Price Protection problem!

HP Pavilion Entertainment dv5t customizable Notebook PC
Onyx
Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium with Service Pack 1 (32-bit)
Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo Processor P8400 (2.26 GHz)
15.4" diagonal WXGA High-Definition HP BrightView Widescreen Display (1280 x 800)
FREE Upgrade to 2GB DDR2 System Memory (2 Dimm)
512MB NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT
FREE Upgrade to 250GB 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive with HP ProtectSmart Hard Drive Protection
Webcam + Fingerprint Reader
HP Color Matching Keyboard
Intel Next-Gen Wireless-N Mini-card
No Modem
SuperMulti 8X DVD+/-R/RW with Double Layer Support
No TV Tuner w/remote control
6 Cell Lithium Ion Battery
Microsoft(R) Works 9.0
HP Home & Home Office Store in-box envelope


Total: $874.99

With Coupons:
Instant discounts you received:
$150.00 Notebook instant rebate
$30.00 Coupon SV2132

With tax and free shipping: $934.06

I just called HP and spoke to them about getting a credit since that new coupon NB8543 has been issued for a 30% off! Basically I asked if I could swap the SV2132 coupon with the NB8543. HP told me there was no way I could do that. I tried explaining that I will just cancel my order and repurchase it. ( Though I really wouldn't, since they seem to not offer the 9600GT GPU anymore )

She was very unhelpful. Am I wrong in trying to switch out the 30 dollar off coupon for the 30 percent? I thought there was price protection for a reason.

 

They do not offer price protection, I've tried this before, you do have to cancel the order and replace another one. They make it somewhat hard to cancel after more than 24 hours have passed, what you can do is just place another order for a cheaper config and then refuse delivery on the more expensive one. However, since you say they no longer offer a configuration you want there's not much that can be done unfortunately.

 

That's odd. I placed my order back in December, and the price dropped by about $50 2 weeks after I placed my order so I called them up and they refunded me the difference. I didn't use any coupons at the time though so that might have complicated things?

 

The way it works is that they (HP) try to build up the system the same way that your order is placed (same components, etc.). In other words, HP will fill a shopping cart as if they were you. If their "as configured" price while you're talking to them on the phone is lower than the price that you placed the order with, they'll refund you the difference. I've had $133 refunded just a couple of days ago. I didn't want to attempt to get the sales tax refunded too (the particular agent I was working with that day was nice, but a few cans short of a sixpack )... I've had a desktop get $50 back a month or two ago (that time, the customer service agent also refunded the sales tax automatically). They generally want you to already have the computer in your hands before they will issue you a refund for price differences.

Good luck!

 

I got them to credit me $10 sine the 9600GT dropped to $40 from $50. She was building it on the site as I was talking to her and I kept telling her to select the bronze option (since the onyx which I got is not currently available with the 9600GT) and she eventually listened. But she refused to swap my coupons for the 30% off. It would only be a $10 difference so I dropped the issue.