I read that the $200 trade-in was still going on (at Best Buy) until Nov.1. Here is my dilemma:
1. My provider is Verizon (Oct. 24 launch day)
2. Best Buy says they won't have enough on launch day, as mentioned in other threads.
3. Today (the 22nd) is the supposed last day I can pre-order at Verizon...but it is going on until November 1st?
4. Best Buy is saying that I will get reimbursed for my phone when I pick it up.
5. I verify that this could mean after Nov.1, in which they agree....well at least half of the employees, the other half say that I won't.
6. Everything I ask at Best Buy is filled with contradictions.
7. I just want the DANG phone.
So, has anybody actually done this program with success, is it a scam, anything else I should know? Bonus question...should I wait for Black Friday?
Yep, I'm getting different answers from Best Buy also, depending upon who you talk to and which store it is.
My best guess is that they will honor $200 after the 11/1, as long as you've ordered it before 11/1.
Your choices seem to be
1) Order from Best Buy, and take the $200 when you trade in your old phone.
2) Order from Best Buy, if they don't offer you the $200 dollars for your trade-in, cancel your order and keep your old phone.
3) Order from Best Buy, if they don't offer you the $200 then buy the phone at full price and sell your old phone for whatever you can get for it.
4) Buy the phone from full price someplace else, and get what you can for selling your old phone.
Ultimately you've got odds for the best deal at Best Buy. If you get the $200, great. If not, then you're haven't paid any more for it than you would have elsewhere.
So go to Best Buy and preorder the N4 before the deal expires.
Thanks for the info....my other question is why would Best Buy give me $200 for a smart phone worth only $38 dollars otherwise? I smell scam? However, I hope not lol.
I think best buy gives what you deserve and Samsung takes care of the rest. They want their phone in your hand.
Its incentive...
They're taking $200 off your $300 bill and taking a phone that they'll flip on cowboom for probably 100+ anyway.
Samsung is also offering a similar rebate so no its not a scam.
Edit: Im sure best buy also gets some sort of kickbacks from verizon per 2 year agreement signed (which this deal requires) too
I love that there are questions asking if a major big box store is running a scam.
Why do people think rebate programs offered by a national retailer are a "scam?"
Look on their website. There are almost certainly terms and conditions for the trade in program.
Most retailers offer a "raincheck" program that protects you in the event your purchase can't be delivered in time to take advantage of the rebate.
In other words, order the phone online or in the store to take advantage of the rebate. They will honor the rebate regardless of delivery date if you read the T&C of the program and follow their instructions for it.
Best Buy's offer does NOT apply if you are paying full retail for the phone.
You must use a Verizon upgrade, and sign up for another two years.
It's the Geek Squad let down.
Thanks
Perhaps, I can lay into this a little bit....it's called going to Best Buy and getting 10 different answers from 10 different people. Nobody makes you feel secure on anything they are doing. I went to 3 different Best Buys and found the same work mentality. It is literally mind-blowing to see a major retailer so out of touch with the products they are selling. Therefore, if you go into Best Buy and ask for yourself the same question you will answer your own question.
It is this way with every major retailer today. No retailer spends any money training their employees beyond a bare minimum.
The burden is on you, the consumer, to research the information yourself and walk into the store prepared to get what you want.
"I need to pre-order the Note 4 today and lock in my $200 trade-in rebate with Verizon. The deadline is Nov 1. Per the conditions listed on your website, which I have printed out for our reference in this conversation, I need the flux capacitor provided by you when you ring up the pre-order sale. Per the conditions (point to the paragraph) this is what I need in the event the phone is not delivered prior to Nov. 1. Can you take care of this for me?"
I'm fully aware of the blank stare effect you get from many retail employees. That's no slap against them. They can't provide information they aren't given by their employers. Some are slackers, sure, but in my experience there are plenty that enjoy their jobs enough to be helpful and have a good attitude, even if they don't know much in the way of specifics.
I gave up counting on store employees to know more than me about a specific purchase deal years ago. I go in prepared with documentation if necessary. If it is too complicated of a transaction to complete, I pass on it. Life's too short.
Retail employees lack of knowledge and not being up to date on details is nothing new. While I agree it's a big problem, that problem has nothing to do with you thinking that a reputable nationwide chain is running a 'scam'. If you really don't want to ask their employees, the answer to your question including all of the fine print is very clearly posted on their website.
Samsung Galaxy Note 4 128267 - Best Buy
i have to chime in so bare with me, the best buy near my house i pre-ordered a note 4...all they had was white so i purchased the $50 gift card. A few days later i called a best buy near my job to see if they had an iphone 6 128gb for my wife. they said they did. I get there and they did not but after speaking with them they were still had black note 4 pre-orders. so i had them cancel my first pre-order for the white and opened a new one with them...of course at the cost of a $50 gift card. Later that day on my way home i stopped at a 3rd best buy between my job and home. they had the iphone 6 i was looking for so i purchased it for my wife. Somewhere during the process of my buying the phone for my wife the rep cancelled my pre-order which was on a different line. I was not aware of this. release day came and went so i stopped by the best buy yesterday to see about my pre-order. this is when i found out it was cancelled. sigh...think i am just going to keep my note 2 until something better from another brand comes out. Samsung really let me down on this one w/o having any phones available.
I used the script above and now I wait, patiently.
My understanding with Best Buy is you can do Edge on Verizon and you can pay the full amount....
Yes, and no.
Edge is still considered an upgrade by Verizon, that you have to be eligible for just like any other upgrade. If you are eligible, then you can use the Edge upgrade at Best Buy.
They offered me Edge when I pre-ordered at BB, and I am a new subscriber. In light of this, I guess you don't have to be upgrade eligible.
Got mine from BB today. Great service, got the $200 off, used a data line with upgrade and then they switched my S4 sim in the device for my line. Unlimited data.
I used the trade in not once, but 3 times this week. Once for a Gallaxy S5 for my sons. One for yself for my Note 4 (which I reordered) and one for my husband, which I did NOT reorder, they just happened to have an extra on hand. It's not a scam. Nothing about it is a scam. And if you had preordered the phone like the rest of us, you would have to worry about trying to rush to get one in the first week they were released. There already were a few extras at each location today and there will be more next week. But you can't be mad now that you may miss out on a launch promotion after chosing not to preorder.
Oh, and if any of you are on Verizon edge plan, you can't trade your current phone fore the credit. Your current phone has to be mailed in. But you can trade in any other smart phone if you still have any.
I traded in 3 phones that wee all 3-5 years old and got 3 $200 gift cards.
That's half true. If you're eligible to switch to the edge plan, then you can do the trade in (just not with your current phone) and the cost of the phone gets divided among your monthly bills. So if you have another phone you can trade in, the only thing you have to pay is taxes on the phone ($45 I believe) and you still get a $200 gift card. I use geek squad protection vs Verizon's crap protection plan, so I basically got 2 years free protection for trading in a 5 year old phone.
$200 offer was extended until Nov.1st....so, don't hate the playa hate the game.
Took in my droid eris yesterday. Not a clue what its even worth, but the took it none the less.
I had a great Best Buy experience yesterday morning. I got to the store at 10 in the morning and was out in 1 1/2 hour, took awhile because I was getting the Note 4 on Verizon Edge using my sons number and activating on that number and then moving it to my number. I think it went smoothly because I had talked a few times to the Samsung rep and the Mobile Center manager on the whole promotion. The mobile center rep that helped me had recently moved from Verizon to Best Buy and knew what he was doing. (Note I talked to the same two people and not EVERY Best Buy rep in the store). If you talk to 10 different people, you can expect different answers.
This particular store had not received "any" version of the Note 4 until today, and I was the first person to get one. The Samsung rep came over and took a picture of me holding up the box and gave me a gift bag of Samsung goodies that consisted of a thermo mug, flashlight, pens, and hand sanitize. The store got in 20 Verizon versions of which only 12 were pre-orders, and 20 each for AT&T and Sprint.
I received the $200 GC for trading in a Blackberry Bold that had a TIV of $24. The rep said, if it didn't have any value, it would still have been OK. I received another $50 GC for the rewards member upgrade promotion from Feb. Now I have a total of $300 in GC (counting the initial $50 GC that was required to PURCHASE to reserve the phone.
Just wanted everyone to know that it is the people that make a place a good experience or a bad experience.
What I don't understand is the people complaining that they can't get a pre-order or the store doesn't have the phones and so on. This promotion has been going on for over a month and was even extended. If you always wait until hours before ANY promotion ends, you should EXPECT that you might be too late for getting what you want immediately.
Took an hour for me. I did a similar thing but my son had a full upgrade. They had to call in a few times and wait for customer service to reactivate his iPhone he is keeping.
Great service none the less!
After visiting Verizon this a.m. - they told me yesterday they would have a 'shipment' of Note 4's - they received 4 and were sold out in minutes....I went over to Best Buy.... and bottom line: I bought the black Note 4 (it was NOT preordered) ...I 'traded' in my Note 2 - was in very good condition -- they gave me a gift card for $200 which I used to buy the Note 4... I live in So. Cal - and with taxes on the full price and the stupid 'upgrade' charge, I walked out of there paying $159. They transferred everything from my Note 2 to the Note 4 and I watched while they wiped the Note 2 clean....the Samsung rep. gave me a few mini tutorials for the new stuff and I was out of there a very happy camper.... hope this answers some questions as to what Best Buy is doing... they told me the $200 trade in was good 'til the end of the month.
Not sure why some people saying "getting $200" from BB when every Best Buy here in Jersey *only* gives you $200 gift card to spend more money in the store (most likely subsidized by Sammy). You don't get the actual $200 back in your pocket If you want the actual $200 off, you go to Verizon and trade in your old phone (for example, they were offering $100 for my Note 2), and then submit a form to Sammy so they can send you the other $100 in the mail. This way you will have the actual $200 off your purchase, not GC to get you into spending more money at BB.
Since I have unlimited data, all the bets were off for me and I just paid $699 ordering it directly from Verizon, receiving it exactly on Thursday, and still in the box until I get cases
Waiting for Seidio SURFACE and UAG black and crystal cases now (probably due to arrive early next week). Of course, you guys should expect reviews soon!
Get it from the carrier directly, avoid the middle man drama...
BB here in KY are applying the $200 directly when trading old device and getting the Note 4. The gift card is an option, but BB asks if rather use for immediate payment towards the N4. I chose immediate payment.
I used the BBC gift cards to buy Visa cards. I had a $5 reward certificate to use against the $5.95 activation fee.
BB in IL applied the $200 directly to the purchase of the phone as well.
1. My provider is Verizon (Oct. 24 launch day)
2. Best Buy says they won't have enough on launch day, as mentioned in other threads.
3. Today (the 22nd) is the supposed last day I can pre-order at Verizon...but it is going on until November 1st?
4. Best Buy is saying that I will get reimbursed for my phone when I pick it up.
5. I verify that this could mean after Nov.1, in which they agree....well at least half of the employees, the other half say that I won't.
6. Everything I ask at Best Buy is filled with contradictions.
7. I just want the DANG phone.
So, has anybody actually done this program with success, is it a scam, anything else I should know? Bonus question...should I wait for Black Friday?
Yep, I'm getting different answers from Best Buy also, depending upon who you talk to and which store it is.
My best guess is that they will honor $200 after the 11/1, as long as you've ordered it before 11/1.
Your choices seem to be
1) Order from Best Buy, and take the $200 when you trade in your old phone.
2) Order from Best Buy, if they don't offer you the $200 dollars for your trade-in, cancel your order and keep your old phone.
3) Order from Best Buy, if they don't offer you the $200 then buy the phone at full price and sell your old phone for whatever you can get for it.
4) Buy the phone from full price someplace else, and get what you can for selling your old phone.
Ultimately you've got odds for the best deal at Best Buy. If you get the $200, great. If not, then you're haven't paid any more for it than you would have elsewhere.
So go to Best Buy and preorder the N4 before the deal expires.
Thanks for the info....my other question is why would Best Buy give me $200 for a smart phone worth only $38 dollars otherwise? I smell scam? However, I hope not lol.
I think best buy gives what you deserve and Samsung takes care of the rest. They want their phone in your hand.
Its incentive...
They're taking $200 off your $300 bill and taking a phone that they'll flip on cowboom for probably 100+ anyway.
Samsung is also offering a similar rebate so no its not a scam.
Edit: Im sure best buy also gets some sort of kickbacks from verizon per 2 year agreement signed (which this deal requires) too
I love that there are questions asking if a major big box store is running a scam.
Why do people think rebate programs offered by a national retailer are a "scam?"
Look on their website. There are almost certainly terms and conditions for the trade in program.
Most retailers offer a "raincheck" program that protects you in the event your purchase can't be delivered in time to take advantage of the rebate.
In other words, order the phone online or in the store to take advantage of the rebate. They will honor the rebate regardless of delivery date if you read the T&C of the program and follow their instructions for it.
Best Buy's offer does NOT apply if you are paying full retail for the phone.
You must use a Verizon upgrade, and sign up for another two years.
It's the Geek Squad let down.
Thanks
Perhaps, I can lay into this a little bit....it's called going to Best Buy and getting 10 different answers from 10 different people. Nobody makes you feel secure on anything they are doing. I went to 3 different Best Buys and found the same work mentality. It is literally mind-blowing to see a major retailer so out of touch with the products they are selling. Therefore, if you go into Best Buy and ask for yourself the same question you will answer your own question.
It is this way with every major retailer today. No retailer spends any money training their employees beyond a bare minimum.
The burden is on you, the consumer, to research the information yourself and walk into the store prepared to get what you want.
"I need to pre-order the Note 4 today and lock in my $200 trade-in rebate with Verizon. The deadline is Nov 1. Per the conditions listed on your website, which I have printed out for our reference in this conversation, I need the flux capacitor provided by you when you ring up the pre-order sale. Per the conditions (point to the paragraph) this is what I need in the event the phone is not delivered prior to Nov. 1. Can you take care of this for me?"
I'm fully aware of the blank stare effect you get from many retail employees. That's no slap against them. They can't provide information they aren't given by their employers. Some are slackers, sure, but in my experience there are plenty that enjoy their jobs enough to be helpful and have a good attitude, even if they don't know much in the way of specifics.
I gave up counting on store employees to know more than me about a specific purchase deal years ago. I go in prepared with documentation if necessary. If it is too complicated of a transaction to complete, I pass on it. Life's too short.
Retail employees lack of knowledge and not being up to date on details is nothing new. While I agree it's a big problem, that problem has nothing to do with you thinking that a reputable nationwide chain is running a 'scam'. If you really don't want to ask their employees, the answer to your question including all of the fine print is very clearly posted on their website.
Samsung Galaxy Note 4 128267 - Best Buy
i have to chime in so bare with me, the best buy near my house i pre-ordered a note 4...all they had was white so i purchased the $50 gift card. A few days later i called a best buy near my job to see if they had an iphone 6 128gb for my wife. they said they did. I get there and they did not but after speaking with them they were still had black note 4 pre-orders. so i had them cancel my first pre-order for the white and opened a new one with them...of course at the cost of a $50 gift card. Later that day on my way home i stopped at a 3rd best buy between my job and home. they had the iphone 6 i was looking for so i purchased it for my wife. Somewhere during the process of my buying the phone for my wife the rep cancelled my pre-order which was on a different line. I was not aware of this. release day came and went so i stopped by the best buy yesterday to see about my pre-order. this is when i found out it was cancelled. sigh...think i am just going to keep my note 2 until something better from another brand comes out. Samsung really let me down on this one w/o having any phones available.
I used the script above and now I wait, patiently.
My understanding with Best Buy is you can do Edge on Verizon and you can pay the full amount....
Yes, and no.
Edge is still considered an upgrade by Verizon, that you have to be eligible for just like any other upgrade. If you are eligible, then you can use the Edge upgrade at Best Buy.
They offered me Edge when I pre-ordered at BB, and I am a new subscriber. In light of this, I guess you don't have to be upgrade eligible.
Got mine from BB today. Great service, got the $200 off, used a data line with upgrade and then they switched my S4 sim in the device for my line. Unlimited data.
I used the trade in not once, but 3 times this week. Once for a Gallaxy S5 for my sons. One for yself for my Note 4 (which I reordered) and one for my husband, which I did NOT reorder, they just happened to have an extra on hand. It's not a scam. Nothing about it is a scam. And if you had preordered the phone like the rest of us, you would have to worry about trying to rush to get one in the first week they were released. There already were a few extras at each location today and there will be more next week. But you can't be mad now that you may miss out on a launch promotion after chosing not to preorder.
Oh, and if any of you are on Verizon edge plan, you can't trade your current phone fore the credit. Your current phone has to be mailed in. But you can trade in any other smart phone if you still have any.
I traded in 3 phones that wee all 3-5 years old and got 3 $200 gift cards.
That's half true. If you're eligible to switch to the edge plan, then you can do the trade in (just not with your current phone) and the cost of the phone gets divided among your monthly bills. So if you have another phone you can trade in, the only thing you have to pay is taxes on the phone ($45 I believe) and you still get a $200 gift card. I use geek squad protection vs Verizon's crap protection plan, so I basically got 2 years free protection for trading in a 5 year old phone.
$200 offer was extended until Nov.1st....so, don't hate the playa hate the game.
Took in my droid eris yesterday. Not a clue what its even worth, but the took it none the less.
I had a great Best Buy experience yesterday morning. I got to the store at 10 in the morning and was out in 1 1/2 hour, took awhile because I was getting the Note 4 on Verizon Edge using my sons number and activating on that number and then moving it to my number. I think it went smoothly because I had talked a few times to the Samsung rep and the Mobile Center manager on the whole promotion. The mobile center rep that helped me had recently moved from Verizon to Best Buy and knew what he was doing. (Note I talked to the same two people and not EVERY Best Buy rep in the store). If you talk to 10 different people, you can expect different answers.
This particular store had not received "any" version of the Note 4 until today, and I was the first person to get one. The Samsung rep came over and took a picture of me holding up the box and gave me a gift bag of Samsung goodies that consisted of a thermo mug, flashlight, pens, and hand sanitize. The store got in 20 Verizon versions of which only 12 were pre-orders, and 20 each for AT&T and Sprint.
I received the $200 GC for trading in a Blackberry Bold that had a TIV of $24. The rep said, if it didn't have any value, it would still have been OK. I received another $50 GC for the rewards member upgrade promotion from Feb. Now I have a total of $300 in GC (counting the initial $50 GC that was required to PURCHASE to reserve the phone.
Just wanted everyone to know that it is the people that make a place a good experience or a bad experience.
What I don't understand is the people complaining that they can't get a pre-order or the store doesn't have the phones and so on. This promotion has been going on for over a month and was even extended. If you always wait until hours before ANY promotion ends, you should EXPECT that you might be too late for getting what you want immediately.
Took an hour for me. I did a similar thing but my son had a full upgrade. They had to call in a few times and wait for customer service to reactivate his iPhone he is keeping.
Great service none the less!
After visiting Verizon this a.m. - they told me yesterday they would have a 'shipment' of Note 4's - they received 4 and were sold out in minutes....I went over to Best Buy.... and bottom line: I bought the black Note 4 (it was NOT preordered) ...I 'traded' in my Note 2 - was in very good condition -- they gave me a gift card for $200 which I used to buy the Note 4... I live in So. Cal - and with taxes on the full price and the stupid 'upgrade' charge, I walked out of there paying $159. They transferred everything from my Note 2 to the Note 4 and I watched while they wiped the Note 2 clean....the Samsung rep. gave me a few mini tutorials for the new stuff and I was out of there a very happy camper.... hope this answers some questions as to what Best Buy is doing... they told me the $200 trade in was good 'til the end of the month.
Not sure why some people saying "getting $200" from BB when every Best Buy here in Jersey *only* gives you $200 gift card to spend more money in the store (most likely subsidized by Sammy). You don't get the actual $200 back in your pocket
If you want the actual $200 off, you go to Verizon and trade in your old phone (for example, they were offering $100 for my Note 2), and then submit a form to Sammy so they can send you the other $100 in the mail. This way you will have the actual $200 off your purchase, not GC to get you into spending more money at BB.Since I have unlimited data, all the bets were off for me and I just paid $699 ordering it directly from Verizon, receiving it exactly on Thursday, and still in the box until I get cases
Waiting for Seidio SURFACE and UAG black and crystal cases now (probably due to arrive early next week). Of course, you guys should expect reviews soon!
Get it from the carrier directly, avoid the middle man drama...
Not sure why some people saying "getting $200" from BB when every Best Buy here in Jersey *only* gives you $200 gift card to spend more money in the store (most likely subsidized by Sammy). You don't get the actual $200 back in your pocket
Since I have unlimited data, all the bets were off for me and I just paid $699 ordering it directly from Verizon, receiving it exactly on Thursday, and still in the box until I get cases
Waiting for Seidio SURFACE and UAG black and crystal cases now (probably due to arrive early next week). Of course, you guys should expect reviews soon!
BB here in KY are applying the $200 directly when trading old device and getting the Note 4. The gift card is an option, but BB asks if rather use for immediate payment towards the N4. I chose immediate payment.
I used the BBC gift cards to buy Visa cards. I had a $5 reward certificate to use against the $5.95 activation fee.
BB in IL applied the $200 directly to the purchase of the phone as well.
