Awesome Rebate on Sony VAIO Z / SR / BZ Series

Sorry, direct linking doesn't seem to work.

Go to: http://sony.com/VAIOSMB/ and then click on current promotions and you'll see the new similar offer.

 

The new promotion number is 090038B.

It runs from 4/1 through 6/30, but it looks to have the exact same rules.

 

Got the email saying my model doesnt qualify. called em, said he will put it through to being reviewed. nice!

 

Still nothing for me.
Postmark Date: 3/28/2009
Received Date: 4/3/2009
Claim Status: Received, Submission is being processed
It has stayed there ... no call/email about not qualifying, but nothing seems to be moving forward.

 

Just wait it out, it was like that for a while for me also.

 

Mine took about 4 weeks to ship from the postmark date. Once received, it sat at "processing" the entire time until shipped.

Here is a little candy for you guys waiting to get yours:

I chose the mobility pack. The case is nice and padded, but has no handle. The flap stays closed with magnets at each end. With the SR in the case, its about the size of a 15.4" laptop in a neoprene case. The AC adapter has a detachable 7' cord and the dc end is only as long as you see in the picture. The DC end also snaps into the body of the unit. It comes with a nice carrying case too.

 

Anyone had a rebate accepted recently? How long did it take from the time your letter was delivered to the time they changed your status from pre-qualification to "processing" or whatever is next?

 

I just got mine yesterday.

Postmark Date: 3/28/2009
Received Date: 4/3/2009 (When they got my paperwork)
Delivery Date: 5/7/2009 (Arrived UPS 2nd Day)

The status updates weren't exactly prompt for me. Although I never had to go through calling to get past approval or anything either, I admit I appreciated that.

 

Thanks-

At the same time I got the email notification for your post, I got an email from Sony saying they had received my paperwork (on 4/27) and are now processing the claim. I don't really need it in any hurry, but I wanted to make sure the claim was accepted before my 30 day return period was over.

 

I received my stuff.

Postmark Date : 4/7/2009
Delivery Date: 5/8/2009

Question: I got the mobility package with the standard battery. How would you guys recommend storing the battery long term, ie a year or more? I dont plan on using it until the current battery I have no longer holds a charge. I dont plan on unpackaging it, but should I keep it in the fridge? Does that shiz work for lithium ion batteries? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

 

I have 2 extra Mobility bundles that I'd like to sell. They are brand new in the box.

I thought I would give forum members the first shot before I put them on ebay. Please PM if interested.

 

You make it difficult to PM you, since you have disabled the PM option. I'm interested. how much?

 

I am also interested. Like zen313 had said, what's the price?

 

I might be interested as well, post price!

 

I've heard other people say that you should charge it 30% and stick in fridge, but I couldn't tell ya myself. Just google it, i'm sure you'll find an answer.

 

I believe 40% is the magic number, although I could be very wrong.

 

Or its all bull and doesn't actually matter

 

It's been proven that leaving the battery charged at 40% significantly increases the life of the battery (rather than at 100%).

 

Sorry guys, emailing through the forum has been enabled.

The package consists of "Sony model VGP-AC19V30 Stick AC Adaptor, Sony model VGP-BPS12 Standard Battery and a Sony model VGP-CKZ1 Carrying Case".

Retail pricing for the above is $370, Amazon price is $325, I am looking to get $250 + actual shipping for each of the packages. Paypal accepted, I won't charge any extra for using it.

As I mentioned before, I have two of them and they are brand new in the packaging.

 

Mine arrived yesterday. Sent 4/25, received 4/27. So, just over a month.

Still waiting on trade-up rebate confirmation...

Nice to get a free battery and AC adapter. I wish the case was a bit lower profile, but it will work and the price was right.

 

Ouch! Just bought a brand new battery off ebay for $63 and that's the main thing in the bundle worth anything! This is roughly just over $125 worth of stuff, man!! Guess you gotta pay your Z back somehow though.... wow!

 

Yeah, I'm going to sell my productivity bundle once it arrives and i'll be happy with $120 out of it. Will take my sr220 price down to $250.

 

I'm curious. What special procedure have you guys done to get your rebate to go through?

I've sent mine in last month doing what you all have been doing (read what you all have done in this thread) & just found out online that my rebate status said that it is invalid. I called them up to find out what's up & all they would say is that my purchase don't qualify for the rebate...

I was so mad I told the guy on the phone that if I had known that my Z690CTO purchase from the SonyStyle online store would not have qualified for the rebate, I wouldn't have bought it in the 1st place. That guy even told me that "you can return your purchase if you want to if you're not happy that yours didn't qualify for the rebate but unfortunately based on your purchase date, you're already past your return date time frame. I'm really sorry that I could not be of any help to you. Better luck next time..."

Oh well, I guess not all purchases will qualify for the rebate since Sony themselves do not guarantee that their rebate will always go through. Why do I always have such wonderful luck?

 

I think you should try calling again. They listed invalid on my rebate online, then I called and told them I had a 690. he asked me is it a CTO? and i told him yes. Then he went away for a while, and came back and said there is a problem with the system but all 690 CTOs are included in the rebate. Fight and tell them that multiple other people have gotten it for 690 CTOs. Youre entitled to it!

 

Which seller did you order the battey from? All I'm seeing around prices around 160 to 200. I woud LOVE to get an extra battery if its around the price that you mentioned.

Thanks!

 

Yeah I received 2 bundles in the winter for CTO purchases through sonystyle so unless they changed the rules of the rebate you should have a valid claim. I would definitely try again.

 

Also, I wanted to add (for everyone waiting for their rebates) I just received 2 bundles and they took forever to ship (maybe like 1.5 months)...so I called the rebate center and they shipped the next day. If you are waiting too long just call.

 

I called them up again today & they basically told me the same thing. They even insisted that without a UPC code, I'm not going to get anything to go through despite of me insisting that my Z690CTO does not have a UPC code & that it is bought directly from SonyStyle. If I know I'll get the same result as yesterday, I wouldn't even have bothered to call them again. Wasted 45 mins on my phone achieving nothing, except accumulatiing frustration & anger. At least, I'm glad I don't have heart problems.

At this point, I guess I'm SOL then. Oh well, this is life & it is never fair sometimes. I must have bought the "wrong" thing at the "wrong" time. I think I'll just let it go because I don't have time to waste on the phone as I just started my summer classes yesterday & man it is really tough on me (so little time & so much work).

 

Uh oh, I bought a Z690CTO from SonyStyle last month and was assuming that my rebate would go through too.

But regarding the UPC code, I cut out the one that was on the box and sent that in with my rebate submission. Why do you say that you don't get a UPC code if buying a CTO directly from SonyStyle?

 

Was your $63 battery a real Sony battery, or an aftermarket battery? Prices for real Sony batteries are much different than prices for aftermarket batteries. This differential also makes sense given the capacity & lifetime problems reported with such aftermarket batteries.

 

Just threw a number out there. Totally agree that it's worth less. I have it on ebay now, item number 330337719025. Opening bid is $100, no reserve. Thanks.

 

That is nice. It is a very good starting price too. Unfortunately, it is not the productivity bundle or I'll definitely jump in with bids to try & win it. Good luck.

I would love to get the productivity bundle but somehow those "money s***ers" deemed my rebate to be invalid. By the way, if anyone wants to sell the whole productivity bundle (all items new & factory sealed) that they managed to successfully get through rebate, please kindly send me a PM. I'll be willing to do business if the price is "right." Thanks in advance.

 

Huhuhu.. not available in the Philippines...

 

Don't feel bad. I couldn't even get it in the U.S. despite meeting all the rebate's necessary requirements. Worse of all, I couldn't even return my Vaio Z because it is past the allowable return time frame.

 

By the way, I've received a number of offers of those bundles since last night & I want to let everyone know that I appreciate that. I'll take some time to consider each & every single offer before getting back to you guys through PM. I'm really thankful for that. Thanks once again.

Furthermore, to respond to some of your questions/concerns/well-wishes that I've received through PM:
I've called them up again last Friday & unfortunately, I was told the same thing. They told me that I don't qualify for the rebate. They wouldn't budge & the interesting thing is that they couldn't even tell me why my purchase doesn't qualify. Too bad though & I guess I'm really SOL. Thought I could get a free docking station with my Vaio Z purchase. That's the main reason why I bought this notebook. I guess this is what I deserve for being a loyal Sony customer. At least I get to learn a very valuable lesson in this incident. If I'm to know that I couldn't get it free, I'll have stuck to my Vaio SZs (I've got a docking station for those). I mean it doesn't make sense to have to use my own money to buy something that I'm entitled to & should be free, does it? Or maybe I'm very wrong to think this way? Luckily I have not sold my Vaio SZs yet because, now I may just consider to keep the Vaio SZs & sell my Vaio Z690 CTO instead.

Lastly, you guys have been great in being supportive of my situation. I'm very grateful for that & I really appreciate it.

 

Quick update.

I've called up Sony 2 more times with regards to my rebate. Called them once last Friday & did it again yesterday afternoon. Unfortunately in both calls, I was told that the system is showing my rebate as invalid, I was told that they have no idea why my rebate is invalid, & that they couldn't offer anymore help.

However, those 2 times I called, the guys & gals on the phone sounded very sympathetic & helpful. They repeatedly apologized for my inconvenience even though they still couldn't do anything about my rebate. I really appreciate that & I thought I should mention on this forum that they were very helpful. I definitely feel that they deserve some credit for their wonderful service even though I didn't get anything out of the phone calls, except wasting 90 minutes & 65 minutes on those calls (with half the time being spent on hold &/or transferred around their departments). LOL! (I know I'm crazy for thinking it is funny at this point with this "LOL" comment but what else can I do if they don't want to honor my rebate)

Anyway, I just hope that no one else will have to experience what I've gone through. Hopefully, it is simply just my bad luck. I wish everyone success in your rebate. Good luck.

 

Sorry to hear that they rejected you the rebate. I also have the Z690 CTO. When I applied for it back in early March, I pealed off the whole sticker on the side of the box long with the small one on the flap, along with a printed copy of my online order, AND a scan of the bottom of my laptop (as the ultimate prove of purchase, someone else in the forum also did this). They must be so amused to see someone to include a scan of the laptop, they didn't even bother asking me about the UPC (which all CTO models don't have), just sent me an email regarding the approval of the rebate a week and half later.

I didn't have high hope for actually getting the rebate after hearing so many horror stories about it. It was quite a nice surprise when I saw it went thorough so smoothly.

A side note, it was within the 30 day return period when I sent in my application. That might also be a factor.

 

I sent the same stuff as you did, except a scan of the notebook's bottom sticker.

It seems like almost everyone got through the rebate successfully, except a couple of "unlucky" people like me.

I sent the rebate forms with all the required documents about 10 days after I got my Vaio Z. Unfortunately, my biggest mistake is to assume that my rebate will definitely go through without a problem. I might even not know that there's a problem with my rebate now because it was due to something else that made me checked my rebate status online about a couple of weeks ago. I was surprised to see that my rebate status was listed as invalid & after going through this thread again, something tells me that I should call them up to see what's the problem. I wasn't even expecting them to tell me that my rebate is not valid. The sad thing is that when I called them up, my Vaio Z was just one day after the 30 day return policy. How unlucky is that? So I couldn't return it when I discovered that they're not honoring my qualified rebate.

It is this productivity rebate that convinced me to get the Vaio Z. I had wanted a docking station just like I have for my SZs. Unfortuntately, I'll have to fork out my own money to buy it even though I believe that I'm entitled to get it for free. I have to admit that this really is a smart move from those "money s***ers" & I give them full credit for this "trap/trick." Worse thing is that I just realized that I'm kinda broke for this month & maybe the next as I overspent quite a bit recently. It'll probably be a few months before I can afford to buy a docking station for my Vaio Z. At least I learned a valuable lesson, which is to never trust a mail-in rebate of any kind because you never know if you'll get it or not. In the future, I'll only buy stuff with offers that gives us instant rebate instead of mail-in rebate to be absolutely sure that it doesn't backfire on me.

My advise for people turning in their rebate form is to quickly rectify any problems ASAP if he/she found that the online rebate status is listed as invalid so as to potentially avoid what I've gone through. Check the site daily & call them up if possible to make sure the rebate goes through. It is best to accomplish this within the 30 day return policy if the notebook is bought from SonyStyle. I wish everyone good luck & hope all of you get the rebate.

Furthermore, I want to say that this is my true experience but it may not happen to others. If you're interested in Vaio notebooks & want to take advantage of the rebate, I'll still highly recommend that you go for it. I just want everyone to know that I'm not trying to dissuade anyone from buying a Vaio notebook & take advantage of the rebate. I feel this is important for me to clarify that.

Jparity, for your info, I also bought my Vaio Z from SonyStyle. It is a new notebook & not a refurbished or clearance item. This is what pisses me off. I mean if I bought from some 3rd party resellers (even if it is from Sony authorized dealers) or ebay, then I can definitely understand the reason for rejecting my rebate. This is the first time I bought my Vaio notebook directly from Sony & yet I get all this BS. Forgive me for being ignorant, but based on this incident, I have a reason to think that even the items sold by Sony themselves may not be genuine Sony products. No? If I'm wrong with this, then can anyone kindly tell me why my new Sony product bought from Sony doesn't qualify for their rebate?

 

Quick question.

Purchased my SR CTO on the 26th and estimated ship date is 7/6/09 so I most likely won't receive it until mid July. Will I still qualify for the Bundle Rebate because I purchased the SR before the 30th? And as long as I send in the required items before 7/30/09 will I still qualify?

Thanks!

edit: heres link to the rebate btw.
http://www.rebate-zone.com/ConfirmRebate.asp?function=submit&method=open&current=true&pid=28667

 

Yes, you'll qualify for the rebate because you meet the requirements based on the information you gave us. Just make sure you send all the necessary documents before the deadline & a few days after sending in your rebate materials, call Sony up to check with them to confirm if needed. Good luck.

 

Sweet thanks.

I've pretty much read this entire thread but couldn't find a clear answer to exactly what I should mail in.

I ordered the CTO btw which will NOT have a ups?
Invoice? Where can will I be able to find that

And what else would I need?

THanks! =]

 

You'll need the sticker with the specs/product codes from the outside of the box & the inner sticker (the one on the inside of one of the box flaps). At least that is what I sent as the replacement for the UPC since CTO models do not have those "standard" UPC stickers.

Maybe someone else can correct me if I'm wrong (since I'm very likely to be wrong). It is embarrassing to admit that but I really do not want to give you the wrong information because my own rebate was rejected. LOL!

 

Thanks, so what else besides the 2 stickers?

And about the invoice? Where/What will that be?

 

I ordered my Vaio Z from the SonyStyle online store so I printed out a copy of my order/invoice when I logged into my account & also sent in a photocopy of the packing slip.

Hopefully, other people with success in their rebates can correct me if I'm wrong because I'm definitely not an expert in the subject of this rebate requirements.

 

So is the order number on the receipt the invoice than?

 

Yep. The order number is on the invoice.

 

I meant "is" the order number on the receipt I printed out THE invoice?

Can anybody else help out with what I would need?

Thanks!

 

I think that the receipt you printed out when you placed your order is your invoice. The only thing Sony include when they shipped the package is the packing slip & nothing else with regards to the invoice. At least that's what I got when I received my Vaio Z.

Maybe someone can correct me if I'm wrong.

 

Do I need to send the original or can I make a photocopy of the invoice?

Same question regarding the packing slip.

 

okay, so from what i understand, i can get CTO version of the Z from Sonystyle.com Student (Campus) Program. By doing this, I can get the Z at a discounted price. After i get the Z, i submit the rebate with the required information and i should be good to go?

Also from what i understand, i need to tell them that my version of the Z is a CTO therefore i don't have a barecode? please fill me in.

if i can truely get the rebate, it would be an awesome deal when compared to buying it overseas