would be paid in January. The promotion started on Monday and was scheduled to end when the allotted rebates for each merchant ran out.
NewEgg.com, a computer retailer, advertised the promotion to its 8 million+ customers saying it was valid for three days. Too bad the rebate allotment apparently ran out by noon PST on the first day.
Unfortunately, NewEgg continued to advertise the promotion on its site for several hours afterwards so customers who ordered stuff later in the day (who also thought they were getting an automatic rebate in January) may be very disappointed. According to chatter on their Eggxpert.com forums, NewEgg's management is working on a solution. In the meantime a lot of us are in rebate limbo trying to decide whether to cancel an order before it ships or wait for some official word.
I felt I had found the ultimate deal on a Garmin Edge 305, a gps/heart rate training unit for my bike. It retails for $350, but NewEgg offers it for $250. I also found that PowerBar and Garmin were offering a $75 rebate on the unit. Combined with $50 back from PayPal, I expected my cost to be around $125, which is about what I can justify since I have two other gadgets that combined perform the same functions of this new toy. If it works out it is a sweet deal indeed.
We'll keep our fingers crossed for Jerry.
