DV9000t $200 Office Depot MIR notebook bundle + $50 HP MIR + Vista Upgrade [Total $250 OFF Exp 12/9]

http://www.techdepot.com/pro/btoconfig.asp?s=BTO6219955

This deal is beyond anything youll find at costco or costco.com or hp.com

I have been keeping a tab on this laptop ever since it was released in terms of the pricing and I can say that this is the cheapest price you will find anywhere with the exception of the one time glitch on the specials at hp.com roughly a month ago which have long been fixed (see hp forums to confirm this if you dont trust me)

The cheapest config I made was this:

Base System HP Pavilion dv9000t with HP Pavilion dv9000t
Processor Intel(R) Core(TM) Duo processor T2250 (1.73 GHz) - Edit
Notebook Display 17.0" WXGA+ BrightView Widescreen (1440x900) - Edit
Memory 1.0GB DDR2 SDRAM (2x512MB) - Edit
Operating System Genuine Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 - Edit
Hard Drive 80 GB 5400 RPM SATA Hard Drive - Edit
Optical Drive Super Multi 8X DVD+/-R/RW w/Double Layer Support-Edit
Video Card 256MB NVIDIA(R) GeForce(R) Go 7600 - Edit
Modem/PC Card Intel(R) PRO/Wireless 3945ABG Network Connection -Edit
Battery 8 Cell Lithium Ion Battery - Edit
Personalization HP IMPRINT Finish + Microphone + Webcam - Edit
TV and Entertainment None - Edit
Multifunction hp deskjet f380 all-in-one - Edit
Business Productivity Microsoft Works/Money - Edit

Total $1,041.74

Windows VIsta Upgrade Information -$0.00
$200 Office Depot MIR on HP Pavillion DV9000T notebook bundle -$200.00
$80 OFF F380/C3180 AIO PRINTER WHEN PURCHASED WITH ANY NOTEBOOK -$80.00
$50 Mail in Rebate on select HP Pavilion Notebooks -$50.00

After Rebates $711.74

==========================

Dont tell me this isnt an amazing deal!!!

 

It's a very good deal. TechDepot.com is part of OfficeDepot.com so it's a reputable online dealer too.

 

Is shipping free?

 

On every unit I've seen thru TD it's $49, but on this one it's only $39.50 for ground


17.0" WSXGA+ BrightView Widescreen (1680x1050) is a good option.

BTW: Noticed in the HP mail the units they spec out are getting this screen now, instead of ultrabrightview (two lamp 1440x900 low resolution screen) that they have previously been pushing.

Note that Microsoft Works/Money is selected by default, you'll save $50 by deselecting it...

One last thing, if you want BLUETOOTH... make sure to select it:Intel(R) PRO/Wireless 3945ABG Network w/Bluetooth
.

 

you cannot deselect works/money

 

edit: i don't see where the $200 is coming into play...or is it expired?

 

Techdepot is lame.

I orderd a laptop at 11:54 pm est 12/9 and after confirming the visual text of the $200 rebate being deducted and then showing the final price after all mail in rebates, the ending cost was correct as I expected it to be.

Well after finally hitting submit order the dam reciet showed this:

ORDER DATE: 12/10/2006 12:02:00 AM

The most wierd part of this is that I was going to go to my local office depot store and have them process the order for me but still go through techdepot.com which the sales man on the phone said was possible to do so and would allow me to be eligible for extended warranty packages on top of the initial order which was cool. I got the guys name for assurance purposes as I had some doubts about techdepot since I never orderd from them before. This call was hours before I made my order online at techdepot.com

So now that I see the $200 MIR from officedepot just vanish, I call up the local store and speak to the manager who simply blows me off and says we dont handle anything related to the online officedepot or techdepot and denies the claims the sales man gave me earlier in the day about ordering online via the local store. He says to call 800godepot.

I call the number he gave me and now Im told that my clock was wrong and that only the rebate center can authorize the $200 MIR and that I must call them monday morning. I ask tell the lady again and again that the time was well under midnight and that the receit falsely recorded 12:02 AM 12/10/2006 and she finally becomes straight up with me and says quote "most likely the rebate department will honor the $200 MIR if you explain what happend to them." I tell her well I will need some reassurance that they will honor the rebate and then she says she cant do that. I say then why did you say "most likely..." She pauses for a few seconds and after asking her twice she says "80/20 is what I ment" I ask her to repeat what she said and she them says "80% chance they will honor the rebate and 20% chance they will not"

So I go on to ask about return procedures and how to get refunded back to my AMEX CC.

Finally I then inquire about speaking to a manager and she says call back in 15 minutes. I said okay I will do that.

Thats the end of the call but I must say this is really lame know that I did the math this is what is happening:

DV9000t w/ shipping before tax -- $1336.24

After HP rebates ($50 + $80 = $130) = new grand total excluding tax -- $1206.24

Possibly Lost $200 MIR from officedepot = new grand total excluding tax -- $1006.24

Whats worse is my buddy here was going to order one as well and as he saw my order and how messed up techdepot processed the order and lost the $200 MIR, he tried to submit his but before checkout page the $200 MIR was totally gone when it should not have been (current time that happend was 11:57 PM EST) Oh and I did mention this to the lady at 800godepot and she laughed for a few seconds and then repeated the same stuff about the rebate department only being able to authorize the $200 MIR now...

How Lame.... please if anyone has any guidance or assistance to offer I would be so thankful. My goal is to get that $200 MIR somehow on monday & possibly get the 2nd laptop orderd with the $200 MIR when I call the rebate department of officedepot but I need some help here on how to go about approaching this so please help me out. I know many users of this forum have certain tactics they use when calling stores and manufacturers such as recording the convorsations and making the other party aware of such. Please help me.

Oh almost forgot the specs of the sweet laptop
HP Pavilion dv9000t with HP Pavilion dv9000t + $50 Mail-In Rebate; Intel(R) Core(TM) 2 Duo processor T7200 (2.0 GHz); 1.0GB DDR2 SDRAM (2x512MB); 17.0" WSXGA+ BrightView Widescreen (1680x1050); Genuine Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005; 80 GB 5400 RPM SATA Hard Drive; Super Multi 8X DVD+/-R/RW w/Double Layer Support ; 256MB NVIDIA(R) GeForce(R) Go 7600 ; Intel(R) PRO/Wireless 3945ABG Network Connection; 8 Cell Lithium Ion Battery; HP IMPRINT Finish + Microphone + Webcam ; Microsoft Works/Money

 

what was the time when you say that you did not see it?

(read my above post as I think I had the same problem you did but I was already near checkout to confirm the $200 was being applied but as i submitted it the whole mess I describe above had happend)

 

That's rough--I don't really have any advice except to save all of your 'evidence' and call tomorrow or Monday and ask to speak with a manger. They might make things right.

 

I knew someone might tell me that eventually and this is where Im stuck since there is no way to prove the receipt has the wrong time on it... its my word against their web servers recording incorrect time stamps on sales receipts...

EDIT: the only possible way to prove the time stamps being recorded by their web servers is not accurate, is to have another person order something from techdepot.com and confirm the incorrect time stamp as a witness.... any better ideas cause Im stumped on this one... I just cant think of how one can provide any evidence that techdepot is recording false and incorrect times on new sale orders....which then cause a big mess for rebates like the one I was supposed to be eligible for...

 

Darn, if I only found this yesterday...

 

Thats a good deal, darn.

 

Called the office depot rebate center on monday 12/11 as advised to when I called the 800godepot number & here is what happend:

(Since it wasnt worth it to record the phone call as Im in CA & need consent from the other party I made a chat transcript instead as best I could recall & I x out the private info areas.)

rebate rep: Hello, my name is Karly. Thank you for calling the office depot rebate center. Can I please have your name & address?
me: Sure. Its xxxxxx.
rebate rep: Thank you. Just entering the information into your case file now.
rebate rep: Okay now what is the rebate offer?
me: Well its a $200 MIR that was set to expire on 12/9 for the HP DV9000t Notebook Computer Bundle.
rebate rep: Do you have the offer number?
me: Actually I didnt save the form so I dont have that but I can look it up if needed.
rebate rep: Okay let me manually try and locate it.
me: ok
rebate rep: found a $150 MIR for Notebook computer bundle that expired 12/9
me: no it was for $200 combined laptop + printer bundle
rebate rep: Okay hang on while I try and locate it.
rebate rep: Im sorry but Im not finding it. Are you sure it was $200 and not $150?
me: Yes it was for $200 but Im actually calling today regarding the eligibility for this rebate since my receipt shows that the purchase was completed 12/10 at 12:02 am est when infact I had actually submitted the order on 12/9 at 11:54 pm est which is valid to qualify for this rebate but after viewing the checkout page, confirming that the rebate was being shown and calculated into the final total price after all mail in rebate offers, I had clicked submit order again at 11:54 pm est as the time I noted & then the receipt came back showing 12:02 am est. of 12/10 which was incorrect.
rebate rep: right. let me talk to my supervisor.
rebate rep: do you have anything that shows the time at 11:54pm est 12/9
me: no. as i said receipt shows 12:02 am of 12/10
rebate rep: Well Im sorry but I cannot authorize the rebate then.
rebate rep: Furthermore, the only person who can authorize anything is a supervisor.
me: Well it seems like the server responsible for the time stamps on the sales receipts on techdepot.com is recording incorrect times as the actual est time of when I hit submit was 11:54 pm of 12/9 again and not 12:02 am of 12/10 which is my guess as to why the rebate then dissappeared on the receipt page which displayed all other rebates except the $200 MIR by officedepot.
rebate rep: Right. Well would you like to speak to the supervisor because again I cannot do anything about this neither can anyone else here except the supervisors?
me: Ok id like to speak to the supervisor then.
rebate: okay it will be a few minutes.
me: ok (starts waiting at 6:12 pm est until 6:18)
supervisor: hello, my name is marlene. I have been brought up to speed on the situation & I would like to help you with your rebate. It could have very well been that the system was slow and as a result showed the time of 12:02 am 12/10, maybe a possible time delay even.
me: Okay, however I dont agree as it being a time delay since at the very momment I clicked submit order, the time was infact 11:54 pm est. I know there is no way for me to prove this by the receipt since it has already printed and recorded the incorrect time stamp of 12:02 am est of 12/10, however I do know there are many various resources on the internet to show what exact time the server is actually set for versus the actual and current local geographic time which I am very well sure will prove the problem I am describing which finally lead to the $200 office depot MIR to not appear on the receipt page, however displays the other manufacturer rebates. Furthermore, my intention was to place my order via the local store and have them deal with the online portion and just pay the store as they did say this was possible over the phone but since I did not end up doing that I placed my order myself online and afterwards called the local store and explained to them the problem and the manager had offerd me his assistance if I chose to come to the store the very next day, however he said the most he could do is email the appropriate department of officedepot that can resolve this problem. Had I gone to the store, I would have placed a new order for another item and have the manager witness the time stamp on the sales receipt to be false and incorrect versus the actual correct time, and then if the manager would email the appropriate department my guess is this would have been more effective than this phone call today, however I did not have the time to do that. None the less it isnt fair for me to not be eligible for this rebate as I should have been.
supervisor: Yes I do agree with you that you should be eligible for the rebate. May I please have the order number?
me: yes here it is xxxxxxx
supervisor: Okay what will happen is you will need to call back after about 5 to 7 days and we will have an update for you on the situation.
me: Okay well I was told by a Miss Sandra from the 800godepot number that I needed to call the rebate center as they are the ones who can authorize the rebate. I asked for some assurance of this information in that they will authorize the rebate after Miss Sandra had said that the rebate center will quote "most likely authorize it" and after asking the second time what that means, she finally says "80/20." I ask again to repeat that and she says it will be a 80% chance they will authorize the rebate request of $200 and a 20% chance they will not authorize the rebate request of $200. SO I need to and I must know whether or not I will be getting this rebate before its too late for me to initiate the cancellation process of the order while I still can as my card hasnt been charged yet.
supervisor: Well I appologize sir but I cannot gaurentee you will be given this rebate however I do not wish to give you any inaccurate information so I can only ask you call us back in 5 to 7 days to check for an update. We have a number where you can reach the supervisors directly at. Would you like that number?
me: I dont beleive this is fair because I should not be responsible for a mistake techdepot servers made with the time stamp on this sales receipt. I mean I might as well just cancel the order while I can even though according to the return policy I have already given up the $39.50 for the shipping charges.
supervisor: Well I agree it is not fair and I can only ask that you maybe find another laptop you like at the same price you expected to pay for this laptop should you choose to cancel this order.
me: But even if I did that, the same problem will very well arise again as I have said the techdepot.com servers are recording incorrect time stamps on the sales receipts. This can potentially cause another rebate problem just as I am having now.
supervisor: Yes you are right if that is the case then it can happen again. I can put you through with a manager if you like.
me: Yes I would like to speak to the manager. I would also like to have that number you said that goes directly to the supervisors.
supervisor: The number is xxxxxxx and once again it is xxxxx
supervisor: I will get a manager for you now and inform the manager of your problem.
me: Before you do that I have another problem that is relating to this one. May I explain it to you now so you can also provide this to the manager?
supervisor: Yes please.
me: Okay well as you already know I had no idea that the time stamp on the receipt would be incorrect however I had the intention to order a second laptop for my brother on the same rebate offers except when I went back to order this second laptop which was at exactly 11:57 pm est 12/9, I noticed that the visible text of all rebates mentioned on the configuration page of the CTO laptop did not contain the $200 MIR of office depot for this same laptop offer as it did show when I configured and orderd the first laptop up until the receipt page which did not show the office depot $200 MIR but did show the manufacturer rebates from HP which again that was at 11:54 pm est and the second laptop was going to be orderd at 11:57 pm est. So I chose not to order the second laptop as a result of this only because I would end up possibly loosing the rebate all together on this second laptop had I orderd it and the time stamp on the receipt therefore showing something beyond that of the first order for the first laptop. But I would still like to order this second laptop as that was my intention to do so and the rebates ofcourse would reflect my brothers information for eligibilty purposes.
supervisor: Well we cannot authorize any rebate for the second laptop as it was never orderd nor can anyone here help with that since no one here is authorized to. I can only suggest you find another laptop that your brother may like with similar specifications at the same pricing as the one you intended to purchase for him.
me: Well that would not help agian because of the problem of the time stamps on the receipts can again cause rebate problems. I would like to just order a laptop of the same offer for him as that was the intended plan.
supervisor: I appologize but unfortuantely we cannot authorize a rebate for a second laptop of the same offer. If it was ordred after the first one then we could help with its rebate but since it was never orderd we cannot authorize a rebate for it now even if it was orderd.
me: I dont understand, why exactly can you not help with a second laptop if you have acknowledged that you can help with the first one which again the second one I explained was not orderd as a result of the problems with the first laptop order?
supervisor: I am sorry but we cannot help with that.
me: You have not given me a reason why you cannot help with the second laptop when it was again not orderd for the same problems that occured with the first laptop. Again I was not going to ever order the second laptop because of the rebate dissappearing before 12 midnight, the cut off time to 12/10. I want to speak to the manager please.
supervisor: Okay please hold.
(6:52 pm began transfer to manager)
supervisor: I appologize for the delay. The manager will be with you in a few minutes.
supervisor: Hello sir, the manager, Don will be assisting you now.
(6:55 pm manager Don picks up)

====---==----=-----=--------===========-----------======-----====

Basically I went through the same debate again but not into too much into detail with the manager because I confirmed she was brought up to speed as I quoted the supervisor on that and she confirmed she was, Miss Don & so finally at 7:32 pm est the phone call had ended with a full resolution on the basis that I go through normal rebate submission process of 3 to 4 weeks after submitting the rebate and then getting the "you are denied" letter due to the date on the receipt, which the manager had said could be worked around with a quote "rebate override" she said which she can as result offer me a quote "almost gaurenteed rebate" of $200 MIR office depot with ofcourse a simple account managers approval for the 1st laptop. I accepted this and I asked if we could speed the 3 to 4 weeks wait time portion a little quicker and she said infact we can "if you faxed everything in to this number xxxx" which I did do that later that day.

But for the 2nd laptop which was never orderd again, the information I provided as to why the order was not submitted for this laptop she said, "would be forwarded to an account manager at the corporate level of officedepot" (same account manager for the 1st laptop rebate issue) of whom I gave permission for my email address to be provided to for the purpose that higher corporate departments may contact me via email regarding the situation with the 2nd laptop in hopes of a resolution.

I was told the account manager will basically give the "ok" for the rebate center, to the manager Don, to override the system and authorize a rebate of $200 for the 1st laptop. I was also told that the account manager is not the one who can resolve the issue with the second laptop however the account manager can forward the problem with the information provided to him/her by the manager of the rebate center which will in turn be forwarded by the account manager to the appropriate corporate departments of whom, quote by the rebate manager, Don "may offer me a simialr laptop offer at a cheaper price due to the dates of the conflicting rebates as a resolution." (this was said because the dates on these rebates to qualify, for the two hp rebates 12/16 is the last cut off date)

I was directed by Miss Don to call back tommorow afternoon 12/12 for an update from the account manager via the manager of the rebate center. The rebate center manager had said she would email all of this in detail to the account manager in hopes of getting a quick response, within 24 hours which she was most sure will result and could then provide to me over the phone the very next day if I called back and asked to speak to her.

 

Day 2 - 12/12

Called for the update as was told to do so by the rebate center manager, Miss Don but it wasnt 100% pleasing as was monday, however it took a lot less time on the phone.

I called at 5:50 pm est to the direct line to the supervisors and asked to speak to Don. (turns out this direct line is the same nonsense as the regular number...go through the stupid automatted system which is hard to figure out what options take you to an operator and what dont... had to call twice to figure it out)

Here is what happend:

rebate rep: Hello. Thank you for calling office depot rebate center. Please provide an address so I can pull up your case.
me: Yes. Its xxxxxx Im actually calling to speak to the manager as advised to do so yesterday when I spoke to a Miss Don. May I please speak with her.
rebate rep: Let me check if Don is available. Can you hold for a few mins.
me: okay no problem.
rebate rep: Don is available please hold for a few minutes.
me: sure (was then put on hold at 5:52 pm)
rebate rep: I Applogize for the wait, it will be a few more mins.
rebate rep: Don is here and will help you now.
(Don picks up the line and begins speaking to me at 5:55 pm)
Don: Hello Mr. xxxx. Thank you for calling. I was expecting your call.
me: Oh ok
Don: I sent the email to the account manager, but she seems is not available today. It must be her day off. I am sure she will be here tommorow and I included everything we discussed yesterday in the email I sent her.

(Don goes in detail and explains everything over to me and what she sent in the email to the account manager. I caught a mistake she made in her email saying it was a quote a "time delay" the caused the rebate issue. Even after I went for about 5 minutes explaining to the supervisor yesterday as to why it was NOT a time delay and how it WAS a matter of the server for techdepot being improperly configured with the incorrect time as result to the time stamps reflecting this wrong time & how various internet sources can prove this vs. actual EST. current time. I go ahead and point that out when she is done speaking and she sort of evades the mistake and doesnt really acknowledge it. I dont mind though because she gave me the reassurance of how she can get the rebates and does so again after I explained to her how it would hurt techdepot/officedepot sales should this matter of the time stamps problem be made public which she agrees with me would indeed not be good and maybe thats why she went on to reassure me of the rebate how she can get it again lol)

me: I have sent the fax in as you requested yesterday.
Don: Great. But that will take longer than I expected. Infact why dont you fax everything directly to me at my personal fax.
me: Okay I can do that.
Don: The number is xxxxxxxxx and just include Attn Don
me: Okay no problem. I can have that done today within an hour or two.
Don: Also if you can circle the items on the rebate form...(interrupts her)
me: Yes I have done that already.
Don: Okay great, so just fax me the receipt, the form and I will followup with the account manager tommorow when she is here.
me: When can I call tommorow?
Don: Well I am here 4 to 8. What time is it there right now?
me: 3:06 pm pst
Don: Okay then call around 4 or 5 pm
me: Alright. thank you.
Don: I appologize again for .....

(she applogizes for everything and re states what she will do tommorow)

Don: Have a good day.
me: Thank You
Don: Bye
me: Bye

(call ends at around 6:13 pm est)
--========-----=======-----========-----==========--------====

my thoughts/comments:

i think techdepot is totally insane and should be more carefull with customers not to mention their order system had a major glitch on the shipping options which many here on NBR have noticed even in this very thread when every shipping type offerd...expedited or non expedited was all at the same $39.50 cost..lame isnt it when no CTO laptop on any brand will arrive next day lol... on the other hand part of the bundle offer, the printer should come next day but after checking my email today they say the ETA on the printer is 12/17 for arrival from FEDEX.

But I didnt mind that more than I did this rebate problem.. I mean jesus these guys setup their servers to record the time stamps about 5 minutes or so ahead of the real time in the EST time zone where thier servers are physically located. Furthermore, I dont think they realized this until I had to prove them twice that this is not a matter of a rebate as it is more of a time problem on the actual techdepot.com server that records those time stamps on sales receipts. I was even willing to go to the extreme and have a local officedepot manager from a local store witness me order something on techdepot.com and see for him/herself that the time stamp on the sales receipt is wrong and not accurate. 5 minutes, 4 minutes, 3 minutes, 2 minutes, even 1 minute makes a big difference when it comes to rebates.

Ill admit maybe I did my shopping a little late but hey, who doesnt?... at least sometimes...

Whats worse is other people in this very thread have said the $200 portion of the savings from the rebate didnt show up.... I beleive there is a post from someone about that on page 1 of this thread which was ha, posted at around same time I made my rant posts about this rebate problem.

If a mod is seeing this please do not delete my posts even though this is no longer to do with the offer itself but I feel people should know about this should they choose to shop at techdepot/officedepot.

If Im allowed to, I will keep you all posted as this develops further.

Your thoughts and comments are encouraged and welcome.

 

I didn't end up getting it...for this very reason. OD doesn't really impress me as a company, and I didn't want to give them my business. Anyways, hope it works out for you.

 

Day 3 - 12/13

Called for the update again was told to do so yesterday

I called at 7:52 pm est to the direct line to the supervisors and asked to speak to Don.

Here is what happend:

rebate rep: Hello may I have your store number?
me: Actually Im calling to speak to the manager, Don as requested yesterday.
rebate rep: Oh are you part of an office depot store or a customer?
me: customer
rebate rep: Oh okay because Don did say she was expecting a call from someone today about a rebate.
me: oh ok
rebate rep: Can I get your address please?
me: Yes its xxx
rebate rep: Can I verify the first and last name please?
me: Yes its xxx
rebate rep: Thank You. Let me go and get Don. Can I put you on hold for a few minutes?
me: Sure
(was put on hold at 7:54 pm est)
rebate rep: Don is here and will help you now. I am putting her on the line.
(happend at 7:56 pm est)
Don: Hi Mr. xxx I have some good news for you.
me: Oh ok
Don: I have gotten a response back from the account manager and the rebate has been approved and I was just completed it as you called just now.
me: Oh great!
Don: As far as the 2nd laptop, unfortunately since no order was ever submitted we cannot do anything about it.
me: Oh hmmm..
Don: If an order was submitted for the 2nd laptop we could have done the same thing and issued a rebate.
me: Ok, but what was said about the 2nd laptop from the account manager?
Don: The account manager was told from the corporate that they do see a problem with the time as the order was submitted for the first laptop after 11:59 pm est so an exception is being made here to allow the order to be submitted a couple hours after that time and still qualify for the rebate even though the receipt will show 12/10.
me: I see. But that doesnt exactly address the actual problem of the time stamps on the receipts being incorrect, which is again why I did not order the 2nd laptop.
Don: Well in order for them to address that I imagine it would take further investigation but to be safe I would recommend you submit orders a few hours before midnight to qualify for rebates. Unfortunately there is nothing we can do about the 2nd laptop though since it was again never orderd.
me: Hmm well ok. I suppose Ill wait for the next sale for a second laptop.
Don: As for the rebate again on the 1st laptop I can have it rushed out in the mail and sent to you as soon as next week.
me: That would be great.
Don: I do appologize again for..

(Don goes on to appologize for everything and re states what she did.)

Don: Is there anything else I can do for you today?
me: No i beleive thats it. Thank you very much.
Don: Have a good day.
me: Thank You
Don: Bye
me: Bye

(call ends at 8:09 pm est)
----========------=======-----------==========-------==========-

my thoughts/comments:

Looks like they still chose to evade to acknowledge the acutal root of this problem with the time stamps but oh well I got my rebate but I couldnt get the 2nd laptop. Anyone have any suggesstions for me for the 2nd laptop. I know the case isnt just over like that and it can be pursued further but at what approach I am not sure.. anyone?