Circuit City Rebates

[Poppa_Meth]

Can they be trusted? I've heard in the past some issues with claiming rebates from them. A friend of mine is looking for a budget PC and they have an Emachines T6528 with 17" CRT for $650 and then $280 worth of rebates. I don't think he'll find a better system for the money, but I'd hate to see him dump $650 and never get any of the rebates back.

[oldandinthe way]

I've collected from them.

The only time I've had problems is with a manufacturer's rebate by a cheesy little company who hired crooks to do their rebate processing . Even then a suggestion of an FTC complaint got them going on sending my check.

Recently CompUSA's e-rates have taken longer than the manufacturer's mail in rebates on their items.

[ROF]

I've never had any problems.

[lenti_75]

had a lot of problems.

out of 6, 3 were with problems.

the BEST one was that they didn't have the price of the drive......
another one that a submitted 2 rebates for the same ticket...jesus, there were 2 rebates for the same product.

the ideea is that they're looking for ways NOT to pay it.

DO COPIES of everything, receipt, rebate, upc, then send it. if there is a problem you call them.

he should buy a DELL for the same money and no rebate involved. you can get one for 350, flat panel, and maybe shipping and tax.

[SingSing]

You can track compusa and staplers rebate online. Bestbuy rebates always work. CC not so sure.

If this rebates is from E-machine then it is normally a very long wait.

[samijubal]

I've always got mine from CC and BB both. The last couple from CC were pretty fast. The ones from the manufacterers are usually a lot slower.

[Bodyslide]

I have never had any issues from them. The last 2 rebates I did with them took a total of 3 weeks after I mailed them off.

[bendixG15]

I would be very nervous about a $280 rebate.

I have also learned that there is almost always a better deal down the road......especially when it comes to eMachines.
hey...Good Luck......

[zoobie]

75% of buyers either forget the rebate or don't use them for one reason or another. No wonder they're so popular with retailers. You're probably better off forgetting the rebate on substandard equipment anyway and going with a reputable company like www.newegg.com

[Poppa_Meth]

$100 of the rebate is from Emachines. The other $180 is from CC for buying a package of computer and monitor. I've looked at Dell but getting a Dell for $350 gets you a lot of substandard equipment. The emachines has an Athlon 64 and room for a PCI-Express card down to road among other things. Room for expansion in other words. I have yet to see a Dell in that price range that can say the same. I've heard Emachine has improved in quality the last few years since Gateway got a hold of them. I'll check into the rebates a bit more thoroughly.

[genki500]

Circuit City rebates have been always good to me. I think, over 8 years, I have done 60 of them. Anyway, if it is big rebate, do copy everything, and spend extra $1.85 for "return receipt fee" (post office registered mail). A couple of time, TigerDirect said they did not have my rebates, I told them I have return receipt, they can't deny me like denying many others. Spend a bit more, be safer.

[Seeker47]

CC is quite notorious for weaseling their way out of honoring the Extended Warranties they sell (and which must be a significant revenue source for them), but I haven't personally had any problems with their product rebates. All things considered though, they remain far from my first or second choice when it comes to purchases for the kinds of merchandise they carry.

[Poppa_Meth]

I'm a little leary of CC myself but it's hard to beat the price on this one. I'll let him make the call on it. Thanks for the input.

[lenti_75]

I've looked at Dell but getting a Dell for $350 gets you a lot of substandard equipment. The emachines has an Athlon 64 and room for a PCI-Express card down to road among other things. Room for expansion in other words. I have yet to see a Dell in that price range that can say the same.

then why don't you build it ? for 400 you can build an athlon 64 and pci express....and the quality is a LOT better than any built system.
for 500 I've done an 17LCD 200G 512Ram dvd burner Sempron 64 Asus mobo, not bad.

[ROF]

I've looked at Dell but getting a Dell for $350 gets you a lot of substandard equipment. The emachines has an Athlon 64 and room for a PCI-Express card down to road among other things. Room for expansion in other words. I have yet to see a Dell in that price range that can say the same.

then why don't you build it ? for 400 you can build an athlon 64 and pci express....and the quality is a LOT better than any built system.
for 500 I've done an 17LCD 200G 512Ram dvd burner Sempron 64 Asus mobo, not bad.

more like $700 when all is said and done.

[TBoneit]

Just did a get it running for someone who bought on Ebay, He didn't quite get it installed right. No video, nothing.

Around $600 I believe he said... AMD 64X2 4800, 1 GB (2 by 512) Sata drive, ATI PCI-E Video, Ful Size DFI Motherboard

Heck of a big heatsink/fan.

Darned nice system once running.

Anyway onto E-Machines:

We've replaced more than a few Motherboards in their AMD Systems. Usually need to replace the Mobo and power supply as a set. Maybe the really new ones are better?

I'm recalling these were 2400+ to 2800+ CPUs.

[ROF]

We've replaced more than a few Motherboards in their AMD Systems. Usually need to replace the Mobo and power supply as a set. Maybe the really new ones are better?

I'm recalling these were 2400+ to 2800+ CPUs.

Nope. Last month I replaced a Mobo and power supply in an eMachine after the customer went round and round with the provider. It was supposed to be under warranty or something. I didn't get the full details other than the customer wanted me to make a working system. This eMachine was a T6532(their current top of the line) an Athlon64 3500+ 939 based system. The motherboard and powersupply were both proprietary. The power supply had an extra 4 pin connector which linked to the motherboard. I tried using that power supply with another board and without the 4 pin connected it would not power up. Replaced it with an Asus A8S-X board.

Two things positive:

It is a nice system overall.
Cooling is incredible.

[handyguy]

CC changed their rebate company a few months back & they were having issues but seem to be fine now. Their rebates often come with a coupon for 10% off $199+. You can buy CC coupons on Ebay too. I bought a $40 off $199 for 99 cents buyitnow.

Try Dell.com/tv there was like a great computer with 19" monitor for $500 recently.

[TBoneit]

Sounds like E-Machines still aren't the best then, current crop included. As far the proprietary issue that sounds like a gateway innovation!

The older ones were standard Mobos and PSs.

If you remember Gateway and their power supply turned 90 degrees from everybody what everybody else used some of the other tricks they played then proprietary is not a surprise since they bought E-Machine. Or the older Dell with the extra power connector to the Mobo comes to mind too. Did sell someone six 550watt PSes (HiPerf Video cards added) for the BTX Case computer line that Dell sells that worked in the case so they seem to have gone more standard than in the old days.

It may be a nice system now that it has a standard Mobo from a good brand and a standard Power supply. OTOH they probably paid more in the long run than a comparable computer from a reputable company/System Builder would have cost + the down time and the aggravation. The lack of support for waranty is slightly puzzling.

[oldandinthe way]

ROF I believe you are mistaken.

My experience with e-machines motherboards and power supplies is they have a 20/24 pin connect and a 4 pin connector which is extended ATX. This is not proprietary.

There are now power supplies and motherboards with (2) 4-pin extended ATX connectors. Again not proprietary. If they have gone to this it would be consistant with the industry and generic power supplies are available.

e-machines generally provides a PDF formated motherboard manual on their system. It is unlikley to be a proprietary board of their manufacture.

[handyguy]

emachines was bought by Gateway, so they did get a bit better.

If you have a question about getting your CC rebate you can ask the store manager. They paid me once.

[ROF]

ROF I believe you are mistaken.

My experience with e-machines motherboards and power supplies is they have a 20/24 pin connect and a 4 pin connector which is extended ATX. This is not proprietary.

Nope. I am not talking the 4 pin connector(12v) which provides the added power to the motherboard for things such as the PCi-Express bus. I am talking about a proprietary connector that is seated directly behind(or in front of depending on your POV) the main power connector on the motherboard. The power supply (which I still have) is a 24 pin power supply has the proprietary connector, the extra 12v connector and also an 8pin/12v connector which goes unused with that model board. Without the proprietary connector seated the powersupply will not function. I tried connecting it to another asus board and nothing. I even tried connecting the 24pin to my power supply tester which will activate a good power supply once connected. Still no juice. It is without a doubt a proprietary board and a proprietary power supply.

[lenti_75]

I've looked at Dell but getting a Dell for $350 gets you a lot of substandard equipment. The emachines has an Athlon 64 and room for a PCI-Express card down to road among other things. Room for expansion in other words. I have yet to see a Dell in that price range that can say the same.

then why don't you build it ? for 400 you can build an athlon 64 and pci express....and the quality is a LOT better than any built system.
for 500 I've done an 17LCD 200G 512Ram dvd burner Sempron 64 Asus mobo, not bad.

more like $700 when all is said and done.

are you sure ? he's not looking for a X2 and all the bels with it ... just do the math

[ROF]

I've looked at Dell but getting a Dell for $350 gets you a lot of substandard equipment. The emachines has an Athlon 64 and room for a PCI-Express card down to road among other things. Room for expansion in other words. I have yet to see a Dell in that price range that can say the same.

then why don't you build it ? for 400 you can build an athlon 64 and pci express....and the quality is a LOT better than any built system.
for 500 I've done an 17LCD 200G 512Ram dvd burner Sempron 64 Asus mobo, not bad.

more like $700 when all is said and done.

are you sure ? he's not looking for a X2 and all the bels with it ... just do the math

Sure it can be done, but the money you'd spend and the corners you'll cut you'd be better off recommending the person to buy a pre-built. The decision to build your own is because of quality. In your $500 home built you would probably end up with a socket754 based POS which is almost 3 generations of AMD socketed motherboards behind the times. You would also have the cheap out on the casing, probably buying the case and power supply as one unit, not to mention other corner you'd cut. ie. no side exhaust.

If my customers want to wimp out on important computer parts I refer them to the Walmart circular. Show me an example of your $500 quality home built system.

[Poppa_Meth]

I've priced it for a self build as well and I can't get much better than $1000 that way for a similar build. Of course doing it myself I choose better components which makes the price shoot upward. For something in the price range a self built just isn't viable.

[ROF]

I can do an Athlon64 939 based system with the above $500 specs for around $800. I can not seem to build one I'd be satisifed with putting my name and reputation on for any less. I mean between the 17" digital LCD(do not think of building with less than that) and the OS you are talking about close to $300 alone.

[INFRATOM]

Its not just Ciruit City , most of rabates gets processed through certain companies they send you a check on a piece of card that looks like junk mail. Once I threw $150 away and luckily found it in the garbage. If there are 2 rebates forget the lower amount or they get mixed up so you won't get the big rebate like fry's type of rebate. After all its just luck I guess this was my experience, I try not to buy anything with rebates. The only one I liked was from Amazon buying cell phone.

[handyguy]

I dont know if this is still going:
This is OFfice Depot.....

Emachines D5039 bundle with 17" LCD for $300 after $350 in rebates (all OD rebates $50, $150, $150). Intel Pentium 4 519K 3.06GHz, 1MB L2, 512MB PC 3200 DDR SDRAM, 160GB 7200RPM SATA HD, Windows XP home, 10/100 Ethernet, DVD RW Double Layer Drive, 7 USB 2.0, 9 in one memory reader plus the 17" Emachines LCD.

[ROF]

Warning: The Pentium 4 505, 516, and 519 are all low end processor which are not even capable of keeping up with Celerons in the same class.