treasurebeacon said:hitechjunkie said:New iPod touch - nice!


for 299 might as well buy the phone

The phone does not work without paying for ATT service and requires a 2 year contract. The itouch works with wifi only and has all the features except the phone and no contract or monthly payment.

Dennis

tazzy531 said:First of all, the background is covered here in this prior thread: Credit Card Free Benefits

Steve Jobs just announced that the iPhone 8Gb is dropping in price from $599 to $399. That is $200 difference for us early adopters.

Luckily, a lot of credit cards have Price Protection Program. You can file a claim with your credit card company to get the difference in price back. Obviously, there are a number of stipulations.

Citibank Mastercard - The Price Protection Program helps you get the best price you can find on most products you buy. If you buy an item with your MasterCard or Visa card, and if within 60 days after your purchase you see a printed advertisement for the same item (same model number and same model year) by the same manufacturer for

a lower price, we will refund you the price difference, up to $250 per item (up to a maximum of $1,000 per cardmember per year) provided the printed advertisement was published on the same day as or within 60 days after your purchase. No registration is necessary.



Unfortunately, the release date for the iPhone was 68 days ago. I got mine on the release date. If you got it after, file a claim immediately.

Please help list other price guarantees for other credit cards.


If you threaten to do that, I think apple customer service will give in and just credit you. Try that 1st.
In addition, check your benefits. Citibank CCs also cover lost, stolen, accidental breakage up to $500.

Apple also announced today that it will be giving a $100 store credit to all those that purchased an iPhone before this price drop.

http://www.apple.com/hotnews/openiphoneletter/

Also, this price drop was becuase of the letters from owners to Steve Jobs. See below as an example:

Dear Mr. Jobs,

So that this message might have some meaning to you other than the ramblings of a disenchanted fanboy, allow me to introduce myself. My name is M [redacted]. I'm a [redacted].

For as long as I can remember, I have loved Apple products. I pushed my dad to make our first family computer a Performa 575 back when it was the first computer I played Oregon Trail on at school. I continued this trend pushing my (otherwise PC) family towards the (original G3) iMac, Powerbook G4, Macbook Pro, Apple TV, Airport Express, every iPod you have put out, and the iPhone.

When you released the iPhone I was one of those pathetic fanboys seen in pictures around the country depicting the spell you had cast over my generation. I paid $600 for the 8 GB iPhone without complaint, just as I had for every iPod you have put out since the first generation.

I own (and currently use) a Macbook Pro, an iPod Video (80 GB), a 2G iPod Nano (8 GB), and a 2G iPod Shuffle, two Airport Expresses, and an 8 GB iPhone; and through my family am an Apple shareholder.

My complaint is simply that you have dropped the price on the iPhone without recourse to the Apple faithful. I'm not hurting for the two hundred dollar price drop at all, let me be clear. However I cannot help but feel ripped off that in an unprecedented move as far as I can remember, you have lowered the price of a product of yours within 90 days of introducing it.

The business behind your idea is quite clear, and makes sense I admit. Introduce a product with a higher price and let those who will buy it at that price do so, and then decrease the price after you have saturated demand at the higher price. Despite the good business behind it, even as an owner of Apple stock I am still offended, and disappointed with your decision at the lack of integrity, and penny-pinching which this reflects on you and your company.

Decreasing the price of the 8 GB iPhone without offering some sort of refund or even Apple Store credit to the faithful who rushed out to support your product and made it the sensation that it has become is a disservice to your followers; and leaves this fanboy for one not only feeling taken advantage of, but also at least a little less enchanted with you and your company.

I hope that you will take steps to make this right by your loyal followers who feel that they have been taken for fools

Link to article here

STEVE JOBS RESPONSE:

To all iPhone customers:
I have received hundreds of emails from iPhone customers who are upset about Apple dropping the price of iPhone by $200 two months after it went on sale. After reading every one of these emails, I have some observations and conclusions.

First, I am sure that we are making the correct decision to lower the price of the 8GB iPhone from $599 to $399, and that now is the right time to do it. iPhone is a breakthrough product, and we have the chance to 'go for it' this holiday season. iPhone is so far ahead of the competition, and now it will be affordable by even more customers. It benefits both Apple and every iPhone user to get as many new customers as possible in the iPhone 'tent'. We strongly believe the $399 price will help us do just that this holiday season.

Second, being in technology for 30+ years I can attest to the fact that the technology road is bumpy. There is always change and improvement, and there is always someone who bought a product before a particular cutoff date and misses the new price or the new operating system or the new whatever. This is life in the technology lane. If you always wait for the next price cut or to buy the new improved model, you'll never buy any technology product because there is always something better and less expensive on the horizon. The good news is that if you buy products from companies that support them well, like Apple tries to do, you will receive years of useful and satisfying service from them even as newer models are introduced.

Third, even though we are making the right decision to lower the price of iPhone, and even though the technology road is bumpy, we need to do a better job taking care of our early iPhone customers as we aggressively go after new ones with a lower price. Our early customers trusted us, and we must live up to that trust with our actions in moments like these.

Therefore, we have decided to offer every iPhone customer who purchased an iPhone from either Apple or AT&T, and who is not receiving a rebate or any other consideration, a $100 store credit towards the purchase of any product at an Apple Retail Store or the Apple Online Store. Details are still being worked out and will be posted on Apple's website next week. Stay tuned.

We want to do the right thing for our valued iPhone customers. We apologize for disappointing some of you, and we are doing our best to live up to your high expectations of Apple.

Steve Jobs
Apple CEO

Found here

tuan2 said:I thought you can buy a prepaid card to activate it-no contract? Couldn't I just pay the Applestore cash upfront and get a prepaid card? Also solution to unlock is being sold according to iphonehack although only in bulk but since it was hacked the free option is bound to follow not too long.

I heard of some folks doing the pre-paid thing, but even if you could I am not sure I get the point now that there is the ipod touch.

The new 8gb iphone price is $399 plus tax, the 8gb touch is $299 and the 16gb touch is $399. So you are paying $100 to add a pre-paid phone - and if you use it as a phone will quickly run up the bill. They offer $1 a day with $0.10 per minute or no per day fee for $0.25 per minute.

If you currently use a pre-pay cell and don't use a lot of minutes, then this may be OK for you - but you still pay $100 to use it as a phone. The main idea about the pre-pay was to make the rest of the phone work w/o a contract and large monthly bill - so buying the touch does that now.

The hack involves soldering and potentially bricking your iphone - and I would guess that Apple could get their hands on a hacked phone and make a change to production to block it. If you don't go with a pre-paid plan or pay whatever the going price is for someone to unlock your phone, then you are stuck with the 2yr contract with ATT.

Dennis

So YOU are the ones responsible for the AMEX Price Protection phone hold time.
Read the fine print, $300 maximum. Stop hogging the phone lines.

Tanner said:applied for my HHonors AMEX "return protection" guarantee. We'll see where it leads. Apple can have it back, that's fine by me. Maybe I'll buy an unopened one on fleabay and save teh tax this time heh.

I decided to return my 4 GB iPhone and buy an 8 GB iPhone within the 2 weeks and AMEX Return Protection will take care of the $30 restocking fee.

Tanner said:lray said:So YOU are the ones responsible for the AMEX Price Protection phone hold time.
Read the fine print, $300 maximum. Stop hogging the phone lines.

Tanner said:applied for my HHonors AMEX "return protection" guarantee. We'll see where it leads. Apple can have it back, that's fine by me. Maybe I'll buy an unopened one on fleabay and save teh tax this time heh.

yep it's me

actually, I've heard NOTHING so far on this. Beginning to wonder if AMEX decided to wait it out based on apple's rep? WEIRD, but possible I suppose...

got my $218.00 credited back to my account Tuesday.

buyus said:can some one double dip?You mean getting the price protection money back while also getting the $100 store credit? I do not see why not.

digduggler said:I certainly did. Nothing to stop anyone else.

Nice to see so many unethical people that would do this and admit it.