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From: joee@orca.UUCP (Joe Eckardt)
Newsgroups: net.consumers
Subject: Re: Insider's Card (Comp-u-serve)
Message-ID: <1075@orca.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 28-Sep-84 15:03:41 EDT
Article-I.D.: orca.1075
Posted: Fri Sep 28 15:03:41 1984
Date-Received: Sun, 30-Sep-84 04:20:20 EDT
References: <237@sdchema.UUCP>
Organization: Tektronix, Wilsonville OR
Lines: 61
I recently received a similar offer from "ABC", also linked to Comp-u-serve.
With this offer they included a membership card along with a letter giving
use instructions and an invitation to try the service for 1 month, no strings,
to prove to yourself it is worth the money. They didn't even require
returning any forms first. Anyway, I figured I'd give them a try and see
how good they could do.
First off, they will only give you three quotes per phone call; probably
just to keep from tying up the line all day. No problem in calling back,
however. You have to know exactly the manufacture and model numbers you
want. If you have an incorrect model number suffix they can't help you
much. They DO get a brief description in front of them for any numbers
they do list so you can double check the model number. I THINK that they
can list a range of model numbers but they weren't terribly helpful in
that regard (was looking for something with number of "K45-S"
were was one of about 6 letters. I didn't really care which
one, but I had to give them each combination separately to get a quote.)
Through the course of three phone calls I got quotes on various CD players
for which I had already found what I thought were the best prices. Several
of brands Comp-u-serve did not handle; some specific models they could not
get although they could get other models by the same manufacturer. For
those they handle, the prices (including shipping) ranged from $50 to $120
below the lowest price I found for the same unit either locally or mail
order. I ended up ordering a Technics SL-P8 for $348 through them. More
on that later.
Doing so well on the CD player I tryed a couple of more items. I priced
several models of expensive countertop mixers. Quotes on all models that
they handled were about $10 more than the price at the local Jafco (Best,
Price Club, etc). Also found the same mixers on sale at Sears for $5 less.
Next tried a Gellato (sp?) Ice Cream machine. Price was $5 more than
available locally.
My conclusions? Appears that Comp-u-serve does pretty good on high-demand
items that are currently involved in a "price war". This would include
stereo gear, computers, camera equipment, etc. The don't seem to do so
well on low volume items. A good local sale prices sometimes beat
Comp-u-serve's quotes, usually for just about the amount of the shipping.
There is, however, an added price that you will have to pay: patience.
I ordered my CD on 15 Sept. I was told I would receive an order confirmation
in 7-10 days; it would say were it was being shipped from and the delivery
date. The confirmation arrived yesterday, 27 Sept. Estimated delivery date
is 16 Oct. Guess a month's wait is worth a $100+ savings but, BOY!, am I
getting impatient!
Bottom line: it's a neat idea but I think I'll save my $32/year. If I was
planning to do a lot of buying in the next year it probably would be worth
it. It was great to be able to try it out first. [They claim that you
can also buy a car through them. I have no idea how that works.]
Joe Eckardt
Tektronix
Wilsonville, Oregon
UUCP: ...!tektronix!tekecs!joee (ignore return address)
CSNET: tekecs!joee @ tektronix
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