For those that are waiting for the $10 Amazon GC from Digital Neighbors.com.....

[codeyf]

Just got a link to this in my email. Doesn't look to good, too many greedy bastards out there!!!!

click here

 

[VisionsUCI]

"All was going well, the months of August and September 2000 saw many people happily getting their certificates. Then in late October some news boards caught wind of the promotions and everything went crazy.

I went from giving away a couple of hundred a month to over 100,000 requests in less than 12 hours."

By newsboards, I'm sure he means us and just doesn't know it. Poor guy. They've started checking IP addresses and names to root out the greedy people who tried to sign up multiple times.

 

[YisSerL]

codeyf, thanks for the info. Ah, greed. Now which one of you apply more than once? C'mon, speak up.

 

[MattStone]

I applied twice back in september, and got both of my buy.com gcs, but never any amazon ones. I haven't applied since then.

 

[codeyf]

Some people (who we track with an IP address) signed up as many as 40 and 50 certificates, with the slightest variations to make them legit.

All it takes is a handful of people doing this to ruin it for everybody. WTF is that all about? Trying to rip $400-500 in GC's in what was supposed to be $10? Fine if you do the whole "my wife & I" signup deal, you're technically not lying or cheating there, but 50???!!!

Damn bastards!!

 

[broadwayblue]

actually, the amazon gc's were for $25.

 

[lesch2k]

i got my 1 buy.com GC last november, nothing else

 

[mccall]

Like someone else mentioned, the Amazon GC was for $25, the Buy.com GC was for $10.

Maybe I'm cynical, but I'm not going to believe Mr. Timmerman solely on the basis of a poorly worded "open letter", even if it is full of grammatical and syntax errors.

I registered in October, as did many others on this and another well known site. I was told the Amazon GC would be in my hands in less than 6-8 weeks. Then, after it didn't arrive, weeks went by with Mr. Timmerman ignoring my emails. Finally in Jan. I was told that it would arrive before Feb. 26. Of course, approx. 20 weeks after I registered, it still hasn't arrived and I'm now being told, basically, "trust me". Mr. Timmerman hasn't seen fit to reply to any of my emails since Jan.

If he is indeed telling the truth about the volume of requests he received, he should have taken steps to stem that flow sometime. Instead, he kept the offer open for months afterward. Other posters have said they registered as late as mid-Dec. He took my info and started sending me his "newsletter", and I believe he also sold my info, as that email address (used for this promotion only I believe) has been getting spammed regularly ever since.

I think the reason this open letter appeared now is because people, when they didn't receive their GCs by Mr. Timmerman's own self-imposed deadline, started sending complaints to the BBB and other official agencies, such as the Attorney General's Office.

Mr Timmerman should have posted or sent this "Open Letter" (which I still haven't received in my email) when it became apparent that he was going to have fulfillment problems, instead of keeping silent and letting people assume the worst.

I myself don't believe I'll ever see the $25 Amazon GC I was promised.

 

[CadGuy]

"...To make the pot sweeter, buy.com had promised to return a small portion of each certificate as a bounty for sending them a new sale..."

It would appear that he is whining 'cause they cut him off
on his referral's..
Not because of the 'greedily' people who signed-up more than
one time... But the countless GREEDY people who did not purchase
more than the face value of the gift-certificate ( no profit no
kick-back )...

 

[Sesopedalian]

Well said, Mr. mccall, well said.

 

[dgoedken]

yes...50 is a bit exorbitant. I got in late and only once. Actually forgot all about it until I got the email. Haven't received too much spam....course, when I get NOTHING for it, it is too much.

Down with the greedy suns-a-beyatchs. 50 times???? do you EVER work?

 

[mccall]

I wouldn't put too much credence in self-serving statements from Mr. Timmerman such as "Some people ... signed up as many as 40 and 50 certificates" (sic).

Remember, these Amazon GCs were to be sent out by snail mail, so when he writes

"Here are some problems I encountered in early December: ... People would sign up under one name (a phony) and then deposit the certificate into their main account."

I would like to know how exactly Mr. Timmerman was aware of this since, by his own admission, no GCs have been sent to anyone that signed up after mid-October during the time frame in question. How could these GCs be "deposited" when they were never mailed in the first place?

He also states "Certificates were starting be auctioned at popular sites for pennies on the dollar". Again, how could Mr. Timmerman know that the GCs in question were indeed from HIS promotion? And how could they be auctioned off when, again, they were being sent via snail mail and were never delivered in the first place?

One more thing - a check of completed auctions at the biggest auction site (eB*y) using the keywords "amazon" "gift" "certificate" yielded exactly two $25 GCs placed for auction between Feb and now. These GCs were supposed to be delivered before Feb 26 and yet only two were listed.

So I think Mr. Timmerman's claims, when held up to scrutiny, lack veracity. I think he's now entered CYA (cover your ass) mode and is desperately grasping for excuses.

 

[buybye]

I guess I'm not as cynical as some folks here. I don't have a problem believing things happened pretty much as Mr. Timmerman states them. I signed up once and when I didn't recieve my certificate I emailed him and got a prompt reply asking me for the info I signed up with. Within a couple of days I got my Buy.com $10 code. I still have not recieved an Amazon certificate. However, in the Digital Neighbors newsletter that is sent out every so often he does offer an update on the status of these certificates. He has done this for at least a couple months now I think.

I don't doubt for a minute that some of these certificates were being auctioned off. For one thing, it doesn't say they were the Amazon certificates. He could have meant the Buy.com ones which were sent out as email codes. Also, there are plenty of places to sell/trade your GC's besides the big autction sites - many of the forums for example.

Yup, offering those GC's in the first place was probably a big mistake - He's got a lot of company in that respect! With all the problems the dot.coms have had in the past months and all the points and rewards programs and etailers that have gone under, it isn't much of a stretch to envision Digital Neighbors having some of the same problems. Maybe I'll get an Amazon GC and maybe I won't but I'm betting Mr. Timmerman will give it his best shot. After all, he could have just folded like so many others have but he hasn't yet. And he hasn't tried to weasel his way out of it. All he's asked for is some patience and understanding.

Just my 2 cents.

 

[Ranger X]

I got the same e-mail. Oh well, if I get it, that's great. If I don't, it's no big deal. This won't be the first time that I've been stiffed on a deal.