StageLeft
No Lifer
July, 2006
The memory haunted him still? The year was 2001 and the day December 24. Amidst a last minute wrapping session it had dawned on him that the Liteon 16X CD-R (free after PM and MIR) that was to be used as a gift to his brother lacked a complement of writable CDs. In a panic he hopped in his Integra, gunned it down to Bestbuy and, 90 minutes later a defeated man, left with a box of 50 blank CDs. The price? $19.99. AKA MSRP.
That was the worst Christmas ever for him, but holding close to his heart the mantra what doesn?t kill me makes me stronger, he vowed to turn a new page. Never again would he pay full price for anything. CDs, cars, monitors, beds. Never again.
Over the following years those around him saw an ever changing person. As his obsession grew so too did his notoriety. In time under a suffocating weight of lawsuits and legal threats his favorite web sites were shut down one by one. After fatwallet.com closed its doors in late 2003 it all went to hell. Not long after hotdealing as a pass time was forgotten by the masses. But not by him; he took it underground.
Leading a small crew of elite hotdealers they?d congregate daily in an obscure meeting room hosted on a server out of the Ukraine. They?d swap coupons, rebates ? anything that could save them money. Free CD burners and cheap monitors bought en masse and sold on Ebay was small time to them. Most of them hadn?t paid more than a few bucks for a component in months, and that included the 21? LCD deal at Circuit City back in April.
But there was always that within sight but out of reach: The Ultimate Hotdeal. Late at night, they?d theorize and dream. Sure they?d all cashed in on the $59.99 63? Mitsubishi HDTVs the year earlier and who could forget the free 10 day vacation to Jamaica, but they knew deep in their hearts that there had to be more. They?d come so far but wanted to go further. Take it all the way. They wanted to be on the front page of CNN for a deal so underhanded ? but legal ? that they?d be instant celebrities.
And one night he had it. As he dropped hints to his pals about it his body shook with adrenaline. Barely able to type he had linked them to a picture of an advertisement he?d found in the local paper for the new Infinity M25 sports coupe. Awaiting their replies he could hardly keep in the excitement. He wanted to drop the bomb and could hardly retrain himself.
?Not bad, man but a little pricey.?, said Rossman.
?Dude that?s risky!?, piped in Jokersmoker.
He expected this. Capable as they were they weren?t getting the bigger picture. Hidden behind an already solid hotdeal was something he had dreamed about. They couldn?t see it, but more importantly neither could the Regal Motorsports legal department.
Again he sent them a scan of the ad, but this time he?d highlighted two key statements. In this case the whole would be greater than the sum of its parts.
Tomorrow only! The first ten buyers will be entered in a draw among themselves to have their purchase price reduced to $0. Imagine how you?ll feel driving around Infiniti?s latest sports coupe for free!
And then, 6 lines down:
If we lower our prices within 60 days on any automobile you buy we?ll refund you the difference.
As he sat there in front of his $.99 21? LCD screen he anticipated the responses. And they came.
?OMFG!?
?Dude?damn!?
?You have got to be sh#$ing me!?
And he smiled. What was to the average person a one in ten chance at getting a free car ? in and of itself worth having a shot at when combined with Regal?s 10 day return policy should the odds not play out ? to them was a chance at getting a free car. No not just a chance: a guarantee.
?Boys I?ve found you $69.99 tickets to Florida from cheaptickets. Get your asses over here. We?re going to start lining up tonight.?
--------
In time the story would surface in email forwards and message boards across the globe. Thought an urban legend by many Snopes.com (now publicly trading and profitable <- at least according to Snopes) would decree the story as True.
According to Snopes neither of the 7 hotdealers were lucky enough to be among those who won the free car. That didn?t upset them one bit. In return for a coupon for a free pizza from Pizza Hut they?d convinced the true winner to let them photocopy his bill of sale ? which now said ?Infinity M25?Price: $0?. Using the 60 day price match assured in the original add by Regal they had all price matched their $36,000 purchases down to $0. As word got out locally 11 other buyers of the M25 claimed their $0 price as well and put Regal Motorsports out of business. As PAB would later tell Larry King in a prime-time interview: All?s fair in love and hotdeals.
The memory haunted him still? The year was 2001 and the day December 24. Amidst a last minute wrapping session it had dawned on him that the Liteon 16X CD-R (free after PM and MIR) that was to be used as a gift to his brother lacked a complement of writable CDs. In a panic he hopped in his Integra, gunned it down to Bestbuy and, 90 minutes later a defeated man, left with a box of 50 blank CDs. The price? $19.99. AKA MSRP.
That was the worst Christmas ever for him, but holding close to his heart the mantra what doesn?t kill me makes me stronger, he vowed to turn a new page. Never again would he pay full price for anything. CDs, cars, monitors, beds. Never again.
Over the following years those around him saw an ever changing person. As his obsession grew so too did his notoriety. In time under a suffocating weight of lawsuits and legal threats his favorite web sites were shut down one by one. After fatwallet.com closed its doors in late 2003 it all went to hell. Not long after hotdealing as a pass time was forgotten by the masses. But not by him; he took it underground.
Leading a small crew of elite hotdealers they?d congregate daily in an obscure meeting room hosted on a server out of the Ukraine. They?d swap coupons, rebates ? anything that could save them money. Free CD burners and cheap monitors bought en masse and sold on Ebay was small time to them. Most of them hadn?t paid more than a few bucks for a component in months, and that included the 21? LCD deal at Circuit City back in April.
But there was always that within sight but out of reach: The Ultimate Hotdeal. Late at night, they?d theorize and dream. Sure they?d all cashed in on the $59.99 63? Mitsubishi HDTVs the year earlier and who could forget the free 10 day vacation to Jamaica, but they knew deep in their hearts that there had to be more. They?d come so far but wanted to go further. Take it all the way. They wanted to be on the front page of CNN for a deal so underhanded ? but legal ? that they?d be instant celebrities.
And one night he had it. As he dropped hints to his pals about it his body shook with adrenaline. Barely able to type he had linked them to a picture of an advertisement he?d found in the local paper for the new Infinity M25 sports coupe. Awaiting their replies he could hardly keep in the excitement. He wanted to drop the bomb and could hardly retrain himself.
?Not bad, man but a little pricey.?, said Rossman.
?Dude that?s risky!?, piped in Jokersmoker.
He expected this. Capable as they were they weren?t getting the bigger picture. Hidden behind an already solid hotdeal was something he had dreamed about. They couldn?t see it, but more importantly neither could the Regal Motorsports legal department.
Again he sent them a scan of the ad, but this time he?d highlighted two key statements. In this case the whole would be greater than the sum of its parts.
Tomorrow only! The first ten buyers will be entered in a draw among themselves to have their purchase price reduced to $0. Imagine how you?ll feel driving around Infiniti?s latest sports coupe for free!
And then, 6 lines down:
If we lower our prices within 60 days on any automobile you buy we?ll refund you the difference.
As he sat there in front of his $.99 21? LCD screen he anticipated the responses. And they came.
?OMFG!?
?Dude?damn!?
?You have got to be sh#$ing me!?
And he smiled. What was to the average person a one in ten chance at getting a free car ? in and of itself worth having a shot at when combined with Regal?s 10 day return policy should the odds not play out ? to them was a chance at getting a free car. No not just a chance: a guarantee.
?Boys I?ve found you $69.99 tickets to Florida from cheaptickets. Get your asses over here. We?re going to start lining up tonight.?
--------
In time the story would surface in email forwards and message boards across the globe. Thought an urban legend by many Snopes.com (now publicly trading and profitable <- at least according to Snopes) would decree the story as True.
According to Snopes neither of the 7 hotdealers were lucky enough to be among those who won the free car. That didn?t upset them one bit. In return for a coupon for a free pizza from Pizza Hut they?d convinced the true winner to let them photocopy his bill of sale ? which now said ?Infinity M25?Price: $0?. Using the 60 day price match assured in the original add by Regal they had all price matched their $36,000 purchases down to $0. As word got out locally 11 other buyers of the M25 claimed their $0 price as well and put Regal Motorsports out of business. As PAB would later tell Larry King in a prime-time interview: All?s fair in love and hotdeals.
