OT: WARNING-Pacfic Digital 16X DVD ROM (substitute for the FAR Cendyne at OfficeMax's BF sale)

[bbrontosaurus]

Sorry if this is off-topic folks, if so, mods please let me know.

I got the Pacific Digital 16X DVD (rebadged Sony) instead on the CenDyne drive during the BF sales. I was told that the two rebates associated with this drive ($25 + $20) would be honored for this Pacfic Digital drive by CenDyne (as did other people on the forums). I was all ready to ship out my rebates, but I called OfficeMax (their rebate dept.) and they told me that this is NOT TRUE; CenDyne will NOT honor any rebates for people that got the Pacific Digital drive. The csr was very helpful and called the OfficeMax store where I got the Pacific Digital drive from....she talked to the manager, and told me to go back to the store and they will either give me $45 cash or replace my drive with a CenDyne if they have it in stock (and adjust the date of purchase so I would be eligable for the rebates).

Apparently, the csr I talked to said that the OfficeMax stores were giving out the wrong info!

 

[iamshady]

Yikes

 

[Maelsturm]

this sounds like one hot warning

If you got the Pacific Digital, great for you.... you can drive to get your $45 while I gotta wait 8 weeks on something that has a chance of not coming

 

[Fullpower]

Really? I brought my Pacific Digital 16x drive back to an OfficeMax in Durham, North Carolina and after talking to the manager there for awhile, he went and called somebody for a long time (corporate, I assume) and finally came back and reassured me that both Cendyne rebates would honor the Pacific Digital UPC and sales receipt.....

hmmm, i don't know what to believe anymore....

 

[bbrontosaurus]

Originally posted by: Fullpower
Really? I brought my Pacific Digital 16x drive back to an OfficeMax in Durham, North Carolina and after talking to the manager there for awhile, he went and called somebody for a long time (corporate, I assume) and finally came back and reassured me that both Cendyne rebates would honor the Pacific Digital UPC and sales receipt.....

hmmm, i don't know what to believe anymore....

Fullpower,

When did you take your drive in? I would say contact OfficeMax's rebate deptarment (you can go through the regular channels, just ask for the rebate deptarment) and have the someone in the rebate dept. talk to the store manager. The csr that I talked to said she explained it to the manager at the Office Max store where I got it from, and let her know that the Cendyne would REJECT the rebates if you purchased the Pacific Digital.....which kinda of makes sense, because aren't they two different companies? I would hate to wait 8-10 weeks later and find out that the rebates were rejected.

Mods, is there anyway we can place a sticky on this thread for the top, at least until this gets straightened out? I plan to go to Office Max after work to either get my $45 cash, or get my Cendyne (although, with this option, it would be much more of a hassle as I have already installed the drive in my Dell Dimension 4550 ) I'll post my results tonight.

 

[RedlineSys]

I had bought this drive as well............being told that it would be accepted. However, I couldn't see any rebates listed in their little "book," so I decided to simply return the item. Seems too risky.

 

[DealLurker]

NEVER EVER believe or accept a substitute assuming (even if told) that a rebate will be honored. 99% of the time they are lying or badly misinformed and the rebate will be rejected. Only a few times, especially if on a printed sign or fax that you can get a copy of, would I ever accept their "word".

At least they are offering you a refund or replacement.


CENDYNE is VERY VERY picky and malicious with their rebates. I had one sent to AZ rebate center rejected because I didnt include the serial #. I DID, it was attached to the same piece of cardboard as the UPC. Apparently they wanted it cut separately to count 2 bar code piles or something?. Resubmitting a photocopy to the appeal department still was rejected. Never got that $30.

 

[slag]

Originally posted by: Fullpower
Really? I brought my Pacific Digital 16x drive back to an OfficeMax in Durham, North Carolina and after talking to the manager there for awhile, he went and called somebody for a long time (corporate, I assume) and finally came back and reassured me that both Cendyne rebates would honor the Pacific Digital UPC and sales receipt.....

hmmm, i don't know what to believe anymore....

Same here. I was advised to send in the cendyne rebate and everything would be taken care of.

I got a pac digital rebadged sony myself.

 

[rauschee]

After seeing this, I too called the OfficeMax Rebate center. And after awhile on hold, the csr told me that they have an internal memo that states that the CenDyne rebates will work for the Pacific Digital DVD-ROM drive.

For further verification, I called the toll-free number on the back of the CenDyne rebate form. I spoke with a service manager there who ran the Pacific Digital UPC # (644405301159) and verified that the $25 rebate (offer 02-51296) is valid for this UPC.

For the $20 rebate, OfficeMax has the rebate form showing offer #02-51138. The manager told me that they do not have that offer # listed, however, they do have #02-51139 listed and that the UPC is valid for that rebate as well.

I called the OfficeMax rebate center again to inform/verify this information with them. They weren't able to verify over the phone. I'm supposed to receive an email in the next day or so.

I was ready to send these in today and I think I still will, however, I'm going to list both offer #'s on the $20 rebate envelope.

 

[Fullpower]

Originally posted by: bbrontosaurus

Originally posted by: Fullpower
Really? I brought my Pacific Digital 16x drive back to an OfficeMax in Durham, North Carolina and after talking to the manager there for awhile, he went and called somebody for a long time (corporate, I assume) and finally came back and reassured me that both Cendyne rebates would honor the Pacific Digital UPC and sales receipt.....

hmmm, i don't know what to believe anymore....

Fullpower,

When did you take your drive in? I would say contact OfficeMax's rebate deptarment (you can go through the regular channels, just ask for the rebate deptarment) and have the someone in the rebate dept. talk to the store manager. The csr that I talked to said she explained it to the manager at the Office Max store where I got it from, and let her know that the Cendyne would REJECT the rebates if you purchased the Pacific Digital.....which kinda of makes sense, because aren't they two different companies? I would hate to wait 8-10 weeks later and find out that the rebates were rejected.

Mods, is there anyway we can place a sticky on this thread for the top, at least until this gets straightened out? I plan to go to Office Max after work to either get my $45 cash, or get my Cendyne (although, with this option, it would be much more of a hassle as I have already installed the drive in my Dell Dimension 4550 ) I'll post my results tonight.

Hey, sorry for the late reply. Like half the city of Durham, NC lost power today due to massive snow/ice storm, and I'm one of them still out of power after 24 hours. :-( (using a friend's comp currently.)

I brought the drive in and talked to the manager on Tuesday evening. Hmmmm, from what rauschee is saying, it seems that maybe the rebates might actually go through after all.... I personally haven't had time to follow up on this any further, since half of North Carolina is coated with ice right now....

I haven't even opened the drive up yet. Maybe i will decide in a couple of days, since I have to either return the drive or send in the rebates really soon.....

Anyone else have news on this confusing rebate offer?

 

[easystreet]

I got the substitute Sony too, but the rebate isn't a problem. It is a POS and i am taking it back. Either it won't play a DVD or the cpu useage is 68% in XP. My old DVD player works just fine.

 

[Whiskyboy]

Originally posted by: DealLurker
NEVER EVER believe or accept a substitute assuming (even if told) that a rebate will be honored. 99% of the time they are lying or badly misinformed and the rebate will be rejected. Only a few times, especially if on a printed sign or fax that you can get a copy of, would I ever accept their "word".

At least they are offering you a refund or replacement.


CENDYNE is VERY VERY picky and malicious with their rebates. I had one sent to AZ rebate center rejected because I didnt include the serial #. I DID, it was attached to the same piece of cardboard as the UPC. Apparently they wanted it cut separately to count 2 bar code piles or something?. Resubmitting a photocopy to the appeal department still was rejected. Never got that $30.

While I am aware that cendyne is pretty ridiculous sometimes with their rebates, as most companies are...
As an officemax drone I can confirm the substitution list, I read the rebate info on the corporate letterhead so those who took the sub should know its documented and not a managerial trick (Because they love to pretend they can do things they don't). I don't know about the quality of the drives since we recieved our first batch of them the wednesday before the holiday, and only 1 return so far. Anyway, good luck to all.

 

[mrwade]

I had to go back to Office max for a credit since the Pacific Digital DVD drive did not ring up with the instant rebate; I asked about the rebate and the manager showed me the Office Max ad planner showing the substitutes, it stated that the Cendyne rebates would be honored for the PD drive.

 

[Fullpower]

Cool. Thanks, i'm convinced that the rebates will work out now.

 

[unclebud]

"I got the substitute Sony too, but the rebate isn't a problem. It is a POS and i am taking it back. Either it won't play a DVD or the cpu useage is 68% in XP. My old DVD player works just fine."
are the jumpers on the new one set the same as the old? just asking...

 

[Chucko]

I heard that Cendyne got Officemax the Pacific Digital DVD drives, because Cendyne could not deliver enough drives. An officemax manager told me this, I don't know if its true. I have my figures crossed on my rebates, I bought two drives. The drives work well for ripping. I wonder if PD and Cendyne are the same company????

 

[undone]

I have a scan of the document that states cendyne will honor the pacific digital rebate. It is on officemax letterhead. I sent it in with my rebates. PM me your email address if you would like a copy emailed.

 

[imported_Mike]

Originally posted by: rauschee
After seeing this, I too called the OfficeMax Rebate center. And after awhile on hold, the csr told me that they have an internal memo that states that the CenDyne rebates will work for the Pacific Digital DVD-ROM drive.

For further verification, I called the toll-free number on the back of the CenDyne rebate form. I spoke with a service manager there who ran the Pacific Digital UPC # (644405301159) and verified that the $25 rebate (offer 02-51296) is valid for this UPC.

For the $20 rebate, OfficeMax has the rebate form showing offer #02-51138. The manager told me that they do not have that offer # listed, however, they do have #02-51139 listed and that the UPC is valid for that rebate as well.

I called the OfficeMax rebate center again to inform/verify this information with them. They weren't able to verify over the phone. I'm supposed to receive an email in the next day or so.

I was ready to send these in today and I think I still will, however, I'm going to list both offer #'s on the $20 rebate envelope.

i did the same, and got the same thing. the $25 is valid for the pacific digital, but the 51139 shows up in the rebate center database as a $20-$40 verbatum rebate and the does not qualify for the pacific digital. after close inspection of the $20 officemax gave out in a "coupon/rebate" book that had all their rebates. the $20 dvd rebate expired on the 24th of nov. but yet the drive was only available no sooner than the 29th. alot of bullsh*t going on here, about to call up officemax to see what the heck is going on

 

[undefined]

As an officemax drone I can confirm the substitution list, I read the rebate info on the corporate letterhead so those who took the sub should know its documented and not a managerial trick (Because they love to pretend they can do things they don't). I don't know about the quality of the drives since we recieved our first batch of them the wednesday before the holiday, and only 1 return so far. Anyway, good luck to all.

let me tell my tale about officemax rebates, as a caution of what may be to come for some of you.

i bought a belkin 802.11b pcmcia card at officemax a few weeks ago. the product was advertised with a $10 rebate, and the rebate receipt even printed at the register.

but, by mistake officemax had not included the product on the belkin multi-product rebate form in the rebate "directory". i called the officemax store, talked to a manager, and the manager said that he had an email (or did he just say "memo"?) stating that though it was not included on the rebate form that it was a mistake and the rebate would be honored. and if the rebate wasn't honored, then he personally would refund me the value of the rebate. (that's customer service!)

i mailed in the rebate and checked back on it on-line a week later and my submission had been rejected. they said that i sent in the wrong upc for the... BELKIN SURGE PROTECTOR! i emailed them the above explanation (though a little more detailed) and suggested that they contact officemax's corporate office. they replied back saying that as a "valued belkin customer" that they were to accept my incorrect submission, BUT JUST THIS ONE TIME, and my rebate status changed. as a matter of principle, i replied back and stated that though i was appreciative that my rebate submission was now accepted, i was offended that they still considered the whole deal MY FAULT AND MY SCREW-UP, though if they would just contact officemax corporate (or look in the freaking national circular) they would realize that i was in the right. i never received a reply back.

this is not a slam against officemax (though it might have been there fault that the product wasn't listed on the rebate submission form and paragon was not informed of the problem; i don't know), but i'm not impressed with paragon (rebateshq.com) at this point.

so just be prepared: if everything doesn't jive before you submit the rebate, you might be in for trouble ahead. but not to say that even if it does, you won't have problems. rebates suck.

 

[sak]

the only question i got is which drive is better...the lite-on one on sony...??

 

[imported_Mike]

after an hour spent talking to officemax and rebateHQ employees, both rebates are vaild for the pacific digital

Originally posted by: sak
the only question i got is which drive is better...the lite-on one on sony...??

good question, but from my stand point.......free is free, as long as it works

 

[FLYBOYZ]

order the cendyne dvd rom from.. officemax online 11/29 which was backorder , i thought i had to cancel this order because they had no delivery date because rebate must be postmark 15 days after purchase , lucky enough today 12/10 i recieved the cendyne dvd drive,and will submit the 2 rebates that would give m the drive for free.... BUMP BUMP BUMP...never thought i was gonna get this drive.

 

[scotner]

Received an email today directing me to RebatesHQ.com. Using the supplied tracking number, I found the following information regarding my rebate, which was submitted after purchasing a Pacific Digital drive:


Tracking Results: Status Details

Rebate: $25.00 Rebate Check.
Rebate Information For: 2646xxxx
Promotion: $25 Mail in Rebate on Cendyne Internal 16x IDE DVD-ROM (Office Max only)
Submission Type: MAIL
Date Received: 12-11-2002
Status: Processing Rebate
Status Detail: Your rebate is valid and is in the final stages of processing and should be mailed to you within the next 30 days.

 

[Smolek]

unless its a manager who is willing to guarantee a rebate will be honored dont take their word for it because all they want to do is make the sale. Once the time the rebate status gets reported they figure most people will just say screw it

 

[C'DaleRider]

Originally posted by: sak
the only question i got is which drive is better...the lite-on one on sony...??

The Sony I got was a POS! Slow, failed to recognize some DVDs, did Cds alright, but slow. Kept the Pioneer I had, thank goodness.